A trip to the Kwik-E-Mart

As part of the uberhype for the long-awaited Simpsons movie, a few 7 Elevens around the country have been temporarily converted into Kwik-E-Marts, complete with many Simpsons tie-in products like Squishees, Krusty-Os and Buzz Cola; even pink, frosted donuts just the way Homey likes 'em.

Anyhoo, one of these Kwik-E-Marts is located just blocks away from the Space Needle in Seattle Center. Silvie and I stopped by there a few weekends ago to check it out. The outside of the building was given a faux Kwik-E-Mart look, and "life-sized" cut-outs of various characters adorned the place, inside and out. There were also funny little signs throughout. Here are a few pics:

Kwik-E-Mart exterior

Convenient for tourists!

Those crazy kids!

Silvie and Margie

Yes, that was me before the surgery

Gluttony... pure gluttony

Chief Clancy, on the job

Frostilicus!!!

Hey, how'd she get up there?

I want this for the house!

Funny sign :-)

I love this one!

Propaganda in aisle 5

I actually heard this guy telling a customer "Thank you. Come again."

Hey there, Squishee Girl!

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Cherry Pickin' Time

The beginning of July is the time to harvest the cherries from the two trees in our backyard. This year was a bit of a disappointment in that the cherries were few, and not as healthy looking, overall. This was a contrast from last year, when the trees limbs were positively groaning with dark red, plump beauties. We got a mere fraction of what we got in '06, but we did gather enough for some tasty jam. Also, it was a fun time! Here are a few picks from Sunday afternoon.

Flaming Geyser State Park

On Saturday, Silvie and I went to Flaming Geyser State Park to do a little hiking. There's a story behind the name of the park; something about miners back in the day finding water and a pocket of methane while doing test digging, and a "flaming geyser" was the result. Whatever. These days, it's a sprawling park with rolling lawns and easy hiking paths along the banks of the gentle Green River, where folks float lazily downstream on innertubes and inflatable lounge chairs. The weather was great, and the paths only a bit muddy in spots, and a fun time was had. The only wildlife we saw were a couple of slugs, but the birds were singing and there was a lot of typically nice greenery about.

The wild rapids of the Green River

Silvie creekside

Somebody alert River Rescue!

Only the foolish stray into the Dang P Area....

Foxglove along the trail.