The Difference a Brown Dog Makes

Life has come back to a more even keel. I’ll admit that we were devastated by the thought of losing our beloved brown dog. Those of you who have enjoyed a close connection with an animal won’t be surprised. And those who don’t understand what all the fuss was about, well, I probably don’t understand that either. In any event, we picked up our Zoe from the Humane Shelter some 17 miles south where she had been dropped off by a kind person on Saturday. She was found on the road nearby and probably very soon after starting her unauthorized journey. We are thankful for that because she has no sense when it comes to roads and cars, usually just running to and fro across traffic. She did the one thing we couldn’t imagine she had done because she slipped out of sight so quickly and not near the road (or so we thought). I received an email on Sunday night (which wasn’t discovered until Monday morning) from a shelter volunteer who saw my posting on craigslist. And a Humane Society Officer phoned us Monday morning to say that they had our dog which was just confirmed by our vet since Zoe was wearing her rabies tag. She now wears a licensing tag as well! She looked pretty forlorn laying there in her “cell”. But she is a dog who lives in the moment (aren’t they all?) and those sad times were quickly forgotten. She had a couple vaccinations and a deworming treatment when she arrived at the shelter (standard procedure we were told) and her “mug shot” was telling as she looked quite “worried”. Sure, a car ride was fun, but how and why had she ended up in this place, she was probably asking herself. How could my humans let me get lost?? But we all slept well and soundly last night. I’m especially relieved because John has gone to the Bay Area today and the house would have felt very empty without Zoe’s company.

But there is more to report. I had an interview for a position at a hospital in Bremerton last week. They have been working through my background check and references and I am waiting for a thumbs up or down. In the meantime, I have been canning jam from our blackberries and also some strawberries which we bought. We’re also making some blackberry liqueur which will be a first. It should be ready just in time for our fall visitors. I have resorted now to freezing the blackberries that John brings in daily. I’ll use them over the winter.

In the midst of our dog crisis, John walked down to our nearest neighbors and asked them to let us know if they saw any signs of Zoe. We learned that they are a young couple with 2 small boys and they moved here from San Jose! They told him that the people across the road (we can only see their mailbox; the driveway goes up and into trees) are from Santa Cruz! It’s a veritable haven for California ex-pats! We’re planning to have some kind of neighborhood get together/get to know each other in the future. John was also told to forget whatever we have heard about snow up here because last year these folks were snowbound for a week! I’m planning to increase the shelves in the pantry with that news and lay in “provisions” before the winter. We could certainly survive on jam!

We have been here officially three months now. The days have grown shorter quickly. Today, when I took John to the airport transporter, it was pitch black at 5:30am. By the time I got home just before 6:30 it was quite light. Still, that’s a big difference from our last trip 3 weeks ago, and an even bigger difference from May when it was light at 4:15. Sunset is just after 8pm now. In June it was nearly 10:30. But the weather is holding out and it is predicted to be 80 by the weekend. I don’t know how long that will last. Leaves are already falling. But even in October, it will be mid to upper 60s. Good Autumn temperatures.

Well, I have someone coming today for an estimate on an “invisible” fence. On Friday, I will have one from the “visible” type. It’s always something…

Zoe is found!

Our Craiglist posting got a response from a volunteer at the Humane Society (we also sent them a "lost animal" report) and she is at the shelter. They even sent a photo! We will be at their doorstep this morning to retrieve our much loved brown dog. She will have some explaining to do. And we will have a fence to install. Hard-headed dog plus trusting humans equals bad results. A definite systems error here. Thanks to all of you who sent your good thoughts our way.

The First Day

of the rest of our lives….without our best mate Zoe. Yesterday morning, she went into the woods per usual, but she didn’t return. The woods are largely wetland, thick with undergrowth, and there is a deep creek that runs through it, which, if she could go that far (in the few minutes that she was in there before being called), would keep even a hard-headed water-averse dog from going further. But it wasn’t her habit to go in very far or for very long as she simply would not let John out of her sight for much beyond a few minutes. And nothing would keep her away past dinner. She kept (us to) a very strict schedule. But she hasn’t returned. And we have looked up a down the roadway (just in case) and John has gone into the woods as far as is possible several times and we have called and called and called some more. She did not come out of the woods. So, our best understanding of this is that she has truly gone. Perhaps she knew and that is why she went into “her” woods. She was 11 years old and that’s a pretty respectful lifespan for a dog, as I understand it. But I don’t really agree to understand it. We are numb and sad with loss. She was such an integral part of all the bits of our lives.

