Jul
22
July 22, 2007
Every now and then someone emails me to ask about the Seattle weather, usually because they’re considering moving to the area and they want to know if it’s really as bad as people say. I have no good answer for this, because weather is one of those subjective things, and also because the weather here is so hard to describe. It’s definitely dreary and wet for many months out of the year, but not relentlessly so: in between those days you get the kind of weather that makes you happy to be alive: clean, crisp, unspeakably beautiful. I usually love the weather in the Pacific Northwest, it’s mild and the air tastes good and your skin never gets peely.
HOWEVER. It has now been raining for like a MILLION DAYS IN A ROW (okay, maybe five? BUT STILL), and it is JULY FOR FUCK’S SAKE. It’s stiflingly warm outside which makes everything humid and repulsive, like a panting dog’s breath all over your body, and our yard is a swampland filled with mud and probably alligators. I am TIRED of the rain, and the stickiness, and the amount of collateral damage that can be caused by one toddler with wet dogshit smashed into his shoe.
To be completely honest, I think the rain and the cabin-fever feeling are freaking me out because I’m looking ahead to February, when I’m going to be mostly trapped inside with a newborn and a toddler, oh my god, oh my god, that is going to be crazy. I mean . . . jesus. What were we thinking? Are we out of our goddamned minds?
Whoo. Ahem. See, that’s what a million several days of rain in the best part of summer can do to you. You should move here, because it’s awesome, but bring some Prozac. Oh, and a raincoat.
Preferably one with a frog on it:
By the way, am I the only person left on earth who hasn’t been gripped by PotterMania? I read the first couple books and enjoyed them just fine, then just sort of forgot to read the rest. I feel like I should finish the series, because clearly I’m missing out, but it seems like a dangerously slippery slope . . . one day you’re cracking open your first book, the next you’re drawing a zigzag on your forehead and camping outside of Barnes & Noble. Basically, I’m the clueless dolt in the back of the crowd at Jonestown, going “Hey, where’d you get that fruit punch?”
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I’m not down with the HP either. But? My husband has the new book not 2 feet from me and MAN do I wanna know who gets killed. So he better read it fast and tell me because I’m not trudging through the first six books just to get to that one.
P.S. I put honey on my face while deep conditioning my hair with that Aussie stuff tonight and now I’m feelin’ all Sundry-like:-)
Bucket-head! Hah! And he doesn’t look at all suspicious of the bucket!
(and I hear you on the weather. Our lawn needed the water, but one day would have been enough. Seriously.)
Ah, clearly Riley aka Buckethead isn’t letting the pissy weather get to him. Yet.
Vancouver’s experiencing the same wet humid weather. The downpours are hideous and yet, when the clouds part and the rain eases the greenery is dewy fresh and startlingly beautiful and the air smells of fresh pine, cedar and linden, and one’s skin feels wonderfully moisturized.
Hey, one thing you guys might want to consider investing in (now that you’re renovating and creating more space) – an infrared sauna. They’re not too expensive and by God, there is no better antidote to the rains. You burn 600 calories in 30 minutes, too.
I HATE THIS WEATHER. The sticky, the muggy, the total sweaty yuckiness of it. If I wanted to live in this kind of weather I would live on the East Coast where they at least have the decency to have air conditioning everywhere.
Luckily, it was timed perfectly by the Gods at Scholastic to coincide with my needing to spend all weekend indoors reading HP7 (that’s the lingo all the cool kids use, doncha know). And all I have to say after reaching page 510 is: O, J.K. Rowling, how much of my soul would you require to write another Harry Potter book? (And would it have to come in a Horcrux?)
This weather is driving me mad. I can’t stand the humidity and would give anything for a nice hot dry day. If nothing else it has been a good excuse not to do any of our looming outdoor projects.
I read the first 3 HP’s and just never got around to the rest of them. I almost picked up the last one at Costco today but decided I should read the entire series and not just skip to the last one. We’ll see if that ever happens.
“Like a panting dog’s breath all over your body” Yes! That is it! The feeling I’ve had all week that’s been itching to be expressed.
