Two Posts In One

Hi to all our friends and Merry Christmas! I have pictures to share from our last two trips to the coast hence the title of this post.

Cliff has been getting a lot done on the inside of the house, mainly the great room. He has installed all the window trim on every one of the seven large windows. It hasn't been painted yet but it did cover up the rough wood framing so it looks great. He also installed the kitchen sink including the plumbing. And the kitchen backsplash. So let's get to some pictures!

This is the west facing wall. Nice wide window sills for the cats to birdwatch!

North facing wall. Nice window seat, don't you think?

Running water in the kitchen!

Here is our backsplash. Lovely glass tiles.

And now we move into the main floor bathroom. This is the travertine tile in the shower. It's not finished yet...next trip!

Last but not least, we had an amazing thing happen. One Saturday afternoon I was napping downstairs in the master bedroom (not amazing, normal) and Cliff was working upstairs when he heard a bird fly into one of the windows (also quite normal unfortunately). He walked outside and saw a hawk lying on the deck under the kitchen window. The hawk wasn't moving and it was cold and raining so Cliff picked it up thinking to keep it warm. The poor thing was stunned. It's head was bobbing and one eye was turned up in its socket. Cliff didn't think it was going to live so he didn't wake me up to see it. He just held onto the poor thing and it started to recover a bit. So he kept it in his hands, keeping it warm. After 10 or 20 minutes it seemed fine but wasn't making a move to get free, just seemed content. It was about this time that I woke up and came upstairs to find Cliff holding a hawk and was able to take the pictures. Just after I took the pictures it moved a little in Cliff's hands so we went out onto the deck. Cliff knelt down and opened his hands. The hawk hesitated for several seconds, we both thought it was not going to be able to fly away, but just then it took off, flew straight away from Cliff and then flew back around over the deck and just a couple of feet from Cliff, and then he was off and soaring. We watched him fly away across the bluff and land (hopefully) in a tree. I told Cliff it was a fly by thanking :-)

When we got home Cliff did some research and found that it was an adolescent sharp-shinned hawk.

Well that's all for now folks. I'll let you know the next time we have some progress to tell about.

Our Microwave Drawer

A little here, a little there. That's our philosophy about finishing this house and we are so thankful to be making any progress at all!

We bought our microwave since the countertop one we had been using died on us. It's very cool and our first appliance! Here it is closed and opened.

After installing the microwave Cliff headed outside to begin a big painting project. In preparation for installing the deck railing he had to paint the facia and posts. He's doing the priming in these pictures. It made such a difference just to have them painted white as opposed to pressure treated wood.

Now that the cabinets are painted we emptied out our make-shift pantry where we kept everything from dishes to food to zip-lock bags. For someone who loves to organize (me) it was a real treat! Here are a couple of pictures for your viewing pleasure.

I'll let you know when there is more to see. Thanks for looking.

Painted Cabinets

As we left for the coast last weekend we were excited to see the cabinets all painted white and the anticipation grew as we got closer and closer! When I first walked into the house and saw all the white I was stunned at how white it all looked! The cabinet doors and shelves were spread around the living room where my brother (our painter) had left them at our request so Cliff could install them himself (saving a little money). It took a day or so to get used to seeing them white after more than a year of seeing them as unfinished wood. I had the same reaction at the change after the walls and ceiling were painted.

The cabinets look beautiful and now we are so excited to get the backsplash up because the contrast is going to be amazing. Here are a few pictures....

This is the cabinet where the microwave drawer will go and also the area for cookie sheets, etc. before the door was put on.

This is the corner cupboard with lazy susan inside and deep drawers for pots and pans. The range will be to the left.

Here is the pantry without doors, and yes, those are pull out drawers!

And here it is with the doors on and adjusted.

And last but certainly not least (how could it be least when it's so long?!) is our window seat and bookcase.

Cliff spent some time installing cabinets in the garage over the weekend as too. These were salvaged from a lab that was being demolished on one of his jobs. I ask you, could they be a more perfect color for a house on the coast?

Along with the excitement of making progress in the construction we were blessed with a magnificent day on Friday. It was warm and sunny all day! Fall has always been the best season at the coast and last weekend didn't disappoint. There wasn't a breath of wind coming from the north to cool the day down and that is very unusual. While Cliff was working hard installing the garage cabinets I was lounging on the deck enjoying the sunshine and a good book. There was one tense moment when a spider threatened me but other than that it was great!

Until next time then........

Window Seats, Walls and Grandkids

Hi to All,

We have some exciting things to show you, at least from our standpoint! We have paint on the walls and ceiling. We have an awesome and exceptionally long window seat. And most important of all we have a new granddaughter.

We have been to the state of Washington and back and also to the coast and back just in the month of September. With the month not even half over we're tired already!

So here are the pictures starting with the coast and finishing up with the grandkids.

This is our awesome window seat and bookcase. It was built by Jim Millen of Millen's Woodworking in Castro Valley. It will be painted white along with all the cabinets.

This picture is just to show our ceiling color. It's called Light Khaki and I love it. It will really pop with the white crown molding up.

