Hanging Out & On

Look at what is 'hanging' out or should I say 'hanging on'? 


We worked until 12:30 am this morning getting these fine cabinets installed. 


The Uppers Are Installed!


I have to say "we" loosely because SuperMoto worked his bageezer off and I read a lot and assisted when it was time to do the hard labor. Well, I did mow but that is a story that you already know about so I am going to give up the mowing sob story in lieu of talking about the upper installation. 

We started to figure out the uppers the day before yesterday. Turns out, as all things have that we have some challenges. This EuroStyle cabinet doesn't have the frame to hide the undermount lights so SuperMoto had to rewire the wall at the last minute to accommodate them in a different manner. There are going to be four transformers hidden in upper spaces, some in cabinets and some in cubbies so there were challenges with wiring and outlets there as well. 


Then there was the fact that the top of the cabinets are out there in mid air without a ceiling to mask them. From the landing above you look right down on this space and would be able to have a keen view of the perfections or imperfections of the height and alignment in general of the cabinets. Not to mention how heavy they are and how hard it was getting them into place to secure them on the wall. Super Moto made a little stand that was close to the height of the cabinets that we lifted each one onto and that carried the weight of the cabinets while we fussbudget around and got them level and straight and all that mandatory stuff. 


We are behind schedule and happy that what we have accomplished looks good and is done right. Now if only we could achieve looks good and done right faster....that would be grand.  

The Legend of Weedy Hollow

So, I know, you must be thinking that we gave up and sold the house to the highest bidder and are drinking margaritas and eating quesadillas in Mexico by now. You couldn't be more wrong, but we have been busy. 


We are at the house now. SuperMoto has been here a week and is leaving tomorrow night for a venture out for work and then will be back in a week and a half. I will be here working in the Hollow attempting to de-weed. 
Yes, you heard me right, de-weed. (if there is such a word) 

We are overrun with weeds. When we got here our drive was almost completely covered over with tall weeds. There are sections of our property where the 'natural grass' is five feet high. Of course that is just a high spot. The majority of it looks like this. It is about three feet high, super thick, and wet. 


I started mowing a few days ago and there is so much of it and it is so wet it takes me forever, not to mention the rocks and the tiny pieces of wood that I am mowing over. That is an entirely different story for sure. 


The one good thing to come out of this is that SuperMoto generally does different yard-work than mowing because the mower is the only outdoor tool that I can pull the starter cord on. So, by default, I am the mower. If I mow as much as is going to be required on a seasonal basis I will lose the extra and then gain some muscles as the terrain is a challenging and it is basically like climbing up hill repeatedly pushing a weight belt in front of you instead of wearing it! Wahoo for weeds!!

Let There Be Light...Literally

It is finally time to really address the lighting. We have been in process for a while now, much to the dismay of the lighting designery person. Well, I shouldn't really say that, as he isn't complaining at all and has shown us nothing but patience. But, if I were him I would be frustrated. 


We are going with Tech Lighting. Months ago we realized that there weren't any other options that would work in our kitchen, in terms of consumer products and looking for industrial fixtures proved to be complicated. We landed on Tech, which we had avoided for a while because of the price last year but  decided was our only reasonable (in terms of styling) option. 


All that being said, we are getting ready to place the order and after going over it a few times this weekend have started to get excited. You are looking at it here for the first time. 
We will have a cable lighting system going across the island with these modern cones dangling from the cables. They are ultra modern looking but small and quiet. They won't impede the view or really impact your sightline from anywhere in the room. 


We are going to have wall mounted lighting like in an art gallery for the rest of the kitchen and the desk area. They will look similar to this with a decorative screen over the backs of the lights. Over the cabinets they will stand out from the wall as pictured and over the desk they will stand out about 9 inches or so. The entire room will have this wall monorail system and the same lights. 


Now, all that is left is to figure out the light over the sink and the light over the dining table. I am certain that once we have placed these lights and the furniture the room will speak to us and we will be able to figure out the perfect lighting solution for the space. This is the last big thing for the kitchen to be completed and it is the source of much anxiety. I am ready to see it all come together! 

Ok people, I have been super busy, as many of you know. I am getting ready for the next trip, which is coming fast. Since the trailer is here in California we are taking a huge load up to the house. 

This is the first trip where we are 'moving.' What does that mean? Well, I am taking a bunch of new stuff, but also am going to start to pack up the kitchen. When you pack the kitchen you are getting much closer to living somewhere, ya know? Since we are going to completely remodel our kitchen here in California, it is a good place to start moving and a great room to empty in preparation for future work. I am nervous about packing up my kitchen. 

I have too many lovely kitchen things and not enough space to store them or ability to use them. I have to take care so as to not take certain things up to the house and then turn around and need them in California, and buy something else. I know SuperMoto would literally have a coronary if I do that so I must be diligent about this process! 