Also, Nolan and I went shopping for rain coats today. I hovered between the frog and the dinosaur and Nolan liked the fierceness of the dinosaur coat better — and did you see the matching boots? Pricelessly, insanely cut, especially when the tottering almost-two year old inside them pauses every two steps to point at the teeth and yell “Rawr! Rawr!”
I don’t get the whole Harry Potter deal either.
I’m 6 months pregnant so I figured this rain would actually be better than that one HOT day we had recently. Well wrong, I’d rather sweat it out with the heat than these humid days we are having!!
BLESS YOU FOR NOT BEING INTO HARRY POTTER.
I just do not understand. I read some of it. It was all right. I did not find it that interesting. And I even love to read and everything! The conditions for HP Syndrome were optimal! I am apparently not human.
i’ve watched all the HP movies but haven’t read any of the books. i’m sure they are worth it, but time is so precious, i’d rather read something else. . . like US magazine of course! har.
we’ve got our newborn and our toddler and i am freaking the heck out about winter (in ALASKA) because my toddler has to get “siiide siiiide” (outside) to run off the weasels or ELSE things are not pretty at our house and daddy gets the 4:41PM call “have you left work yet, please for the love of god say you have??” anyhow, to keep my toddler happy this winter we will invest in good winter gear and toss him outside and also spend countless hours at the indoor play gym. we go to one that is actually a gymnastics club and they have a cheap open gym for toddlers/kids. i would say call your gymnastic clubs and ask if they have a similar deal. we just cannot afford the hoity toity little gym’s price tag of $25 a visit man oh man.
I’ve never read any of the harry potter book so I feel totally left out. Like a party I wasn’t invited to or something.
When I was pregnant with my second I was freaking out like you are now. WHAT WERE WE THINKING! WE CANNOT HANDLE TWO KIDS! That thought ran through my head at least once a day for the whole pregnancy. But you know, it works out. You’ll do great.
Hee! Love the buckethead picture!
God, I want to move. I hate the south so much. I need to get Jay to see the Pacific Northwest, and then maybe he’ll consider checking out jobs.
What you should do is get a Slip ‘n’ Slide. You won’t even need a hose for it! If it rains when I am there, I will probably dance around in it and revel in the fact that it has not just turned the entire country into a giant, disease-infested mudbath.
I am with you on the Harry Potter mehnia. I was on the fence before, but then I saw Daniel Radcliffe in an episode of Extras and realized I’d never again be able to identify Harry Potter as anything but a horny adolescent. Also, J.K. Rowling can suck my invisible balls for letting people compare her to Tolkien.
No, you aren’t the only one. I read the first three and then, as you say, ‘forgot’ to read the rest. On a date tonight, we stopped by a bookstore (dorks) and I happily read the last page and the epilogue of the last book. I felt good to do that and kind of naughty. (P.S. Down here in Portland, it’s humid and a bit too warm; I’d take rain right about now.)
I normally wouldn’t have bothered, but my family and I have read through the first six books (out loud! It’s family bonding!), and I would consider myself a fan but not terribly interested in the details (between the fifth and sixth books, I forgot who the antagonist was in the fifth). I have, however, been reading the final book nonstop and forced myself to put it down tonight at the chapter entitled “The Battle for Hogwarts,” which pains me greatly. It really is amazing, and I’ve probably only spent about three nights getting most of the way through it. If you’ve got some time and want a good story, I suggest reading them as they are fun and light. After all, these are books written for someone with probably a 7th grade education, so they’re not terribly deep or hard to get through, so don’t feel pressured, but know that you are missing out. =P
Also, I say the remake of Dawn of the Dead in HD tonight. I was unaware that zombies could SPRINT AFTER BUSES. Suddenly, I am far more terrified than I was before.
Buckethead!
I know the feeling with the rain – I’m getting hot-as-hell days followed by monsoons in the early evening and night. I may as well be living in Thailand… at least they make better drinks there.
As for Harry Potter – be careful, it is a slippery slope – you will get into them and they will be all-consuming. Just be grateful that you missed the painful wait for book 7. How I passed my degree for distraction I’ll never know!
