Kingfisher Cove

Pretty Much Decked

John’s been the hauler of bins, and I’ve been the s-l-o-w woman placing decorations and hanging tree ornaments, taking frequent breaks (effing hip). But aside from a few persnickety final dangling (tangled…) issues, we’re pretty much there. I keep NOT finding what I’m looking for in the bins so I say, “More bins, please!” At least he’s been amenable. I’m just terrible when the time comes to take everything down and put it all away. I am SO READY to be done, so I am not very good about abiding by the labels on the bins. I really need to be better about that. Sigh.

Anyway. It’s looking festive, I think!

I ordered (and just received) a couple of packages of snowflake faerie lights, and could I unwind them and keep from tangling them? Nope. I refrained from throwing them and I managed to calmly (albeit seethingly…) set them in their tangled, jumbled nest on the dining table to maybe address it in the morning. Or else throw them off the deck).

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I had to venture out today to run an errand and was pleasantly surprised that it was partly sunny. Oh, there were times that a dark cloud hung over me and I’d have to turn on the wipers, but more often I had the visor down because that unfamiliar eye-killing orb in the sky kept trying to annoy me. Ultimately I could not be fully annoyed because that orb is truly an anomaly. (Oh, the rain! Days upon days of relentless pouring rain and gray-gray-gray. My least favorite month). It was remarkable how that blue sky and flickering sunshine lifted my spirits! After all the rain (accompanied at times with stiff winds), the leaves are all pretty much on the ground everywhere. That and fir needles. Our road and driveway are thick with them.

Poor John is having to replace the entire flooring in his late mom’s mobile home (to get it ready to sell), and today he picked up the flooring and hauled it over to the trailer. He looked into having it installed, but the cost was ridiculous. So, he’s going to do it himself. It’s floating interlocking laminate, and he’s at least convinced himself that it shouldn’t be too bad. I worry because he has a lot of back pain, and he comes home from the Hydroplane Museum in utter agony.

Getting old(er) sucks.

We completed a streaming series over the weekend, “Packed to the Rafters,” an Australian show that was reminiscent of “Parenthood.” It was so good! It was 6 seasons, with like 22 episodes per season! Then, Amazon Prime had an 8-episode sequel that takes place six years later, called “Back to the Rafters” and it was interesting to see where they’d all landed/what happened/oh dear/ahhh! You become so familiar with the characters with that many episodes! We’re having to acclimate a bit after that (I remember sobbing my eyes out when “Parenthood” ended). But we have jumped right in to the new (and final) season of “Goliath” and boy is that ever good! Billy Bob Thornton is incredible. In fact, a stellar cast with top-notch acting, and I’ve been stunned with the astounding cinematography. And what a story this final season is! (Highly recommend all four seasons of “Goliath!”)

And here’s Quinn helping with tree decorations. (His dad should be home soon!)

I miss them!

Happy Turkey (OR STEAMER CLAMS!) Day!

It was going to be lobster tails, but John couldn’t find any decent ones, so while he was at the zoo Costco, he picked up a nice big netted bag of steamer clams. And that’s A-OK with both of us. He also got some excellent crusty bread so we can soak up the buttery/garlicky/winey juices. Mmm.

I’ve been watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and because it’s raining hard outside, the satellite dish isn’t happy and the TV keeps pixilating.

Yep, that’s exactly what it looks like. It comes and goes. Weird. Pretty if you’re into throwing paint at a canvas.

I’ve been s-l-o-w-l-y plugging away at cleaning, with an emphasis on “slow” because my right hip has been hurting (plus I haven’t had a lot of gumption). It’ll get there. The plan is to have things ready for me to decorate for Christmas this weekend. Which will also likely be s-l-o-w. I did self-clean the ovens, which I don’t do nearly often enough and I don’t know why because it’s not that big of a deal, although each one goes for 4 hours and I can’t set both to clean at the same time. (Plus it also makes the house pretty stinky). I also put the racks in the dishwasher and it’s amazing what a good job that does! They were nasty-grimy-brownish and now they pretty much sparkle!

