Brunch @ Salty's

Some friends introduced us to brunch at Salty's on Alki a few years ago.
Today we went back with our family.
The brunch is incredible!
Mountains of seafood, all you can eat!!!Not to mention the most wonderful desserts like this chocolate fountain!The pineapple was best covered with chocolate! Ah the decadence.
We had a great time and the weather was perfect!

It is said, a picture

Is worth a thousand words...

THE COUNT.



LINKED TOGETHER, THEN DISBANDED...



STILL A MYSTERY EVERMORE!



JUST A PINCH OF MAGIC DUST...



I'LL LET YOU WATCH UP TO THE VERY LAST MINUTE...




AND THAT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IS THE CUPS AND THE BALLS!


This was the magic show I performed Friday night at Cutters Point.
I believe it was a huge success. Everyone had a good time and much coffee was sold!

Oh What a Lucky Man

I am....
Look at these fine children!
Working out together,

enjoying each others company.
I am truly blessed.
I walk out in the back yard and look up at the stars in the heavens, thinking about my great fortune. Not a fortune in dollars and cents, but truly a fortune in all the
good things in life!
My health, my family, loved ones, and good job with benefits, friends and good neighbors. Living in America. Enough to eat and some to spare and share.
Thank you Lord!

Been Fun

Having Eric home for the last several days has been great!
He and Katie have been bonding. I don't think he realizes the effect he has on her. The love she feels for her big brother who has been "off to war."
It is strange in some ways to know he has been to Iraq and back, not because it is a foreign country, but because he went there to be a part of something that we often do not understand and that we take for granted. The fact that he carries weapons with him at all times and is in charge of a bomb sniffing dog. His missions entail searching vehicles as they pass thru the city gates and some other such searches. Finding weapons caches and the like.
Our relationship has changed. Father son has evolved. He is definitely a man now. The little kid is still there at times. I am thankful he has remained himself thru all this. I continue to pray that he will.
I have had trouble working out since my return home from North Carolina. I have recently gotten back into it. Having Eric here is certainly inspiring. Wow!

Tomorrow I will be performing at Cutters Point in Covington. It is a small coffee shop privately owned. I will be doing walk around and try to fit in a short platform show. The place is small and I am trying to figure out where I can "set up" for a performance. Should be an interesting learning experience.
I'll keep you posted.

Homecoming

Our son Eric arrived Saturday night from San Diego. He is on leave from the Marine Corps.
He will be with us til May 3rd. Then he heads to Houston for about ten days.
We picked him up at the airport and he looks really good. Big and strong and fit!
He seems to be himself, which is really nice and something I was worried about.
Sunday we had a nice family get together with just the five of us. Our three children and my wife and I. Guess what? We barbecued!

Marinated Flank steak and Salmon.

54

HA HA HA..
54, that's the number of golf holes played in three rounds of golf.
Friday was the day, 54 holes was the deed!
Met Mike at Druidsglen Friday after work, a couple of others showed up, Bob and Matt. It was a cold and windy morning, around 40 degrees with a wind chill of???
I was the sand master on this day. Saving myself strokes miraculously from the bunkers. On hole number five I saved par from the sand with a long 25-30 foot uphill right to left slam dunk! Again on the 16th i had a sweet sandy save with a nice sand splash and a three to four foot putt for the par, back of the cup!
After the original 18 holes, Bob and Matt left and Mike and I continued on, planning to play nine more. We headed out the back nine and had a blast. Our cart got low on battery power so after the nine, we traded it in for a new energized cart and headed out off of hole number one again, continuing on for all consecutive eighteen holes. At this point my hands are hurting. We have played thru snow and rain, wind and sleet. I can still see one of my approach shots soaring thru a wispy snow fall blowing left to right and the snow doubling back upon itself as my golf ball floats over the flag. A really striking memory!
Well, 45 holes wasn't enough for my partner so we headed out again on hole number one and finished the nine around 6:30 pm.
WoW! My right hand is so sore that it is swollen on the back of the hand. A friend thinks I strained a tendon.
I was worried about it because I had a magic gig scheduled for Saturday afternoon and evening!
I arrived in Bellevue at a quarter past four in the afternoon, by five P.M. I was set up and began mingling with the guests. I was performing "walk around magic." All was going great, everyone was enjoying themselves.
It was a kick off party for something called "Camp Good Times." This is a camp for Cancer victims, all children, it is a week long camp held on Vashon Island.
Needless to say, my time and magic was free gratis.
I performed a show at about 7 P.M. It went really well.
I am learning a lot thru performing. Learned that two hours of walk around is Too much before a show. I got tired.
Also, I am finding out that my magic is really good. People tell me so anyway!
An upcoming gig at a local coffee shop this Friday is what's up next!