I also am not “into” Harry Potter, like you, I read the first couple books, then never got around to any more. Everyone else in my household spent the ENTIRE weekend reading the book in various formats (one audio, one in Braille, one in print) while I spent the weekend reading the new/old Stephen King/Richard Bachman book, Blaze. Which, while not NEARLY are ginormous as HP7, was quite enjoyable. Also spent a lot of money at Costco (where there was quite the mountain of HP7 books set up) and at Dick’s Sporting Goods (where HP7 was NOT in evidence). So, I’ll give HP7 a big “whatEVER”.
I like the pictures! Buckethead is precious.
As for HP, I finished the last book on Saturday night. I enjoyed them all.
Apparently I’m the exception rather than the rule here where everyone is proudly announcing they couldn’t care less about HP, but I LOVE Harry Potter. I never would have expected it, ’cause fantasy books are not my thing, and kids books are not my thing. Sometimes while I’m reading it I look at the words on the page and think “I never would have thought these words would appeal to me,” but they so do. I guess Hogwarts is my happy place, and it is for a lot of people. *sobs that the books are finished*
I was totally front of line, but I only got there an hour early, and that was only ’cause I’d come straight to the mall from somewhere else. And also because I knew people would probably start calling out what happens as soon as they got their hands on the book, so I grabbed mine, turned up my iPod, went straight home and read straight until I was finished. Was a really great day, apart from finding out that a couple of my favourite characters died.
I read and loved Harry Potter. They’re adorable! And I’m reading it now, because good goddamn, if I’m going to be the last to find out who dies.
But it doesn’t mean that I was camping out in front of Barnes & Noble in costume or anything. I bought mine on Saturday morning with little fanfare, and have read a little, but not a ton, ever since.
But I love them, and I’m not ashamed! They’re cute kids books, and yes, they turned out to be quite a nutty phenomenon that was great fun.
I haven’t read any of the Harry Potter books, nor have I seen the films. I’m simply not interested. So you’re not alone, there.
‘Nother non-fan here. It’s amazing how so many of us stopped after book three – that’s as far as I got before I lost interest. My 10yo is wrestling with #4 at the moment and she is normally NOT a keen reader, so I can’t be entirely negative about them, but I am both a fantasy and a children’s genre buff and I just find them derivative and boring from both perspectives…
PS. I just lurve finding these little pockets of “I-don’t-get-it” amongst the hype. I am fine with other people loving the books (just because I don’t, doesn’t mean that’s the only opinion worth having), but I do not understand the mass hysteria one little bit…
don’t worry, I don’t read Harry Potter either. I just don’t get all the fuss about it, I guess.
I read a few of the early books (1 and 2, maybe 3?) and.. meh. It’s well-written but.. it’s just “meh”. I cannot fathom having any desire to stand in line to be the first to get a copy or pre-ordering it and waiting anxiously by the mailbox because, well, MEH. More room for the fans, though, right? :)
The latest BUST or Bitch magazines, however, I’d TOTALLY wait in line to get my grubby hands on.
Harry Potter= Tainted fruit punch! THAT explains a lot!
I did the exact same thing you did. I read the first three, I think. Then, I just quit. I am not gripped by the mania either. But, I’ll tell you one thing. I am SO glad that kids are so excited by reading HP!
HAHAHAHA!!!! Too cute! I’m not the dork who will draw a lightning bolt on my forehead and camp out to get the book (why do all that when you can draw a lightning bolt on your head and stay home?) but I did devour the book in about 8 hours when it was delivered to my door. The whole storyline is wonderfully twisted and engaging; go ahead and read the books.
I just can’t keep the HP stuff straight. I’ve never been much into SciFi because the names always boggle the mind (although I can do Medieval stuff no prob – all those silent y’s and double t’s don’t seem to have the same affect).
I liked the first one, the rest were “meh”.
Hate to rub it in, but we’ve had BEAUTIFUL weather in VT. Just stunning – mid 70s to mid 80s, low humidity (there have been a few hot ones lately, but nothing that lasts), cool at night. No bugs. Sunny, not too hot. Heavenly.
I am SO glad to see all the non-HP fans here — I was seriously starting to think I was the only one. So…lonley… I’m proud to say I have not read any of the books nor seen any of the movies. I didn’t intentionally set out to abstain, but I’m certainly going to try to maintain it.
