Muk-ing around

CHANGE UP: So, we didn't plan to go to Mukilteo today, but since CJ left some important stuff in G&G's car, up to Muk we went, after the kids' guitar lesson.

Turns out it was a happy accident. It was warm and lovely out today, and we five, plus two pups, went for a walk along the waterfront in Mukilteo, WA. 

The kids hunted Pokeman and we all herded Havanese. ;)

 Beyond the kids, you can see Whidbey Island. 

We had Insider Connections during our visit to the lighthouse. We learned how to ring the dinner bell ... 

 and we got to see inside the grounds' work shed.

 The little lighthouse in Mukilteo is more than just a pretty place. It has historical significance. 

Boeing planes, trains, automobiles and ferries, the Mukilteo waterfront has it all!

HUMANKIND: One of CJ's latest obsessions is how humankind populated the various continents, islands, etc.

Christian found this video online, which we all watched tonight.
https://youtu.be/HfLVYr38D0Q


ZOMBIE NATION: This morning, as an eerie fog enveloped our neighborhood, Annabelle and I were up working on a cake for a friend. Specifically, a zombie-themed cake. 

The fog was so thick, at 6:20 a.m., I couldn't see the streetlights a half block away!

To finish the cake for a 9 a.m. pick up, we had to make a marbled blue and purple fondant wrap for the sides of a three-layer cake, add 'dirt' to the top, affix zombie silhouettes to the perimeter, and then plant the gumpaste zombie hand and fingers, and then add rocks around the bottom perimeter.

There were a few tense moments, but it turned out OK, I guess.  My photos of it are less-than-stellar. I really need a new camera. My Nikon is failing. :(

Winners

HELL FREEZES OVER, GOAT IS GOT: Cubs win! Cubs win! Cubs win! 

Baseball fans that we are, we've watched every game of the 2016 World Series. 

This year's match up was compelling: The Cleveland Indians versus the Chicago Cubs. Combined, it's been a 176 year drought (108 years for the Cubs, 68 for Cleveland). Ironically, with the Cubs winning it all last night, now Cleveland is the Major League Baseball team with the longest drought since a World Series win. (Their last time was 1948, just after World War II.)

The Cubs' World Series woes are, well, were, legendary at this point. Some blamed a billy goat for cursing the team.

We turned to the History Channel to learn more about the story.


The hex in question dates back to October 6, 1945, when the Cubs were taking on the Detroit Tigers in Game Four of the World Series. Back then, Chicago was a perennial powerhouse, having won back-to-back championships in 1907 and 1908, and in the years since, they’d been to the Series seven more times.  

As one version of the story goes, on October 6, 1945, a man named Billy Sianis strode up to the stadium, two tickets in hand—one for himself, and one for his goat “Murphy.” A Greek immigrant, Murphy owned a local bar called Billy Goat Tavern, and has a real live mascot, Murphy, to go with it. It's said Sianis and his goat were turned away at the gate, and at that, the man put a curse on the team. 

Another version of the story has Sianis and Murphy making it into the game, but nearby fans called 'foul' when the goat started stinking up the place during a rain delay, and Sianis and his goat were booted. 

However, Cubs historians Glenn Stout and Richard A. Johnson contend the "curse" was nothing more than a joke started by the Chicago sportswriters who frequented the Billy Goat Tavern.

Whatever the case, the curse of the goat is over for certain. The Cubs are the newest World Series champions having bested Cleveland in a 10-inning game. Remarkably, there was  rain delay between the 9th and 10th innings, as if Mother Nature herself wasn't quite ready for the baseball season to be over.

Our season ending tradition is always listening to former Major League Baseball player Bernie Williams play a mournful, beautiful version of "Take Me out to the Ballgame." 


GAME GURUS: This evening, in a full on family effort, we - along with a number of other awesome volunteers helped host a game night for about 100 people (preschoolers to adults).

For the event, we partnered with Blue Highway Games, a great, independent game store on Seattle's Queen Anne hill.

