Kingfisher Cove

Wonderful Whirlwind

At the moment I’m writing this, it is hella windy outside! Blowing in some nasty, inclement weather…I guess we’re due. I’m just thankful that the 4th was utterly awesome. It truly was a perfect day, in all ways (and even if Mojo had been here with us, I’m sure he would’ve been hiding all day from all the dogs).

My brother and his wife and my niece came (along with their Pug, Milo; and their new little baby dog, Montey the long-haired Chihuahua). We also got lots of visits from Sam, the Yorkshire Terrier from next door. (Added to our two weenie dogs). Quite the menagerie! And then Helen came from Oregon! We chatted, ate cold cracked Dungeness crab (that my brother caught at Camano a couple of days ago), drank Crantinis (beer for the guys), went for a ride in the Fast Red Boat, swam/inner-tubed (it was a toasty day!), grilled King salmon and corn-on-the-cob, and set off fireworks while we watched all the neighbors’ awesome shows along the beach.

The day in pictures:

My brother’s tent! Helen called it the “Taj Mahal!”

 

Back from a boat ride in the Fast Red Boat!

 

The Harstine Island Bridge in our wake.

 

Summertime!

 

Helen on the beach.

 

Montey, the sweet and so adorable lil’ Chihuahua puppy. (Montey is short for “Montezuma!”)

A pile of wee dogs!

  

A beach fire.

 

Helen setting off the first fireworks of the evening. (Bummer I couldn’t get any decent shots of all the gorgeous mortars happening all around us, but fireworks just don’t photograph well, from my experience).

    It was one of the most incredible sunsets I’ve ever seen. This photo turned out a little blurry (such a shame), but it’s kind of cool that a neighbor’s sail boat almost looks like a ghost ship.

I’ve saved this as my new current desktop photo. It’s really stunning blown up. Click to see it a little larger (which still won’t do it justice as it’s not shown as big as the photo really is).

So company left early this afternoon and I pouted because we had so much fun and suddenly it was OVER! However, with this strong breeze/wind (nearly 30 mph sustained), it would have been a drag. JDub and I have been holed up inside the trailer the rest of the day. I tried to take a nap, but a damned fly kept pestering me.

Still Kind of Reeling

What a horrendous 4-day work-week it was! Man, I’m just now finally starting to chill out, well into the 1st day of our 10-day Harstine vacation. Yesterday was just nuts in All Ways. *Shudder* (Stressful deadline, tons of interruptions, work-computer failure, working through lunches, and certainly no way to get off work early yesterday. I was one of maybe 3 or 4 people left in the whole office when I finally escaped after 5:00. I didn’t even have time to plan any menus for even the first few vacation days in order to come up with an intelligent shopping list (other than knowing we’re having grilled salmon for the 4th). So my mind literally “clanked” in the attempt to shift gears on my drive home (with much squeaking involved). And then when I arrived home to hit it with meal planning, packing, etc., Mojo was nowhere to be found. JDub and I called and called and called him, and JDub walked around the neighborhoods in back of us trying to find him. It was very warm (upper ‘80s) so I’m sure he was snoozing in bushes somewhere. In order to buy some time, we went grocery shopping locally (instead of stopping on the way), but when we got home, still no sign of Mojo. We took our time pulling things together, but by 8:00 and he STILL hadn’t shown up, I filled up his kibble self-feeder, the big water doo-hickey, a couple of cans of Sheba, and we left with very heavy hearts. With the pet door, he’ll subsist just fine, I’m sure.

We’ll probably drive home Tuesday or Wednesday (it’s actually supposed to rain by then, which will drive that damned cat inside) and hope to grab his ass and haul him back down here for the rest of the vacation. There’s nobody home anymore to care for him while we’re gone! (Plus, I miss him terribly. He does absolutely love it here).

So we arrived on the island at “O’Deer-Thirty” (which means after dusk, when the deer tend to flock to the sides of the road). We were surprised to only see one; normally the place is crawling with them and requires careful driving. The only plus-side of waiting so long to leave was that we sailed down here in record time — everybody else had already made their destinations. I had TONS of food stuffs to find places for! Got a nice 3-pound King salmon filet for the 4th of July din-din. My brother and his family will be here, and Helen is coming from Oregon! AND…the weather is awesome. I can’t believe how wonderful our May, June, and now (so far) July have been. It’s unheard of. It’s like we’ve switched climates with the rest of the country. Normally? Summer doesn’t actually begin around here until July 5th!

We’ll take it! (Sorry east-coasters and mid-westerners!)

JDub is actually wearing SHORTS! And is BAREFOOT (reading his Kindle). This is after pulling the Fast Red Boat out from the boat tent and mixing up a new anchor to drop in the water for the buoy (that washed ashore a couple of weeks ago). Waiting for it to cure and for the tide to come up so he can launch the boat (and “launch” the new anchor/buoy).

