“Lawn Fairies”

UPDATED—(suck it New York, Sounders ruled the pitch and kicked ass–3-0)!

It’s finally SOUNDERS soccer season! Giddy-up…

The inaugural season kicks off tonight vs. the New York Red Bulls…Season ticket holders received a “Sounders Scarf” with the ‘package’ and it’s the ‘ticket’ for tonight’s game…I’ll try not to lose it while indulging in pre-game ceremonial rituals…

32,000 fans are expected at Qwest field for the opener…That’s pretty damn impressive considering that the original “capacity goal” was 18,000…Over 20,000 season ticket packages were sold…Not bad for a bunch of “Lawn Fairies.”

I’ll try to add pictures later…Gooooo Sounders!

Update-

Gametime …

The pretty “wimmens!”

What a blast!

Fun for the whole family….

What an opener…Beating NY at anything makes it all sweeter…

Cheers to SEATOWN and SOUNDER fans!

“The World Game”

…Folks, the World Baseball Classic is back in full swing and I’ve been loving every minute of it…For those of you not familiar with the WBC, it’s an ‘international professional baseball tournament’ held every four years (uh, well, 3 years, I guess?)…The first “Classic” was held in 2006 —I guess that IT WILL be held every four (4) years from now on with the next ‘installment’ in 2013…

As a baseball ‘junkie’ I love everything about this tournament…When it was announced in 2006 that the finals would be held at Petco Park in San Diego, I immediately booked a flight (okay, okay, I thought team USA would have been there too)…

“16 Countries, 432 players, 1 game!”

Since my brother lives in “San Dog” it was easy for him to score tickets for the finals…Sadly, team USA failed to qualify that year but it really didn’t matter–there were more deserving teams for sure…

(gotta love this guy for having the nerve to show this in an American ballpark):

The final four teams at Petco in 2006 were Japan vs. S.Korea and Cuba vs.Dominican Republic…Japan eventually won it all over Cuba…A pretty good mix of ball teams and talent…

Now, I was a little bummed that I didn’t get to watch team USA in person…However, I’ve never had more fun at a baseball game(s) than I did at the WBC…There was a double-header played on that Saturday and it was amazing—Japan, Korea, Cuba, D.R—Wow, those folks take being a baseball fan to a whole new level…There was no sitting and there was no angst with 4 different countries (5 if you count for USA) teams and fans in the same ballpark…I talked with fans from everywhere; even though I couldn’t understand what they were saying…Everybody was courteous and friendly, it was pure joy and the cheering was non-stop…I was impressed and I thoroughly enjoyed it…

I walked away from the 06 WBC with a whole new respect for the game of baseball and an understanding of what the game means to other countries…

…I’ve heard nothing but (mostly) negative things said about this year’s WBC: “it screws up spring training,” “who cares, it’s our sport,” and “the Canadians play baseball?” Thank you media…

-Whatever-

All in all–I recommend supporting the WBC, it’s a beautiful thing…AND, as of this writing, team USA is still in it…

Mush!

Before I hurt my knees, I had planned a ski trip to Sun Peaks, Canada with a group of friends. Since I’m not one to let a “little” detail like two busted up knees ruin my vacation, I signed myself up for a dog-sled ride instead.

My friends dropped me off…crutches and all. The guide (Brent) took one look at me and instantly went into all the reasons I should not go on the ride – - tipping sleds, bumpy trails, etc. – - he could not persuade me. Finally, he just said “Well, you signed the waiver!” And it was on…

The first thing I saw when I got there was this open field with ~ 45 dogs. They were each chained to a pole next to a little wooden house. When they saw me, they started running around in circles around the poles, wearing down a path. It made me pause…the one thing I was not prepared for was that the animals would be treated badly.

But after 2 minutes talking to the people who work there and interacting with the dogs, it was easy to see they take very good care of their animals. Even though these dogs take this “job” very seriously, they’re still dogs and they were very happy…playing and rolling around in the snow!

This place does two runs a day (two sleds with six dogs each) and the dogs are rotated through, so each dog typically only runs once a day. This little guy had already done his morning run, so he was just hanging out on top of his house!

The approach at this place is very “hands-on” so the other people who were going in their own sled actually helped pull the dogs together and get them ready for the ride. I couldn’t exactly help, so I just stood around and took pictures most of the time.

As soon as these dogs realized it was time to go for a ride, they went NUTS! 45 dogs barking and howling all at one time…that’s LOUD! (I have a little video of this happening and I will try to add it here…)

Anyways, since I couldn’t “mush” my own sled, I had to have a guide. They helped me into the sled, and away we went! The whole ride was probably about 45 minutes – uphill, downhill – too short but fun, very fun.

