Eleanor Uhthoff Manning (February 7, 1909 - November 16, 2009)   Aunt Ellie passed away at 4:35 a.m. on the 16th. She was thin and weak, and a very brief bout of pneumonia was the ultimate attack.  She had been saying that she wanted to "go home." And we take this as a sign that her wish was granted. Susan and Grandma Ginger  drove to Emerald Heights early that morning and Nancy joined them there.  Nancy was happy that she had visited Ellie a week earlier, and Annie had showed her her pictures from South Africa in early October.  Our whole family had also visited recently when we showed her the photos of her 100th birthday party that I had taken. She tired easily and the visits were brief. Her sister Ginger was faithful in caring for Ellie, not unlike how Ellie had cared for her when Ginger was young.    At the memorial service, Susan played her violin and she and Ginger spoke.  Jeannie Beth and Nancy sang Abide with Me as a duet and both Nancy and Annie read scripture. And Annie recited one of Ellie's favorite poems, The Daffodils by William Wordsworth.  I, of course, ran the video camera and took pictures.  Father Jim Eichner from Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross in Redmond, near Emerald Heights, led the memorial service. Aunt Ellie had moved to Emerald Heights when it first opened.  Joan Seymour (left)  joined us from Canada for the service. Aunt Ellie had been a New York Social Worker, having earned her BA and MSW from NYU.  She and her husband Tony took over the care of Ginger, then 13, when Ellie was 26, when their mother Freida died in 1936. Their father, Richard Uhthoff, had died in 1934.  Then Tony died in 1956.   Ginger married Rob Rutherford on December 29, 1945. Upon retirement in 1975, Ellie moved to Seattle and got an apartment in the tallest high rise in the U-District.  She was politically liberal and religiously private.  She was rather formal (in an east coast sort of way), loved to travel, and I recall that in the 1980s I set her up with her own computer to replace her typewriter (long before the Internet). Nancy's family was so small and Aunt Ellie was a constant fixture at birthdays and holiday events.  She bought us some of our silver place settings for a wedding present. Ellie had strong views but seemed to grant my own opinions some weight since she valued education and seemed to show more respect for my Ph.D. than was due it.  Perhaps having even an academic doctor in the family was something she could be proud of.  Her niece had married Dr. Sleight. At age 100 years and nine months, she was quite ready to go.  She was unique.
JB Races at State Jeannie Beth is a State competitor.  Her great fifth place finish, on an illness-weakened BCS team, at the Westside Classic on October 31st saved the season for the Lady Vikings and allowed them to race again in Pasco.  JB was the 1st alternate last year and this year placed 6th on her team, one second behind teammate Janessa Darr. The BCS girls placed 11th out of 16 teams, but Janessa was still not 100%.   Jeannie Beth ran well on a difficult rolling grass course and really hopes to get back to Pasco next year.  But if you ask her, she'll tell you she still loves the Tri-District course best.  That's a good thing.  The race that qualifies them for State is the one that makes the Pasco trip a reality. (I celebrated by wearing my team t-shirt to work.       It's OK since it says "Strictly Business" on the back!)
More Awards for Nathanael (the Dread Pirate Roberts) Nate earned two more awards as the SPU Cross Country season ended.  His Dread Pirate Roberts costume earned him the Best Male Costume at the Falcon Halloween Run around Green Lake. At the end-of-season team banquet the coaches got me a nice Falcon XC running shirt as a thank you gift for all my photographic work.  I had the photos on my web site and created another well received show that ran throughout the banquet at the South Lake Union Outback Steakhouse.   And my photos were also featured on the SPU athletics web site and in The Falcon newspaper. At the banquet we were not surprised when Nathanael received the Most Improved award.  He'd moved from #6 in 2008 to #2 this year and had a great season. One week after the banquet, the SPU women ran at Nationals.  The amazing Jessica Pixler captured the NCAA Division II individual title for the third time -- a record for a DII athlete.  The SPU women also picked up a trophy (4th place) by edging out West Region rivals Chico State and Alaska Anchorage.  They will be in decline next year as five of seven top runners are seniors.  Perhaps the SPU men and women will have more similar results next fall. Nathanael also says he's having a good quarter in the classroom.  He's taking University Foundations for U Scholars, Advanced Expository Writing, Linear Algebra and Calculus III.    On Tuesday and Thursday nights, he's also working in "my lab" -- making the easiest $200 a month he is likely ever to make.  It's a great quiet place to get homework done.  I only hire him because I don't want to hire someone new for just six evening hours each week.  This is his second quarter in the lab.   These days, Nate says he plans to earn a B.S. in Physics, a B.A. in Chemistry, and a minor in Math.  He wants to get the most out of SPU before he turns 24 and looses his tuition benefit as my son.  Then, if he's still interested in Education, he can do that for his Master's degree.   Nancy Spends November for PEO Star Scholarships   Nancy has spent nearly ever free moment this month working with a few girls from Bellevue Christian School, helping them  complete applications for the $2500 PEO Star Scholarship.  She was successful in helping one BCS girl win one of only two awarded in Washington State last year.  This year, each PEO Chapter may sponsor only one girl, so Nancy has been busy trying to match up to girls with other chapters (including one in Montana).  I hope this labor of love is successful again this year.  It's way more work than she has time for.  But the deadline is November 30th so I have hope that she can return to her many other projects before Christmas.     Pearl (age 4) Diana (age 10) Shadow (age 2) Ginger (age 17) Adopt-a-thon Benefits All   King County Animal Care and Control held an adopt-a-ton at local Pet Pros stores on Saturday the 21st.  The County is trying to get out of the animal control business.  They waived the adoption fee, so for the price of the license ($30 per cat) we could get another cat. The adoption event was to run from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and the store closed at 6:00 p.m.  I finally got Nancy to join me at 3:30 while JB stayed home and did homework.   That late in the day they had about eight cats left.  Nancy liked two black males but I pointed out that females might get along better with Ginger and Diana and we couldn't tell the two boys apart.  I could tell she would like another cat but she was incapacitated with indecision. She has a big heart.     Although little Pearl was very subdued, her write-up was wonderful (except the part about "not good with children").  I picked her out (in my mind) but wanted to check out all the other candidates.  Then I was standing next to the cage of a scruffy cat named Talula. She was very active and reached out and patted me.  I said to myself, "OK, you're going home with me.")  She also had a good report.  When I suggested we take Pearl and Talula home, Nancy agreed.  The folks at the store and the King County workers were also delighted, since their event had ended and we were taking the last two to be adopted that day.  The store gave us $20 off on kitty litter and I filled out the paperwork while Nancy chased inquisitive Talula all over the store.  Pearl sat on a "cat castle" and showed her shyness.  We were also given all the unused kitty litter from the event. The name Talula was not going to stay and so far "Shadow" has replaced it -- and for good reason.  Shadow is a people cat.  She is playful, snuggly, and likes to hang out with the family (to shadow us) -- especially in the kitchen.  On the other hand, Pearl (who I also call Jewel) often hides in a cave of furniture on the second floor.  So far she comes out at night.
But last night Pearl slept with Nate, Ginger slept with JB, and Shadow slept with Nancy and me.  (Diana often hunts rats outside most nights.) And Shadow loves to hang out with Grandma Jean.  Jean's not too keen on it when Shadow walks on her.  But I'm sure she likes Shadow.
Each day of their first week together, the four cats have gotten along a little better.  The new cats are still wary of Ginger and Diana (and each other) -- but we are seeing progress.  And all of them are much loved by the family.
New Overpass on NE 10th Street On the way to Thanksgiving dinner at Susan's, we had our first chance to cross I-405 on the new NE 10th Street overpass.  This makes it easier for us to cross Bellevue to Overlake hospital and go north on I-405. When we moved to Bellevue in December 1981, there was one 8-story building in Bellevue and there were horses on Clyde Hill just a few blocks away from our house.
Thanksgiving 2009 Nancy cooked the turkey!  She did a great job.  Susan introduced us to William (whom we called Eugene since his Chinese name sounded like that).  William is the son on the friend of a Japanese musician Susan had been friends with when she was in Yokosuka. He is a freshman at the UW hoping to study Bioengineering. We played Pictionary before the meal, adults against kids, and the kids won.  William was of course new to this game. And Grandma Jean had fun but was little help to Susan and myself.
After Thanksgiving Tradition Continues at the Seattle Marathon On Sunday the 29th, the five Sleights joined Coach Sloan and other members of the BCS Cross Country team to staff our usual water station on the south side of Seward Park (mile 12 of the 26.2 mile Seattle Marathon course.)  Annie reported that this was her 9th year at this.