Nate just finished up his first full week of Boot Camp, 7 more weeks to go. Nope, haven’t heard Word One, which is what I expected. I did find a detailed description of their week-to-week ordeal training online and it was an eye-opener. Man, they are put through hell. He’s very physically fit so I sense that he’ll handle that part just fine, except for the rigors of swimming requirements. He’s never been a strong swimmer. (But maybe he will be now…)

~~~~~~~~~~

Update: The boat is in the water, tied to the buoy (and new anchor!)

Letters

I’ve been writing a letter to Nate just about every day. Not every single day, as I don’t want to bore him with the tedium of nothing much but work angst, but so far I’ve written him a few since he left last Thursday. The thing is, I don’t have his address yet. Apparently within the next couple of weeks I’ll receive a form letter from the Navy with his address and then I’ll send all his letters at once. He’ll 1) either be tickled to get so much mail, or 2) have to do push-ups as a punishment for getting so much mail, or 3) all of the above. He’s sure on my mind. It’s weird to not know what all he’s dealing with and feeling about it. For a guy, he’s always been very communicative, at least with me. Oh, I’m sure there are a bazillion things he’s done that I have no clue about (nor want to know), but he can be very forthcoming. I’ve never been (too) judgmental, and I always encouraged openness, and it paid off with him feeling comfortable talking to me about many things sons don’t typically talk to their moms about. But more than anything, I’m missing the sit-down-at-the-dining-table chats when he’d knock me to my knees in laughter. I also miss rubbing his shaved head. Kinda like petting the dog. But way different.

Ah, but work. It’s the pits right now. Up to my eyeballs with this Proposal That Just Won’t Die (with our Boise office). What a nightmare, and it was compounded today with computer issues. I don’t have time for computer issues!

Good news: Sounds like JDub fixed the A/C in the Durango. I’m so very happy about that because it’s been beastly driving down to Harstine in heavy traffic and heat. And it sounds like it’ll be in the upper 80s Thursday when we head down. Argh. Not that I am complaining because stellar warm weather for the holiday weekend is exactly in order! My brother and his family are coming down and so is Helen! Fireworks, salmon, and hopefully rides in the Fast Red Boat! (I shudder to think how much work I have to accomplish before that becomes a reality…)

We “fired” our architect who was designing our Harstine house. There were many reasons, including incredible lack of communication, as well as, uhm, stupidity. Why wouldn’t an architect consult a soils and structural engineer BEFORE designing a complex pole foundation over a challenging site? And why would it necessarily have to be a pole foundation anyway? Perhaps the input of the soils and structural engineer could have recommended something better? ANYWAY, we have a NEW architect that JDub has met with and we’re excited that he “gets us.” Plus, it sounds like he’ll come out to our place at Harstine one day during our vacation next week to see the site with his own eyes (and see what he’s getting himself into). We’re meeting with him tomorrow evening to get the ball rolling. He won’t have to start from Ground Zero, as we were able to get all the design documents to date from the previous architect, plus we’re pretty happy with the overall floor plan and general “idea” of the house. But we have a hunch this guy is going to have a whole lot more common sense suggestions based on JDub’s conversations with him. Should be interesting.

Purloined!

The hubs is addicted to my iPhone. (I should say, he’s addicted to the Casino Slot Machine app I have on there). So while he’s wearing down my battery (yet again), I’ll write a blog post!

It’s another stellar day here at Harstine. I’ve been pretty much living out here on the deck and it’s been awesome. I hate to see this weekend start to wind down because it will not be a fun work-week. A short one, though, since Friday will be our 4th of July holiday. And THEN….a full week off to spend down here! wOOt!

I discovered some photos from Nate’s goodbye party at Camano Island on my camera that I’d totally forgotten about! What a treat that was, although it put a lump in my throat. I’ll share a few.

I just love this one with Nate and his best friend, Tracy, roasting hotdogs the evening of the party. JDub and I sat down there with them for quite a while and listened to the surf and chatted. Nate was quite sunburned! (That’s a huge ol’ truck wheel we’ve used for years as the fire thingy there. It’s all rusted out in the bottom so it’s time for something new…)

I liked this one, too, of the boys heading back from batting rocks in the water. I hope the Navy doesn’t totally banish the boy from this young man:

Nice sunset at Camano Island:

Every time we go to Camano (which isn’t nearly as often as it used to be since we have Harstine), I’m blown away with the panoramic view with no trees to obstruct it. Can’t do that here with the environmental laws. Oh! And I forgot to mention that my brother encountered the ogre! Remember him? Ugh! Dave said it was extremely unpleasant. Everybody that walks his beach is “trespassing” and he threatens to call the police. Dave said to him, “You know what? You have a reputation along here as the Beach Troll.” (heh heh) What an evil person he is.

We visited with some Harstine neighbors last evening. The plan was to have a beach fire and drink some wine and chat, but the wind kicked up so we went to one of the neighbors’ houses instead. I took some photos from his deck (he had his house built back when you COULD cut down some trees to improve the view):

 

                   (iPhone photos tend to be on the grainy side…)

A Day of Distraction

So far, Nate’s called me twice today! Once from SeaTac airport just before they boarded (he gave me his flight number so I was able to track him on the internet the whole way, which was WAY COOL!) Then, he just called a bit ago from O’Hare to tell me he’d arrived, which I knew because I’d been tracking his flight. He’s with 4 other recruits and now they’re doing the hurry-up-and-wait thing for the bus that will take them to base. He’ll be able to give me a 15-30 second call once they arrive there, and then silence for the next several weeks. Pretty much the dark side of the moon.  But I’m flying high just having the privilege of talking to him today. I’m handling everything just fine, so far. I’m sure this would feel a lot different if he was 18 instead of 23.

I plan to start writing him letters and cards so that when I finally get his address (about 2 weeks from now), he’ll receive a lot of mail. From what I understand, mail is Da Bomb. A bunch will probably all arrive at the same time so I’ll number the envelopes! (heh heh) I also read on Navy for Moms that sending along a good joke in each letter is good for morale and they tend to share those jokes among their fellow boot campers (thereby creating camaraderie!)

So, while I did accomplish a number of things today at work, I was also pretty distracted, I have to admit. From here on out I’ll just be thinking of my kiddo and wondering what the hell he’s being put through.  But at least I’ll know he’s safe, being fed, not out partying, and I’ll actually KNOW WHERE HE IS. So in that regard, it’s all good.