So, here we go with the steamers!

The cats were extremely intrigued. I can imagine how many people are going, “Eeewww, cats on the table!” But. It’s not considered abhorrent here. Although, since the two of us don’t often sit at the dining table, this was significantly NOT USUAL for the cats.

Plus, it smelled like SEA FOOD. (Or maybe, milk?)

It was fun! It was scrumptious!

I keep thinking of Nate on his ship way out in the middle of the ocean somewhere. Do they even have a turkey dinner? I kind of doubt it, as the days pretty much just roll into other days and “Thanksgiving” doesn’t even feel like a particular day. How do he and his crew all feel? They all have families that they aren’t with. I imagine some of the newbies (young-‘uns) feel the crush the most, since they aren’t used to it. It’s sad, and HARD, for so many people, including the sailors and their families, immediate and extended. So many people. (Yeah, including old-fart parents).

In other news, I’ve begun a new “crop” with my aerogarden. This time, I’m exclusively growing basil.

Baby basil!

It’s just so fun.

Novembering

Nate’s on this very ship as we speak, and has been all month. He’s due back the end of November (from which is considered an “Underway”). Then sometime in December he’ll have some leave and we’ll be able to get together for Christmas (although, likely not ON Christmas).

U.S.S. Gridley

I’ve had my thumbs in my ears, wiggling my fingers (“la-la-la-la-la”) in complete denial for what comes next. 6-9 months deployment. In likely potentially dangerous…waters.

I remember how over the moon I was when I learned that he and Sandra and Quinn got orders to be stationed here in Washington (after many years in San Diego). But almost immediately after they arrived, Covid hit. We did carefully get together now and then, but not as frequently as we would have. And THIS year has been extremely busy for Nate and the Navy, having several Underways, including one all summer long. THEN, once his deployment is done, they’ll be looking to receiving orders to somewhere else. Possibly very far away.

Denial is my safe place right now.

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So much rain, so much dim. Today was relatively dry, but still very dim. And it’s pretty much dark shortly after 4:30pm. And soon it WILL be by 4:30pm. (But come December 21st or so, the days start to get longer! WOOHOO!!)

As I say every single year around this time: “WASN’T IT JUST THE 4TH OF JULY?!!” (When we thought this fucking pandemic was in our rear view mirror…)

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It’s Thanksgiving week, and we’re hoping that John will be able to find some nice lobster tails at Costco tomorrow on his way to the Hydroplane Museum. There has been some dramatic progress with that 1979 Miss Squire Shop restoration—they’ve begun painting! And oh my, is that ever an ordeal. (I suspected, but never really knew!) The absolute precise taping off to paint the red. The reveal of the red after some time, and then taping off to paint the brown (John did that himself). Then, the sanding down of all that glossy paint (which makes it look like HELL) in order to make a good foundation bond for painting/spraying on the clear. Which John says absolutely brings back the gloss and POP of all the color. Then, there’s a metallic tape that’ll be applied between the red and the brown (I think) and then the vinyl Squire Shop lettering applied.

This is the original (and how the restoration will look!):

How it looks now:

See the difference with the gloss before sanding?

(The gloss will be back!)

Doing laundry, there is red paint spray on jeans, sweatshirts, socks, and yes, underwear. And no, it doesn’t wash out.

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I finished our Book Club book and I liked it! Oh, there were moments of eyerolls, but overall it was a very decent international thriller! And for those who are Louise Penny fans (Gamache!), he actually makes an appearance in the story! I loved that!

