by Maureen | May 16, 2012 | Burien, Featured Articles, Incredible Locations, Introspection, Italy, Journal, Milano, Photo of the Day, Seattle, U.S.A.
Backing up a bit, here are some journal excerpts from March 18, 2012, in Burien, WA, as I reflected on my then-imminent trip to Milan:
“I am now just under 8 weeks away from heading back to Italy. At the 10-week mark I felt ‘the shift.’ I am now straddling the globe, neither fully here nor fully there. I’ve notched up my energy and efforts, my focus, all in preparation for being away from here and returning to a life – my life – there. (When I returned at the end of June last year, I really ‘came back’, emotionally and psychologically. But the shift was palpable 2 weeks ago.)
“So I’m consumed with both preparations and completions, and this state is isolating. No one in my life has such a life pattern or makes such choices.
“From where I sit here in my living room, I look out to only tall firs, Puget Sound, Vashon Island, my bright green yard and rain drops hanging suspended from the Japanese maple. The Olympics are hidden by an early-Spring, leaden sky, but would otherwise define my horizon.
“In two months I will be on the third floor of a city apartment, just off the freeway exit, looking out to my neighbors’ balconies and the courtyard with the garbage bins. The sound of traffic will be ever-present and its grit will filter into my living space.
“The contrast between the two places is absolute. I dearly love my home and its location here. But spending city time in Milan brings something entirely different to my days and my experience. Living in Italy requires that I live closer to ‘the edge’ and that is good (though exhausting over time). It both develops and draws on my inner resources, forcing me to stretch. In the midst of and because of this, I feel exquisitely alive when in Italy.
“I sincerely attempt to have that sense of aliveness while here in Seattle (Burien) but am aware of how different it is. It’s a deeper, calmer sense here.
“I look forward to returning to Milan, to seeing now-dear friends and being back in my neighborhood. I like the life of being on foot, bike, subway or train for all my travels. Thought it is limiting, it is also quite freeing. I don’t mind walking 2 miles for a good loaf of bread, and absolutely swoon over riding my bike into the farmland for fresh ricotta.
“Truthfully, my life in Milan is not the typical Milanese life. They are not all going ‘Tra La La’ as they ride out for fresh cheese! But neither is my life typically American. OK. I seem to make it work and it is envied by many. But this choice excludes other choices I could make; they don’t see what I give up to have this.”
May 14, 2012 – Departure from Seattle, through London, to Milano.
Seatac Airport: One of the public art, tiled columns as I head toward the S Gates at the South Satellite. (With On-the-move smartphone blur.)
Awaiting departure from London to Milano.
"Welcome to Milano", the sign says as I briskly leave the plane and head out of the airport, Milano Malpensa.
Could this greeting be any more perfect as I was leaving the airport, heading for the train into Milano?!
by Maureen | Dec 10, 2011 | Burien, Discoveries, Featured Articles, Incredible Locations, Journal, Photo of the Day, Photos, Seattle, U.S.A.
The alarm went off at 4:15 a.m. so I could get up on a cold night and watch the moon and its light on the water change with the lunar eclipse. The sky started out pretty crystal clear, but advanced into thin clouds.
I was just shooting with my old, little Canon G9, so I have to accept the equipment limitations, but the image sequence is still dramatic and beautiful.
This image was shot at 5:24 while sitting at my desk, looking out through the window to Puget Sound. Note that the eclipse was well underway. The three red light towers are on Vashon Island. (A street light illuminated the cherry tree down in my yard, and cast just enough light into my office to cause a slight reflection on the window.)
Here’s a series taken during the two hours that I watched out my window, shot at these times:
- 4:44
- 5:05
- 5:15
- 5:18
- 5:48
- 5:59
- 6:01
No, the moon did not “flare” and cause a brighter image in the third shot. At times I changed the camera settings to pick up details either in the moon’s shadow or highlight.
