Category: To Occupy my Time

Requiem: Two Bags

This is a red Timbuk2 bag I bought three or four years ago to be my main work bag.  It was great! That double zipper in the front was to hold a yoga mat (Or a 2×4! quipped Tim when I showed it to him.  I never ever used it to hold a yoga mat or any lumber, but remembering his comment made me smile on multiple occasions.)  It was roomy inside, had good pockets for my various things, I liked the color and plus…IMG_5034

It could convert into a backpack if the occasion called.  This came in handy when I wanted to take a long walk.  Despite washing, it’s pretty stained, and my new go-to-work routine calls for a real backpack, so this bag will be moving along.IMG_5035

I bought this bag in preparation for my Washington DC trip in 2009. It was exactly what I needed: a smaller bag that held a ton of things.  And that’s what it has been.  It’s pretty, and its faux leather and maybe partially suede exterior doesn’t show stains. It easily holds my cell phone, camera, a book (sometimes two) a water bottle, plus a small notepad and pens and pencils.IMG_5036

Those things on the side were manufactured to hold water bottles, but water bottles didn’t really fit.  So I put a foldable bag in one and sunglasses in another.  It was all very handy.IMG_5037However, it’s pretty worn out.  It will move onto it’s second life.  Originally I thought the second life would be to go to the Goodwill, but I realized at work today I need a bag to put bank deposits in.  So I will bring it to work.

Downtown McMenamins Passport Page Complete!

Here we go, chipping away at another page.  Matt, outside the 23rd Avenue Bottle Shop.  This shop is newer than our Passports, but we still had to get the stamp.  This place can meet all of your McMenamins-related alcohol needs.IMG_5022

Across the parking lot from the Bottle Shop is McMenamins Tavern & Pool.IMG_5023

Onward to Hoyt, where we found the Ram’s Head.IMG_5024

A quick stop at the Blue Moon.IMG_5025

Then a long walk to the Market Street Pub where we got our last stamp and waited for a table so we could get our burger.IMG_5026

Here’s our completed page.  We got our Mission Theater stamp when we went to the alien abduction movie last spring.IMG_5027

And here’s my burger.  And oyster crackers came with my clam chowder!IMG_5028

I noticed that the lamp wasn’t going anywhere.  It’s screwed to the tabletop.IMG_5029

Lint 2016

Remember Lint?  Maybe not.  Lint is my project of general improvement I do some years during the season of Lent.  Lint started one year when I decided to improve my wardrobe during the days between Ash Wednesday and Easter.  One year I decided to meditate and eat mashed potatoes every day.

It’s time to pick a Lint project for 2016.  And that project is:  to walk across the Steel Bridge BOTH ways each workday between now and Easter.
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I’ve recently started a new job and decided to sneak some exercise into my day by getting off the train at Rose Quarter and walking the rest of the way to work.  It’s a nice 20 minute walk, which, in theory I walk the reverse on the way home.  In theory.  I often find reasons not to make the end-of-day walk.

So for the next 40 or so days, I will make sure I make both trips over the bridge.*

*There will be a slight exception this Friday because I already had plans to meet up with the boyfriend after work.  But every other work day** I have plans to walk.
**Actually, the first Wednesday of this project I had book group. In order to make it on time I couldn’t walk across the bridge.  So if there are reasons like that, those are okay.

Our McMenamins Passport day in Washington

Laurie made the plan.  The plan was to get all of our Washington stamps for our McMenamins Passport.  We were game, so Laurie and Burt picked us up early on Saturday morning.

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These two pages will be done by the end of the day.  Plus one more.

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Whilst on the road we found a McMenamins friend.  The back of the truck advertises the Passport.

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There’s this part of I-5 where the vista opens up and all of Seattle is before you. And if you miss that shot, you end up with something like this one.

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We drove on past Seattle to our first stop, the Mill Creek Pub.  As you can see, Matt and Laurie are letting us know which stop it is.  The customer in the window and the waitress waved so they could be in the picture, but by the time I took the picture, they had gone back to ordering.

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Our first stamps of the day.  We were apparently the fourth group to come through today. And it was just after 11.

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Remember our truck friend?  We found him again at Anderson School!

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The newest property was our second location.

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Because the hotel opened after we bought our passports, we had to have a grid stamped and then we made our way around the property collecting our stamps.  Along the way we saw:

Fun groupings of light fixturesIMG_4977

This might be the answer to the photo scavenger hunt (Don’t worry, the question changes weekly.  By the time the post goes up, this won’t be the answer.)IMG_4978

A Tiki-themed restaurant.IMG_4980

The very pretty pool, which we couldn’t have swum in if we tried.IMG_4981

Stamps collected, we got our swag. I got the bag, Matt got the lunchbox.IMG_4982

Our third location.  Seattle’s Six Arms.IMG_4983

Commentary about the state of the Seattle Times.IMG_4984

Queen Anne Pub meant we completed our page and we stopped to collect our prize:  a free burger!IMG_4985

What’s that mysterious object peeking through the trees?IMG_4987

The usual McMenamins table detritus.IMG_4986

Our fifth location of the day was the Spar Cafe in Olympia.IMG_4988

I really liked the interior of this location.  That’s a copper-topped bar!IMG_4989

Here we are at our final location:  the Olympic Club.  Which is not in Olympia, but Centralia.  Regular readers of The Orange Door might remember our trip to this property in 2012. IMG_4990

And here’s our swag:  a t-shirt. I got the official shirt (in blue).  Burt, Matt and Laurie opted for different shirts. I think it’s fun we all ended up with different ones.

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Here is our completed Anderson School passport page.IMG_4993

Here are our completed pages 24 and 25.IMG_4992Eagle eyes will note that page 24 isn’t really done, because I don’t have the stamp for McMenamins on the Columbia.  But fear not, we popped in right before we crossed the river, so Matt and I could officially complete our pages.

We’re just over halfway through.  Watch for the next big day of McMenamins driving with Laurie and Burt, where we achieve Roseburg, Corvallis, Eugene and Salem all in one day!

Requiem: Doc Martin Wingtips

Sometime in the late 90’s, possibly even in the year 2000, I bought a pair of Doc Martins wingtips from Newberry Comics in Boston.  It was a big deal–my first pair of Docs!

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These are not those shoes.  These are the shoes I bought in 2005 that were just like the first pair, which had worn out.  I bought these on Ebay and they were somewhere in the $20.00 range.  They were brand new, and I remember I had trouble getting the seller to send them to me. I may have rated her service very low.  They’ve been spruced up several times over the years, but have finally reached the end of their usable life.

Sadly, I checked at the Doc Martins store and they did not have wingtips that were as small as my size.  So my association with wingtips has come to an end. For now.

Society says it’s okay for this guy to have this bumper sticker.

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Let us bypass the obvious, that this guy is a jerk and not worth anyone’s time.  Let us move on to the implications of a man who is not called out for putting this bumper sticker on his truck.

If you replace “fat chicks” with any other type of group, this becomes a bumper sticker that isn’t okay.  Why hasn’t there been a confrontation, a general hue and cry?