Home broken down Home

This ugly thing is near my apartment.  

It is so broken down and trashed.

I'm having a mid-life crisis and this broken down trailer is what I feel like.

I'm getting old, my parents are getting old and one of us is always in the hospital.

When you are a kid you think you;re parents will live forever.

Now you are your parents age and you realize their living forever just isn't true!

I had a scary thought the other day, I too disabled to fly and my parents are too sick too fly.

We live 3500  miles apart, I may never get a hug from my mom or dad again. 

That thought has made me depressed enough to need sleeping pills.

A3100

A3100 is a Canon point and shoot.  It was cheap when I bought it, only 109.99 at Office Depot.  The camera is really neat, its almost more advanced than my SLR  The only cons are it sucks in low light and its only has a 4 optical zoom.  I took the photo above on ISO 400 and on vivid color.  I set the bowl of jelly beans in the window so no flash was needed.  I bought the camera because I wanted a camera to take with me in the hospital.  One I  wouldn't get too upset if it got lost or stolen.

I can take sepia tone, BW, vivid color photos.  I can change the ISO up to 1600.  There's is movie mode, white balance settings, continuous shooting and it has large LCD.  Not bad really for a point and shoot.  I also can use it when its raining outside.    I recommend it if you want something basic with cool extras.

You don;t need the most expensive camera to take a great photo.  Its all about knowing how to use the camera you do have.  Bryan Peterson has a book about close-up photography and most of the pictures were taken with a Lieca point and shoot.

So true!

I saw this on a wall in Ravenna behind Whole Foods.

I bought a roast today I almost shit a brick when the butcher said 25.00.  It was a rib eye roast, so I guess I got a deal.  It was 4.99 a pound.   The best way to cook a rib eye steak is to cut up mushrooms and onions and saute them up in butter.  When the mushrooms are almost done, melt a little more butter in the pan and toss in a seasoned steak.  Seasoning is nothing but salt and pepper.  Set a timer for 1 minute 30.  Flip the steak and set the timer for the same.  When the timer goes off stick your finger in the center, the further your finger goes in the rarer the steak is.  Set the timer for another minute if you like it medium.  I like my steak still mooing.

On the Interurban

If you bike down the Interurban bike trail you will see these series of signs, there's one of Salmon swimming, bubble blowing and Mt Rainier erupting.  The Interurban is a rails to trails bike trail.  They are created from railroad tracks no longer in use.  When I biked across the country it was a joy to find these trails.  I can;t bike anymore but the trail does come in handy to zip up to the Central Market.

Sidewalk art near what looks like a train stop.

I photographed these two birds because I thought they looked like love birds.

Merry Stinking Christmas

I had a rough week this week.  I went to pre-op this week at Harborview Hospital and got sick in their waiting room.  I zipped in the bathroom and got sick again.  I felt sorry for the cleaning staff because there was stuff on the floor, the sink, the walls, the toilet, my wheelchair and me.  I had such a mess to clean up I had to scream for help.  A nurse came on the fifth yell with a stack of towels, wash rags, and wipes.  Then after meeting with the anaesthesiologist I went home on metro.  I'm sure a stunk.

My second problem was that my catheter bag rubbed on my wheel and the wheel rubbed a hole.  I was leaking every where.  I tried scotch tape and that worked for a while.  Then I tried using duct tape (handy mans secret weapon) that didn't work at all.  I had to finally call Heartland for a new bag.  Damn duct tape its supposed to fix everything.  I won't talk about my third problem cuz it is worse than the second problem.

This weekend I wanted to go to Fisherman's Terminal but I ended up in Pike's and Fremont.  It rained off and on making it difficult to take out my camera.  I did take a picture of a man covered in sliver paint with a pigeon on his head and a man covered in gold showing me the thumbs up.  The day wasn't a total loss.

Fremont at Christmas

I love it! A Grinch in a rocking chair. Watching that cartoon every year it's a tradition.  I put up my  tree three weeks a go and my friend Donna hung wrapped chocolates from the branches.  I don't want to get fat again so I'm doing my best not pulling them off the tree.

     Santas were every where for sale.  A lot looked like they were from the 70's.   I hate tacky plastic yard ornaments.  There was a guy in Tacoma who covered every square inch of his house and lawn with Christmas crap.  I'm sure his neighbors disliked him.  The light pollution coming from his house at night was blinding.

