Kingfisher Cove

Teary-Eyed

And yes, my eye that I had surgery for the obstructed tear duct in March and endured all of this, is still tearing, supposedly because the stent is still in there. At my last visit to the doctor in mid-June when he was supposed to finally remove that stent, he told me he would need to remove it surgically since it was tucked up behind my “deviated septum,” which he had told me he was going to repair, but apparently didn’t! And guess what? Because I wasn’t able to get time off from work or arrange for a ride the day after that appointment (necessary due to general anesthesia), nobody has called me since to schedule that stent removal! I am so incredibly pissed off at this surgeon and his staff that I could scream. I am beyond disgusted. And if it’s not made right, I will light up the internet to warn people (whether it be for this DCR surgery or boob jobs or whatever, since he’s a plastic surgeon) that he is a QUACK.

But today’s tears were a little different. The first Navy “Fleet Week” ship arrived in Seattle for Seafair and I watched it approach through the office’s conference room window, just like I did two years ago when Nate’s ship arrived for Fleet Week. (No ships came in last year because of the republicans’ budget sequester). I cried then (when I saw Nate’s ship gliding toward port) and I cried again today—but for a totally different reason. Obviously his ship isn’t part of Fleet Week this year (he’s still in the China Seas on deployment), and not only does this bring back the memories of that crazy (due to work) but wonderful (because he was here!) time, it also makes me ache deeper than deep because I haven’t seen him since then.

Two. Whole. Years.

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Oh! And guess what? It’s yet another crazy, godawful work-week, just as I knew it would be (and very similar to how it was two years ago). (And probably a year ago. Certainly a month ago! Ad infinitum).

Hoping this upcoming job interview Friday is a positive thing. Actually? Just hoping I GET the job, because even if it isn’t a positive thing, it still has to be better than THIS one. Maybe. (At least the commute should be much better!) And retirement won’t be far away…

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Just received this photo from John! He’s completed and installed the wine cabinets on either end of the wine and beverage coolers! These took hours upon hours (days upon days) of precision work (furniture building!)

They come out to measure for the granite template tomorrow! Squeee!

Reading Fiend

I’ve been in one of those moods where I am constantly buried in a book. In the past couple of weeks I’ve read eight of ‘em! And even before then, I’ve lost track of how many—I suppose you could call it being escapist. Work has me depressed. Being stuck “home” alone during the Day Jail week has me depressed. While it’s been such a beautiful summer so far, I have been in the doldrums. I knew going in that it was going to be a rough summer with John being retired and me NOT. I feel like I’m just biding time, and it’s miserable. Work drains me up, down, and sideways.

Even when my coveted weekends finally arrive, they go so fast that it’s also depressing! Here it is Sunday already. And this upcoming work-week will be absolute HELL for me. Especially since I’ll be leaving early on Friday (for my job interview) and it’s going to bite me in the butt in every single rotten way.

And yeah, I’m nervous about this upcoming job interview. I just may want it really badly! And yet…will it be more of the same deadline stress, more of the same rotten people stress, more of the same idiotic corporate crap? Man, I’m so sick and tired of working. Shouldn’t 40 years of it be enough?

So, I’ve been reading-obsessed. It helps keep the dread of my work-week at bay. And it provides some respite in the midst of the hell. Sigh.

We’re here at Harstine and it is beyond gorgeous. Just look! (16 seconds of heaven!)

In preparing for tile, John has installed the plywood tops on the guest bathroom counter (the bathroom we use now since it has a working toilet and shower). I thought it was cute that he brought in the sink to see how it’ll look! So, ahem, here is another view from the terlet!

 

It’s so purdy!

This Wednesday (finally!) they come out to measure for the granite template! I’m so excited!

John came home on Thursday this past week and we ran up to this small(ish) furniture store (that he had already previously scoped out) and bought the bedroom furniture and mattress set for the guest bedroom! It’ll be a month before we receive it (seems like everything is always a month out…) and it’ll be the first furnished and totally completed room in the house. Then I ordered THIS! Sure hoping it’s as lovely in person as it is in the picture. Now I need to order sheets (would sure be nice if they offered them in that matching blue, but apparently they don’t…) That evening, we also went to Wally’s Chowder House in Des Moines for dinner and I had razor clams! OMG, it had been ages since I’ve had them and they were soooo delicious! I do love that restaurant. Best. Clam. Chowder. Ever.