And then we stopped and my guide took pictures for me…my dogs (front to back, left to right): Red Dog, CJ, Tim, Crunch, Rugar & Bush. They were pretty feisty and a few of them kept fighting at different points…

This is a closer up of me bundled up in my sled. Bush is on the left and Rugar is on the right…

I think this picture looks like we’re actually moving…because the dogs are all leaning forward, like they’re actually pulling. The only time they truly relaxed was when they brought out the beef popsicles for a snack…

Anyways, I really enjoyed my dog-sledding adventure! I would recommend it to anyone…

Ah Skeet Skeet, mutha trucka…

Ode to the 2009 BASSmaster Classic winner….Mr. Skeet Reese:

SKEET REESE ladies and Gents…Skeet is ‘da shite’ and he represents the WEST coast well…

BASS fishing received some notoriety this year because ESPiN had “Mike and Mike” broadcast there? …Uh, no…

BassAnglerSS (BASS) can kiss my ass…They stopped bringing their “TOUR” to western states a few years ago because we were kicking the shit out of  ”dems soufern boys.” It’s true…

-My boy (Luke) from Spokane won this tournament too and represented well..

Regardless, I’m just happy that Iaconelli(sp?) didn’t win…

CONGRATS SKEET!!!

My broken birthday…

Happy Birthday to me!! My birthday fell on Friday the 13th this year, so I decided to do something special…

A few weeks ago, I had a “genius” idea to rent a Party Bus. Put your friends together on a bus, serve alcohol, play music, and dance your way from bar to bar…no one drinking and driving…and no one having to mess with parking in Seattle…actually, that IS genius!

At the beginning of the party bus adventure…not enough alcohol yet…clearly!

Too bad about that whole “twist” I had to throw in for kicks and giggles…

All I will say about my “double knee injury” is that it sucks. I have to be on crutches for the next 3 weeks with the knee braces for the next 6-10 weeks…followed by a little surgery for my torn ACL. Doesn’t that sound like fun?? It’s not super exciting, but it could be worse (says the doctor…) so I just have to buck up.

As for the the party bus? I actually had people suggest that I cancel it. Ummm…they must not know me very well…

Since wandering around on crutches for hours and drinking didn’t sound like a very smart idea for a girl who seems to be a little accident prone…I rented a wheelchair…MORE genius!

People were very nice to me…making room for me…buying me drinks…letting me into the bars without my ID (since genius here left that at home!).

And although I did expect someone would tip me over…or that I would get stuck on some hill in Seattle and roll down and break my neck, the only wheelchair “incident” was someone else’s…this is what happens when you leave your friends with your wheelchair while you go to the bathroom.

Hilarious!

All in all, it was a happy birthday to me! Good friends, good fun…a great night!

Bring back “The Kid”

-Clemens and Tejada (among others) are getting fitted for jail suits and home monitor bracelets, Roberto Alomar is wishing he hadn’t banged any hookers (I wonder how that umpire he spat on feels) and ‘F-rod’ is trying to win the public opinion battle (screwing Madonna won’t help)…I wonder how Bud Selig is feeling these days…

Well, how about some “good news” about baseball for a change? The rumors are flying around Seatown that our favorite son Ken Griffey Jr will be returning…

Judging by the crowd reaction when the Reds were in town in June 07 (yeah, I was there), “The Kid” is and always will be loved by Seatown baseball fans:

The ‘rumor’  is that the M’s and Griffey (agent) have agreed to a one-year deal (5 million?)…Of course, he must pass that physical test first which we all know takes…forever…

Considering that the 97 AL MVP doesn’t really have anywhere else to go; why not bring him back to Seattle!? The M’s need another bat and Griffey is perfect for the DH slot…I don’t expect to see him playing defense much (liability) but I’ll admit that it would be nice to see him in CF again…

He’s a shoe-in for Cooperstown: 2,679 hits, 611 homeruns, 1,772 ribbies, .288 BA…Sending him to the Hall of Fame in a Mariners uniform seems appropriate…

Wrapping up his career in Seattle could be beautiful…He’s a huge part of bringing life to baseball in Seattle and getting Safeco field built…If he returns, he’ll be accepted and loved, fill the seats and hopefully crank-out 25 home runs…I think we all would love to see him reach 700 home runs…however, reaching that plateau is a long shot…

Naturally, I’m biased regarding Griffey because I grew up watching him in the concrete confines of the Kingdome and he’s always been one of my favorite players…With that said, you won’t hear his name mentioned around the ’steroid scandal.’ I’m a firm believer that “The Kid” did it the right way and never cheated…He has always kept a low profile, good attitude and remained a class-act…He’s exactly what baseball needs more of…

Welcome, “Dubs”

The University welcomes it’s 11th Alaskan Malamute as the school mascot:

“Dubs” (after the “hip vernacular U-Dub”) will make his Husky Stadium debut on Sept. 5th vs. LSU:

Cute little bastard, now I REALLY want one:

Mr. Linde (aka Malamute) has a great story about the history of  ‘DAWGS’ Here.

So embur-sing…

Update: After a visit to the doctor today, here’s the “good” news…I have a sprained MCL on my left knee, moderately severe, requires a thigh to ankle brace that won’t let me straighten my leg for the next 6-10 weeks.

