Step Warmfloor

So we have been working on the kitchen. The next step was actually installing the Step Warmfloor. Remember that picture I posted of the perfect little rows of black plastic looking ladders? Well, here is what our floor is looking like right now...

Supermoto has been working hard to make our toesies warm and that is what it looks like. The company made it sounds super easy and in their installation dvd it seemed like it took about 15 minutes to install. Let me tell you it doesn't. That being said, everything went smoothly with the product, just not the stupid particle board that is on top of the sub floor. At one point, at a temperature of about thirty four degrees, we had all the windows open and a cloud of smoke and dust billowing out of the router. That is all I need to say really. As you can see in the picture we are leaving a hole for the cabinets to sit on plywood at the wall and the flooring in the front as well as for the island to sit on the wood in the picture on the left. More to come...progress is being made.

Merry Christmas People!

You are all very special to us and we miss you!

SuperMoto, Moto, & The GeoDog

Progress

SuperMoto is home and we hit the ground running. Today was the first major work day and we have majorly worked. That is for sure. Here's a before and after...

before...

after...

As you can see, we are almost done demo-ing the kitchen. Just a few lowers, the dishwasher and sink are left. We are making progress. Unstopable, would be the word that comes to mind. We are on a mission!

This is what I am doing. I removed baseboards, removed carpet and pad, pulled up tack strip and pulled out staples.

This work isn't really fun but it is necessary and I am glad to have something that is necessary to do.

Sometimes I think, with this hand of mine, there is nothing necessary I can do, but that's not true.

It is quiet here. I love the quiet but after a while of it I am feeling a bit lonely. I only have to feel lonely for a few more days though as SuperMoto will be in his way soon. I need to clean up, vacuum up the endless amounts of dog hair that are everywhere, and generally get ready for his return. I have so much laundry to do. Never realized how messy I would get doing home projects. I can't wait to make more progress.

One Last Thing...

Just in case you are wondering if you are thought of in times like these...

The Second Snow

I awoke this morning and looked out the window and to my surprise, like a present under the Christmas Tree, there was the second snow. It danced around me while I slept and teased me and taunted me to awaken, so the GeoDog and I could go outside and play in the snow. And so we did.

This time, it stayed on the ground, like a blanket, for about five hours where upon it began to melt away like tears streaming down rosy cheeks.The remnants of our second snow lay quietly outside the window in the cold, slowly fading away into my memory. I wonder how long I will remember this second snow. Will I still be thinking of it at the hundredth snow. Will we be old and gray and losing our memories but the thousandth snow falls and reminds me of this special second snow? The second snow that melted my heart and made me fall in love with this place all over again but this time even more deeply than the last.

Although it would be a blessing and a curse, I would like the third snow to stay on the ground for longer than a few hours. The goal is to awaken to the third snow and retire to the third snow and awaken again to the third snow. Ahhh, if only...

So, let me just say that, when I get to the hundredth snow, I am well aware that I should duck because you all are going to be throwing snowballs my direction. In the mean time, get over it, I am loving my snow people what can I say!?!

The GeoDog is loving it too. She danced and barked and sniffed.

I really have never seen her happier.She bounced in a way that was so adorable.

She is a snow dog that is for sure.

Well, now that most of the snow has melted away and all the playing has taken up so much of the day I must get back to being productive.

Funny how this trip I haven't really updated you on much of the work being done. Wonder why that is? Because I am being so lazy and social. Sheesh!

The First Snow...

Sunday, December 13, 2009 approximately 7:30 a.m.

The first snow of the season fell this morning. This was a momentous snow because it was the first "lived in" snow. I have had plenty of vacation snow and traveling snow. I have never had "live in" snow. It was the most lovely "live in" snow.

I was on the telephone with SuperMoto and getting ready to feed the GeoDog and take her outside to do the morning business when I looked out into the gray sky and noticed something softly falling. I took a double take and realized that the soft falling shimmery silent sky was blowing snowy kisses my direction. I ran out with the GeoDog in tow and looked up into the still darkish sky and to my amazement, it was snow.

The first, "we live in it", snow.

I have been hoping, wishing, and begging the sky for snow. Finally, this morning my wishes came true. The only thing that would make it better is if SuperMoto were here to share it with me.