Now That's Why You Do It!

As you can see by the Picture, things were smoking at my house tonight!
Fired up the Egg! BBQ'd Salmon. We chose a white piece of salmon for tonight's dining pleasure. See my earlier post about white meat salmon. I have had white meat salmon before and it really wasn't that tasty, but I caught one last season and well, gotta give it another chance. This time it was REALLY good! I don't know if it was the fish, the Egg, the spices (White wine, butter, garlic, real lemon juice and lemon pepper) Or the fact that I was nice and hungry.
Along with the fish we enjoyed baked potato, corn and home made corn bread!

Great Weekend

Friday I built the wonderful Hibachi table, Saturday I finished up on the the table, cleaned the deck off, washed the picnic table that had been sitting out all winter, and company arrived about 1pm. Ed & Linda Ferkingstad came by for a visit.
The weather was stellar! About 75 degrees all day with a slight breeze. Perfect. We talked on the deck, drank coffee, enjoyed smoked salmon and generally just lazed about!
About 6pm we went to dinner at Rooters. I know the owner of Rooters, I played basketball with him for a couple of years and of course we have golfed together too. Virl catered both our son's High school graduation parties. Virl Potts, a very nice man. I enjoyed a half rack of beef ribs, a half rack of pork ribs and potato salad, baked beans, Rooters world famous baked beans that is...
Like I said, a perfect day!
Sunday we enjoyed going to worship at our church, Katie stayed for youth where they played basketball. Joan and I worked in the yard. I mowed the lawn while she used the blower on the sport court. I watched some golf as Trevor Immelman won the Masters!
Peaceful weekend!

Yep! Earned It!

My sore back, and aching muscles, tired body and shoulders sore! I stayed up all day today, it is now well into my 30th hour. I went to our church this morning and mowed the lawn. Yes, They have a riding mower, Then I used a blower to blow the parking lot. All in all, about a two hour job.I listened to my sweet ipod the whole time. Half hour driving time each way. So about a three hour day for our church.

I stopped on the way home at the lumber store. Picked up some lumber and screws and built a sweet table for our Big Green Hibachi! I was tired of it sitting all lonely on the deck. I was worried the round hole would be too small.

Now it has a special place and is elevated for easier access!

Another nice aspect of this table is I now have a place for plates and food as well as a place to hang spatulas and tongs and other utinsels!
It all turned out GREAT!
These tables are running anywhere from $350.00 to over $500.00 on the internet. I spent roughly $80.00! My labor was about four hours with lots of coffee!
There is something to be said about the satisfaction of building something yourself! Besides, I have all these great saws and power tools!
This Hibachi Pot is an original clay model from Japan. The new ones that are made by the Big Green Egg and Kamado companies are made of ceramic materials.
This particular Hibachi Pot was brought home by my wife's father Albert while he was a navigator for Northwest Airlines. It probably sat in his garage still banded to the original packing crate for over 40 years. We found it while cleaning out the garage after he passed away four years ago. We noticed it in the back behind a bunch of "other" stuff. We thought it might be an old vacuum cleaner. What a nice surprise. Everytime we use it, we are reminded of Joan's dad!

Yeah Baby!

Received a wonderful phone call yesterday! Eric is home from Iraq!
Safe and sound and in California! SWEET!
We talked for a little while. It was really good to hear his voice. He seems to have maintained himself. I mean his laughter and sense of humor seem to be intact.
Don't know what I was expecting, but he seems to have remained himself.
Wow, does that make any sense at all!? :)
We will be seeing him on the 19th of April.

