seattlejo.com

On Sunday I went to the Burke Museum with a friend. We were there for the day to see the A Celebration of Souls, the Day of the Dead Exhibit. We met in the University District, explored the museum, then stopped off at Starbucks on our way to Weaving Works

We then wandered to the bus and headed home our own way. As we traveled through Wallingford we passed by a number of stores that I pointed out. Oh this store is neat, try this tea shop, this store is new, Oh dont go there and so on. As we passed by Stone ave I sighed and said "I miss living here"

Our housing in Wallingford was perfectly suited we could walk to the grocery store, walk to Gasworks Park  and while Aron was at the UW he was able to walk home.

We don’t live there anymore. In 2004 our house was placed on the market and we had to move. I looked around for the perfect house for my nonconventional family, and this space in North Seattle was the winner on many fronts. It’s big enough, the Landlord rocks, the fruit trees are fun and it works for all of our commutes. What I didnt know is how much I would grow to love Greenwood.

Greenwood is the neighborhood just to the south of us. It’s a walk of about 45 minutes, 2.25 miles. In Greenwood you can find :

Mr Gyros. This is my default when it comes time to grab a bit to eat. Its cheap and tasty and Sammy doesnt mind if I dance in line.

Wayward Coffee. I literally have my class schedule layed out so I spend an evening a week here Typically I spend an evening and a weekend  day working on homework sipping coffee and just hanging out

Balderdash Books. Vanessa’s fantastic. A nice selection of books, a great trade in credit. One of these days I’m going to make my purchases and just curl up on her couch.

A Muse Stamps.If you are a stamper you already know who A Muse Art Stamps are. If you arent you should Let me warn you though, weekends are out if you are going here. M-F 8am-5pm only.

Mud Bay Granary Got Pets? if so this is the place to go. Cat food, dog food, treats and other goodies. The prices are good, and they have some of the best high end pet foods.

Georgia’s : Greekfood like your Greek nana would make. This place is divine and there is live music. A family favorite dessert is the "Galacti Burrito" ( Galaktobouriko ) Warning, don’t get me drunk and bring me to the deli here to shop. The result is dangerous to my budget

Pig and Whistle  First lets not focus on what this isnt. And its not a barbecue joint. It is a nice restaruant with good drinks and a nice American food menu.

Greenwood Academy I love the beauty school. From the Day  of beuty that I did with Leah, to the standard $10 haircut i get, they are always great . Not fast mind you, but the hairdressers are always friendly and the services always satisfying.

Monkey Grind. If I cheat on Wayward in the neighborhood its with Monkey Grind, who’s breakfast sandwhiches are out of the world.

Gorditos. While El Famous in Chicago  will always hold a place in my heart for "Burritos as big your head" Gorditos does serve  a purpose. Lots of fresh veggies and lots of options you wouldnt find at El Famous. They’ve won me over as a tasty place to eat.

Places I go, but not raveable.

Chocolati The chocolates dont have the right mouthfeel.
Fred Myer Its a Fred Meyer. Nuff said.
Olive You : Overpriced, tasty food, icky service.
McDonalds :Sometimes you cant deny the call of sausage biscuits
Library Cafe Tasty, but we’ve never been back. Is it the wacky hours, is it the price?
Greenwood Library Its a nice building but i wish there were evening hours.
Romios Pizza and Pasta. :This is Raveable actually  but we dont go in here. We order from home. Order the boat of cheese and you’ll be in heaven. Unless you are lactos intolerant.

I love my neighborhood.

Conner was the most unique cat. His mannerisms were part cat/ part dog. I offer to you the lessons Conner taught us along with some favorite photos.

• If someone makes you mad, Bite them.

Pictures are tasty, and tastier when they are of you.

• Kittens are cute, but useless and not very smart. They must be cleaned and sat on and made to properly behave.
• Ill humans need constant attention of snuggling and purring. 
• Scotch tape is the 5th foodgroup
• Cardboard is the 6th.
• Not only is cardboard a food group, but it makes the best snuggly places ever : Boxes.
• Humans you love like licks better then bites.

