Kingfisher Cove

Bliss

Ahhhhhh. Harstine at last. Even with yesterday’s deluge, it’s a great place to be. We needed that rain! And it was good timing since the gutters were installed this week.

And here they are in action! You can see the “waterfall” from the roof flowing into the gutter:

It was raining HARD!

And it was nice because no wind accompanied this storm, plus it was really mild out so we spent some time on the deck beneath that big ol’ dormer. The wet weather kept the cats nearby, too.

John used our neighbor’s excavator (from his equipment rental business) and worked on the driveway, once the rain dissipated a bit (he still got soaked though). He’d had a couple truckloads of gravel delivered to help with traction until the time comes to pave the thing, so he spread it and tamped it (over and over again). It is really substantial now, and I hope it stays that way. It almost looks and feels like asphalt.

Hard to believe there was ever a camping trailer there, huh?

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I bought some new glasses! Two of them broke in shipment (from Bed, Bath, and Beyond—half-assed packing job, so I’m surprised more weren’t broken) but thankfully they were my least favorite of the colors so I’ll live with it.

I wish I could have found them in ALL aqua, but a little variety is good for the soul.

I cooked steamer clams on my cooktop last night (oh num!) They were nice and little, which is how we like ‘em. Grilled steaks tonight. I haven’t been eating much red meat during the work week (not worth cooking it for one) so I’m definitely up for it. They’re marinating as we speak.

I also cut up and installed some shelf liner yesterday (the one roll I got as a “test” sure didn’t go far!) But Mojo was a big help.

I’ll leave you with a photo of Wylie being Wylie.

Stinkers.

No Time to Blog!

It’s been a hellacious week, as I knew it would be. So much (too much) crap happening and I’m completely wiped. I haven’t even been able to look forward to my upcoming (non-paid) week off. Yeah, non-paid. Because the company I work for sucks.

I think I’ll do this in bullets.

• The week started out with dread because of the two-day closure of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, which is my life-line commute to work. So I set my alarm for EARLY with hopes of avoiding the very worst. For the most part it helped, and I’ve actually continued to head in EARLY even after the Viaduct opened up again.
• That said, LEAVING work early (to balance it out) hasn’t been very successful, mostly because of late-scheduled conference calls on this GODAWFUL proposal that has me dreaming of swinging multiple machetes at once. Aimed at specific people.
• Yellow jacket infestation in the deck steps here at home. I’ve already been stung twice! Real fun to come home to. John sprayed once, and he got a bunch of them, but there are MORE. Shit!
• Every evening for the past two weeks I’ve been slogging away at packing up all of the glass and supplies and equipment in Nate’s old bedroom. John has hauled down several boxes to Harstine, but there are many, many more stacked up and STILL more to do! Tonight I attacked it with a vengeance (in addition to laundry and trying to pack up some things for Labor Day weekend) and stripped Nate’s bed and washed the bedding. There just aren’t enough hours in a day.
• I can’t even begin to describe HOW MUCH GLASS AND SHIT I’VE ACCUMULATED. Jesus.
• I am feeling immense pressure to work on our 40th class reunion memory book and I just HAVE. NOT. HAD. TIME. The reunion is just a month away and I am close to panic. I honestly don’t know how this is going to happen.
• Nate will be home next week (I am soooo excited to see him!!!), and then our annual Harstine potluck is next Saturday (which is always enjoyable—I need to come up with a dessert…) and then Margaret and our fellow blogger friend, Carol (and her husband, Tom) are coming to Harstine the following weekend to see the house and visit and have lunch. It’s gonna be so fun!!!! (And I sure hope that what I’ve come up with for lunch will be good. It’s a Pioneer Woman recipe).
• One thing I’ve learned about the Harstine cooktop: from now on, bacon will be BAKED in the oven. You would not believe the splatter! (I also got some splatter guards for ANYTHING cooked in oil for that cooktop. Holy moly, it took more time to clean up after cooking breakfast last Sunday than it did to actually cook breakfast!
• Gutters were installed on the Harstine house today! Also, the concrete guy came out to gather info for a bid for the retaining wall, garage-area turn-around apron, and the driveway.
• My brain is dead.
• Good night.