15 OH MY!

Our daughter turned 15 on Sunday, It was a great day and we had a lot of fun. I took her driving earlier in the day.We have a birthday family tradition... the birthday person gets to choose what is for dinner. Their birthday meal if you like. Katie chose Chuinese food. So we ate dinner out at the Golden Pheonix. Chinese food is interesting, most people say,"you have to eat an hour after eating Chinese food," But we all got filled up and there wer five of us. The total bill was under $60 bucks including tip. Where else can you get a nice, sit down(not fast food) meal for that price!
We enjoyed cake and Ice cream, opening gifts and a wrestling match!
Well, arm wrestling between Katie and Miyoko.

Double the Recommended Daily Dose

Here I sit at about 4:30 on Saturday morning... got outta bed at 1:45 A.M. sounds really early doesn't it?
You would normally be correct except for the fact that I had just awoken from about 18 hours of sleep! That's right, I slept right through Friday, I did not pass go and did not collect two hundred dollars. SNOOZE! CRASH, BANG, BOOM, OUT!
Thursdays pleasure is the cause... I slept until about 11:15 am Thursday. which means I got about 3- 4 hrs. of rest. Got up early and met my friend Mike and we golfed at Druidsglen. It was a beautiful day on the course. Sunshine, clear skies and the mountains all around! I shot a very respectable 85. The greens had recently been punched and sanded making putting very interesting.
I stayed up after golf and went to work getting off at 6 A.M. getting to bed Friday morning about 7. My wife set the alarm for 1:30 pm, but I rolled over instead of rolling out! Around 3pm she tried to wake me again, again I just rolled over. At 1:45A.M. my body had enough. I was aching from too much sleep. I wanted to stay in bed so I would be awake for Saturday, instead I got up, showered, shaved and ate some food. Read for awhile and here I am.
I would like to get alot done today. Perhaps get the garage cleaned up and sorted out. The long winter has made a mess of it. Kind of a free for all holding pen for various items. Getting the boat dug out early this year would be nice.
Would like to plant some potatoes today too. Katie and I made some "seeds" the other day.
Also I have a meeting planned with a woman who owns a coffee shop in Covington. She wants me to do magic in her shop once a month. Last Saturday Ryan and I stopped into the shop, Cutters Point for a cup of coffee, I did three magical effects for the lady Barristas and they told their boss, she called.
Not a paying gig, but perhaps something good to do for the community and for exposure?
Also on Thursday, I sold our 1991 Suburban. I hated to see it go, but it was time. We had it for about 6 years. It was a nice rig and we towed the boat with it! Many great memories for Katie as she would sleep in the "Burb" while I worked, and we would fish in the morning when I got off work. Some great father, daughter time!
Here is a photo of the nice rope I received free of charge after I have colored it yellow using "Rit" dye! Now it is ready for magical purposes!
One other thing I would like to mention while I am thinking of it, my neighbor tells me that after the "show" I did last week at his 50th b-day party. His nephew was telling the children, (his own I presume) how all the magic was done. He tells me it is because he is a new Christian and doesn't want his children thinking there is any magic. I state right up front during the performance that it is sleight of hand and requires many hours of diligent practice. My thoughts are that some people don't like magic and do not like it when their kids ask them how something is done and they don't know. It makes them look bad, at least they think so, so they tell their children so they make themselves look big. Like "I know how that's done, I'm not stupid."
If this is the case, I feel sorry for the individual, first, there is no way they know how all the "magic" I perform is accomplished. Secondly, they are stealing from the performer and their own children. Instead of delighting in the "magic," and applauding the performers efforts, they undermine the hard work and effort.Usually this is to make themselves "larger" in the eyes of those they are telling.
Really quite sad.

My Thoughts Exactly!

Below is a post I am sharing. They are not my words but someone else's.
Good food for thought and well said!

I Don't Support Obama Because of My Faith & Not Because of His Race
Rev. Wayne Perryman

Even though I stated that I will not support Barack Obama for president for the same reasons that I did not support Senators Al Gore and John Kerry for president, I have been criticized and accused of not supporting one of our most electable and qualified black candidates in modern-day history. Let me go one step further to clarify my position and say that I would never vote for or support any Republican candidate that endorses homosexuality and abortion - the two moral issues that Obama supports - and the two issues that will not only define the moral standard and conscious of our society - but can also have grave future consequences, particularly for the clergy and their congregations.

