The Rocky Mountain News, 1859-2009

Today was the final edition of the Rocky Mountain News, less than 2 months shy of its 150th anniversary. 4 Pulitzers in a decade. Lots of talented people. All gone in a day.
Already happened in Madison, Wis.; on the way in Detroit and Seattle.

From the Rocky's front page today:
"We part in sorrow because we know so much lies ahead that will be worth telling and we will not be there to do so."

Garden of delights

We attended the NW Flower & Garden Show, supposedly in its VERY LAST YEAR. I read somewhere the company that puts it on has had 35 inquiries about buying it, but many signs at the show read "last year." Which is sad, because how can you NOT have a garden show in a major city in the Pacific Northwest? It'd be like not selling umbrellas or recycling containers (both of which were for sale at the show).

A definite highlight was a sale by Lucca, the super-swanky garden statuary store (mentioned often in the New York Times). All items were marked down from wholesale. They had a wee booth that was bursting with people. I had to dodge elbows to get to the gargoyles. I was sorely tempted to buy either a gargoyle ($11) or a large St. Francis with bird feeder ($54).
I think I will kick myself now.

I went home with a gift for my mom and a small heather plant, a participant in the Great Experiment that is the barren strip next to the driveway. Stay tuned.

Room for improvement

Jim painted our bedroom over the weekend, changing it from dull white to a soothing sage/taupe. The color is called "Remember the Alamo," which I don't understand because the Alamo is not sage. As far as I know, anyway.

He had to do three coats but the end result is definitely worth it. The contractors who did the work before the house was sold did a terribly sloppy job...I can't paint worth beans but I could do a better job!! And they didn't clean up their paint spatters, either. Have some pride in your work, people. Now we have twice the paint to clean up.

Bowled over

Today's field trip was to our neighboorhood bowling alley...also the site of our friendly neighborhood post office. How cool is that? The ladies who run the place love Matt and sometimes let him put mail in the post office boxes. (Any postal inspectors reading, avert your eyes. Worry about those carriers who hoard mail.)

The kids got Velcro shoes and most were very excited about the game. Matt yelled "I won!" every time he knocked any pins over. A bowling addict, I rolled a few frames when the kids wandered off in search of snacks and video games and whatnot. After the game, we sat at the snack counter and Matt had some milk and a hot dog and we watched "Scooby-Doo" and "Tom & Jerry" (much uproarious laughter by Matt at that one). Nothing like killing a morning at the bowling alley.

About noon, as we were leaving, we saw a couple of guys drinking pints and bowling. I guess it's 5 o'clock somewhere, as they say in Margaritaville.

Lucky numbers

Yay! Our new house numbers are up. They came all the way from Kentucky and it took four humans to get them up properly. Three grownups and one preschooler, that is! I think they match nicely with the porchlight and give the front some pizazz. And they have that all-important Arts and Crafts look.

Life is good.

Volunteer fireman

Matt's preschool took a trip to the Shoreline Fire Safety Station recently. It has little turnouts for the kids, a little fire pole they can slide down, all kinds of fire trucks to play with and educational exhibits. The kids watched a safety video and watched a cool dollhouse that fills up with smoke when one of the dolls neglects a pot on the stove.

Matt enjoyed it all, of course, except when the firefighter demonstrated a real smoke alarm. Matt hates, hates, hates those things because they're so loud. He clapped his hands to his ears and looked around frantically for me. I was holding up the counter at the side of the room, and had to wave to him over all the kids reassuringly. He was clearly thinking about bolting. I guess we won't have any problem teaching him to leave the house immediately in case of an emergency!!

At the end of the presentation, the instructor asked what the kids' favorite part of the video was, and if they had any questions. After one girl shared her favorite part, Matt raised his hand and said, "I have some things I need to tell you." The other moms cracked up, but I knew what was coming....the other kids got up and wandered away as Matt launched into a full-blown narrative stream about all his fire trucks at home and what they did and their various ailments. Thankfully, folks in the fire service are great!