(Sharon's Notes from the Playground) I took my daughter to the park today – pretty typical excursion, baby swings, watching other babies, waving at shadows. All fun stuff for a 7 month old. After maybe fifteen minutes or so, we meandered around the big play structure and I was struck by something, or maybe more accurately, a lack of something: there was a big void where the monkey bars used to be. At first I thought I had just missed them.…
(Sharon continues her Notes from the Playground series) When you take your kids to the park, say once, twice, maybe three times a day, you end up meeting lots of people. Well, more like you run into a lot of parents, who are in the same boat as you. Luckily for us, the hood seems to attract very cool “rents.” Folks are really down to earth, into their kids, and the neighborhood. And what’s not to like about the neighborhood? It’s…
Off at a 40th b-day party for a friend, we finally managed to meet Jake Beattie, Deputy Director of the Center for Wooden Boats and quizzed him a bit on their efforts to open a waterfront activity center just to the west of Gas Works Park. View Larger Map There's quite a bit of background on the Friends of North Lake Community Wharf web site, but we were still scratching our heads a bit trying to figure out exactly where they…
(Sharon continues her Notes from the Playground series) The official start of fall may have been last week but now it feels like the real deal. A little rain here and there, mixed in with crisp blue bird days that feel refreshing yet cozy at the same time. Fall is my favorite season in Seattle. I love going on evening walks, hearing the sound of autumn leaves crunching beneath my feet as I savor a hot cup of coffee and watch…
(Sharon continues her Notes from the Playground series) I may have mentioned before how great we think the playground is at Wallingford Park. It's cool that there are two play structures, side by side, so both toddlers and older ones can do their thing, but still mingle. I especially like how the blue squishy stuff underneath it makes me feel so safe, since my son, like most three year olds, has taken his share of tumbles there. Tunnel slide by Mike…
(Sharon continues her Notes from the Playground series) We took the kids to the park this afternoon to enjoy the last days of summer (ok, fall). Per my son’s request, we split up before heading in. He and I took the south entrance near Hamilton Middle School and my husband and daughter went in by the wading pool. As I approached the merry go round, I saw my husband snicker. He walked over to me and asked if I could smell…
(Our new contributor Sharon continues her series of vignettes, revolving around the Wallingford Playfield) On the way out for our nightly family walk a few weeks ago, I found a flyer in our mailbox about a lost cat. Hugh, an adorable gray kitty, lived a few blocks away and was greatly missed by his family. I was reading the text aloud when our son came bounding out of the house and snatched the paper away. “Why do you have a picture…