~~~~~

Update: Just got the 15-second call; he’s on base. Let the hell begin!

Last Night

So….we won’t be seeing Nate for a while now. He had to report to the Navy recruitment center today for medical and more paperwork, then check into a nearby hotel for the night. (He does have some freedom this evening until 11:00 so he’s having dinner/Transformers movie with his dad). Then he flies out tomorrow sometime for Illinois to the Great Lakes Naval Station for Boot Camp.

Last night we took him out to dinner and we had a nice and relaxing time at Anthony’s Home Port at Pt. Defiance in Tacoma (not the Anthony’s here in our home town where he worked; a number of wait staff, chefs, and his favorite former manager now work at the Tacoma Anthony’s and Nate thought it would be a good opportunity to see them before he left). It was fun watching the Vashon ferry come and go. I sensed that Nate was “ready”  both physically and mentally. He’s really stepped up in the past couple of weeks and reamed out his bedroom (a place that has always been a disaster) and it’s now pretty much vacant. He even shampooed the carpet in there! He also sold his car. In the middle of his bedroom is a large box he’s packed up with stuff he wants shipped to him after Boot Camp when he heads to San Diego for 6 months of training. He’s been very sweet and loving, and I don’t know how many times he’s mentioned how much he appreciated his party at Camano Island. Just a few scenes from dinner last night:

I had halibut! It was excellent, and we also had an appetizer to share between us of RAZER CLAMS! Oh, they were nummy. I haven’t had razer clams for years and you just can’t get them at the store or at many restaurants. I was pretty much in heaven, even though they would not be Weight Watcher sanctioned! (The halibut was a good choice, though).  Oh, and speaking of Weight Watchers, I lost 4.4 lbs. this past week! It’s a great start, and it gives me motivation to continue doing what I’m doing.

Looking ahead, I am sure anxious for our vacation that actually begins on July 3rd. We’ll have that entire following week off and we’ll be at Harstine Island the whole time. I learned today that my BFF, Helen, will come to stay with us for the 4th and we’ll have a nice party and shoot off fireworks and have a great time. There is also a possibility that my brother and his wife and my niece will come for the festivities. (It’ll be good for me to have that to look forward to).

And work? Well, my godawful deadline has been extended…to July 8th, which is the midst of my vacation! In a way it’s a relief to have some extra time, but I’ve made it clear that we need to have this thing wrapped up by the 1st. Whether or not they heed my “making it clear” remains to be seen. My boss, D, who is wonderful, told me that if need be she’ll see to finalizing it while I’m gone. However, if I were her I’d be putting my foot down. There is no reason why this thing can’t be done by the time I leave on vacation. It was supposed to be completed TODAY. Engineers….

I had my mid-year career assessment (performance review) today, and it went great. Mostly D and I just established some measurable goals and for the first time in my work-life, they are goals that excite me. And they DON’T include anything whatsoever to do with PROPOSALS. It’s intranet, newsletter, website, training, and social networking! The stuff I LOVE. Proposals are a side-thing, even though they’ve been my focus since I’ve begun this job, but that’s just timing. It won’t be the bulk of my job, and I’m so thankful for that.

So…bye, Nate. I love you!

The Party’s Over…

It was a great success! We lucked out with decent weather (not stellar, as the breeze would kick up now and then, but it never did rain!) Both sides of Nate’s family were there, along with Nate’s best friend, Tracy. When I thought about it at times, it was sort of odd; my ex-husband and his two other boys, plus his parents and sister! JDub’s folks came, too! It was quite the mix! But it really was a lot of fun and the food was great and I think everyone had a wonderful time. In between hot flashes (and food preparation), I really enjoyed myself, too.

Here are a few scenes:

Nate and his friend, Tracy, batting rocks into the water. (This has always been one of Nate’s favorite Camano Island past times throughout the years).

Nate and the crab balloon we had tied up at the roadway entrance to mark the way. Unfortunately, crab season (Dungeness) doesn’t open until July 1st.

Nate and his dad (his dad was getting ready to measure him because there was a lot of “discussion” about whether Nate was taller).

Members of my family (my dad, my brother, my niece, and the back of the heads of my uncle and JDub).

Nate and his paternal grandma (he’s always called her “Obachan.”)

Nate contemplating his future (with lots of water in it!)

 

Here and there, as I had a moment or two, I “played” with my iPhone that arrived Friday. It’s taken a while, but I’m getting familiar with it and I keep being blown away by its capabilities. However, I’m having troubles sending email. I seem to be able to receive it OK, but I keep encountering an error message (cannot send—invalid email address – even when it’s NOT). I’m sure there’s something wrong in my setup, but I can’t seem to figure out what. But other than that, I really love it! I even downloaded the iBird application so I can now identify the western birds, including by sound! Very cool!

And now…onto another horrific work-week.

Butt-Kickin’

I know I’ve used this graphic before to illustrate previous angst, but it’s very fitting once again. What a week it’s been. Stick a fork in me. (And I have one more horrendous day to go, and then it’s full speed ahead for Nate’s Navy send-off party on Saturday — and there’s still much to do to get ready for that!) I’m about ready to throttle a number of engineers (such is my life) and winning the lottery/retirement would be oh-so-welcome right about now. Jeeze.