Taking A Break From Life

     Today we took a day off from our daily life and ran away. 
     SuperMoto had a holiday today so we got up early and hit the road. We started out having breakfast in Glen Ellen. We had a delightful meal. We then headed towards Santa Rosa to pick up SuperMoto's KTM seat from Renazco, a company that makes custom dual sport motorcycle seats. Once we inspected it, admired it, smelled it, licked it, fawned over it and hugged it a couple times, (*might be slightly exaggerating there*) we had the rest of the day to ourselves to wander Sonoma County. 
     We wandered around the town of Sonoma. We had such a relaxing enjoyable time eating espresso covered ice cream, having barbecue, tasting cheese at the cheese company, watching the ducks in the park, and wandering into and out of the lovely shops and galleries. Let me just tell you this. We have both been in the Bay Area our entire lives basically and Sonoma on a weekend can be a super busy place. Sonoma on a Monday is AWESOME!! It was easy to find parking, it was quiet, the streets were open, there were tables and benches available anywhere we wanted to sit down. We had a blast.
     During our journey home we went in search of Bacchus Glass. It is a place we have wanted to go for a long time but they aren't open on the weekends so we never get to. Today we did and we were blown away. We are lucky to have two Bacchus pieces hanging in our current home and are hoping to acquire a few more for our new house. This was an inspiring visit to say the least. The owner couldn't have been nicer and although he was just running out, he stopped everything, gave us an incredibly informative tour and let us have all the time in the world looking around. Again, a magical experience. A fun time was had by all.

Sugar Cookie Fantasy

I am doing it again. 
Another one of my baking fantasies...


I am alone in my kitchen. I can hear SuperMoto outside
running a chainsaw or something noisy that makes me aware that he is outside working. All of my beautiful pans are stacked up on the island. I can hear the tink of the ovens preheating. The mixer is whirring away creaming butter and sugar. Stacks of sprinkles and cellophane bags are everwhere. There is a dusting of flour on the counter that makes a path between the bag and the bowl of the mixer. The GeoDog is asleep on the floor by my feet. Close enough to trip me but not. (This is my fantasy after all) (In real life I would have fallen already and been at the ER having x-rays) I am preparing to make my first sugar cookies in my new kitchen. 


Isn't this the most beautiful fantasy in the world? Well, ok, for me anyway. I get it, you probably don't dream about baking in your kitchen, but you know me and
I DO!! 

Our Commute

Our commute home is a Scenic Byway. It is the first marine scenic byway in the state of Washington. 

There is only one other state in the nation that has a scenic byway. 

When you get on the ferry, and it pulls away from the dock, the view takes your breath away. Literally. There hasn't been a time that we have sat down on the ferry that I am not made speechless by the beauty of the view. 

A direct ferry takes about 70 minutes to get from the Anacortes to Friday Harbor. If you have the time and want to really get the million dollar view you can jump on a ferry that stops at all four stops, Lopez, Shaw, Orcas, and San Juan Islands. I would recommend this to anyone who hasn't explored this area as it is the most lovely views. 

City vs. Island #4 The Restaurant Situation Revisited

Do you like a good hamburger?

Do you like a gorgeous view?

Do you like to feel the warm sun on your skin?

Do you think you might like all three of those things at the same time?

Well, if you would you might want to go have a hamburger at Friday's Crabhouse.

I am pretty sure you are supposed to want to eat fresh cracked dungeness crab, steam clams, mussels, clams, and oysters, homemade crab-cakes, fresh grilled salmon, fish and chips...get the picture? If you asked SuperMoto, he would tell you all of these things are to die for good. They have this fantastic homemade sauce that they smother their shellfish with. When we eat here he grins and slurps and is in shellfish lover heaven!


The view of Friday Harbor and the Ferry Terminal is so amazing. Sitting there with the sun beating down on you while you watch the ferry pulling up to the dock is unbelievable. I have sat up on the top deck with the GeoDog waiting for SuperMoto to run off the ferry with his suitcases. During the summer this is the most wonderful spot in the world!

Window Coverings

Well, we never did talk about the new window coverings. We decided to go with a woven wood with a liner. We chose a woven teak called Corban Teak. 


They are super gorgeous and still in the box. Currently our windows are adorned by the most lovely black sheets you have ever seen. 


The next trip to the house is a finishing trip. We plan to finish a bunch of projects that are still uncompleted. It is so easy to get started on something, get most of it completed and then never put the finishing touches on it. 

So, hopefully in a few weeks we will be able to post pictures of the actual Roman Shades hanging in our windows. Don't hold your breath! 

Hardwood Floor and the Dog Hair Issue

Awwww....

We have this adorable, sweet thing, that sleeps like a baby. Isn't she adorable? I know, makes you want to coo and caa and give her bones and cookies and take her for walks and pet her endlessly hu? I know, I know, me too! But I am lucky because she is mine, all mine. Well, actually I do share her with SuperMoto and she shares herself with all who tread through our home?

Think I mean she is loving?

Think I mean she is friendly?

Well, she is all that, but she is giving in a far more generous way too...

She generously leaves her hair EVERYWHERE!

It is disgusting!! Don't EVER wear black in our house because you will be covered in it. We have carpet in our California house and are constantly vacuuming up the fur. Here, at the San Juan Island house we have now hardwood floored almost the entire house. Turns out her hair flows across the floor only stopping to ball up with the other hair on the floor, that she has already left there, and then move on. It is the grossest thing I have ever seen! We have an old vacuum here but it wasn't designed for the hardwood floor and isn't removing her hair in the way it should be. So, don't go barefoot. At least you couldn't until the other day. Now you can go barefoot all you want. Why you might ask? Because we have been saved by this...