Raincharm’s Weblog

A more typical Seattle November day – minus the rain, so far.

I had an appointment this morning. Part of the H7N9 Flu Vaccine Study.
They wanted to suck my blood, again.

Being a non-work day, non-raining, and reasonable temperature – we walked to the appointment.
After being poked we took off up to Capital Hill (emphasis on up).

This is called Black Sun. We thought Grey Sun fit the day a bit better.

Instead of heading straight north (homeward) we veered east a bit, to grab a bit of the Husky/Cougar Apple Cup excitement.
Walking through the neighborhoods as we approached from the south reminded me of football Saturdays growing up in Ann Arbor. Folks that lived relatively close to the stadium could pad their wallets by providing mini-parking lots on their lawns.
A business took this one step further. The Montlake 76 Station closed most of their station for parking/tailgating. It looked like two of the gas pumps were still open for service, maybe. [We thought of the current “Mayhem” commercial at a tailgating function. The coals in the grill are not completely extinguished before being closed up in the SUV while the owner’s went to watch the game. That and the can of lighter fluid ignited a spectacular car fire. Move this to a gas station for even more special effects …]

As we were preparing to cross the intersection next to the Montlake Station, the policeman that had been lounging on his motorcycle suddenly leapt into action and drove into the middle of the intersection. At first this just seemed to be because it was getting busy. But, his motorcycle was really blocking one of the traffic lanes. And he was only letting one lane go. (For those that may try to picture this, it was the lane exiting from Eastbound 520 to Montlake.) At second look it appeared he was allowing the freeway exit to clear because there were emergency vehicles on 520, being slowed by the exiting traffic. This could make sense as there is a hospital across the street from Husky Stadium, and ambulances travel this way frequently.

Our waiting was finally rewarded with a vision of all the commotion. At least 6 police vehicles (motorcycles and cars) escorting three buses carrying the Washington State Cougars to the venue! Were they late? I am sure a few of the rabid Husky fans were a bit perturbed. Carl & I just laughed, although I wish I had thought to get my camera out before they arrived.

You can see one of the things that make travelling to Husky Stadium unique. You can boat to the stadium.

What is in those red cups?

The procession on land to the stadium. Carl says the 14-6 sign is predicting the final score. I like the alcohol limit sign myself (next to the Big W)

We finally got far enough away to be out of the crowds, that is until we entered the Starbucks.
A few blocks later we were finally home.
10+ miles. A few more than anticipated, but a good walk.

Now I need to re-energize to move some more furniture, and unpack a few more boxes.

And since I have not posted a house picture in a while – here is the carport currently under re-construction.

Last weekend was one of those where there was not much time for anything other than what was done.

This weekend is slightly more leisurely.

Last weekend we went to two shows, moved out of two storage units, and rearranged much of the moved matter again.

This weekend we went to a dinner, moved about 1/4 of a  storage unit, and shifted stuff around the house some more.

In between the new carport is starting to take shape, flooring has been installed in our closet, and DirectTV has been added to our lives.

DETAILS

The shows from last weekend: Les Miserables at the Village Theatre in Issaquah. The Hounds of the Baskervilles at the Seattle Rep. pay

Les Miz was absolutely outstanding. Everything. Made fighting through the stinging rain and wind to reach the theatre worth the effort. The Hounds was also a good show. Carl gave it a rave review. He has known the story since a high school class. I (unfortunately) fell asleep in the 3rd act. It had nothing to do with the show, and everything to do with prior events of the day.

This weekends dinner was a very nice affair with one of Carl’s teammates and other associated persons. Baseball was the initial common denominator, but of course talk ranged from kids to refinished floors and even a bit of the political spectrum.

The moves: Saturday = Storage Units 2 and 3 to the house. Sunday = Everything moved into the garage into the house.

Saturday’s move was accomplished by four people all over the age of 55. Yeah for us! And we all survived, and even felt better for the effort (in the end). Kudos to Mark H and Lisa T for their assistance – we could not do it without your help, and are still searching for some way to repay your efforts.

Each storage unit essentially filled the 19-foot truck. [If this was a longer haul we would have packed more efficiently, but this was definitely a short haul.] So we had two trips, with a lunch intermission. Furniture went to the appropriate room, identifiable boxes went to an assigned room, and everything else went into the garage. I was going to get a picture of the garage – stuffed to the doorway, but the camera phone ran out of battery charge at the opportune moment.

[There are a few items left in Storage Unit #2. Four chairs that should never see the interior of our house again (dinette style with orange flower vinyl backs), the waterbed frame which is likely to be posted soon on Craigslist, and most of the Parabody Universal workout unit, which is waiting for space to be opened up in the basement for re-assembly.]

