Finished Projects: Garage Doors

Ok Peeps,

Here are the before and after photos:

House Projects: Garage Painting

 My Dears!

I hope you’re having a great weekend. 

This blog has been fairly quiet as of late, mostly because we’ve been busy little beavers. Painting is hard work, peeps. 

We’re still working on the deck (and haven’t even started on the house!) but the main paint job on the garage is finished. 

Picture this with a fully grey deck, grey paint on that upper dormer (on the left) and black trim around the windows:

 It seems like we’ve been diligently working away for a very, very long time.

I’ll try to find some pictures of the original brown doors.  But first I need to take a shower and scrub off several layers of black paint. 

Randomly, can you see that black lump that is reflected in the nearest window? That would be my lazy, lazy dog. Bailey has the best life ever, for reals. 

xxoo, 

Sonja

Ben in a box

Amazon is branching out into the mail order baby business

NIMBY

I was over at my parent’s house the other day and noticed that there was some floating debris in the fish pond:

It turns out my dad was furiously protecting his grossly obese koi from an opportunistic osprey that was perched directly above the pond. My Papa likes osprey more than anybody I know but he didn’t take kindly to them poaching from his fish pool. 

I don’t blame him - We’ve had those particular koi for 15 years. Back in their younger days they were pretty cute: for a while I had them coming at the ringing of a bell. And then they became so food obsessed that they’d simply show up anytime someone was in the vicinity. And now? They’ll come up and bite fingers in the hopes that somehow they’ll end up with something edible. 

Predictably, they are enormously rotund. They are the walruses of the koi community.

That osprey would have been one lucky bird. 

Damn You Pinterest, I just can’t quit you

So...

Who is up for Thailand with me?!

Tropical warm water, towering karst outcroppings, a jungle teeming with exotic wildlife?

Yes please. 

A day in the life

When the kid is going crazy, taking flying leaps off the furniture and crashing into walls, reading will calm him down. If we're lucky.

My Day

Trying to master the art of the wily paint spray gun

In the Blog-O-Sphere

Peeps!

The Olympics are over. Boo. I loved watching swimming, diving, volleyball and track. My only complaint? I wish they might have shown a recap of some of the other sports during the primetime broadcast. Granted, not everyone finds rowing, sailing, and table tennis to be the most riveting of spectator sports... but a quick summary would have been appreciated.

That said, I SO WANT TO GO TO BRAZIL IN 2014. Then I could get my fill of rowing, sailing...but maybe we’ll skip the table tennis.

In other news:

Check out this cute, crabby pair of suspenders that Ben has been sporting recently. They’re made in Bothell (Washington) by my talented pal Marcilla of Suspended Recreation. They keep his sagging drawers up and are cute to boot! They would be the perfect accessory for a Christmas or Easter suit, too. Pair it with a bow tie and your baby would be tres chic.

My mom sent us this article on problems that are besetting the Alcan, the highway that links Alaska with the Continental United States. Chris and I drove it back in 2003 - it was a fabulous, bumpy trip.

The kiddo is currently testing out some baby headphones. We decided to buy this particular brand because it has a volume limiter that is built into the headset. We’ll report back on how he adapts to them.

Check out these sandals from Sseko. They are made by women in Uganda and can be tied and styled in a myriad of ways. Read the story of the company here. I love my cheapo flippy floppies but I’m constantly tripping, stumbling, and generally cursing their loosy-goosy fit. I’ve yet to find a pair of sandals that looks good and can travel some serious miles, yet are easy on my high-arch, narrow feet.

I am absolutely convinced the fine folks that inhabit this abode do not have children. Also? It’s my dad’s worst nightmare. He hates the color white. With a vengeance.

Ben has his first kiddie crush: he is obsessed with airplanes. Upon hear that telltale engine roar, he drops everything and looks skyward. Since we live relatively close to the incoming flight path for SeaTac and have a great view of the sea planes taking off on the lake, Ben is getting a lot of aeroplane-watching under his belt. If you take off in the next few weeks, know that there is a little boy in Matthews Beach that is wildly waving up at you.

xxoo,

Sonja

San Juan Weekend

Peeps, 

Two weekends ago my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law arrived in town and we bundled our stuff into the car and left Seattle behind. 

It was time for a girl’s weekend. No boy, no babies. Lots of food, wine, and sun bathing. 

We took the ferry from Anacortes to San Juan Island. We tucked ourselves into a company cabin at Roche Harbor Resort and went in search of the pool. 

