Thanksgiving into Christmas

Having left the chilly Seattle house under the watch of Maki and Jeff, I headed to the beach to enjoy a little warmth (oh, did I mention we're having furnace problems in Seattle ?).

The  beach house is definitely warm. The heating system needs to be fine tuned;  but it feels good. The big news is that the recent storms  and high tides took the huge log that was just off our ramp away - without a trace!

the tide taking it away

Interesting that over the many months that it was out front, the roots just went away. Or were they scavenged by  our daughter?.....

In its wake is a wave of pebbles. They are piled so high that I can step from the beach to our yard. So Brendan, with any luck we won't have to put in stairs.      :)

Yesterday morning I heard the gulls screeching and looked outside. A hawk had landed on a big log out front. It had what looked like a black bootie on its talon. As it fled, I realized the black thing was a little critter. It happened so fast I couldn't take a picture.

Happy to report that the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone.

Turkey, gravy,  the last of Jeff's potatoes from the garden (sorry honey), and some yummy roasted veggies from the other night.

So delicious!

for the foodies in my life!

The outdoor faucet covers are on and we're settling in for the winter.



Maki's Big Adventure Part 2

Last weekend our friends the Coans came up for a visit  to the new house. It was great to see them and catch up after many months. After  a delicious bowl of  Tortilla Soup, we decided to take a walk.

The day was cloudy, calm and chilly; but it felt good to be walking on the beach. As evening approached we headed north. To our great surprise Maki followed right along. I've never see him on the beach, so this was an amazing sight.  He trotted right alongside, occasionally hopping up and walking along a neighbor's seawall

or a piece of driftwood.

Maki's journey took him as far as the last house in the picture, at which point we were forced to turn around because it was getting dark.

Undeterred by barking dogs or shreiking herons, this crazy cat headed home right at our heels.

And didn't budge the entire following day!

The Wonders of Winter Crabbing

Well, not quite winter.  Last week a window of opportunity opened.

A big storm was brewing to the west with high winds and a lot of rain forecast for the weekend. But on Wednesday the sea was calm, the weather mild and winds down. I rowed out into the bay and dropped our crab pots, fingers crossed.

The following day was even nicer, time to bring in the haul!

We got five big crab; two were enormous!

As I shared a few tasty bits with our cat, Maki, I realized that the meat was much sweeter than any crab we have previously gotten. Besides tasty bits, these five crab provided us with

Thursday dinner - crab fettucine

Friday lunch - crab salad

Saturday appetizer - crab and artichoke dip recipe:

Sunday breakfast - crab omelets

In addition to all that, I froze a  pound of crabmeat and half of the artichoke dip!

We put the pots away as the barometer continued to drop. By Friday the clouds had come over and the winds were building. The lights flickered as I sat watching Ellen and picking crab.

Our first storm together in the new house.

Coming Home

It's been quite a while since my last post, and much has happened. The trip to Spain was wonderful; and I have a few more posts in mind to complete the blog.

But it's good to be home!  We arrived at Camano last night after a pleasant few days getting over jet lag and connecting with our family and friends. But here we are, and it feels a little strange. All the summer folks are gone; some of the seasonal folks have flown south to warmer weather.  Now we'll see what the winter holds in store.

The good news? I looked out on the bay this morning to see a bunch of crab pots. Could it be?  Yes, crabbing season has been extended til December 31st.!!  Seven days a week, no less!! It's going to be a crabby Thanksgiving.

Musings on a rainy afternoon at the beach

It's amazing to think that we've been in the new house for two months and this is the first rainy day we've seen. The weather system rolled in around noon which just (barely ) gave us enough time to bring in the crab pots. The weekend's catch was  nine, which is great for this time of year. With an extreme devotion to duty, we set about picking it to freeze for some winter treats. At this point we've caught 80 crabs. Much is frozen and a lot has been shared with family and friends. Oh yes, Maki also loves crab!

Jeff just pointed out that the rain is doing a good job removing some of the bird droppings from our many large windows!  :)

I've taken a break from the blog,  focusing on personal matters; but I'm now back, and am thinking about a new direction for the posts, since the house is 99% complete.

 I'd love your ideas and suggestions.



The Hidden Benefits of a New Landscape

If you're an avid gardener like me, there's nothing finer than creating a new garden. We were lucky to find a terrific landscaper in Michael Ward. (Many thanks, Beeray!) This guy  has amazing vision and skill in laying the huge slabs of variegated bluestone. He and his sons engage in their work with a sense of cheerfulness that makes it a delight to just hang out with them. And his suggestions for plants have been interesting and beautiful. Last week he delivered a couple mature shore pines, one for the front of the house and one for the back.

These natives look right at home in their new digs!











We reluctantly put in a small patch of lawn in the front and along the side of the house. The seed has taken quickly and actually is ready to mow!