Sunday’s emptying of the garage was needed as the garage serves as the work area for the contractor, who is currently building the carport. Much of the move was from the garage to the basement, but a few boxes did move up when we finally determined what was in said box.

This weekend has seen emptying of portions of Storage Unit #1. Carl has been accomplishing this one car-load at a time.

The carport is the most worthy addition of mention for this past week. It will have a shingled roof once it is done, and pickets along the side that match the back-deck. The minimum height over the driveway is 6’6″. This is a huge switch from the prior carport. The prior carport was responsible for knocking down Bob (Carl’s dad) and rotating at least one car-top ski-rack (and this was after we took off the first section of roof to allow the mini-van of the moment to fit under the roof). It also had a corrugated plastic finish that had weathered past any semblance of looking “nice”.

The garage door at the bottom of the driveway is also slated for replacement.
The springs had broken – or more specifically, some metal part of the door lifting/spring operation.
And of course the old door is an odd size …
And yesterday, after extracting an old kitchen shelving unit from the garage for re-use in a deserving friend’s house, the door did not close quite properly. And then took a short ride on Jay’s back. And is now in a vertical position, awaiting the contractor’s ability to get it through the next week or two until the new door arrives.

Here is a last look at our apartment “kitchen”.

And here is our new house KITCHEN.

(Yes, the picture is a repeat, but if I took one now you would see a bunch of stuff on the floor that has not found a home yet. Or is waiting to be taken out to the recycling bin.)

We are completely out of the apartment, and a bit into the house.
We still have 3 fully stocked storage units.
At least one will be emptied out this weekend, and possibly more.
We will have a truck, so all of the furniture is due to return.

It is actually rather nice living in a house that is populated only by a bit more stuff than fit into the apartment. Except when you go looking for something. And even if you know you should have that something, where it is can be a question.

Work goes on here at the house, but it is finishing up details.
Blinds have been hung.
Most of the painting is done.
We have 5 different keys to get into the house. That will hopefully be reduced to one after the locksmith’s visit tomorrow.

Big things that remain are the carport and new garage door.

And then there are the changes that we have requested as we moved in.

I really wanted a broom closet. We never had a place to put the vacuum cleaner and it just shuttled around from place to place. So we had a “broom closet/cabinet” made as part of the kitchen cabinetry. It would work perfectly. Except that it really feels like it should be a pantry instead.

As Jon described it – it is right in the kitchen in a “1” spot on the convenience chart. A vacuum/broom accessibility feels more like a “3” in terms of convenience requirements.

We have adopted Rey’s room as the computer room/coat closet room/Jay’s work room (per Sagan this morning). It would appear that the vacuum and broom can fit just fine in the closet with the coats.

So the cabinetmaker paid a visit this morning to determine what he would need to do for the conversion. In about 3 weeks we should have a pantry. That is about the same time that the new garage door is scheduled to arrive.

Perhaps it will all be done before the kids arrive home for Christmas. Except final outdoor painting and staining, that will wait for the dry seasons to roll back around.

The biggest thing about being back in the house is that it is really big.
The apartment was all about proximity.
You were always in close proximity to everyone and everybody and everything.
Here there are miles to cover, and everything seems so far apart.

The move. (The last move – apartment to house, everything fits in a car. Not to be confused with the previous move from the apartment to house, everything that would not fit in a car, that actually happened before Disneyland (see a post or two earlier).)

We lived for a week or two in the apartment with minimal dishes, the blow-up bed, the computer, TV and a small TV cart (too small for the TV that was sitting on top of said cart). Our clothes were in laundry baskets – his and hers. We had a card table and two folding chairs. It was sparse.

The reason for the staggered move was two or three-fold.

• We hoped to rent our apartment to somebody else for November
• We were going to be gone the last full weekend in October, when we could take the time to move heavy stuff.
• We wanted to stay out-of-the-way of the house work (mostly painting) as long as possible.

As it turned out, we stayed in the apartment until November 4th. Then we moved everything but the card table, TV, stand and a chair. And cleaning supplies. (The apartment had cable TV and the Sounder’s were still in the playoffs at that time.)

November 6th and 7th were cleaning days, and the final removal of all things that belonged to us. Cleaning went relatively, sort-of smoothly. After much elbow grease had been extended we discovered that our range had not only an interior light, but it was “self-cleaning”. Carl had to leave at one point because I would not let anyone use the bathroom. And the final cleaning of the cabinets cleared up the mystery of the missing compost bags. Keys were turned in on the 7th. We have yet to hear what we may get back from our deposit, and to our knowledge the apartment is still vacant.

