I started out at the crack of 11:00 in the morning on Thursday April 14th, and it was a beautiful morning. Here’s the lovely additional deck at our air B&B.

I took too many videos, surprise surprise, but this one shows the view of our neighborhood.

It was a little bit steep down the hill but a quick trip to the water. Here’s a very short video while jogging. My very first jogging video, maybe it’ll be the last because of the increased likelihood of falling down while filming.

Leah, the air B&B host, told me about a “pocket beach” right down below our place and I’d hoped to run along it. I realized that it is, indeed, a pocket beach and very tiny. But I’m glad I got to see it.

Instead I went running along the marina and was happy to see so very many sailboats.

Another short video of the lovely scenery.

As I ran back I saw this big ship – I think it’s bigger than the ferries that go to other points, so I’m not sure of its destination.

One more video, when I arrived back at our place.

Mom and I then visited Mom’s dear, dear college friend Sharon and her gentle and kind husband Michio. This is the front of their house in the beautiful Queen Anne area of Seattle.

We had a great visit then headed to the nearby Kerry Park which has a breathtaking view of the city. The view of Mount Rainier would also be breathtaking if you could see it. It was obscured by clouds, though, and I struck up a conversation with a guy who was standing around with a very expensive-looking camera on a tripod.

He was waiting to capture a photo, but the clouds didn’t part. His Name is Tim Durkan, and he’s a photographer and a very interesting fellow. You can check out his photos on his website but of course he’s also on all the social media.

Way down there is a green round thing, and I immediately wanted to go see it up-close. It’s atop the former Seattle Post-Intelligencer building, and I believe it’s a neon light at night. We didn’t make it down there at that point, however, because I’d had my fill of driving around this very very hilly city for one day.

Back at our place, we got carryout from a little place called Un Bien, serving outstanding Cuban food.

A freighter passing by as I watched the sun set.

And that’s finally our second day in Seattle.

I wish I’d been posting here more rapidly, but this time part of my excuse is that I’ve been having tests because of stomach pain, and they determined that my gallbladder is very bad and will probably be removed. This will be the first time they’ve removed an organ, and hopefully the last. It seems that a gallbladder is something you can live without? Hmm, but its function is to hold onto the fat you eat and then release it at appropriate times, so who will do that? I meet with a surgeon on Wednesday and will ask him many many questions.

Last June was my first-ever operation, with the repair of my torn meniscus. I’m also hopeful that I won’t be having one operation a year now.

Another reason I was concerned enough to get tests is because I’ve lost about 10 pounds in the last few months. Of course any weight loss is always cause for great celebration, but I’ve always only lost one or maybe three pounds. I’ve never been this thin in my entire adult life. Or my teenage life, for that matter, except when I weight 118 for two glorious weeks when I was in “No, No Nanette” and tap-danced for three hours every night. Hopefully when they fix me, my weight won’t find its way back, but it always seems to be lurking just around the corner, ready to head back to me.

Right at this very moment it’s a lovely cool morning and I’m going to pull weeds and mulch in the front of the house. Living the dream!

ok then,

mrs. h.