yard sale...

come one come all...

yep you guessed it... JD and i are having a yard sale along with these beautiful ladies.

so if you are seattle email me and i will send you my address - stop by, say hi!

mornings... crazy mornings

i don't know about you but there is always something happening in the mornings  (or the night before) that make things crazy every AM.  take this morning for example;  ginkgo woke me up at 6 because he, and his chubby belly, were hungry... so i fed the cats and let the dogs out quickly - then we all tried to catch a few more minutes of sleep.  i know at this point i really should just stay up but i don't (my fault).

then it's a rush, feed the dogs, jump in the shower.  i then do my hair and put on makeup while JD puts my tea water on and works on packing lunches and something for breakfast.  during this routine rush we find that rainier had taken my shoe somewhere to stash and lay on at a later point in the day.  as i scramble around looking for my shoe, JD realizes that ginkgo peed in the house during the evening so he begins cleaning that...  now i look for the cat and my shoe.

JD then goes to make sure the litter boxes are clean (like that matters to ginkgo) and bamboo is crying at the front door he went out too early and didn't eat b-fast now he is hungry... i let him in.  i find my shoe and the ginkgo, whom i quickly put out the back door before JD see's him.  as JD takes out he kitty litter... Bamboo has eaten too quickly and is now throwing up in the hallway... i pick him up an put him off of the carpet and on an easily wiped surface.  the dogs know the sound and come charging to (yuck) get to the regurgitated food.

i hold the dogs at bay and JD grabs a paper towel... at some point we both are finally dressed, have our food packed, caffeine in hand, animals in their respective locations and are able to head off to work.

now i know that some of this ciaos is my fault - like i could pack lunch and b-fasts ahead of time but our nights are crazy as well.  ahhh and we don't even have kids yet.  i can't even imagine throwing that into the mix.

anyone have some good suggestions on how they get out of the house quickly and without altercations?  those types of mornings don't exist in my world.

bakers big day

Baker went for his boy surgery (neuter) on tuesday.

so we have had our hands full for the past few days.  he doesn't like the word neuter... it makes him cringe so we have been touting it as his big day! bake did really well with his surgery... except that his pre-op drugs made him sick and he had to get a doggie IV for more fluids.

i picked him up tuesday evening and all he wanted to do is be held - so that is exactly what we did.  bake and i spent the evening on the couch me holding him, trying to keep him comfortable.  not that he complained much, mind you. so we just snuggled on the couch and when it was time for bed the cone came off and he slept by my side... my puppy baby.

(seriously how could you resist that puppy face?  i mean really?)

not the best photo - i know.. but rainier has been so sweet and gentle with him since he has come home - lots of puppy kisses.

and don't worry about rainier - she is getting away with a lot more than usual as well... see her new bed (aka my couch) as she bask in the morning sun.

p.s. our vet tech told me that we were lucky to get bake back... i guess several of the staff were planning plots of puppy-knapp!  he is now microchipped so don't even think about it! ha.

Out and About - Sailing through the locks

JD and i got a chance to go sailing last week and we took it!

the chance doesn't' come along very often and when it does you better jump on it... because Seattle from the water is just so beautiful.  after work last thursday night my boss took a boat load (literary) of us o n a trip from portage bay, through the locks in ballard, out into the sound.  i thought i would share some of my photos of seattle from the water - which is very different than what you see by foot or car.

aren't the boats beautiful all floating on the water.

gas works park as we sailed past

making our way into the locks.  (here we tied up and waited to be dropped to sea level.)

where we were tied up.

being released into the sound - (now at sea level.)

the train tracks that raise so tall boats (or sailing vessels like ours) can make it under.

a beautiful little cottage that sits on the water (right on the water huh?)

the sound at sunset...

all good things must come to an end... ours ended here where we would moor the boat.

until next time boat...

there is just something nice about being out on the water.  the quite, the distance, the light, they all help to view the city we live in, in such a different way.  it was quite nice to be out on the water and see Seattle from a different perspective.

garden time - sunny sunday

last sunday it was just too nice to be inside.

the first iris opened up to take in the sunshine.

