It is the Season for Thanksgiving and I admit, I have a lot to be thankful for. I've chosen to talk about a couple of them in this blog but that doesn't mean I don't greatly appreciate all the many other blessings I enjoy and treasure in my life.
But for this blog, I am going to try and relate just how much I appreciate the fact that I'm finally retired and have the time to indulge myself however I want to. Man, what a gift that is!! It is almost beyond my ability to adequately describe...it is so liberating, so fun, so . . . everything!!
Being retired means that I am able to go off on so many small adventures . . . Hahaha, honestly, nearly everyday I can choose to go, or not, on an adventure. It's all up to me and it is great to have the time AND the ability to get up and go and do.
OK, the other thing I am thankful for dovetails into my retirement quite nicely and it is . . . digital photography. Ahh, quit groaning!! You shoulda seen that coming if you know me.
But this digital photography . . . it's been SO doggone much fun!! Hahaha, where do I start!?! I know you've heard me try and explain this before but, one more time:
I began my interest in photography having to juggle two very important and opposing factors . . . one was my desire to shoot, shoot, shoot everyday and everyplace we ever went to!! I wanted to shoot this and shoot that!! I wanted to shoot all the time.
But I was constrained by the second factor and that was what I could, realistically, afford to shoot. Back when I was younger, when you went out a-shootin' with your camera you had to have both film, and the necessary funds to develop the film you shot.
You see, it cost money to purchase the film you used, or shot, and it cost money to develop that film and get it printed. It added up especially when you wanted to shoot, shoot, shoot all the time which I did.
OK, that was then and this is now . . . and, hahahahaha, now is really kick-butt!! Seriously kick-butt!!
Now, whenever I go out I bring one of my cameras with me and I shoot, shoot, shoot and then I shoot some more!! Hahahaha, it's wonderful!! I shoot and don't worry a whit about the cost anymore and it has been so much fun!!
And it really makes a difference!! I really feel I've grown as a photographer this past year. Oh, I'm not talking about becoming more knowledgeable about the technical side of photography, I'm still kinda ignorant on that and, honestly, all the giga-bytes and jpegs stuff leaves me way back there towards the far rear of the pack. It just ain't interesting to me and I ain't a-gonna learn it nohow. Hahaha, talking about it brings out my Hillbilly Self.
I'm not learning much more about the technical side. No, where I've grown is a bit more personal; I've grown in my ability to see photographically. My eye has developed this past year. My photographic eye has been developing at a great pace this past year and it is, for the most part, due to my being able to shoot, shoot, shoot which has required me to see, see, see in a much different fashion than I did before. I 'see' now as if I had the camera to my eye and were framing the scene in the viewfinder.
Sounds a bit odd, but try to understand. I look at the world passing by with an eye attuned to the details of the scene, to the colors working together, or against each other, in the scene. I see much more than I did before and I know I still have so much more to see. And I can shoot it all!! What a kick in the pants that is!!
So now when I go out, I go out to experience something, the thing that is the reason I go out, and I go out to see . . . everything I can.
I now have the time and the ability to have more fun with photography than I ever thought possible.
Wow!!
Oh, and another reason I see so much more is Carol. She challenges me and encourages me and helps me see things a bit differently than I normally would have at times. She's helped me develop as a photographer.
OK, enough of that Now for the big lead-in to the small adventure we had. I saw, in the morning paper, an item about the 22nd Annual Gingerbread Village on display at the Sheraton Seattle hotel downtown. For 22 years now, the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) Northwest Chapter and the Sheraton Seattle hotel have partnered on this beloved Seattle Holiday tradition, The Gingerbread Village. Each year, local architecture firms collaborate with the Sheraton Seattle culinary team to custom design, bake and build awe-inspiring gingerbread displays.
This year's theme is 'Jingle All The Way' and featured six displays. They not only looked tasty but they were beautiful, too.
We'll begin with The Sheraton Seattle's Christmas Tree.
It was lovely and then we rounded the corner and saw this Candy ToyLand!! Now, remember, all of the display is something that was, at one time, edible. All candy all the time.
Hahaha, part of the fun Carol and I had was in identifying the candies they used for their decoration and construction. Finding one of our favorites was a lot of fun and seeing some candies we'd not seen for a while was also a fun part.
This was the first one we encountered and it was a Candy Carnival (my definition as I don't remember what each one was named or identified as). They had a working roller coaster in this one.