I’m missing out on fun stuff, educational stuff, and camaraderie at work with my peeps. This is such a drag! Yes, it’s temporary, and it won’t be the definition of this new job. It’s just that I’m the support marketing coordinator for our Boise office and there happens to be a lot of (unusual) marketing activity happening right now. I just need to get through this. It will happen. It always does. But in the midst of it, you have to wonder.

Then….poor Nate. His car has been in the shop since May 27th to have the clutch replaced. He’d checked around for prices and found a local mechanic who gave him a reasonable quote, so he arranged to have his car towed there. It was supposed to take two or three days, and then it was stretched to a week because the mechanic was having a tough time getting a particular part. And then it stretched to two weeks, again with “reasons” that might have been valid, but red flags were rising in my mind. In Nate’s, not quite yet because he was in communication with the guy. And then it stretched to three weeks and Nate couldn’t get ahold of the guy. When he finally did, to tell him that he was having the car taken to another mechanic and demanding his $250 deposit back, the guy was vague about his availability (claimed he was in Seattle and wouldn’t be back for a few days). Finally Nate connected with him, had his car towed by AAA (who had to meet with the mechanic and obtain valid information from him in order to tow it to the new mechanic). Nate still has to see the $250 deposit (I doubt he ever will….) Because THEN…

Today Nate received a notice in the mail from a nearby City police department with a camera ticket of his car running a red light at 3:00 a.m. during the time his car was “at the mechanic’s.” In other words, this asshat mechanic took Nate’s car out for a joy ride (bad clutch and all)!  And the asshat apparently did extra damage to the car because the new mechanic said 2nd gear was toast and it would cost an extra bundle of money to repair it!

So Nate called the courthouse and explained the situation and that he won’t be able to appear for the hearing since he’ll be in Navy Boot Camp, and was told to write a letter to the court explaining the circumstances. I read the letter and I believe he did a great job with it (he writes well), plus he made a photocopy of the initial receipt from the asshat. The court will have this asshat’s (supposed) name and address (certainly the address is valid, since he’s in town and Nate has been there).

I’m so sick and tired of asshats! They come in many different degrees.

Overwhelmed

I’d hoped in this new position that I wouldn’t have to contend with this Sensation of Doom, but here I am.

Eh. There are a number of reasons, and they keep surging through my mind like, well, big nasty waves.

• Huge proposal on my plate with lots of pressure to get ‘r done by Thursday because PM is leaving on vacation.
• Said huge proposal is actually seven proposals. All due the same day. I keep getting all the particulars between them confused.
• It’s the Boise office again, and they are anal, ADD, and OCD. Again.
• At least I don’t have to go to Boise (this week).
• I’m missing out working on the company newsletter because of this deadline. Which is the part of my job I absolutely LOVE. I did write an article for it last night (a’yup, Sunday).
• Birthdays! (June is nuts—my birthday, Nate’s birthday, JDub’s birthday (today!), Dad’s birthday (tomorrow!), then Father’s Day…
• …And then Nate’s Navy send-off party this coming Saturday.
• Oh, and Nate leaves for Boot Camp next week!
• Haven’t seen Mojo since last Thursday. I’m really trying not to worry, but I’m worried. And that worry keeps jumping out of those big nasty waves like an ugly sea monster, scaring the crap out of me. (My head knows he’s just diggin’ the warm, dry weather, just like my head knows there are no sea monsters. But tell that to my gut).
• Weight Watchers officially starts tomorrow. And I’ll be weighed. And there’s no dread like that kind of dread.
• Nate’s party has me stressed. Lots to organize, plan, think about, hope for (such as the weather)….and very little time (or energy!) to do so. Yeah, I got quite a lot taken care of over the weekend, but there are many more details to take care of before Friday night when we head up to Camano. And I hope to hell I can get off work early that day! (Deadline is the day before, but it’s an internal deadline, so I suspect “final” will really not mean “final”).
• Phone home, Mojo….

To-Do or Not To-Do?

I have a lengthy To-Do list going on, and I actually did cross off a number of items today. There are also a number of items still on there that I just don’t feel like dealing with. My bad. But one of the items that did get crossed off:

Is that about the most pathetic picture you’ve ever seen? Doesn’t it make you want to gather her up (in a thick towel…) and cuddle her and assure her that “it’s gonna be OK?” Which is exactly what I did, getting drenched in the process. And she got a nice doggy treat as a reward! What’s funny is that Peanut (the short-haired weenie) had her bath first and Bailey hot-tailed it “elsewhere” to hide.  Once Peanut got her treat, I heard a whimper from above and saw Bailey peering down between the rails upstairs. After just a couple of minutes, Bailey came tearing downstairs because the “treat” won! So she got her bath, and then she got her treat! I think she’d tell you that it was worth it.

It’s obvious that they do not like baths, but they’re short and sweet (and easy, although I do end up getting pretty dang wet). And they tolerate it just fine, really. I would think it would feel pretty good. Warm water, doggy massage to lather the shampoo, plus cuddles afterward. AND TREATS!