Rainier was happy to be outside and enjoying the breeze.

the flowers are in full bloom around the house. (if you have an idea of what that white flowered bush is let me know)

Bake loved just chill-axin in the grass... ahhh on a sleepy sunday.

and the dogwood opened it's flowers to greet us.  

it was a wonderful day in our yard - ahh sunshine you are welcome around here anytime.

last weekend...

i think wednesdays are a good day to reflect on the past weekend

they allow enough space from the weekend that you have some context in which to see the past weekend's events, but it is close enough to the up coming weekend that it doesn't seem so far away.

last weekend was a beautifully sunny weekend here in seattle.  we opened up all the windows in the house and let the air drift through (which is important after such a long winter to let the house breath again).  i picked lilacs and the sent drifted through the house.

we made a pitcher of mint water and sipped at it while planting the zucchini, pumpkins, and cucumbers.  we dug a little garden under the service berry in the backyard.

i can't say that we crossed a ton of to-do items off our list but that can be expected with the first warm weekend of the year... it's a lazy weekend that reminds us all what the summer could be.

hail...

it's tuesday evening... in seattle and it is thundering, lightning, and hailing.. yep hail the size of peas.

wtf?  thanks global warming... you have just killed my tomatoes.

JD's B-day gifts.

i do... i practice what i preach as much as i can.

that's why when searching for JD's b-day gifts i started on etsy.   as usual i was a bit behind schedule and ... as usual the etsy sellers were awesome about getting the gifts to me on time.  

1.  the first thing i got JD was this sweatshirt by Chikabird.  the pattern and color were different than what was shown in the etsy store... but it was perfect.  it fits perfectly and i now want one for myself!   i know so selfish of me.  i like the one that came for JD... navy blue with a plaid octopus!

2.  gift number two came from the portland general store.  here i purchased a cigar box full of natural handmade toiletries.  you can select and personalize the box by selecting different eau de toilettes to fit your man's taste.

3.  the third gift was a Seattle screen print from Ork Posters.  i spotted this some time ago and just couldn't let it go.  when i showed it to JD he loved it just as much and now he has the Seattle screen print so we always remember living here in Seattle - no matter where we may end up some day.

i have made it a priority to get JD a piece of art, printed or other, at least once a year.  he loves screen prints so we have quite a few.  we chatted about possibly hanging this one in the kitchen.  maybe for christmas i will branch out and find something for him that isn't a graphic screen print but i couldn't pass this one up.

JD also got new sunglasses from his mom and step dad and an eagle's shirt and solar lights from my parents.  all in all i think he really lucked out this year.  love you JD... hope you had a wonderful birthday - cake fiasco and all!

guess who joined the blog world?

remember when JD and i went to hawaii..... and it was glorious?  

wait, i'm off track... what i was going to say was, when we were in hawaii i was fortunate enough to have two very talented ladies take over chicpea for the week and make sure everyone had a little mix of home made goodness for the week.  their guest week started off with zuni chicken and ended with taking my pups for a long walk at lincoln park and each post was thoughtfully written and a real treat for me to read while enjoying our honeymoon.  

well... those two very talented ladies have now started a blog of their own the ravenna girls.  please pop on over there and say hello.  i promise you will like what you see.   not only are they good friends but they are two very talented ladies who know how to keep themselves busy.

as you might remember - upon our return home from hawaii... there was a mistery gift awaiting my return (nice huh... they do me a favor by taking care of Rainier and Baker for the weekend and i get a gift... SWEET.)

you might remember this package?  

well inside this lovely wrapping was A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg (whom you might know from Orangette)

it's a wonderful book full of life... and recipies.  it was the perfect gift since i appreciate everything about being homemade.

thank you ladies...and good luck with your new blog.  oh.. and visit orangette and here dose of yummy recipes. 