I’ve also begun watching “The Wheel of Time” on Amazon Prime. It’s based on something like a 15-book series (which I have not read, but are apparently very popular). It sounded interesting to me, so I decided to give it a try, generally when John isn’t around because I don’t think it would be his thing. The first three episodes dropped last Friday, and now there will be one episode dropping every Friday for the next five weeks. (Grrr. I prefer to binge at my own pace). It’s a fantasy and after those first three episodes, very intriguing! I realize that I am a fan of a number of fantasies, beginning with “Lord of the Rings.” The Harry Potter books are fantasy! Also the Golden Compass trilogy. And I’ve read a LOT of Brandon Sanderson books—he even completed the final couple of books of The Wheel of Time series after the original author died. (I really enjoy his books! He’s the one who also wrote The Rithmatist, a YA book with steampunk atmospherics). It was supposed to be a series, but only one book was written, which is a shame! I’ve been waiting since 2013 for the next installment, which apparently isn’t gonna happen. But anyway. He’s a great and prolific writer. Yeah, there are wars and intrigues, but what makes them so good is his characterization. You really care about the characters people.

I’m currently reading the new Michael Connelly book “The Dark Hours,” the 4th Renee Ballard book. I really enjoy them—she works with Harry Bosch and they make a good team.

And I’m a pumpkin (at 1:30 a.m.) so g’night!

Finally, A Day of Relief

But not with the rain. Oh, the rain keeps pounding. It keeps roaring. I remember watching The Killing on Netflix, a well-done but dark crime series that takes place in Seattle, and it was obvious to us that the producers/writers/whomever-in-charge had never even BEEN to Seattle before. It depicted constant, drenching, drowning, raging rain day after day after day after day. The truth is, we mostly just get a lot of drizzle. Thunder & lightning are pretty rare. Fire-hosing rain happens, but it’s typically short-lived and out of the ordinary. But it is November (my least favorite month) and this is the month that if we’re going to get a deluge (or a windstorm), this is when it’ll happen. It just seems like it’s been going on forever. I worry about major landslides. It’s quite hilly everywhere.

It took John 3-1/2 hours (actually going on FOUR hours) to drive home from the Hydroplane Museum last night (in the pitch dark with wipers on full-bore and headlight glare everywhere). That’s a drive that usually takes 1-1/2 – 2 hours. Areas of I-5 were flooded. God, it’s just relentless.

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BUT!!! Today Attorney General Merrick Garland FINALLY came through (there were lots of doubts that he would) and Steve Bannon has now been indicted on two counts of Contempt of Congress (for flashing his middle fingers at his subpoena to appear before the Congressional 1/6 Committee or to provide required documents). He is a despicable (deplorable) scumbag who served in trump’s administration with the goal to “deconstruct every government institution.” He also set up a scam to have trump supporters donate millions of dollars so he could “build the border wall to keep out ‘illegals’” and then he pocketed the money. Yep, he was indicted for that, and then was pardoned by TFG at the last minute before he was forced out of the White House. By the way, “TFG” means “the former guy” on social media, but someone today deemed it “That Fucking Guy” which is way more spot on.

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Also as of tonight, the old sofa and recliner are now GONE. I’d posted on Facebook’s “Harstine Community” photos of the old sofa and recliner available for free (“but you need to come and get and transport”), and you betcha I got a whole LOT of responses. I picked the first person who responded and arranged for them to pick them up tonight. It was a bit of an ordeal with them having a tough time coming down our driveway (and then deciding not to) and then hauling these heavy thangs UP the driveway to their truck! (And she was a…large woman, although amazingly STRONG. Her wimpy son was pretty much a wimp! Heh heh). Anyway, old stuff is GONE and my car is back inside the garage! It made me feel good how excited they were (well, SHE was excited) about the sofa and recliner. (They are leather, after all. They were pretty nice when we bought them 2o years ago, and they’re still not bad aside from the cat scratches and weakened cushions). The son (who I think is who will get them) had nothing to say. I have an image of him hurrying home with the furniture and getting reclined and smoking his weed. Which is fine.

