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Thursday, December 27, 2007
Saturday, December 22, 2007
A Little Christmas Fun...
Here's a little fun from JibJab...hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making it!
Merry Christmas! M&G
(NOTE: I've reloaded this, so please check to see if it's working for you :))
Merry Christmas! M&G
Don't send a lame Holiday eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!
(NOTE: I've reloaded this, so please check to see if it's working for you :))
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Good Grief!
The view of I-5 at the Centralia exit....When the water recedes, there's likely going to be a lot of damage to the roadway - which is the major North-South interstate between Seattle and Portland. So even when it's "dry" it may not be passable for most folks...
You can see WalMart is covered in water to the upper right there (uppermost white roofed building)...this photo was published today in the Seattle times website...taken some time this morning. There's a Home Depot there somewhere too...and that white "strip" toward the upper center is a small mall...wow.
Today we found out that some of our family are stuck in the mess that is now Centralia, Washington.
We are all very concerned about them, as no one can actually get to where they are to bring them out of the flooded mess that their house has become. But they are in contact with Sister K, and are doing as well as they can at the moment. It's just that there is a tremendous need at times like these to actually "see" the folks that are effected...we'll have to wait for a bit longer though.
Hopefully, the roads will clear enough to get in to their place by Friday...if not, Sister will likely rent a blimp and fly in to get them :) Right now, there isn't a passable road that will get us within miles of them. That whole part of Lewis county is pretty much an island that can't be approached other than by boat. The national guard is keeping folks from launching their own boats to go in a fetch people (that was magic's bright idea, but - NO!)
The water started coming into their place around 4:30am early Tuesday morning. They were fast asleep in their bed, when an early rising neighbor called and told them that their house was taking on water. It got to be about 4 feet deep I hear, before it started receding. Luckily, their bedroom and master bath are elevated a bit above the grade of the rest of the house, so they are able to stay out of the water there with the help of a generator. They were able to move their cars to higher ground before the water got too deep, but that was about it. No one has been able to get in and deliver supplies yet, though, so we are all a bit concerned.
These pics show the "after" at around 2:30 pm yesterday afternoon - water is about 2 feet deep. It's still pretty wet there. They don't expect the Chehalis River to crest in the Centralia area until this evening.
Once they open the roads, we'll be down there in a flash helping get what stuff can be salvaged (mostly irreplaceable stuff, I suppose) out of the house. Hopefully, they'll stay with Sis while the details of cleaning up are figured out. Most of the furniture will have to be replaced...ugh...what a mess!
A view of the water line in relation to the outside of the house as of 2:30PM Dec 4, 2007. Something is floating by in the yard there...can't really tell what...but the roof sure looks nice and clean. :) Might as well smile as cry...
A view of the backyard, same time...
We'll keep you posted on progress...but in the meantime, send happy thoughts to all the folks effected by the flooding here in Washington...it's going to be a long haul getting things put back together.
Hope you all are happy, warm and dry!
M&G
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Here Comes the Rain Again...
WOW!
We've had about as much rain as I've ever seen in Seattle over the last day or so.
Up here on the hill, we were pretty dry (although the drain field is saturated - forcing me (really forcing) to forego doing laundry as it adds lots of water to the septic system - not a good idea at the moment :)
Down the hill a bit, though, it's a totally different world!
The bottom of 228th (the big street that comes up the hill) was flooded under the overpass of I405. We were able to drive through that area late yesterday afternoon, and the water line on the cement pilings under the overpass was up around the 10 foot mark. Seriously, two+ magicians high water mark!
The second rainiest day in Seattle history. We had 3.77 inches of H2O fall over the 24 hours starting Monday at midnight. That's pretty impressive.
I'm more impressed by that than the flooding, really. I think that the flooding is to be expected - especially with all the development around here these days. It used to be that when it rained, the ground absorbed a lot of it...now we've paved over the ground...so it's logical that it has nowhere to go but downhill, right? Anyway...here's some pics!
This shows the area to leading to the overpass at the bottom of the hill (228th)...
...basically, Little Bear Creek over-ran it's banks...sadly, there is a house on this creek (just up and across the road to the right from here) and the "river" runs through it now.
Here's a shot of a flooded car stuck in the water at the business park at the bottom of the hill (along 228th). What a bummer...just trying to get to work, and bam! Flooded car. I wonder if that's covered by car insurance?
This is a car at the Residence Inn at the bottom of the hill near Beardsley (off of I405 near Woodinville).
The overpass in Woodinville near 195th (off of 405, near highway 9 at the back side of our hill).