They had predicted a very orange moon, which my eye did not see at all. The camera did, however, in the 5th and 6th shots, when I adjusted to capture the shadowed part of the moon.
A couple of notes jotted:
- 5:58 Just a shimmer of light.
- 6:00 A wisp at the bottom edge.
- 6:04 Not enough left in the sky to shoot.
- 6:15 NO moon. NO light! Time to go back to bed.
Scroll down to view each phase, or CLICK HERE to see a separate, horizontal version.
by Maureen | Oct 2, 2011 | Burien, Burien's Walk-n-Talk, Community, Featured Articles, Incredible Locations, Journal, People, Photos, Quips
We’re just a bunch of folks, of various ages and abilities and speeds, out for a nice walk together. We show up once a month, whomever wants to amble on two feet, and we go from here to there in Volksmarch fashion.
Today we walked from Burien’s Town Square westward into and around the Seahurst neighborhood. I grew up there. As a kid, when I wanted some peace-and-quiet away from a busy household (6 kids, Mom, Dad, Grandma, 1 dog, 1 cat), I took off for a walk into these same streets. Today we passed through the intersection where there had lived 36 kids, 40+ years ago. These were the streets that gave me calm… and they still do.
We had another Burien Walk-n-Talk today, with 23 human walkers and 5 canines. Woof woof. We took off walking and soon clustered according to speed and propensity. I like that people end up walking with those they’ve never spoken to before, and the conversations lasted the duration… about an hour and a half. (Whenever else is this opportunity?)
Our westernmost spot was the entrance to Eagle Landing Park. We arrived at precisely the moment when artist Galen Willis (right) and scout Sean Kent (left, Scout Troop 392) were working on the installation site of Galen’s cedar sculpture of an eagle. The sculpture is expected to be installed in the next month. (Keep your eyes peeled and ears open for announcements.)
These walks are scheduled for the first Sunday of every month. We meet up at the appointed place… walk… talk along the way… then bid adieu until the next month. On November 6, we’ll gather again and see where the conversation leads us. Care to join us?
Stayed tuned for details about our next Walk-n-Talk. The route may change. The group certainly will. Who KNOWS who you’ll have an opportunity to talk to!
by Maureen | Aug 22, 2011 | Biking, Burien, Discoveries, Featured Articles, Incredible Locations, Introspection, Journal, Photos, Quips, Seattle
Ignite an early enthusiasm for being on two wheels. Teach “bike sense” and street smarts to little ones. Gather people from the community for fun, conversation, fresh air and healthful exercise. These are the goals of Burien’s Bike “SaFaRis” – Safe Family Rides, launched by the enthusiastic, former Burien City Councilmember, Sue Blazak.
The first SaFaRi was yesterday, Sunday, August 21. One little one, still a babe-in-arms, rode in a bike trailer behind his Dad, while another little guy was in a bike seat behind his Dad. Other kids rode on “trailer bikes” connected to a parent’s bike, or they rode competently on their own knee-high cycles. In all, 19 people gathered at Gregory Heights School for a bicycle tour through the Seahurst neighborhood and around Lake Burien, including a swingset-break at Lake Burien Park. The whole ride lasted about an hour and was generally flat except for a few small hills near the lake.
You see new things on a bike! Along the route, we all noticed things that we just hadn’t seen through our car windshields, and we traveled on streets we’ve never traveled in all the time we’ve each lived here. Conversations were spontaneous and varied as the group mixed along the way. New connections were made.
The group will meet Sundays at 3 p.m. through Sept. 25th. This is a FREE event, and all are welcome (either with kids or without). The group will make variations on a loop around Lake Burien each week, between 2-5 miles. Participants will meet in front of Gregory Heights Elementary, on the 16th Ave SW side, at 16201 16th Ave SW in Burien. ALL participants must wear bicycle helmets (parents included), and riders are taught to follow safe cycling practices and the rules-of-the-road.