My mom, Christian, and I toiled in the kitchen, selling pizza by the slice, cookies and serving up Italian sodas. Annabelle and her grandpa were out working the floor, helping people learn to play games. CJ floated between duties. It was a busy two hours.

There were dozens of different games to play. Annabelle's favorite she encountered was "One Night Ultimate Werewolf."

The Blue Highway web site describe it as a 10-minute game for 3-10 players "in which everyone gets a role: One of the dastardly Werewolves, the tricky Troublemaker, the helpful Seer, or one of a dozen different characters, each with a special ability. In the course of a single morning, your village will decide who is a werewolf...because all it takes is lynching one werewolf to win! Because One Night Ultimate Werewolf is so fast, fun, and engaging, you'll want to play it again and again, and no two games are ever the same."

Sounds like fun to me, too!

WINNER, WINNER, LUNCHBOX DINNER: Today, we received an email letting us know Annabelle won a coloring contest! For her birthday dinner, we went to Lunchbox Laboratory (her choice), and while there, she colored a scarecrow-themed coloring page in Seahawks' colors. I remember thinking it was very good at the time, and carefully, clearly writing my email address on the back in case she was the winner.

We're not sure what the prize is, but we'll swing by there to pick it up this weekend! 

Gutsy

INSIDE OUT: See that above? It's the innards of a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). 

For weeks now, one of our NES's has been torn apart, undergoing a modification to supposedly transform it to a Hi-Def NES via a kit from Game-Tech.

The initial work was stymied by the fact the kit was missing two super important parts (the interposing boards). Fortunately, we eventually convinced the retailer that we didn't receive those, and so those parts were shipped. The project has taken a back burner for a long while, but got back on track this week. After following the instructions online, it was a big disappointment that the update/upgrade didn't work as hoped. Of course, all the steps will be checked and re-checked. Things often don't work out as quickly or easily as planned. ...

MEANWHILE, IN THE KITCHEN: Zombies.

Yes, I know Halloween is over, but I have a zombie-loving friend who deserves a cake, so that's what we're working on. An early version (pre-accent painting) of some zombie fingers.

Halloween 2016

COSTUMES ON: Almost without fail, we're in the 'we make our own costumes camp.' That always looks good on paper, but when it comes to executing it, well, that takes time. Lots and LOTS of time. 

And can I just say, it's *not* a good thing when both of the two costumes you're sewing involve fake fur. It's up my nose and all over the house, for who knows how long.

Annabelle opted to be a magical unicorn. CJ went with Buddy the elf, from the iconic movie "Elf."

Speaking of costume nightmares, can I share that Value Village has an entire aisle dedicated to clowns. Shudder.

CJ seemed to think it was OK. 

Today, we had all sorts of things going on at a Harvest Party. We made pumpkin patch cocoa rice cereal treats, Halloweenies (hotdogs cut into the shape of squids atop a bed of orange noodles), spider bite (sriracha) deviled eggs, plus some fruity 'candy corn.'

 And we made some fun Pokeballs by dipping apples in candy melt and using cut 'sugar sheets' black and white as accents.

The kids worked hard helping teach their friends moves to the "Thriller" dance and at the end of the party there was a big "Thriller" flash mob. Big fun!

Afterward, we relaxed at a favorite spot, and then later, the kids got way too much candy trick or treating around the 'hood.

Patchy

SOGGY PUMPKINS: A few weeks ago, we saw on the news that there was a corn maze with a Ken Griffey Jr. theme. Of *course* that's where we had to go this year for our annual pumpkin hunt!

The scene above was one of the first things we saw coming into our chosen pumpkin hunting grounds, and it about summed up our experience.

The 5-acre maze was in the Nisqually Basin, at Schilter Family Farm. Schedule being what it was, we wound up going there when the sky was crying. Hard. Oh well, We soldiered on!

Behold the pretty barns in the Nisqually basin, we'd unknowingly passed by this farm many times. They're just east of Interstate 5. 

Though we weren't there for pumpkins, we had to avail ourselves to the cheesy photo opps in the pumpkin patch. 