Except perhaps for the Carbon Monoxide Detector that was left. We had said detector in our house before we moved out. It was plugged into a wall that no longer exists, so the contractor removed it. He gave it to us to take because it had a nasty habit of squawking when not plugged into an outlet. Of course, that is how it is designed to work. We received this unit with tape over the switch to keep it quiet. This only lasted until the switch overpowered the tape. This occurred one of the first days in the apartment and I thought the apartment fire alarm was going off. To silence the device I plugged it into the wall. When we were moving out I tried to hold the switch down with various implements, none of which worked except my thumb. I was trying to figure out how I could drive and hold the switch at the same time. In the end it was still in the wall outlet as a backed out of the apartment for the last time, scrubbing the last bit of floor as I left.

Now we need to make room for beds, chairs, tables, exercise equipment and boxes and boxes and boxes of things that we have done without for several months.

Hmmm… Ever see Storage Wars? (See what cable does to a person)
I wonder what folks would think of our units.

The season is over. Baseball season that is.The evil Red Sox won. I really wanted St. Louis, and really did not want Boston.

All of those playoff beards can be removed. But really, I did not think these beards were a playoff phenomena, the beards have been here all season.

Our season was known as, “The Year of the Fez”.

The Mariner’s season did not always go as planned, but Saunder’s seemed to like our section. Of the 5 home runs Saunders hit in Safeco this year, Carl caught 2. The first and last.

Note the change in facial hair. Our equally bearded seat-mate (just to the left of Carl) got a few home runs as well. By the end of the season the announcers were confusing who was who.

With the season behind us it is time to get ready for the winter.

A planned trim got a bit out of hand.

 In other news, the house bits keep getting done.

Notice how the accent row goes from the bottom of the electrical plates to the top.
(Sorry about the wire and paperwork disrupting clean scene) And you can see a drawer handle – bonus.

Detail. The switch here is for the exhaust fan – with variable speeds.

Tomorrow will be focused on moving things around the new space.

And the Sounder’s game – we are hoping the rain holds off, or more likely is over, for game time.

So I finally made it to Disneyland. It took until afternoon because we started on the California Adventure side. Ferries wheels that swing, 3D muppets, Cars, monsters Inc, and the California Scream Machine. In reality the scream gets more press, but the ferries wheel induced more stomach churning moments.

It felt like we were in Disneyland last night. But we were only in Disney downtown for dinner at Ralph Brennans Jazz Kitchen. Good food, good music, and a chance for me to finally see Ashlan and Catie.

Disneyland in the afternoon was a sea of people. We did manage the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, but really not much more than people watching and scoring a table at the ESPN Zone so we could watch the start of game 3.

We are relaxing in our room in the 8th inning with St. Louis up by two, and the Red Sox threatening.

Yes, we have left the fog of Seattle for the relative warmth of Orange California. Carl actually enjoyed some morning grey and afternoon sun and Disneyland, while I was in a class. (I have not been outside yet today.) We are leaving soon to meet Ashlan for dinner.

Yes, Ashlan, our NYC child in southern California. And it is happenstance that we ended up here at the same time.

Oh, here is a current view of the
kitchen.

I believe it is still August.
So this will be my post for August.

It has not been for lack of action, more likely for too much action.

Then again I like to blame the apartment’s energy zapping heat for my inaction.

Who knows.

We are on vacation again.
This time in Michigan. This is day 3 or 4, but the first two involved travelling, so they almost do not count.

I should be on the beach about now, but it is raining.
I think the boys (Carl & Rey) are at a bar watching a ball game.
Really just a guess. They went out for a bag of marshmallows.
[Update – they went to the Dancing Crane to get coffee.]

[Yes, Carl is avoiding sugar, but Rey is not. And since tonight’s dinner will be hotdogs roasted over a fire in the fireplace, there must be S’mores for dessert. Thus the need for marshmallows.]

Jane, Gene & Harry are in the big room, reading or some other sort of diversion, and I am typing.

I am going to skip the house report for now, and concentrate on this family based vacation.
In copying pictures from the phone, I have been informed that it is now September (not August). Oops.

There are two families in attendance between the two cabins, and a few more folks down the beach.

I have not captured everyone yet. This is partially due to my try at embracing this as a vacation.
Not that this is how I remember spending my summers  here several decades ago.
I am now expected to do more than just the dishes and sweeping.
Actually, come to think of it, I have done dishes, some sweeping and made the coffee. So that is not too much more.

And Carl has done more.
From our first day “on vacation”

And for those that want to know, we have all been fully into the water. Dunked.