An e-mail list was started for staying in touch with interested riders, and notifying people of route changes. For more information, please contact: design (at) RedRedCircle (dot) com. (Write it all out as a standard e-mail address.)
by Maureen | Aug 8, 2011 | Burien, Burien's Walk-n-Talk, Community, Featured Articles, Incredible Locations, Journal, People, Quips, Seattle
People came in ones, twos and threes and gathered on the grassy knoll in the center of Burien’s Town Square. Mothers and daughters. Couples. Clusters of friends. A man and his dog.
And people traveled from other towns just to join the walk. Amanda and Anne both came from Kent. Sharon came from Renton. Cathy came from West Seattle. Tina and Glenn came from Auburn. Tami and her daughter had just moved here from Indiana… The rest were Burienites.
We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful, blue sky day in the high 70s. At 2:15, there were about 30 of us, and we were enthusiastic and ready to walk and talk.
For the most part, people paired up and walked with someone they didn’t know, and they chatted along the route. That was part of the whole idea: meet and talk to people you’ve never talked to before… get to know some neighbors.
We passed other walkers along the route and picked up three more people that joined our group! Many onlookers were curious about the big group walking past them so we told them what we were doing.
We stayed strung out in clusters of conversation as we headed down the hill toward Lake Burien.
When we arrived at the lone lookout to Lake Burien, some of us stopped to point out sights along the shoreline, and to nibble a few of the ripe blackberries.
As the group strolled back through the center of town, walkers variously peered into shop windows, stopped for sandwiches, or bought a few skeins at the yarn shop, continuing their talks along the way. Arriving back at Town Square an hour after we had begun, much of the group wrapped it up with a drink and a snack at Burien Press, the ideally-located coffee shop across the street.
– – –
The next Walk-n-Talk is scheduled for Sunday, September 4th at 2:00. That’s Labor Day weekend, so if you’re not out of town and are looking for somthing to do, come walk! There’ve been suggestions of other routes, so we’ll see what we can cook up between now and then. Information will be posted here, on the B-Town Blog or through e-mail. If you’re interested, send me a note and I’ll add you to the list. Come Walk-n-Talk!
by Maureen | Aug 3, 2011 | Burien, Burien's Walk-n-Talk, Community, Featured Articles, Journal, Quips
Burien’s Walk-n-Talk is being launched this coming Sunday, August 7 at 2:00!
Put on your comfy shoes and come for a casual Walk-n-Talk with friends and neighbors. On the first Sunday of every month, meet up at Burien Town Square with friends, old and new. Enjoy conversations and a walk through town. Grab a local coffee or snack before or after your stroll.
On the day of the recent Olde Burien Block Party, I had dinner with friends Rochelle and Shelley and we talked about the idea of starting a walk-n-talk… So I ran with it! (…or walked with it.)
Intentions for Burien’s Walk-n-Talk:
- “Encourage active living to support physical and mental health.”
(Part of Burien’s new “Vision”.)
- Initiate conversation between friends and neighbors, new and old.
- Nurture the idea of our Town Square as the “living room” of Burien,
our center and gathering place.
- Create our own little “volksmarch“, in the European tradition.
- Support our local cafés and restaurants on Sunday afternoons.
Location: Burien Town Square
Who: Walkers of every level and ability
Date: First Sunday of every month
Time: Meet at 2:00 p.m. Start walking at 2:15 p.m.
Route: A 2.25 mile loop from Burien Town Square, around Lake Burien, and back to Town Square.
- Begin at Burien Town Square.
- Go west on SW 152nd Street.
- Turn south on 21st Ave. SW.
- Go east on SW 156th, 16th and 158th.
- Zig-zag north on 12th, 156th, 11th,
- 154th and 10th, and back to 152nd.
- Turn east on 152nd back to Town Square.