Notice the car underwater? What were they thinking? Probably weren't thinking at all....
Probably drove around the barricades (I lost count of how many people I saw doing that kind of stuff as I tried to get down the hill myself - I sat in lines and slowly moved down the hills that were passable, just like everyone else that wasn't "special").
And last, but not least...the new water feature in Woodinville. This is at the corner near the park (on the way to Molbak's Nursery).
This morning, much of the water has receded, but it's been raining off and on a lot too. Sometimes really hard. I hope it stops soon and this last of three big storms passes through quickly. We need a respite from the floods...
A link to KOMO 4 News video of the flooding in Woodinville (just down/over the hill from our cozy hilltop cabin). It should give a little more perspective of what Woodinville (and others in the state) is going through. We are still waiting for several rivers to crest and begin receding.
http://www.komotv.com/home/video/12098521.html?video=pop&t=a
Hope that you are all staying warm and dry!
Aloha!
M&G
We've had about as much rain as I've ever seen in Seattle over the last day or so.
Up here on the hill, we were pretty dry (although the drain field is saturated - forcing me (really forcing) to forego doing laundry as it adds lots of water to the septic system - not a good idea at the moment :)
Down the hill a bit, though, it's a totally different world!
The bottom of 228th (the big street that comes up the hill) was flooded under the overpass of I405. We were able to drive through that area late yesterday afternoon, and the water line on the cement pilings under the overpass was up around the 10 foot mark. Seriously, two+ magicians high water mark!
The second rainiest day in Seattle history. We had 3.77 inches of H2O fall over the 24 hours starting Monday at midnight. That's pretty impressive.
I'm more impressed by that than the flooding, really. I think that the flooding is to be expected - especially with all the development around here these days. It used to be that when it rained, the ground absorbed a lot of it...now we've paved over the ground...so it's logical that it has nowhere to go but downhill, right? Anyway...here's some pics!
This shows the area to leading to the overpass at the bottom of the hill (228th)...
...basically, Little Bear Creek over-ran it's banks...sadly, there is a house on this creek (just up and across the road to the right from here) and the "river" runs through it now.
Here's a shot of a flooded car stuck in the water at the business park at the bottom of the hill (along 228th). What a bummer...just trying to get to work, and bam! Flooded car. I wonder if that's covered by car insurance?
This is a car at the Residence Inn at the bottom of the hill near Beardsley (off of I405 near Woodinville).
The overpass in Woodinville near 195th (off of 405, near highway 9 at the back side of our hill).
Notice the car underwater? What were they thinking? Probably weren't thinking at all....
Probably drove around the barricades (I lost count of how many people I saw doing that kind of stuff as I tried to get down the hill myself - I sat in lines and slowly moved down the hills that were passable, just like everyone else that wasn't "special").
And last, but not least...the new water feature in Woodinville. This is at the corner near the park (on the way to Molbak's Nursery).
This morning, much of the water has receded, but it's been raining off and on a lot too. Sometimes really hard. I hope it stops soon and this last of three big storms passes through quickly. We need a respite from the floods...
A link to KOMO 4 News video of the flooding in Woodinville (just down/over the hill from our cozy hilltop cabin). It should give a little more perspective of what Woodinville (and others in the state) is going through. We are still waiting for several rivers to crest and begin receding.
http://www.komotv.com/home/video/12098521.html?video=pop&t=a
Hope that you are all staying warm and dry!
Aloha!
M&G
Monday, December 3, 2007
Let It Snow!
Well, Saturday brought the promised snow to Seattle! The weather forecast was right for once...amazing, huh?
Goofy did the dance of snow, which was muy entertaining (well, at least for the first hour or so).
After all is said and done, we got about 6 or 7 inches of snow up here on the hill.
It snowed hard like this for hours...it was beautiful to see.
This is the snow on a tree in the backyard...Goofy thought it looked particularly lovely :)
Sadly, most of the snow was gone the next morning. We had snow showers throughout the day, that eventually turned into the torrential downpour we experienced all day Monday. Guess we are expecting three big storms to move through...so far, the second (and supposedly biggest) is working it's way past...more on that later.
Hope you are all safe and warm, wherever you are!
M&G
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Waiting for Weekend Weather
Meanwhile...back in Seattle...
Wow!
It's been a crazy, hectic week since we got back from Maui last week (was it just a little over one week ago when that we were enjoying the warm tropical clime of island paradise? :)).
Seattle has been warming to highs of a chilly 45 degrees or so since we've been home...dropping to the low to mid 30's overnights.
We are currently awaiting a forecasted snow. Goofy is - of course - beside herself with the joy of snowy goodness. I suspect that the dance of snow cannot be far away.
