Feeding Teens

HELL'S KITCHEN: Last Saturday night's Teen Feed was one to remember. 

It was 101 F when Christian and I each parked next to the Teen Feed kitchen in the U-District. "Why two cars?" you wonder. Because we needed all that space to transport all of the food and water needed for that night's service. 

Usually several people bring their donations to the kitchen and drop them off. But this month the vast majority of people on our team were out of town, so we ended up bring most everyone's food for them. 

In addition to the volume of food we had to haul, we had SIX coolers full of sparkling water on ice. A couple of days before Teen Feed, one of the volunteers called me and suggested that we double up on the water this weekend because of the temperatures. What a wonderful thought she had, so we bought LOTS (about 3x the usual amount), and thanks to another bonus donation, we bought plenty of ice to make it super chilly for the teens. (In fact, we bought the last 8 bags of ice to be had at any store in our neighborhood.) 

Speaking of water, shortly after we pulled up, a huge truck parked behind us and the driver said he had some water for Teen Feed. He was by himself and asked if we could help unload it and another truck that arrived just after. "Of course!" we said. Tonight I actually did the math.  We helped move about TWO THOUSAND POUNDS of water in that heat. (By the way, that water was hot, so it was really great we had the super chilled water for our service.) So, that was the work before the work in the kitchen. (And I don't mean to complain - that unexpected water donation for Teen Feed was kind and significant, it just wasn't on our planned 'to do' list yesterday!)

Back to our business! Saturday night's main entree was Seattle dogs: Huge Costco-food-court sized dogs on over-sized buns slathered in copious amounts of cream cheese, generously topped with caramelized onions.  I am here to tell you - because no less than four Teen Feed folks told me -  that entrée is crowd favorite. CJ spent pretty much the whole shift slathering cream cheese onto the buns. An important job, I think. :)

Beans are the perfect side for Seattle Dogs. Kennedy cooked up a couple of big, bacony batches. I made about 20 cups of mega meaty pork and beans, as well. (By the way, we always have vegan versions available for folks if they request that.) 

We also had dill pickle spears for everyone, and dessert was extra special! Volunteers cooked up beautiful cobblers, which Annabelle cut up and topped with whipped cream. 

The bonus treat was frozen ice cream cups and yogurt bars.  Kennedy was kind enough to hunt down the last frozen delights to be had at a Safeway on his way to Teen Feed. 

We thought turn out might be slow due to the heat, but we were wrong. Between Teen Feed to go and making meals for the overnight Roots shelter, we served up 108 hot dogs Saturday night, plus the great sides and desserts! This comfort and sustenance was made possible by many generous donations and sponsorships. Thank you to all who helped!

This laminated sign gave us a chuckle. There are actually two of them in the kitchen.

I have to add that we had a little 'excitement' when loading the car. It was SO hot out, that I suggested that we employ a bucket brigade method of loading, so that we weren't all running up and down the stairs repeatedly. I was at the top of the stairs, Annabelle was a couple steps down, and CJ was down farther. Everything was going great, until the condiment hand off, when there was a 'little' miscue between CJ and Annabelle.

Have you ever wondered what it sounds like when 80 little plastic ramekins you've filled with jalapeno pepper rings tumbles down a flight of stairs? I don't have to wonder any more, unfortunately.  :/

Fortunately, that was the worst thing that happened related to that meal service.

Sweltering in Place

HOT STUFF: We've been in the throes of a record setting heat wave. We are sooooo pleased that one of our pandemic projects last summer was installing a heat pump here on 'campus.' (And by "we", I mean Christian. He really did it all by himself, and says it was the most challenging home improvement project he's ever undertaken.)

Here's a graphic from the National Weather Service regarding the recent heat.

On Sunday, we checked out a new ice cream place not too far from our house, and then decided to swing by a couple of nearby waterfront parks we'd never visited before.

These ducks were enjoying the cool waters of southwest Lake Washington, at Beer Sheva Park. (Beer Sheva Park was named for Beer Sheva, Israel, one of Seattle's International Sister Cities).

And then just a few block to the north, there were hundreds of people trying to beat the heat at Pritchard Island Beach.

PRESIDENTIAL: The latest Dean's and President's list honorees are out from South Seattle College. CJ is still in the president's column, which represents students who have achieved a 3.8 or higher cumulative GPA and have accumulated 30 or more credits at South Seattle College.