The Floor So Far

Not sure if I showed you, but this is what the floor looks like now that one side of the room is done. As you can see, the tall double oven cabinet is in the living-room. If it weren't, you would have a better view of the floor.

This photo was taken before the wall was painted.

The GeoDog likes to lay on the cool floor when I am boiling her out with the wood stove.

Poor SuperMoto, every box of boards I open I would scream out, " OH, I LOVE THIS BOARD" or "THIS ONE IS MY FAVORITE". He is down on the floor, working his buttocks off on his hands and knees and I am strategically trying to put my favorite boards in places I think I will see them, once furniture is in the room. I always have to ask him to look and coo and caaaa over the boards that I love. He tolerates this but I am sure is ready to kill me by end of day.

I also get equally excited when a very long board comes out. Sounds funny but there are so few 72 inch boards that when I get them I get so over the top about it.I love the real dynamic boards that have knots, or waves, or dynamic colors on them.

Who knew flooring could be so completely wonderful?

What is it that I do? I PAINT!

Is anyone sick of me painting??

I know I am!

But look, one color on the staircase...

Remember what it was looking like?

See how we were testing out colors?

Well, clearly I decided on one and have been painting, squire hill buff color.

. Not sure if you can tell, but in this photo, it is the old color on the left which is yellow and the tan color we are painting on the right, blond wood.

Unfortunately I have been spilling paint all day and yesterday. It has been terrible. I had two colors in the fridge. One was in a bucket, one was in a paint tray, along with two rollers and two brushes. The bucket has been upside down in front of the fridge twice and so has the tray. WHAT A MESS! When you have an off day, you have an off day and I am having one today.

The Cold

Disclaimer: I am well aware that there are colder places on the planet

BBBBRRRRR....

It is Cold!

So the high today was in the thirties and the low was in the twenties.

The frosty yard looked pretty this morning. Snow is in the forecast three day next week.

WAHOO!

Not only did the yard look good, check out the sky & fog this morning...

Hickory Clouds Under Our Feet

And Now Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Program.....

The Floor

We spent so much time on the prep that I was beginning to think that we would never actually lay wood down. But we have.

Let me back up a tad. We completed the upstairs floor months ago and have slated this trip to complete the downstairs floor. Well, that or at least the living room/kitchen/dining room, and the hallway. SuperMoto was, as you might expect, Mr Science about it all. He was calculating whether the outside walls were parallel to the inside walls down to the 1/16".

FREAK!!

However, at the point of installation that we went to bed the first night, looking down from above, it looks perfectly straight, so FREAK, paid off.

Thanks SuperMoto!!

Where Closet Dreams Come True

I

Yes people, we have successfully arrived. We received the cabinets and we have installed the closet system, we have done some flooring and SuperMoto has gone back east to work.

I am so loving our new closet system. It is pretty, it is industrial, it was easy to install.

(since we kept our heads steadily in the game)

We Laughed...

We Cried...

We installed an Elfa Custom Closet System...

Great fun was had by all, see....

The Mattress

So, just about now you might be wonder what is keeping us focused. I have one word for you...

KLUFT

What the heck is a KLUFT you might be asking? Well, I will tell you. It is the most wonderful, most comfortable, the most heavenly mattress in the world.

When you lay on this mattress is is like having the most wonderful squishy, squeezy, bear hug

you have ever had. It is like a massage and a sauna, and a cloud all surrounding you.

When SuperMoto is in Washington D.C. and I am home alone I go to bed so early, just to climb into this wonderful haven.

There is nothing better after working hard all day than a really hot shower and a lounge on my Kluft.

So, when you are wondering what I am focusing on. Just picture me luxuriating in my bed after a hard day's work.

Of course, when SuperMoto, Myself, and the Geodog all climb on....that is an entirely different story.

The Return Home

I noticed during our hiatus that I have felt like I was missing home.

HOME

There has been a shift in my thinking this year. I now consider California my time filler and San Juan Island my home.

We are on our way there soon. There for Thanksgiving. Of course all we are going to do is work. The main floor is our focus. We start with receiving cabinets, tearing out the carpet, tack strip, baseboards, hardwood flooring, ripping out the kitchen, installing new plumbing and electric, laying the heated floor, painting, installing cabinets, fabrication of counters, installation of counters.