We left the lights on outside last night, ever hopeful. And slept poorly while we listened to the woods sing their respects. We heard owl and deer. Today we will both go into the bramble to see if we can find her and bring her back. And if we can’t do that, we’ll carry on trying to accept that “life is what happens while you make other plans”. Suddenly, silently, sadly…

Just Sunday

The blackberry jam is great! And more will be coming this week. The weather has turned warmer again (though not too warm) and there are berries galore just waiting to ripen.

We went to the Poulsbo Arts Festival yesterday. I was pleased to get a Norwegian tane (pronounced something like tinny). It's a handmade wooden "box" in an oval shape that was used for utilitarian purposes (like packing a lunch) but is also very pretty. No nails or glue and it has these ingenious little clasps on either side to hold the lid in place. The one I got is made of cherry wood. I'll try to get a photo of it.

Today we gave a remote video tour of the house to some friends in the UK. We used Skype and I carried the camera while John followed with the laptop and narrated through his headset. With the wireless network, we were able to get nearly to the turn in the driveway outside. If we had a longer cable on the camera, it could be done.

Well, on with the day...

Day Off

Today is a "day off" from all things usual. No "work", no housekeeping, no lists. I will go to yoga class and then I have a date with blackberries. Blackberries don't wait for anything else to be "done". I will be canning blackberry jam today. It's not a big job and it's really very satisfying to see those jars of yummy goodness resting on the counter when I finish. Even more satisfying to open and taste one! We are blessed with lots and lots of blackberries growing all over the place and John is very good about picking them daily. This won't be the last batch that I put up. We're just getting started.

Our wildlife sightings now include mink. John watched as two of them meandered straight through the yard, walking along the stone fence by the garage and across the lawn/meadow/jungle clearing into the woods. They looked to be about 2 feet in length and had shiny black coats. Now I wonder if my garage intruder may have been a mink kit as what I saw of it as it hurried to and fro was definitely black and larger than a shrew ought to be. I didn't have another category for it at the time. Still, it's better off outside than in, at least for me.

As for "wildlife" I really should mention the slugs. I thought there were slugs in California but out here they apparently ingest some kind of steroid. They are big. By my standards that means they are about 4 inches, some a little larger. They range from black to brown to tan with a few yellow fellows. Apparently they have no predators as they are everywhere in the yard/meadow/jungle clearing. Once we get a vegetable garden established in the spring, I'm sure we will see more visitors hoping for a drive through window open 24 hours a day. We plan to surround it with a fence and see how long that lasts. I want to have a few chickens as well and we will have to secure their area too.

We actually got a bit of rain this week. It was sort of Autumn in August. A very nice break. The weekend is predicted to be sunny and 70s to low 80s. Perfect for visiting the Poulsbo Arts Festival. But enough for now. I've got blackberries...

Sweeping revelations...

Reader be warned: This entry contains boring content and you may wish to save yourself right now and click away from this blog :-)

Still here? Well, on with it then...

I like to sweep floors. That's a good thing because the entire first floor is hardwood. It's the persistent rhythm of going forward as the broom moves to and fro. And it's the feel of the broom stroking the soft wood surface. It's a meditation in itself. A clearing out. Now, doesn't that make you want to find a broom and get at it? Get a life, you say? But that is the life and I'm glad for it. Besides, when I finish I've discovered what amounts to a small dog hiding all over the floor. Why isn't Zoe bald?

