Georgetown Steam Plant

 

10/12/24 Georgetown Steam Plant

Rear view of plant exterior

The Georgetown Steam Plant was built in 1906 to support the region’s growing electric streetcar system. Since its decommissioning in 1977, building owner Seattle City Light has worked to preserve, repair and restore the building. Although it’s open to the public monthly, USk Seattle hadn’t taken advantage of an open day since 2018. It was fun to get back to the historic, fascinating relic.

Its scale was daunting the first time and remained so for me this time. Instead of focusing on a single big piece of equipment, I used my comics approach to capture a few different views at varying distances. And like last time, I went outside for my last sketch of the building’s exterior – if only to warm up! With all that concrete and metal, the building’s interior is always cold (we need to plan our strategy better and visit on a scorching day).   

Seattle Center with WSU Students

 

10/11/24 Pacific Science Center

Chihuly's "Sonic Blooms"

A long-standing USk Seattle tradition has been to host interior design and landscape architecture students from Washington State University for an urban sketching meetup. Organized by prof Bob Krikac and his colleagues, the annual outing is always a fun opportunity to sketch with engaged and enthusiastic young people.

I missed last year’s outing, so I was especially eager to attend Friday’s gathering at Seattle Center. In fact, the last time I was at the Center, it was for a rainy Folklife, so I had done all my sketching indoors. Friday was chilly but dry, and I was in the mood to hit a few icons that I hadn’t sketched in a long time: the Space Needle, the Pacific Science Center’s white arches and Dale Chihuly’s whimsical and colorful Sonic Blooms outside the glass artist’s museum (at left and below).

Knowing that the Center grounds are full of trees, I came prepared for color, too, and found some brilliant yellow ones in front of the Science Center arches (top of post).

This was the first time I sketched the Space Needle close enough to see people walking around on the newish transparent platform up there!

Including the 49 students, we had a huge throwdown full of impressive drawings. Bob and fellow instructors Michael Sanchez, Steve Austin and Alaina Pulay stress the importance of practicing drawing by hand from direct observation for the design work their students are studying. It was exciting to see from their sketches that they are well on their way to careers that will make use of their observational skills.  

I wasn't the only one who tackled the Space Needle!

Sunset Hill Cherries in October

 

10/7/24 cherry trees, Sunset Hill neighborhood

You’ve seen my sketches of the Sunset Hill cherry trees many times. I visit every spring, and sometimes I bring along USk Seattle to sketch with me. After sketching the site of the Loyal Heights tree that had been taken down, I realized that Sunset Hill was only a short walk away. It also occurred to me that I had never seen those trees except when they were blossoming, even though I know that cherries turn in the fall. (Although it’s not quite as popular as springtime hanami, the Japanese do revere cherries even in autumn. I took part in their joy in Kyoto years ago.) On a gorgeous afternoon, it was high time to make a fall visit.

Unlike the blooming time, which seems to happen on the whole street at once, the foliage follow their own drumbeat. Most of the trees on the block were still mostly green, but I found one leading the way. While pink blossoms take all the glory, leaves have a quieter time to shine.

No More Roots

 

10/7/24 Loyal Heights neighborhood

When a friend and I had taken a walk through the Loyal Heights neighborhood a couple of years ago, we (almost literally) stumbled upon a block of amazing trees. They had such enormous exposed roots that some had broken the sidewalk and pushed the concrete up several inches. (I later learned that they are a variety of flowering cherries.)

Thoroughly impressed, I came back later to sketch one. I didn’t show the damaged sidewalk well, so I hoped to come back on a warmer day and make another attempt. How? Maybe lie on the ground and get an ant’s-eye-view perspective of the crack?

I never got the chance. The same friend texted me last week that one of the trees had a sign posted for removal, likely due to the sidewalk damage. I went as soon as I could a few days later, but I was too late. The offending tree had already been removed, and foundation had been laid for the new sidewalk. Only a mound of dirt remained where that tree once grew.