JDub’s birthday is tomorrow, but tonight we’re celebrating with steamer clams for dinner. I picked up 5 lbs. of them at Costco yesterday (great price, but you had to buy 5 lbs.) Nate finally made an appearance this afternoon after a weekend of partying with friends (young-people’s Navy send-off party) and he filled me in with the secret of how Anthony’s Homeport restaurants prepare their awesome steamers. They actually don’t “steam” them! They sauté them in butter, lemon, garlic, lots of white wine, and basil until they open up. ‘Course, they cook only a pound at a time, so I’m thinking with these 5 lbs. I will steam them, but include those ingredients for the nummy flavor.

I found some pictures from Nate’s weekend friends going-away party on Facebook. Heh. (Alcohol was involved, but he did NOT drive and they had a DD!)

  

I’ve received a few RSVPs for the mostly family-party we’re having for him at Camano Is. next Saturday, and so far they are ALL his dad’s side of the family! Which is totally fine (and I’m sure my own side of the family knows they really don’t need to RSVP). I’m glad they feel comfortable about coming. (And I’m glad that I feel comfortable about it, too! It’s taken 18 years to get to that point! Well… actually less than that because I was fine at Nate’s high school graduation and seeing his dad and that side of the family  for that. It also helps, quite frankly, that the bimbo is no longer in the picture…)

Worried, yet again, because we haven’t seen Mojo since his brief appearance Thursday night. There is evidence that he’s appeared at some point because the food I put down for him (Thursday) has been eaten. But since then? Has he found another family to feed him? *sob* Or is he subsisting on mice and birds? And sleeping under bushes? It’s all possible. I sure do miss him, though. I thought neutered male cats were supposed to settle down from all their wanderings!

Ah! These next couple of weeks are going to be tough in so many ways….

Time to Post

Oh, I probably should be doing something more constructive, but I pretty much feel that I’ve done a decent  job with that today and as a result, I’m bushed! And so, in lieu of napping (which I could so easily do), I’m taking some time to write a blog post. How ‘bout them apples?

I am not the queen of physicality, but I have traipsed up and down stairs so many times today I can’t count! It’s because the laundry room is in the dungeon and the bedroom is two floors above the dungeon, and each floor is a sizeable number of stairs! Up and down, up and down. Gah. And then I went to Costco and spent a wad, mostly for Nate’s Navy send-off party a week from today. That involved a lot of Really Big Items and I just may have messed up my back and wrist loading it all into the cart, then the car, then unloading it at home. (Nobody around to assist as JDub’s working and Nate is who-knows-where).  I also have a lot more to buy as I realized I want variations of beer and wine coolers and stuff, and a full case of everything is NOT necessary (nor affordable!) Also, buns and party platters need to be fresh! So we’ll be doing more shopping on the way to Camano next Friday night. Which is fine (that’ll be pay day!) I’m hoping I can get off early that day, but I probably won’t because I have a huge deadline looming…

Nuts, I say!

We typically have really crappy Junes around here, but so far this one has been stellar. I don’t specifically remember the last time we had rain! I sure hope this trend continues for next Saturday, the day of Nate’s party. What a drag if it doesn’t, but I’m trying to be optimistic. (I have no control over that, obviously). It’ll be what it will be. It could also be quite interesting. Sounds like Nate’s dad will come, and possibly his parents (Nate’s other grandparents), which is totally fine because I invited them. But also there’s a possibility that Nate’s little half-brothers will come, too. Who would’ve ever thunk that this would be just totally fine with me? (heh heh). Proof that time wounds all heels.

As I suspected, we haven’t seen Mojo since his last peek-a-boo. Brat. In a way, some rain this week would be a good thing — I know for a fact he’d show his face/hang out if that happened. (He hates rain). I miss him!

Have I mentioned lately how much I’m looking forward to my IPhone? Oh, God! I can hardly stand it!

Oh, one more thing. At Costco I picked up 5 lbs. of steamer clams to celebrate JDub’s birthday tomorrow. His birthday is actually Monday, but tomorrow will be a good day for clams. Num! Wow, he’ll be 56. We’re both shaking our heads in disbelief at how OLD we’re getting! Sigh.

Updates

Mojo showed his furry face last night! I’d headed up to bed (where JDub and the weenie dogs were already settled in) and I heard the pet door flap, followed by a “Mrow?” (Yes, he asks questions, I swear!) I hot-tailed it back downstairs and had to wrestle Nate for kitty hugs and kisses. Mojo tolerated that pretty well (even purred), then he ate a little, including doggie kibble, and then he headed back outside again! Have I mentioned that he’s *this* close to being a wild thing?

Such relief! I suppose it’ll be a while before we see him again. Sigh.

And now this!

Yup, I done pre-ordered me an IPhone 3GS! Am I a cool geek-ho or what? I’m so excited. It should arrive by the 19th — and our asshat mailman had best leave it in the (locked) mailbox for me! Oooh, I’m already pissed at him just thinking about it!

Do I? Why Yes I Do!

I WANT the new 3G S IPhone. I want it-want it-want it. And not even so much for the “phone” part of it (because I’m not much of a phone person, although maybe I could be…) but mostly because of all the fun other stuff it does, plus the apps. (Do you know there is one that identifies birds and their sounds, called “IBird?” Gotta have it!) It really is everything all in one; camera, video, email/internet, MP3 player, gamer, plus those awesome apps. And they’re not $600 anymore! I believe I could spring for $199…. (Seems like a bargain). Yes, I’m a gadget ho.

Plus, with Nate leaving for Navy Boot Camp the 25th of this month, I’m going to need something to perk me up. (Is that good enough justification?)

