Already! a homeowner disaster.

Thursday, August 5th

(NOTE! If you are new to this blog please see it from the beginning at: http://offtowhidbey.blogspot.com. When you get to the bottom, click on "older posts" which are really newer posts.............don't ask why they're that way; just do it!)

Well, we've been here a week today. POD arrived yesterday, and Dave's almost emptied everything into the garage. It was supposed to be here Monday, but we (and I guess the POD people!) learned they pick up and deliver to Whidbey Island only on Wednesdays despite the fact they told us otherwise.

Our first homeowner disaster began, unbeknownst to us, about two days after we moved in I guess it was. The POD hadn't arrived so we had a paucity of dishes, one cup, one fork, one spoon, and so on, but we wanted to try out our SUPER QUIET dish washer, so put what we had in it, and let it run (and run and run and run and run.......the "short" wash is over an hour despite the fact it's an "energy saver".)

The dishwasher was sooooooo quiet; made NO noise at all; we were amazed. It was late, so we went to bed and let it finish itself. I got up in the morning expecting to see sparkling dishes; instead they were still dirty but VERY hot! After much pondering, we finally figured out the water to the washer hadn't been turned on; that's why it was so quiet! duh. Right, duh! So, Dave crawled under the sink, turned it on, and we ran another load which turned into a few clean, shiny dishes.

Later I noticed a puddle of water by the dishwasher; I thought I must have spilled water doing something at the sink. The next day (Tuesday I think) I noticed ANOTHER puddle of water, and told Dave about it. Yes, the dishwasher was leaking. We called the (not to be called handyman) handyman who discovered the dishwasher hadn't been correctly connected so while it was running water leaked under our hardwood kitchen/dining room floor which, as a result, began to buckle. The plumber came out yesterday (Weds. or was it this morning; days run into each other) and fixed the dishwasher/water connection, but in the meantime the floor buckled more which meant water was spreading; today it was alarming. We had the not-handyman call the guy who put in the floor to come look at it; he said, probably it wasn't so damaged that everything would have to be pulled up, rather we have to keep this noisy fan on (this is a movie!)

all day every day until the wood dries, most likely for 3 weeks. Not only is the water buckling the floor, the pressure from the wood is also splitting the cabinets at the floor level as you can see here).

When the floor is dry, it will be sanded and refinished which should take about 3 days. What a _)(&)(*$_)(*ing hassle. While they do the sanding/refinishing, we'll take a trip to "the city", go to Ikea and get lots of things we "need", make a trip to Trader Joe's, and get away from the toxins and all the mess.

So, the upshot of all this is we won't truly be moved in for another month! What a bother.

Everything is just about out of the POD and into the garage, but we really don't want to move anything else in....maybe some things upstairs...until the floor is finished.

To compensate, the builder said he'd build steps for us in the garden. As things stand, I have to shlep everything from the back to the front or vice versa by going around 2 houses on 1 side, 1 house on the other side. Steps between our house and our neighbor's house would make gardening MUCH easier.

This is where we'd like the steps......between the two houses.....this view is from the back yard to the front.

So that's it for week one as homeowners. Oh, we did take a nice walk Tuesday evening down to the tiny tiny independent Clyde Theater in town where Micmacs (director Jean-Pierre Jeunet—most noted for Amélie—) was running. What fun; everyone there was as old as we are ;+}..........seniors $4; popcorn from $1 to $3 a bag!

Hope you're all well. Stay tuned for the ongoing saga of the new house and new home owners on the island...........disasters notwithstanding, we remain smitten.

Di & Dave too

No Turnin Back (without even more grief!)

NOTE! If you are new to this blog please see it from the beginning at: http://offtowhidbey.blogspot.com. When you get to the bottom, click on "older posts" which are really newer posts.............don't ask why they're that way; just do it!)

Wednesday, August 11

We have a Washington State License plate! I guess that makes us Washingtonians now. Neither of us has ever had anything but a CA plate; strange and somewhat cosmopolitan for the likes of us!

Obtaining a driver's license and vehicle license are separate functions here. Vehicles are licensed at a vehicle licensing office. Dave drove about 20 miles to Coupeville yesterday, showed the woman our pink slip, paid the money for the license, and voila she gave him a plate right then and there! No waiting. Amazing. We'll get our driver's licenses tomorrow at the Washington State Office of Licensing in Oak Harbor, the big city on the Island, about 35 miles north. That office sounds much more like the CA DMV—they suggest you make an appointment so as not to have to wait, but we hear it's a thousand times better than going "off island".

