{"id":203,"date":"2011-07-11T17:15:26","date_gmt":"2011-07-11T23:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smugglerscove.us\/?p=203"},"modified":"2011-07-11T17:15:26","modified_gmt":"2011-07-11T23:15:26","slug":"june-and-early-july-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smugglerscove.us\/?p=203","title":{"rendered":"June and Early July 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n

Progress<\/strong><\/p>\n

July 11, 2011<\/p>\n

Mid- June was the last entry. The blog didn\u2019t quite go as planned and two blogs were merged into this one; let me catch you up.<\/p>\n

Truck load #11 went out the door yesterday: 7-9-2011. It had been a long stretch between #10 and #11. Load #11 started to touch very personal items and I wonder where I should draw the line between what I keep and what a send off. I like to think of it as sending things off to someone who will treasure them, not knowing their intimate stories, but treasuring them nonetheless.<\/p>\n

We have been back to Whidbey Island. We walked the land by ourselves and with others. We have again been amazed at the splendor of our property. We consider our good fortune to be the beginning of an amazing journey and a perilous adventure.<\/p>\n

We arrived at a late hour on the island and drove to a Bed and Breakfast about \u00bc of a mile from our land. We opened the door and found a charming home. In the morning, we had the most splendid view of the water; rabbits, quail, birds of every color and size, bald eagles, chipmunks, et al. Ships and boats forged ahead, hither and yon, and we watched it all from out kitchen, living room, or the fabulous Adirondack chairs on the expansive lawn. Our lodging was reminiscent of my mother\u2019s home; flowered wallpaper, knick knacks of bunnies and birds, a lovely quilt on the bed, clean towels, and fun food. These are our neighbors!<\/p>\n

We awoke and drove to the land. Would it be what I remembered? Absence always makes the heart grow fonder, or so it seems. Well, my memory was spot-on. Our land was beautiful, blossoming and promised an adventure.<\/p>\n

We went in search of the land markers\u2026four, or five or six\u2026the property is not a perfect square. That day, we found one, maybe two; I can\u2019t remember. But while we wandered around, we took photo after photo and I kept asking, \u201cIs this our land?\u201d and most times Mark seemed sure it was. Really? How amazing. How overwhelming. How special.<\/p>\n

Over the span of a couple of days, we run back and forth to Greenbank or Freeland to get this, that, and the other thing. We met with a geologist, a land manager, a perc-test guru and we tried to absorb all the information.<\/p>\n

At the end of each very long day, we\u2019d retreat to the B&B and love life. It was relaxing to watch the ships, the birds, and the wildlife. Mark cooked wonderful meals. I had asked to go to one of the larger thrift stores on the south end and I\u2019d purchased a jigsaw puzzle. I set it up in the kitchen and got to work. I love puzzles and have not had a moment or the space to do one for quite some time. I dove in, watched the ships, the wildlife and the weather and made headway.<\/p>\n

The last day of our journey, we went to the beach. We walked down the forested path to the water\u2019s edge. We were rewarded with copious amounts of driftwood and smooth ocean stones. The artist in me began formulating plans.<\/p>\n

We toured the Timberland Home site on the way to Seattle and started to narrow down home ideas. The perc test was scheduled and permits are being prepared. We asked for a spreadsheet itemizing the list of things to do in chronological order.<\/p>\n

By the time we returned to Black Forest, we felt we had accomplished quite a lot.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Junk<\/strong><\/p>\n

June 13, 2011<\/p>\n

There is flotsam and jetsam everywhere. It stacks up, collects in corners, finds a flat surface and stays; no, it multiplies. Load 6 is outta here.<\/p>\n

Laid in bed and thought about the current property. I know all the trees and the trails and the sites for flowers. I know the birds and the critters.<\/p>\n

This will all change. New (old) trees, deer (smaller) trails, new critters and new birds.<\/p>\n

Adventure does not begin to describe it; terrifying would be one good descriptive word.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Foggy<\/strong><\/p>\n

June 10, 2011<\/p>\n

Load 5 gone.<\/p>\n

Two rooms painted.<\/p>\n

Red Hot Chili Peppers beat Dave Matthews.<\/p>\n

I am now looking at my \u201coffice\u201d and wondering where to begin. I have a massive variety of stuff: Mod Podge, jigsaw puzzles, tv trays, art work, files, tables, Pez dispensers and more. I think it\u2019s safe to get rid of 3 of the 4 Scrabble games in this room. It\u2019s a start.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Music and Painting<\/strong><\/p>\n

June 8, 2011<\/p>\n

I\u2019m on a journey to find the best music to paint to. Yesterday\u2019s choice was classic Allman Brothers Band; Whipping Post, Elizabeth Reed (who was she?), etc.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s Get It Started<\/strong><\/p>\n

June 7, 2011<\/p>\n

Well, it is started.<\/p>\n

We have 11.2 acres of glorious land in Island County. Now what?<\/p>\n

We need to get our current home ready to sell. The first thing the \u201cstaging\u201d books tell us to do is get rid of your personality\u2026in your home. Wow. That\u2019s proving to be quite a task.<\/p>\n

I just painted the hot pink bathroom a boringly atrocious off-white. No personality there. There was a lot of history in that little bathroom\u2026painted hot pink by Kazumi! Her color of choice and it was fabulous! When Sam too over that bedroom\/bathroom, I made him keep the pink bathroom!<\/p>\n

4 truckloads of \u201cstuff\u201d has gone to various thrift stores. Sold a few things on Craigslist. Donated another truckload to an organization. Feel like I have not even made a dent.<\/p>\n

Back to washing walls for the next paint job\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Progress July 11, 2011 Mid- June was the last entry. The blog didn\u2019t quite go as planned and two blogs were merged into this one; let me catch you up. Truck load #11 went out the door yesterday: 7-9-2011. It … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smugglerscove.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smugglerscove.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smugglerscove.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smugglerscove.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smugglerscove.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=203"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/smugglerscove.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":309,"href":"https:\/\/smugglerscove.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions\/309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smugglerscove.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smugglerscove.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smugglerscove.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}