I hope you all had a great Memorial Day Weekend.
It was a lovely weekend, a great time to hang out with family and friends but also to pay homage to the real, meaning of Memorial Day. A chance to honor all who made the ultimate sacrifice so we can all live in peace and freedom.
Book Club in April was at Shirleen’s, we had a good time discussing the “The Paris Library” by Janet Skeslien-Charles.
The May Book Club was hosted by Myrna in the Book Nook, a great turnout where we chatted about The Maid. Written by Nita Prose. Everyone seemed to enjoy the book.
June’s book club book. will be hosted by Sherrie Manson (202). The discussion will be about Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon. Be sure to let Sherrie know if you plan to come.
Restaurant Reviews
Lake Forest Park Bar & Grill
Location 17535 Ballinger Way Northeast, Seattle WA 98155
206-364-1281
Hours-Monday-Thurs 11:00 AM-9:00 PM
Friday-11:00 AM-10:00 P
Sat 9:00 AM-10:00PM
Sunday 9:00 AM -8:00 PM
Linda and John had dinner at the Lake Forest Park Bar and Grill and raved about it. A bit further afield but only about a 20 min drive.
Traveling neighbors
Donna just came back from a trip to Albuquerque, NM.
Here is a short review of her trip.
The first blocks were built around 1300. Evidence shows the town stood empty from about 1400-1500. There was a flurry of new construction shortly before the Spaniards arrived in the early 1600s. The first Spanish missionary came to Quadria in 1627. Within 5 years the church, convent, and corrals you can still see had been built. Tensions existed between the church and the government officials, while the people of the Pueblos were trying to maintain their way of life during drought, famine, disease, Apache raids and forced labor by both the churchmen and colonists. The constant friction between the friars and the colonial officials may have revealed weakness, encouraging the Pueblos to consider rebellion. For more information visit the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument (US National Park Service):
Submitted by Donna E.
A bit further afield other neighbors are headed across the pond.
Edy and I are off to Paris this coming week, I’m excited about visiting one of my favorite cities. Edy is going to work for 3 days and I’m going to wander the streets in search of some great croissants, a good glass of wine and maybe some escargot.
Carole is also going to go to London and Paris, her 1st visit to both, I’m sure she will fall in love with both cities.
Andi and Drake will be going on a Rhode Scholar tour to Berlin.
Cheri will be visiting Ireland with friends.
Venita just got back from a trip to Missouri where she visited family.
Maj Jong
We play Maj Jong once a month. One of our players will be off on a trip so we will be one player down. If anyone is interested in joining us for a fun afternoon let Carole know. We don’t take playing the game too seriously, we just have fun. The game is played with 4 people, but in a pinch, you can make do with 3. We would like a 4th to play on June 15th.
An interesting article about Ballard
The Seattle neighborhood of Ballard is a “city within a city” with a decidedly Scandinavian accent. Located in the northwest part of the city, it is a maritime center. Salmon and Shilshole bays on Puget Sound form its southern and western boundaries, and Phinney Ridge rises to the east. Ballard incorporated as a city in 1890, and its citizens voted to annex to Seattle in November 1906. Today sightseers visit the Hiram Chittenden Locks on the Ship Canal to watch salmon begin their spawning journey or they tour historic Ballard Avenue. Ballard’s increasingly diverse residents enjoy the district’s small town pace and easy access to downtown. Read more…
Browny’s Clam Chowder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 strips bacon (4 oz.), chopped
1/4 cup flour
3 cups low-fat (1%) milk
1 1/2 pounds red thin-skinned potatoes, cut into 1-in. chunks
4 cans (6.5 oz. each) chopped clams, drained
2 bottles (8 oz. each) clam juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 to 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup half-and-half
Heat oil in a 5- to 6-qt. pot over medium heat. Cook onion, celery, carrot, and garlic until
softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer vegetables to a plate.
- Cook bacon in pan, stirring, until crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain; discard all but 1 tbsp. drippings.
- Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly browned, about 1 minute. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly and letting mixture bubble between additions. Add potatoes, clams, juice, salt, pepper, and reserved vegetables.
- Simmer until potatoes are tender when pierced, about 25 minutes. Add thyme and half-and half.
Sprinkle with bacon.
This recipe was submitted by John Weschler
This is a very interesting place in Poland.
A Polish salt mine was converted into a huge underground work of art. Well worth browsing.
More Boeing Stuff
BOEING 727 DESIGN NOVELTIES
After experience with swept wings and podded engines on the B-47 and B-52, Boeing started jet passenger service with the 707 in 1958. Its success started the search for a reduced-size plane of shorter range and about 2/3 of the 707 passenger count to service smaller airfields. Two engine jet airplanes were not desirable due to a 500 mile over-water restriction with the early, not-so-reliable engines. The logical answer seemed to be a three-engine airplane.
Several problems immediately arose. Primarily, where will the third engine go? Wing pods for two engines would be a proven concept, connected to strong, thick-skinned wings. The third engine would need to be located in the aft body. Or…all three engines could be mounted on the aft body, but that would require a backward shift of the wing to rebalance. The resulting long forward body and short aft body would complicate passenger loading. Hanging two engines on the side of the aft body eliminated the desired horizontal tail location.