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So, I haven’t enjoyed sitting on the couch or recliner all these years to watch TV. The leather was too soft, the reclining was TOO reclined; I prefer to have my legs out and supported, but my back straight. The old furniture didn’t give me that option. But the NEW FURNITURE DOES!! It’s electrically powered and there are OPTIONS! I love it! And the cup holders are da bomb! I’ve been enjoying hanging out to watch our current binging series and enjoying the view of the living room and dining room. (I love our house! It’s…just very cool!) And Wylie has been confused, jumping up on my lap to cuddle and then jumping down to jump up on John’s lap to cuddle. Like, multiple times during the evening! Back and forth. Cats are so funny. And weird.

We decided to not get rid of the Lazy Boy, and it’s now in our bedroom. It won’t be actually “used” in there, I don’t think, but it does look pretty nice. It’s my appendage. There are just too many sentimental memories attached to it, so I am happy to keep it.

Here’s lil’ Nate in the Lazy Boy:

And his son, eating popcorn and lounging in the Lazy Boy:

Yeah, no way I can get rid of that thing.

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"Everything that gets labeled “far-left” in the US is just common sense policy in the rest of the industrialized world. Guaranteed health care. Paid family leave. Government drug price negotiation.

This stuff isn’t radical. We’re talking about the basics of a functioning society."

Getting There!

OK. We finally came up with a solution about hauling the old sofa and recliner out of here (and up all those steps…). When we had our neighborhood potluck back in September, we met a young fellow who lives up the hill and has become a friend to the people who hosted the potluck. He was really nice and personable. John thought of him and asked our neighbors for his phone number and arranged to have him come today to help lug the furniture into the garage, making room now for tomorrow’s delivery of our new sofa.

IT. WAS. POURING.

I mean it, it really was pouring. Overflowing the gutters. And then: HAILING. (Followed by thunder and lightning!) They decided to go up the deck stairs instead (the front stairs are covered, but they would require a lot of maneuvering to get the sofa out of the door and turned around). John pooped out in the midst of these stairs; the sofa was very heavy. Plus, he’s getting older. He paid this excellent young man and then came in to recover (sopping wet, of course). Man! But, it’s done.

Yesterday, John tipped the old sofa back to vacuum where it had been sitting for 6 years. I couldn’t see (because the sofa was in the way), but he looked down and said, “ERMAHGERD!” I just about lost it laughing. Doubled over, snorted. Came close to peeing my pants. Yeah, I reckon it was pretty gross! Today, after the sofa was gone, I mopped the area. (The whole house needs cleaning, but I’ll wait until we’re done with all of this).

Nikki was very confused about the absent sofa. She loved to sleep on the top of it, which had collapsed the top cushion. I’d fluff it up and it was a useless effort because PLOP, she’d be back and cocooned. I worry a bit about this new sofa; it’s not the soft malleable leather as the old one. She may just have to find another spot to nap. And PLEASE don’t scratch on this new furniture! Cats (and dogs…) are so destructive! Argh. I haven’t noticed that Nikki or Wylie scratched on the old furniture—Mojo was the one who did.

So, I guess I’ll wait until tomorrow to finish this, once the new sofa has arrived! Woohoo!

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And now it’s tomorrow! They came bright and early to haul this in and set it up. These are all essentially the same color as our old furniture, so it looks like they’ve always been here! (Well, except for the loveseat. It looks so much better than the Lazy Boy did).

Woohoo!!!

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“Before "woke" they called it "politically correct.” Before that it was called "common decency.””

Fretting

Oh dear, oh my. John received a text from the furniture place that our new sofa was ready to be delivered! We thought it wouldn’t arrive until December! It will come this Wednesday and WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH THE OLD SOFA? As it is, the old recliner is still sitting in the hallway (since the new loveseat arrived). We’re talking heavy and awkward and they need to be hauled up 16 outside stairs just to get them up and out of the house. I’ve offered to move my car out of the garage so they could be stored in there until someone wants to come and get them (for free). But how are we going to lug them up those stairs? John can’t by himself, I would be next to useless, and all of the neighbors are in far off places (or are otherwise incapacitated). Plus, the rain hasn’t stopped fire-hosing. It drives me nuts that John doesn’t seem all that concerned about this, but we really need to come up with a plan. The old sofa needs to go, and I need to CLEAN. The entire real estate it takes up will be exceptionally grody beneath it after…six years! These are the times when I wish so bad I could do magic. Blink, snap my fingers, wiggle my nose, and the behemoth furniture pieces are IN THE GARAGE. Done.