I have been on my own for most of the week while John has gone to the Bay Area. So, I have done a bit of this and a bit of that and the week has flown by. I have "worked" in the traditional (though nontraditional telecommute) sense and completed some boxes that needed to be checked. What I like about this mode of working is that I can do it in spurts, doing an hour or several hours at one time as my time, energy, and focus wax and wane. Getting the technology to make it happen seamlessly can be a bugger though. But the IT Dept. in Sacramento and Palo Alto are just at the other end of my phone (and sometimes on my computer by the wonders of remote access). And my co-workers are here in email and phone as well. So, I can't (and don't) complain.

The deck and the porch are finished and ready for the wet weather to come. Maybe a little of that will appear this coming week. The rain slickers and the wellies are waiting in the garage. I will have to get comfortable with Zoe being off-lead when I am on my own and she needs to go outside as the days are starting and ending a little darker and following her around (wait....is that why it's called a lead? Because she "leads" me around?...hmmm) gets more treacherous when I can't see where I'm stepping. This was my realization at 5:15 this morning, tramping after her bleary-eyed and half-asleep around trees and through the long grass by the woods where she insists on going every trip out. Following her around in my robe and clogs can only last a short while yet. And I need a great big flashlight.

No sign of that pesky shrew that was in the garage. I had thought perhaps I would allow Zoe off the lead (let me off?) this time while John was away as I am less concerned than I was about her running off through the woods confronting bears or finding the road. That thought lasted until the end of the first day when she went into hunting mode and found a furry creature small enough to fit inside her mouth (a shrew??!!) and blatantly disregarded every whistle and word from me in order to "play" with it. Thankfully when she did finally decide to come in the house, she didn't carry it with her. But that ended her reign of unadulterated freedom for these few days. The dog whisperer will be back tonight.

In between work, house duties, and family I'm alternating mornings with Jazzercise and yoga. Slip in a little sweeping and I've got the full body/mind/spirit experience! Namaste....

Not Death Valley

We've done a lot of whining about the heat up here lately. So, to get some perspective, here's a picture of Death Valley where we visited last year. We stayed in a little place called Stovepipe Wells right in the middle of the valley, passing up the cushier digs at Furnace Creek Inn nearer to the entry. It was well over a hundred degrees and barely cooled at night (96 when we left in the morning at 9am).

So, that little 90+ degree spell we had up here seems pretty moderate by comparison...

Taming of the Shrew

There's a shrew in our garage. At least there was one there yesterday. If it took the easy way out, it will have made a swift exit through the garage door that stayed open for just that purpose much of the afternoon. A shrew is small, furry, and has a pointy nose. Cats don't eat them because they (according to my hasty research) taste yucky. But they still qualify on the startle and scream list of things I don't like to encounter (right up there with snakes). But Zoe likes to find them, so she got on the case just as soon as I could get her away from the cat food and pointed in the direction of the initial scurrying/shuffling sound. She followed its trail around the garage as it went here and there, but never actually rounded it up, so my hope is that it left.

Other wildlife "encounters" yesterday included a robin's egg (lovely blue) and a possible osprey flying over the woods, both spotted by John. Have to get a better look at the presumed osprey, but it fit the description in the Audubon book. This morning he also heard a new sound while outside with the Z-dog at 5am (bless his heart). While I couldn't get him to vocalize an imitation, he said it could be something like deer calling. I love discovering all the new wildlife (as long as they stay out of the garage!).

We got a number of nagging little projects completed yesterday. John fired up the generator which was purchased in 1989 just after the Loma Prieta earthquake and has never been used. Thankfully, I might add. However, given the earlier talk of winds in this area during the winter, we thought it might be prudent to have a working generator. And we do! It fired right up after 20 years of dormancy and motored away. So, our cabin in the woods will be able to keep a refrigerator and other life enhancing equipment going should our electricity go off.

I have all but a small bit of the deck and front porch stained. I hadn't factored in the wasps which came out at midday around the deck. So, I'll finish that off today in between Jazzercise, lunch, and work. It's Monday....

Weekending

This is a Poulsbo sunset.