Poor John had a tooth pulled last Monday, which ended up being quite an ordeal since the tooth root had “hooks” that made for a very difficult extraction. All week long he’s been sore and tender (mostly from the excessive Novocain shots) – his jaw has been a hurting puppy. Lots of soft foods. He has more dental work to come…

John has been busy-busy-busy constructing (from scratch) the wine cabinets for either side of the beverage and wine cooler. They need to be done and installed by the time they come to measure for the granite, and it’s a HUGE project. (I think more so than he anticipated). He is soooo into quality and precision that I’m not surprised about that. We will have an incredible amount of space to store wine, so I am open to recommendations: what is your favorite wine? It also calls for winery trips! See, that’s what I look forward to! Having the TIME to take road trips to all of the wineries in our area and beyond! You know, before we are old and infirm.

John also installed (yet another HUGE project) automated sun screens for the waterside deck, since the afternoon sun can be brutal. They are amazingly cool, but we were a little disappointed that they don’t curb the intensity of that afternoon sun to the extent that we hoped. But, they are still much better than it would be without them. Some relief, just not total relief. But then, they’d probably have to be black and solid for complete relief, totally blocking out the view, and that wouldn’t fly! Lol.

News!

I’ve been poking around looking for jobs around the South Sound, although most of the ones advertised are for a nanny and that sure ain’t my cup of tea. I am not a bit thrilled with the idea, but I’m resigned to the fact that I do need to continue to work for a while—just not in Seattle! I need to work in the South Sound so I can actually live in our Harstine house! John retired early and he won’t be eligible for Social Security for another year (and it’s likely that once the house is finished, he’ll be looking for something at least part time himself). I’ve applied for two different positions—one with the State of Washington Department of Transportation in their communications department, but I never heard anything from them. A week ago I applied for a position at a tribal casino located just outside of Shelton (the town closest to Harstine Island) in their marketing department. It kind of sounded like they were looking for a graphic designer, although they didn’t specify that. I am NOT a graphic designer, but I’ve learned to find my way around graphic design elements throughout the years using Adobe Suite software. I’ve had to with the work I do, and it’s kind of enjoyable! But I made it clear in my cover letter that I wasn’t a graphic designer, just in case they really were fishing for that skill set. Honesty and all that!

I got a call at work today on my cell phone from the casino and they want to interview me next Friday August 1st! wOOt! How ‘bout them apples? But JEEBUS, it couldn’t come at a worse time. I have two killer deadlines that day at work, and I’m going to need to leave the office at noon in order to get to the interview in time. Not only am I going to have people really really pissed at me, but I’ll be under even MORE stress to meet those deadlines, likely working late nights. Ugh ugh ugh.

This could be a game-changer, though. Maybe!

We’ll see!

It's a Lighting Thingy!!!

People have scratched their heads for over a year since John installed these mysterious hanging poles from the dining and kitchen ceilings way back before even sheetrock was installed.

“What are those for?” It was hard to explain, even for John who had a clear image in his head what the outcome would be (with a whole lot of forethought to install them when he did, complete with wiring down the full length of them). So we would explain, “They’re for the lighting thingy.”

Probably a better term would have been “lighting feature” (you know, like “water feature?) But “thingy” it was.

Well, guess what? It really now IS a lighting feature. Much more than a lighting fixture! He built it at home Friday and we hauled it down here Friday night. He then installed it yesterday, strung the wire for the pendants today (a very tedious exercise!), and then stained it. Are you ready for this? (Click the pics to embiggen):

And then get a load of this: he took these shots from above (on his scaffold). See how he tucked the wiring into the grooves so no wires are visible? (Unless you’re super duper tall, lol):

So, the dining room lighting thingy feature is DONE. The kitchen one will be a little different, and he still has more work to do on it, but he has the initial frame for it installed.

This is all in keeping with our love of WOOD. This house truly is “an ode to the Pacific Northwest.”

John also picked up a cool hanging bird bath last week and a thistle sock for the goldfinches. Today he installed them to add to our birdie habitat, but there hasn’t been much activity (except for the damned crows). The weather appears threatening on the fringes, but so far we’ve been spared any rain. (It’s actually quite comfortable out there, now that the wind has died down).

I love this hanging bird bath (on the right)! I hope the birds do, too!

Saturday!

Soul-sucking week. Horrible traffic, beyond-frustrating proposals, and uncooperative (and condescending) coworkers who make me entertain the notion of violence.

{{{shudder}}}

It’s also a bummer to be home alone during the week. I was glad Wylie and the doggies were there with me. (Missed Mojo, though). (And John, of course!)

But today is Saturday—the day of the week I live for—and it’s been a good one! Well…the weather hasn’t been great. It’s been very windy all day long. Definitely could be worse, but it’s a bit unpleasant to be on the deck.