Shown below is the sketch from winter nearly two years ago when the cherry was bare. I had also intended to go back in spring when it would be blossoming, but I never got around to that, either. Her sisters are still standing, though (with slimmer roots, they didn’t do as much damage, so they have apparently been allowed to stay). I have made an emphatic note to go back next spring. The lesson learned is one I’ve had to learn many times: Just like humans, trees we walk past every day may not be there tomorrow.

1/10/23 Good-bye, old cherry . . . I admire your strength and perseverance - enough to break concrete.

Charred Piano

 

10/6/24 Maple Leaf neighborhood

A substantial house fire took place in Maple Leaf sometime last year, and its remains sat untouched all this time (I’m guessing for insurance reasons). In the last couple of weeks, I finally started seeing workers clearing out the debris. Whenever I walked by, I could smell old smoke as they shoveled out ashes and dumped charred furniture.

A piano appeared on the sidewalk. When I first saw it, the cover was closed. The next time I walked by, the cover had been opened, and I could see ash stains on the keys. I wanted to stand a little closer to sketch, but workers continued to shovel debris into the huge dump truck in the driveway, raising dust. When pedestrians came by, most could not resist giving the keys a tinkle, but the piano was silent.

More Wedgwood Cedars Falling

10/5/24 Wedgwood neighborhood. Three centenarian cedars will be cut down for development.

The Wedgwood neighborhood, which is home to the now-famous cedar tree Luma that was saved by citizen activism, was the site of another “gratitude gathering” for more endangered trees. Sadly, unlike Luma, three centenarian cedars will likely not be saved. They stand on a property that will be developed by Legacy Group Capital, one of Seattle’s largest development companies, which has so far purchased 530 properties in Seattle. Weak city ordinances are too easily evaded by the likes of Legacy.

I attended the gathering last Saturday on this quiet street, where neighbors and other concerned citizens came out to express sadness and appreciation for these and all trees that we benefit from every day. The homeowner of the adjacent property told me that although the equally mature trees on her property cannot be cut, they will likely be at risk because they’re so close to where work will take place. One of the tree experts who spoke at the gathering said trees are not stand-alone individuals; when one is cut down, it affects the health of the rest of the grove.

Representatives of Tree Action Seattle, the citizen activist group fighting for climate justice, say the best course of action for citizens is to write to city councilmembers. We were encouraged to express our concern at the ballot box and at public meetings.

I enjoyed sketching some of the many dogs who came along with their humans to the event.

To help raise awareness, I continue to sketch as many endangered trees as I can in my neighborhood and around it. Walking the mile or so to Wedgwood on a lovely afternoon, I thanked all the many mature trees I passed that are still thriving.

Downsizing, Phase 1: Unjunking, Basement Stairs, Floors

 

9/15/24  

For several posts now, I’ve mentioned my home-improvement projects and related downsizing and unjunking efforts. Just as I’m keenly interested in my creative/learning process and documenting it (one of the key purposes of this blog), I want to document what it takes to make changes to a house one has lived in for nearly four decades. Although I have taken a gazillion photos (don’t worry; I will resist showing them all here), I’ve had the time and energy to make only a few sketch journal entries. But now that most of Phase 1 is done, it’s a good time to show results as well as give some back story to all of this.

A few months after Greg moved to assisted living, I found myself rattling around in “too much house.” I plan to eventually move to a retirement community, but not for a while (maybe as long as 10 years). The size of a retirement community apartment that seems right for me is about 750 to 800 square feet, so I decided I would buy a condo of about that size as a transitional step. A small condo would force me to downsize, and when I was ready to move to the retirement community, I could do so without the added burden of getting rid of so much excess stuff.

