...it's not even the new year yet!

Gearing up for the New Year.

Saying goodbye to Seattle at Christmas-time... and gearing up for Scott's arrival from NYC to ring in the new year.

We had a great trip back home. It was crazy and a bit stressful at times, but overall, it was so nice to spend time with our friends and families. Saturday and Sunday were both exactly what I had hoped for... drama-less, meaningful, and all around relaxing. But, damn, the midwest sure can be cold!

Leaving 2005 with this cozy and adorable image of Lucy, our Christmas cat. Happy New Year!

Peace, love, and understanding.

Finally heading home tomorrow and feeling pulled in fifty directions. Between family and a long list of friends, there isn't a lot of time to spread around. To make matters worse, a lot of our loved ones are leaving as soon as we arrive. So, instead of quality visits, each day is filled with group visits and much running around. Moving has already been difficult enough. Now, it's a juggling act, as well. So, my Christmas wish is to return to Seattle fulfilled, knowing we've spent quality time with everyone {minus the stress of it all}.

An earnest "thank you" to Jill for being so flexible and understanding with us during this new process... truly going above and beyond to spend time with us while making sure we get to and from Chicago safely.

KEXP Holiday Benefit.

On Saturday, Nathan, Auri, H, and I attented the KEXP Holiday Benefit Show, night 2. The big highlight was the opportunity to see the one and only Mark Gardener of legendary shoegazers Ride. None of us had seen Ride, so this is as close as it could get (unless you count Andy Bell playing for Oasis, which I don't). And, lo, Mark did indeed grace us with a note-perfect rendition of "Taste", one of the most perfect songs in shoegaze history! His backing band for the tour, Goldrush, tended toward a bit too much of a Brit-cowboy sound for me, but they nailed it on this one. He also presented an acoustic version of another classic, "Vapour Trail". A lack of drums hurt this one, but the violin part definitely made up for it.

The rest of the show was a hit-and-miss affair. Openers The Divorce were quite peppy, although they were hurt by some detracting stage presence. Popular locals Harvey Danger were better than I would have guessed, and one of the most unlikely-looking rock groups ever. The final band that we saw was a group from Austin, TX, that I'd prefer to remain nameless. They "featured" accordion, steel guitar, and godforsaken neck-harmonica! Needless to say we lasted through one 10-minute dirge of a song before beating a path for the door.

Albums of the Year.

Here are my picks for Best Albums of 2005. To see more, check out my full Best of 2005!

10. Razorlight – Up All Night
10. Ladytron - Witching Hour
Tie
Razorlight’s debut was a nice one, but it couldn’t get them to the top this year. Ladytron finally put out a record that justified their potential.

9. Longwave - There's a Fire
Steve Schlitz and Co broke out of their mold enough to make a consistently engaging and forward-thinking piece of art. I miss the swirlier stuff, but still enjoyed this quite a bit.

8. Death Cab for Cutie – Plans
Not as consistent as their past few albums, but the first half contains some of their strongest-ever material.

7. Doves - Some Cities
This one took me quite a while to warm up to, but I finally got it. First single “Black and White Town” was a misleading but refreshing stomper.

6. Stellastarr - Harmonies for the Haunted
This oddly attractive band expanded on the strengths of their debut album and brought us a terrific record of glam-rock brilliance.

5. Nada Surf - The Weight is a Gift
These guys continue to impress as one of the most underrated groups in the US. Power pop just doesn’t get much better.

4. Coldplay – X & Y
They might be a bit pretentious and may be getting a bit too big for their pants, but Coldplay can still write a damn fine tune. X & Y is larger than life.

3. Pitty Sing - S/T
If you can get over the goofy band name (it’s a cat from a short story), you’ll realize that this New York new-wavy foursome released one of the best debuts of ’05.

2. Editors - The Back Room
These Brit newcomers, much like Interpol, channel early 80’s gothrock with fresh noisepop twists. It’s a bit of Idaho and This Picture with a lot of 80’s Factory bands (like the Railway Children) thrown in for good measure. Once this one sinks in it’s impossible to put it down.

1. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
Was there any doubt? Silent Alarm was heads and tails above everything else this year. Simply a tour de force of fresh, energetic Britrock played with skill and ferocity. If you haven’t picked this up yet, what are you waiting for??

It's very pretty from here.

Well, no ice fog yet. The forecast right now should be calling for a rainbow-colored sunset. Yes, it's just after 4:00 pm and the sun is setting. It's absurd, but pretty. The above image was taken by The Seattle Times webcam, where I sit and work each Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. =)

Fingers crossed, this is my last post for today!

No snow here... but ice fog?

As our family is stuck in several inches of snow, our weekend forecast is calling for "ice fog"... a condition I have never heard of. This forecast results in an "air stagnation" warning that will last for the next three days. When our Boston-pal Dave visited just before Thanksgiving, we experienced something similar and it was quite a bummer. Basically, a blanket of thick fog covered Seattle and she didn't show her face for days. On the upside, we're still wearing our autumn gear.

Do things happen in "three's"?

My bus was sideswiped this morning. The offending driver just drove right on past us, too! Come on, people, if you hit somebody or cause an accident, you should pull over and, at a minimum, make sure everybody is okay.

For the record: Everybody was just fine.

Italian Spaghetti.

I recently noticed an odd restaurant proclamation: Italian Spaghetti! Why would someone bother to emphasize that the spaghetti is Italian? What other kind is there?

That got me thinking...what about Mexican Spaghetti? Or perhaps Thai? This might be a good project for an aspiring restauranteur.
Just picture the specials: Lasagna Burritos, Fettuccini Tacos, Pad Thai Marinara!
The mind boggles.

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

We headed to the beach this weekend to witness a Seattle tradition: the Christmas ship. A line of parade ships, as well as privately owned boats, follow behind a highly-decorated Vegas-style cruiser to various beaches around town. If you've ever been to the Rio to witness the "Circus in the Sky", it's sort of like that, but on water. Blaring music, a bonfire on the beach, and lots of lights.. Fun stuff overall.

Our weekend ended with a trip to see the Pacers vs. Sonics game last night. We purchased decent half-court tickets only to be seated next to the most self-righteous b@#&! I've encountered in awhile. Our Indiana-transplant friends were sitting in her seats until she arrived. Once she did arrive (at the end of the first quarter!), they happily moved. Fully inkeeping with the holiday spirit, she made rude comments about us until half-time and acted like we were the most obnoxious sports fans alive (when we were barely clapping each time the Pacers scored). She finally ticked Shawn off to the point where he confronted her. She nastily told us that she didn't like "Pistons fans". Well, neither do we! And now, we don't like Sonics fans either.

How we spent Thanksgiving.

The car crash prevailed and I forgot to post this adorable shot of Shawn's family. We spent a wonderful Thanksgiving at his cousin's home in nearby Snoqualmie. We had great food and some good laughs. Especially when the pup, Blakely, just ran into the photo and posed on his own. You can really tell this bunch is related. =)

L to R: Chad, Seth, Shawn; Ted, Melissa (Chad's wife), Melody, Liz... and Blakely.