Feeling a bit worried — we haven’t seen Mojo for a couple of days. He’s done this before, and I know he absolutely loves the kind of weather we’ve been having (sunny, warm, dry, not scorching), and I also know that he can fend for himself quite well (because he really does EAT the critters he hunts and catches!) But I sure would be relieved to see his furry face.

Work is very busy and will continue to be for the next couple of weeks, and then NEXT Saturday is Nate’s party. I can’t believe it’s upon us! It’s not going to be anything fancy, but I’m hoping it’ll be fun (and that the weather cooperates…) The cute little rubber ducky sailors I’d ordered as silly decorations were NOT delivered by our mailman (whom I’d like to throttle). He’d left a form for a signature, which I signed and JDub placed back in the mail box, and then the jerk sent them back! I paid for them! This must not be an unusual situation with people who, uhm, work during the day! (I’ve had all kinds of grief with deliveries from this asshat!) Crap.

C’mon, Mojo, show yourself…

Here’s Nate’s invitation:

 

(I thought it was fitting that both of those pictures of him were taken at Camano Island. Lots of history there!)

Yikes!

Man, I’ve been busy! (And therefore “taaaard” — to quote my blogger friend, Ms. Kayak Woman). I can’t complain too much, because it’s job security, but the timing sort of sucks because I need to spend some energy  on Nate’s Navy send-off party, which is a week from this Saturday! And while I’m *this* close to having the invitations done (they will be tonight), I obviously haven’t mailed them out yet. JDub has to work this weekend, which is a good thing, because I’ll have the time to go Costco shopping and figure out the final plans (plus do a mountain of laundry…) I’ll likely also have to put some work time in this weekend so I can have a grip on next week. The good news is that I won’t have to fly to Boise — I’m handling all of this remotely.

And so, I’ve been really remiss lately with blogging! That’s so unlike me! It’s gotta be a temporary thing.

More later! (Really!)

Blink (also, Drip)

It is Friday night (yet again, hence the “blink”) and we’re back at Harstine. What a difference from last weekend, though. (And what an extreme difference from the past three days in a row of 90 deg. temperatures, hence the “drip”!) Tonight it’s cloudy, windy, and downright cold!  No deck fire; we’re huddled up in the camping trailer doing Winter activities (me cussing at my internet connection and JDub sniffing and sneezing from jigsaw puzzle dust).

Last evening in the course of just a half hour or so, we went from melting (the A/C just couldn’t keep up with outside searing heat), to a sudden wild wind storm and a 35-deg. temperature drop! (In the course of a half hour!) I opened the glass slider and stood there with the wind buffeting me and it felt like such an immense relief! Natural A/C on full blast! Areas had  power knocked out, and northern Oregon had crazy thunder and lightening and funnel clouds. We just had that wild wind (50+ mph gusts) and then it abruptly died.

But it’s kicked back up tonight, at least here at Harstine. Mojo likes it. (He does NOT like the killer heat, though! His black fluffy fur is not conducive! He kept spreading out like a flat cat on the cool(er) hardwood floor).

So today is Nate’s 23rd birthday. He went to a Mariners game with his dad tonight so we celebrated last night by having sushi! (Num!)

Wow, I learned yesterday that the gal who was hired to replace me at my previous position (with my beloved boss, Ms. Jodie Foster) was “separated from employment.” Not sure whose choice that was—could be either way. But I did sort of see the writing on the wall the few times I met her… Poor Ms. Foster, though, for having to go through the hiring process all over again.

I am really enjoying my job, and I find myself just grinning. Yes, there are tedious things (like the unpleasant proposals I wrapped up last week in Boise); and I’ll be starting another one next week with another likely Boise trip. I view that as job security. But I’m doing a lot of writing and learning Dreamweaver and loving it, and taking on more and more responsibility with the intranet stuff. And I LOVE the gals I work with. They are truly friends that I respect and enjoy being with. I love how we all bounce ideas off each other, how we can get snarky, how we’re all supportive, how we tease each other, and how we giggle. We work hard, but it’s creative work. At times I feel giddy because it almost doesn’t feel like “work.” I feel so damned fortunate! I can’t believe it!

The Rate Things Are Going, It’s Going To Be October Before I Know It

Birthday’s over, back home from Harstine, back to work. (How different that feels since I am loving my job these days!) But time is speeding by and so instead of posting to my blog I really should be finalizing the invitations for Nate’s Navy send-off party. I will! I promise! Soon! (Or I just may do an e-vite. Or even pick up the phone…)

OMG, it’s hot today. One of those rather hazy, muggy, sultry days, and the temp in my car on my way home from work read 94 deg. We are not especially accustomed to that in August!  The A/C in our office really couldn’t keep up and so we were all pretty droopy (even though busy). And here at home the A/C is OK as long as you don’t move around much. And I mean not much a’tall.

JDub has taken this entire week off for vacation (he has so much built up that he’ll lose it if he doesn’t start taking it). The idea was (is) to attack some projects around the house, but today was really difficult with the intensity of the heat. There are a lot of very un-fun tasks that need to be taken care of, such as replacing the deck (which is what he’s focusing on now). Our hope is that our Harstine house will have a metal roof, at least a partially composite deck, and siding that doesn’t have to be stained/painted or replaced! Maintenance free! (Or at least, maintenance-diminished).

