To-Do(ne) List

1. Install the cell phone booster.  Check!

That’s a small, non-descript box on top of the pantry.  I now almost always can take and make a call or text, and often even get email on my smart phone.  Dwayne still wants to do some small adjustments to it and needs to finalize it’s installation, but it works!

2. Install new kitchen faucet. Check!


It has a pull-out nozzle and adjustable spray, which is about 20 generations beyond the original model, and since we do not have a dishwasher, this makes the job much easier.

3.  Install large screen TV. Check! 

 
4.  New Washer/Dryer.  Check!


Look, it actually rinses and spins the clothes mostly dry! And then the dryer actually dries them…in under in two hours.  It’s a modern miracle…and necessary for actually leaving the cabin before the last ferry leaves.

5. A new thermostat.  Check!


I arrived at the cabin on a cold November evening and the main propane stove wasn’t working and the back up wall heater also wouldn’t turn on.   Lots of phone calls (before my cell booster or my smart phone so I had to pack up all the kids and drive a mile down the road with a phone book), lots of time, lots of money, and ahem, once I plugged in the stove, the thermostat connected was broken.

6. Taking down the alders trees in the front corner of the yard.  Check!



These trees were nothing but a caterpillar attraction, and a convenient way to litter our yard and our neighbor’s.  Dwayne will eventually dig out the stumps, but it’s a first step in getting the yard to a more pleasant, less upkeep state.


7. Repurposing old wall heater space.  Check!

Since “we” (thanks again, Jim!) just did this today, it’s currently my favorite project. When we took out the broken wall heater, we’ve had a big hole in the wood wall as well as a extra electrical wires. “We” built an alcove bookshelf to house the XBox, DVDs, and games and most impressively, installed an outlet in the hobbit hole to plug in all media behind the scenes.  We were able to take out the tangle of wires and the old TV cabinet.  I love it!


8.  New deck.  Not yet. In June, hopefully.  Right now, theree are about 3 spots that you almost step through when you walk on it. 



Wow, cabins take a lot of ...resources. Still like it, though!

Spring Break Adventure: Port Townsend

Looks like a postcard?  It is.

After exchanging the cousins for a little extra sanity by meeting Julie at the ferry dock at 11am, the kids and I went on a very spontaneous adventure.  Originally, we thought about driving up to Coupeville and hanging out in town, when I remembered that the Port Townsend ferry is up that way.  We drove there with no preparation but coats, and nearly-dead phone (so no pictures of the day), a granola bar each, and a credit card. 

It was meant to be, because we parked and crossed the street with exactly 3 minutes to purchase my ticket ($3.25 one way, kids under 18 free) before we boarded.  It’s still winter hours, and the ferry leaves only every 90 minutes. 

It’s a longer trip, a full 30 minutes, and it was a rough sailing, which is perfectly pleasant with a cup of hot cocoa and several half-finished puzzles at window tables. 

Port Townsend is a perfect destination because the ferry lands within yards of the main street.  There’s cute shops, restaurants (that do not accommodate gluten-free, as we discovered), a small, delightful museum, and probably lots of other things to do with slightly dryer weather. 

We’ll go back again this summer and explore the second street, the intriguing stair steps up the steep hillside, and look for a few more Port Townsend adventures! 

Beach House

After our fabulous 4th at the cabin, we managed to leave a few important items at the cabin.  Dwayne left his coat and keys there, and I made a big deal about me having to go back to get them, but full disclosure makes me admit that I left my credit card at the thrift store.  They put it in a safe for me, and I picked it up first thing when we got to the island (and then used it to buy lunch for me and the kids at the Braeburn—yum!).  But since we were there, we decided to hang out at the beach. 

Piper  declared that she wasn’t going to touch the sand at all and vowed to not have any fun (she didn’t get to go to the beach she wanted—these deprived children have at least 4 good beaches to chose from close to the cabin—this one is the Clinton Ferry Beach).  That lasted until she was ignored long enough and then she and Kyla built their own beach house out of drift wood, seaweed, and shells. 

 

They even made a hidden shelf for all their shell dishes!

 

Building codes forced them to build an outdoor kitchen and fire pit.  Don’t mess with Island County regs!

 

I’m not sure what Wesley is doing (though I am just as shocked at you that he’s wearing clothes), but one can appreciate the beauty of our Northwest summers in this shot.

 

Fairy Houses!

Meerkerk Park had their annual fairy house building day.  The volunteers provided gathered sticks, pine cones, flowers, wood, moss, ribbons, and hot glue guns.  Everyone brought their imaginations (I wish I had brought my camera—I settled for a device that technically can take pictures but is overall unsatisfactory). 

My kids didn’t make anything to brag about (their mother had to abandon her even worse attempts), but there are some really creative fairy-fans out there!  We’ll try again next year.

How to Measure Fun at the Cabin

It’s simply the depth and breadth of the bathtub ring once the kids are clean and pajama-ed at bedtime.  Today was a particularly entertaining day, according to this reading.

Ferries, Freedom, Fireworks, and the Fourth

Honestly, it’s hard to beat the Island for the Fourth of July.  Even with a posted 3 hour ferry wait (though it actually was just 90 minutes and went by quickly), it’s worth making over early the day before Independence Day.  We now know to get there early enough on the 3rd to go to Freeland’s Freedom Festival—live shows, food booths, local interests (this year, the new fireboat was open for public tours) and then amazing fireworks over the harbor, first by God…

then by the local community.

  

The actual 4th of July brought a parade through the small Maxwelton Community—the same one we did last year.  I somehow forgot to take pictures once the candy started flying.

 

Back at the cabin, our neighbors had a lot of fun shopping at the fireworks stand.  This year, instead of trying to get the kids to bed at a reasonable hour, I sent them outside to join in the fun.  I have two pyromaniacs and a coward-pragmatist (that’s Piper, by the way).  Kyla and Wesley were invited to shoot off kid-works by the neighbors and when I finally put them to bed after 11pm, they went straight to sleep.

Happy Birthday, USA!  You throw a great party.

Of Mermaids and Teeter-Totters

Ah, the second day of summer and we are at Double Bluff Beach—a family favorite.  We came across a mermaid…

and engineered a teeter-totter.  A great summer kick-off!