Which brings me to the  point of this post. Everyday, as I water and set plants in place, I meet my neighbors! It seems that not a day goes by that I don't meet another neighbor walking by. Most people stop to chat, and many have been very complimentary about the house. The other day, Gay, who lives across the street brought us a delicious coffee cake!  Our neighbor Beth is getting ready for a garage sale this weekend, and has given us some very nice things that she had planned to sell.  People are so very friendly here.



My beach buddies:



Dodie and Julie



Carolyn and Nancy



Maki's Camano Adventure

The weeks leading up to my surgery were a study in organized pandemonium. Trying to move enough things into the Camano house so that we could live in it during my recovery; and in Seattle, getting the garden beds weeded and mulched, and arranging our downstairs bedroom for the early days of recuperation......

Somehow I got it into my head that we should take Maki up to Camano to familiarize him with the new house, so that his transition would go smoothly.

For those of you who haven't met Maki, he's our gentle giant tiger cat who lived for a number of years in the shadow of Mr Kitty fame. Amy felt that we needed an outdoor cat to manage the rodent population in our backyard; so while we were in Mexico, she brought Maki home. His adjustment to our house was slow to say the least. He hid under Amy's bed for the first few months in the house until we figured out that he would come out of hiding if we just put his food in the kitchen. Slowly he became more and more comfortable in his new digs, finding innovative and cozy places to hang out.

kitchen chair is a fave

...not to mention the kitchen rocker!

Yes, we do let him hang out on the bed

hanging with Jazz

don't ask why he was sleeping on this chest!

The trip to Camano was uneventful except for a few pitiful meows

We packed him into his crate and headed off to Camano.  Upon entering the house he immediately went into hiding. After a few hours, I felt that it was time to let him outside with supervision. Again, he found a cozy spot in the garage and hunkered down while I unpacked boxes. Shortly after that, he was gone and I was sick.

The next day I contacted neighbors, the local shelter and vet to report Maki missing; our landscaper was asked to keep an eye out for him; and back to Seattle we headed. I felt so sad and stupid.  Two days later I returned to the scene of the crime, only to find out that he was still missing.

The next night was very stormy. As I lay in bed I had a difficult time  differentiating the wailing of the wind from the cry of a cat. Around 3AM though I heard a strange mewing sound. I ran downstairs and found nothing
at the street-side door. Was I dreaming? I turned on the lights to the beach-side porch and there on the stairs was Maki!

It didn't take very much encouragement to get him inside, where he headed straight to his bowl. The rest of the night was one of joyful noise, as I tried to sleep amid the cries of our newly returned adventurer.

The cat came home in the middle of the night,
I've never seen such a wonderful sight!

June 7th

A great day to hit the road!

I was getting a bit of cabin fever after my surgery on June 1. So I sweet-talked Jeff into driving me up to the beach for a quick 'hit' of goodness!  As we pulled up, we were amazed!  The hardscape and the big plants knocked our socks off!

 We ate our lunch taking in all the great work that has occurred here over the last many months.

Stewartia at the front door

future patio

The hardscaping is done and looks terrific!

Plants waiting for a home

Our next vegetable bed!

We're so anxious to make this home.

Planting time!

The final stage of the project is underway! As our contractor and his team work on the punch list, the landscaping is beginning to take shape. I am so impressed by the progress that Michael Ward and Sons have  made in less than a week.

They're using huge slabs of variegated bluestone for the walks. The stones will be dry laid with some nice ground cover in between them. I've picked out a few larger plants including a beautiful stewartia, one of my favorites. I'll be moving many plants form the garden here in Seattle to fill out the beds. Brendan has promised to help get them in while I'm out of commission.

Moving weekend Chapter Two

Sunday was the big move. Our dear, did I say DEAR, friends Tom and Kathryn showed up at our home ready to ferry a large load from Seattle to Camano. Their truck has a big bed so they got a ton of things in, and they   moved it with great  energy and good cheer!

After a quick bite, they helped us empty the storage locker.

We filled the Volvo, and their truck, stuffing the stationary bike into the back of the cab!

Kathryn is a dynamo, but even she had to take a break!

Moving Weekend, Chapter One

Friday was a delightfully beautiful day, as are most of the days I've managed to post on the blog. As a disclaimer for you non- northwesterners, the weather this year has been unseasonably cold and unreasonably wet, aka YUCK! 

So  having all those blue sky pictures on the blog was just a little planning and a lot of luck.

The cameras clicked and the videos  rolled as we had our celebratory glass of Prosecco and settled in to our new reality. It is so wonderful to be here, to see the radiant evening light in the kitchen and the glow of the interior lights at night.

The wind began to whip up in the evening, as we watched the birds soaring and gliding in the last light.

As we went to bed, the wail of the wind was astounding, so beautiful.

A Pictorial History of our Stairs

Our lovely old stairs during deconstruction

The insides of the old house



A ladder served as our first stairway



Early Stairs!



Mudded Stairs






 







Finished!