In the Neighborhood

CRABBY: We started our day with a jog (big people) and scoot (in the kids' case) down to Terminal 91, Port of Seattle Property bordering Puget Sound. On the way down to the sound, we saw plane fuselages loaded onto trains. We speculated that they were coming from Boeing's Everett plant, just north of us, going somewhere to get their wings & stuff. We chose to go down to the port because Christian looked up the tide tables and it was low tide. Turned out to be a good choice. The water was waaaaay out there.Don't know that I've ever seen it that far gone. Seagulls were everywhere, no doubt looking for brunch. We saw clam squirts all over - it was like a watery Fourth of July.

At one point, Christian, Bee and I were walking eastward and I looked back for CJ and saw him crouch down to turn over a rock. Not sure why he chose to do that where and when he did it, but lo and behold if his rock flip didn't unearth a live rock crab of sorts. We've seen lots and lots of dead crabs down on that beach over the years, but this was our first live one. Exciting!

The kids both squealed when the tiny crab ran 'toward' them, as if its pincers could snap any of their vital body parts off. ;)

HOME RUN DERBY: It's a rough patch of summer for me - three whole days of no Mariners baseball (sniffle sniffle). What's a girl to do? Well, watch the All-Star game festivities, of course.
Knowing tonight is the MLB home run derby, I decided we needed to have our own home run derby this afternoon. We headed up to Bay View Park, wiffle balls, batting tee and plastic bat ready for action.

We headed for the dusty (especially for Seattle standards) baseball diamond and I explained that we'd be using the rules the MLB Home Run Derby uses - you get 10 balls. If you hit a home run it's a point and anything less than a home run is an out, period. I drew a line in the dirt that would be our home run marker - an arc from the first base line to the third base line, a few feet in front of the pitcher's mound. The kids each hit two rounds and did pretty well, batting around a .500 home run ratio each time.Tonight, we had peanuts, Cracker Jack, garlic fries and Venezuelan hot dogs for dinner while we watched the real home run derby. Mmmm, nothing like ballpark food. :) And so much cheaper at home!

360 DEGREES OF COOL: I happened across a link today of a camera panning the entire 360 degrees of space shuttle Discovery's flight deck. It is definitely worth taking a look. My first thought upon viewing it is, "Geez, make sure you don't bump into anything!" So. Many. Buttons.

Speaking of Discovery, I have so many more photos of neat-o places Bee and CJ's names went touring 'round Cape Canaveral, as well as great shots of our shuttle cookies making the rounds. I think I'm going to compile an album and then post a link. In the meantime, here's a shot of them in the window of Discovery (their names are in the lower RH corner). How cool is THAT? :)

WEEKEND REWIND: We worked and played around the house most of the weekend, but Saturday evening we did venture out to the Ballard SeafoodFest. It's your typical street fair - food booths, artists and commercial vendor booths, a beer 'garden' (blacktop surrounded by chainlink). The kids enjoyed the jumbo slide (a whopping $3 a pop).They also partook of a Karate demonstration.DINE WITH THE ASTRONAUTS: I get several emails a day from NASA, and one of them pitched a fun idea - dining virtually with the astronauts of the last shuttle mission. Neat idea! Here are the details, from a NASA press release ...

NASA Invites Public To "Virtual Dinner" With Final Shuttle Crew
HOUSTON -- The public can share a virtual dinner with the final space shuttle crew on Thursday, July 14 by preparing grilled chicken, barbecue brisket, baked beans and southwestern corn at home using NASA's recipes.

Food scientists at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston prepared the special "All-American Meal" for the STS-135 shuttle crew, as the iconic American spacecraft makes its last voyage. The four shuttle astronauts, and possibly the six International Space Station crew members, are scheduled to eat the meal on the fifth day of the STS-135 mission.

"Since the mission is in July, we thought it would be fun to have a typical summer meal often enjoyed in our backyards with friends and family," said Michele Perchonok, NASA food scientist and manager of the shuttle food system.

For the special space recipes or "formulations" as they are called by NASA food scientists, plus more information, video and imagery, go to: All American Meal .