Heat Wave

Seattle's 1941 record of 100 degrees farenheit was broken today. The official reading out at the airport was 102 and possibly rising this afternoon. The overnight lows are warm as well, in the low 70s. Last night it got down to only 71, the first time in 64 years that the night temperature hasn't dropped below 70. And all of this when the average high temperature here is in the mid to upper 70s this time of year. Needless to say the weather has been headline news.

Now before those of you in the Midwest and South laugh at us wimpy northwesterners, you should know that because we're liable to go a whole summer and not hit 90, most people here don't have air conditioning. In fact, only 13 percent of households in Seattle do have air conditioning. This mother-in-law apartment above the garage is most certainly not one of them.

I can deal with this climatic inconvenience. I try not to exert myself - I do a lot of reading, catch up on emails and the like. The cats are the ones I worry about. In fact someone we know had her cats boarded because of the temperature. Betsy and Wyatt have received no such privileges.
However, I have taken other measures. That's right - I've been doing some internet research about cats in the heat. As one web site recommended, I periodically drop ice in their water to 1) cool it down and 2) interest them in their own water bowls. This technique has been somewhat successful though as the afternoon lethargy sets in, I'm beginning to think the suggestion about dropping water into their mouths with an ear dropper might be a necessary next step.

I also moved food and water to the coolest part of the apartment, the downstairs entry way. (Up here we're solid confirmation of the fact that heat rises.) I forcibly carried Betsy down, even taking her favorite rug, but she immediately walked right upstairs again. She has also spurned my attempts to have her lie on a towel wrapped around ice (see picture). Unfortunately (as we've always suspected), while gifted with unique emotional intelligence, Betsy's practical reasoning capacities are severely limited.

Wyatt, meanwhile, has found a cool spot under the bed from which he has rarely emerged. He seems to be doing well, bolstered by his youthful bodily strength. If things get really bad here, my next plan is to run some cold water and dip their little paws in it - also an internet suggestion.

The Maroon Marauder and Me

I've been conducting a personal study testing the feasibility of bike commuting to work. My new job as Assistant Pastor will begin in t-minus ten days, and the local United Church of Christ church that has hired me is approximately six miles north of my residence in the wealthy neighborhood of Richmond Beach, of the suburb just north of Seattle, Shoreline.

This personal study began with just me and my bike, pictured here.
This natural fit 2009 Marin Portofino is made by a San Francisco bike company and is a low end road/racing bike, priced at about $800. Yes, that's low end. The aluminum 58 cm frame is very efficient, converting most of my pedaling into motion. That's what I learned from the bike shop and not incidentally is about all I know about bikes at this point. Side note: bike shops can be incredibly intimidating to novices like me and folks who are not knowledgeable about cycling. It's best to just get in and get out.

Anyway, I fear my Portofino is going to be named the "maroon marauder." It's an unfortunate name for the bicycle of a pacifist, but when it sticks it sticks. I'm open to new suggestions, but I don't know if this gender-neutral bike personality will change after these thirty-ish days of ownership.

Back to my feasibility experiment: it began on a warm day two weeks ago when I decided to ride to Richmond Beach. The ride there was pleasant, but the thing about cycling in Seattle is that what goes down must come up - at least from where I live on Crown Hill. And Richmond Beach as you might guess from the name, is at a lower elevation. The struggle home was exhausting. I walked my bike once and crept along in the lowest gear ("granny gear" I've heard it called) for a good long while. Indeed this project has been difficult.

I've since spent my energy trying to establish a better level of fitness: a couple ten mile rides, then up to twenty. I'm getting there. Of course then I read an article about how cycling, because it's not a weight bearing activity, must be supplemented with other exercise so that the risk of osteoporosis isn't heightened. Thus I've interspersed the cycling with running, adding up to the best shape I've been since the old days of collegiate athletics.

Now as I see it, there are two advantages to this prep activity. First, the better shape I'm in the less I will sweat, and the less I sweat, the more pleasant a day at work will be after said bike commute... for me and those around me. Second, I have explored an ever-expanding chunk of the city. This morning I found the Elliot Bay trail, which runs along the water into downtown. Even on a gray, coolish day like today, the ride was splendid. Bike lanes and trails are everywhere: the Interurban took me to the suburbs on Monday and the Burke-Gilman is smooth, paved, and flat.

The only thing that remains is the final test: will I be able to make it home from Richmond Beach? I'd better not try it yet. I've got to do some more work on my legs to get ready for that big day. The distance, I've learned, will be no problem. Six miles in one sitting - easy. The hill on the other hand will be my defining geographical obstacle.

Some people have weddings...

Jamie Haskins: "Some people have weddings. We have a $50 check to the Secretary of State."

A week and a half ago, we printed out the "Declaration of State Registered Domestic Partnership" for the state of Washington. We took it into our new bank (where we have a joint account, no problem, no questions asked, no one wondering if we were sisters). And the super-nice lady sitting at the desk notarized our paperwork. We dropped it into the mailbox in front of Safeway on that fateful day, June 29, 2009. And then last Friday there arrived a package for us in the mail from the Secretary of State.

"Congratulations!" the form letter from Sam Reed greeted us. Enclosed were two certificates proving our partnership and two drivers license size cards to keep in our wallets. The letter reminded us that our partnership may not be recognized everywhere and these cards are to prove our legal rights in Washington.

Unfortunately, there's a nasty movement going on right now in our fair Evergreen state that has put a 2009 law signed by Governor Christine Gregoire on hold. This most recent law expanded domestic partnership rights and has been called the "everything but marriage" law. However, an ugly, hateful group is attempting to get enough signatures to put Referendum 71 on the November ballot to block this legislation. Pending this disdainful act, the full implementation of the expanded domestic partnership law is on hold. Fortunately, domestic partnership laws passed in 2007 and 2008 are still in full effect. Yay, Washington!

Here are some of the benefits (granted without question to every married heterosexual couple, an some non-married couples) that we now have by law:

• Participation in medical care decisions including access in critical medical situations. In fact, to ensure this will happen, you can look up registered couples on the web site: online registration look-up. If you type me or Jamie in, our partnership is there officially for all to see.
  
• Some healthcare benefits depending on the employer.
  
• Access to medical information.
  
• Community property rights for partners.
• Organ donation decisions.
• The administration of a deceased partner's estate.
• Recognition as a domestic partner on a deceased partner's death certificate.
• The ability to sue for wrongful death of a partner.
• The right to inherit property from a partner and to administer the partner's estate in the absence of a will.

So it's not perfect. We still have no federal benefits - no tax breaks and stuff like that. But it's way better than Kansas, Tennessee, or Florida.

The government has a lovely, user-friendly page describing the details: http://www.secstate.wa.gov/corps/domesticpartnerships/.