Well, the temps have cooled somewhat. It's only getting into the 80s during the day now. Still above normal for the area (should be in the 70s)but much more bearable. I had multiple errands to run Friday. Saturday we went to the Farmhouse Breakfast that is only served on the first Saturday each month. I'm enclosing the link to the place because it really is quite something. The breakfast was very yummy. All organic and most of it grown on the farm. (I didn't see any chickens for the eggs). And the grounds are really nice to stroll around, looking at all their various gardens, even some horses. It's not far from our house, just about 2 miles. We met some nice folks who told us about several more places we ought to discover which we look forward to doing.

We then went to a "Rock the Bulb" event and exchanged 10 of our recessed floods for CFL ones. For free! The electric company is sponsoring these events all over the Sound. There were fairly long lines but they moved quickly and for a savings of about $350 it was definitely worth it! We only have about 20 more to change out, but they are in rooms where we don't use the overhead lighting often. One of the attractive features of this house is the amount of natural light that it has. That will be a plus in the "gray skies" season.

Along with our efforts to be "greener" and conserve kilowatts, we installed some motion-sensing power strips in the office to manage all the peripherals, modem, router, etc. that stay "on" even when they are off. Unfortunately, as we are apparently motionless while working (human energy-saving) at the computer, things kept shutting down and then we'd have to wave our arms or do a little jig to get noticed by the sensor. So, we're back to one regular strip which we will just shut down manually in the evening. But we're trying.

Today I plan to get the rest of the deck stained before it gets too warm and then do the front porch which I can work on into the day as it doesn't get direct sun until much later. John will work down his "list" (it's actually my list, but titled "John's to-do". It's a system that works). There's a hint of rain coming next week and there are a few things outside that would be best done before that happens. We're still looking at sheds to find "the one".

John is off the California next week and I will keep busy with my own work, classes, animals, and more. We're getting the window coverings installed upstairs this week. I know I said I wouldn't put anything over them, but I hadn't considered the insulating factor they provide. So, there will be some inconspicuous shades available on each of the upstairs windows. I'm still holding out on the downstairs...

It's a little too hot

for my liking. In the high 90s. Maybe it's even hit 100 today. We're blessed with air conditioning. A feature I sort of laughed about when we looked at the house, thinking this was the Seattle area for heaven's sake and when does it ever even get warm up here? What about all those gray skies and drizzle that everyone prophesied to me? It's an anomaly. And I will be glad to see it go. It has been warm when eating outside in the evening, so we have enjoyed that. A nice glass of wine (or is that a glass of nice wine?), something interesting on the BBQ, and just time. Maybe the upside of really warm weather is that it slows you down and you can't help but feel relaxed as you melt!

Inside the house, we make interesting cubbie-mates, both of us working from home, usually in the same room, neither of us speaking a word. We save the chit chat for non-work time or during the commute down the stairs ;-)

We went to the Kitsap Arts & Crafts Festival this weekend. It was fun to walk around and look at the interesting booths. And we got a little more familiar with the community of Kingston. I found a handy parking lot for going to the Farmers Market there and a couple restaurants that seem worth investigating in the future. Before it got too hot, I managed to get some of the deck stained and the front porch cleaned and prepped for staining. More will have to wait till the heat breaks. The good news for John is that with such heat, the grass is not growing much (it might be dead!) and he hasn't had to spend evenings mowing. Instead he's managing to collect a few berries which have been very nice indeed. That's about it for now. Take care...

The real Miller Bay

Here's the real Miller Bay with the Cascades in the background. There 's a lovely place to view the bay down the road about 2 miles in Suquamish. There's a long pier which you can walk out on and a long beach front for walking along the water. There's also a little cafe that serves up pizza and sandwiches that people say is quite good. You can sit on the deck outside and look over the bay. On our list of "things to discover". The location is named for the Suquamish tribe that is local to this area. They are hosting the tribal canoe festival this year and 100 or so canoes from various tribes in the Northwest are expected to arrive in early August for the weeklong event.

I smell a little smoke in the air this morning. There's a burn on the Olympic Penninsula to our west caused by a lightening strike.

I notice our "to do" list never seems to get shorter but the items on it are less urgent as we make progress toward becoming established residents here (we're local folk now). The immediate work of setting up basecamp is over and the view looks farther out now. That's a good thing...

Look at this...