Truth be told, most of the pumpkins we saw were way past their prime. 

We spent some time in the petting barn area. It was time well spent because, although there are plenty of animal petting opportunities at the Washington State Fair, the kids are so ride-focused there, we usually skip that. In the rain yesterday, a dry animal barn was a great place to hang out.

This sweet calf was tolerant of many gentle pets.

We checked out some chicks.

And the goats hoped we'd put a quarter in the feed machine. Unfortunately, we had no change. :(

Some pig! This baby didn't wake up when CJ and Annabelle stroked it gently.

The farm offers pony rides as part of the draw. There were none on the dreary day we visited. We didn't sweat it, though. This pony had zero interest in interacting with us. We presumed it was a 'ride' pony.

Annabelle produced this cartoon with that in mind.

The corn maze was our main draw, and we spent some soggy time in it.

 We found just handful of the markers on the 'to do' list, though.

Below, the kids stand in the middle of the "4" in "24."

A good portion of the maze was darn near impassable. This mud was ankle deep if you dared wade in.

Se we decided to be 'ok' with not finding every marker. 

Other attractions weren't open, either.

But it was fun wondering what corn shooting out of this might look like!

 The kids stood under a goat run (they apparently sometimes walk atop the gangplank pictured below).  However, the goats were smart enough to stay under cover!

CJ and Annabelle had no trouble navigating this hay maze. My allergies are still paying the price, however. 

All on all, it was a fun day, and we're glad we made the trip.

Are You Ready for Some Football?

HOT DAWGS: Saturday afternoon we had the great pleasure of heading to the gorgeous University of Washington campus under full on blue skies, bright sunshine and pleasant temperatures. It was a lovely October day!

We caught a bus less than a block from home and it dropped us off on the northwest part of campus. From there, we walked our way toward the southeast corner of campus. Naturally, we had to stop and admire the view at Drumheller Fountain. 

We, and a whole lot of other people, eventually made our way to Husky Stadium. I haven't been there much since its major renovation, and I am still wowed by how much different - and more comfortable - it is now. 

We were there more than an hour ahead of kick off, so we headed to the east end zone for some tailgating. 

There, among the throngs of partying purple people, Annabelle managed to sit down and get some art-making time in. 

The University of Washington Marching band made an appearance, playing the old standards like "Bow Down to Washington" and "Tequila." 

As we made our way to our seats, I had to stop to admire these saxophones glistening in the sunlight.

 And these slide trombones were most impressively stored on the sidewalk!

Our seats were up high. Way, way high. As in row 55 of the third level. As we sat down, I noted that it would have been nice to have a sherpa along for our climb up. 

But the upside of seats so high is that we were afforded breathtaking views.

This shot of the softball field made me more determined than ever to get to a UW softball game this year.

We also appreciated all the trees putting on a fall show of color.

 The Husky Marching Band was terrific, as always. Their presentation of the flag was clever and well-executed.

 The halftime show featured theme songs from old TV shows featuring super heroes. I enjoyed seeing the Wonder Woman logo come to life!

Oh, and there was a football game, too. A good one, if you're a Husky fan. (Not so great if you were a Beavers fan.)

Toward the end of the game, we abandoned our high perch and headed for some standing room spots in the endzone. It was fun being close the action. 

HAWK-Y: Another day, another game. Come Sunday, we were all about the Seahawks. We had our first 'Hawks party of the year. For the occasion, we carved and painted a pumpkin into a 12 theme (Seahawks' fans are called 12s as in the Twelfth man on the field). Then, we stuck a spigot into the pumpkin and turned it into a pumpkin beer keg.

We thought it was nice of Cap'N Crunch to make some Touchdown Crunch featuring Seahawks' colors!

Christian carved a groovy design into a standard orange pumpkin. I made some Harvest Ale cupcakes featuring Elysian Night Owl pumpkin ale.  

It was a long, frustrating, often terrible game. AND IT ENDED IN A TIE. 

That's right, a tie. And we're talking American football, not soccer.

Oh so unsatisfying. But our party was fun, nonetheless.