The Kitchen is 99.9% DONE

We’ve sure come a long way from THIS:

Aside from “doing magic” to that raw pole you see to the right in the photo above (that is still raw), and also the tile backsplash, the kitchen is basically complete. Today, John installed the oven! (Yeah…that was a job. But then, what isn’t?)
 

Once he removed the oven doors and racks (thereby reducing the weight by quite a bit), and then pulling it over to the oven “hole” by means of a carpet remnant, here he was mulling over how in the hell to hoist that still very heavy thing into the hole.

There were no easy answers, but I did actually envision a rudimentary version of this solution!

He’d tip it forward or backward and I’d slide in a board, which gradually lifted it to the height he needed to finally push it in. At one point he added “insurance” by clamping the boards together to prevent them from possibly spurting out and causing the oven unit to crash to the floor and destroy it. (Well. It certainly would have caused some serious damage).

It took a while, but at least no backs were broken or knees ruptured (or flooring destroyed damaged).

 

(Wow). All of the appliances are now in place and functioning! I even used the cooktop for the first time today to warm up some Ivar’s clam chowder! (Wow, and I mean it). I’m planning on baking a couple of potatoes for dinner in the oven tonight, too. Am I a chef or what? 

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I did take a tour of the excavation this morning and snapped a few pictures. (I also took a brief video, but it just didn’t turn out well). Regardless of the time of day, it’s odd lighting up there with lots of shadows. And again, the depth or breadth just isn’t capture-able! Be sure to embiggen these to get the fullest flavor you can.

I was not really prepared for this! When John talked about “terracing” the side in order to reduce the height of the retaining walls we’ll be required to have, I wasn’t expecting this magnitude at all. I expected the driveway to be much wider and the terraced area to be much narrower. The plan is that we’ll landscape that terraced area with rocks and plantings, but it’s so immense, that I wonder how we’ll be able to access it in our old age? Hmm.

Below shows the very top (from the road) and how OPEN it now is! Tons of dirt removal made that happen! It’s hard to even imagine now that the camping trailer and boat tent and the deck and landscaping up there ever existed. Which is kind of sad. But then again, not.

Here’s a view looking down over that terraced area to the parking/turn-around area. Again, it’s difficult to see the 3D effect of it all.

The driveway (as it is right now) is like talcum powder. John’s 4x4 truck got stuck up to the wheel wells in his first attempt to maneuver up or down, so he watered down the driveway to try to pack it some. Once he was able to manage the hill (which is much less steep than it used to be, but it’s still steep) he drove up and down it over and over again to tamp it down. The main part of it is pretty solid now, but the edges are definitely still talcum powder. He’s thinking about having some crushed rock hauled in to help with traction until the time comes that it’s settled enough to either have it paved with concrete, or else black-topped. We haven’t decided yet which it’s going to be. Probably concrete (poured in sections to help prevent cracking). I love black top, but it’s dependent on the price of oil, plus it needs to be sealed every couple of years.

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A couple of nights ago, our neighbor, Rich, ran down on the beach and captured this awesome sunset photo:

It makes me think of how the moonlight looks on the water. The moonlight is white and the path is narrow in the surrounding blackness, but it sparkles like diamonds and it’s impossible to capture a decent photo of it. This is close, and I LOVE the colors!

Tonight I captured this from the deck. It doesn’t hold a handle to Rich’s, but you can see it was still a lovely sunset.

Holy Moly

John’s bad week continued throughout today—and it was the day I’d given him “orders” to kick back and chill. Right…

It actually started out pretty chill-worthy. The excavator was back on the job, continuing with hauling away so much dirt. In fact, they figure that between yesterday and today, they pulled out over 800 yards! That is 80 dump truck loads! EIGHTY! We are so fortunate that some of our neighbors were in need of LOTS of fill! That worked out about as perfectly as you can get.

This afternoon, the excavation focused more on detail work and some grading, plus “building” terraces for the eventual concrete retaining walls for securing the slopes. This will be a much more aesthetic method than, say, a 12-foot-tall retaining wall!