The palm tree was hung with Christmas decorations. For some reason, the creators decided this would have a 'Hollywood' sign. I'm still trying to figure this one out.
Sure doesn't look like the Hollywood near where I grew up in L.A.
One of the ornaments hanging off the Christmas Palm Tree. Can you see what they used to create this? Besides the obvious gingerbread head, that is.
A small disclaimer . . . I am presenting these in the order they were shot and so you might feel like you're bouncing back and forth, that you've seen this one already. Apologies, but I tend to present in the order in which the pictures were taken. It's my excuse for being Uber-Lazy I guess.
A detail of the decorations at the base of the Christmas Palm Tree. Can you identify some of the candies they used? I will say I left with a deep craving for some Sugar Spice Drops.
Hahaha, I shot a whole bunch of pictures trying to catch the little red car zooming around and around the track. I mean, I shot a lot of them!!
Finally Carol suggested I put the camera on 'continuous' (Haha, love the new camera and all the new capabilities!!), waited until it neared the crest and, snap, snap, snap, snap . . . and got this one that was reasonably passable. It was pretty much a great red blur as it picked up speed going down.
Can you see the little house on the top of the hill? In a nod to the Disney movie, 'Up', they've got it with a bunch of balloons tied to the top of it.
Mmmmmmm, Spice Drops.
Oh, and the Ferris Wheel? It was moving, too!! Ingenious!!
From Hollywood, we moved to the Hawaiian Islands and an active volcano of back-lit sugar gushing out the top of the volcano.
Real quick, look at the base of this presentation . . . what do you think it is floating on?
Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say,
On a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day...
Surf's up, Kahuna!!
Pretzels came in handy for a lot of the display's construction. But I see a lot of familiar candies here. Oh, and some Triscuits, too.
I had two favorites. One of was Seattle Icons and the other was a Christmas Tree. I like the beauty of the Christmas Tree display; it was the most aesthetically pleasing by far. But the one with the Seattle Icons was the most fun to look at . . . and you can tell the guys that made it did it tongue-in-cheek and probably had a big smile on their face while they were making it.
OK, here's the first of my two favorites. I didn't get an overall shot because, overall, it's too busy and confusing and you can't really see the thing you should. I shot this in bits so that you can get what it is they're representing with their creation.
Like the Space Needle.
Hahaha, I've seen this thing represented so many times and in so many ways that it's a treat to find yet another one that I can enjoy.
Another Seattle Icon . . . the Seaplane!! Whether it's landing in Lake Union or Lake Washington they give Seattle a flavor that is not like any other major metropolitan city.
Hahaha, Kisses, Canes and Coconuts!!
The Kayak!! This is a special one for Carol and I. If we had a safe place to store 'em, we'd have a couple kayaks. The're keen fun!! Unfortunately, I think they'd be stolen if we left them in the garage.
Funny side note . . . I saw them but it took the longest time for me to register what they were and, to be honest, I didn't recognize them until Carol mentioned them . . . see the chiclets!?!
They had them all over in red, green and white colors. Can you see the Tic-Tacs? And lots of jelly beans, too.
I included this picture because I now know what the roof style is called . . . it's a butterfly roof, thank-you very much Architecture for Dummies . . . but other than that, and the Candy Corn, I can't figure out what this represents for Seattle.
My best guess is a houseboat. Anybody got a better guess? Lemme know.
Marzipan!!
That's what I've been trying to think of!! It's another basic for constructing these things. You're going to see a lot of Marzipan in these things.
Marzipan is a confection consisting primarily of sugar or honey and almond meal. It's often made into sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and small marzipan imitations of fruits and vegetables. It's also rolled into thin sheets and glazed for icing cakes. This use is particularly common in England, on large fruitcakes (always a Christmas favorite). Marzipan (or almond paste) may also be used as a cake ingredient, as in stollen. In some countries, it's shaped into small figures of animals as a traditional treat for New Year's Day. Marzipan is also used in Tortilla, and in some versions of king cake eaten during the Carnival season. Traditional Swedish Princess Cake is typically covered with a lay of marzipan that's been tinted pale green.
And I think they used a lot of it for their building materials in this Gingerbread Village.
OK, they're in the order that I took them so they bounce around a bit. We'll get back to Seattle in a while but now let's go to the Mid-East and the local Westin . . . Hahaha, get it? No room at the WestIN?)