Aha! I can upload photos. More will come. This is a view of the property. You can see the house in the clearing in the upper right corner of the bright green area. The rest is the woods and the stream.

I cleaned the deck today in preparation for staining and water protecting it in a couple days. Not a big deck, but it took me 2.5 hours! Silly me. I thought it would be a quick task. Still, it does look better.

John is away to the Bay Area taking care of business. I don't seem to lack for things to do when I'm on my own. I've discovered a yoga class and I went back to Jazzercise this week. Despite feeling somewhat sore, I'm enjoying the experiences.

There's a severe weather alert in place for our neck of the woods. It's based on predictions of 85-95 degree weather arriving this weekend and apparently staying around for the week after. Unusual for it to hang on. With the lack of rain, the fire danger is quite high for Western Washington.

This is Mt. Rainier and this is what it looks like from the parking lot of Home Depot. Pretty cool. Enjoy...

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Sights to see, stuff to do...

It's been a busy week. Kate was up and we had some "girl time". When someone visits, it is a forcing function for getting away from the house and finding new things to see and do in the area. Our list included visiting the local ceramics workshop and putting our creative talents to work. I have never painted ceramics before but I can see how it could become a regular activity. Like watercolor, it is quiet and meditative and creative. I liked it and will surely go back. We traveled to Port Townsend which is a Victorian seaport full of funky little shops and eateries as well as some nice views of the water. The drive is also quite pretty. On the way we drove through Port Gamble which is what is left of an old logging port. It is a lovely "village" with a few restored historical buildings and a very pretty water view. It's the site for various weekend festivals during the year and a popular wedding venue. We also hopped on the ferry to Seattle and explored the big city on foot. Very do-able. In between the sightseeing there were trips to the local Market (which is a must-see in its own right), meals on the deck, the Farmers Market, the chocolate store, and much more. Another friend from the UK arrived on Thursday for an overnight visit while on business in Portland. He arrived on a crutch recuperating from some surgery on an achilles tendon, so we spared him the walkabout tour of Poulsbo! We had a good visit though and we'll do more on the next visit.

Kate was charged with teaching me how to knit socks while she was here. I am a poor student. I find the instructions and the fingering for this absolutely foreign. Worse than that really. She is eternally optimistic and a good and patient teacher, but it is not an activity that I can seem to get my head around. I will look for a crochet pattern that uses that yarn instead. I have better luck with a single hook. You know...KISS (Keep it simple, stupid).

We put her on the local airport transporter van Saturday afternoon (saved us spending four hours driving to/from the airport and we were grateful for that since there were already 3 trips that week) and will enjoy planning another visit. It was a very good week. Remarkably, I don't think we visited a single Starbucks!

So, we're back to more routine activities. I'll pot some plants today and get some weeds trimmed back from the driveway. We don't have a yard so much as a "clearing" where the vegetation makes a continual effort to take back the space. John is once again mowing. He'll do the second stage today. And maybe the third tomorrow will complete it for this week. The dry weather means the grass has not grown quite so fast. And there's an electrical box along the drive that he needs to repair from being backed into by the movers. So, there's a trip to the hardware today I think. The shower door was installed this week and the shower is being used, but I think we will get a new shower head while we are at the hardware. This one is a little anemic. I don't mind "low flow" as long as what there is of it comes out with a little "oomph". I drink decaf coffee. The shower is my main means of waking up! Talk to ya later...

And another week begins...

We enjoyed a visit from friends in California this weekend. The weather was beautiful while they were here (80s and sunshine to spare). We enjoyed trading stories and just catching up. Saturday evening brought the first real rain we have experienced. Just a nice steady rain accompanied by thunder and lightening. That has continued off and on until today when it is predicted to give way to more sunny days and warmer temperatures. Just in time for another visitor! Daughter Kate will spend the week and we will enjoy some "girl time" poking around new places. We will have double the fun when a friend from the UK stops over on Thursday night before returning home on Friday. Having 2 guest rooms is great!

