Lenticular clouds and Mt. Rainier

Pam's note: the Pacific NW is one of the neatest places on the planet. The following pictures and text were in an email that I received (via many many forwards.)

Enjoy!

This is the coolest, most bizarre weather phenomenon I've ever seen.

For those who don't live in the Seattle, Washington area, Vashon is one of the islands in the puget sound. A couple people saw this - it was so amazing, people were pulling over on the freeway to take pictures.

A lot of these are taken from Vashon but there was the most amazing view from the top of the 15th Street hill. CRAZY!

Mt. Rainier puts on a show!

By Scott Sistek
Our little dry streak is about to come to an end. But if you looked at Mt. Rainier today, you would have known that already.

Take a look at some of these incredible clouds captured over Mt. Rainier today.

(Photos by Tim Thompson and David Embrey.)

Those are called "lenticular clouds" They're caused when the air flow is just right so when it flows over Mt. Rainier, the air gets pushed upward where it cools and condenses into clouds. Depending on how smooth the flow is, you can get some amazing clouds formations.
Here is more information on what causes them.

It's usually a sign of rain within 24 hours because typically the moist flow that precedes a storm around here is the perfect set up for these clouds.

Pretty amazing huh!!

... he just wanted a bottle of water...

"...he just wanted a bottle of water...", originally uploaded by passitonplates.

"...he just wanted a bottle of water..."

Ollie looks so comfy, doesn't he?

Remember - he was the free one.

Sleeping Ollie

Ollie, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

As long as he has a comfy place to sleep, Ollie doesn't care what position he's in.

He's on a comfy bed and he's gonna go to sleep, dammit.

He's such a dork.

When we got Ollie and Violet, the Humane Society had a buy one get one free sale on cats. We keep reminding each other that he was the free one.

You get what you pay for.

Billy Mays Caps Lock

Whenever Rachel and I see an "As Seen On TV" item for sale in a store that features a late but well-known loud bearded pitchman, she wails, "Oh, Billy Mays! Wahhhhhh...."

Ok, she's sarcastic, but we liked doing Billy Mays impersonations and have several of his pitched products around the house. We do think it's sad he died at such a young age.

For her birthday (as a joke) I'm thinking of installing this little program on our computer. Every time you hit your Caps Lock key on the keyboard, Billy Mays voice belts out one of his well-known phrases.

The humor will be totally lost on Frank, but she'll get a kick out of it.

Dear Hot Dog Owner:

I didn’t steal your lunch. I know there are a lot of similar lunch bags in here, but I’m amazed you didn’t wonder why there was someone else’s lunch in your bag - or why it was on the opposite side of the fridge. Honestly, it made me giggle. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for a secure place to hide your dogs so they too don’t get stolen, you might want to compose your own nasty note for the lunch thief. Or bring in a Tupperware of earth worms… just in case…

Lunch Saga, Part 1

For the last few years I have had dishes and flatware as well as my lunch stolen from the lunch bag I keep in the refrigerator down in the break room here at work. It's so frustrating to go to a deli and pick up 2-3 days worth of lunchy stuff only to find my empty lunch bag sitting on top of the fridge the next day when I want to eat lunch. My home silverware collection has dwindled to the point where I'm considering buying a whole new set so we have enough forks and spoons to get us through a meal.

I blame the night cleaning guy for throwing it in the trash, but I could be wrong.

My lunch bag has a bright ribbon on it so I can identify it in the fridge, (my name is even written on the ribbon) and there's now a big nasty note taped inside the lid that basically says "Keep Out and Stop Stealing My Sh!t" This has helped... until today when the most bizarre thing happened.
Today I went to get a snack out of my lunch bag and couldn't find it in the fridge where I usually keep it. I looked on top of the fridge, in the cupboards, then had the thought that someone finally stole or threw away the entire bag. A little voice in my head suggested I open the other side of the fridge, just in case.

Voila! There it is...on a shelf I never use, with my bright ribbon facing the back of the fridge.

I opened it up, pushed aside my nasty note, and was amazed to discover someone's package of hot dogs tucked in the back behind my yogurt, a bagel, and today's lunch, which was brought in on Friday.

Huh. Is this a gift?

Or have they been having the same problem I'm having and thought it would be more secure in my bag with the nasty note inside?

Since they didn't leave me any buns or ketchup, I decided to remove the hot dogs and place them on the shelf where my bag had been sitting (on the other side of the fridge from where I always keep my bag.) Then I put my bag back in its usual space, turned so I can see the bright ribbon right in front.

I'm debating putting a note on the fridge to let the hot dog owner know where they can find their lunch...

Foggy Lens

This is one of my favorite paintings. When she was in the 3rd grade, Rachel asked me to buy her a $2 canvas because she wanted to paint. She took it outside to the picnic table with a box of paint and brushes and went to work.

Within a short time, she had created this. She calls it a mess and doesn't like it, but there's just something about it that I love. It hangs on my bedroom wall so I can look at it every day.

Cost? We already had the paint, and the canvas was $2.

Oh, and I had the feed the starving artist when she was done.
A PB&J sandwich and a glass of milk set me back an additional 35 cents.

Getting Zapped at the Science Museum

...as seen in the OMSI parking lot...

Electric Vehicle Charging Station, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

It's a Zap car, parked at an Electric Vehicle Charging Station at OMSI*... plugged in and charging.

How neat is that?

...as seen in the OMSI parking lot..., originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

When I mentioned this to a friend, he said they have these charging stations in downtown Salem, too. I hadn't seen them, but we do have a few of these three-wheeled Zap cards tooling around in the city, so it makes perfect sense to me.

Have you seen anything like this in your area?

*OMSI = Oregon Museum of Science & Industry

Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City

This is one of our favorite beaches. Never too crowded like the ones in Lincoln City, interesting tide pools, and there's always the sand dune to climb...

Ummm, yeah, this must be low tide.

Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City, Oregon, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

The group of people to the left of the tidepools found something interesting. Maybe a starfish? Could be sea anenomes or some tiny rockfish?

Cape Kiwanda Tidepools, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

Those gnarly looking black and white things at the bottom of the rock walls are mussels. Like the kind you would order in a seafood or Italian restaurant.

Rachel in a cove at Cape Kiwanda, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

This was a dumb idea. Barnacles (the hard pointy little white things) hurt to walk on. Like walking on tacks. Ouch!

barefoot on the tidepools, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

This virtual visit to Pacific City has been brought to you by the letter S.

For Sun.

And Sand.

And Sea.

Butterfly Tote Bag

Bright purple tote bag, originally uploaded by passitonplates.

I have a thing for tote bags.

As I sew up other projects, I find fabrics that go together and I often whip up a quick tote bag - the size is based on my immediate need.

A few months ago I needed one big enough to hold a couple three-ring binders and a few other misc things, so I took some leftover obnoxious butterfly fabric and some leftover obnoxious purple fabric and made this cute-and-not-really-obnoxious tote bag. The handles are grosgrain ribbon.

DSCN5118, originally uploaded by passitonplates.

My discerning (now) 13 year old decided I should put the butterflies on the inside and the solid color purple on the outside. She said it's for a visual surprise, but I really think she doesn't want to be embarrassed if I carry the bag while we're out together ... in public.

Ok, yeah, it's wrinkly in the picture. It had been stuffed in another tote bag for a while. I use it to haul notebooks and my calendar (and lunch) to the day job. It's also handy for packing shoes into a suitcase or carrying display stuff to a craft show. I can fit a small crock pot in here, too.

Despite the wrinkles, it's cute, eh?