After a week of Dave's deconstruction, The POD is FINALLY empty AND

OUT OF OUR LIVES not a minute too soon. PODzilla came today and picked her up.

Things are coming together slowly slowly slowly. So much nicer to unpack without a deadline I have to say.

Our garage, however, is VERY FULL, and probably will be for some time.

I used our BRAND NEW, never been used oven for the first time—baked gloriously beautiful, organic, grown on the island golden beets—

and used my little bug timer, Judith.

Funniest thing happened last Sunday. We were eating breakfast (latkes; Dave's favorite) in a tiny cafe at a place called Greenbank Farm (http://www.greenbankfarm.com/) Of course I was knitting, and had all my paraphernalia in my "East Bay Knitters" bag. The the woman next to me said, "where's East Bay?" and I told her in Northern California. "Oh, she said, we're from Berkeley." I told her my background—knitting group, CAL, etc.—turns out her husband got a Phd from Cal in Public Health and knew a lot of people I did when I was there. Small World.

So, that's about it for the big move. I'll update now and then (just like a holiday card!) to let you all know how things progress.....all our firsts.......winter rain, snow, wind storms, etc. Today's wether is stunningly beautiful. I'm off to the recycling center, will unpack a few more things, and then go to my first knitting group tonight. I'm always nervous about new knitters. As many of you know, I like to pick my own ;+}

Hope all is well in CA.

Di ---------& Dave too

Later: Knitting group was fabulous. Everyone ooed and ahhed over my (steeked) harlequin sweater (how could I NOT like them!), wanted to know what I was working on, showed me all their projects; typical knitting stuff. Knitters are the best! They meet weekly, (http://www.knittypurls.com/) and told me I'll love the group in winter—warm and snugly. YAY!

Below some photos I took on our walk from home to town where the knitting group was. We had dinner out first, then Dave went to the beautiful Langley Public Library (overlooks the Sound) while I knit..........what a way to spend retirement! (again, remind me of this in the cold of winter.)

As we settle in..........

Note: The above date on this post is not accurate; mine are. Putting them in this order was the only way I could make them go from first to last.......

If you're new to this blog, see it from the beginning at:

http://offtowhidbey.blogspot.com/. When you get to the bottom, click on "older posts" which, in truth are the newer ones......trust me!

Wednesday, August 18th

Well, first off, several people have asked about the kitchen floor. It's pretty much dry now, but the buckles are still there, so we'll have it redone, probably next week, and, yes, paid by the builder! This will take at least 3 days so we'll go away during the fixing. Good friend Kay who also lives on the island suggested "The Loop". Just looked it up on Goggle; it does seem absolutely beautiful: http://www.cascadeloop.com/index.php, and of course now, during the summer, is a good time to explore. We'll also do some "off island" shopping hitting Costco, Ikea and Trader Joe's of course.

Things are still a big mess in the house and garage, but we're getting there. Dave has begun to put the Ikea furniture back together! Today he finished two book cases, got the sofa and other things up to the main floor, so the "living area"

is now habitable. If we can withstand this move, with, what seems to be, endless visits to Home Depot, winter will be nothing.

Of course, first things first. Our HUGE TV, which no longer seems so huge in this house! is up so we can watch JON STEWART again. YAY!

A woman came by today to show us "window treatments"........ (can you believe we're into window treatments for God's sake!). We're looking at top-down/bottom-up shades which I have to say are REALLY nifty. You can run around the house in anything (or nothing ;+}) and still see outside with people seeing only your head! TERRIFIC concept. (http://www.hunterdouglas.com/product-option.jsp?id=36). Later: Window bid came in $2K over what the mother of all drives budgeted for us! Stay tuned to see what we'll do with this...........go with Costco for the same thing or pare down. I suspect the latter. It's nice having a "personal" consultant on something we know nothing about, and buying locally on all this rather than at a big box outlet.

Now to our very zen-like doorbell. Every year Coupeville, up the road, hosts an Arts & Crafts fair; lots of fun (http://www.coupevilleartsandcraftsfestival.org/). We bought a beautiful sculpted glass wind chime last weekend to serve as our doorbell (or wind chime or whatever it wants to be). Turn up your audio all the way, and you can see/hear it here. None of that incessant nerve wracking tinkle tinkle tinkle of most wind chimes (to me anyway; I know and appreciate that MANY people find them delightful), just a lovely, sort of serene, Buddhist-like call to meditation gong (not to mention the fact it has very Martha Stewart-like colors that match the house!).

