Dad Comes Home

Playing On The Stairs

One of the fun memories we have about living in Virginia is that our house had a huge flight of stairs that we often all played on. Whether is was doing zoomies at 100 miles per hour on top of the landing, or seeing who could get down to the bottom first; we all had fun playing the games. Here is an example of a game we played called ‘bite the bottle’.

Patrick Dempsey Finds The Art of Racing in the Rain

I found this article By Kevin Coll and I could not be happier!!!

By Kevin Coll • July 16, 2009

   In case many were wondering what Patrick Dempsey likes to do besides act, he’s a huge race car driver. Dempsey is actually a real life pro race car driver as well as a car owner who last drove in Le Mans and placed ninth. In addition to this, he raced in the American Rolex Series and owns Dempsey Racing, which is his team that has a deal with Mazda.

Now Dempsey plans to do a film on racing called The Art of Racing in the Rain. Universal Pictures has picked up the rights to the project and plans to put together the Garth Stein novel as a vehicle for Dempsey.

The film will follow Enzo, a family dog that has a near-human soul as well as a philosopher’s mind. He looks at life through the lessons he learns from his owner, race-car driver Denny Swift (Dempsey).

The project sure seems interesting but I find it more interesting what certain actors like to do besides act and Dempsey just got some cool points with me for being a Le Mans driver. Steve McQueen is the only other guy I know that actually raced in Le Mans and acted.

  The official book synopsis is:

“If you’ve ever wondered what your dog is thinking, Stein’s third novel offers an answer. Enzo is a lab terrier mix plucked from a farm outside Seattle to ride shotgun with race car driver Denny Swift as he pursues success on the track and off. Denny meets and marries Eve, has a daughter, Zoë, and risks his savings and his life to make it on the professional racing circuit. Enzo, frustrated by his inability to speak and his lack of opposable thumbs, watches Denny’s old racing videos, coins koanlike aphorisms that apply to both driving and life, and hopes for the day when his life as a dog will be over and he can be reborn a man. When Denny hits an extended rough patch, Enzo remains his most steadfast if silent supporter. Enzo is a reliable companion and a likable enough narrator, though the string of Denny’s bad luck stories strains believability. Much like Denny, however, Stein is able to salvage some dignity from the over-the-top drama.”

Patrick Dempsey, Seattle movie scenes, and an absolutely beautiful book about a dog that has so much soul…. I am in heaven!

Elizabeth & Luna

Wordless Wednesday #28

 

Elizabeth & Luna

Seattle Weather

Seattle and the Pacific Northwest are notorious for their wet climate. The normal yearly precipitation for our area is around 37 inches, and on average, it rains in Seattle at least 50% of the year. The heaviest of the rain arrives late in the fall and sticks around through early spring. June, July and August are our driest, warmest, and most beautiful months.

The best way to feel comfortable in Seattle is to layer -- the climate, with our hilly terrain's infamous "convergence zones", is unpredictable enough (just ask our long-suffering local weather people) that you never know when a rain storm, a dry spell, or a sudden drop in temperature might occur.

Rain jokes aside, Seattle has a milder climate than many other parts of the world, with less extreme variations in temperature, but with a higher number of cloudy days and damp weather.  So, to prepare Luna for this wet/cold winter that we will/are having, we have fitted her with a jacket.  Hopefully with her already dense and waterproof coat, she will keep warm with a simple layer of fleece.

Lands End Fleece Jacket