Bridge Motel

Last night pretty much everyone in Seattle crowded into my friend Eve's brother's motel for an art party celebrating the motel's last days of existence. We picked up our friend Will on the way. He shut the door in our faces, which seemed weird; I later found out he thought we were dressed up, so when he saw us he wanted to change his clothes really fast. So I waited outside and took pictures of his yard (where The Stranger's "public intern" did some weeding for him month ago).











OK, these townhouses are right by the Bridge Motel, which is being demolished to make room for a row of similar three-story townhouses.





Here's the motel, where my husband's parents stayed on their first night in Seattle in the '60s.



Later on we saw some friends of ours, and they said they also stayed here years ago. They said the clerk asked them to confirm that they were a married couple. But that's no longer one of the rules here.





I ate some of the art.











I like this carpet, though I'd like it a lot more after a steam cleaning.



Despite having examined the state of the carpet at the motel, I did crawl around this black-light exhibit.



































Speaking of Eastern Europe, I saw a guy who lived on the same train line as me in Czech Republic in the '90s. My stop was Cernosice Mokropsy, and his was farther down, in lovely Zadni Treban.







Behind the bar, these two played Rock Paper Scissors endlessly, and each time the loser had to dance and swig bourbon. They looked like they were getting sick.





I took 16 seconds of shaky video of it.





















It started getting crowded, and we left.

Ciscoe Morris Garden Bloom Day

Let's see what Ciscoe Morris's yard looks like in mid-September, a colorful time of year in the Pacific Northwest.





These flowers are dying beautifully.



The sedum is in its prime.



I'd hoped to find unusual sedums (S. cauticola) like this one at the plant sale today, but no. No heathers, either.















































I'll end here, with my camera's 9,999th photo:

Party with Cops

If you're a Seattle resident served by the South Precinct, you're invited to an annual celebration with police officers this Saturday. If you're a Seattle resident who hasn't had any reason to figure out what your local precinct is, then you should throw your own little celebration. I'll probably be skipping this shindig in favor of the Northwest Horticultural Society's Fall Plant Sale, the Bridge Motel installation, and a friend's end-of-summer mojito party, even though Mark Solomon, who has been known to hang out at the Beacon Pub from time to time, seems like he'd know how to throw a good party.

Dear Community Friends -

Please join us for our annual Picnic at the Precinct.

Saturday, September 15, 2007, 1-4pm at the South Precinct (3001 S Myrtle ST)

All South Precinct Community Members are invited. There is no cost to attend.

We will have food, music, magic performances, martial arts demonstrations, dance performances, raffles, activities for children and more.

Get a Precinct tour. Meet and interact with your South Precinct officers and members of our SWAT team, K-9 unit, and others.

We hope you can join us!

Mark

Mark Solomon
SPD Crime Prevention, South Precinct
206.386.9766

Ghosts and Politicians in Georgetown

Friends of Georgetown History are looking for your personal ghost stories that have taken place in the neighborhood. They're gearing up for their third annual Halloween tour, which I have been looking forward to since the moment that the last one ended last October.

The Friends of Georgetown History is gearing up for the 3rd annual Haunted History tour and we are in search of ghost stories.

Did you know Georgetown is one of the most haunted areas of the city? Two of our buildings are on the national register of most haunted places.

What can you do to help? Well answer the following questions - then hit reply and tell us about your experience.

Have you heard or seen anything in and around your house, studio or drinking establishment?

Have you heard an unexplained voice when you were alone?

Have you heard footsteps when you knew you were alone in your buiding?

We want to hear from you.....of particular interest is of the Rainier Brewery/ Georgetown Funeral Home and anywhere on Flora or Ellis.

Several people have already come forward to tell their stories - one of a voice which advised them not to paint over a particular color in a space which was being redecorated.

Another neighbor experiences a presence nearly every night at the same time in the same place upstairs in her house.

I took last year's tour with a city council staffer who was so impressed that she said she thought everyone on City Council should be required to attend. Maybe someone will invite this fall's city council candidates to come back for the Halloween tour when they all appear in Georgetown on October 2 for a South Seattle Candidates Forum. The details:

Tuesday, October 2
6:30 p.m. at the Georgetown Ballroom
5623 Airport Way S.

Kathy Nyland has said she'd like all the questions to be of interest to South Seattle residents and supporters, and I have a Beacon Hill question that I'm working on. If you have any questions you'd like addressed, send them to Kathy. I'm not sure she wants me to post her e-mail address here, but I will send it to you if you're interested. (Or maybe you can volunteer it up in the comments, Kathy?)