     Yesterday was fabulous lots of people wandering the Sunday Market.  The weather was sunny but chilly . Smells of fire pit cooked pizza and fresh nan bread with curry heaped in the middle floated in the air and wafted up peoples noses making them quite hungry.  I bought some mini doughnuts, tasted some chocolate samples and took a ton of great photos  I couldn't ask for a better day.

Pike Place Market: at Night

I went to the market last night and I think I went a bit late.  Bryan Peterson says you should shoot just before sunset.  The building would look better in dark blue sky instead of black.  On the roof around the Conor there are pigs with lights and wreaths there is also a large tree with lights.  Right beside the public market sign there are fruit shapes in lights,

Holy mackerel!  The fish market smelled like my apartment last night.  I made deep fried rock fish with salsa for fish sauce.   Dredge your fish in flour, salt and pepper then dip it in egg and finally dip it in panko.  Put fish in hot oil about an inch deep.  Don;t flip fish until one side is golden brown, about five minutes.  Flip and cook another five minutes until fish breaks apart flaky.  Rock fish or red snapper is a thick fish so if you use a thinner fish like sole or tilapia it will take less time to fry.  Red snapper, my favorite fish, is only found in Florida and Texas.

Ho, Ho, Ho

Seen on Pike St.  I'm out of the hospital but I'm slow in getting started.  Its weird I don't really know what to do with myself.  I went out for Thanksgiving dinner the other day at McCormick and Schmitt on Lake Union.  The best food ever!  I had sole stuffed with dungeness crab, fingerling potatoes and asparagus.  It was my first time having dingeness crab, I want to have it again.   It was also my first vodka cocktail in a long time too.  I wasn't paying so when the server asked what shelf  I wanted my vodka from I almost said top shelf.  The middle is still smooth as silk.  The restaurant has been remodeled and its beautiful.  I want one of the wood lamps from upstairs.

Remember this building?

i

Remember this place?  Its now closed, its been closed for awhile.  I miss the funny words they had written every week on their marquee.  Indiana Jones and the temple of poon or 28 quarters later love comes in spurts those were a couple of my favorites.

Can you imagine being a janitor here?  I would ware a hazmat suit from the CDC before I enter one of those booths.

Out and About!

I went out looking for Christmas at Swanson's Nursery.  I love the nursery, we pet the camel, saw the reindeer and miniature donkey.  Then we looked at the model trains and the Christmas decorations for sale.  We also looked at the holiday plants, I love amaryllis and the different colors of poinsettias.

The camel is named curly and he is 5 years old.  His nose is incredibly soft and he loves people to scratch it.  Feeding times are 10 and 4.

It felt nice to get out.  We finished our outing with coffee and cookies at the nurseries cafe.  There is a coy pond in the cafe, the fish are so fat nobody is allowed to feed them.  I gave one fish a piece of peanut butter cookie.  I felt cold wet fish lips as it ate cookie from my hand.

From summer to winter

I'm home from the hospital, got home yesterday.  I was there for only two months but I was in for a shock when I got out.  There is Christmas shit everywhere, I haven't even eaten my turkey yet.  And prices in the grocery store have gone up twenty percent.  If it weren't for an EBT card I'd be eating Top Ramen and cheap mac n cheese, I can't live without my Kraft.  1183 passed, I wanted to vote no on that initiative.  People do not need more access to alcohol!  And a big chunk of the Via Duct came down.  I'm scared shitless at the thought of travelling in a tunnel to get to West Seattle. What if there is an accident or an earth quake, how do you get out?

From the Hospital Lawn

On the lawn
i saw a yellow flower

a girl doing yoga

 a picture of a building

that was off in the distance

and a sign saying we will vote!

red leaves

Outside my window

orange, red, yellow

yesterday 

it seemed

just green.

A beautiful painting

I was in the lounge on 4 West and saw this disabled woman painting.  She was an incomplete quadriplegic so she only had limited use of her hands.  Her canvas was a ceiling tile.

This is another chunk of the same painting.  She made me feel uplifted in spirt because I could see joy on her her face as she painted.  I want that same feeling when I take pictures.

Today I was verticle!

This is from the hot tub building in the UDistrict.  I hope they haven't torn it down because this is one of the first places I'm photographing when I get out of Harborview Hospital.