9/16/24

I started talking to a real estate agent. When I read the evaluation she had prepared for our house, I realized that the main floor is just about 800 square feet! A lightbulb turned on over my head: Maybe a transition to a condo wouldn’t be necessary! If I downsized sufficiently now, I could move my bedroom and studio from the upper floor down to the main floor. Emptying those upstairs rooms would enable me to replace the 35-year-old carpet up there (which my agent had strongly recommended before even showing the house). Permanently vacating the upstairs would also mean reducing heating and cooling costs.

The problem with making any significant change in a house is that often one step must be preceded by others. (I had to dust off my old project management skills from my working days to think through the most efficient sequence of steps.) Our former TV/reading room was to become my bedroom. But before I could move the bedroom downstairs, I had to replace the 35-year-old carpeting in that room and the adjoining hallway (another recommendation from my real estate agent). Since the rest of the main floor already has original hardwood (now 99 years old!), it made sense to install hardwood, which I have always loved.

9/22/24 Our California king-size bed would have
overwhelmed the small bedroom downstairs, so one
of my few new purchases for the downsizing was to buy
a smaller bed for myself.  

(I don’t want to get too thick into the home-improvement weeds here, but if you’re interested, the material I chose is actually a composite hardwood material, a Scandinavian product, that is more durable than traditional hardwood.)

I also decided it was a good time to rebuild our scary basement stairs, which were scary even when I was 30. Now that I’m definitely not 30 and have osteoporosis, they were scarier than ever. A safer stairway would enable me to continue living here longer. All of the above was Phase 1, now complete.

I’m very happy about my new plan, because the truth is, I didn’t really want to live in a condo – I still love my house and neighborhood. I just thought a smaller home would be a good way to force myself to downsize. It turns out, I already have a smaller home – and I’m excited to be moving into it a little at a time.

Phase 2 will be moving my upper-floor studio/office to the main floor and replacing the carpet with the same hardwood. I’ve saved that for last because I know that downsizing my studio will take the most time. Arrgghhh… how to decide which art materials to keep?? And what about my vintage colored pencil collection?!

In the meantime, the general unjunking continues (and will likely be a never-ending process). The junk-removal service I hired has made two visits so far, and we aren’t done with the basement yet. For the third and last haul next week, I plan to fill the truck with as much as I can from other areas of the house, too (we also have two attic spaces full of 35 years of accumulation).

9/16/24 Sketching Greg's old skates brought
back fun memories of our early dating days.

Since I am planning to continue living in this house for many years, you may be wondering why I’m doing all this work now. Aside from the practical matter of saving on heating and cooling costs by vacating the upper floor, my reasons are these:

• Why wait until just before I sell the house to make improvements that I could be enjoying now while I still live here?
• Materials and labor are only getting more expensive. If I make the investment now, the payback when I eventually sell the house will hopefully make it worthwhile.
• All of this work is tough enough now at age 65. It’s damn well not going to be any easier when I’m 75. My future self is already thanking me.

(By the way, if you’re interested in learning what happens to all your donations when you take them to Goodwill, here’s a fascinating Seattle Times article from a few years back.)

Before: Scary, 99-year-old basement stairway with treads so narrow that I used to walk down like a crab. Note the non-existent risers. My contractor commented that the handrail looks like something that was taken off a submarine.

After: Much safer, less steep stairway, now up to code and with a sturdy handrail.

After: The original, 99-year-old hardwood still looks great!

Before: 35-year-old furniture and area rugs

After: The TV was moved from the small room in back that is now my bedroom. This leather chair, purchased used at a consignment shop, is the only other purchase (besides my bed) that I made for this downsize. The other half of the livingroom will be my new studio!

After: I forgot to take a photo of this former
TV/reading room when it was still carpeted. This
shows the new hardwood that replaced it.

After: My new bedroom

After: Although it's tight, I squeezed
my reading/journaling chair in the corner of the 
bedroom where it always used to be when the TV 
was still there. It's my cozy comfort spot. Note
that the ottoman is the same as the one I use when
I watch TV in the livingroom. Since I don't watch
TV much, I just carry it from room to room.

A celebration of Phase 1's completion at Macrina!