EEK! I feel so tired thinking about it all.

I will keep you posted while we are there for sure. More from me in a week.

Warm Feet vs. Cold Feet

Do you know how much I LOVE cold feet?

I love the feel of crawling out of a warm bed, and just as I place my feet on the floor, anticipating the coolness on my toesies. I love the sound of bare feet on wood floor. I massively love the sound of the soft patter of bare feet as you tromp to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

Do you know how cold the floor is in the SJI house. FREEZING!!

SuperMoto hates cold feet and as much as I don't want to admit it, my feet are freezing up there too. So, you know how we are taking care of it????? We are installing in floor heating. We are using a product that SuperMoto found. We are going to put it in the kitchen and in both bathrooms. It will be installed right underneath the hardwood floor and the slate tile in the bathroom.

Toasty toes are in our future!!

Getting Out of the Closet

It is unbelievable. I finished designing the closet and we purchased most of the components on sale yesterday. We are going to wait until Christmas Eve. to order the rest of the components when they go on sale. I am so happy to get the closet together and to hang our clothes up and get the room all neat and cool. This is the style of product that we are using. We went with all metal which will look good with the metal railing that is coming up the stairs right outside the closet. It is all coming together! YEAH!

Granite Countertops

I have talked about counter tops for months. You are so sick to death of me talking about counter tops you could scream.

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!

Well, we finally made a decision and a purchase. An actual purchase. Granite. I know I know, that is where I started. Then I moved on to recycled glass. $19,000+ for what we needed. SHEESH it is bottles from the recycling for goodness sake. Then it was cement. I do so love that idea and the look but not on light cabinets. Then it was Okite, Quartz. Then back to Granite.

I went off island the other day to a granite yard in Anacortes. I was so excited to find granite that I loved and put a deposit down and so.....

Imperial Yellow Granite it is. These are our actual slabs. You can see that they are from the same piece of granite. I love the unusual vein running through it. The colors are perfect for our room and house so I am VERY happy!

YEAH! The kitchen is coming together. Now all that is left to do is TONS OF WORK!

Timber Part 3: The End Is Near

I am writing in front of the fire at the end of the night. The day was long for those two hard working chaps. I actually saw sun in the kitchen today after the trees came down on that side of the house. I couldn't be more pleased. They have taken down about 16+ trees and endless amounts of what seems to be called Sea Spray or Ocean Spray. It is this nasty brushy stuff. If you have allergies then you don't want to be near that stuff. It is terrible. Well, so much of it is gone and I am so happy. I am going to attempt a before and after shot of that area.

Please use the satellite dish as a place marker so you can see the differences between before and after. See the dish there next to the truck, just to the left of the truck actually.

See how all the dead snags were there in the first picture and there aren't any in the second picture. Do you also see how so much of the nasty brush is gone?

On a side note, look at what a fantastic day this is. The sun was bright and warm. It was almost 80 degrees out and perfectly still.

I AM DECLARING 9/24 NATIONAL OR INTERNATIONAL OR REGIONAL AT LEAST... TREE DOWNING DAY!

Timber Part 2: The Trees Come Down

This is the beginning of something beautiful. The trees have been coming down. I mean literally. I had no idea that it could happen this fast. They arrived around 7:30 this morning and by 8am five trees were down. They have come down so quickly and accurately and neatly. It is an interesting process to witness. The unbelievable part is the amount of sun that is now shining through. It is fantastic. I am so happy. It is sunny and bright. These are some of the logs from early this morning. I am excited that our neighbor, who is doing the excavating, negotiated a very fair price for the wood so we will be getting back a large chunk of what we spent in the first place. WAHOO!! Those cedars are making me happy today. Turns out these two men that are doing the work are working fast because they have already done so much more than I expected them to have gotten done. It is 2:30 in the afternoon and they have done all that I asked and then some minus the trees in the front of the house, because those have to be done at the end so as to not block the route out. We were even able to get rid of disgusting, deadish shrubbery and some snags that were an eyesore. This really is property changing. I can't wait until SuperMoto gets back into town so he can see the amazing results of our decision to have the land worked on a little bit.

