solely in seattle...

As usual, it's been forever and a day since I've blogged. But I think about it occasionally, so maybe every now and then I'll try to drag the thought that seemed interesting enough to blog about out of my brain and get it up here on the screen.

A number of things have happened recently that left me thinking: "Only in Seattle...", so I thought I'd share them.

The first thing that really got me thinking about blogging was when was driving north on Interstate 405 and I passed a jet engine.

And I mean that quite literally. There was an "Oversize Load" ahead of me on the freeway, and when I caught up with it and passed it on the left (had to cross in to the carpool lane a little, since it was, indeed, an oversize load). You know when you sit over the wing on an airplane, and you look out and see the engine? That's what I was passing. And I thought: "Only in Seattle!"
I'm guessing it was going from the Boeing plant in Renton up to the plant in Everett. The big construction hangar one in Everett is the largest building in the world by volume (472,000,000 cubic feet). I haven't been there, but I've worked in the building down in Renton Where they build the 737s - 14 fit in the building - 2 rows of 7 planes nose to tail. It was crazy being in there. Just walking to a conference room to lead a Weight Watchers meeting, with 14 planes being built around me.

On a small scale, I've been picking blackberries pretty often. I should point out that blackberries are not indigenous to the Pacific Northwest. I don't think I've heard how they got here, but now that they have they are here to stay. They spread like crazy and are nearly impossible to get rid of. But since they are here to stay I try to enjoy them as much as possible. I picked a pint last week, and 2.5 pints today. You have to be really careful since there are so many thorns on the vines (and even on the leaves!), and they are crazy tart if you pick them too early. You have to really get to know your blackberries to pick them at the right time. The big, black, shiny ones are so enticing. But the shiny ones aren't really ready yet - they have to go just past shiny to dull. And they should come right off the vine when you pull. If the vine moves when you pull, instead of the berry just coming off, it is not ready yet.

I'm sure there were more moments recently that go with my theme of "Only in Seattle!", but I can't think of anything else right now. So I'll leave it at that. Seems like a good amount of blogging for one night. Maybe doesn't make up for more than 4 months of silence, but it's a start!