AND THEN.

In the midst of that, with John just providing guidance with hand signals, there was a miscommunication and the excavator nicked the main power line. ZAP! No power. And it apparently affected the transformer.

To make a long story short, the county PUD had to come out to assess the situation and they required that a licensed electrician come out and repair it before the PUD would allow the power to be turned back on. John called me at work damned frustrated, and everything was in limbo. Normally he would have been on his way home long before then (for the eventual return with the dogs, me, Wylie, etc. later in the evening). At that point, he wasn’t able to rouse the electrician who had worked on our house way back after framing, and so there was no guess as to how long the power could be out. After all, it was a Friday afternoon in August! It could be a week!

Again, to make a long story short, John dug to China (yep, with his shovel) to get to the power line that had been trenched many months ago and was able to determine that the line had simply been nicked/shorted and honestly not badly damaged. He was able to easily repair it, then let PUD know that it was “fixed” (turns out he knew a lot more than the PUD guys…) and they came back out and allowed the power to be turned back on. There *may* have been a little fudging, since a licensed electrician wasn’t available, but as John said, the matter just didn’t warrant a licensed electrician. But, after all of that, there was no way that exhausted John was driving home just to pick us up and turn around again.

So. I stopped at the grocery store on my way home from work, then packed up stuff and loaded up the dogs and Wylie into my car (after waiting a little while for traffic to dissipate) and we headed down. I listened to the first half of the Seahawks preseason home game against the Chicago Bears on the way and was blown away at how amazing they played! What a team! They keep this up and it’ll be another SUPER BOWL, BABY!!! Man, that was so fun to listen to! The dogs kept barking every time I’d holler and pump my fists when we’d score yet another touchdown.

I’ll throw up some photos tomorrow. John has sent me some throughout all of this, but they are difficult to get a feel. I doubt that I’ll be able to, either. There is something about the lack of 3D in photos depicting depth and breadth that’s difficult (impossible?) to capture. I may try a video instead. When I arrived, it was dark. I was aware of HUGE changes in the topography, but it won’t really become clear until I can see it in daylight.

It’s after midnight and I’m beat and I really need BED. John went there long ago. Poor guy.

Icky Week

Yep. I’m in proposal hell once again. And nope. I haven’t heard anything from the casino. Two weeks ago tomorrow was my interview.

Feeling down. Trying to shake it, but jeeze.

These week days positively suck. And I “get” to face the closure of the Alaskan Way Viaduct the early part of next week, which is my life line route to work. The depth of my dread is measured in fathoms. That commute is beyond loathsome on a regular day…

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Each evening, I’ve been spending about an hour (because I’m TIRED and can’t face much more than that) boxing up the glass room (aka Nate’s old bedroom). It is a daunting task, as I’ve accumulated so many supplies and equipment and kiln molds and tools (and of course, glass coming out of my ass earlobes). Glass is dicey and awkward and heavy and not one bit fun to pack up. 

Barely a dent:

I just need to keep chipping away at it so that Nate can sleep in there (if he’s around to do so) come September 2nd, considering I’m just not here on the weekends. By the way, at some point today, Nate’s ship arrived in San Diego (possibly not yet? I haven’t seen anything on Facebook about it or heard from him, but I may not since I’m sure he’s excited as all get-out to see his girlfriend).  

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John has had a very challenging week down at Harstine. Physically exhausting work that involved hundreds of trips up and down his scaffold contraption. Basically two separate and very difficult activities. First, finishing up the precision beam work way-the-hell up high in the living/dining room:

Headaches galore due to the imperfections of the framing, dealing with hauling heavy boards up there and getting them to fit perfectly, but he got ‘r done after hours upon hours.

