22 February 2014; Ivar's Mukilteo Landing --
Our youngest birth daughter, Ruth, was born at about 0200 on Valentine's Day 1955. Her nickname was "Little Pat-Pat" because, when I held her and hugged her when she was a wee baby, she patted me back! She was the most actively loving child that we had, [Her older brother was probably the most aloof! It seemed like he didn't want to take the time to sit on his Daddy's lap or put up with any of that cuddly stuff!!]
Anyway, it had been agreed some time ago to get together with my now-called "Nancy Nurse" to celebrate her birthday by having a delicious meal at one of our (mutual) favorite restaurants: Ivar's Mukilteo Landing.This time, I remembered to bring my camera!
The morning dawned -- at least the chronological clock said it "became daytime"! -- with threat of snow in the air. [The usual Seattle/Wet Coast kind of day, at least with "rain, showers and periods of drizzle".] Ruth called in mid-morning to discourage me from driving up for the occasion already reserved at this scenic restaurant site. Ivar's of course, is a restaurant establishment well-founded in early Seattle history; always a light-hearted atmosphere with phrases such as "keep clam", and, in the original "Ivar's" on the Seattle waterfront, a display of the ancient tools, such as a "Clam Gun", for harvesting the tidal-area dwelling mollusks like Razor clams and Geoducks (pronounced "Gooeyducks"). A dinner visit to Ivar's is always well-rewarded for the dedicated gourmet of sea food of all kinds; Ivar's clam chowder is actually loaded with clam bits!
I was not to be deterred, however, from celebrating this historic day with my daughter. After all, besides the thought of the delicious seafood dinner, there was the realization that this would be the first and last 59th birthday this daughter would have!
We [I had invited Margaret Mitchell to come along, since she and Mitch were Ruth's godparents] encountered fairly heavy downpour of snow just as we topped the hill on the west end of Paine field on our way down to the waterfront site of Ivar's Mukilteo Landing. I noted that the outside air temperature displayed on the Red Rocket dashboard advised that it was 38 degr Fahrenheit. I assured Mrs Mitchell that that meant that the snow could not remain; I was also aware that downhill next to Puget Sound the air temperature would be further modified by the "warm" [50 degr?!] salt water.
We got there later than I had intended and Ruth and Paul were already seated at a "perfect" table next to the windows. This called for a photograph as I had intimated at the beginning of this POST.
Our waitress kindly obliged, taking this flash picture looking into the bright background of the water and sea gulls who were outside hoping for a handout from one of the diners inside.*
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* A Seattle city ordinance forbade tourists and others from succumbing to the temptation of feeding seagulls, which can cause them to become a nuisance as a result. Ivar [since deceased] responded by commissioning a sculpture of a pair of seagulls being fed by a little boy, now prominently on display outside his namesake restaurant on the Seattle waterfront.
The morning dawned -- at least the chronological clock said it "became daytime"! -- with threat of snow in the air. [The usual Seattle/Wet Coast kind of day, at least with "rain, showers and periods of drizzle".] Ruth called in mid-morning to discourage me from driving up for the occasion already reserved at this scenic restaurant site. Ivar's of course, is a restaurant establishment well-founded in early Seattle history; always a light-hearted atmosphere with phrases such as "keep clam", and, in the original "Ivar's" on the Seattle waterfront, a display of the ancient tools, such as a "Clam Gun", for harvesting the tidal-area dwelling mollusks like Razor clams and Geoducks (pronounced "Gooeyducks"). A dinner visit to Ivar's is always well-rewarded for the dedicated gourmet of sea food of all kinds; Ivar's clam chowder is actually loaded with clam bits!
I was not to be deterred, however, from celebrating this historic day with my daughter. After all, besides the thought of the delicious seafood dinner, there was the realization that this would be the first and last 59th birthday this daughter would have!
We [I had invited Margaret Mitchell to come along, since she and Mitch were Ruth's godparents] encountered fairly heavy downpour of snow just as we topped the hill on the west end of Paine field on our way down to the waterfront site of Ivar's Mukilteo Landing. I noted that the outside air temperature displayed on the Red Rocket dashboard advised that it was 38 degr Fahrenheit. I assured Mrs Mitchell that that meant that the snow could not remain; I was also aware that downhill next to Puget Sound the air temperature would be further modified by the "warm" [50 degr?!] salt water.
We got there later than I had intended and Ruth and Paul were already seated at a "perfect" table next to the windows. This called for a photograph as I had intimated at the beginning of this POST.
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* A Seattle city ordinance forbade tourists and others from succumbing to the temptation of feeding seagulls, which can cause them to become a nuisance as a result. Ivar [since deceased] responded by commissioning a sculpture of a pair of seagulls being fed by a little boy, now prominently on display outside his namesake restaurant on the Seattle waterfront.
