I finally finished the Church Council minutes this morning.

Phllip and I went to the University District Farmers' Market, which has only a couple more weeks left this year. Among other things, I bought a 2.5 pound turnip. Afterwards, we completed our absentee ballots, then we went to the Capitol Hill library to use their computers, and we explored the new QFC (which is huge, and very comfortable).

Metro Transit route 64, on its northern end, serves Lake City and Wedgwood. Then it turns into an express along 65th Street and I-5. It becomes local again in Downtown, and turns into an express again on First Hill.

Route 303 is an express route. On its northern end, it serves Shoreline. It heads south along I-5, and makes limited stops in Downtown and First Hill.

I don't know what happened to Kate Bush. I can't find an official web site, and the latest fan site I found was last updated in 2002. The last album of new songs she released was The Red Shoes, in 1993. Maybe she's retired, which would be a shame.

On my second day in The Netherlands, Michiel took Magda and me to The Hague, which is known to the Dutch as Den Haag (the name I still prefer). Den Haag is the seat of government for The Netherlands, but it is not the nation's capitol. (That would be Amsterdam.) Michiel told me that day that the city is officially named 's-Gravenhage (a name I could neither pronounce nor remember) - but train schedules still name it Den Haag. Magda and I spent most of the day in a section of Den Haag named Scheveningen (another name I couldn't pronounce), which is a popular beach resort along the North Sea.

It's funny that I never wondered about the name until recently.

In the 13th century, the site was a hunting lodge for the royal family of Holland. A small village of shops and tradespeople formed next to it. The village became known as Des Graven Hage, which translates into English as "The Court's Hedge." Over time, the name became corrupted to 's-Gravenhage, and then shortened to Den Haag.

So, the answer to my question is: a "hague" is a hedge, and the city is named after one, because the hedge belonged to the royal family.

The new QFC, in the former Broadway Market, opened at a little past 7:00 this morning. [see: 23 June, 25 June, 29 June, and 7 July] It appears to have a "Home Department" to make up for the old Fred Meyer. Now I've heard rumors that Safeway is moving off Broadway.

The song stuck in my head this morning, for obvious reasons, is The Times They Are A-Changin', by Bob Dylan.

Phillip emailed me lyrics from Changes, by David Bowie, this morning.

Here are things I want to look up on the internet, the next time I get the chance:

Whatever happened to Kate Bush?

Where does route 64 go? (easy one)

Where does route 303 go? (another easy one)

What is a "hague," and why is a city named after one?

I took a class at The Hatha Yoga Center this evening. The doctor from my clinic was there, but the regular teacher - Ki - was not there. Instead, the class was taught by Vickie.

Vickie's style, or maybe the yoga style, was more aerobic than the classes I've been taking with Lisa. That's a negative, for my taste. Vickie emphasized the goals of exercise and massage, rather than the feel of the ansaras. That's another negative.

In Lisa's classes, there are props you can use for assistance - blocks, straps, cushions, and blankets. But they're there only if you need them - if you can't bend enough to touch the floor, touch a block instead, for instance. In Vickie's class, there are props that become part of the ansaras - balls and ballet-type bars. That's another negative, but not a big negative.

The Hatha Yoga Center is housed in a funky hundred year-old building. Class was taught with new age-style music in the background. That's a plus. In Seattle Yoga Arts, it's impossible to avoid the sound of the traffic on 15th.

Unlike Lisa, Vickie doesn't ask if it's OK for her to touch you. Every single time, Lisa asks me, "Is is all right if I touch your shoulders?" Vickie just comes right up and pushes my shoulders back. That's neither a plus nor a negative.

There was no chanting at The Hatha Yoga Center. I missed the chanting.

There doesn't seem to be any class sessions at The Hatha Yoga Center. That's a plus, maybe.

I feel very good tonight. All in all, I'm glad I found Lisa's class first.

I returned Doctor No, unfinished, to the library this morning.

I returned the Ralph Ellison short story collection to the library this evening. I read all but one or two of the stories.

I picked up a book at the library last Saturday, on a whim. It's called The Spirit of Yoga, by Kathy Phillips. It has nice pictures. It also has an interesting explanation of the difference between yoga asanas (poses) and western exercise. Asanas loosen, stretch, and relax the body, it says, while western exercises tighten and compact it.

I got a letter from Kelly today. I wrote her a letter this evening.

Now it's time to get to work on those minutes.

I have been procrastinating on typing last week's Church Council meeting minutes. I don't know if that means I'm getting burned out on it, or if I just have too many things going on right now. I've never taken more than three or four days until I've emailed the first draft out, and here it is, one week past the meeting, and I haven't gotten past the pre-meeting dinner.

I haven't been drumming nearly enough.

The doctor in our clinic who practices yoga has invited me to join him at one of his yoga classes - they're Wednesday nights, in the U District. It might be fun to see how another yoga class teaches. It's too bad it's on the sugar gliders' Chicken Night.

When Phillip and I ran into Barbara at the Capitol Hill library yesterday, I took the opportunity to tell her that I wouldn't be at Writers' Group today. I commented that I think it's the first time I'm ever missed a Writers' Group meeting. Barbara agreed with that thought.

Phillip and I visited Pet today. The original plan was to go mushroom hunting, but rain prevented that. Instead, we took a drive. We visited Gladys Night's grave, and Phillip found a perfectly good screwdriver [see: 5 September]. We continued our drive up the mountain, Pet pointed out a fire lookout obscured by clouds, and I thought to myself that it would be fun to find out where the lookout manned by Jack Kerouac in Dharma Bums is (or was). On the way down the mountain, a rare thing happened - our Prius' Consumption Monitor displayed solid green (meaning that for 30 minutes, our Prius achieved 100+ MPG - or, more accurately, gravity had allowed the car to coast all the way down the mountain road with its motor and engine both off.)

The three of us had lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Eatonville, where I had the best "veggy fajita salad" I have ever had.

It was a good day, despite missing Writers' Group.