THE WAY OF TEA A couple years ago I went to a tea ritual down at the Japanese Garden in the Arboretum. The purpose of a tea ceremony is to teach you how to appreciate tea and how it is made, and how to look at a tea cup and the other utensils and admire them. It's just a very tranquil experience that is an offshoot of Buddhism.
It got me interested in Japanese and Chinese bowls, dishes and pots.
After that I got rid of all my Salvation Army and Goodwill pots and pans and dishes and started buying all kinds of Japanese, Chinese and Korean dishes, bowls, pots etc. They are pretty expensive so I'd buy them little by little as I could afford them. It makes it a little more interesting cooking and eating off of unique pieces of art.

JAPANESE STONE LANTERNS This is an oki-gata lantern

tachi-gata lantern

A stone tower with 13 floors.

CHIEF SEALTH'S GRAVE - This is one of the few pictures taken of the Chief. A couple weeks ago I thought I would go across the water by ferry to an Indian Reservation in the town of Suquamish where Chief Sealth's grave is located. The City of Seattle was named after him. I have heard about him from a very early age. He didn't want the city to be called Sealth because according to Indian belief he would never get any rest up in the happy hunting ground everytime his name was spoken he would hear about it. I don't know if that was a legend or if that is something that really happened. Anyway the city was named Seattle, which is a version of his name. I took my sons to that grave site many years ago. At that time I didn't have a camera with me, and I had always intended to go back and take some pictures of it. It was a nice sunny day, perfect for a little outing like that.
Pulling away from the Seattle side
You get off the ferry and follow the highway a couple miles until you get to a bridge. After you cross the bridge you immediately get in the right lane and at the intersection you will see a sign that points you in the direction of Chief Sealth's grave. After that follow the signs and they will take you right to the graveyard.

At the entrance of the graveyard there is this sign that tells a little of the history of Chief Seattle.
You go into the graveyard and you immediately know Cheif Seattle's grave. It's the one with the beautifully carved logs in Native American designs.
A closer look at the headstone. There were momentos and pictures at the grave. There was even a letter from a great great great great grand son of Chief Seattle.

Looking east from Chief Seattle's grave you can see the water on the other side of this little church. After spending alittle time at the grave and looking around for a little bit I headed back to the ferry and headed back to Seattle.
Mystical Mt Rainier looks like a mirage floating on the horizon.
We pass another ferry

Seattle in the distance.
Getting closer
When I got off the ferry I thought i'd go down to Pioneer Square to the New Orleans Cafe to get something to eat. I go there once in a while.

Here are some pictures of some blues players that cover most of the walls.
I had the Seafood E'tu fe with red beans. It was pretty good.
After that I went up to Everett to visit with my son and his girl friend and took a picture of the sunset. The end of another day.

AUGUST 9, 2006 This is a picture of my dad during the ceremony celebrating his retirement from the Navy. He is in the center facing the camera. While this was happening the rest of us were sitting in the car in the parking lot waiting for the ceremony to get over. The car was packed with our tent, supplies and a few belongings for the trip. As soon as he was through we were going to be on our way back to the state of Washington where we had come from almost 6 years before. It was a 3,000 mile drive and would take us about 5 days to get back in those days with very few freeways. The year was 1966. Most of us could not wait to get back to our beloved city of Seattle where we had started out from. I was so anxious to get back that I don't even remember one thing about that trip. We didn't do much site seeing because we basically just wanted to get back.

If he would have lived he would be 79 years old today. He died back in 1998 when he was 71 years old. He had a good and full life, and I think he accomplished most of what he wanted to do.

THE CENTER OF SEATTLE I was looking in the Sunday addition of the Seattle Times a few days ago and came across an article in the Northwest Magazine section by Richard Seven about this marker that he was instrumental in getting the city to place in the sidewalk. The spot that marks the center of the city of Seattle. It is located at the corner of Thomas and Minor Avenue North right in front of 301 Minor Avenue N. It was kind of fun finding it. When I finally found the right street corner I found a parking place. I got out of the car thinking I was going to have to scout around a little to find the plaque that is embedded in the side walk. I got onto the side walk and didn't walk more then three steps, and there it was. So here it is, the center of Seattle. It is north of town and not hard to find at all. Just go north on Fairview Avenue N til you get to Thomas, turn right then turn left on Minor Ave N. which is a few blocks up. It's right there on the left infront of a large apartment building.

Looking north up Minor Avenue N
Looking south down Minor Avenue N

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICKY Today is my grandson's birthday. August 6th.

MY MOTHER'S FAMILY It's my mother's birthday today August 2nd. Here she is with part of her family. My grandmother Mary is standing in back. My grandfather has my aunt Carol in his lap, and my mother is standing on the right. Three more siblings would be added to this family in the years to come. Happy Birthday Mom! Hope you have a good one.

THE BUS RIDE I had to take my car to the garage to have it worked on today. I didn't want to have sit around all day so I got this great idea to take a bus down town. After a few false starts I found the right bus to take.
Inside the bus.

I got a couple pictures of the buildings down town on the way.
This is a famous BBQ Place. I've seen long lines form outside the front doors at lunch time. I haven't gone there yet.

I took care of my business uptown then went over to 2nd avenue where there is a bus stop and caught a bus to Pioneer Square where I hoped to catch a bus back to West Seattle.
Here's a statue of Chief Sealth in Pioneer Square.

I found a bus stop on 1st avenue south. The schedual said the bus would be coming in about 20 minutes. Just down the way was this Taco Del Mar. I slipped in and ordered 2 beef tacos with rice and beans and iced tea. After enjoying this meal the bus came. I promptly got on.
2 beef tacos with rice & beans.

I like this picture taken from the West Seattle Bridge.
When the bus turned on 35th it made a bee-line toward the place where my car was. Once I got there I paid the man, sent him to Hawaii...again. I got in my car and tested it out. There was quite a bit of difference in the way it ran. It was much better. They fixed quite a few major componants in the engine. After the test run I parked it and went in for the evening.