THEN second, yesterday he installed the cooktop vent. OMG. He had to basically weave the scaffold contraption between the ribs of the kitchen lighting thingy, around the kitchen island, taking constant and excruciating care of the granite and flooring (and himself!) as he worked way up in the nose-bleed area (where it was sweaty-hot), and again climbing up and down that contraption over and over and over again. From the (so-high!) ceiling down to the lighting thingy, he worked at attaching the vent piping extension, the wiring, and enclosing the piping with wood. And of course, nothing about anything was easy, especially since he was doing all of this by himself. Everything was heavy and required hitching straps, things didn’t fit right, wood had to be trimmed and then trimmed again, and then again. When I talked to him on the phone last night, he was completely SPENT.

He told me it’s done and works, after spending the entire day working on it, aside from staining the wood part.

It’s a shame the vent is necessary, really (yeah, I know). The wood part of it will look nice blending with the wood lighting thingy, but the stainless steel part that hangs down from that point looks pretty stark and utilitarian in the photos. I’m hoping that in real life it looks OK. John said it was fine, and the stainless steel goes well with the kitchen appliances.

The oven arrived and tomorrow John is hoping to get to its installation before he heads home to pick up the doggies and me and head back down for the (whirlwind) weekend. However, I think his first priority will be staining the cooktop vent wood so he can “untangle” the scaffold. He said the oven (double oven, as one unit) is hella heavy and the cabinet frame for it will require a little tweaking. Sounds like another very challenging project. Poor guy. I suspect this week he’s considering that the slog of working at Boeing and dealing with its corporate ridiculousness sounds pretty easy-peasy.

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John sent me some photos today of the excavator work underway for the driveway. I received quite a few before noon, and then nothing again until one more photo late this afternoon (the wait about drove me nuts!) And the last photo isn’t very clear because of the deep shadows.

Here it begins at the spot where the camping trailer used to be:

Then it seemed to all start to soften and blend together:

 

They also majorly expanded the entrance at the top of the property from the road:

I talked to John a bit ago, and he said they’re about 3/4 done, and get this: they trucked out over 400 yards of dirt (40 dump truck loads!) with another 100-200 yards left to go! Thankfully (and I mean it) a few neighbors were needing fill dirt (so the hauling was short) and boy were they accommodated!

Here is today’s final photo (below). They’ll be back tomorrow to haul out the remainder of the dirt and then begin the “finessing” of grading.

While this was all happening, John was working his ass off cutting down several Madronas on the property line and then chain-sawing them up and delimbing (which explains why I didn’t receive any photos this afternoon). Once again, he was entirely whupped. I said to him, “You have orders to do NOTHING tomorrow, aside from WATCH. No staining, no oven installation, nothing.” I do think he heard me. Since he started working at Boeing in 1981, this guy is accustomed to taking a nap every afternoon (after rising before the butt-crack of dawn in the mornings, which he still does) and for three days straight now, he has missed his nap. That is unheard of. He is completely functioning on fumes.

It’ll be dark by the time I get there tomorrow night, so I won’t be able to really see this change until Saturday. Normally John backs the pickup down the “path” to the garage, and I’m not sure what to expect when we arrive. Face down, because there will be plenty of turnaround space? Or park on top and walk down because the soil will be too soft yet to drive on? (If so, that’ll be a drag hauling down all the groceries and crap…)

It remains to be seen!

(Almost) A Fully Functioning Kitchen!!

The only major items we are waiting on are the double oven (you can see the “hole” where it/they will go below—it’s actually one unit) and also the stove hood (which will be a big project). BUT! The refrigerator has now been moved from the pantry to the kitchen! (Ugh, what a job that was…) (Even the ice cube maker/water dispenser work!!)

The sinks (main kitchen + bar sink) work!

The dishwasher works! (Woohoo!!!!) And oh, yes, I have been using it!

The stovetop is currently connected to a propane tank under the cabinet and it works! (It’ll eventually be connected to the propane line once we get the Big Tank installed at the top of the property, but for now it’s entirely usable). It is a stovetop on steroids! Gulp!

We also moved the WiFi router to the desk/dinette area and that’s where I’m currently parked with my laptop! (Complete with wonderful view!)

This pic (below) shows just about everything!

