GimletBlog

Thing Two is not known for being restaurant friendly yet, but we believe that can be accomplished with enough training under appropriate circumstances.  With that in mind, we opted for an early Friday dinner at Ivar’s Salmon House on Lake Union.  We arrived just ahead of the weekend crowds, so the restaurant grew progressively busier (a noisy restaurant is good for hiding children’s activity) and while we were allowed plenty of time to enjoy our meal, service was prompt (also necessary for the impatience-prone Thing Two).  The variety of water traffic just outside our window kept Thing Two entertained, and the menu met with his approval.  Success!

We had so much fun watching the boats during dinner that instead of returning home, we decided to drive to the Ballard Locks.

The tide was fairly high, and the locks opened and closed quickly to let all the waiting boats out of the lake and into Puget Sound.  We saw a great variety of boats, from sleek racing powerboats to beautiful wood cruisers.

The fish ladder was full of sockeye and a few of the immense chinook salmon.

A harbor seal pup under the bridge attracted a lot of attention.  Judging from the large and frequent splashes in the bay, we think the pup’s mother was not too far away, busily catching salmon.

Regardless of the weather, the Ballard Locks never disappoint:  always relaxing, always interesting.  And on a warm summer evening filled with salmon and boats, who could ask for more?

While Thing One is away at the National Jamboree, Thing Two could use a little cheering up.  We were glad to be invited by some friends to spend a day at the zoo.

One of our friends’ favorite places at the zoo is the Willawong Station.  During the summer, one can purchase a seed stick for $1 to feed the birds.

We discovered that height is a definite advantage when trying to attract a bird, so perhaps we can convince Uncle Q to join us at the zoo when he visits next month.

The snow leopards and the tiger were sleeping (not surprising to those of us who own cats) but climbing on the snow leopard sculpture, and the other animal sculptures around the zoo, is fun.

Thing Two’s favorite animals were the Gila monsters and the Komodo dragons.

He was also fascinated to watch the snakes during their feeding time.  Sorry, no photos, but rest assured it was quite exciting!  In all our years visiting the zoo, we have never seen the snakes so lively.  However, Thing Two avoided the pond turtle next to the snake exhibits because, in his words, “The pond turtle is kind of creepy.”  Would the pond turtle have seemed less creepy to Thing Two if it had been swallowing mice?

A few exhibits are all these four year-olds can handle, so after visiting the penguins, it was time to take our very tired little friends home.

The eagerly awaited Fathers and Sons outing happened this weekend.  Your usual narrator called me Friday morning to let me know that Thing Two had started packing at about 9:30 a.m.  He was ready to go!  The poor little guy has to stay behind for all of Thing One’s adventures but this one.

We made it out a little after 3:30 and were able to avoid most of the traffic.  The weather until Snoqualmie Pass was pouring rain.  It dried up to a slight drizzle after we reached the pass.  We arrived just in time to grab a burger (hot dog for Thing Two) at the lodge.  We had dinner with the Tuckers and Bishop McCann (Read about their Fathers & Sons Outing traditions on their family blog).

Thing Two went out to play with the other kids and would pull longer grass from our side of the fence to feed the horses on the other side.  He enjoyed it when they ate the grass from his hand.  (Giggles and “That tickles!”)

After dinner was a magic show that Thing One has participated in in years past, and this year Thing Two was amazed by it.  After that we all went to the fire circle.  Last year I led the group in a few scout songs before the official campfire began.  This year I was asked to do a repeat.  I led a rousing rendition of the Bear song twice (once from memory and once with the cheat sheet.  My memory is going and the cheat sheet will be used forever after.) On Top of Spaghetti and Junior Birdman rounded out the singing portion.  After that President T usually tells a story.  He did not this year and it was missed.  (We hope that next year the story returns!)  Without the story we went straight to the s’mores.

Bed time went well, although Thing Two did not want to use the unfamiliar toilet facilities.

In the morning, the drizzle had ended and nothing but blue skies greeted us.   We were disappointed that Thing One could not go on a trail ride due to service projects.  That is two years of not being able to go riding.  I am not sure what we need to do to make it happen next year, but we will try again.

Thing Two and I went out in a canoe for about 20 minutes and at about 9:30 the water slide opened.  Both Things were eager to go sliding.  Thing Two walked up to the edge, discussed going down with Thing One and then returned to sit with the Gimlet and watch Thing One slide.  We watched for a while, returned to our cabin and packed and returned to the slide to continue watching Thing One slide.  After about two hours of sliding I decided I had watched all I could and we needed to go.  With that we packed up and drove home.  It was a great campout.

After our digital cameras were stolen in the February burglary, the search was on for new point-and-shoots.  We had bad luck with the first replacement we chose for Thing One, but the second replacement seems much more durable and he’s happy with it.  This particular model takes batteries, which is important because Thing One won’t have access to electrical outlets for most of his summer.