More house progress this past week (and today!), including more cabinets installed. John got the vanity and “linen” cabinets assembled and in the guest bathroom. (Heh! Here’s the view from the toilet!)

 

Is that a helluva lot of storage space or what? Holy moly! He has indirect lighting at the top of the linen cupboards and it makes a nice glow in there. There will also eventually be three pendant lights that will hang down above the vanity.

He also assembled the new swivel bar stools for the eating bar! I figured he’d wait to do that because we won’t have an eating bar for a month out or so (once they install the granite), but I’m glad he did because it was so cool to see them and try them out! They are really nice! Comfy, too! (The leather almost looks teal-ish in these photos, but they are actually black. Dark teal or brown would have been preferable, but black will do, and we are really happy with these).

And then (AND THEN!!) he installed the wine and beverage coolers and they are cooling wine and beverages as we speak!

(He’s going to build a wine rack on either side). This whole area will also be topped with granite.

Speaking of the granite, we headed there mid-day (stopped for lunch first) and I got to see it and actually take a photo. Just WOW:

I “superimposed” a section of the granite over a photo of the kitchen island shelving so you can get an idea of how well it’ll go with the cabinetry and the flooring:

It’s going to tie it all in beautifully! I can hardly wait!

We also looked at tile (this place is overwhelming with their selection!) and we think we’ve picked it out for the dining room cabinet countertops (and possibly other areas, too). We wanted something with “character” and this definitely has it, plus it will ALSO tie in all the wood without being too dark or too light:

 

There were so many to choose from, but when I saw this, I felt it was “it.”

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Earlier, Wylie flew in through the pet door about 100 mph and leapt up on top of the kitchen wall (“eating bar” area) and kind of wildly peered around, like something had been chasing her. (Soon after, I saw the neighbor’s little Yorkie on the deck so I suspect he was the culprit; Sam chases cats and Wylie does not like that little dog!)

When John woke up this morning (always well before me…) all four animals were curled up at the end of the bed, and Wylie and Mojo were butt-to-butt! He wanted to take a photo, but as he was getting up, animals dispersed, of course!

Curiosity (and mystery) Solved!

First, it was John who hauled the garbage can down yesterday! Heh. He ended up driving all over tarnation, first to Tumwater to the granite place, then home to retrieve a check he’d forgotten, then to Tacoma to meet with our financial advisors to deliver the check, and then back to Harstine. That’s a whole lotta miles! I was baffled because there was no clue that he’d been here…until it got dark. I noticed that the computer room’s light was on and I distinctly remembered turning that light off yesterday morning. Aha! So I actually solved that mystery myself, even though I couldn’t figure out why in the world he would have come home. His phone call last night explained it all.

I was equally curious to hear about the granite (actually, more so!) They moved the “sold” slab out of the way with heavy-duty equipment, and then lined up the three remaining slabs so he could see them clearly. “Oh, my God, they are gorgeous!” he said. (And yep, that kitchen is going to take three slabs! Gulp!) He was extremely impressed! The bummer is that they won’t be able to come out to measure for the templates for two whole weeks. Then it’ll be another two whole weeks after that until installation. A month sitting on pins and needles! Whaaa! Apparently they are backed up with work and then once they take the precision measurements, it’ll take them some time to create the templates, cut the slabs to the templates, and do the finish/seal work before bringing them out to install. It’s not holding anything up, though. There are plenty of other tasks to tend to in the meantime. It’s just going to be a long few weeks of anticipation!

We had noticed when we were there initially that they also have a nice selection of tile. We had thought we had our tile picked out, but now that the dining room cabinets are in place, we’ve re-thought that decision. Those countertops will be tile, and we had selected a rather neutral and also “light” color that we now feel won’t go so well in there. (The bathrooms will be fine with our original selection). John saw a few that he liked when he was at their shop yesterday, and the two of us are going to drive over on Saturday to check them out. We feel the dining room tile needs to be a tad darker, and with a little color in the mix for some character. (Not necessarily “drama,” but definitely “character.”) He’ll likely also tile the back side of the kitchen counter wall with it as well. We’ll see! He said their prices were reasonable, so I’m excited to see what they have.

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Oh, work. It sucks. I hate being back to this godawful grind, especially with no days off on the horizon until Labor Day. Then it’s only ONE DAY. I am in a constant state of despair.

Curious!