The backsplash tile needs to be done, too, but we had to re-think the color scheme once they installed the granite. It’s not a top priority, aside from aesthetics, but it’ll probably get done fairly soon. There is a whole lot of tile yet to be done in this house.

I am completely gobsmacked with this kitchen. It is beyond my wildest dreams. I about fell to the floor seeing the granite in person—it has so much more character than the photos show, including flecks of mica here and there! (We call it gold. Because, it looks like gold, and I grew up being told that the rocks I found on the Camano Island beach with those glittery flecks was “fool’s gold.” I chose then and continue to choose now to consider it real. Heh). The expanse and quality of this kitchen is almost overwhelming! I reckon I’d best learn how to cook, right? Heh. (I’m only partly kidding). No, we didn’t go with “Sub-Zero” caliber appliances, but these are just a couple of notches below that quality and I am tickled with them. Really like the style of the handles (and the brushed stainless steel).

I moved most everything that we were housing in the pantry as our “camping kitchen” into the REAL kitchen today. Dishes, silverware, utensils, spices (into my so-awesome spice drawer!) The pantry itself will now function somewhat as an actual pantry (John has yet to install the permanent shelving, but that’s down the road a bit), coffee bar, and pet food area. I still keep walking in there to “get to the refrigerator.” 

I’d also picked up a mattress pad and pillows for the guest bedroom and made the bed yesterday. Need a blanket, though! I totally forgot about that! That room also looks great in person (and the chest of drawers is a reasonable size, not itty bitty like it did in my previous post). In fact, it’s so nice and such very decent quality that John and I are thinking of getting the same thing for the master bedroom except King size. And add a dresser. We will also have lots of storage space in the HUGE walk-in closet.

I can’t believe this weekend is winding down already. I hate Sundays for this very reason. Going “home” doesn’t mean that to me anymore. THIS is home.

 

I did capture this with my iPhone last night. It’s been such a beautiful weekend (after a mostly NOT beautiful week—although we needed that rain!)

More Drama!

Haven’t heard anything about the *job* yet, although I don’t think I should read too much into that. I’m supposed to have a phone interview with some lead staff in the marketing department, but they may be waiting until all of the initial interviews are wrapped up. Right? Right. (Yeah, I’m sure hoping this works out…)

But I have OTHER EXCITING NEWS!!! Nate finally texted me the other night and he is (finally!) coming home! Not for long, though. In fact, it’s really quite sad. His flight arrives Sept. 2nd (I’ll pick him up at the airport) and then he has to leave on Sept. 6th! That’s just downright rotten. Especially considering that I have to “share” him with his dad’s family plus a gazillion friends. (Damned Navy). So, I’ve decided that I’m taking that week off. Labor Day is that Monday the 1st, so I’ll take off Tuesday–Friday, and who knows how much I’ll be able to see him, but at least more than I (probably) would if I had to spend the bulk of my time at work. John and I will likely spend part of that time at Harstine and I hope that Nate has a chance to see the house. His dad doesn’t live too far from there, so that might work out. I also want to haul his ass up to Camano to see my dad!

Lots of logistics to figure out, and probably the biggest and ugliest is getting his old room (my glass “studio” here at home) reamed out. He may or may not spend much time there, but it needs reaming anyway—in fact, it’s time to pack it up. Box up everything, get it all ready to move outa there. Ugh, what a job that’s going to be, and I need to chip away at it during the weekday evenings. When my energy level is at Low. Ebb. (Because my job sucks the life out of me).

John came home yesterday because he got word that the furniture for the guest bedroom was ready to be picked up. When I got home, I could see the bed of the truck was jam packed with tarp-covered new mattresses and boxes (some assembly required), then he told me that he found a simple (and inexpensive) dinette set at Fred Meyer that he decided to pick up that would be perfect for that dinette space near the built-in desk. We anticipate that we’ll spend a lot of time there. Laptops, puzzles, probably a big ol’ mess like our dining table is here at home! Heh. He sent me these photos today:

 

The wood is more “cherry” than the stools, but they otherwise go quite well with the black leather (and as John says, “Wood is wood.” Which is true—it all seems to blend). That dinette set also came with a bench and look how perfectly it goes on the entry deck for people to have a comfy place to sit to take their shoes off? (Not that that’s an issue quite yet because there is still paper covering much of the flooring, but eventually it’ll be a “socks only” house).