Katherine, Alex, Megan, and Me

The harbor in the evening. 

Trying to take a decent self-portrait:

My favorite activity from the weekend was the afternoon that we rented kayaks and paddleboards. Here are Megan and Cherie rockin’ the kayak:

I’ll admit, I was not too eager to join the Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) craze but at the urging of both Alex and Katherine, we gave ‘em a go. 

It was so much fun.

The boards are moderately stable and the paddling technique was easy to learn. I usually struggle with Kayaks because my upper body strength isn’t that great but the SUP strock requires more of a full-body motion.

Miracle of miracles, no body fell in!

Katherine:

Alex:

 We stayed mostly at the resort but also spent a bit of time hiking, eating, and cruising around Friday Harbor.

We had time for a little wine tasting:

And my own personal version of heaven:

 We also looked for whales at Lime Kiln State Park but had to settle for this harbor seal that was in the midst of consuming an octopus. Sashimi for lunch, evidently. 

The only bummer about taking the ferry to the San Juans is that it gets crazy-busy on Sunday afternoon. Thanks to an out-of-commission vessle, we had a seven (!) hour wait in Friday Harbor. 

But that did not diminish my anticipation for next year’s get-together in the slightest. Bring it, Team J.

xxoo, 

Sonja

Photo credits: Sonja and CJ

Papa

Sometimes, when I look at old pictures of people when they were young[er], I find it very difficult to see the resemblance. 

I don’t have that problem with my dad. His 13 year-old self looks extraordinarily similar to his 60-something year-old self. Minus the dark brown hair, of course.

Add to the fact that he still spends a good chunk of time behind the tiller of a boat only makes the resemblance stronger. 

Looking sharp, Daddy. 

xxoo, 

Sonja

Remlinger Farms - Carnation, Washington

Peeps, 

A few months ago we bought a groupon to Remlinger Farms out in Carnation. We zipped over there this morning with a few buddies. It’s been a long while since my last farm visit (probably 15+ years) and I was a bit surprised to see that the family farm of old is now tricked out with fancy rides and a giant store. Ye old pumpkin patch, it ain’t. 

But that was a-ok.

Ben got a chance to ride in a canoe:

And do a bit of school bus driving. 

He also climbed on this cow:

and got bit by this goose:

Roast goose for dinner? Yes, why thank you.

We played hobo and rode the rails:

Side note: The last time I rode on this train, as a junior high student, one of the mom chaperones had her water break in a very dramatic (woosh!!) manner. That moment (and the train ride) will forever be etched clearly in my memory. 

In other news:

I would love to have a photo shoot with our family that looks like this. 

I think this house has a very ‘pacific northwest feel’ to it. I like the clean lines and gorgeous views. 

Having a baby? What to buy (and what to skip). 

xxoo, 

Sonja

In the Blog-O-Sphere

Peeps,

This is going to be a quick post because life is pretty hectic right now. We are trying to hunker down and weather the storm.

Ben has been particularly cranky these last few days and I realized today that might be due to the fact that he’s got two new teeth that are about to pop through. Yowza. I’d be in a tizzy too.


We are currently harvesting sunflowers, blueberries, lettuce, carrots, and beets from the garden.

Strawberries, raspberries, and peas are pretty much dunzo.

I think next year I’ll beef up the strawberry patch and skip the peas.
They take up too much space and I discovered that I don’t care for peas as much as I thought.

Live and learn.


On a completely different note, how funny are these game faces of Olympic athletes?

We just got back from a weekend on San Juan Island. We were disappointed to learn that the local pod of orcas was also vacationing - up in Canada. I read today that ‘out on maternity leave’ would have been a better descriptor.

xxoo,

Sonja

House Projects: Doors

Here is a quick mash-up of the finished doors:

House Projects: Doors

 Peeps, 

Here is a quick door recap.

Here is what we started with:

The front door. It was a great door with lots of character but it didn't allow any light to enter into the living room, which made for a dark interior. Plus it was old, heavy, and as our door guys said: "would have been a cinch to force open". Time for a replacement. 

This is the old metal dining room door. It wasn't anything special. 

Watching them remove the slider was a hoot:

Here was the finished product:

And our new front door:

 From the inside:

 This weekend we finally got around to sealing and painting the trim around both doors. It makes a huge difference. 

And the front:

Here is the welcoming committee:

This is his happy face. 

xxoo, 

Sonja