The water = Lake Superior, St. Mary’s River, big cold lake, and source water stream (Doelle’s end)

Seriously.
I was trying to decide whether to do several separate posts or just one.
For now – this is all one.

Let’s start with the house. Click the small pictures to make them bigger.

HOUSE

The kitchen has been the major focus. The floor is down to one layer – with holes to boot.
The house is getting sealed up, even as some areas are more open.
Asbestos – one more vent removed.

Pictures – Starting in the basement

Wiring details, and insulation foam

Lots of insulation work has been moving forward

Some odds and ends

My backyard tracking of progress continues.

Pictures by others sent while I was away. What a difference a day can make.

Finishes – Lots of decisions needed to be made. Laminate for the counters, tile for the backsplash, and flooring (Marmoleum).
This is where we found a true friend that helped by offering constructive input and support. Too cool.

The roof – now here is a (somewhat) unexpected expense.
This is also a finish that I have three more days to figure out.
We just did not have time to get to the roofing supply store before we left.
Between work hours and their store hours, this could be down to the last minute.
I actually considered trying to look at roofing while we were in Tennessee.

Which brings us to our recent adventure.

It started with an early departure care of a not a morning person person providing a ride to the airport. Thankfully the ride and the non-stop flight was uneventful. Once in NYC there was an organized 1/2 hour or so wait for a cab, which whisked us to Times Square and our hotel away from apartment away from home.

NEW YORK CITY

I survived a two day training in “How to Stay Focused and Enraged” It was actually a good class, and afforded us an opportunity to visit NYC in the middle of a heat wave. Oh, and to see Ashlan. And a show on Broadway. And a Mets game. And the class was really quite good.

Carl spent his days wandering among Elmos, Spidermans, Iron Mans, and lots of partially clothed tourists. Did I mention it was hot? In the 90’s.

The show was Once. I absolutely loved the movie, and did not want to ruin that feeling. But the writer/composer said is was an adaptation true to his work, so we went. Thirteen actors, 12 over the age of 7, that were all fine musicians and singers, able to dance, sing and play at the same time (even with a cello). The love story was intact. A truly enjoyable evening.

At the Mets game it was hard to see much that let you know the All-Star game had been played at the stadium a scant 3 days before. (And there was no Batting Practice on the first game back after a four day break. This was tempered by a signing by Le Grand Orange, otherwise known as Rusty Staub) I think Safeco Field kept the signs and paraphernalia up the rest of the season after hosting the All-Star game. The Mets lost, early and often. But the most exciting moment was in the ninth inning when a home run landed one row down and three seats left.  On the way home our subway car was serenaded by a fellow playing TV theme songs on a melodica. As he passed us he broke into the Flintstones theme, which left us in stitches. There is a saxophone busker at the Mariner’s games who always plays the Flintstones for Carl in his Fez.

After three days of Times Square living we packed up to move to Ashlan’s new digs.

We got to spend Saturday tooling about looking for good places to eat. Brunch was at the Pates et Traditions, an Authentic French Creperie. Complete with a French waitress who asked what Carl’s Sounders jersey with Bizarrio on the back meant. She said Bizarre meant weird in French and was confused. (This really does fit I guess). Dinner was at a La Forcella, a pizza palace in Williamsburg.

In between eating we visited the Cloisters. My favorite memory from the Cloisters is the doors.
One for Ashlan (who it fits to a tee), and one for our new back door.

And then there was the Annunciation. The triptych I grew up with, by Robert Campin. They had a description of the symbolism in the work – more than I had previously known about. Interestingly, I took a picture of the explanation, but not the painting itself. I guess I thought I could remember it well enough from years of viewing.

All of this last day was done with straight hair. Something I normally only possess immediately after a soaking. Jump forward a few days and it was curly once again. Wavy really, but certainly not straight.

And then it was time to move on to Tennessee. We saw the newest travel phenomena in NYC, but it was not going to get us where we were going.

Our car rental was amazingly easy and traffic was relatively light. However, the AAA directions were not spot on. We only had to turn around twice. Once out of New Jersey we were fine. The day took us through NY, NJ, PA, MD, WV, VA and finally TN.

TENNESSEE

The eastern Tennessee summer of 2013 has been defined by afternoon/evening rain.
This may be good for some plants, but it plays havoc with baseball games. The Sunday rain delayed the Tennessee Smokies game and provided us with an opportunity to catch the last two innings and the post-game Southern Drawl set.

Monday’s game was similarly delayed, but we got to see the tarp crew remove the cover and the entire game.
(Rey has been excused from tarp duty this year due to his recent shoulder surgery.)