We've been working in/on the garden too. The homes in our little pocket neighborhood are very close together, so, privacy comes from (in addition to the "window treatments") foliage surrounding houses. This is a photo of the space, about 25', between us and our neighbor to the right who, if she wants to, as things now stand, can read the label on our toilet paper.

So, we're considering planting one of two trees in this space, on the left, soon: maybe a Paperbark Maple

a Japanese Maple, or another one, the name of which I don't remember. Will take a photo and post later.

I cooked wholesome REAL food for the first time the other night in this magnificent kitchen which, as someone pointed out is almost the size of one of our former cottages in Pacific Grove. What luxury. Made a ratatouille (sans eggplant) from fresh, right off the vine, organic vegetables from the garden of our neighbor's kids. What fun!

Oh, and I'm seriously thinking of taking up the marimba..........SERIOUSLY! There's an island group that holds classes—http://www.rubatano.com/index.htm—http://www.rubatano.com/html/about_us.html—I watched them at the Farmer's Market last Saturday. Now and then, individuals (two in this video) from Zimbabwe, come to the Langley group to teach...........watch it; it's joy full! (same kind of "vibe" as a DEAD show for all my DEADHEAD friends).

Oh, one more thing; I had THE BEST pedicure ever on my hopeless feet today at: http://www.islandgirlnails.com/

Hope all is well with everyone.

Di................. & Dave too

Thursday, August 19th

The Island County Fair, (http://www.islandcountyfair.com/documents/48.html) which is a hop, skip and a jump from our house, opened today, the good old fashioned kind with pigs and cows, country music, and 4H.

I also saw more window treatment samples from the window treatment lady. Less expensive than the last samples, so we'll see. We're also getting those NIFTY screen doors that roll into a canister kind of thing where you can't see them when they're not in use. (http://www.wizardindustries.com/video.html) I had no idea any of this stuff existed until now.

See ya'll next week.

Much love.

Well, let's see, where are we now..........

Note: The dates on these posts are not accurate. Putting them in this order was the only way I could make them go from first to last.......If you're new to the blog start at: http://offtowhidbey.blogspot.com/ ; when you get to the end, click on "older posts" which really are newer ones.......trust me! dd

Sunday, August 29th

Gee, it's been 10 days since I posted, and I'm not sure where to begin in the chronology of events, so, I'll just go by events themselves and not their dates, all of which have happened since August 9th.

Bamboo in our Yard

Last weekend we took a trip to "Island Bamboo" in a secluded part of the island, down Frog Water Road which was one reason we liked the place—that it was at the VERY END of a road named Frog Water! Here's a video of the drive down.

Our thought was

to plant something between our house and the house next door that would be fence-like but warm and pleasant, something that would grow fast and keep its leaves during winter. Someone suggested bamboo; we were leery because of bamboo's horrible reputation

for spreading uncontrollably, but, we thought we'd take a look at I think the only bamboo nursery on the island. We learned, during our tour from the fellow who grows bamboo as a hobby—normally he's director of Bayview Alternative School in Langley (for fellow San Diegians, a school similar to Muir) http://www.sw.wednet.edu/1978207239429197/site/default.asp, but bamboo is a sideline, one he seems very passionate about—that non-invasive bamboo clumps; the bad stuff spreads like bad crab grass. You can find some facts about bamboo on this site (not the one on Whidbey) if you're interested: http://www.myislandbamboo.com/pb/wp_104fe6a1/wp_104fe6a1.html

You can see here, a photo of some lovely, "good" clumping bamboo. When we finally get the plants I'll put photos of them here on the blog. This is an absolutely beautiful, but "bad" rhyzome plant.

Update on the kitchen floor!

