Long Weekend

As I write this is the end of an excellent 3 day weekend. We started out the weekend by heading to Grams and Gramps for lunch, paper signing and dinner of beans and donuts! There was much to celebrate, we bought the "Old House", the family homestead and boy were the Grandparent's thrilled. Grandpa recounts not being able to sleep whenever he bought a property, we talked history and family, it was a nice afternoon. They also sent us home with a Steve McQueen movie, "The Thomas Crown Affair" not great like they said, Grandpa loves Steve McQueen but I have to say Seth and I were underwhelmed.

Despite -20 weather, Seth spent Sunday backcountry skiing with Pat and Caroline, most shocking they didn't run into other people. Ashley and I did the more sensible thing of walking to the museum to see the Andy Warhol exhibit and take in a movie at the planetarium. Afterwards everyone met up at the Van Hemert's for a big family dinner and blueberry pie, ah!

Today once again it was freezing, the eggs have been cracking again! Ashley and I went for a tiring ski at Kincaid and met Caroline and Kyra for coffee at Middle Way.

It was an excellent weekend, so sad to see it go.

Hope you had a relaxing MLK weekend!

Next up: Remodeling!!!!!!

We haven't signed the final papers so writing this is pushing my luck but no one is shoving their way to the front to buy this has so Seth and I become homestead owners. We walked through the house a month ago with Grandma, Gramps, Jane and Stephan it was fun to hear everyone's story, it seems everyone in the family has lived in the house and boy do my Grandparents have stories to tell. Grandma hasn't said much but there is a picture of her with a dead bear and a gun and the kids in the front yard, I bet this house could tell some stories. I imagine the house would be a little under the weather if it could talk, there is soooo much work to be done but Seth is excited and I have caught his enthusiasm so here we go. The yard has beautiful lilac and rose bushes that I am itching to cut back and a huge yard that is filling with little cotton wood starts that need to be clipped, perfect job for yours truely.

Maybe from now on this blog will be a do-over, a remodel story of one old house. The roof will be redone first, than skylight out and lots of sheet rocking, wiring, some plumbing, new floors, new kitchen, 2 new bathrooms and lots of paint. There are three shacks with 5 cars outside all up to my Dad to move and than the garage with what is now 4 apartments, to become 1 apartment and 2 garages. Writing all that feel cathartic and constricts my heart into my throat all at once. We measuring the POS today and than headed to Home Depot to do some cost projections, Seth is drawing the house on CAD as I write. The most exciting part to me right now is that we have a friend who has a custom cabinet maker that is good priced so the kitchen will look great, also costed out hard wood floors for the rest of the house that doesn't already have them and it should work? The living room was put in by Uncle Bob or Uncle Brig depending on who you ask. A potential contractor asked us who put this roof on, Grandpa told him "The best goddam roofer in the area." That fool didn't get the job, Seth did, as well as deed.

So here are a few pictures to start us off, it is mind boggling that we will pull this off...............

Next Up: The Cabin

I don't know that I have mentioned it but Seth and have come across a little piece of Bear Island across from Homer, Alaska. Seth, Pat and Scott spent a large amount of down time discussing cabin plans and so I thought I would share them with you. I must be a little enthused with the Pagoda ideas because our cabin is taking that shape and our lovely hen is named Pagoda as well.

Seth has been doing a little research on the art of Wabi-sabi. We might try the Japanese technique of sho-sougi-ban. You lightly torch the wood of the exterior of the house than scrub with a wire brush and oil. This process protects the wood from rot and is supposed to be fire resistant, perfect for a lovely couple building their pagoda in a dead spruce forest.

Below is a few pictures of our property, Seth's pagoda sketches and a little sho-sougi-ban propaganda. Two of the more modern, square house photos are done by a local architect here in Anchorage and the house happens to be owned by none other than Martin Buser, the Iditarod champ.

First things first.... Hawaii

Returned last night from Hawaii, just over two weeks and was it great. The first week was spent just south of Kona in a town called Captain Cook. We ran and swam in the mornings, ate breakfast on the deck and searched out new beaches by day. There was the best snorkeling in that area, we swam with dolphins that might have been attracted to the bright yellow, red and blue packrafts that Seth, Caroline and Pat brought. There was a small pod that we followed to the Captain Cook monument, where the Capt. finally bit the bullet. There was shave ice, evening cocktails, eel and shark sightings and cooling evening rain showers. We spent Christmas there than the 9 of us packed up the two Ford Focuses and moved to Puako just North of Kona. This house was not as nice, a bit older with cooler quarks but the entire back yard was grass than sand than lava and ocean, sea turtles beaches themselves daily and we spent much time just watching the Humpback whales breaching, tale slapping and throwing their entire bodies out of the air. The beaches were great fun, much body and boogie boarding was done as well as dodging of very slow sea turtles.

Welcome home, it's dark, pretty cold but Spy is happy and snuggled on the coach next to Seth and I as I write, we are getting 3 chicken eggs a day and there is much to look forward to in the new year.

Merry Christmas,
B