needle felting class

check out the needle felting!

remember back here when i told you about that adorable doggie felting book... well i decided to try it out for myself.   the other night i went with the ravenna girls out for a bite to eat and to a needle felting class to try our hand at felting a birdie...  the class results are above.  the class was tons of fun and was offered through Venue in Ballard  which carries many artist wears and supports local design.  we got first hand instruction from laurie sharp from Wool Pets.  you can check out here web page there or her blog here.  

we each got to make a bird of our own design.... 

we used pictures and images as our guides and also had several examples that laurie made on hand to reference.  since the class i have tried my hand at a few other animals... and i think i might be ready to take on a pup next.  

this is the blue jay i made in class

next i tried my hand a a little cardinal

then a dragonfly... bzzzzzzzz

then some bees... zzzzzzzzzzzz

i think i might try a miniature baker or rainier... but i need to buy some wool first.  the class was super great... i don't know if JD is excited that i now have one more crafting hobby but oh well.  he loves me and i think that he loves whatever makes me happy.  

The birthday incident

So, I've received a call from my mom already, and I feel like I need to start out by saying that everyone is ok. I don't think the intention was to be alarmist.

This is my, JD's, recollection of the events on Monday, my birthday. I know that wren thinks that it was the worst birthday ever, but I think it made a rather unremarkable age (28) into a memorable event. To begin with, this is the first year that I've actually had the opportunity to celebrate my birthday in Seattle. We've been here for about 5 years, but this was the first. And that's was fantastic.

As most family's do, we have a requisite cake and birthday dinner at the request of the birthday recipient. This year, I asked for a lasagna for dinner, and then a pound cake with strawberries and whip cream for my cake. Un-orthodox, maybe, but it's my birthday and I'l do what I want to.

Wren's lasagna is awesome. I always love it. This was Birthday Fiasco #1...she didn't like the way it turned out. So, as you can imagine, this put the evening into a bit of a spin. Now, this is where things get interesting. We have never made pound cake before. As a good self declared dork, I researched it first; and we found what would seem to be a great recipe in Cook's Illustrated (one of our favorite resources). We got the whole thing going and everything was looking great. As we sat down for dinner, we put the pound cake in the oven. Dinner was (as I mentioned) great. Wren went to go check on the cake and, enter Birthday Fiasco #2. The cake batter had melted, and seeped it's way through the gap between the false bottom and the ring of the bunt pan. Having never thought this to be possible, there was no type of catchment system in place below the bunt pan and we had batter, which at this point was cooking, on the bottom of our oven. I found this to be fantastically awesome, and as you can imagine, Wren, not so much. She felt that she had ruined my birthday. In reality, I think I'm the one that messed it up when I tried to level the top of the batter and get the air bubbles out, I rapped the pan on the top of the counter. This may have allowed batter to get where it wasn't supposed to be.

At this point, Wren was in a tissy and ran to the store to pick up some QFC pound cake. All she cold find was Sour Cream Pound Cake. (Technically Birthday Fiasco #3). Now that we have cake in hand, it was candle and singing time. All systems go. She sings, the dogs are confused, and when I go to blow out the candle, it turns out her finger was in front of the flash of the camera. She pouts, we decide a mulligan is in order. Re-light the candles, prepare the camera. This time, so as to not miss a thing, the camera is thought to be put in blast mode. This will continue to take pictures as long as the shutter button is held down. Well, wren put it in flash delay, and when she pushed the button, the light started blinking for the delay. HILARITY ENSUES! (Birthday Fiasco #4).

So, as you can see, it all worked out great. The birthday was fantastic. Maybe I don't have pictures of my candles being blown out. Maybe we didn't make a home-made cake. But I have this memory that will last until I'm 88.

Love you wren.