John gathered some wild blackberries and I put them in a blueberry pie (a black and blue berry pie!). Very yummy. Blueberry pie was the first pastry I ever made and I was 12. It has remained my favorite (followed closely by rhubarb or peach, cherry in a pinch, pumpkin in the fall...you get the picture). Anyway, the wild blackberries are nicely sweet. I don't think we will be doing anything with all those wee red elderberries. At least not this year.

We are becoming "scat detectives". For those of you who do not know what the word "scat" means, lets just say that only a nurse would talk about it in the same conversation that includes a discussion of delicious food. We're funny that way. Anyway, we know we have had a coyote in the yard recently and a raccoon last week. I also learned that black bears don't hibernate during the winter. Hmm. John saw a "garter snake" in the yard. It was 2 feet long! Apparently they only have one kind of poisonous snake up here. That may be, but the operative word here is "snake". Yuck! Personally, except for the rabbit, I don't really want to encounter the resident wildlife up close and personal.

On the life-change front, I am wading through the COBRA process to get us set up with health insurance (when will we fix this system??)and the business end of transferring other employer-paid benefits to individual ownership. Living in one state and working in another adds a layer to the process. So, that is my current task. On a more positive note, the shower enclosure will be installed in the master bath tomorrow. Having 2 guest rooms makes having more than one shower a real plus. Speaking of which, I need to jump in the one we have now and get on with the day...

Comin' Around Again...

That marker of "time" that accompanies the moment we begin life on this planet is here again. My birthday is today. I have completed 56 years and I celebrate it wholeheartedly. I have enjoyed each decade. They have been vastly different in many ways and the experiences have been priceless. This one is as rich as the others and any day I wake up is a good day, as a friend of mine would say. Yes, my physical body knows it has been around long enough to want more "consideration". But in other ways I seem to grow younger, dropping the weight of things which turn out not to matter so very much and enjoying the experience of moments, whether big or small. Savoring the relationships with people that enrich my life.

So, to each person who sent a card, an email, flowers, text message, or said simply "Happy birthday my dearest" (Thank you John), know that your thoughtfulness added happiness to my "day". I intend to spend it smiling and playing in watercolors. Thanks for indulging me for a few moments. We'll get back to our regularly scheduled program soon...

This and That....

I am having difficulty uploading photos to the blog but I'll keep trying. The weather is cooler today. A new front has arrived from the ocean side now. The high is predicted to be 64 degrees, considerably cooler than the 80s we had over the weekend. Actually, some rain would be nice. I've got some work to do and some projects to keep me busy today. Gareth was here during the weekend (our fist visitor!) and enjoyed the peaceful surroundings. He, John, and Zoe explored the woods from the other "entry" and didn't get very far. It's so thick with undergrowth that you just can't get through. Maybe when autumn arrives it will thin out some and we can see what's in there. They did hear water so the stream must be running. Then we went to the Farmers Market and introduced Gareth to the 'burg of Poulsbo. We had lunch at JJs Fish Place and for dinner we BBQ'd and ate outside and generally had a very nice 4th. We have more company coming over the next 2 weeks as well. I'm going into town today to do some errands. Gotta get fingerprinted to renew my nursing license so I'll visit the Police Station. Then on to City Hall for pet licensing, and then to check out the Recreation Center where there are some classes I might be interested in joining. John is due back from California tomorrow evening. Zoe encountered the rabbit this morning. When John is away, I typically keep her on a lead when we're outside (because she thinks "Zoe come" is more of a suggestion than a command) and it's a good thing because she would have been down to Miller Bay (there really is a Miller Bay) before she stopped chasing that rabbit. Oh, and that red berry I was wondering about is a red elderberry. Apparently they can be used to make jam or wine, but make you nauseated if eaten raw. So, not much to report today. Some days are like that...

