The house is named Celia. It wasn’t always named that – it’s been known for 100 years as 1772 19th Ave. – but my cousin Amy, a.k.a. Max, Maxim, “Goose,” and Maximy (my nickname for her) decided to christen it. “You wouldn’t put a boat in the water without naming it,” she said. “Why move into a house without naming it?”

The woman has flair. It’s one of several ways in which she kicks ass. Another is the sheer fact of her buying a house in Seattle. The housewarming started Saturday and went as long as it took Sunday for the final guests to finally wake up and head to their own homes. And a good time was had by all.

The Walshes have added another good place to the Good Places list.

Family and friends from several points on the West Coast (even San Diego) made it. I was there from 3:30 to midnight, visiting, eating, drinking, exploring and photographing.

Moments: I held a few-weeks’-old baby, Sevilla, and she seemed to like my holding skills. “He’s a natural!” one veteran parent said about me. “I’m not ready to make one of these,” I said, as I handed off the baby to someone else. “Hey,” said Sevilla’s mother, laughing, “I don’t know if I’m ready!”… While Max showed the unfinished basement to a friend of hers, I more than half-jokingly called Max “the lesbian version of me.” They both cracked up at that. “Everyone should have a lesbian version of themselves!” Max said… Robin, a veteran of last year’s Maximy barbecue (she and I had this epic chat that time), gave me dance lessons. “Europeans move their feet and hips; Africans move their upper bodies; tap dance combined them,” she explained and demonstrated. “When in doubt, follow your heritage. Move your lower body. Women are more interested in how you move your hips, anyway.” Ahhhh, I know more now…

I’m sure more memories will resurface later, especially after I get my photos back. Getting to where I’d sleep, a family home in Olympia (where Max grew up), was more of an adventure than I liked; I wound up on the wrong side of I-5 when exiting, and in trying to correct this, started back on I-5 pointed towards Seattle. I carefully worked my way back to the house on surface roads after that. I arrived at 1:45, made I hope not too much noise, and slept until 10:30 the next morning.

To Be Continued. Really!