Bits and Pieces

  My annual PDP review this month began with Jeff saying, "I could never write a job description for you."  It went very well.  He asked me to develop a task tracking system that I could master and teach to others.  He understands that I am so busy that regular and one-off tasks can get jumbled.  He also asked me to work on my health issues.  It's not something he can ask as a boss -- but he does it as a friend.  I'm seriously at the start of another exercise/weight loss season.  Having gotten up to 207, I'm feeling good about being back under 200 (at 199).  Can I be under 190 by January?  Nancy has the low guess, hoping I will get to 169.5 by March 17, 2010.

  At the end of November we are in the middle of Hebrews 10 on Saturday morning.  In January we will get back into the Psalms.  Perhaps in February I hope to start the group through Revelations, in honor of Phil Voigt.

  With Nancy's strong encouragement, Jeannie Beth has joined the Bellevue High School Gymnastics team.  She has been practicing with them for the last two weeks.  Because 1A BCS does not offer that sport, she is allowed to compete for 3A BHS. She says she is entered in the vault and balance beam this coming Thursday.

  I plan to continue as the photographer for the BCS Wrestling team.  Where Wrestling and Gymnastics coincide, I will cover Gymnastics.  I still covet a Nikon 70-200mm VR (or the more expensive VR II).  And with Gymnastics I have a more pressing need for it.  My good AF Nikkor 80-200mm 1:2.8 D lens will have to really prove itself this coming week or make way for the 70-200mm top-of-the-line lens. But I still can't afford the new big lens.

The day before Thanksgiving I moved many boxes of assorted papers and computer equipment out of my SPU office and down to my Bellevue basement office.  That home office is a storage disaster right now.  The corner of the family room has become my work space for the past few years. I'm looking forward to going back to work after the Thanksgiving break, with a much cleaner office.

  Just before Thanksgiving I got my H1N1 vaccine shot.  But I got it by mistake!  I misread the email and went over to the campus health center just before they closed and they let me pay my $5, no questions asked.  But they were only supposed to take students "24 and under."  And those over 24 must have "a serious health condition" to get a shot on December 1.  It's not like me to jump the queue.