In a cleverly crafted master plan, the architects of the homosexual movement compared their plight and sufferings to those of the African American community. Progressively, they moved from one issue to the next to gain more acceptances. First it was just an issue of obtaining health care and death benefits for their partner. Next, they advanced their cause by getting our society to accept the concept of “alternative lifestyles” and the rights of gays to adopt children. Then simultaneously, they moved to the issues of same-sex-marriage and the criminalization of what they called “hate speech,’ thus making speeches and/or sermons condemning homosexuality, a crime.

In what seems like just a few years, they managed to remove Sodom laws from the books and replaced such laws with legislation to criminalize speeches and sermons that condemn their lifestyles. This by itself is not important. What is important is the legal precedent that it sets. If the government can regulate and criminalize speech which includes various aspects of a preacher’s biblically based sermons, where will it end?

A few weeks ago, there was much controversy regarding Pastor Jeremiah’s Wright’s controversial sermons. Even though Senator Obama condemned what was considered “unpatriotic” or “hate speech,” Pastor Wright learned that as a minister, he does not have the same rights to speak out on issues like other citizens. The architects of the homosexual movement made this possible.

The Constitution tells us that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…" however the “free exercise thereof” for the modern-day church has been affected by new legislation dealing with the so-called:“hate speech laws.” If Congress and other legislators can outlaw sermons condemning homosexuality, what other aspects of biblical teachings can they outlaw to protect other groups? This is what makes the effects of the homosexual movement so dangerous. Homosexuality by itself is not a problem, it is the far reaching legislation designed to protect it – that is the problem. While such legislation gives the gay community the right and the freedom to exercise their sexual expression without legal consequences, it takes away the church’s legal right to speak out against such behavior. Again, the issue is not just the issue of homosexuality - it is residual effects of the overall movement and the negative impact it will have on the Christian, Jewish, Catholic and Muslim faiths, all of which condemns homosexuality and other sexual sins.

I cannot support, vote for or endorse any candidate, whether Republican, Democrat or independent who supports homosexuality or any other movement that directly or indirectly threatens the rights of the clergy to preach what he or she believes to be biblically wrong or which hinders or take away the free exercise of their faith and their constitutional right of freedom of speech. The goal of the gay rights movement was not merely to obtain rights they believe were denied to them, it also included an effort to deny the church’s right to speak out against them. If they are successful in silencing the church and/or limiting its ability to speak freely against sin - there will no longer be a need for the church or for the clergy to minister in the church.

As for Abortions, just let me say I can’t endorse, support or vote for any candidate (Democrat, Republican or Independent) that supports a system that has killed over 17 million black babies since Roe v. Wade. This number represents more than those killed during slavery and Jim Crow and twice as many that were killed during the holocaust. Yes, not only have black babies been the victim of this system of death, millions of other babies representing all races have been eliminated as well.

In 1857, when the United States Supreme Court reached a decision in the Dred Scott case, (a decision that classified blacks as property and not as citizens), it was open season for the property owner (slave master) to mistreat or kill blacks without conscious or legal consequence. In Roe v Wade, the courts made a similar ruling when they reduced the unborn to the property of the woman, therefore, like the slave master, she was free to do with her property (the unborn) as she saw fit. Who will be the next to be declassified as property and eliminated as non-humans? Will it be a member of your group as it was with the Jews in Nazi Germany?

Please know that I am opposed to all forms of abortions: biological, sociological and economical, they all lead to death. Biological is the most common form of physical abortion that leads to death. Sociological abortion, is the social isolation of the child that comes after birth, it too leads to death. And economical, is the process of withholding pre-natal and infant care funds to sustain the life of the child, this too leads to death. Abortion is a process of canceling one’s mission (or obligation and responsibility) to accomplishing an objective. Our objective should be life, not pre-mature death.

In summary, my opposition to Obama has nothing to do with his race, but has everything to do with my faith. I love my race, but my race will never come before my faith, for it was the collective faith of my race that saved my race.

Rev. Wayne Perryman
www.wayneperryman.com