Driving around town today, I could swear that everyone was conspiring to make me think I was insane.

Near the soda water fountain; At the lemonade springs

For some reason, having visitors always transforms me into their slave for the duration of the visit. Today was another funpacked day — we first stopped to visit a particular waterfall which is normally not colored a vibrant shade of LIME GREEN. I had to stop and rub my eyes a few times, but there you have it. This pretty, peaceful little waterfall on the outskirts of Redmond was bright green.

Was it St Patrick’s Day? Was it some sort of anti-algae treatment? (Actually, I don’t think algae can grow without a bit of sun) I leaned forward to sniff the water but it smelled the way it always does. No, I was not going to taste it, not even to report the news to Seattle Metblogs. So my (thus-far unproven) theory is that it’s limeade. And anyone who has tasted it, or is in the know, should let me know.

allez… oop!

Later that day I was driving down Bellevue Way towards the mall. By the way, that building that is catty-corner to the postoffice? You know the one. It’s been wrapped in plastic for the past year, and unfinished for the past several years. We thought maybe it was going to be a residential development thingy. Well… they are knocking it down. I saw a big old crane with teeth, grabbing at the metal framework and pulling it down. Oh, the wastage. Further down that street towards the library? Another building bit the dust. I don’t even know what it used to be — just one of the anonymous buildings that fronted the road. But now, a blank canvas. What’s going in, I hear you ask? Why, residential development. Of course.

Across the street from the Lincoln Tower/Bellevue Square monstrosities, workmen were milling around Bellevue Place, gouging up the pavement. Has that huge sculpture always been there? Because I really don’t remember it. And how could one miss a 3.5-storey-tall sculpture? I finally had to get out and ask someone. He was pretty nice about my obvious uncertainty regarding whether I was completely insane or not. He explained about how they had blocked off the road at 10PM on Thursday night last week (oh thank GOD. I had not been in that area since a couple of weeks ago! I was definitely not crazy then) for two hours to put in the sculpture. Had they brought it in in one piece? Yes. By 5AM on Friday morning, the thing was welded into place. You hear that, scrap metal thieves? There is no way you can steal this honking big sculpture.

Back at the mall, mom and I headed for Chico’s. As soon as I walked in, I knew something was different. I could smell paint and wood. But what had happened? I couldn’t put my finger on it. I flagged down one of the salespeople who informed me that this was now the biggest Chico’s in the country. It used to be the second-biggest (this is after the expansion from 2 years ago), until they grabbed another 1500 sq ft of space. “Didn’t we do a great job on the renovation?” she boasted, as though she had had a personal hand in the matter. I nodded mutely. I’d had enough for the day, what with all the changing and moving around and for goodness sakes — GREEN waterfalls?