Today I was vertical twice.  I got to sit in my wheelchair for a total of 30 minutes.  The feeling was so surreal I got dizzy and had to have my blood pressure taken.  Tomorrow I get an hour and a half.  I don't care if it's raining, I'm going outside and I'm also going downstairs for a coffee.  Give it 12 days and I should be home. I'm chomping at the bit to get out of here,

Love Penn and Teller

 You should watch Penn and Teller on you rube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnIZWw98uwM&feature=related .  Their opinions on the death penalty and the bible are brilliant.

I will be out of the hospital in a week or so.

Playing with my cock.

Isn't it cute!  I haven't decided whether to keep it or eat it,

Cock in a box!

I got a cock in a box from my friend grant.  This morning I gave it a good lick.  The delivery guy from Jimmy John's sandwiches saw it on my bedside table, he said,"I see you got cock."  I would have rather got cock from the delivery guy.  Jimmy Johns have got some really sexy looking men delivering their subs.

Seen at Denny Park bus shelter.

I of course photoshopped this picture as it had chunks of wood missing from it.  And I tried to make it look like a Mondrian painting.

I got a dick in a box and some nuts from my best friend Grant.  My mom sent me Stargazer fkowers and I got Godiva chocolates and almonds from Harborview Hospital nurses.  So my burthday was okay.

So you thunk.

So you thunk what?  I don't know what to thunk!  I saw this in an alley near Glazer Camera Supply on Republican St. 

If you are into photography and you haven't been to Glazer, you're in for a treat.  Glazer has three buildings to shop in.  One building has cameras, Epson paper, bags, tri-pods, flashes and cables.  Another building has everything to do with lighting and sweeps.  And finally the last building has everything rental.  Want to try out a lens or camera body before you buy it?  Most rentals are fairly inexpensive.  The staff at Glazer are extremely knowable.

On my last trip to Glazer I went to the lighting building, they built me a tri-pod out of table clamps and a camera arm.  The tri-pod mounts to my wheel chair so now I am a rolling movie camera.  Can;t wait to get out of Harborview to try it out.

Its all about me!

I found this bit of graffiti in Fremont on 34th.  I find the best graffiti in alley ways and old buildings.  There is a building in the U-district That used to be a hot tub place and now its got some the best art I've ever seen/  If you like graffiti check this place out it's on Roosevelt near Trader Joes.

I okay still laying in the special floaty bed.  I got another week before I can sit in my wheel chair again.  And next week is my birthday, I will be 42.

Capitol Hill sidewalk graffiti

I saw this graffiti on Boren St,   Its either from someone falling In love or from someone jumping.  I like to think its from a couple madly in love.

Got my butt fixed for the third time, hopefully for the last time.  I haven't been outdoors in two months.  I came into the hospital in summer and will be leaving in winter.

Start a Project

Another way to improve your photography is start a project.  Projects could be as simple as photographing silverware or the vegetables in the fridge.  It could be a bigger undertaking like documenting graffiti or seasonal changes in a local park.  Make a list of things that interest you or search around your house for a collection of objects to photograph. 

One of my projects is documenting graffiti in downtown Seattle.  Another project of mine is photographing all the colors in Pike Place Market.  This photo is part of a bigger mural and I might not have found it if i hadn;t started a project.

Having another operation on Monday.

Seen on 4th Ave near Pioneer Square.

My favorite thing I like to do to get ideas for photography is to pick a neighborhood and wander.  Try exploring a neighborhood you don't normally frequent.  Shoot during early morning or evening when the light is the best.  Keep an open mind as to what makes a good photo and take lots of pictures you can always erase later.  The best pictures often happen when you least expect them.

I don't expect to be released anytime soon from the hospital.  I am happy Ann, a really sweet nurse; bought me a midnight snack of sushi.   Rosemary, another really sweet nurse; brought me a Diet Coke for lunch tomorrow.  I am so loved here at Harborview Hospital.

Ulgy Screaming Face

I saw this face in Fremont at a funny car show.  This is my face if I spend one more day here laying on my butt. I keep thinking tomorrow I'll find out what is happening in my care but I never find out.  Living in Harborview hospital sucks.  I counted and I think this year I will be spending more days in the hospital than my own apartment.

Sagging rotting faces!

