Kingfisher Cove

More Books, More Glass, and New Dread

I don’t know about you, but I’m all about some sunshine!

Yes, this was yesterday! Beautiful but COLD! And this was the night before:

I could never live on Mars because I’ve GOT to have color in my life! (I think that’s why I like glass).

Up until just a couple of days ago, we still had snow alongside the private road to our house. Since the Big Snow, the temps have barely made it to the low 40s so shady areas in particular took forever to melt. I’m looking ahead (hopefully) to spring. Please.

From a Northwest weather bureau:

“Seattle's average temp so far this month is 36.5. The last time Seattle was this cold in February: Bill & Ted were having an excellent adventure, Guns N Roses had an Appetite for Destruction, and home computers were about 70 times slower than the smartphone in your pocket.”

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Ack. Nate and I texted last night and it was depressing. I know stuff like this is “life,” but it does seem like a whole lot of crap at once. First, his new(ish) truck is in the shop with serious electrical issues and of course it’s not covered under warranty so he’s facing a $2000 bill. Then, they have apparent water damage in their house in the wall between the kitchen and a bathroom. And, both he and Quinn have been sick (Quinn with bronchitis, Nate with a bad cold).  

But that’s not all! This news has lit a fire of dread in my belly. He has been attending schooling (I believe learning a new sonar system), and he’ll graduate in mid-April. It will follow with new orders, which will not be San Diego. He said that he will likely be shipped to either Norfolk, Virginia; Japan; or….Everett, WA. He said the chances of it being Everett are about 25%. So there’s a wee chance that I’ll be over the moon, and there’s a much bigger chance that I’m going to be devastated. 

John and I are making plans to visit them in San Diego in April, after his graduation, since he’ll be taking some leave then. Right now, with his schooling, he doesn’t have the flexibility that he had before of taking a day off for a long weekend, so Quinn will be 19 months old the next time we get to see him. And then what????

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Coming up for air after reading yet another four books since my last post. I’m not a huge fan of science fiction, but I do love John Scalzi’s books. SF tends to take itself too seriously, but Mr. Scalzi certainly doesn’t and I so enjoy the humor and snark and irreverence of his books, all while being swept along in a fascinating space opera. The latest are the first two books of a series—The Collapsing Empire and The Consuming Fire. I’d read the first one a couple of years ago and before reading the new 2nd one, I reread the first one! I don’t do that very often, but in this case I felt I needed to, and I’m glad I did! I enjoyed them both SO MUCH!!! I highly recommend them, even if SF isn’t your thing. The characters are incredibly dynamic, and so much happens! Great stuff!

Then I read our Book Club book, The Stars are Fire, a novel about a real event that took place in Maine in the late 1940s, when a huge swath of the state burned to the ground. It was riveting and compelling, with a few little quibbles, but I’d give it 4 solid stars.

And I just finished The Silent Patient, a crazy psychological thriller (or mystery) that has some huge twists and that’s all I’m going to say about it because I don’t want to give any spoilers! 

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I’ve had one kiln failure (got a great big ugly bubble), but I was kind of happy with this experiment. (Click to embiggen—you can see it much better). I was trying out a couple of techniques and curious how it would turn out, which wasn’t too bad (aside that it won’t stand up on it’s own and has to be leaned against the wall). But it gives me some ideas and a foundation for some other projects I’d like to try.

That’s it for now! Off to parse the Michael Cohen hearing (why do republicans elect such morons? None of them on the OVERSIGHT committee even cared about oversight of this godawful president). And then I’ll continue to stew about where Nate, Sandra, and Quinn will be in the months to come. Dare I even hope for Everett? What a life changer that would be!

Survived Snowmageddon and Read Four Books!

I was surprised to see how long it’s been since I’ve posted! (Time flies…when you’re absorbed in excellent books!)