Well done, CJ! He worked very hard to earn that distinction.

Just today I dropped CJ's official high school transcript into the mail to UW Tacoma. Bet it's the only one they get sealed with colorful ice cream bars printed on washi tape, ha ha.

THE OLD BALL GAME: I never did get around to posting any pictures from the fantastic Father's Day game at the ballpark.

T-Mobile park is inching back toward a full open (that happens July 2).  On Father's Day, we sat in a vaccinated fans only section, which meant there wasn't social distancing or seats in 'pods.'

Even given that, we still didn't have anyone RIGHT next to us, which was nice.

The weather was perfect, we had fantastic seats, and the Mariners won in extra innings. You really couldn't have asked for a better day.

Before the game, we did the obligatory mitt photo. Once upon a time, CJ and Annabelle could fit in it at the same time.

Speaking of T-Mobile Stadium, back on June 19, it was lighted up for Juneteenth, as was Lumen Field (formerly CenturyLink). We thought that was pretty cool.

Graduation Day

CELEBRATING CJ: On Friday, June 18, CJ (and the rest of the MPA crew) attended his graduation from South Seattle College. 

"Thanks" to COVID, it was far from a traditional ceremony. There was no pomp and circumstance - instead there was a DJ playing pop music. There was no stage to cross or hands to shake - instead there was just a space to stand and meet a few local dignitaries. There were no long-winded speeches  by a series of strangers - hooray! And there were dogs. Lots of dogs. 

Honestly, all things considered, it might be the most enjoyable graduation 'ceremony' I've ever been to. :)

In preparation, we had to iron his graduation gown. It was a tricky proposition given that it was made out of 100 percent recycled plastic. I was a little leery of melting it, and there were no ironing instructions.

So I took it low and slow. It turned out mostly OK.

Donning the gown took place in the parking lot.

CJ wore his fancy Fluevog shoes for the ceremony. His college mascot was the Otters.

Cap and gown in place, CJ was ready to go get his (fake, for now) diploma.

It took us about 10 minutes to get to the 'stage,' where the college president, , and the mayor of Seattle, Jenny Durkan, were among the dignitaries waiting.

I felt sorry for the folks on stage. They were all staring into the sun. That must have been hard for those poor people who had to do that for three hours while the graduates shuffled through in a socially distanced manner.

Posing next to a sign in the parking lot. South Seattle really needs to order some new staff parking signs.

And posing next to a sign of the times. It lives in our front yard now (the sign, not CJ).

I found this family photo on South Seattle's Facebook page. 

We were going to go to CJ's favorite food truck for a celebratory dinner, but they were missing in action on graduation night! 

Plan B: Wing Dome on the Seattle waterfront. Given it was a Friday night during graduation and tourism season, it was kind of a miracle we got a table, but we did!

Here's the college grad in the big city. 

I also took a couple of photos of CeeJ with Puget Sound behind him. Don't ask me why he didn't take his mask off and I didn't notice. Derp. Oh well, they're definitely going to be recognized as 2020 or 2021 grad photos.

Well done, CJ. Now the Otter is on his way to becoming a Husky in September!

Caking It

LIFT OFF: Last Thursday we delivered another Birthday Dreams project. This time, it was a "galaxy" themed cake for a teen the same age as Annabelle.

The cake topper/shuttle was made from a giant 3D sugar cookie held together with copious amounts of candy melt.

There were some casualties along the way, as evidenced by this spaceship wrecking yard.

The rocket 'exhaust' was whipped marshmallow icing kissed with a little bit of red and gold Colormist.

The cake was four layers of vanilla with some celestial sprinkles in the filling.

Annabelle airbrushed the buttercream, and did a great job, as always.

CJ helped place sprinkles and Sixlets just so.

The birthday boy's name is altered in the photos to protect privacy. We hope he loved it.

SEMI NORMALCY: Yesterday afternoon we went over to the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle to help a friend who is moving cross country. She is a former teacher of the kids and basically the first friend we made when the kids started attending Cascade several years ago.

We helped organize and clean her garage, moved a couple of bookcases, and took a bunch of screws out of walls so it can be repainted. It was nice to see her as well as other friends from their former school.