That first picture of Riley in his froggy slicker? So. damn. cute.
I do enjoy quite children’s lit genre. I am the total nerd who goes into the kid’s section at book stores for my reads. I have enjoyed reading the Harry Potter series…no lightning bolt on the forehead, though. Of course, I don’t see the obsession with Zombies, Iphones and such, so I suppose it’s really all in what you choose to get into!
I also am a PROUD HP fan! Yes, I was a dork and waited in line until 12:01 and it was so worth it. I read Book 7 in 24 hours (no sleep! and I have 2 young children!) Jem: I am sobbing that the books are done too! Now, I am looking forward to sharing the Hogwarts Experience with my children in a few years….:)
I had a friend who, when she was training to be a midwife, worked as a new-parent helper. She’d go to her client’s house and do a couple loads of laundry, make a lasagna, fold ten-thousand onsies and, say, tend to the newborn so mom and dad could spend some QT with the toddler, sleep, fold the other ten-thousand onsies, go watch a movie, whatever. It wasn’t full time and she didn’t cost them a ton–I think she got some school credit for it. If you have the resources, there’s one option for the adjustment period after baby 2 arrives.
I agree with Liz — they’re OK books, but a bit derivative and boring. Mostly my problem (I think it must be some kind of mental block) is that I can never remember what happens in any of them. I’ll read them and instantly do a memory wipe. Everyone was making theories about Harry being a horcrux, and I was sitting there wondering, “WTF is a horcrux again…?” Oh well. If we all liked the same things, they probably would run out of Mint Milanos.
I really enjoyed the Potter books. So did the spouse & kid. Plus, any 9 year old kid who can get through an eleventy kajillion page book TOTALLY deserves a big gold star! You need to hurry up and get on the bandwagon because Riley will be dissin you hardcore in a few years with ‘Mom, yeah she doesn’t even know who Hermione is!! Lame.’
i’m a loud & proud HP fan :-) i avoided the books for years, all “pff! i don’t DO fads!” and “kids books? schmids books! i don’t do fads!” until my MOM of all people called me to inform me i had to read them, STAT. i preordered book 7 and read the entire thing on Sunday. also i maybe cried twice.
I’ve read all the HP books; I wouldn’t call myself a major fan, but I enjoyed them. The one and only reason I ordered HP7 from Amazon to get here the day of the release and then spent all day yesterday reading it was so I wouldn’t get spoilered before I could read it myself. Otherwise, I would have happily put it off for a few weeks or months before I got around to reading it.
I haven’t even read 1 Harry Potter book. I don’t even think I’ve seen a HP movie all the way through. Apparently, I’m just not interested.
I have to admit to being a huge HP dork. I went as Cho Chang for Halloween when I was pregnant – a black robe over a shirt & tie was the only thing I could think of that fit around me! But that’s the only time I’ve donned an HP costume. My poor toddler must think Mommy’s face has been replaced by a book this weekend.
Love the raincoat. Wish little V needed one! We haven’t had rainfall (more than 5 minutes) in almost a month! The weather has been beautiful – 80s & sunny, but the dry lawn really hurts your feet. I know – cry me a river! Sorry. Perhaps if I’d look up from HP for 30 mintues, I could water the lawn…
I agree with g~’s comment about the zombies…I don’t get that either. I guess we all have our own obsessions and that is what makes the world so interesting.
This blog entry could’ve been written by me, you’ve summed up my Seattle weekend in a nutshell, minus the toddler/baby issues. WHAT HAPPENED TO SUMMER and I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO ACTUALLY READ THE SPOILERS FOR HARRY POTTER ONLINE BECAUSE I REALIZE THAT I WILL NEVER GET AROUND TO READING THE LAST FOUR BOOKS.
The only good part of the rain is that I don’t have to run out in my pajamas in a panic at 10:30 at night because I forgot to water the damn tomato plants AGAIN.
When will I learn?! Do not drink or eat while reading Sundry. This seemed like a safe enough entry all about the Seattle weather but, then that last line “Hey, where’d you get that fruit punch?”. That hurt since I was mid gulp of water, at least it was just water and not hot coffee coming out my nose =o\
See, the zombie thing would be a good comparison if practically the entire population of the United States and the UK had spent their weekend reading World War Z (AS WELL THEY SHOULD HAVE). I’m not saying HP isn’t awesome, I’m just saying: whoah, I missed the bandwagon big time.