4 dogs, 2 cats, 1 weekend cont...

yeah i made this happen... can you believe it?

yeah me either... so this weekend.  i mean there were real promising moments and there were others that were a bit frustrating.

let's start with the quick fact that murphy (in the 6 o'clock position in this photo) hasn't experienced kitties much in her life and her particular mix of breeds encourages the,... ummm stalking of cats.  the poor pup didn't relax all weekend... as the other dogs were napping around the house murphy was constantly at attention - never able to just lay down and relax.  ginkgo and bamboo didn't take very kindly to being corralled into the bedrooms or on high perches either. the cats temped the waters on more than one occasion causing ciaos.  murphy would lunge for the cat... scrambling across the wood floor knocking things down as the cat bolted to another area where they would be safe... JD and i running to separate the two... with the other 3 dogs running to see what the commotion was.  ahhh ... it was sort of hard to relax.

saturday was a brite spot in the mix... JD and i were outside (on a beautiful seattle day) getting our garden in and we teathered murphy and boomer in the back yard while baker and rainier lounged around with them.  the whole group got to hang outside together and had several moments of being very content with the sunshine, the grass, and the breeze.

as you can see the house is still quite a mess which only adds to the stress i imagine but remodeling...takes so much time.  all the pups really do love each other... you just throw two kitties in and the dainamic changes quite a bit.

by saturday night there was even a little bed sharing.  ahhh they really didn't do badly (well except for the 4 a.m. waking time) but ginkgo started that with the meowing...  thats when the cat was tossed outdoors and JD would move to the guest room to sleep with the other pups for a few hours more.  i'm so happy that they all get along.. the pup cousins.  now lets go camping.  we won't bring the cats!

an overcast day

today is one of those days, you know, where you wouldn't get out of bed if you didn't have to...  i would have much rather preferred staying in bed and not facing today.  i would have probably felt sorry for myself as i lie there... so maybe it is better that i had to come to work, i had to go to a meeting, i had to get out of my pjs.

it's just one of those days... things don't always go as planned.  i guess i'll start work on the next plan - the next thing.

the b-day of JD

oh... and i also wanted to tell you that JD will be guest posting tonight or tomorrow to let you know the events of his b-day last evening.  let's just say things didn't go as planned.

i guess they never do.  until then...

sweet dreams are NOT made of these...

i must be feeling some anxiety today...

well at least last night because i had a seriously crazy dream.  i quite frequently have crazy dreams, all of which are in color and i swear i can smell, feel, and taste things in dreams as well.  so i wake up in the mornings feeling quite affected by the scenarios running through my subconscious and not at all well rested.

last night was one of those nights.  in my dream i was headed out to a construction site that i was over seeing.  the building was still in the preliminary stages of construction the steel still being welded into place and concrete being poured.  i was dressed very formal for some reason in a navy blue dress with colorful beads and high heels (not very practical for a job visit).

when i arrived to the site i realized that the crew was behind schedule so i decided to try and pull everyone together to pour one last section of the concrete slab before quitting for the day... i also thought it in my best interest to change out of my dress to help get the concrete in place.

so there i was... in a shell of a building, standing behind some loose hanging plastic, changing out of my dress, with construction workers all around.  i put on a white tank-top (you know wife beater / guinny T style) and then realized i didn't have any pants... no biggie right?  so i found a plastic bag that compost had been brought to the site in... cut two holes in it and put it on as pants.  (what the hell was i thinking) and then proceeded out to rally the crew to finish up the concrete complete with hard hat.

needless to say the crew wouldn't work for me as i stand there in my ridiculous outfit... and i was left standing in a plain white tank top with a compost bag as pants.

and you thought you had wierd dreams...

guess who's b-day?

yep, you guessed it...my wonderful husbands!

isn't he darling.... i think so.

tonight in honor of his birthday celebration we will be having celebratory

lasagna, pound cake with strawberries, and ice cream (cherry i think)

all of which JD selected.

it should be glorious... i need to go home after work and bake and wrap presents!

yikes... more to follow on what he received... exciting.

happy birthday JD... i love you...

u are the BEST.