AND THEN! The guest bedroom! As you can see, Wylie thinks it’s pretty doggone awesome! (I need to pick up some pillows for that bed!)

(Also lamps, a mattress pad, and bring down some pictures for the walls!)

There is also a (smallish) dresser and it maybe needs a mirror? I’ve been planning to put my curio cabinet in here, and there will apparently be plenty of room. (That dresser really looks little in that photo! Could be because John is tall!)

Every single step of this journey has been fascinating. Every single change feels so amazing.

{{{GRANITE!!!}}}

Oh. My.

(Are you ready for this?)

Throughout the day, John sent me photos via our cool Samsung WiFi camera so I could witness the progress of the granite installation. Every time my work email would flash a new message (Samsung Smart Camera Sent You Files!) I’d get butterflies in my belly!

It started out with these, which certainly had me nervous (and I think John a little, too) about how in the world they were going to get the slabs down the steep paths and into the house. They had a cart and preferred to not go down stairs, so they opted to come around the (steep!) side of the house down to the Big Deck instead.

Here’s the truck, parked up on top near where the trailer used to be, and then rolling the first slab down the path:

Then, for the uber-steep part down to the deck, they used a winch type thing to control it:

And finally they’re inside ready to uncrate and install the first section:

You can see in the the photo above where John positioned poles to support the eating bar, which you’ll see soon.

Here we go! I’ll just let some of these (pitchers) speak for themselves! (Click ‘em to embiggen):

Here is the granite up-close:

Small counter next to where the double oven will go:

THE BAR COUNTER AND SINK!!! OMG, I LOVE IT!!!

Before the grand finales, some worker pics as they grind corners and work the opening for the stovetop in the island:

 

And now, drumroll, please! (John JUST NOW THIS VERY INSTANT sent me these photos!)

Excuse me while I go retrieve my jaw from the floor.

Back in Hell. Again.

I was in high demand back in Day Jail today, but alas, there is only one of me. Sometimes I have to say “no” to some people, and that just doesn’t always go over well. There is this attitude of, “The hell you mean you aren’t available for this critical thing that I didn’t plan ahead for? You’re just an admin assistant and your job is to ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE.” Sorry. I’m not an admin assistant and my job is to prioritize and give those priorities my full attention. Which doesn’t leave any room for your poor planning.

That’s not to say that the HUGE, GIGANTIC proposal dumped on my lap today (the “priority”) is a picnic by any means. I am dealing with insufferable people and am once again smack-dab in the center of a “Mad Men” episode. Yes, it feels like 1965. Misogyny is alive and well, folks.

I want this new job so bad that I’m kind of on the verge of panic. Certainly there will be other candidates in their 30s (or younger) with better credentials? Now days, being an old(er) fart, I’m fully aware front and center of the realities of age discrimination. (And the fact that there simply are a whole lot of plugged in younger people). But I need this to happen! No, the pay will not be close to what I make now, and the stress level will likely be similar (but also different). The commute would be much LESS stressful, and we could focus on moving (soon!) and getting out from under THIS house and two mortgages and two sets of utility bills and everything that comes with trying to manage two households. The overall stress of our lives right now is a knife-edge for both of us.

And I am so overflowing with pure loathing of this job that every single day I honestly have to fight the urge to throw up my hands and simply walk away. (But then, I remind myself of the two mortgages and the double utilities, etc. etc. and I have to swallow that desire that is so strong I can taste it).

Trapped. That’s how it feels.

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No sign of either cat yesterday when it came time to drive home. Mojo has been staying down at Harstine with John, but Wylie comes home with us on Sunday nights. Yesterday was HOT (today was even hotter! Broke a 37-year record!) and we’re sure they were hunkered down in the woods staying cool for most of the day. (Although, being INSIDE would be cooler since the house is air conditioned!) We hadn’t seen them since the morning and then they were nowhere. John headed back down this morning and sent me a text that food had been eaten, but no sign of them. (Hopefully by now there has been!) Butts. I really miss Wylie! (And Mojo, too). (And my husband!) I just hate us being so split up like this, all summer long. It’s depressing.