Lights in the Sky

We went into town last evening to watch the fireworks. I love watching them. I have no idea how the people who make them get them to do the things they do: change colors, rotate and spin, make different shapes, twinkle, etc. And I don't need or want to know. I can just watch and be delighted by the display. It's all good. We waited until 8:30 to make our way there only to discover that nearly all the other 7000 residents apparently were planning to be there as well! It was a giant street party with downtown streets closed off and people everywhere. We found parking maybe a couple miles from the town center (right where the farmers market is held actually) and walked in from there. The waterfront was pretty crowded with folks who had obviously staked out their spot much earlier so we just wandered about and enjoyed the music and people-watched for a while. I knew there would be a Navy band playing and I expected a traditional band playing patriotic songs. That wasn't the case. Yes, they wore their Navy uniforms. But they played rock! And the lead singer was a young woman who had a kind of Janis Joplin voice goin' on. The fireworks started at 10:30 from the bay and they had music to accompany them. A little Ray Charles, Queen, Louis Armstrong, the requisite patriotic songs and more. It lasted about 20 minutes. Actually one of the best display I've seen (rivaling Disneyland, Great America, and more) Not bad for a little burg. A definite keeper. Enjoy the holiday...

Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

Well, there have been 2 earthquakes here this week. Yesterday I was working at the computer when the monitor started shaking and my chair suddenly developed rubbery legs. Having lived in California for 30 years, it was immediately identifiable as an earthquake. Sure enough, it showed up 7 minutes later on the U.S. Geological Web site and was centered just 5 miles away. Not a big one but noticeable all the same. So, it's not a perfect world here after all. Guess I can live with that...

And the Beat Goes On...

I watch the weather across the country and feel slightly (but only slightly) guilty with my sweater on. We’re actually having a “warm wave” (I just can’t call it a heat wave yet) and the temperature is expected to reach 84 tomorrow. It gets very cool at night and with the windows open in the bedroom, the bedcovers feel good. The house gets down to 67. I baked bread this week. It just felt like the thing to do. It’s was a wonderful pane francesi loaf which requires a biga. That’s a somewhat gooey concoction of flour, water, and yeast which sits overnight and then ingredients get added the next day with lots of kneading and resting and rising until you have a very lovely crusty loaf with lots of holes inside. I made a roasted butternut squash, shallot, and ginger soup to go with. You’d think it was autumn here.

On the house front, we will put some trellis/screening material along the underside of the porch and the deck to keep critters out of there. Mostly our critters. The cats have discovered there is an outdoors that came with this house and, of course, they want to run right under that space once they escape. Mr. Purrkins was forcibly ejected from it when John grabbed his tail as it was disappearing with him into the dark, small space. What a loud bit of screaming that entailed (no pun intended…it just happened). And BTW, it was Mr. Purrkins doing the screaming, not John. Zoe also has a recent interest in trying to dig under there and she’s very hardheaded. She’ll do as she’s told (as in “stop that digging”, “stay out of there” or some variation on that theme), but when backs are turned, all promises are forgotten (purposefully or just because she’s daft…we can’t really say) and she’s back at it. We’re getting the trellis today. She also wants to venture further and further into the uncharted woods. She went in and John went in after her this week, discovering that the ground is very wet in there. He pronounced it “a bog” which translates for me to “a marsh”. Makes sense since it’s officially a “wetlands buffer area”. There is another way in that we want to try which is on higher ground and more “user friendly”. Still, I think I will have my wellies on for this walk. And the place where Zoe prefers to wander has a makeshift barrier of downed wood in front of it. Which keeps a hardheaded dog busy trying to figure out a way to beat it.

I put up more pictures yesterday as they start to figure out where they “fit”. All that’s left really is to manage the garage a bit. At this point there’s no hope of putting a car in there and maybe there will never be. Hopefully we get a shed up soon and can get things placed where we can reliably find them. It’s the finding things reliably that really drives this. That’s all I want. And this week I will get some herbs to plant at the Farmers Market and get that started. I am actually working some too, participating remotely with the team in Palo Alto. The position that I applied for at the local college closes applications mid-month so I don’t actually expect to hear anything from them until then. My days could gain a lot more structure if that turns out positively.

Poulsbo celebrates the Fourth on the Third! Always has. I appreciate unconventional behavior. So, there will be concession stands along the waterfront and a band will play in the evening. Then fireworks will start about 10:15 (once it’s actually really dark!).

We are going to try making a "guided tour" video of the house and who knows what else and post it here. Watch this space...