Welcome Isaac Edmund Sleight,
Born September 8th

Cynthia and Nathanael had their third son, Isaac Edmund Sleight, Thursday morning, September 8th, at 11:08 AM at MultiCare Auburn Medical Center.  He was 7 lb. 13.8 oz. and 53 cm (20.9") long.  He arrived four days before his expected due date.  Brothers Jonathan (born June 3, 2018) and Reuben (born March 22, 2020) were home with grandparents David and Helen Eby who share the Sleight/Eby home in south Auburn.

Isaac is our sixth grandchild, not counting the three Pastrick kids for whom Nancy and I are surrogate grandparents. 

Isaac's Aunt Annie bought the little British Bear when she was on her study abroad trip to Great Britain back in 2008.  This was an appropriate first gift for Isaac since he was born on the same day as the ascension of King Charles III to the British throne.

Tramoya's Baptism
at Creekside Covenant Church

Nancy and I took great pleasure in worshiping at little Creekside Covenant Church in west Redmond on the 11th. 
I was also happy to serve as the photographer at the baptism of family friend Tramoya Sledge.

Susan attends Creekside occasionally to support Tramoya.

She was grateful for the photos.

From Tramoya: "Thank you so much for being there and taking these wonderful pictures for me. I didn't expect yesterday to be even half as great as it was, it was great because all of you were there with me. I can't say thank you enough!" 

Pastrick Play Dates and Parties

On Saturday the 3rd, Annie drove the girls and Nancy and me up to Lake Stevens for a play date with the Pastrick kids.

Alicia and Richard can use all the help they can get with their three. 

Keeping little kids safe on their tricycles coming and going to their nearby play area was a challenge.

I had fun teaching Charis and Rowen the very basics of hopscotch, which is to say just the hopping part.  I also got a workout keeping two swings going at the same time.  "Higher grandpa!"

On Saturday the 10th, we celebrated the birthdays of Vivienne and Corvin Pastrick, her first and his third this month.  Jean, Joel, Galen, Susan, and our six all drove up to Lake Stevens to be with this special branch of our clan.

Richard Pastrick made baked chicken and Annie provided the cake for Corvin and cupcakes for those with dairy allergies.

Indian Summer in the Garden

Each morning, I picked tomatoes and checked the cucumbers and peppers.  (Fortunately, I found no more rats in my traps.)  As the days cooled, I picked spent Marigold and Zinnia (right) flowers and Charis helped me save their seeds.  As it continued to be dry yet cooler, I've watered every three days instead of every two.  (Summer of 2022 was the driest one on record.)  Around the 18th, the tomatoes began to slow their ripening.  There were still hundreds of green tomatoes by month's end.

I bought one half pound of "Music" hard neck garlic from eBay to plant for harvesting next year.  The garlic needs to go into the ground in mid-Autumn.  I built a box out of 2"x12" scrap lumber, about 4' long and 2' wide.  In a third of it I intend to plant my garlic.  For a month, from September 19th to October 17th, my garlic bulbs are cold stratifying in the back of the refrigerator.  I have October 17th on my Outlook calendar to remind me to plant them.  That should be just about right since the first average frost date in Bellevue is mid to late November.

Charis and I (with Valerie supervising) positioned the new "garlic box" just north of the tomato trellis.  The garlic will be harvested before next year's tomato plants shade it.  Garlic only needs six inches of rich, well drained soil.  We filled the box with plain soil then two types of mulch.  Above that, I added a bag of rich compost, a layer of potting soil, sand, and Perlite.  We topped this off with Miracle-Gro garden soil.

I also bought coriander (cilantro) seeds.  I can grow the cilantro anytime indoors on the granite "bench" in the living room.  I've found a handy seed starting spot under the basement stairs where it is always very warm.  I repurposed one of my portrait lights which can hold four 100w equivalent LED bulbs.  As the month ends, I'm checking each day to see when the 54 seeds I've planted come up. 

Tomatoes & Peppers in Great Salsa

My first attempt at fresh Mexican salsa was declared delicious by all.  I added half of a Serrano pepper to Thomas's portion.  The rest of us enjoyed our batch with just the Jalapeño peppers.  It was a great use for my over abundance of tomatoes and my own peppers that are maturing nicely.    

For my second batch, I put the onions and garlic in the middle to mimic the Mexican flag.

Here is the recipe I came up with after learning from YouTube how to make salsa.  3 cups diced tomatoes; 1/2 of an onion diced; 2 Jalapeño peppers (without seeds and pith to reduce heat), add a Serrano pepper for more heat; two finely chopped cloves of garlic; a handful of chopped cilantro; 1 tsp. salt; juice from half a lime (about a full shot glass of lime juice).  My first batch was just smaller than this list called for, my second batch was larger.  Nearly all was gobbled up by Nancy, Annie, Thomas and myself at dinner on the 9th.  The second batch was enjoyed by Annie, Thomas, and Nancy on the 12th during the amazing 17-16 Seahawks win on Monday Night Football over the Denver Broncos and our old quarterback Russell Wilson. 

Charis, Valerie, and I went out to the garden to pick tomatoes and peppers.  Charis tried to copy Valerie who was pretending to bite samples of my Jalepeño and Serrano peppers.  Except Charis took her nip out of a Habanero pepper!  She ran crying into the house saying that her mouth was on fire.  I barely touched that pepper to my mouth and the high heat "burned" my lips, tongue, and even the back of my throat.  I've finally grown a pepper hot enough to challenge Thomas and Joel.  I certainly didn't grow them for myself, but I'll save some seeds for next year.  The Habanero is said to be 12 to 140 times hotter than the Jalapeño.