Well, I guess it's dry because the re-finishers are coming in tomorrow to tape off the kitchen so dust from sanding the floors won't get into cabinets, other rooms, etc. They'll actually do the sanding on Tuesday which shouldn't take but a few hours. The coat(s) of lacquer they seal it with, after, however, will take days to dry; so, we'll been driven out of the house for three nights while it does. We've decided to make the most of it and take a small trip through the San Juan Islands to Friday Harbor. You can see a description of the tour here: http://www.sanjuansafaris.com/gettinghere.html. Accommodations in Anacortes and Friday Harbor are expensive, so we'll stay in nearby Burlington, drive the car to Anacortes and walk on the ferry ($13.50 for both of us) as opposed to driving on ($52). The leisurely trip will take an hour + through the islands to Friday Harbor. We'll return that evening. Should be nice. Photos of that adventure will follow too. You can see a (professionally produced) video of our proposed route here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d4A1l3Ddo4&feature=player_embedded#!

We went to the fair last weekend. Usual local 4H stuff, junk food, rides, etc.; it was nice and so local!

The fairgrounds are maybe 4 blocks from where we live. Rabbits are EVERYWHERE on the island, but the rabbits running around close to the fairgrounds are a particularly beautiful champange color; legend has it they're escaped prize winners from the fair one year.

The Saga of the window Treatments

I won't say much here because our window treatments have been probably the most stressful issue since we've moved. Long story short, the installers came to the house last week and measured all the windows. We then went to Home Depot (yet again and for THREE HOURS!) in Oak Harbor at the top of the island, and ordered them all. They'll probably be installed the week after this upcoming one. I'll post some photos when they're in.

Other Things

Much of the Ikea furniture is now reconstructed—if I didn't mention it before, Dave took it all apart in PG so it would fit into the POD, and is now putting it back together............oy—most is where it's going now. I finally have a place for my underwear! We took a trip to Ikea last week and got TONS o' stuff for every purpose.......and will go once more to get a sofa bed. My women friends from San Diego will visit late September. Two of them will stay with us the first night they're here; I HOPE everything will be not so crazy chaotic by the time they arrive! All seven of us will stay at the Jenne Farm together on the island. See: http://jennefarm.homestead.com/

Couple of more things, and then it's time for bed and preparation tomorrow for the big kitchen floor sand down!

Everywhere on the island during spring/summer folks with these amazingly beautiful gardens sell flowers along roadsides. Here's a photo.

A treasure I found the other day that NO ONE had thus far mentioned to us as a great place to eat is a tiny cafe—Cafe in the Woods—run by Mukilteo Coffee Company.

http://www.mukilteocoffee.com/cafe.html What a treasure, one I know, will be a RE treat for moi at least once a week.

At the Farmer's Market I go to most Saturdays (until the end of September ;+( ) one sees an amazing assortment of dogs. Seems to me everyone who has a dog brings it to the market. Last week one particularly caught everyone's eye. The owner, a groomer, brought it to advertise her work. I had NEVER seen a dog with dreadlocks, let alone beads! It's a standard poodle (Rach!), and the grooming, she said, takes about 18 hours a month. She'll do yours for a price!

Finally, some random photos of billowing clouds over the island............

a photo of the largest squash plant I have seen in my life!

and, oh, how could I forget our worm factory! The worms make "tea" for the garden from kitchen garbage, newspapers, other scraps. We're told it's excellent fertilizer....... maybe that's what's on the squash plant......Here's a video of how it works.....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VR1bE5Z6y0&feature=player_embedded#!

Bye for now. More later...

Di & Dave too

Wood Floor Restoration Vacation

Note: The dates on these posts are not accurate. Putting them in this order was the only way I could make them go from first to last. If you're new and would like to begin at the beginning, see: http://offtowhidbey.blogspot.com/. Also, when you get to the bottom click "older posts" which are really newer ones. .......dd

If you've been reading the blog all along, you remember, our wood floor that spans the dining area and kitchen was ruined by one of the developer's contracting people who forgot to hook up a hose to the dishwasher (details in former blog at: http://offtowhidbey.blogspot.com/2010/08/already-homeowner-disaster.html). We had to wait three weeks for the floor to dry before it could be fixed. That day arrived Tuesday, August 31st. Fixers came early morning to begin work........above photo of paper covering everything but kitchen and dining area so as not to spread sawdust everywhere else. (By the way most photos can be clicked on to enlarge.)

With no definite plans, and in such a rush that I forgot my laptop........eeeeeeek...........we set out in early morning rain that continued all day which made for great shopping :+}

Stopped in Oak Harbor to look at furniture, and headed toward Burlington east of Langley where, like CA, big box stores abound. We hadn't set foot in a Costco for weeks so that was our main goal; boy did we have fun over-consuming in the good ole patriotic American way. Grace (aka "the mother of all drives") would have been thrilled!