When John is down at Harstine during the week (and I’m here in Hell…) he calls me each night and fills me in on his day’s progress on the house. I’m especially curious about what he’ll have to say this evening because he headed over to the granite place (in Tumwater) to view the slabs we’d selected, to determine which one will be designated for the kitchen island (the most dramatic part of it), and to pay the down payment. In fact, I’m hoping all went well because the actual slab we saw (in an upright stack of a few) was marked as “sold” so we hadn’t actually seen the other Lapidus slabs that were behind it. We knew they were sliced from the same “rock,” so we could assume they would be similar (certainly in color), but it was important for him to view the actual ones we would be purchasing. (If they were lame, we’ll have to look elsewhere). I’m on pins and needles!

THEN. There is something else I’m curious about. It’s a mystery. For the past 2-3 weeks, our garbage can hasn’t been hauled down the steep driveway for Wednesday garbage pick-up partly due to vacation, but mostly because John has forgotten to haul it down before leaving for Harstine on Mondays. Also because I honestly can’t do it myself because it’s a good-sized can on wheels, it’s heavy (especially now!), the driveway is a very steep decline, and I’m petrified of losing control of the damned thing into the busy road. When I got home from work tonight, IT WAS DOWN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE DRIVEWAY PERCHED IN ITS SPOT FOR TOMORROW’S PICK-UP.

The hell? Maybe our elderly neighbor did it? (Really?) Or maybe magic?

I’m sure the mystery will eventually be solved, right?

(Possibly an update later…)

Heaven and Hell

Well. Vacation was heaven. I’m back in Hell now. Not that I believe that either exist, except here on Earth. But boy, do they ever exist here!

Harstine Island is the complete antithesis of Work. The contrast between the two is gobsmacking. Quiet, serene, beautiful, joyful…vs. jarring, strident, aggravating, bitter. I’ve uttered the “f” bomb more in one day (today) than I did all last week combined. (Not so anybody could hear me. I might do more than “utter” it in my car, but the windows are rolled up).

Yeah, it was (another) pretty day, but I sure couldn’t appreciate it. I was immediately swamped with deadlines (which were SAVED for me, and therefore I HAVE JUST ONE WEEK TO MEET THEM).

I. Effing. Hate. This.

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John headed back down (to Heaven) after his dentist appointment this morning. (And get this: those bar stools were delivered down there today! We won’t be needing them for a while, though.) He spent the weekend working on precision-placing all of the kitchen island components and also building custom shelves for it. Here is the before picture (pitcher):

(Have to throw this one in, too. The “inspectors.”):

And then here’s the after shot (several hours later, as it was an undertaking!):

It’ll be for cookbooks! Plus, there will be two electrical outlets installed there for the island (and they’ll be somewhat covered with the granite).

He also installed many of the door/drawer handles (although he needs to pick up some more):

The kitchen absolutely thrills me! And even kind of overwhelms me! I sense this will be the heart of the house, as kitchens often are. What an amazing kitchen! Just wow.

We talked about leaving both cats down there, but we ended up bringing Wylie home. First, she curled up in her new favorite spot on the Wiener Deck and was therefore easy to snag. PLUS…she’s a little more needy than Mojo. Such a lil’ thang. I think she would have been bereft to have nobody around last night. So we brought her home, and I’m so glad.

Spending a week in Hell without a kitty to cuddle would have been too much.

One last ditty from Sunday at Harstine. Yep, they’re discovering the new birdfeeder location, and the safety of the tree branches just beyond it.

Sizzling!

We’re in the midst of an “excessive heat advisory,” although I don’t think we need any advising on the matter. (We know, duh!) Of course, there will still be idiots who leave their dogs and KIDS in a hot car…

So, yeah. The brutal afternoon heat on the Big Deck just chased me inside to the air conditioned environs of the house! Which is fine (and feels so good!) except I really do love being on that deck! And it’s especially wonderful now that the birds have discovered the bird feeders. The regular feeder is much closer than it was at the trailer and so we get to see those birds up-close-and-personal. We’ve been hearing goldfinches (tweet-tweet-tweet-tweet), but so far we haven’t seen any land on the feeder. Lots of other birds, though. (I think I’ll add some thistle seed into the tray and see if that draws them).

AND THEN. This guy came by to visit!

I heard this loud crashing through the woods from the undeveloped property next door (thinking, ‘must be a Towhee’ – huh, Helen?) and this fellow with about 2-inch spikes burst through. He was pretty big! I could tell he was planning on heading down that (steep) path toward the beach, but he saw me and stood there for quite a while and stared at me. Then he turned around and sauntered back up into those woods. At least he let me take his picture! (It always makes me sad when animals are afraid of humans. And yet, I understand…)

I mentioned on Facebook that my vacation days feel like they are on spin cycle. It is mind-boggling. And depressing. Because here it is Friday afternoon. God I dread going back to work on Monday. Beyond belief.