Today is going to a day of lights...the house lights are up along the eaves, it's the trees and such that are feeling somewhat unadorned. Maybe we'll even get the tree up too!
Excitement abounds!
Have a great Saturday!
M&G
Wow!
It's been a crazy, hectic week since we got back from Maui last week (was it just a little over one week ago when that we were enjoying the warm tropical clime of island paradise? :)).
Seattle has been warming to highs of a chilly 45 degrees or so since we've been home...dropping to the low to mid 30's overnights.
We are currently awaiting a forecasted snow. Goofy is - of course - beside herself with the joy of snowy goodness. I suspect that the dance of snow cannot be far away.
Today is going to a day of lights...the house lights are up along the eaves, it's the trees and such that are feeling somewhat unadorned. Maybe we'll even get the tree up too!
Excitement abounds!
Have a great Saturday!
M&G
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi All!
Hope you are having a great turkey day today! We are almost ready to clear out of the condo here in Kihei. We'll be back in Seattle tonight!
These are a few more pics from our trip here...hope you are all happy and well!
This is a view from inside the second cathedral at Lana'i...looks kinda like a foot to me :)
This is a tunnel at the same dive site
This one will give an idea of scale through these caves and tunnels...I call this "traffic jam" lol
This is Goofy's tribute to Santa and the coming holiday season! He's posing there with a nudibranch :)
And finally (for now) Goofy took this lovely sunset from a lovely beach over near Lahaina...Aloha!
We are looking forward to seeing you all soon!
Take care and happy day!
M&G
Hope you are having a great turkey day today! We are almost ready to clear out of the condo here in Kihei. We'll be back in Seattle tonight!
These are a few more pics from our trip here...hope you are all happy and well!
This is a view from inside the second cathedral at Lana'i...looks kinda like a foot to me :)
This is a tunnel at the same dive site
This one will give an idea of scale through these caves and tunnels...I call this "traffic jam" lol
This is Goofy's tribute to Santa and the coming holiday season! He's posing there with a nudibranch :)
And finally (for now) Goofy took this lovely sunset from a lovely beach over near Lahaina...Aloha!
We are looking forward to seeing you all soon!
Take care and happy day!
M&G
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Adieu, Maui
Aloha
Goofy and I are busily (haha) preparing to head home tomorrow. We have to run up to Lahaina (poor us) to pick up our gear and say goodbye (for a while) to our dive buddies.
Wow! These past two weeks have flown by...it's true that time flies when you are having fun!
We have had (as we've said before, too many times I think) a fantastic time!
The diving has been great and even amazing at times. We've seen so many sea creatures and fish that we hadn't seen so closely before. We've done three specialty certifications (in buoyancy, boat diving, and digital underwater photography), and both Goofy and feel we've become much better divers. Our course director and teachers all saw the improvements and have been very kind in encouraging and cheering us on as we improve. If only we could get paid to dive every day and visit with friends....hmmmm. :)
Here's a very rare glimpse of a frogfish "running" across the open sand. I still have to work with the image a bit to bring out his best, but you can actually see the fish here. He uses his pectoral fins more like hands/arms and with a combination of using those fins and jet propulsion (he gulps water through his mouth and ejects is under pressure through gills toward the back of his body) he can get along pretty well. He's usually very sedentary, preferring to hang around and wait for dinner to come to him :)
This is a school of goatfish hanging around out at Mala Wharf. They pretty much ignore the divers, just edging away a bit if we get too close :)
Goofy found a new shark out at the Wharf...
I'll get more posted later...but for now...aloha!
M&G
Goofy and I are busily (haha) preparing to head home tomorrow. We have to run up to Lahaina (poor us) to pick up our gear and say goodbye (for a while) to our dive buddies.
Wow! These past two weeks have flown by...it's true that time flies when you are having fun!
We have had (as we've said before, too many times I think) a fantastic time!
The diving has been great and even amazing at times. We've seen so many sea creatures and fish that we hadn't seen so closely before. We've done three specialty certifications (in buoyancy, boat diving, and digital underwater photography), and both Goofy and feel we've become much better divers. Our course director and teachers all saw the improvements and have been very kind in encouraging and cheering us on as we improve. If only we could get paid to dive every day and visit with friends....hmmmm. :)
Here's a very rare glimpse of a frogfish "running" across the open sand. I still have to work with the image a bit to bring out his best, but you can actually see the fish here. He uses his pectoral fins more like hands/arms and with a combination of using those fins and jet propulsion (he gulps water through his mouth and ejects is under pressure through gills toward the back of his body) he can get along pretty well. He's usually very sedentary, preferring to hang around and wait for dinner to come to him :)
This is a school of goatfish hanging around out at Mala Wharf. They pretty much ignore the divers, just edging away a bit if we get too close :)
Goofy found a new shark out at the Wharf...