Pretty nice, eh? Oh, and they used cereals, too. Shredded Wheat and Wheat Chex!! See!! It's fun trying to figure out what they used.
No more help, though. You've got to do it for yourself now.
And over in the manger? The Three Wise Men were laying their gifts at the feet of the Baby Jesus.
The theme for this one was 'Oh Little Town of Bethlehem' and you can see the North Star the Magi used to find the manger with. And their were angles circling round it.
I really appreciate it when I see a public display that actually acknowledges that this is the Christmas Season . . . not some Holiday Season they've contrived to be Politically Correct in these modern insane times. I really liked that they portrayed the birth of the Baby Jesus and did it in a tasteful (pun acknowledged but not intended) manner.
Here's my other favorite. The Christmas Tree and it is just fun and pretty to look at. They did a bang-up job on this one.
The toy blocks spell out Christmas Tree.
Colorful, fun and very imaginative.
It had all kinds of fun details from Rudolph, Elves, Gingerbread Houses and Presents. Oh, cookies for Santa and lists, too. Great details.
It just deserves another view of the whole display. Can you see all the ladders the elves used to get up to the tree? Great fun!!
You can bet this one took a little bit of time to make. And it's all edible!!
Hahaha, there were four young boys, 6-8 years of age, there while we were. These boys were arguing about how much candy they could eat from each display and what they would eat first and so on. Hahaha, boys will be boys and it's pretty much the same conversation I can imagine I would have had back oh, so long ago.
Honestly? I was, at times, thinking about what I'd eat first, too.
Uh, wow!!
And the tree with the Star on top.
Oh, hey!! Are those JuJuBes!?!
Just a lot of fun to look at.
So we've seen one side and now for the back of the displays.
Here's the one for Seattle and they nailed this one. It's a building crane. Hahaha, these are as much a Seattle Icon as the Needle. Just think of the old TV Show, Frasier. Remember it? Where was it set at? Hahaha, Seattle, yeah, that's right. And what was Frasier's last name?
I'll give you a moment . . .
. . . time's up!! It was Crane. He was named Frasier Crane . . . from Seattle.
Hahahahaha . . .
OK, and another Seattle Icon is up there on the crane?
Blitz!!
The Seattle Seahawks Mascot.
Goooooo, 'Hawks!!
Another fun feature about the cranes here is that they decorate them with Seahawks colors and flags and so on every year. And at Christmas, they decorate them with Christmas Lights and they put Christmas Trees up on top of them. I'll wait while you go back to the previous picture and find the Christmas Tree on top of the crane.
Hahaha, see the little bananas you get from those dispensers you find in bus stations, airports and shopping malls.
Now this one is funny. First off, at the top and just a bit right of center is the Seattle Library . . . one butt-ugly building. Yeah, it really does look like that but a WHOLE lot bigger . . . and uglier.
Then there's the Ferris Wheel which they call The Great Wheel here in The Emerald City.
OK, now see that large, round thing coming up out of the ground? Back story is that Seattle is digging a new tunnel along the waterfront to replace the Alaska Way Viaduct. It's been one huge boondoggle from Day One.
They're using a big borer, or drill, named Big Bertha. The borer broke down . . . for several months and then they stopped it because of this and that and . . . on and on it goes. The whole project is way behind schedule and costing a LOT more than they projected.
I didn't show the other end of this particular feature of the display but it's the rear end of this drill, Big Bertha, with a continuous string of dollar bills going into it.
Hahahaha, good work, y'all!! Spot on!!
Another Icon and one of my favorites, the Seattle Ferry Boat.
And our favorite Tower in Seattle, The Smith Tower. It's where Carol and I have agreed that we'll take guests to The Emerald City to first when they visit.
From rainy, cloudy Seattle we zip on over to sunny Hawaii.
Lookin' good, Santa!!
Love the detail they put into this.
Can you find Rudolph?
When I first showed you this Hawaiian Christmas Paradise, I mentioned that it was floating on something and I asked you to name it.
Did you?
Did you get it right? It's a gigantic Sea Turtle.
Hahaha, it was fun when I first realized what it is supposed to be.
Back to the roller coaster.
Starring Team Alex
I think those trestles the coaster is on are frosted pretzel sticks. Yep, I do.