Shannon: I read the spoilers online too! Can you BELIEVE that So-and-So impregnated What’s-her-Name?
Harry Potter!
Harry Potter! Harry Potter! Harry Potter! Harry Potter! Harry Potter! Harry Potter! Harry Potter! Harry Potter! Harry Potter! Harry Potter! Harry Potter! Ohmygosh Harry Potter!
I can see how that would be annoying.
I like it. It’s good. But if other people don’t like it, that’s cool. I don’t like when people are like, “I haven’t read it or seen it because Harry Potter’s dumb!” because dude… you haven’t read it. And I also don’t like when people are like “I purposefully abstain from reading these books because I am unique and different!” but that’s probably heldover resentment from when I was 19 and a vintage-clothing-loving sorority sister of mine made me feel like a sellout because I bought a coat from the Gap.
Also, I read other stuff too. But the Harry Potter stories, they are good. I’m sad for anyone who won’t read them on some sort of principle, because dude you are just screwing yourself out of a good time.
I thought the first few Potter books were nothing special, but they really improve as they go on. I thought numbers 4, 5, & 6 were pretty good.
Oh, I know what you mean about resisting something for the sake of resisting it. No matter how cool you think you’re being, it will always bite you in the ass later. For instance, when you openly mock “So You Think You Can Dance” and then eventually find yourself fixated to the TV, tearfully rooting for that Hawk guy.
Never read any of the HP books, but maybe I missed something great. I don’t know why, but so far I haven’t had the urge to try them.
The problem with the rain coats is that when it is humid or hot outside, the kids sweat like pigs — or have you found one that’s breathable?
I just had some thoughts to share about the having two kids and not being able to go outside. I had my second son in Nov. by c-section, so couldn’t even pick up my 19 mo. old for a month. We read LOTS of stories. We also got the 19 mo. old the Picnoc Game by Eboo, which still entertains him for a long time. We did anything I could think of where I could sit on the floor. Oh, and we watched a lot of 80s music videos on YouTube. I am so excited for you. You’re going to have so much fun…
I’m with you on the weather. We have the same in Bellingham. And I really don’t mind rain and humidity so much, but IT IS JULY and I feel that we’re wasting the summer nice-days we could be having. Big *whine*fest going on at my house this week.
And I think it is EIGHT straight days of rain, not just five!!
I think now that all the books are out and I don’t have to wait for anything, I might read them. Not obsessively, but just as something to read. I miss having a book and reading before bed.
Love the pictures. Just out of curiosity how much post-processing goes into yours? (I ask as an owner of a d70s)
I can’t stand the post-rain muggyness either. And, for the record once I had two kids I thought “what was I thinking?? One kid is EASY!” I love when one of them sleeps all day long it’s like a little vacation! Except when the remaining one is needy and then I want to wake the other one up so they can entertain each other. See, everything is relative :)
I have read all of the HP books and yes am reading the last one now or I mean when I am not at work. I did not stand in any line to get the book nor would I ever but I do like them and am glad I have read rhem. I have also seen and bought all the movies and will buy the last one when it comes out in DVD. Went to the show to see this last one too and it was the 1st one I did see at the show. The rest I waited till DVD. I like the graphics in th movies but the books to me are better, more detail.
I’m a nice balanced H.P. fan: I like the books–but I kept forgetting the release date for number 7; I’ve read them all—but always from the library because I’m not in such a frantic hurry. I enjoy the books, though, and I like the “part of something” feeling I get when I’m doing something a whole lot of other people are also doing. My theory is that “the deal” about Harry Potter isn’t the quality of the books, but the fun of grown-ups and kids all finding something fun in the same way. I generally feel like children and I couldn’t do anything together that we’d both enjoy equally, but the H.P. books are something we can all like.
I like northwest rain: it doesn’t seem as dreary and GREY as rain in other parts of the country. I mean, it can be, but a lot of times it isn’t. It’s…brighter or something.