Stocked up on some winter clothes, and looked at typical Washington necessities shown here:

Stayed a second night at the same hotel in Burlington, because the room was way less expensive that those in Friday Harbor (rooms begin at $200 +) where we were headed.

Trip to San Juan Island

Left the hotel early Wednesday morning, and caught the 9 AM ferry to San Juan Island where Friday Harbor is located. The ferry ride through the San Juan Islands takes about an hour and 1/2; on our bright, sunny Wednesday it was one of the most beautiful we've ever taken. Here's a movie on our way.

We rented a car in Friday Harbor and drove around the island which is the most populated of all the San Juans. This video, shows most of what we saw: http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=kBQP8M09Lr0&feature=related , and here are some of our own photos: We stopped 1/2 way around the island and had lunch at Roche Harbor, once home to a productive lime industry, and now primarily a tourist attraction and harbor for some beautiful and VERY pricey yachts. While we ate lunch this swan swam by in SALT water which surprised us. Swans in salt water? The waitress told us she sees an entire flock now and then.

Driving on a bit we came to the island's famous Krystal Acres Alpaca farm. These critters have to be one of the cutest in the world, and their fleece every bit as soft as cashmere. The hat I'm wearing in the movie here, I bought in the store; couldn't resist. These guys actually lie down on their sides to rest!

Thursday was another big shopping day. We headed for Ikea, and along the way found a Miele vacuum store where we bought this little beauty. I've never had so much fun vacuuming. Its tiny, sleek body belies its power. Amazing little machine.

We bought a new sleeper sofa (comes tomorrow) at Ikea

for all of you who will visit next summer (or now if you enjoy cold weather which is slowly creeping upon us) and I got the little red love at first sight desk I wanted since I first saw it.

Looking to avoid Seattle (we'll come visit soon, Aaron!) traffic we drove a bit south and caught Hwy 16 north toward Port Townsend. Due to (re) construction of the Tacoma Narrows bridge (it was newly built and collapsed in 1940 just after completion! See the video;

it's terrifying http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-zczJXSxnw) we ran into traffic anyway, every bit as bad as LA. Gave me time on the iPhone to look for places to spend Thursday night though, and boy did I find one!

No Cabbages

No Cabbages, a B&B with 3 available bedrooms, is located deep in the woods of Gig Harbor. (http://nocabbages.com/bandb.html) If you're ever in Pacific Northwest and love magic woods, this is it! A serendipitous find for us (long story; I really think it found us!) we oooed and ahhhhd at the remarkable creations the owners have placed in every nook and cranny inside and out. You can see professional photos on their WEB site above, but here are some we took of our favorites.

The house itself.

Harley, the sweet sweet golden lab who will chase this ball until you stop throwing it.

Morning sunlight filtered through the trees, and, from a distance, the

labyrinth to walk and close up with instructions at the beginning to surrender..........

surprises along the way.

and at the end, gratitude.......

with a shrine of sorts where those who walk the entire labyrinth can leave a token. I had nothing in my pockets so found a leaf which you can see in the middle of the photo.

What a fun diversion. Oh, and the breakfast part of B&B was

FABULOUS.......fruit covered with custard, popovers, and a spinach/fetta omelette plus good conversation with hostess Jaimee.

Our next adventure is The Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival this upcoming weekend (http://www.woodenboat.org/festival/); Dave obviously looks forward it, and so do I really. I'm going primarily to see the beautiful wooden boats, hear the "guru" of small boat building Sam Devlin who designed the "stitch and glue" boat Dave built (http://www.devlinboat.com/) and especially to hear Larry Cheek's talk on Imperfectionism & the Wooden Boat based on his book "The Year of the Boat" which I'm now reading. It's terrific; MUCH like the 1960s classic Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance......... philosophical treatise on patience through craft..........and Cheek is a Langley neighbor somewhere!

We continue to unpack a few boxes a day, plant a few more shrubs in the garden now and then, and make the house a little more a home; it's a very slow process, though. Everything comes together a little more each day.

That's it for now. Hope you all are well. Will blog next week after the festival if it's warranted, and I feel up to it.

OH, and I start marimba lessons on the 22nd. Can't wait! http://www.rubatano.com/index.htm

Di........& Dave too