The Big Guns

 

9/6/24 

Up until now, most of my downsizing/dejunking efforts have been about filling boxes and bags with excess stuff and hauling them to Goodwill myself (and rewarding myself afterwards, of course). Now I’m pulling out the big guns.

Unlike many junk-hauling services that simply take everything to the landfill dump, Kevin at We Take Junk sorts the haul and distributes it appropriately and responsibly. For example, useable building materials and tools are donated to charities, working items that can be sold are taken to thrift stores, dead electronics are taken where they need to go, paints and chemicals are disposed of safely, etc. Until I learned of his service, I was stymied and overwhelmed by the 40 years of junk in our basement that was difficult to get rid of. What a relief!

I also emptied our livingroom of the very old, worn couch and two matching chairs – all the decades-old seating that rarely got used. (The couch’s primary purpose was a place to sort and fold laundry.) Yes, I was hoping there would be a moment when my couch would rest on the sidewalk so that I could sketch it (and I was poised for it), but alas, it went directly into the truck, and surprisingly quickly. Watching from the front porch, I was able to at least snap a photo of the loading so that I could make this diary comics page later (above). Buh-bye, old couch. (By the way, Kevin isn’t done. He’ll be back next week to clear the rest of the basement, so I might have another chance for a live sketch.)

The next piece of action is to rip out old carpeting in our former “TV/reading room” and replace the flooring with composite hardwood. The first step, though, is to clear the room. When my neighbors helped me move the TV to the livingroom, all the wiring for our “surround sound” audio system was revealed (below). Although I am indifferent, high-quality audio for our TV and music has always been important to Greg. He spent a lot of time wiring that room for sound, which we enjoyed for many years. I’m fine with the basic audio that comes with the TV, so I will not have the fancy sound system duplicated in the livingroom. But disassembling his work all those years ago made me realize how much I had taken it for granted.

9/7/24

My reward for all that? A Top Pot doughnut on a beautiful afternoon (below). In the middle of it all, wearing matching team shirts, a bunch of fourth graders suddenly and noisily appeared in the outdoor seating area that I previously had to myself. I wanted to sketch some of the kids, but it was more fun eavesdropping and recording some of their conversations.

9/10/24 (For the record, I was afraid the doughnut would be overkill, but it wasn't! The pumpkin doughnut wasn't too sweet, and the chocolate balanced the pumpkin spice.)

FareStart’s 25th Anniversary Book

 

My sketch of a FareStart graduation ceremony published in the book

My massive home-downsizing project has unearthed many interesting artifacts that I had not seen in years or decades. One worth mentioning here is an enormously heavy, 2-inch-thick book that includes one of my sketches. The back story:

In 2015, I first learned about FareStart, a nonprofit organization that helps disadvantaged people train for and develop careers in the culinary industry. Some time after I had shared a sketch on social media, I was contacted by the editor of a book that would be published for FareStart’s 25th anniversary celebration the following year. Erica McCaig wanted to use my sketch in the book. Of course, I was happy to contribute, especially since I strongly supported FareStart’s mission. (If you read the 2015 post I linked to, you’ll learn that I didn’t really like the hasty sketch the editor had requested, so I offered others that I had sketched later. She didn’t use any of those, however.)

At the 2016 anniversary celebration, the commemorative book was released – a combination cook book, food photography showcase and tribute to the many chefs, sponsors and others who had contributed to FareStart over the years. As a contributor, I received a free copy – a book that weighs more than 6 pounds!

6 pounds of glossy, hardbound paper

Although filled with over-the-top, gorgeous photography of food and recipes from award-winning chefs, the ridiculously heavy book was a bit burdensome to own. (I can’t imagine anyone referring to it as they cooked – the pages don’t stay open.) All our bookshelves were already full. I stuck it in a bag to keep it clean, slid it under the TV cabinet for safekeeping, and immediately forgot about it. Last week when I moved the TV from one room to another, it was unearthed.

2 inches thick!

I could swear I had shared images from the book back in 2016, but a search of my blog came up with nothing, so I must not have. I’m getting rid of the book, so I’ve snapped a few images now for posterity.

(One of my most effective home-unjunking tips is to simply take a photo of anything you want to remember but don’t want to keep. These images are so much easier to store than a 6-pound cook book!)

In addition to recipes, the book includes many pages of beautifully styled, fantastically photographed foods.

Riding the Rails with Roy Again

9/9/24 Mt. Baker neighborhood

Neither Roy nor I had sketched at Mt. Baker Light Rail Station, so we decided Monday was the day. Although I hadn’t heard anything about the station itself that seemed particularly interesting, the neighborhood was interesting to me for nostalgic reasons: I went to Franklin High School, which is just a few minutes’ walk from the station. And it was the first thing I spotted when we got off the train: a great view of the neo-Classical building. We both sketched it immediately, as it was certain to be a better view than any from the street.