I'll get more posted later...but for now...aloha!
M&G
Under The Sea
Aloha!
Sadly, Goofy and I have pretty much finished up our diving for this trip...gotta get the gear dry enough to pack!
It's going to be hard to go from lovely 85 degree days, with 80 degree water temps, to cold and rainy Seattle, but it's home, and hey, we miss it (really...ok, not the cold, but we like the rain :)
We have gotten a ton of diving in this trip, and really feel like our dive skills have improved greatly too! It's been just a great trip all around...can't say it enough!
It's also going to be harder leaving this time, as we'll be saying adios (for now) to our Maui friends too. We've gotten to know a bunch of folks here well, and will miss them when we are home like we miss everyone in Seattle (and Santa Cruz, and Austin, and Beaufort....and...well, you get the idea!! :) when we are here in Maui.
On our last dives, we had some amazing time with turtles (my favorite!)...one turtle in particular was very content to just sit on the sand and watch me, while I sat on the sand and watched him. We musta stayed like that for about 20 minutes...looking at each other, not saying anything, just chillin' in the sand.
It was Awesome!
At the time I was communing with the turtle, almost everyone else was turned the other way looking at the sharks (about 20 feet away under some fallen pier)...not me, though, I've seen sharks....it's turtles all the way!
Here are a few pics...
Just hangin...at the Wharf...
Still chillin'...in the sand...
I'm good...you? Feels a bit nappish, though! :)
We have lots of pics to go through...and several that are worth printing, so should be seen on a wall around the house soon!
We'll be flying home on Thursday...hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving, and take a little time this year to remember the things that are most important to you.
Love y'all!
M&G
Sadly, Goofy and I have pretty much finished up our diving for this trip...gotta get the gear dry enough to pack!
It's going to be hard to go from lovely 85 degree days, with 80 degree water temps, to cold and rainy Seattle, but it's home, and hey, we miss it (really...ok, not the cold, but we like the rain :)
We have gotten a ton of diving in this trip, and really feel like our dive skills have improved greatly too! It's been just a great trip all around...can't say it enough!
It's also going to be harder leaving this time, as we'll be saying adios (for now) to our Maui friends too. We've gotten to know a bunch of folks here well, and will miss them when we are home like we miss everyone in Seattle (and Santa Cruz, and Austin, and Beaufort....and...well, you get the idea!! :) when we are here in Maui.
On our last dives, we had some amazing time with turtles (my favorite!)...one turtle in particular was very content to just sit on the sand and watch me, while I sat on the sand and watched him. We musta stayed like that for about 20 minutes...looking at each other, not saying anything, just chillin' in the sand.
It was Awesome!
At the time I was communing with the turtle, almost everyone else was turned the other way looking at the sharks (about 20 feet away under some fallen pier)...not me, though, I've seen sharks....it's turtles all the way!
Here are a few pics...
Just hangin...at the Wharf...
Still chillin'...in the sand...
I'm good...you? Feels a bit nappish, though! :)
We have lots of pics to go through...and several that are worth printing, so should be seen on a wall around the house soon!
We'll be flying home on Thursday...hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving, and take a little time this year to remember the things that are most important to you.
Love y'all!
M&G
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Intermission...
Aloha!
Friday was a lovely, mellow day for Goofy and I.
We went into Kahalui to do some shopping, fill up the SUV with gas ($3.72/gallon - not that much more than Seattle, unfortunately), and then headed up to Lahaina for a leisurely afternoon.
It's been an amazing trip so far :) We've gotten to do a lot of diving, and we've also gotten to spend time with new friends here in Maui. Today, we are heading out with our real estate agent to look at a few condos - and then we are off to hang on the beaches and do some photo safaris :) Guess life really can't get much better, huh? Now if we could only figure out a way to live without money, we'd be set :D LOL.
Tomorrow, we are looking forward to a dive out at Lanai and the cathedrals. I'm hoping to get some good shots with the camera, and improve my ability to actually stop in the water where I want to (instead of 5 feet past the fish I wanted to photograph lol :) It's all a matter of practice, I guess...
Mike makes it look so easy...swoops in, stops on a dime, gets the shot, swoops out looking for the next shot...here he is with his brother John getting a shot of a frogfish and Santa :D
Have a great day wherever you are!
Aloha!
M&G
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