The aft mounting for all engines was selected after many unique design features came about.:
1) The horizontal tail was mounted on top of the vertical tail. Moving the wing aft shortened the distance to the tails causing larger tails than would be normal. The vertical had a high sweep angle to increase this tail arm as much as possible, giving a distinctive look to the airplane. It also had very little taper to structurally accommodate horizontal tail loads and to give room at the base for the third engine inlet. Air-flows over the tails were somewhat goofy at low speeds and high angles of attack. The vertical was supplied with double-hinged rudders split into top and bottom halves to combat this. The T-tail tended to be blanked by the wing causing strict attention to landing speeds.
2) The 707 and virtually all other pressurized airplanes have an elliptical-shaped pressure bulkhead at the end of the passenger section. Most of this bulkhead is pressure-designed, the same as most of the passenger tube. The 727 used a flat, beefy bulkhead to support the side engines. It was nicked on top to allow the third engine inlet passage, and then a pressure door was installed to access the aft air stair. The flat bulkhead probably provided an additional 1 ½’ feet of usable floor space compared to domed bulkheads. (Did you know? The pressure-designed shin thickness on 707/727 diameter bodies is 0.040” thick aluminum. It’s not Reynolds Wrap, but that’s all that separates you from the cold, cruel world.)
3) Another effect of the short aft body and lack of wing engines was to allow the body to be closer to the ground due to lower rotation problems. Shorter landing gear were lighter. An aft air stair was enabled. This was important as a self-contained stairway for smaller airfields and because aft body doors were impossible due to engine locations.
4) The aft-most portion of the body was slotted on top for the fin box to slip in and for the center engine inlet to pass through. It was slotted on bottom for the air stairs. Structurally, large longitudinal torque boxes at the top and bottom, and along the sides of the fin and stairway completed the beef-up for tail loads and engine support.
Without knowing the survival records of 727s, I would choose a seat in the aft body due to its structural ability. You could wind up with the aft engine in your lap but, still…
And, complications…If the airplane was fully loaded with fuel, passengers, and cargo, the center of gravity would be in the correct place. However, if you had only half of the passengers and they chose to sit in the front of the long forward body, the pilot wouldn’t get the nose off the runway on takeoff. Or, if the load-master guy loaded all feather pillows in one end and anvils in the other, your chance of falling out of the sky were high. Some airlines chose galleys and restrooms in places that made restricted seats a requirement at some loads.
(At the time of 707/727 design a 50 to 55% passenger load was considered to be the breakeven point for operation. Try to find a seat today…)
Submitted by David Ridge
Slick Tip
This might interest those of you who don’t have a designated laundry room. We have limited room in our “laundry room” so this is something I have come up with to contain all the dryer fuzz. I simply took an empty rubber glove box; a Kleenex box would work too. When I empty the dryer vent, I simply stick it in the box; when it is full, I will throw it away and get another.
Books/TV viewing and Movies
If anyone has read, recently watched something on TV or gone to a movie that you think is great it would be nice to share with your neighbors.
We recently watched a couple of movies on TV
- The Catcher was a Spy
- The 12th Man
- Tea with the Dames
All three of the above are on Prime TV. The 1st two are movies based on real people, the 3rd is a documentary, very lite and entertaining.
Books
- The Catcher was a Spy-by Nicholas Dawidoff
- The Dutch Girl-by Robert Matzen a true story about Audrey Hepburn
If you have any to share send them to me.
Garden Committee Ramblings…
The Garden Committee hopes you have had time to wander around and appreciate the beauty of our landscaping over the last month as so many of our flowering plants have been in full bloom. Rhododendrons, Hino Crimson Azaleas, and several flowering trees have been in beautiful colors. And don’t miss our wonderful vine maple “forest” on the north bank.
Speaking of beautiful, what about the lovely new entry containers? The old terra cotta containers were cracked and need replacement. Garden Committee members Andi Loeser (308) and Doris Beck (303) used some of our budgeted garden funds to purchase new containers, soil, and plants. Then Drake Loeser and Edy Strand (311) helped them with the planting. If you happen to see these volunteer gardeners, please thank them for their efforts. The new containers are a very nice addition to our front entrance.
Damaged Tree
You may have noticed some damage to our Red Bud Street tree bordering 20th St. Recently, a huge Coke delivery truck parked in that area and sheared off a very large branch leaving a sizable scar on the remaining branch. Our Washington Tree Experts arborist says the tree will mend itself over time.
And finally, a big thank you to our terrific Skinner Landscaping Garden crew who work hard to keep our property beautiful.
We welcome additions to our Garden Committee! If you would like to join this group of volunteers, please reach out to one of us.
- Andi and Drake Loeser
- Doris Beck
- Betty Roberson
- Cheri Schuricht
All you Dad’s have a good Fathers day, enjoy you day you certainly deserve it.
Guard Cat
Beware, you may notice that we have a pretty viscous critter outside our door. He is Malcom, the Attack Cat. I have placed him there to guard Jerry while I’m gone.
He can be provoked pretty easily so beware.
He can be won over by placing chocolate chip cookies on the table, then he will pure with delight.