Click on the map below for a larger view:
Burien’s Walk-n-Talk was inspired by my time recently living in Italy for over a year. In Italy, people walk a lot, not just to get from place to place but also for the social connection. In addition to daily commuting and errands, Italians have their traditional “Passeggiata” – the evening stroll. In the evenings, the main streets fill with people making walking tours through town. Not only is it exercise, but it’s also the social hour. Families walk together. Old folks push other old folks in wheelchairs. Sisters and girlfriends go arm-in-arm. Elder men gather and solve the city’s problems.
Additionally, in Italy, every city and town has a central church, in front of which is a large central plaza – the piazza. This piazza is the “living room of the city”, it’s the central gathering place, the place to hang out with friends in the evening, and to meet up before going on to other destinations. The piazza is where the city both celebrates and mourns.
Burien’s Walk-n-Talk is a means to encourage OUR stroll, and to affirm Burien Town Square as our central gathering place, “the living room of OUR city”. The announcement has been picked up by our B-Town Blog and by KOMO News, so it’s possible that we’ll have 50-100 people walking!
by Maureen | Jul 11, 2011 | Burien, Featured Articles, Food!, Incredible Locations, Introspection, Journal, Meals, Seattle
Part of what makes this feel like home is having my dear neighbors show up at my door with a fresh harvest of arugula – rucola in Italian – and radishes. I did have sweet people in Italy (over)feeding me, but the friendships and interconnections here in my Burien neighborhood, south of Seattle, make me feel more deeply rooted and appreciated.
Added to my neighbors are crab feeds, bike rides and brunches with family, and it makes it easy to say “There’s no place like home”.
For my lunch today I took the whole harvest of rucola, shaved the radishes, added some raspberries from my berry patch and some parmesan and fresh mozzarella bocconcini. I drizzled it all with a homemade roasted red pepper vinaigrette, Sicilian olive oil and crema balsamica.
by Maureen | Jun 27, 2011 | Burien, Incredible Locations, Introspection, Journal, Quips, Seattle
Journal Entry: June 27, 7:00 a.m.
Jet black crow in the Stewartia tree, and other morning birds singing. The Olympic range makes a ragged, still-snowy horizon to the west. My surroundings are verdant and nearly luminous. It’s a cool, fresh morning… and I’m home.
It’s easier this time to leave behind dear Italy, for whom I have such a range of feelings. I didn’t invest myself as I did before. Though I wasn’t just a typical two-week traveler, at two months, I was still a “short-timer”. I had warm reunions with the dear folks I had met before, and I met more people that extended themselves to me with new, treasured bonds. I moved about with an open heart, but it was touched by the reserve borne of a known departure.
I’m ready to be home now. To unpack my things and nestle back in, something I didn’t fully do when I returned a year ago after a long year in Italy. I now have a better inkling of what that country is – and isn’t – for me.
by Maureen | Jun 24, 2011 | Incredible Locations, Introspection, Journal, Milano, Quips, Seattle
Friday, June 24
Just after midnight last night I checked into a cheap motel along the highway in Atlanta.
I had been traveling and in airports for close to 24 hours and I was tired. The muggy, southern air was heavy and close. I had a discount voucher from the airline for one hotel, but while standing out on the curb waiting for the hotel shuttle, a hustling driver from another place came by and said that, instead of my waiting a half hour for the other shuttle to arrive, he could get me to the hotel he works for in a matter of minutes (uh huh. yeah right. sure.) and that they would honor the voucher.
Perhaps not the best means for choosing lodging at midnight in a city I don’t know, but I was full-up with waiting, said “yes” and got into the marked van. He loaded my bag in the back, said he’d return in a couple minutes then I watched as he went off to hustle other women travelers, suggesting that they also switch hotels and ride with him. (Sounds like a scam. He must get a commission.)