Some shots so you get an idea of how big the displays were and how they were set up.
They were set up in the lobby for the Sheraton (Wow!! Only $205 a night for a Queen for two). A really nice hotel , , , almost as good as the Motel Six I stayed at in El Monte.
I wasn't too impressed with the sugar cube Mexican Temple in the center. It wasn't too photogenic.
A long view of all six of the displays in the lobby.
Right behind the Gingerbread exhibits was this display of The Sheraton Seattle Hotel Collection of Pilchuck Glass.
OK, I can see it's glass but, I wondered, what the heck is Pilchuck Glass?I
Is it a style? A particular process? What the heck is it?
Quick!! To the Google Machine!!
I found that it's a school. The Pilchuck Glass School is an international center for glass art education. The school was founded in 1971 by Dale Chihuly and Anne and John H. Hauberg. Their campus is located on a former tree farm in Stanwood, Washington.
The name 'Pilchuck' comes from the local Native American language and translates to 'red water'. Pilchuck sponsors one, two and three-week classes each summer in a broad spectrum of glass techniques as well as residencies for emerging and established artists working in all media.
Hokay!! There it is and now you can take a look at some of their offerings.
This was my favorite piece . . . and my favorite picture, too.
A side view of a bowl.
I wonder how they got all the different colors in this?
Reminds me of 'The Scream' by Munch.
C'mon, you see it, too!!
I don't know.
I just don't get it.
Chopsticks? A rice bowl?
Now this one is well done. Pretty, even.
But as I look at it, I can only think about how difficult it must be to move this thing anywhere without breaking it!! I mean, the only thing this evokes in me is a concern over how I would be able to move it . . . from table to table let alone from city to city.
This was interesting.
And, this thing. It's pretty. Interesting shape and pattern but, what is it?
I don't know.
On this one I got the impression of moving lights caught on film . . . or on digital.
Interesting effect.
This wasn't part of the Pilchuck Collection, but it sure looks like it could be. It was off to the side and I sorta liked it so . . . I shot it.
Those lights just left of center near the top? Reflections.
Artsy-Fartsy Alert!!
This is a shot of the street outside through the windows of the lobby in the Sheraton Seattle.
And the fireplace in the lobby.
Très chic, n'es pais?
Detail of the cases to the left and right of the fireplace.
More is less and sometimes this can be aesthetically pleasing.
I like this concept but, unfortunately, I rarely ever obtain it. I am hopeless pack-rat. I collect and I gather things like Kim Kardashian's Butt Shot gets followers on Facebook . . . fast, furious and with little organized thought.
But I do like the concept.
Alright, let's end this part of the day's activities where we began it . . . with the Christmas Tree. And they did a good job on this tree.
It makes a nice backdrop for this Christmas Carol.
(Hahaha, I crack myself up!! I really do!!)
I didn't get too many outdoor shots because it was, unfortunately, a rainy, dreary, cloudy, dismal kind of a day.
In other words, it was a sorta sucky day.
Or, as the estimable French would say, ce était un jour sucky.
You can get an idea of what the weather was like with this picture, right?
So not many outdoor shots today.
But I did get this semi Artsy-Fartsy shot of the trees with their Christmas Lights on.
And this window display. Isn't that cool? They made a Christmas Tree out of odds and ends and everyday things as well as some small Christmas ornaments and decorations.
I am really liking the lights up in the tress. I think we'll be coming back some evening to stroll along the streets and gather in some Christmas Cheer.
Oh, and some night shots with a tripod and the new camera.
Hahahaha, you didn't honestly think I'd leave home without it now, did you!?!
Hahaha, silly, wishful, foolish you.
We saw a pedestrian overpass between two buildings over 6th Avenue and, naturally, we, and when I say we I mean me, wanted to go up there and get a look-see and, maybe, a couple pictures, too.
So in and up we went to . . . Nordstrom's. Woo, woo!! Ritzy!!
When we got to the fourth floor, the one with the overpass on it, we ran into a Christmas Bonanza!! Carol said she thought it looked like a street bazaar.
A lot of really cool Christmas stuff.
Like this Punch Wagon . . .
. . . and these delicate glass penguins which, if the tags on them are factually correct, are both hand blown and hand painted somewhere in an elves' village in Poland.