Timber Part 1

So tomorrow is tree day.

I am thrilled at the idea that soon we will have more sunlight than we currently do. Don't get me wrong, in the spring and summer we have plenty of sunlight but in the fall and winter we have less.

These mothers are coming down one by one and letting my sun shine brightly through. I can't wait.

One of the great things though is that we are selling the wood to a man that makes cedar shingles and a man that mills cedar and makes cedar timbers for building.

I can't wait to watch the process and capture it as well. It should be interesting as all but one of these trees is right next to either the house or the garage.

Cedar isn't the best wood to burn so we are thrilled it is going to good use. It will make beautiful shingles and lumber.

Bummer we aren't ready to build the shop or we might use it ourselves. Oh well!

Of course these are the before pictures and soon you will see the after pictures.

San Juan Island's Own Fright Night

So I am here on the island alone now. SuperMoto had to go off to work. I am working here on painting and mowing and gunk.

The night before last I sat up much too late reading Eclipse. It is captivating for sure. Eerie too a tiny bit and I am in the Pacific Northwest and we do have forest surrounding us. See where I am going with this???

I went upstairs to get ready for bed. The light was on up there and it was pitch black outside. I was deep in thought and the next thing you know I could hear footsteps

in the gravel. Lots of them really. It sounded like the house was surrounded and I was going to be ambushed.

Of course, like all good horror movie heroines I yelled out the window, " is somebody there?" The footsteps didn't seem to stop and nobody ran away or anything so, I really started to freak out. My heart was pounding in my throat and I was practically choking down sobs as I threw off the light and stumbled downstairs looking for a flashlight.

I crept back upstairs and started to shine the light outside.

Do you know how hard it is to shine a flashlight through a window screen????? When I finally got the right position to see something all I could see is hundreds of sets of eyes, millions even, well eight to ten at least. It was deer. I think. I mean I was so out of my mind with fear that at that moment I wasn't rational about it.

Quickly I grabbed the phone and dialed SuperMoto on the east coast. I woke him of course as it was like three in the morning there. He was kind to me and gave me some pointers and tips as to how to deal with this in the future but assured me that it was probably deer.

Pointer 1. Park Jeep backwards and have keys upstairs with me so that if I hear it again I cam use the key clicker thingy and turn on the headlights thereby lighting up the entire front yard and exposing those evil deer.

Pointer 2. Use flashlight through the glass side only not the screen.

Pointer 3. Place Jeep in a position that is not blocking the motion sensor light in the future.

All valid points. The plan is in place.

It is me against the deer.

Wonder where our super protective watchdog was during this episode???

Sprawled out sleeping on the bed, happy and cozy and content. AARG!

A Flight A Day That's All You Need

First let me just say that we are here and working. I know that is when I should blog the most but we are tired and sore so please give us a break.

We started out Tuesday with this. We punched some little holes in the staircase sheet rock to determine if the project was a go and it was. As you can see we had been painting colors on the walls testing them out. Punching holes was quite satisfying. I hadn't expected that to be the case so was pleasantly surprised. SuperMoto and I got silly and took some candid shots.

Here he is looking through a hole I had punched out of the wall.

Did you know that going up and down a flight of stairs constantly for 10 hours can make you tired? I know, sounds like something that should be obvious but frankly, I don't think either of us really thought about it that much. Between cramps in his legs and hacking on the dust we are so tired.

The first day was fun and we ended the day with a bunch of holes all along the staircase. We felt like we had accomplished something and could see some progress.

The second day we really went to town. No more the innocence of Tuesday, a little hammer and some wack wack here and there. We got out the saw, and started to really go to town. The aggressions of the day before gave way to the strong desire to be done and we trudged forward, putting behind us the tired, the weary the longing to be free.

The end result... A shell of a staircase just waiting to be completed.

We are tired and wearily but eager to continue.

Bitter, Angry Raving Alert! BEWARE SHE MIGHT BITE...

I am so bitter this fine Thursday morning I could just crawl back under the covers.Turns out uhaul messed up our reservation and as of last night at 6pm we didn't have a trailer. Now, that would be fine if we hadn't bought the largest ice chest on the planet and then bought about 50lbs. of chicken and turkey and beef to freeze and haul up as well as if I hadn't spent the last week haulin' ass to pack.

