cold!

We seem to be in the middle of an unusual cold spell - coldest temperatures in about a decade, apparently.  Until now, it's actually been unusually warm - the pussy willows were even budding before the end of January.  Now, they're freezing their butts buds off!

cabinet installation

Dale is working on installing the cabinets which he built in his shop (see previous posting). Here are some shots of this work in progress...


Dale (this frame was taken with a very fast shutter speed, so he would not appear blurry):


sink goes in the corner:


Betty's "slide-out island / lower work surface for short person" design:


view from the living/dining area:


bird's eye view:

appliances moved in

The rest of the appliances were delivered today - washer, dryer, refrigerator and freezer. You know you're really getting close to being done when you own your own washer and dryer after using the laundromat for a couple of years. We're going to miss those weekend mornings when we ate breakfast out at Tarcisio's while we did laundry at the laundromat next door to the restaurant. (Still can't operate the washer until we get a final inspection of the septic system.)

Oh, if anybody has any idea why a washing machine would come with a CD, please let me know. I hope this doesn't mean that we're going to have to wait for the washer to boot up every time we want to use it. I'm wondering if the washer and dryer are networked so, for example, the washer knows that it can work at a leisurely pace because the clothes in the dryer are nowhere near dry.

let the oxidation begin!

We put up the rest of the copper rain chains today. The simpler chains (i.e. the ones without the cups) are still bright and shiny. When they grow up, they'll turn bluish-green. On the south side of the house, the rain chains have these cool cups which create sort of a cascading waterfall effect. I guess they make a pleasant sound, too - kind of like chimes. But since we just put them up and are in the middle of an uncharacteristic cold, dry spell, we won't really know what kind of performance they give until the weather returns to normal ...stay tuned.

everything including the kitchen sink

"Indiana Bones" 1991-2006

We took Indy to the vet yesterday. It seems that she had a tumor in her bladder and it had progressed too far to treat. She never came home.

So, now we have a small void in the pack - one less canine body on the floor of the cabin in front of the fire, an unused food dish on the deck, an empty space next to Max on the back seat of the Vanagon.

She had a lot of "personality". When she was a puppy, she had only two energy levels - she was either in constant motion or unconscious. If she was moving and you managed to hold her still for a few seconds, she would crash.

She was very "talkative" - she made all sorts of hard-to-describe sounds as if she were trying to tell you what she wanted from you - as if we didn't know: "biscuits", "chow", "chewstick" or "walk" (which, by the way, she would recognize if you tried to spell it so she wouldn't get too excited about going for one).

She loved to chase sticks - especially if you threw them in the water for her. After a few trips to the beach, she even recognized the phrase "high tide" and would start barking with anticipation.

She didn't particularly welcome the other pets. She eventually got used to Max and played with her and even slept next to her. She even let the cats come near her, although she might still growl if they got too close. She never really got use to Bear or Sadie, the two most recent additions to the pack.

I think Indy's idea of heaven is where she is the only pet in the family... They let her eat whenever she wants. They take her swimming and throw lots of sticks for her. She has the whole back seat of the van to herself. Whenever the car goes through a drive-thru, dog biscuits are forthcoming. All in all, she was a good dog and I hope that's the kind of doggie heaven she finds.