Week 1: Seattle 17, Denver 16

Monday Night Football for Week 1 of the NFL season marked the return of Russell Wilson to Lumen Field in Seattle.  Still wearing #3, Wilson was favored to lead Denver over Seattle.  Over the off season, Russ had been traded from Seattle, where he'd played his first ten seasons.

Geno Smith came into the league in 2013 and had backed up Russell Wilson in 2020 and 2021, starting four games last season when Wilson was injured.

Smith threw for only 195 yards, but completed 82% of his passes for a 119.5 passer rating.  Wilson, on the other hand, threw for 340 yards but completed only 69% of his passes for a passer rating of 101.3. 

Thanks to two Denver fumbles on the Seahawk's  one yard line and a missed 64 yard field goal with 20 seconds left, Seattle survived for the win.  And most surprisingly, with the Rams, 49ers, and Cardinals all losing in Week 1, Seattle started the 2022 season atop the NFC Western Conference.  That didn't last the month as Seattle lost to the 49ers 7-27 in Week 2 and to Atlanta 23-27 in Week 3.

A Road Trip to Long Beach

Randy picked me up at 9:00 AM on Thursday the 22nd for a brief three day vacation to the WorldMark Long Beach Resort in southwest Washington.

We drove to Aberdeen, getting stuck briefly on US-12 just east of town.  A logging truck had lost its load at the main intersection into town, taking out the traffic signal.  Traffic was so slow that Randy had a chance to chat with a police officer directing traffic.  We learned that nobody was injured in the crash.  Praise God!

We took a brief side trip to Westport and saw scores of sea lions lounging beside the many fishing boats.  That's where we spotted the Lady Nancy.

Randy was smart to wait until we reached the tiny Shoalwater Reservation between Grayland and Raymond to top off his tank.

The price per gallon was $3.89.  The cheapest gas we saw anywhere else during the trip was $4.98/gal., with even higher prices on the Long Beach peninsula.

Randy made sure I got a picture of the Riddell St. sign in Raymond.  That's his middle name and the family name of our most direct Scottish ancestors.

Our suite on the third floor on the east side above the resort entrance was huge.  We each had our own bedroom and bathroom.  The pool was said to be 89 degrees and the hot tub 104 degrees.  We enjoyed both.

Cal Raleigh's Walk-off Magic Puts the Mariners in the Playoffs After 21 Years!

Mariner Manager Scott Servais predicted a win on Friday night, September 30th.  A win would propell the team into the 2022 playoffs.  The last Mariner team to make the playoffs was the 116-win 2001 team, 21 years ago!

The game against the Oakland Athletics was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the 9th inning.  Logan Gilbert had pitched through the 8th inning, and Matt Brash pitched a scoreless top of the 9th.

Here is how sports writer Daniel Kramer reported it:

SEATTLE -- It had to happen this way, manifesting into the most dramatic, euphoric, edge-of-your-seat thriller possible. The stakes of snapping the longest active playoff void in American professional sports demanded an emphatic ending to the drought that in this region has been as insatiable as it has been intangible.

And such was the scene in front of a sold-out crowd in Seattle on Friday, when Cal Raleigh crushed a massive, 406-foot solo homer in a full count with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning that sent the Mariners to a 2-1 victory and into the postseason for the first time since 2001.

Raleigh, pinch-hitting for Luis Torrens, dug out a low-and-in slider from Oakland reliever Domingo Acevedo and sent a no-doubter sailing into the Seattle night and off the Hit It Here Cafe windows beyond right field. He raised his bat high, turned to the home dugout, then was off and running while the rest of the Mariners stormed to home plate to mob the burly backstop.

And now, the drought is over. Thanks to a pinch-hit walk-off home run from Cal Raleigh in Friday's 2-1 win over the A's, a reign is underway in Seattle, and finally, the longest active playoff void in North American professional sports has ended. The Mariners, at long last, are headed to the postseason.

Bits and Pieces 

The girls have decided the small space on the main floor at the foot of the oak stairs is the jail.  They like to stage jail breaks.  When little Valerie hit Charis, I told her to "go to jail," and she went immediately.  She just didn't stay there long.

I'd be lying if I didn't admit that the best part of oral surgery is the pain meds.  On the 7th, I had my 8:00 AM appointment with Dr. David To to install two implants.  These are implants #3 and #4 and are costing me $7,400.  I'll get the actual teeth in early December.

Nancy called our September 26th attendance at Bellevue Presbyterian Church's "Vision Night" event a double date.  We sat with friends Sheri and Steve White.  Someone had bought enough food for 400 from Chipotle Mexican Grill, so we were encouraged to go back for seconds.  Steve and I could not resist the invitation temptation.

I got my blood tested on the 28th.  My A1c fell from 9.4 in June to 7.5.  My PSA remained low at 1.06.

As for my Kidneys, my GFR number was 55.  This was a slight improvement over three months ago, but still places me in stage 3A.  Dr. Kelley encouraged me to drink more water.

Charis had no trouble letting Valerie wear her Veterinarian costume. 

I also enjoyed another five hour visit with Galen on the last day of the month.  We shared a big mac-n-cheese lunch that Jean prepared.  I love to catch his ready smile.

My Quote from September