Author: Andy Smallman

Melinda was the first one to spot this Teddy Bear, sitting as he is on a rock wall at the edge of our yard along the sidewalk in front of our house. I snapped this picture a couple of days ago but decided to use it today since the bear is still there.

What does his presence mean?

I have the sad feeling that perhaps some toddler being pushed in a stroller dropped his beloved bear in front of our house, a tragic circumstance unbeknownst to the stroller-pushing adult. Then I feel a little upbeat imagining that some other person came along and, spotting the stuffed bear in a prone position on the sidewalk, picked him up and set up to sit hopefully on our rockery.

Will the child owner return to find him? That is the critical question.

There was Johnny Carson. And David Letterman. Even Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno. And Jimmy Fallon, of course! But tonight the late night fun is taking place at PSCS.

After a great grilled hamburger for dinner courtesy of Greg, Brenda & Perrin, Melinda & I returned to PSCS for another round of “getting ready,” or “catching up,” or whatever it is we are doing, knowing we will be in France for the month of July. There is a lot of work to do to be ready and, heck, night time is just the right time to do it.

Maybe we can have some stupid pet tricks or something. We rearranged some furniture, as evidenced in today’s photo. That’s fun, right?

I’m just back home after having been interviewed by Darryl Whalen for his podcast “Greener Views.” The audio and a video of the interview will be up on his website in a few days, so be sure to go back and check if you want to see or hear it.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, very casual compared to some interviews I’ve given. And it turns out that Darryl is quite dialed in to PSCS. Not only has he been a guest at school, he knows one of our teachers and two of our board members. Off camera we kept talking about people we both knew. It was a virtual who’s who.

Today’s photo is of a chart Darryl uses to stay on track. I got a big kick out of its simplicity and how he uses sticky notes to adapt it to each week’s guest. It reminded me of a teacher I once had whose mantra was, “Work smarter, not harder!”

That’s all of us in this photo, along with my parents, last night at a restaurant in Redmond (a large Seattle suburb and home to Microsoft). With Melinda’s and my birthdays being so close together in May, my parents have long wanted to take all of us out for a birthday dinner. With our departure for a month in France coming on Thursday, this doubled as a going-away dinner.

I chose a restaurant called Graces 5. I picked it because ALL of the items on the menu are gluten-free, a boon for my mom since she is gluten-sensitive (some might say she is sensitive in other ways, too, but let’s not go there). Our server snapped this picture just after delivering 6 different gluten-free desserts, all delicious.

We shared, taking a bite and passing to the right. I think it was Melinda who said, “This is the best way to have dessert!”

So we bought a new car. Actually, we bought a used car. We bought a new used car. Or a used new car. I’m getting confused.

Adding to the confusion is that in order to transfer the title we had to get an emissions test. I mean the used new car had to get an emissions test. I’m not sure I’d want to get an emissions test. I might fail. Wait a second, I think I’d pass. Literally. Get it? It’s an emissions test, after all. I’d pass? Oh, I’m getting more confused.

Anyway, at the CAR emissions testing place, the driver is required to exit the vehicle and sit on this chair inside this box. I stayed in the passenger seat. I asked the attendant why Melinda had been given a time out.

I think he was confused, too.

Melinda & I had dinner tonight with our good friends, Deb & Jutta. Deb worked for PSCS for several years before leaving to help co-found and be the administrator of Jutta’s physical therapy practice. They are smart, funny, level-headed people and we like them a lot.

Deb suggested we meet at a little Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle called Ba Bar. Ba Bar offers several delicious “small plates,” some with Happy Hour prices. We took full advantage, adding in a cocktail for good measure.

For dessert we shared five macarons, as evidenced in today’s photo (along with Deb, on the left, and Jutta). Yes, these macarons not only look big, they were big. They were also big-tasting good.

First, I hope this photo isn’t offensive to anyone. I saw this graffiti wall about an hour ago and it made me laugh out loud. I started imagining what a wall of preschool graffiti might look like. Statements like poo-poo head, maybe? Then I pictured a little kid with a can of red spray paint.

Yeah, maybe I should get a life…

Anyway, Melinda and I were out walking while a nail was being removed and a patch applied to one of our car’s tires. We saw this wall. I took a picture. I laughed. I imagined silly stuff. Now I’m telling you.

I haven’t heard any more news about the angel sculpture and where she may have ended up. If anyone else has, I hope you’ll let me know.