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A few more progress reports on the house! When I got up this morning, John had just about completed installing blinds on the window in our small dinette area off the kitchen. (More on that area in a bit). It was the first thing I noticed when I walked out there, because it looks marvelous! So homey!

Nice!

This area will *likely* be our hangout spot with a small table, complete with a desk/cabinets on the wall to the left of these photos. I envision laptops and probably jigsaw puzzles. My goal is to NOT have it be a catch-all, like our dining room table at home is.

Across from this window will be the (granite!) eating bar, and I suspect we’ll actually eat there! After some discussion, measuring, and deliberation, I ordered four of these!

The color is “Cappuccino,” which is the same color as our flooring is called! (Heh). They look a little dark, but I think they’ll be fine and will blend well with all of the different wood tones in the house. I’ve never lived anywhere that called for bar stools! I’m so excited!!

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Then, for John to be able to precisely place the cabinet components for the kitchen island, he needed to install the (partial) lighting “thingy” so it was clear where the lighting pendants would hang and also where the stove vent will come through. Before they can come out and measure for the granite, the island cabinets need to be in place and secured. (♪♫ “The foot bone is connected to the shin bone, the shin bone is connected to the knee bone, the knee bone is connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bone is connected to the hip bone…”♪♫) He spent most of today preparing for the “thingy” installation and then installing it. It was a JOB.

As you might have noticed from the kitchen rendering, there will be “ribs” that extend from this, and those will be added later. But this needed to be installed NOW. Cool! It’ll bring down the ceiling height in there and create some intimacy. There will also be a smaller-scale “thingy” in the dining room.

OK, heading outside to get HOT.

Carpeting, Cabinets, Birdfeeders, Silly Cat

Busy couple of days! Yesterday, carpeting was installed in the two bedrooms and master walk-in closet! Here is the guest bedroom before:

And here is after the (very nice!) pad was installed:

And the carpet (with very distinct vacuum marks! The installer guy pressed hard to get up all the loose pieces—he did a great installation job!)

It feels SOOOOOO GOOOOOOOD! Here is the master bedroom and closet (same carpet for all):

This one (below) is taken from the walk-in closet looking out toward the master bedroom—I believe I see a wiener butt:

It’s very pretty, and like everything else in this house, the color alters in different light! Ultimately it’s a variegated mocha:

Nice and plush! Those doors are closed to keep doggies away! John needs to install the baseboard and then we can look at bedroom furniture, particularly for the guest room for now.

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More cabinetry! John installed the door/drawer faces on the kitchen far wall:

THEN…he had to get creative with these two below, as he had to accommodate that post and cut away a little of the interior of the cabinets.  (You can also see the stovetop perched on the island—he had to make sure it was going to fit OK):

See what I mean? Hoping it doesn’t affect space for dishes too much, as I believe that’s where I’ll want to put them…):

The really creative part of those two cupboard sections above is the back. Backs aren’t finished (just raw plywood), so as you can see below, he used trim from other cupboards to rout and create a frame around the edges so he could slide in the matching panel and then complete the frame at the top. He referred to it as “making furniture.” Eventually he will use his magic to create a face on that post so that it looks like the rounding poles (as you see next to him in the pic [and no, I have no idea how!]):

So here’s something interesting: note this cupboard (and pole) in John’s old Sketch-Up rendering? (Other things have slightly changed with the kitchen design, like the diagonal cut of the counter wall corner is now a straight corner, plus we’ve added an eating bar), but overall it sure does look familiar from John’s design several years ago!

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I scrubbed the birdfeeder and hummingbird feeder and John installed them for me. (Sure hope they won’t be bait for the cats!) So far, we’ve only seen a couple of hummingbirds (nothing else), but it can take a while for birds to scope them out. It’s feeling so homey!

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And finally! This cracked us up last night. I’d set the Roomba (robot vac) to go in the studio (where we sleep and hang out as we’re “camping” in the house) and Wylie was utterly transfixed at it, watching it from outside the deck door.

                                                                   “The hell??!!”

                                                “THE HELL??!!”

                                      “Giant mouse maybe??”

                            “Come to me!” (Or maybe a Yoga pose…)

                                                    “ZOMG!!!!”

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And yep, we’re gettin’ that granite countertop! Made a deal with them today and it’s a good one. It’s called “Lapidus.” It should look somewhat like this photo from the web (with gently rounding edges):