Although I found an intriguing view of the light rail track and pedestrian overpasses, the rest of our visit was mostly disappointing. (Given that Roy and I are both big sketchers of “nothing” and require little inspiration, that says a lot about the location.)

Lunch at the Jewel Box Cafe

Stopping for lunch at the Jewel Box Café was disappointing, too. The food was OK, but they didn’t even have a public restroom, which I found surprising. We had to hike a few blocks to the Lowe’s for that, which turned out to be a fun nostalgia tour for me, too. The store is located on the site of historic Sick’s Stadium, which was the home of Seattle’s former baseball team, the Rainiers, until 1979. I wasn’t a baseball fan, but the stadium’s (and Lowe’s) parking lot is where my dad had taught me how to drive. (No sketch of the parking lot, however – even nostalgia couldn’t make that fun to draw.)

International District/Chinatown

Uninspired but still wanting to sketch more, we hopped back on the train and rode a few stops to International District/Chinatown Station. Knowing that area well, we went straight to the Chinatown Gate (with King Street Station behind it) and Hing Hay Park. I’ve sketched both many times, so this time I challenged myself by resisting the inclusion of the entire focal subject. It’s not easy to do – the brain always wants to complete the picture.

The morning’s overcast had burned off to sunshine by early afternoon, and best of all, the smoke had cleared. Even with a disappointing start, it was a good sketching day.

Placard at Lowe's parking lot, where I learned to drive in 1974.

Smoky Moonrise

 

9/8/24 Maple Leaf neighborhood

Although we were lucky all summer and experienced very little wildfire smoke, we had several days of some smoke last week that brought the air quality rating down to “moderate.” That level is not much of a concern to healthy people, but it was enough to give the light an eerie yellow tint all day. Glancing out the window Sunday evening, I caught a spooky orange moon rising. Even as I sketched, smoke or clouds blurred its crescent shape.

Late to the Edmonds Car Show

 

9/8/24 Edmonds Car Show

After a morning that did not go to plan, I arrived at the Edmonds Classic Car Show much later than intended. Twenty minutes before the USk Seattle throwdown, I hastily sketched part of a ’61 Impala just to have something to throwdown! Afterwards, though, I had plenty of time to sketch more cars, including my favorite ’57 T-Bird convertible (one of my dream cars) – a pink one, at that!

Although not as large as the Greenwood Car Show, Edmonds has a more home-towny vibe. It was good to be back there with USk for the first time since before the pandemic.

Outside and inside Moto Pizza

When I finished sketching outside Moto Pizza, I caught up with Natalie inside as she finished her lunch and sketch. Specializing in Detroit-style pizza (get it? Moto?), the restaurant turned out to be a really fun place to sketch – lots of colorful ‘50s-themed décor, including a bench shaped like a vintage car front.

Other than some residual wildfire smoke, the afternoon was sunny with temps in the mid-70s – a welcome break from the high 80s we had been having the prior few days.

Although the store is called Moto Pizza, all the boxes say "Odd Pizza." I tried to get an explanation for this, but the response didn't make sense . . . I guess you had to be there.

I heart T-Bird convertibles! Especially a pink one!

Early Walkers

 

9/6/24 Maple Leaf neighborhood

After our cold August, summer was back on last week – temps in the high 80s some days. I got out for my walks early those days, which is my favorite time to walk anyway: All the dogs are out for their walks, and some kids are getting walked to school, too.

I find that if I stay about a half block behind them at their pace, I can sketch them as I walk. If the dogs stop abruptly to accomplish their mission, then I usually abandon the sketch because, um, I might look suspicious if I stopped abruptly, too.

The man with two dogs in the sketch above turned out to be a pro. On my way back home, I saw him again, but this time he had picked up two more dogs along the way. They turned onto a street off my route, but I followed them for a block. Stalker? Heck, no. I’d only look suspicious if I were caught.

Exhilaration

 

8/31/24

Sketching on light rail trains is chancy in many ways: First, there’s the general motion of the car, which makes every mark an adventure (though nothing compared to the buckin’ bronco ride of a bus). I like using a brush pen to make the adventure even more exciting. Then there’s the limitation of whatever or whomever might be in view. Finally, fellow passengers on both buses and trains leave unexpectedly, but on a bus, their body language tends to gear up for the stop – I usually have a few seconds to finish up. On the train, riders make no indication of their intentions, and then suddenly leap out of their seats without warning as soon as the train stops.

All that tension is exhilarating (if frustrating)!

By the way, the sketch at upper left on the red page … what is it? Looking at it a few days after I drew it, I was reminded of the old optical illusion showing an image of either a young woman or an old woman’s profile. Hint: The white spot was a light reflection.

8/19/24

8/19/24