Nate gave me a lovely bouquet of Stargazer lilies last night for my birthday (the fragrance which is close to making me swoon). Once again (as he did for Mother’s Day) he got me a card that just about sent me to my knees. The message was so perfect: “I know I haven’t said thank-you enough for all that you have done along this journey, so thank-you, thank-you, thank-you for helping me to become who I am.” Then he personally wrote: “It’s going to be difficult to be so far away from each other in the months and years to come. But I know you have given me the right tools to succeed, and I thank you for that.” (This isn’t exactly what the card said or what he wrote because I took the card to work to display on my desk and I have a shitty short-term memory, but it’s the gist). I showed it to some of my coworkers and they all teared up! It was awesome! I love having a mushy kid.

I’ll leave you with a few more pictures from our fabulous Harstine weekend. First, here’s Peanut who is now 9 years old. She won’t go in the water (like her sister), but she loves the beach.

We saw flocks of goldfinches all weekend long! Little lemon drops!

We also spent a lot of time on the deck before a fire, both mornings and evenings! One of our most favorite and relaxing activities. (Spent several hours reading out there yesterday…)

In Which We Make Stuff Tidier & Safer

JDub and I both got off work a couple of hours early yesterday, so we quickly loaded up (grabbed Mojo!) and headed to Harstine. I should say, we crawled to Harstine. In beastly heat because the A/C in the Durango has died. (How did we ever get along without A/C? Throughout my entire childhood into early adulthood, you couldn’t get A/C around these parts unless you had a Cadillac or some such thing. I guess we just suffered? Kept all the windows completely rolled down? Acclimated?) It truly was a miserable drive, and the idiots on the road were boundless.

I’ve  pretty much forgotten all of that since we arrived! It’s just lovely here! Warmish, but not sweltering. So peaceful in contrast to home and work! (Especially this past week…)

This morning we attacked the “pre-beach” area and gathered up all the flotsam and jetsam and piles of (icky) driftwood and made another bonfire. We did this before, just two years ago I think, but the tides continuously drag in the crap behind our berm and lock it in. It was getting difficult to traverse that pre-beach area to get to the berm and the beach.

Here is a (teeny teeny tiny) sample of the debris:

Everything from a bazillion sticks to huge logs, mostly wet and often rotten.

(Get a load of those Olympic mountains in the far background). While the fire slogged on and I continued to pile crap on it, JDub provided me with yet another wonderful birthday present! Bottom steps!!!

It was quite treacherous there at the bottom, with tree roots sticking up and a sharp and awkward drop. In fact, last summer my dad fell. (That was really scary). JDub actually chainsawed this log (more like a debarked pole that the tide hauled in, and I’m not sure but it might even be treated), stabilized them, backfilled with large rocks and stuff, and then topped it off with beach gravel. It’s awesome! (Pretty cool, huh Helen?)

It just looks ever-so-much tidier now!

Mojo hung out with us the entire time!

Back From (Familiar) Hell

It was the worst of times, it was….well, interesting. I actually love to fly and so that part was pretty fun, except for a couple of rather rough landings. (Flight attendant upon a damned bumpy Boise morning landing: “Now that you’re awake…”) Also interesting was getting to know my (new) boss whom I’ve “known” since I’ve worked at our company (she’s the associate director of marketing for the whole firm), but when you spend many many hours with someone, you definitely get to know that person! I get such a kick out of her. She’s somewhat like my beloved Ms. Jodie Foster, but at 90 mph. Where Ms. Foster is laid back, genteel, shrewd, warm, but also strong — this gal is, well, 90 mph. But also very shrewd and warm and strong (but not at all laid back). She’s also a hoot!  I guess I need to come up with a “name” for her!  Hmm, need to give that some thought.

What is interesting is that this gal, we’ll call her “D” for now, has her master’s degree in communications  (she’s in her late 30s), and she started out as a marketing coordinator doing what I’ve been doing all these years. But she quickly ascended the ranks, and it’s clear why — she has such an outgoing personality and is a natural leader. So…she hasn’t been in the trenches for a while. This huge proposal undertaking was led by a very typical engineer in the Boise office. Anal, ADD, and even OCD. I have dealt with this exact combination for years, and yes, they are horrific to deal with!  But this guy got on D’s every last nerve! A lot of it had to do with his obvious lack of respect toward us, which is another thing I’m accustomed to (but she is not!) It was not a pleasant experience, that’s for sure, but I also didn’t freak out because I totally recognized the pattern. Aside from this guy’s frustrating micromanagement, I also knew that the sensation/worry that the proposal would NEVER gel, would NEVER stop being balls juggling in the air that absolutely could not hit the ground, that an end to the awfulness would NEVER be in sight—eventually would come together. Because it had to. Same thing for every proposal I’ve ever worked on.  It’s a frantic feeling in the midst of it all. And the truth is, you do wonder: “Is this the time it really falls apart?”

So my boss was fit to be tied. She stewed. She vented. She was uber-frustrated. And I was actually glad to see it. Her angst kept me in check. I just marched on, probably because I felt her support and her realization about how awful this aspect of the job can be. You can’t appreciate the difficulty of a job without seeing or experiencing it firsthand. Ultimately, it did finally come together, but not until late in our last day there. (We’d kept the option open to stay another day, but really wanted to avoid that because we didn’t want to miss our quarterly marketing meeting — plus we personally wanted to get home to see our families and pets and stuff!)

We did have an excellent (very late) dinner at our hotel restaurant; I had a filet and D had prime rib. To absolutely-die-for. (Plus some wine!) But after dinner we went to our respective  hotel rooms and worked until midnight, then got up the next morning at 5:30 to head back into the office. Worked through lunch both days. It really was nuts.