Cliff and I were so happy to be able to put up our hallway lights. It's been very dim going down the hall or trying to see into our makeshift pantry at night. We love the lights but realized that we need clear bulbs so the seeded glass shades are properly seen.

This is the bathroom on the main floor. I wanted a blue bathroom and here it is. Cliff is installing the medicine cabinets which I love! I was so thrilled to see them in place!

And here's another picture of the ocean but I couldn't resist because of the pattern that the foam was formed into overnight. I think you'll agree that it's amazing what God has created and sustains for our enjoyment.

And now on to the grandkids! First up is our new granddaughter Elise Jean Trzeciak. She's a tiny thing only weighing 6 lb. 5 oz. at birth but she has gained that back and more. I was calling her the teacup baby but I think she's already outgrown that designation.

Next up is Elise's big brother Daniel. He's only 6 weeks shy of turning two and is a darling boy. His favorite book right now is 'Go Dog, Go" and I can't tell you how many times it was read by myself or someone else in the five days we were there!

Here is William, our flirt. He has the longest eyelashes I've ever seen and looks at you with a sideways glance that is totally disarming, even when he's doing something naughty!

The three oldest grandkids, Jake, Warren and Johnny are playing flag football this fall. We were in Wa. for their first game and what a fun thing to watch it was. Jake and Warren are on one team and Johnny is on the other. They play each other every week since the league is small.

And last but not least, what can be more fun for a kid than to get up on the roof? Cliff and Ryan were fixing a leak at Ryan and Jen's chimney so of course Grandpa got the five oldest (Aubrey and Jeanine are both three) to climb up on the roof. This brought back memories of Jen and Jes up on our roof when they were five and two. I have pictures of that too! From left to right they are Warren, Johnny, Jake, Jeanine and Aubrey. For those of you who don't know if they belong to Jen or Jes, it goes like this: 1st, 3rd and 5th are Jen's and 2nd and 4th are Jes'.

Well, that's all for now. Our next post should be soon with pictures of white cabinets! Yes, they are going to be painted this week or next by my brother, Doug Hansen Painting, who also painted our walls. He's excellent at what he does and we're looking so forward to the finished product.

A Little Work, A Lotta Pretty

As my title clearly tells, Cliff was able to get some work done on our trip to the coast last weekend, but the best part was how beautiful it was up there. It was the full moon and we had no fog overnight so the moon over the water in the early morning hours was stunning! Unfortunately I don't have pictures of it because my camera is just a point & shoot and doesn't do a good job on stuff like that. But I did get some great pictures of the ocean (what else?) and of some of the flowers in season.

Cliff spent some time putting up 1x4 boards under the deck overhang and beginning the to paint the columns. I didn't get any pictures of the painting in progress though. I guess I was too busy looking at the beautiful Pacific ocean. So here's the one work related picture.

Well, technically this next one is work related because I took the picture to show our friend Jim Millen (Millen's Woodworking in Castro Valley), cabinet maker extraordinare. Jim is going to build a window seat all along this NW facing wall for us. But the reason I'm sharing the picture is the awesome sunset. Please pay no attention to the mess under the window!

And now onto the pretty! Ocean views and flowers. These pink flowers are probably familiar to some of you, but I'm not a gardener and have never paid much attention to the names of plants. So these are Amaryllis Belladonna, aka Naked Ladies! When I first heard that name used I thought it was a joke but it's not and there is a perfectly good explanation for that nickname which I have already forgotten.

Last but not least here a couple of pictures of the beautiful blue Pacific as seen from just south of the mouth of the Navarro River.

Until next time, when we will have a hand rail on our deck, Lord willing.

We Have A Deck!

Hello to everyone. It's been a long time since my last post (again) but as I've said before there hasn't been much to write about. Until now that is.

We have a deck after all this time and it isn't made of plywood! It's aluminum and is an interlocking system which won't let water leak through, so the patio under the deck will be dry when it's raining outside. Cliff put the whole thing on by himself over the Memorial Day weekend. We knew the deck area was large but with plywood covering only part of it we couldn't visualize how large it actually was so it was amazing to see it done. Maybe we'll have some square dancing on the deck! (But only after we get the railing on).

So here are my photos of Cliff working hard again and the finished product.

As always I'll keep you updated when there is progress. If the Lord is willing we will finish the house one of these days.

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust int he name of the Lord our God". Psalm 20:7

A Little Progress

You'll laugh when you see our progress and how little it is! Some shelves in the future linen closet. Yup, that's it. But I thought I'd update the blog so anyone wondering would know what's happening. (Anyone out there anymore?)

A friend of ours has started a new art craft, wire art. He made a humpback whale for us which we hung on one of the bedroom walls. I think you'll agree that it's very cool!

And here are our shelves in the linen closet. This is in the bathroom on the main floor. That's the bathtub to the right all covered with cardboard to keep it from getting damaged.

And last but not least another picture of the ocean. It was rainy and windy the day I took this. I think it would be fun to take a picture of the ocean a day for a year and then have a slide show of the photos. The ocean is always facinating, always changing from one day to the next, from one hour to the next.

That's all for now. God willing, we will make some more progress this year. I'll keep you updated when there is anything to report. Thanks for taking a look.