There is More to Life than Renovation

We have had a wonderful summer. The weather has been great ... much better than is normal for the Great Pacific North-Wet.

Since man (and woman) doesn't live by spending all time and money on their house (though they could); we had a few short, fun trips this year.

First, in May, we took the motorcycle over to Wenatchee. We were very tired and ended up spending our long weekend vegging-out. But it was fun. It did rain on the way home and traffic was terrible on I-90, but that's normal.

Then in August, we attended a family wedding (yes, an Elvis wedding) in Las Vegas. We saw 3 shows and enjoyed ourselves. I made 50 cents on my slot machine adventure. Hah Hah! It's a good thing I don't depend on gambling for my retirement!

Yes, you _can_ fit 2 bicycles in a Mini Cooper!

In September, we took a long weekend to Westport. We packed the folding bikes into the Mini and had a great time. Our hotel had a view of the ocean. We walked the beach, bicycled, and experienced "30 Miles of Junque"; a very large garage, yard sale spread over many sites in Westport, Grayland and Tokeland.

October had a long weekend to Montana to visit a friend. We were actually going to do that in September, but there were too many fires in the area, so we went west instead of east.

The moral of this story ... not by renovation alone does man live, but by small escapes to relax the brain!

"Good Fences Make Good Neighbors" - Robert Frost

I don't really know if that quote from Robert Frost is really true, but they can certainly improve your outlook.

If you looked closely at the picture of my garden-in-work from March, you'll see that there is a very noticeable drop from the edge of the garden (and the rest of that side of the yard) into the neighbor's yard. When we first brought the dogs here, my old guy fell over the "cliff" more than once. We put up a temporary wire and metal post fence along that side to keep him safe.

The view in that direction was a nagging discomfort. It wasn't just the ugly fence, but the feng shui was very bad ... all the energy running over the "cliff" and out of our house and yard.

We fixed it. It wasn't easy or cheap, but it's beautiful now and provides a delightful sense of enclosure and comfort. You'll notice the cool hog-wire top section. We'll be using some kind of hog-wire/wood fence around the garden, and at the front of the side yard. It'll tie in nicely with the rest of the fence. But those two pieces are still on the drawing board and waiting for budgeting.

But in the meantime, this beautiful fence will not only keep the dogs in, but makes my home happier.

Kitchen Changes!!!

Some great changes to the kitchen! A wood-wrapped window and tile, both! What more could a girl ask for?

You can see my new roses out the back window, if you squint! But there is a couple of roses in the vase, so you aren't entirely out of luck.

We decided to go a bit more modern with the tile. I really like it, and if it would have been available in 1961, they would have used it. The picture doesn't do justice to the glass coppery color tile. But it does work well with the brown GE stove top.

 Now if I could just get the one non-working burner fixed ...

There are options and it's possible it could be repaired, but working on tracking down parts and repairmen is time consuming. And I just haven't put time into it yet. Next year, maybe.