And then we need to place a notice in local Facebook and Nextdoor. I sure hope somebody will want them. They aren’t in terrible condition, but the sofa has a fair amount of cat scratches. (They are 20 years old after all, and they’ve lived through several cats). Jesus, what’ll we do if nobody wants them?

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John and I are now BOOSTERED!! Woohoo!! (It’s a relief!) We had to drive over an hour to get our jabs, since nobody nearby had the boosters available (this County is so…trumpish frustrating). But whatever. I wish they would open up booster shots to everybody, instead of just us old farts. There are way too many “breakthrough” cases among people of all ages and it tells me that the vaccine immunity isn’t lasting all that long. I see this becoming much like the flu shot; needs to happen every year (if not more often). We will look back at this in horror of how so many people have been such idiots about this pandemic. Starting with trump. God, so many lives could have been saved…

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A few more pics of busy Quinn. What a kid.

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“If after celebrating a new child, men suffered from weeks of hemorrhoids, hand/foot/face swelling, and genital bleeding, Paid Family Leave wouldn’t be up for debate. It would be in the Bill of Rights.” -Eric Swalwell

Furniture, Cats, and Crap

Well! We got our new loveseat and recliner! (I LOVE the cupholders).

I really wish we’d also gotten the sofa, but we’ll have to wait until next month (hopefully). It’s a real dilemma to figure out what to do with the old stuff. Right now, the old Lazy Boy is sitting in our bedroom, and the old recliner is sitting in the hallway. Too heavy to lug up the stairs and load into John’s truck (he’ll need help!) And what to do with them? We can’t store them in the garage because it’s full of vehicles. We need a plan and there is no plan. The old sofa is going to be an even WORSE ordeal. John and I were trying to remember how they were hauled down into the house in the first place and neither of us have a memory of it! Heh. We’ll be happy to give them away, but since the old recliner and sofa match, it would make better sense to list them as such once we know that the delivery of the new sofa was imminent. Gah! Nothing is ever simple.

Speaking of things sitting in the hallway, John found (and bought!) a new pre-lit Christmas tree from Home Depot and that huge box is also sitting in the hallway. For now. Yeah, it feels rather chaotic and I don’t do chaos well.

We’ve had kind of a rotten few days (yes, it could always be worse, but still). Just annoying minutia-type crap, like when I opened the closet that holds sheets and blankets and extra pillows, etc. and I noticed black specks everywhere. Mouse shit. EVERYWHERE. Every-goddamned-where. Things will be tossed. The rest will be washed. God. (Most will be tossed).

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On this day in 2013, I took this picture of Wylie shortly after we’d brought her home after she’d found John near the construction dumpster here at Harstine. (It was in the midst of our house construction). She was a wee thang, and must have only been about 6 months old or so (and knocked up, as we would later learn). She’s such a sweetie, and also an alien, as cats are.

 

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Tomorrow afternoon we get our Covid booster jabs! Woohoo! I will feel so relieved. The number of “breakthrough” cases have bothered me a lot; all kinds of known/famous people (let alone unknown) have tested positive after being fully vaccinated, and some of them have had pretty serious symptoms. I DO NOT want that to happen to us! To anybody! Gah. And today they also announced that kids 5-11 are good to go for vaccinations. Unfortunately, Quinn is 4 so he won’t be eligible. (But at least he’ll be better protected with more vaccinated people and kids around him).

And speaking of Quinn! He was the Cat in the Hat for Halloween!

 

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"We must face the appalling fact that Republicans have no foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral. They only want to seize power."