Then, at the airport to head home, we were told that our 6:10 flight had been cancelled due to a mechanical issue with the plane and there wouldn’t be another flight until 9:30. I thought D was going to break down sobbing. It would mean not getting to Seattle until after 10:30, plus she would have another hour-and-a-half drive to get home!  They were finally able to put us on a flight that did make a landing in another Idaho town, and then went on to Seattle, taking an extra hour than planned, but still much better than the 9:30 flight. And, lucky for us, that flight provided us two free beers! (heh heh)

It felt strange driving back to the office today, so soon! We had our quarterly meeting that involved “getting into groups” (whoever came up with that concept oughta be shot), and I actually had to get up in front of everyone and speak, not knowing beforehand that I’d be doing that! Not my comfort zone, let-me-tell-you.  And yet, I did OK. (I was even complimented!) After the fact, my knees knocked.

Good news: I get to take this coming Monday off! It’s my birthday! And JDub is taking all next week off, so we’ll have another 3-day weekend at Harstine! (Weather’s supposed to be nice again, too!)

~~~~~

Get a load of this! My birthday present from JDub arrived today, and he was excited for me to open it (so I did). You might remember that last year he installed this marvelous tile in our kitchen:

 

We’ve been looking ever since (over a year now!) for a cool contemporary glass or pottery art piece to hang in that space over the stove top. We hadn’t had any success. And then he found this:

He held it up over that spot and it’s going to be beautiful there! Here, I took the picture of it on the hardwood floor and of course Bailey had to check it out to see if there might be food involved. He’ll hang it next week, since he’ll have that week off !  Oh, it’s so beautiful! (Makes me think of Chihuly!)

It Was a GOOD Weekend, But Oh-So-Fast!

I can’t believe we actually had three days in a row (of a holiday weekend) that were all stellar! Man, it was just gorgeous. Not overly warm (upper 60s on the water) but that was a good thing with all the physical labor we did. As it was, we both sweated rivers. (And yes, I finally took a shower this morning and did it ever feel good!)

Took a beach walk today and found some agates, and JDub ventured down into the hard-to-get places and hacked the rest of the scotch broom stragglers (once again sweating a river!) The property looks so much better, not having to view a sea of squashed-baby-chick-yellow every damned where you look. And it felt good to be physically active. I need to do more of that…

So, we’ve been home for a few hours now and no sign of Mojo. Nate said he’s been around briefly to eat, but that’s it. I know he just COVETS this kind of weather, and will seek out a bush and nap under it for hours. (He does that at Harstine, too). But I miss that creature and I really need a kitty fix!

I’ve been packing for Boise (and doing some laundry). The flight leaves at 8:20 in the morning. My poor boss has to leave her house about 5:30 a.m. to get to the airport in time (she lives quite a distance away). I happen to live very near SeaTac Airport, so getting there an hour before the flight leaves should not be a big deal (and JDub’s dropping me off so I won’t have to worry about parking or anything). I’ve already printed off my boarding pass, so I’m pretty much good to go. I’ve got a helluva lot of work to do once I get there, and I anticipate tomorrow will be a really late night, working. Wednesday could be a really long day, although we are scheduled to fly home around 7:00 or so. But there is a possibility that I may have to stay until Thursday, although there really shouldn’t be any reason to do so if everybody does their part WHEN they are supposed to. (Ahem). (Engineers).

Next weekend I’m hoping to have another three-day weekend! My birthday is next Monday (yikes, a week from today) and JDub is taking that entire week off. So I figured it would be cool to take my Floating Holiday as my birthday and we could have another long Harstine weekend! (That always goes by so damned fast!) I’ll check with my boss during our trip and see if that’ll work out.

We saw lots of wildlife at Harstine!

• Deer
• Chipmunks
• Squirrels
• Goldfinches (lots)
• Rufus Hummingbirds
• Grosbeaks
• Stellar Jays
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Flickers
• Kingfishers!
• A Seal
• House Finches
• Nuthatches
• Towhees

I suspect that at least a few of those lives were saved not having Mojo with us!

Speaking of which…he just now Kramered through the pet door! Oh! Loves! Head-butts! (And he heads to the dog kibble dish…)

More “Yellow Crap” Harvesting, Another Beautiful Day, and Copper River Salmon

JDub and I just about wore ourselves out this morning (into the afternoon) attacking a HUGE crop of scotch broom. Here are a couple of before and after shots:

Before:

And after!

  

When we (someday?) have our house built, this will be our view from our bedroom. (With brush trimmed back…) Pretty cool, huh? Yeah….someday.

Wow, what a lot of work. What a lot of scotch broom! We piled it up (like a frickin’ yellow tower) in the gully and didn’t burn it this time — we’ll let it dry out so it burns better.

I really need a shower (haven’t had one since Friday morning, is that TMI?) But as the day has progressed (and I also took a nap), it just seemed sort of silly to go through that ordeal until tomorrow morning. JDub and I are a couple of Memorial Day Weekend camping slime balls! Hee! (And no, there will not be a picture, at least of me).

Copper River Salmon is currently on the grill!

Slathered in mayo (light works just fine), and sprinkled with Johnny’s Dock seasoning, garlic powder, and lots of dill. Mmmm. (Plus: Corn on the cob and a tomato/cucumber salad in bacon-ranch dressing).