electricity

next year our christmas lights will need to rival this:


two weeks ago a circuit in the house suddenly stopped working. luckily, the lights, outlets and switches were on the front of the house and were not really critical for the day to day. after pulling apart half the light fixtures and outlets on the circuit, i finally found a poorly connected neutral at the top of this rat's nest in the breaker panel. i had tested the breaker and the hot wire but never looked at the neutral. i probably spent about 6 hours total troubleshooting this thing with some help from the internet and some electrical knowledge from the job. 6 hours to find a loose wire that was right in front of me from the start. mwa ha ha. homeowner.

coastal

zeus enjoys the taste of the salty sea


after five years in seattle i finally made it to the west coast. the lack of bouldering being the main cause for my extended absence, but of course there is more to life than little rocks. a mere 3 hour drive gave way to big sandy beaches, rich forests and a cozy cabin perched just above the tide. people complain about the long gray winters here, but the mild winters often lend themselves to many a sunny day in reasonable temps conducive to a plethora of outdoor activities, like clamming. low tide came a bit after dark, and the gun-toting, lantern-laden clammers hit the beach in full force. i think it took about 1.5 hours to hit our limit. the dogs may have enjoyed it more than the peoples.




don't build that cottage too close to the fast-eroding beaches


only part of the 75 clam bounty


irresistible, although see jess' post below for one of the final products, new england clam chowder is next.

Why dig clams?

So you can make clam sauce to put on your pasta, of course! Yum!

Razor clam fest 2011!

It was a little misty, and pretty dark, but everyone got their limit of 15. 'Til next year, clams!

Looking for shows with the help of specially trained clam show dogs

Alison, going deep

Galen's patented one-armed razor clam pull technique

Double-teaming 'em

No, you have to cook it first!

My preciousssssss

Victory!