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Ever had a strange, unexplainable thing happen? I walked into the house tonight after getting home from work, and I swear I smelled Tabu perfume. My mother’s signature fragrance, the only fragrance she ever wore for as long as I have a memory. I sniffed, sniffed again, sniffed hard—and I still smelled it. For quite a while.

Maybe I really am losing it.

This and That

Ahhhh…so glad to have yesterday behind me! Enjoying this Harstine weekend so very much! The weather is stellar yet again—what an incredible summer it has been!

Here’s some news! Nate’s ship is due back from his l-o-n-g (9 months!) deployment (at San Diego) in two weeks! I haven’t heard what that means as far as him getting leave to come home for a visit or when that would be. The last I heard (a couple of months ago), his very serious girlfriend (who is also in the Navy, currently on shore duty in San Diego) wouldn’t be coming with him (she wasn’t able to get leave), and that he’d only have one week. Argh! One week after not seeing him for two years, and I’ll have to share him with all of his friends and his dad’s family (PLUS WORK). For certain I’ll need to probably take a day off from work and take him up to Camano Is. to see his Papa. (I hope! Depends on whether I get this job and if I do, when it starts, etc. etc.) Jeeze. Nothing is ever easy or stress-free.

I entertained the idea of flying down to San Diego to see his ship arrive. (I think that would be so very cool!) But with how serious he and his girlfriend are, I don’t want to infringe on their time together. After all, it’s been a long time since they’ve seen each other, too, and they will need that time to get back into the swing of things. She seems like a real sweetie (we are Facebook friends) and they deserve some decompression time without Mama hanging around! (I WILL get my turn!)

Yeah, I’m a Mama Bear, but Nate’s a grown man and while I would love to smother him, I need to stand back and let him BE that grown man. (It wouldn’t surprise me a bit if there is a wedding in the future…)

Sandra (Nate’s girlfriend) tagged me in a Facebook photo so I would be sure to see it—it was taken somewhere in the bowels of Nate’s ship in early July, and you can see him taking a “nip” of something (probably coffee or water). You can click the photo to see a larger version:

I sure do miss that kid! (Because even though he’s a grown man, he’ll always be my kid cub!)

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John stained the kitchen lighting “thingy” this past week (he said it was a real bitch to do with so many sides and ends to it all!) It is truly amazing!

You can see that he also installed the microwave (and it works great!) We’re still waiting on the oven (double oven that will fit in the space to the left of the microwave) and also the stove hood/vent that will come down through the lighting thingy and will mostly be encased in wood to match, with some stainless steel showing at the bottom.

The granite will be installed on TUESDAY! Oh, holy moly, I am soooo excited! The eating bar will finally become a reality, and John cut a pole in half today and sanded/stained them. They will serve as supports for that extended counter. It’s going to be so pretty! I can hardly wait until NEXT weekend when I come back down here and can see it, even though he’ll send me photos beforehand.

We’re still trying to decide what to do with the kitchen pony wall (the white wall above). We won’t leave it like that (it’s still just textured sheetrock), but we’re thinking tile, maybe. Possibly the same tile that will be on the dining room countertops and also the fireplace hearth. Maybe. I’m thinking it’ll become more clear once the granite is in place because we wouldn’t want to detract from the drama of that granite, or collide with it with so many different textures or materials. Probably tile, but pretty neutral. I think.

We also need to take some time (relatively soon) and look for bedroom furniture for the master bedroom. And bedding! The walls are a nice sage green, but do you think I can find anything I like that would go in there? Not yet anyway (at least online). It’s time to go look in person.

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And finally, Helen sent me these photos! She took a plane ride with these two cute pilots (relatives of the farm owners where she has worked all of these years) to check out one of their farms in eastern Oregon, and she was also able to snap a photo of HER farm from the air! I just think this is so cool!