OK, I added that last part there but they are, evidently, hand blown and painted. Although, how you do that, the blowing that is, is beyond me. Maybe they took a couple classes at Pilchuck.
Hey!! It could've happened!!
Some more Gingerbread Houses. Pretty nice, eh?
Like the penguins, these, too, were hand blown and painted. And expensive, too.
I blipped out the tag on the House on the left side . . . just because I was messing around with the iPhoto thingies and I could. Anyway, before I blipped out the UPC and the price, I noted that this little Gingerbread House cost . . . $56.
Yikes!!
It would have lasted maybe a week in my house. If that.
They had bunches of other equally useless but nonetheless attractive junk for sale, too.
Like these.
I want the cat on the right.
These are cool, right!?!
Eventually we made it to the overpass and I was able to get these shots of 6th Avenue.
Looking south down 6th Avenue. Remember, in Seattle, the avenues run north and south and the streets, obviously, run east and west.
The other side, looking north up 6th Avenue.
Interesting, eh!?!
Damn skippy it is!!
There's still some leaves not on the ground. Looking down from the overpass to the street scene below. It was a pretty typical rainy Seattle day. Most times the rain doesn't come down as much as it sorta mists down. It doesn't soak you as much as it simply lights on your jacket and eventually you get wet. That's what was happening.
Looking out through the overpass decorations.
Detail of the crosswalk where Olive Way intersects 6th Avenue.
On the other side of the overpass was the Pacific Place Mall.
Thing is, the other day when we went to the movie there, that was the very first time either of us had been to this Pacific Place Mall and here we were, a couple days later, by accident, back in it again. What're the odds of that, right!?!
Craziness.
Just a nice display and I appreciated that this store could actually display something that said Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.
Wow!! Really pushing the PC envelope there, buddy!!
More of the large Nutcrackers.
I know you saw the Mall the other day when we were there for the movie but, can you see the new element there now?
That's right!! Good for you.
It's the umbrellas.
The Grand Canyon State, Arizona, is putting on a pretty hard advertising blitz in Seattle trying to lure we rained on Seattleites with some promise of sunshine down south. They were really pushing and had a number of young, college-age kids out passing out decals and . . . umbrellas. Yeah, we got one, too.
Remember when we went to the game and I took that picture of those five kids sitting outside a bar all wearing red and white jackets and with a red and white umbrella? Yeah!! Those kids were part of the big marketing blitz being put on here. We saw a bunch of kids wearing those red and white jackets out on the streets today passing out umbrellas and literature.
But we were both, and by we, I mean me, hungry around this time and so we decided to try some of the grub at the Johnny Rocket's.
If you're not familiar with this restaurant, they have a 40s, retro look to them and try to evoke the feeling of a old-time diner. They try . . .
This one is predictable . . . Classic Hamburger with cheese, Puh-leese.
And that's exactly what she got.
Hahaha!! Totally called it!!
#yeahiampredictable and #sowhatsittoyou
This one, after much thought and consideration, maybe 3-4 seconds worth of heavy thinking, decided to go off the reservation and . . .
. . . try something new and daring.
So I opted for the BBQ Chicken Bacon Melt.
The verdict?
Meh.
Nothing to write home about for either of us. I did, however, like the little smiley face in the ketchup bowl. Nice touch.
Fed and watered, it was back to the Mall and a short walk around the place.
We were both ready to hit the road about this time, it was around 1520 and the day was getting darker, so we put it on the road to home.
This looks familiar, eh?
And I realized I didn't have an exterior shot of the overpass, so we made sure to go that way again so I could get the shot.
And Nordstrom's is where they built the Santa's workshop onto the building. Here it is, on the right. You can see how it eats up a large chunk of the normally wide sidewalks along Pine. And they had their lights on which had attracted me to this shot anyway.
We rode the rails back and it was still doing the thing they call rain in Seattle so I didn't get many shots but I did try and get some pictures of the leaves on the ground. Some of them are a brilliant shade of yellow. I was interested in the small size of many of these leaves.
I know, get a life, eh?
Hahahaha, I did and this is it!!
#inyourface
Here's Carol posing with her Arizona Umbrella.
Hey, it keeps the mist off and that's all you need, right? They're not all that well made and will soon be taking up space in Seattle's landfills.
It was a fun day. A Gingerbread Village of epic proportions, lunch and seeing the city from different places. It works for me.
Life is good.
Hooah!!
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