These rains are not drizzle or showers. They are hard driving rain that seems to last more than 30 minutes, but can soak you in 30 seconds.

We ditched the rental for our Tennessee time and got reacquainted with Vinnie Wydown. We are sorry to report that at 220,000 plus miles, Vinnie is showing his age. It may be time to retire.

On Tuesday, while Rey slaved, Carl and I went into the Smokie Mountains, up to Clingmans Dome (and added NC to our states visited). The views were fine, but long distance viewing was obscured by clouds. (How Seattle)

The flora along the trail was intriguing.

The same plant had many different presentations.

The drive included the road with my favorite curve sign of all time.

Even though the day had no game, the evening rain persisted. This was our reward for a soaking run from the car to Rey’s apartment.

Wednesday we spent time in Knoxville. Carl & I visited the East Tennessee History Museum while Rey was tested for his ability to go back to school. Carl wanted a cup of coffee before we picked up the boy, but yet another downpour put us into Soccer Taco where we enjoyed dinner instead. Once we gathered Rey we went out to see Monster’s University. A fun film. This was followed by an unintended hike as they closed the mall and we had to circumnavigate the building until Vinnie reappeared.

Thursday saw us on the road to Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain, and took us into GA – the ninth state of the trip.
Rock City was very intriguing (if a little kitschy).

Ruby Falls in an underground trek. It is a cavern tour

ending at the falls.

The sights were worth the trip, but I felt like I had been mall walking all day.

We thought our last adventure of the day would be the Chattanooga Lookouts playing the Jackson Generals (AA Mariners). The game started with paratroopers.

The Mariners Generals won the game and we were off again.

As it turns out, our adventures were not done.
As we approached the I-75 split (Knoxville or Atlanta) our left front tire blew out. We were able to pilot the car to the right shoulder (Atlanta side) and up against the guard rail. Carl exited (carefully) and ascertained my guess at the flat. We called AAA as the semis whizzed by at 60+ mph. The waiting was nerve-wracking, but the nerves only increased as the AAA dude changed the tire on the whizzing traffic side. Needless to say I tipped the man well for risking his life. We then headed towards Atlanta until we could get gas and turned around.

Friday our baseball bent continued (surprised?) with a trip to Greeneville to watch the Greeneville Astros against the Pulaski Mariners (Rookie League).

The game was off to a fine start – and then the rains arrived. We waited for about 45 minutes before deciding the rain had slackened enough to drive safely. The game might still have been played at that point, but the promise of a good nights sleep triumphed over a late game.

Our last day we got to hang around with Rey a bit more – a good thing.

Now the jarring return to reality.
And we can give a further report on the house progress from this morning’s visit.

Today is a quiet day for me.
Trying to catch up on home finances and general house work. I should do laundry, but we will see whether we get to that.

Yesterday was the quietest day at work for a long time.
Only a few customers, and only a few people at work.
It was actually a bit noisy as some remodel (at work) work was done to take advantage of the few numbers there to annoy.

Yesterday was also our anniversary.
Carl & I went out to dinner at Anthony’s at Pier 66.
We have not been out here for a while, and went to the upper floor. It was delicious. Carl had the halibut, and I had swordfish. We split a cheesecake with berries for dessert. All in all a good night out.

(28 years in case you were wondering)

The 4th of July was the quietest day we have had not at work for a while.
Neither of us worked, other than to check out the house and pick some raspberries.
We initially went up to the roof of the apartment building to view the fireworks.
We could see some from Bellevue, and what appeared to be some from the Seattle show, but they were barely above the hill.
What we could see was a huge plume of black smoke. Some others on the roof reported this to be a boat fire.
When we went back to the apartment it was reported to be 14 boats. All in a dry storage rack.

The house has been moving forward, and decisions are being made.
Appliances have been chosen, and electrical outlet locations chosen.

The door that would be a wall is making progress.

The kitchen/bathroom cabinet is becoming more of a hole (for a cabinet to fit into).

A new hole appeared in the upstairs kitchen to provide access for new insulation. (Or any insulation)

The attic floor strengthening is complete and floor base is being installed along with a  knee wall. All of this will allow the insulation work to move forward pretty soon.

Windows have also arrived. We are only getting a few new windows where required. We wanted to go much further, but we can only do so much right now.

And finally – the backyard pile. It is one measure of the amount of work. (They have carted off some of the debris, but it is still a measure of sorts.)

For Carl’s Day we are having unrelenting heat. I am spending the day with AX. Carl get’s to celebrate by shedding pounds through perspiration.

Because this year, he is The Fez.

Because I just like this picture.