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Celebrating a friend’s 10-years-in-Seattle milestone with a bonfire on the beach. 🔥 🏖 🌅 . . #GoldenGardens #Beach #Sunset #Bonfire

A post shared by Don (@donnunn) on Nov 15, 2019 at 4:48pm PST

Brunch at Skillet Diner in Capitol Hill today, a send-off of sorts for a friend who’s leaving Seattle for Florida to take a job offer and move closer to his family.

I ordered Serious Toast, which from the menu description sounded delicious:

Molasses custard soaked thick cut brioche, raspberry jam, local pit ham, powdered sugar, two eggs your way

About 15 minutes later our brunch items arrived and I’m not sure I’ll ever recover from my first time seeing the reality of Serious Toast:

Because the WA lottery commission loves to drive people CRAZY.

On the plus side: It was a $10 winner. So time well spent.

$65,000 to go.

Normally I’d post a photo of this year’s Christmas tree with a count of the number of lights we installed (it was 2800 in recent years)—in fact by now that photo’s usually been posted for a few weeks. But this year we decided to observe the holiday in a pretty low-key manner.

No Christmas tree, for example—I’m sure our electric meter is pleased with that, no lights making it work overtime to track power consumption this month. We did lighter decorating with candles and some small lights, a lighted garland over the fireplace with our Christmas stockings. Also did some baking and we hosted a small group of family and friends at dinner on Christmas Eve, a tradition we started about 10 years ago to leave Christmas Day relaxing and uncluttered.

In that spirit, then:

Here’s to a warm and happy Christmas to you and yours, and the best wishes for the upcoming New Year and into the future.

Because, why the hell not.

Not a milestone this year, a regular old (hee hee) run-of-the-mill birthday. But still getting a multiple-day celebration thanks to your family and friends who love you.

Here’s to 40-some more!

Everyone, go pester Jewells with birthday wishes at her various online haunts:

• Jewells in Seattle
• Facebook
• Twitter

But what a way to go!

We had this at Skillet Diner on Capitol Hill. Table for four and we didn’t manage to finish it, oy....

Friends playing live music. Doesn’t get much better.

When bad jostles happen to good beer mugs.

I’m blessed to have a warm house and a beautiful Christmas tree surrounded by friends and family.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays.

Forty years ago today at 09:23 MDT, Julie Anne joined the world with a yowl, and the world blinked at the sudden arrival of this brightest of lights in its midst.

Forty years on, the light’s brighter still.

Look, even the kitchen calendar is getting in on the act.

• Jewells in Seattle
• Facebook
• Twitter

What better way to start the day?

A pint of Amber Ale from Red Rock Brewing Company, the first brewpub I ever visited.

Headed home from Kingston.

There’s an iguana just outside the frame on the car deck (lower left). Bit of a surreal moment there.

On our way to Port Townsend for a whale-watching cruise.

We attended the sentencing hearing for the perpetrator of a burglary in October. Needed a bit of a break afterward.

France vs. Washington state in 10 ounces of liquid goodness.

2010 Corte alla Flora Rosso di Montepulciano with wood-fired pizzas.

Dinner mit usual wimmins. ;-)

Stuffed mushrooms with Jewells and Kat

Our Towering Inferno has settled down to a crackly comfy little fire.

Happy Memorial Day. :-)

Julie Anne’s efforts to get a fire going in the chiminea met with... difficulty, shall we say:

The several sheets of newspaper on the lower right was a full New York Times when she started

So I stepped in (at, for the record, her suggestion) with the charcoal lighter fluid.

Kids, don’t try this at home!

A couple minutes later we still had the roarin’ fire we sought. Cuz, science!

No eyebrows singed in the making of this inferno

Julie Anne made a strawberry-rhubarb pie with rhubarb from our own garden.

Isn’t it purty?

Maker’s Mark. At a coffee shop. At the mall.

I must not be in Utah anymore!

The crab and asparagus omelet at Skillet. Insanely delicious.

The first pint of Curve Ball this year. Aaahhhhh....

Bacardi Coco and Pyrat XO rums, pineapple and orange juices, fresh lime.

Ahh, the tropics. :-)

From the “things we’ve never heard out of Julie Anne’s mouth before” files.

Section 152, nearly opposite our section 108 seats for Thursday night's game.

Nice to have an international colleague visit and then a few days later an invite from local friends with season tix.

Classy as always.

In order: People, beers, and cans of enchilada sauce to ring in the new year.

On the second hand (a set and a run), instead of, say, on an actually USEFUL hand like the final (3 runs)???

I decided, on the final hand, to try for three runs of diamonds. Here’s to that second joker :-D

Game final score: Don 190, Julie Anne 400

Not the game-winner, but it looks good so far.

Three hands in (of seven total) and I’m batting a thousand.

Julie Anne really outdid herself this year.

Cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas morning.

Family and friends just gathered. The tree is beautifully decorated, “the fire” crackling merrily away, coffee steaming, and breakfast in the oven.

Doesn’t get much better than this.

May you enjoy the company of family and friends, and the best of success for the new year.

Corned beef hash with poached eggs, home fries, and pumpkin pancakes at Original Pancake House.

This has become a weekend ritual during the cold/wet months.

Twenty-three strands of 100 bulbs apiece on Julie Anne's tree this year.

And of course the lovely Yule Log fire on TiVo!

Text exchange just now.

David: What should I be for Halloween?
Me: A Chilean miner. You can phone it in.