Greeting a Winter Sunrise

The sun creeps over the hills to the east of my writing/hobby room just after 7 a.m. these days.  I delight in beating dawn to this room and eagerly push open the curtains to await its/her/his arrival (depending upon your preference.)  Most days I am successful in escaping from the lovely dreams swirling through my sleep to achieve this pleasure.

On a clear, cold, winter day occasionally the sky is almost cloudless.  It is then that you can see all of the way to purple foothills to the northeast, and to Mount Baker's hiding spot beyond them.

In just four minutes, the palette of colors spread across the sky changes.  It is only by rising early and watching diligently for the briefest of times that I can savor the changing glory of a new day rising to greet this spot of earth I call home.  Ever inspiring, this is what makes living here so completely awesome.

Organization - Ikea Kitchen Cabinet

Ikea makes a six drawer cabinet that fits easily under a counter.  This is a "must-have" for our kitchen with its current drawer challenged configuration.  But anyone who has ever shopped at Ikea knows that such products always come "ready for assembly" in very large boxes and in a multitude of pieces.

Thus we begin, and after several hours with significant supervision by Snoopy, the end product is within sight.

I love white kitchens.  These drawers with their shiny white finish are superb.  The drawers glide in and out effortlessly.  I'm in heaven.  Jim's happy.  And Snoopy...well he's just busy being Snoopy!

Baby steps in settling into this house are yielding mountains of satisfaction.

 

My Love Affair with Animals

Ok, so I am a sucker for animals.

All sizes, all shapes, all varieties attract me.

This is a lifelong love affair.

From chickadees to crows, cats to dogs, or squirrels to rabbits, whatever crosses my path (or my yard) instantly grabs my attention.

I have taken hundreds of photos of them.

Probably I will take hundreds more in this lifetime.

Anyone who follows my blog, knows this about me.

For me, and for you, here is the latest of one of my newest subjects:

Peter Rabbit of my new yard…

Shed Takes Shape

In the process of settling into our new home, we’ve focused on one of our priority tasks to accomplish—the repair of our outdoor storage shed with its workbench for tools.  With tons of potential remodeling to be done inside the house, the workbench will be well utilized as soon as completion of the walls makes it accessible.

New pink insulation and wallboard are in place, the messy job of "mudding the wallboard" and finally the painting have all been completed at this point in the shed.  My brother, Bill, and Jim have been at this project for days.

Now complete, and after we assemble some more shelves the organization of numerous plastic boxes we’ve packed and moved here containing those “must-haves” that never seem to go away but are rarely used can begin.  Add to those the once-per-year accessed items—mostly Christmas decorations that I swore I’d downsize before moving (but never managed to) and—well, you get the picture.  Maybe this year after the holidays that will happen…

While the guys have been wrapped up in the shed repairs, I have pressed on with painting the kitchen cabinets.  After lots of scrubbing and multiple coats of paint, what was a dark, brown kitchen is evolving into a clean, crisp, white motif with a faux brick backsplash that is shaping up really quite nicely.  The now white enamel painted shelves inside the cabinets look great and I’m ready to put away my collection of kitchen gadgets and dishes.  As any aspiring cook knows:  you can never have enough cooking toys, or the space to stash them!  That’s why I am not allowed to go into a kitchen store!

While I loved the RV life, having a full size kitchen again is delightful.  Becoming “officially retired” means the next step is buying a copy of Julia Child’s cookbook, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” with the goal of working my way through every page (like in the movie.)  Can you see the smile on my face in your imagination?

Tulip Tree

Speaking of tulips... we have a tulip tree in our yard.  The tulip tree is a member of the magnolia family of trees and its blooms resemble the shape of a tulip.  The blooms greet spring before the tree's leaves sprout.

Each day something new blooms in our yard and I am amazed at the variety of plants someone nurtured here. Though the yard has been neglected for months following the relocation of the previous owner to a nursing home, the potential of the yard speaks volumes.

I can hardly wait to move from remodeling and painting into gardening.  Memories return of the joy of what seasons can offer in variety and color gleaned from a palette of barren earth.









I relish the potential of what the yard surrounding our new home will yield with each coming season, and with each new year, as I coax this ground back to its glory.


This is what satisfaction is grown from-the toil of one's hands amid the miracle of nature.  I remember, and my soul rejoices.

Cherry Blossoms, Daffodils and Snow Geese

Cherry blossoms, daffodils and snow geese drew us out for a drive today and we were met with success in our quest for all three.

Our drive included a stop at Roozengaarde located halfway between Mount Vernon and La Conner, WA.  This daffodil and tulip grower specializes in producing flower bulbs for export to Holland.  The blooms are merely a glorious side product the rest of us get to enjoy.  Of course the bulbs are available to us as well should we choose to add a few to our gardens.  Definitely planning on making a selection this fall for our yard.

Enjoyment of the blooming fields has grown from what was at first merely a local following to a festival that attracts thousands of tourists from worldwide locations.  Today's journey is well ahead of the festival and we were rewarded with no traffic to battle.  For a mere $2.50 I acquired a half-dozen daffodil buds to enjoy at home in a vase-the first Snoopy will have ever seen!

The snow geese are here in full force with their young already grown to almost the size of the adults.  Their brown feathers are the only cue that gives them away.  These beautiful birds migrate to the valley to spend the winter in the tulip fields.  The farmers welcome them with grain; the geese leave a thank you with their very own form of fertilizer-everyone is happy!  

Perfectionism and Remodeling

My brother, Jim and I come by it genetically... the desire to do everything perfectly.  No matter the job, if it bears doing, it means doing it right.  One of the advantages of acquiring a vintage home is the opportunity to test these genetic skills over and over again.

We haven't moved in yet, but already Bill and Jim have begun the task of remodeling the storage building attached to our newly purchased home.  Initially it requires stripping down moldy wall board caused by a leaky roof and then pulling out the old insulation.  After drying out the studs and the now exposed exterior walls, the process of replacing what's been torn out will begin.  The roof is repaired. I'm banned from this room until the drying out process is complete to avoid a full blown asthma attack.

In the meantime, I am working on the kitchen cabinets.  While Bill spray paints the cabinet doors, I am painting the interior of the cabinets and the trim.  All are going from a dark brown faux wood color to bright white.  The result is miraculous.  My brother's work is impeccable.  Moving back here to within a short driving distance from him is priceless.  My heart sings with happiness.