I was so mad. I finally had to say to the csr on the telephone, " I am sorry, I am confused as to why you are getting a tude with me when uhaul messed up my reservation and I am now being told there isn't a trailer for me. I am trying to speak to you as calmly and rationally as possible under a very stressful situation and you are upset with me??????" To my amazement she actually responded with, "What makes you think I am getting attitude with you?"

HMMMM Let me see, your TONE, your UNWILLINGNESS to solve the problem, your ACCUSATION of us making a mistake reserving.

Ok, we could have made the mistake for sure but we didn't. We went to the local location, measured trailers that we could tow behind our Jeep that wouldn't throw us over the ferry height and length restrictions and then we reserved there with the woman. She confirmed the price and everything in writing and gave us a confirmation number. Sooooo... then, how did it turn into a 20 foot truck and a 5x8 trailer being picked up at two different locations in two different cities on the same day???? Your guess is as good as mine is.

We are supposed to be picking up what we need at a distant location now, but we are on our way in a few minutes so we shall see. We shall see.

What has happened to the customer service that we receive? Not once did I receive an apology, any words of regret for my inconvenience. It was terrible.

I GIVE UP.

I am sure on the island there is PERFECT customer service.

I am sure on the island everyone is remorseful when there is an error.

I am sure on the island I would be carried on a cleopatra style chase lounge to the trailer with palm leaves fanning and loincloth wearing men.

Ok, so I could be idealizing a bit but I like the image.

Exercise, Health, & San Juan Island

On the last trip to the house on the first day that I was alone my sweet neighbor invited me to walk with her ladies walking group. It is a loose organization of women that walk when they can and are all ages, shapes, and sizes. That being said, I am on the least fit end of the spectrum.

I have had the intent to get my arse moving and seem to manage to get to the gym a day or two a week which is just often enough to "say I am doing it" but not enough to make any changes with the bod.

Anywayssssss..... it seems like people on the island are for the most part quite fit and healthy. I walked twice with this group last trip and loved it but they are so far beyond my fitness level it isn't funny.

When you choose a place, like the island, that has world class sea kayaking and hiking, and healthy people wandering around and people that are growing and eating their own fruits and vegetables, it makes you take stock a little bit.

I DESPERATELY want to overcome my health stuff and become super active again. SuperMoto and I really would like to canoe and kayak together and my hand is challenging enough with the whole paddle thing, but come on, I need to make some changes.

I am saying it here to all of you because you know me and know my struggle with my health and well being. Some of you more than others for sure but, anyone who knows me knows that I have been spinning my wheels for a long time with this.

So, today, I am throwing it out into the blog ether that, I am going to put the right foot forward in terms of being active and in terms of what goes into the bod. I am going to be thoughtful of today and tomorrow and to all the tomorrows. I want to be able to enjoy all that the island has to offer without huffing and puffing my way.

To Happy Health!

Trees and Neighbors

I know you know we have a forest, but it turns out we have some trees on both the north east corner and the south east corner of our home that are very close to the home. The north trees are growing over the roof and in that specific corner are growing over the chimney. Literally over the chimney. Why on earth would someone leave a tree hanging over a chimney?

When I think of trees hanging over a chimney,

I think of...

What about you? What do you think of? So the logical next step was to down the trees. Downing trees is something we certainly could figure out how to do even though we know nothing about it. On the other hand, these trees are right next to our house and if we had some sort of little problem we would be in a world of hurt with a tree in our living room. Soooo... We decided the best thing to do is call someone who could down the tree and hopefully in the future bring in some equipment and excavate the land so we can build our shop and gardens.

I called a tree guy from California yesterday and as you would suspect, I found myself in a Six Degrees of Separation situation. The man who answered the phone was the owner of the business and as it turns out was our neighbor. His dad actually previously owned our property.

Not only did we discuss trees we also had a nice conversation about life and being good neighbors in general. I was thrilled to have such a positive conversation that we had with a stranger.

It made me so excited to connect some more dots. Another piece of the puzzle filled in.

He is going to evaluate the trees and eventually...