Since we were in that neighborhood, we stopped by a former favorite restaurant, La Palma. It was the last place we ate indoors before everything was shut down due to the pandemic. While we were there during that visit, a woman a few booths away sneezed 23 times. That was enough to scare us off dining in for about 15 months/until we were all fully vaccinated!

While the food seemed the same, and the decor hasn't changed, it looks like the restaurant has new management. We didn't recognize a single employee there.

Annabelle's all appetizer dinner was overwhelming!

And check out this tortilla chip!

SPACE FORCE: A few days back we started our morning by watching a Space Force launch. It was a pretty morning on the Space Coast, and the SpaceX rocket performed as planned. 

We hope to get back down there some day to see a launch in person. It has been too long.

PAPERWORK: The kids have both been filling out apps for summer jobs. Happy to report they've each been offered positions. CJ has been offered a guest services job for the Mariners, and Annabelle has been offered a position as an arts and crafts teacher for a King County summer program. Pretty cool!

Now, they have to worry about things like filling out their first W-9 forms. I had them watch this video.

Quick Bits

GOOD SIGN: While wandering the aisles of a Michael's store on Sunday, I spied this sign. I like its retro-'70s look, and the message is on point. 

A TASTE OF SWEDEN: Fun SnackCrate shipments continue to arrive monthly for CJ. This month's selection is from Sweden. It's fun to check out the new-to-us foods, and the literature in the box is educational.

I'm not sure I believe everything I read, though. I find it hard to believe that Sweden imports garbage from Norway. I'm going to have to Google that. ... 

INTERVIEWING: It has been an interesting few days around here. CJ and Annabelle have been applying for summer jobs, and have taken part in some interviews this week.

CJ had a rather unforgettable one on Sunday morning at a local store that shall remain nameless. During the interview, the manager referred to one of his coworkers as "the bitch," and started slagging on the Seattle City Council.

Unbelievable. 

I certainly hope they don't offer CJ a job there. I'm going to go ahead and make the assumption that it's not a very healthy workplace there.

FINISH LINE: As I type this, CJ is taking his final final for South Seattle College. On Friday, he'll be attending graduation (for his associate degree). Following is a congratulatory message from the president of South Seattle College to the class of 2021.

Still Standing

TESTING 1, 2, 3: How about that, the blog is still here!

I couldn't believe it when I looked and saw the past post was on June 1. I do believe this is the longest spell I have ever gone without posting.

Every morning I've been writing "BLOG" on the to do list, but every night I've been too darn tired to do it, it seems like. That, and we've been busy with a myriad of things, many of them having to do with CJ's finishing up his final quarter at South Seattle College. 

Truth be told, I haven't felt well for, oh, a couple months or so now. It has been one thing after another. And it's still persisting. It's kind of to the point where one starts wondering if they'll ever feel good again. But I'm hanging in there, and hoping to turn the corner sooner, rather than later.

And so, the blog has suffered. Bottom line is I'm trying to get better physically, and trying to get back into the swing of things, including the blog. Wish me luck. :)

SEASIDE: Last weekend we went on a little trip. It was our third visit to the beach house down in Gearhart, Oregon, that Christian's grandfather had built back in 1941.

We arrived on a Friday and left on Monday morning. This trip, we had my parents along. It's nice to be around others thanks to being fully vaccinated.

We were blessed with partly sunny weather most of the time.

We took a little beach drive, and visited the wreck of the Peter Iredale again.

We spent some time puzzling, including working this relic from 1965.

I think this was my least favorite puzzle ever! The pieces were poorly cut, and the image was unattractive (to my eye). I was just happy all of the pieces were there.

We had some fine food, and actually dined in a restaurant for the first time in about 15 months.

We also cooked up some tasty stuff at the house.

And we got some take out. All thumbs up for Grizzly Tuna.

And, of course, we relaxed, as that's what one does at the beach, right?

STORIES: One of the things Annabelle worked on this week was a couple of stories on a platform called Vocal.media. We learned about it via a Facebook ad announcing a contest sponsored by Fiskars. People were encouraged to share stories about creating happiness that involve using scissors. You can go to Annabelle's profile and read her entries, "Stitch by Stitch" and "Sweet Dreams." Here's a link.

HIVE MINDING: Our 'new' bees seem to be happy with their digs. Christian recently inspected the hive and found lots of honey and brood. 

We have clover all over for them to visit.

And our foxglove is a pretty source of pollen for them.