Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me was at the Moore Theater, and S.I.L Julie was completely on top of it and got tickets for the 4 of us.  What a great night!  I’d go back in a heartbeat when they are back in town.  Here’s a picture just to prove we were there. 

The upper railing has never really bugged me, but once we finished the kitchen, I got a bee in my bonnet to replace the white metal with black wood.  Our 6” posts are not the actual 5.5” they are supposed to be, so off to Dad’s garage I went to trim down a lot of pieces to 5.25”.  Wesley was thrilled with the scrap pieces it produced.

I’d rather not recall the many redesigns and miscalculations I made, and have to admit that I needed both my dad and my husband to finish this project.  The part of me that continues forward and finishes is not always a friend to precision and reflection, also known as “wood-working”.  But high gloss black paint covers many an error, and I really like the final result.

Before:

After:

Decorated for Christmas (we gave away the buffet that previously displayed the Christmas village):

Dwayne has begun to fail National Swearing Day.  Ironically, it is the holiday he created back when we were newlyweds and he tried securing the tall tree—that I wanted—into the small stand he had bought.  Since then, a few things have changed. We own The Last Christmas Tree Stand You Will Ever Buy (marketed appropriately, it turns out) and 16 years of practice putting up Christmas trees.  What hasn’t changed is that once the tree is upright in about 5 minutes, Dwayne’s job is done.  I’m now asking for small trees, as it’s tiresome putting lights on a 12’ tree, but Dwayne delights in branches that go to the ceiling.

 

This year, though, he returned to his hunting roots and had to search 4 stores for a proportional tree topper that wouldn’t be dwarfed by the rest of the tree.  He texted me pictures of his hunt while I strung lights.

The hunt was successful!  The kids did a kid-job decorating the tree, and then we lit it all up:

Look at my cute nieces!

We’re all happy to celebrate together.

Even better than the excellent food was the Enigma Crate the middle generation puzzled on for the afternoon.  It took the collective talents of all 6 of us to crack the case!  I’d do this every holiday if we could.

Missoula Children’s Theater comes to our elementary school every year and in one week, audition, rehearse, and preform an off-beat fairy tale.  This year was Jack and the Beanstalk, and Kyla played a merchant!  It was so fun!

A bow. An arrow. A length of yarn. What can Wesley break with this new toy?

Dwayne:  Okay, I’ll give you a hint.

Me: Mountain, ocean, or forest?

Dwayne: Yes.

And that’s when I suspected we were heading to the Olympic Peninsula for Veterans Day Weekend.

On the first day, we enjoyed  the charms of Edmonds and the ferry ride to Kingston.  I had hoped to start off the adventures at Hurricane Ridge, but early November is post-snow, pre-plow, so we got up only high enough for Wesley to have a enough white stuff for lots of snowballs.  But we did get to Madison Waterfall, a hike so short that one could count the breaths it takes to get there.

Dwayne reserved two rooms at a lodge with a backyard view of the Olympics. But the highlight was the scenery. I pulled the Mama card and we spent Saturday afternoon exploring the Elwha—where a few years ago, national news was made when a long-standing dam was removed and restoration began.  We hiked out to Goblin’s Gates, but didn’t get all the way to the old farmstead before the early sunset compelled us back to the car.  Wesley started off whining, but he soon forgot to as we galloped along on our stick horses and ninja- jumped over all the rocks and roots.  

I didn’t point out this sign until we were back to the car…

I’m going to continue playing the Mama-card and post too many pictures of the weekend.  It was one of my favorite family adventures!

The long car ride was accompanied by the audio recording of one of my favorite fantasies, The Furies of Calderon.  All good car trips begin and end with a great book, so says Denise.

Dwayne is about to take us away for the weekend, but we made sure to have cake the night before.  I bought myself a chocolate cake, and Mom brought me a chocolate cake—HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL OF US!

Wow! Our contractor did it all in 15 days (it took me about that long to clear it beforehand and move back in afterward).

We love the new island.

During the remodel, we got rid of the buffet, wine rack, and two book cases, so  filling up all the extra cabinets and drawers was not difficult.  I even got to to bring a few things I store in the out-of-the-way Secret Hiding Place to be more in reach.

Here’s how it looks all put together. 

The old view:

The new view!

Excepting the countertops, almost all the final 1000 details are ready.  The appliances and some of the final trim have to wait for granite installation, but the contractor may be a bit bored tomorrow while waiting for the countertops to go in.

Here’s what we’ve got:

Crown moulding

Handles/Pulls

Wine Rack

Full installation of pantry (and pantry light!) and new paint (I accidently used the brighter green of the downstairs bath rather than the richer green I had meant)

New dining room light fixtures and beam braces

Sink

And so many new outlets, both on the island and around the counters!

So close!