The “bad” news is that I may have done something to my ACL on my right knee, or I may have done some damage to my miniscus on my right knee…had the MRI today and will know more later this week. Best case scenario is the same brace as on the left leg (yes, at the same time!). Worst case scenario is the brace followed by surgery.

And now I’m done…no skiing for the rest of the year. I will have to spend my ski vacation in the lodge, looking helpless and hoping people will buy me “pity drinks.”

With that said…I should be in “working order” in time for opening day of fishing season…at least until I have to have surgery…

————————————————————————————–

Ski lesson #2 started on a good note this morning. Since I mastered “pizza” and “french fry” in Lesson #1, I was trying to work on my edges for this lesson (i.e. learning to turn with my skis together).

It was a gorgeous day…but the snow was really mushy. I have way more trouble turning left, so I was working on that when IT happened…I turned, and instead of coming together, my skis started pulling apart like I was trying to do the splits. Unfortunately, my knees decided to try to correct things by twisting the opposite direction, until I landed HARD on my ass…both knees twisted the wrong directions…

Ummm…ouch.

Ski patrol to the rescue! Since I couldn’t ski or walk down the hill, the ski patrol came and picked me up in their little ski mobile and towed me down in a toboggan…it was super…super embarrassing, that is! (For whatever reason, but not because of my little incident, they even blew the siren while I was headed down…gah!)

At the ski patrol hut, they made sure I wasn’t dying (or planning to sue). Plus, they made me a fantastic cardboard splint (see picture below), iced both of my knees for awhile, and then put me in this little contraption (called the beetle) so they could “ski” me to the truck and send me home.

Since they never let me stand up while I was there, and literally lifted me into the truck so we could go home, I had no idea I couldn’t walk on EITHER knee until I got home and tried to get out of the truck.

Since that’s a slight problem (I can’t be missing work right now) my friends went and got me some knee braces and crutches. More hilarity…girl who can’t put pressure on her knees trying to walk around in crutches. Good stuff.

Currently I’m thankful for ibuprofen and ice…because as of writing this post, I can actually walk a little…I may look like an old lady, but hey, I am just happy to be somewhat mobile.

My only hope at this point is that I will be mostly healed by the end of this month so I can go on the ski trip I have planned. Sun Peaks is a long way to go to sit in the lodge…

Pheasant flies…

Some ‘variations’ of fly patterns that I tie…

Pheasant Tail Leech (modified):

Hook:Mustad 9671, umpqua 3761, whatever—sizes 6-10 (I also tie some 1x)

Tail, Beard and Wing: Pheasant tail fibers

Body and Rib: Peacock herl, gold tinsel (some prefer fine gold wire too)…

I suppose that it could somehow represent a leech, this pattern has always worked well on lakes…It’s classified as a ‘wet’ fly or ’streamer’ but I’ve always thought that (specific variations) represent a dragonfly nymph more than anything…The pattern was supposedly created by an eastern Washington fisherman and I’ve seen numerous variations of it…This fly is great for brook, rainbow and cutthroat trout…I’ve also caught some warm water species with it…They’re easy to tie and a staple in any fly box…Basically, if you can’t catch fish with this fly, you’re helpless because it works damn near everywhere…

Beaded Pheasant tail Nymph:

Hook: Umpqua 3769, whatever…sizes 14-18

Tail, body and wing casing/thorax: All pheasant tail parts and peacock herl. Fine copper wire ribbing and brass bead head…

I’m not a fan of ‘nymph fishing’ (long story) but the pheasant tail nymph is a staple in my fly boxes…It’s a proven producer more times than not so I always have a few available if need be…The bead helps it sink faster and sometimes I’ll also wrap the hook with fine lead wire…These little buggers are a pain-in-the-ass to tie so it’s a good thing I don’t go through very many every year…

To give you an idea of how tiny they are: 

-The two top ones are a size 16…I think I’m going to start buying the flies that are smaller than a size 16 because it takes me too long to tie them…They sometimes don’t turnout looking very good either…

…I’ll be sure to pinch the barbs on those hooks too…

Gift from the Midwest…

Sweet, I received a gift in the mail from fellow blogger and all-around good guy GFV who is part of the crew over at Life in the Great Midwest.

Pheasant “Foofaraw” for tying flies!

Gerry and his trusty dog ‘Speck’ harvested some pheasants again this year and have been gracious enough to send me the goods (tailwings and such)…

Most fly-fishermen will tell you that pheasant ‘feathers’ are a ’staple’ for tying flies—and they are, at least for me anyways…Lots of “modified pheasant tail nymphs,” “modified carey specials,” “modified doc spratley’s,” etc…Actually, I usually go through about 20-30 of each of those specific flies every year…I go through even more when my ’students’ lose 3 or 4 an hour by snagging them on stuff (which is fine, it’s entertaining)!

I know Gerry appreciates the fact that the pheasants he harvested will also be used to harvest a fish or three…Gotta love it…

So, thank you very much Gerry (and Speck)! They will be put to use soon!