We were hit with the biggest snowfall I’ve ever seen, at least here on Harstine Island. (And for decades elsewhere!) What a doozy of a storm, and actually it was a series of several storms with one Big Kahuna in the mix. John took advantage of a window of opportunity between storms to venture to the grocery store and load up on stuff, since Blue Apron wasn’t going to be able to deliver. We were concerned that there wouldn’t be much on the shelves (as had been reported), but he managed to find everything we needed. His timing was perfect because immediately after he returned home, it started snowing again in earnest.

We were pretty much trapped here for a few days. John had parked his truck at the top of the driveway, but trudging up the driveway to get to it was close to impossible. (It could have been done if direly needed, but there was no dire need). And then the private little road, which is curvy and very hilly, was a solid no-go. Even the day that John went to the store between storms, there were trees across the private road all the way to the county road that he had to stop and cut with his chainsaw. In fact, it took him over an hour to get to the county road—one mile from our house! And that was before the Big Kahuna hit!

All-in-all, it was fine (sure glad he went to the store that one time, though!) It was beautiful and dramatic to watch, and even though we had a few hard blinks, our power never went out (it sure did for a lot of people all around, though). Knowing that we had the generator was a huge relief and peace of mind (the best money ever spent—and yes, it was pricey for a whole-house generator. Not as pricey as having the driveway poured, though…)

The storm was rare, because it was wide-spread. Often, if it snows at all, it’ll be isolated areas that get it, mostly based on elevation. The vast majority of western Washington was dumped on, and many places had 10, 12, even 20 inches of snow. Here, at sea level, we had about 8-9” at the maximum. However, just at the top of the driveway, there was significantly more! On NextDoor (app for local neighborhoods), people inland (and higher) on the island were reporting 18” in places! I know this had to create major hardships for many—we’re low on the priority list for snow plowing (plus, there are not many snow plows), and there are slews of private roads and long, gravel driveways that never see a plow. I saw a plea on NextDoor for help because they needed formula for their baby and they could not get out of their long winding driveway. Luckily, they received several offers of assistance.

Anyway. Here are a few pictures!

Here (below), you can see where thin films of ice formed on the saltwater (!) and the snow stuck to it!

That particular day, (the day of the Big Kahuna), it snowed heavily non-stop for over 12 hours.

It just seemed so strange to see snow covering the beach. Our neighbor took these photos:

There were moments of sun between the storms, and it was nice to see color!

It was really something, with days of blizzarding wind and snow, and then that day of quiet, steady accumulation. Then, it was over and the melting began. That was a s-l-o-w process, since the temperatures didn’t rise all that much for a while. We were constantly startled when big melting chunks would slide off the roof and crash to the deck, shaking the house!

The cats have been beyond bored, beyond frustrated, and Mojo in particular has been a butt, constantly harassing Wylie and causing trouble. They are most definitely ready for SPRING. (Of course, that brings rain, so the boredom and frustration and harassment will continue on…)

I did not feel confident about working on glass projects throughout all of this because I worried about power outages. It would not be smart to rely on the generator to power a kiln or two! Jeeze, I can just imagine the suckage of the big propane tank! So, I read. I read the new(ish) Bosch/Ballard book (loved it) and I also discovered a new author (for me) and I am blown away with his writing! I read two of his books, one after the other: November Road, and The Long and Faraway Gone, by Lou Berney. The latter (which actually came out before the former) is an Edgar award winner, and I can clearly see why. His characterization and dialogue are stellar (as well as his storytelling). They are considered crime/mystery, but they are really so much more. I was utterly captivated! I’d also read our Book Club book, The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. I was not impressed with the writing overall; it seemed aimed more for YA, in my opinion. And although the story was pretty good and the harsh clarity of Alaska was vivid, there were many occasions that required a suspension of belief.

The snow is mostly gone now, and I’m hankering to step back into the glass studio! I have a couple of ideas…

Here is a very brief (15 sec.) video of the snow falling and the view of the snow/ice on the saltwater:

 

You Guys.

Sandra says, "He can’t tip his head without falling so he lays down on the floor lol."