the little computer that could

i want to tell you a story of a little computer

a little compute that found a home with a nice lady... this nice lady loved the little computer and took him with here everywhere she went. the little computer got to see lots of interesting things in his travels, one time the little computer went on a road trip with the nice lady and her friend around the US and another time the little computer went to Rome and traveled to several places in Europe. the lady was always happy to have the little computer around; they were the best of friends.

but then one day the little computer got sick. he groaned and moaned each time he was flipped open. the lady knew something was wrong but there wasn't anything that could be done. she tried to get her information off the little computer but he was too sick.... and then the little computer died.

the lady was so sad she cried and her husband laughed at her for crying over a computer but the little computer had been her friend for so long, it had been with her more places than he had. the little computer was her friend. her husband said he would fix the little computer for her not to worry. but then the little computer was put in his case and was put on the shelf not to be touched for a very long time.

almost 2 years had gone by since the lady had scene her friend. she was spending many of her waking hours with computers but none of them were with here little computer and this made her sad. she said as much to her husband and after so many years he went and got a new hard drive for the little computer.he began to take the little computer apart piece by piece until it looked like there wasn't much left. this made the lady very very sad - she didn't like to see her little friend in so many pieces. he told her it would be ok and that she should go to bed that the little computer would be waiting for her in the morning.

the lady went to bed and her husband worked very late into the night trying to bring the little computer back to life. when the nice lady awoke in the morning there he was, the little computer siting on the table just waiting for her... she touched a key and he sprung to life... the little computer was back (with lots more memory too)!

this made the lady very happy... she thanked her tired husband, who had stayed up way to late working on the little computer.  now the little computer and his lady are back in action... coming to you live with this post.

welcome back little computer... you were missed.

4 dogs, 2 cats - 1 weekend

i might not be smiling for long...

this weekend the pup niece and nephew are coming to stay in our little abode... so let's just recap the craziness that will be my weekend.

1.  100 lb Rottie - Rainier

2.  6 mo. old puppy - Baker

3.   gentle sweetheart - Boomer

4. crazy hyper (never tired) - Murphy

and let's not forget...

5.  one cat that won't back down

6.  one cat that won't come out of hiding

all of this in our 900 sf. house.  should be.. umm fun.  anyone want to come over?

god help me.

now back to the kitchen...

YEAH  i know, i know it has been forever since we visited the kitchen

but the truth is i still want to get more done before the big reveal photos so i have been stretching this out.  i'm doing a good job don't you think?  any woooo...  we insulated the exterior wall (oh thank god).  our house was built in 1942 and because of the knob and tube electric they didn't insulate the exterior walls.  that k&t has a tendency to get too hot and catch on fire... so we have been adding insulation to the house slowly as we redo the electrical work.

this is my dirty boy i mean man) after climbing out of the attic when redoing said wiring.  lovely don't you think?

next we began dry walling... i thought this was going to be a one night deal... but turns out cutting holes for all the plumbing and all the new electric was NOT that easy.  we added a receptacle because before the remodel we had only one duplex for the entire kitchen.... the entire kitchen.  what were they thinking? then the never ending process of mudding began.   did i mention how much we LOVE dry-walling?

then came the framing of the pocket door which separates the kitchen from the laundry/ workroom / office.   i must say we were a bit intimidated by the pocket door framing kit... but man was it easy.  we just needed to frame the opening for it and then pop it in.

then there was more dry-walling over the pocket door framing... but at this point it is starting to come together. well at least we have walls here.

we also exposed the chimney (this runs from the furnace to roof) in an effort to have another material and texture in the house.  i think it gives the place a much more urban feel - i like it.

the whole time we are trying to do the work... we have super limited space.  living in a 900 s.f. house during a remodel can make for some serious lack of space.  hopefully all this work makes the house feel much larger than it is.  i know i should be ashamed of the mess scene above and not posting it for the world to see... but this is what an ikea kitchen looks like when you stack it on the floor and add your, now dead, seedlings on top of it.

serenity now...