I was expecting the hotel to be on some perimeter road across the street from the airport. But we seemed to drive and drive on the highway, getting nowhere. “Hey!? how far away IS this place?”, I asked. He explained the size of the airport property itself and how long it takes just to get beyond it’s borders. It took about 12 minutes and we arrived at the EconoLodge “Hotel”. (Calling this place a “hotel” was a real stretch. More like the “No-Tell Motel”.) I checked in, walked up the stairs and when going along the exterior passage to my room, noticed a dead potted plant in one of the room windows. Apparently there are more than just stranded airport travelers that stay here. Perhaps some folks stay longer than they ever anticipated… and some only stay for an hour. (wink wink.)
I double locked the door, turned on the AC against the stuffy room and muggy night, washed up after the long day traveling, and at close to 1:00 a.m. crashed into bed. The sheets appeared clean. (or clean enough.)
With the alarm set for 5:00, I wasn’t expecting much sleep and indeed, didn’t get it. Anxious to get home, afraid of my alarm not going off and feeling either too chilled or too stuffy, it was a fitful few hours.
Why the cheap hotel? Twenty-four hours earlier, I had hailed a cab in Milano, taken a train to the airport, then waited anxiously for a Milano-Atlanta seat assignment on a Summer, early-weekend morning. Flying standby comes with no assurances. About three minutes before they closed the flight, I was handed a card for seat 5D. I had gotten on the flight (!) and into Business/First Class! For the ten-and-half-hour flight, that was a much-welcomed surprise. I was treated like a queen and would have had plenty of room to stretch out legs twice as long as mine.
I slept some. Put a big dent in a murder mystery and arrived in Atlanta at 3:30 with three hours to kill before the first evening flight at 7:20.
I went from number 15 in the standby queue to number 5… and the flight left without me. The next flight was scheduled for 10:20 p.m. I hung out near the gate with other passengers, both confirmed and standby, and watched my position go from 16 to 5 again. The flight left an hour late, again without me. I had been waiting at the airport for 8 hours.
Stranded standby passengers queued up at the counter for information about baggage that had been checked, hotel vouchers and being rolled-over to the first flights for today.
Arriving at the airport this morning at 6:15, after little sleep and an only moderately-acceptable “Continental Breakfast”, I got through security and to the gate. I started at position number 15 in the list and the attendant at the check-in counter said “I’ll start praying for you now” when I asked her about my chances of getting on. She told me that there were seven flights to Seattle today and that I could hang out at the airport and see if I might get onto one of them. In the meantime, my position in the queue crashed to number 30.
No! I was flying home today one way or another! She told me there were two paid spots left available on the flight. At 7:40, I hustled down to the distant end of the concourse to a ticket counter, bought a ticket for the 8:20 flight and hustled back. I paid enough to gag a horse, but I had spent eight hours waiting and hoping yesterday. I was NOT going to hang out all day just to SEE if I could get on.
I arrived in Seattle at 10:30 and my bags were already there waiting for me.
Good to be home.
– – –
Postscript:
It’s now Sunday night, the 26th. I got to my house Friday at about noon and have had a chance to unpack my bags, restock the fridge, go to the gym 3 nights in a row, mow my lawn, tidy up the garden, sort my mail and see friends. And I’m all ready for Monday morning and back in full swing for work. If I hadn’t bought that ticket, I might still be in Atlanta waiting for a ride home.
Morals:
“That’s why God invented credit cards.”
“How much is my time worth?”
“Friends don’t let friends fly standby.”
by Maureen | Apr 19, 2011 | Burien, Featured Articles, Incredible Locations, Journal, Photo of the Day, Photos, Quips, Seattle
It’s mid-April and COLD! Every morning at about 9:00 I look out to the thermometer on my back porch and it says 40 degrees. That’s only 8 degrees above freezing! Yesterday it was even colder at 36! And we had a crashing dump of 1/4 inch hail in the afternoon.
Where is our springtime, warming weather? When can we put on shorts and t-shirts and get some sun on our faces? It’s been such a long, cold, rainy winter and spring that people are grouchy and impatient.
