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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.

So last night I talked about the tape sculptures that teaching staff member Scobie created at PSCS this past school year with a group of students. In our cleaning yesterday, we moved them to the dumpster for trash pick-up. But we saw one get rescued late yesterday afternoon (and the other two, featured in yesterday’s photo, were gone this morning).

Today I received an email from Greg, Melinda’s brother in law (Perrin’s dad), that said, “I just saw the angel wing sculpture hanging from a post at 1st & Pike. I saw it around noon, proudly taped to a sign pole at the main intersection in front of the big clock.”

This was met with much excitement by the PSCS staff with thoughts on how to create another sculpture next year that could be carted around, maybe with some kind of tracking system included.

We were all thrilled when Greg later sent a few photos, including this one, along with this comment, “A ‘gentleman’ offering kissing lessons (note his sign) had confiscated her and was in the process of walking away.”

Okay, I admit it. Today’s post title is misleading. It’s a joke. Oh, yes, Ella is still adorable today, same as ever. But a picture involving a dumpster? The word adorable? Misleading.

This is the dumpster used by PSCS. And since school got out, we’ve been cleaning. In today’s purge were a couple of sculptures crafted last fall by a small group of students under the direction of teaching staff member, Scobie, a certified genius. At Scobie’s PSCS job interview, just after he left, a parent on the hiring advisory committee looked at me and said, clear astonishment in her voice and on her face, “I think he’s a genius.”

So, yeah, last fall Scobie facilitated a sculpture activity in which students learned how to use thick cellophane tape to make human form sculptures using their bodies. They’d start by wrapping themselves with the tape, sticky side out, and then continue with the sticky side in. The end result, these cool forms.

Today’s end result, Scobie posing them in the dumpster. Another, one with angel wings, was rescued by a passerby. We saw it being carried down the street.

I just checked the blog stats and I’ve had a marked increase in visitors since telling you all that Ella is adorable. Either people find this so remarkable (as in hard to believe) that they need to come see for themselves, or they knew it all along and like proving themselves to be right. Either way, I decided I’d push my luck and try it one more night.

Ella’s cousin Tammy is in town from college and Ella, Melinda & I took her out for a Mexican dinner (Chloe is attending her best childhood friend’s high school graduation). On the way home we stopped at Fran’s Chocolates for, get this, a chocolate. Then we strolled over to a store called Anthropologie where Ella found a book called “One Good Deed a Day.” I took tonight’s picture of her showing one of the suggestions, “Leave an …ella in a public place.”

Pretty darn adorable, don’t you think??

So Ella suggested I tell you all about her second dance performance, the one that took place today. It was her Beginning Teen Ballet class and the class performance was excellent. In fact, after they finished the MC of the event commented, “Can you believe that’s BEGINNING ballet?”

Really, it was another fun time watching 16 dance performances, Ella’s, of course, being the highlight. But I do want to mention the Beginning Adult Tap class performance. There was one man and three woman, the man, up on stage giving it his all, really impressing me. It didn’t stop me from wondering if he’d lost a bet or something, though.

Anyway, on the subject of Ella being adorable I offer this photo from over 10 years ago (I don’t have one of her in her ballet outfit). Ella’s on the right and her cousin Olivia is on the left. As you can tell, they’re sharing an apple. Pretty darn adorable, don’t you think?

Ella’s been taking dance classes on Thursday and Friday nights since last fall and today she got to perform for an audience. It was her “Teen Beginning Swing & Ballroom” performance, and Ella’s class danced to “Roll Over, Beethoven.” There were just five who performed, and all girls. To create a partner for one, the instructor filled in.

It was quite fun watching Ella dance as it’s obvious how much she loves it. She chose dance this year over soccer, and it certainly suits her better. What was also fun was watching the other performances. Achingly adorable, of course, were the small kids. For instance, there was a “Pre-Ballet/Tap” class that consisted of probably 12 four-year-olds. Talk about cute!

But, still, not as adorable as Ella.

Back in 2003 I was messing around with Photoshop and came up with what I’m using as today’s photo. As I hope you can tell, it’s a mash-up of a couple of photos of me, both having had their color altered. I was semi-going for a vintage baseball card look, like this card of Jackie Robinson from 1955.

I like manipulating photos and think that had my life gone in another direction I might have ended up doing something like it professionally. Heck, maybe I would have been a sports card creator or graphic designer of some sort, although the idea of me being involved in graphic design almost sounds laughable today.

It does get me wondering about those little decisions we make that send us off in new directions. Are there multiple possible futures or just one?