My butt opened up and that is a major set back.  My rehab was cancelled because the doctors don't want to make my wound any worse.  I should know by Tuesday what is going to happen: I may need more surgery. I am so sick of hospitals, hospital food, hospital gowns and hospital beds! Thank-god for delivery food like Jimmy John grinders and Pizza Slut pizza; without them I'd go mad.

I saw these pumpkins on 15th in Ballard.  I like they're sagging rotting faces, they look like they are singing on the fence.

I could kill to get out of here.

I want to be somewhere other than the hospital but there is a complication with my butt.  The new operation I just had is failing again.  So in five weeks I sat up in my chair I've sat up 15 minutes.  I want to scream!  Maybe its my fault,  I  sat up on the clinatron bed two and half weeks in because I had a really bad headache and I was throwing up.  Its only a small opening so maybe it will heal.  Say a prayer for me that this heals up.

This is a mural on the side of the new produce truck.  I love the big bold flowers. I'm starting a new blog when I get out of the hospital completely about the market.  I am going to eat and sight see my way across Pike Place Market.

MMMM Doughtnuts!

I could kill for a Dunkin doughnut.  Dunkin used to be out here.  Krispy Kreme is gross compared to a Dunkin chocolate coconut or a chocolate filled doughnut.  My mom asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I said doughnuts. Last year my present was a half dozen doughnuts. Did you know Top Pot was voted top doughnut company in the country and its a Seattle based company. I need to check them out to see if its true.

Why am I musing about doughnuts?  Its because I'm disgusted with hospital food.  I get a menu every morning and I have to choose what is the least gross thing on it for tomorrows meals.  There is always something with gravy or taste less cheese sauce.  The veggies are so over cooked and the potatoes came from dehydrated flakes.  And god for bid you order eggs by the time you get them they are rubbery pebbles.  Once a nurse lifted the lid to my dinner and said, "that looks like shit!"  I once sniffed my dinner and couldn't tell if the smell was from the food or I had shit myself.

Be proactive in your health care!

I'm in Harborview and the doctors really screwed the pooch!  If doctors actually listened to nurses I wouldn't be in the predicament I'm in now.  I was throwing up for three days before somebody finally decided to put me on IV fluids.  By then my kidneys were fucked!  So now I have all these tests and blood draws because they fucked up. When you are extremely dehydrated your kidneys have difficulty filtering out drugs. It makes me wonder if the hospital isn't looking for extra money by making people unnecessary sick.  If you aren't proactive about your health shit like this can happen.

This is another picture of Green Lake at sunset.

Sunset on Green Lake

I love Green Lake especially in the fall.  I go and have a coffee at Starbucks and then go for a stroll around the lake.  This picture was taken a half hour after sunset.

I still here at Harborview hospital.  I'm having issue with my kidneys but I hope to clear that up tomorrow.

lily

My favorite photographer by far is Rom Van Dongen, he takes flower photography to a new level.  Go to .http://www.ronvandongen.com/

Nothing but blue skies from now on!

 

Its been 2 weeks since I got here and my wound looks really good.  I will hopefully be getting out of the special bed next week, maybe even tomorrow.  I hate being couped up in Harborview.

First Hill: Flag on Harborview Hospital

Tomorrow is 9-11 and I'm going have a moment of silence to say a prayer for all who died that day in the twin towers.  Do you remember where you were that day?  I was asleep and was woken by a phone call asking if I was alright.  I'm in Seattle far far away from the disaster.  My British friend who called didn't know that;  I watched the TV all in day shock.  I still have a hard time looking at the photos of 9-11.

Pike Place Market: Another Pig

Did you know there is another pig in the market?  This pig is under the market on Western Ave.

}'m okay!  The doctor came in early this morning and says "I have good news you don't have MRSA in your bones."  I have it in my tissue but that's easily treatable.  And I'm still healing really fast; so yeah!

Pike Place Market:: Sunflowers

There are flowers everywhere in the market and the bouquets are stunning.  Every new season comes a new flower, dried flowers in winter, tulips in spring, dahlias in summer and sunflowers in fall.  They also sell flowers singly so you can make your own arrangements.

I'm fine, bored but fine.  I've been here a little more than a week and I'm looking forward to the day I can sit in my chair again. Eating while laying flat has been a challenge, my bed is full of crumbs every night.  The doctor still thinks I may have MRSA again, lets pray I don't.