However, after trying out several different cameras, Your Humble Narrator couldn’t find a camera she liked as much as the one she had owned, and of course her camera was no longer available in stores.  She was decidedly grouchy about it until she found one on eBay, new in the box yet!  She needed no further encouragement to Buy It Now.

It’s not exactly the identical camera, though:  our camera was the silver lens model, and this one is the black lens model.  When it was unpacked, the Gimlet said, “Your camera’s wearing guyliner!”

That, combined with the fact that this camera has managed to stay shiny new despite its age, has led Your Humble Narrator to nickname the camera “Richard“.

Nerdy jokes (and guyliner) aside, it’s great to have our camera back.

Uncle B and Aunt H have entered the blogging world with their new family blog, Curly and Bee.  The blog brings everyone up to date on the past year of newlywed life, with great photos from their honeymoon near Tofino, BC, moving into their new home (which some of you may recognize as the “cute half” of the duplex Team Gimlet used to live in … we lived in the “not cute half”), the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, and Bobblehead Night at Safeco Field.  Welcome to blogging, Curly and Bee!

Wednesday was a sunny spring day, perfect for bringing Thing Two’s tricycle out of the basement for a ride around the block.  However, as Thing Two’s knees collided with the handlebars, it became apparent that over the winter he had outgrown his tricycle.  An online search turned up a suitable-looking bicycle at REI, and the Gimlet’s member dividend sweetened the deal. (All those Scoutmaster shopping trips pay off.)

When the chosen bike was too small, and the correct size was only available in one color (which was not the same color as the original choice, of course), Thing Two was ready to give up on bicycles entirely.  Luckily he was quickly appeased by the opportunity to choose that all-important accessory, the bell, and when he saw that his helmet would have a “pirate monkey” on it (his description), the bicycle began to look pretty attractive, too.

Thing Two rode his bicycle out of the store and to the car, proudly showed it off to his grandparents, and has been asking to go out for rides around the neighborhood ever since.  It looks like it’s going to be a spring and summer of bicycle rides.

I think most people have heard the news by now:  at the end of February we came home from church to find that our home had been burglarized.  Our doors and windows were locked, and the locks were new, but the burglar broke the lock on a basement window facing the back yard.  Some small electronics and computer parts were stolen, including the laptop, but fortunately not the desktop computer.  The digital cameras were also stolen, so no new pictures on GimletBlog until we can find a suitable replacement.  A jar full of pocket change was also taken, and the real heartbreaker is the loss of all my jewelry.  Fortunately we have insurance, and had kept an up-to-date list of serial numbers which we gave to the police and the insurance company.  Some of the jewelry had individual insurance appraisals as well.  It’s unlikely any of our things will be returned, but detailed information about lost possessions helps with the insurance claim.

Lessons learned:

• If possible, keep valuables out of plain sight when not in use.  The burglar took small items that were out on desktops or tabletops, that could easily fit in a backpack.  He must have moved through the house very quickly; some rooms such as the boys’ bedrooms and the living and family rooms appear to have been left alone.  Certain valuables which are often taken in household burglaries were not stolen from our home, because they were in a drawer, or a cupboard or closet, out of sight.
• None of you are foolish enough to hide jewelry in a bureau drawer, right?  That’s where my jewelry was, which just happens to be the #1 place thieves search.  While the burglar didn’t bother with several rooms, he turned the master bedroom upside down looking for valuables.   If you own any family heirlooms, “special occasion” jewelry, or any valuables you would be heartbroken over losing, I’d strongly suggest finding a different place in the house to keep them.

We are having the greatest difficulty dealing with the loss of peace and security, but it gets better, little by little, every day.  We’re so glad nobody was hurt, and thankful that many things that could have been stolen were not.  Identity theft doesn’t appear to be an issue (nothing of that nature was taken), which is a great relief.

More photos in the Eagle Court of Honor album of the Gimlet Gallery.  As we were too busy to take pictures, we appreciate Aunt H’s willingness to be our photographer, and a very special thanks again to Wally Kempe for all of the photos he took during the ceremony and the group pictures.

After all the merit badges, camping trips, Eagle project, and ceremony preparation, the big day finally arrived.  We were so pleased (and a bit surprised, and very touched) to see our stake center’s large chapel filled nearly to capacity with family and friends who had come to celebrate Thing One’s achievement.

Before the troop awards, the Gimlet received his Woodbadge beads and neckerchief in recognition for completing his five ticket items.  He chose to have Thing One help present the beads.  The presentation included a brief history of Woodbadge in international Scouting and a description of the symbolism of the beads, neckerchief, and woggle.

After a rousing chorus of “The Song” (it needs no name; if you’re acquainted with Woodbadge you’re already humming it),  it was time for Thing One’s slide show, a history of his Cub and Boy Scouting experience in just under five minutes.  Sometimes it feels like he has grown up that quickly.

Click to view slide show from Thing One's Eagle Court of Honor (Quicktime, 29MB)

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