• Floor crunchies are a great way to supplement your diet, and Ornaments while shiny are also tasty.
• Someone needs to call the hours and make sure the house is secure every night.
• Anyone can wear a Tiara, but not everyone can look great in it.

Rest in Peace Conner, know that your humans love you.

It’s been a weird week in Seattlejo land.

Over the weekend a lurker on my private journal revealed themselves to be my brother. A quick email exchange between us, had me feeling pleased. Much like I was pleased when Kim and I got back into touch a few months ago.

Later in the week, was the death of Conner, the kitty I posted the picture of recently. This leaves us down to one cat, Tiffa, whom I dont think is aware of the situation. It was the hardest thing caring for him as he passed and taking him to be cremated. I’m feeling incredibly guilty of his passing, questioning the level of care I provided and alternativly being glad that he passed here at home with family to take care of him and love him.

I wrestled with the decision of telling the ex-husband or not. After all, Conner was his cat too. I sent a brief email off, and was surprised when an answer didnt come. I popped over to his livejournal, to discover he was dealing with his father passing away.  His dad was a good guy, despite having bad taste in women (Rob’s stepmonster is legendary ) and it’s sad to hear that he is gone. I’m thinking of him during this time.

Last nights email rounds out the weirdness. An email from the wife of a family member that has me  contemplating exactly how to respond, and has me contemplating the entries I write for this blog.

I’ve spent the past ten years being connected to little to none of my family. I didnt return to Chicago for my mom’s funeral, I havent sent Christmas cards, I’m not even in touch with the cousins that I know are here in the Seattle area. For family to come out of the woodwork so suddenly is surprising. It’s not that familial contact is unwelcome, i just havent done much to seek it out.
That doesnt mean that I want those I’ve heard from recently to go away, I just dont always know what to do about it.

I’ve given much thought lately to the labels we live with. We wear job titles, job descriptions, hobbies, relationships as though they were defining of who we are.

I fall into this trap myself. I identify as

• student
• employee
• girlfriend
• ex-wife
• friend
• enemy
• writer
• reader
• cook
• knitter
• crocheter
• crafter
• blogger
• stamper
• traveler
• bus rider
• walker

Some of these are situational. For example, I don’t drive and I don’t have a chauffer so I’m a bus rider and a walker.  Some are very closely related Many folks who are knitters are also crocheters, and both of those are crafty items. Stamping also makes me a crafter.

It’s hard not to be a reader these days, but the lable of reader means more then "one who reads the cereal boxes" It means one who reads voraciously , reads anything and everything and has a stash of favorites to read.  At least thats my definition.

The relationship labels are more complex. Friend. Who isnt? Have you earned this label though? How do you treat those who call you friend, how do you treat those you call friend?

Enemy. Again, who isn’t. My thought is that this is not one of those titles you work towards.

Girlfriend. I’m lucky enough to have a few lovely people who have bestowed this title on me. I spend time thinking of how to be a better girlfriend, and what I appreciate in a partner.

Ex-Wife. This is a label I never asked for. I was proud of the wife label and never expected the ex- portion. Not much needed to maintainq it.

Some are stage of life labels.  They represent the stage of life I am in.

Student: Completely self chosen, and at this point Its feeling very real with the mountain of homework I have.  Theoretically I should be beyond this stage .

Employee. This is a label I’d like to lose , if even for a little bit. I cant remember a time where I didnt have to be somewhere at 7am every day.

A few are wistful labels. Things I’d like to do, and things I plan to do. In that vein we have

Traveler: I do want to travel more. The non driver portion my identity makes this harder, but not impossible. It just takes a little more planning and a little more

Writer: I used to  be a more consistent writer. I used to turn out fiction and non, and had dreams of publishing. Now, my words are badly written prose on a background of a blog or three. My spelling is out the window, and grammer has gone with it. Perhaps I’ll work my way back there.

What labels do you wear, voluntarily or involuntarily?