Restoring the Ravenna Centenarian

old growth gets new life

2012-02-20T14:57:00.000-08:00

There is this awesome second-hand store in town that sells everything under the sun for your home - its kind of like a Home Depot for hipsters and fans of Portlandia. Its called the Re-Store, and when, say, Seattle demolishes a 100 year old school, many of the school's items - like old bookshelves and genuine slate chalkboards - end up at the Re-Store.

My favorite place is the store's back lot, where there is scads of old lumber lying around. Lots have nails in them, some have lead paint, many are misshapen and good only for firewood. But in a timber-rich area like the Pacific Northwest, much of it is old growth fir and cedar just begging for another life. I love using this stuff for projects - the grain is much tighter than the fast-growing trees of today, the smell of old timber when you cut into it is like none other, and its cheap cheap cheap!

You've seen many of these things before in previous blogposts, but I aggregated my reincarnated timber projects below for easy viewing. Stay tuned - a new coffee table is next. So fun!

the drill-bit I've been using to make holes for birdhouses fits a tea-light perfectly - so I found interesting old pieces of wood and made a bevy of candle holders

this is the first of another one or two deck seats I'll make, something easy to drag around and sit where you want to

ah, the birdhouses. love them. no one is living in them yet, tho...

our old/new cedar fence cost about $4 to build

these old boards required cutting, glueing, and screwing - and behold, a new stovetop backslash is born!

inspired by the backsplash and leftover wood pieces, I built this side table for our room

AJ needed a new yoga center, so the Re-Store obliged and supplied the materials

meet beepers

2012-02-12T21:58:00.000-08:00

This is the stray cat that visits our yard sometimes to see Wiesty - he swung by this morning. His name is Beepers and our neighbor feeds him lots of kibble. He's a super nice cat - especially for a tough street-cat - and looked particularly fluffy today, so I snapped this pic.

put a bird on it!

2012-02-12T21:45:00.000-08:00

The tiny town of Edison lies about 80 miles north of Seattle and has long been a favorite hangout for my uncle Mark. Its a great little spot on the Skagit flats right on the edge of the Samish Bay, looking west out over the San Juan Islands. This weekend, the town held their first ever Bird Festival to celebrate the abundance of feathered friends that visit the area this time of year. AJ had lots to do around the house, so I ventured north with some friends and met up with Mark for a tour of the town and tides.

Andy waiting patiently outside The Luck Dumpster

Gallery on the main drag through Edison

The entrance to Tweets, a cool little coffee shop and cafe

Andy and Rebecca on Tweet's porch

Inside Tweets

A cozy sweater for the telephone pole, downtown Edison

"Put a bird on it!" says Mav.

Tide flats in Edison

White geese in the farmland nearby

Rebecca and Mark learning about birds

Young bald eagle

"Bacock!"

Samish Bay

wise tree

Another young eagle

Our chariot and an eagle

on a sunny day...

2012-02-07T18:43:00.000-08:00

....there's no better place to be than the Pacific Northwest. I was lucky enough to take a sunset cruise around Lake Union yesterday on a colleague's boat. The mountains were snowy, the waters calm, the skies crystal clear, and a full moon was rising in the east. Unreal.

Moon rising one my building on UW campus

superbowl sunday, seattle style

2012-02-07T18:02:00.000-08:00

What do you do when the Superbowl happens to fall on a 60 degree sunny February day in Seattle? You move the living room outside, of course!

arts and crafts day at the centenarian

2012-01-29T15:53:00.000-08:00

While I continue to receive many reports from folks about how beautiful it's been in SoCal, Adrienne and I spent yet another weekend in-doors seeking refuge from the rain and trying not to turn on any lights inside until after 2pm. Whoops - scratch that...I just realized as I type that the living room light has been on all day.

But...weekends such as this make the heart grow fonder for spring and then summer, when we can once again while away the long PacNorWest days in the garden and around a fire. So we embraced that fuzzy feeling for the next season and knocked out a few projects that will enrich those soon-to-be lazy days of something other than winter.

I saw this portable deck-seat online at some fancy art store for $800. Stole the idea and

build it for two orders of magnitude less.

Adrienne spent the better part of the day organizing her seed inventory into

some new seed sleighs I made for her.

We extended our growing capabilities into the front yard - stay tuned,

some Jerusalem artichokes will be planted in these.

Adrienne brushed these 40 paint stirrers with chalkboard paint - now she

can write and erase plant labels for the garden.

These are old windows from Seattle's awesome Re-Store - each cost $6, and I was able to make little greenhouses outside so AJ can grow some stuff over the winter.

alpine skiing...in ravenna

2012-01-18T15:00:00.000-08:00

As forecasted, a giant storm hit Seattle overnight and Adrienne and I woke up to more snow. All the remaining snow from this weekend had melted, so this was 4" of all new powder. And it is exactly what it was - powder! In the PacNorWest, we're used to slushy, heavy, wet, bone-chilling, messy snow. But today's was light, fluffy, and wonderful!

Nearly everything in town is shut - including UW and NOAA - so we had some of the day to play outside. Below are some shots from our lunchtime outing.

View into the backyard when we woke up

AJ suited up in front of the House, lookin all snow-bunny'ish.

Mav likes the snow too...

15th Ave bridge over Ravenna Park

Our neighborhood park - it was the exact same scene on all the hilly streets too

AJ skiing through Ravenna Park

AJ and JJ cut first tracks down this alley

AJ shows off her technique on the 61st Street double-black diamond

urban winter

2012-01-15T14:28:00.001-08:00

Adrienne and I woke up to a snowy wonderland today, the first of this winter. Below are a few shots of the 'hood when I went out for bagels.

View from the porch. Our neighborhood has great hills that the kids (and adults) can sled down.

The Centenarian stands tall in the white stuff

20th Ave NE

The neighborhood pub

The Playground

Back at home

winter light

2012-01-15T14:23:00.000-08:00

One of the things I love most about living in the PacNorWest is the light. In the summer, dusk lingers forever and is a photographer's dream. In the winter, the sun sometimes peeks below the clouds and gives off some super-vibrant colors.

This past week was spectacular, starting with that great afternoon glow on Mt. Rainier seen in the previous blogpost. The following pics are just some I snapped while out and about.

Sunrise on another house on our block

Dusk outside my building on campus

This happens a lot around here - the sun will dip below the dark clouds and light everything up

View from our front porch in the afternoon

Wow, what a sunset!

the view from above

2012-01-08T17:08:00.000-08:00

Today when I was on the roof taking down our Christmas lights, I looked south and was shocked at the amazing view we (apparently) have of Mt Rainier. In the summer, the trees will essentially block it out...but for now, its pretty cool to know this view exists one flight up!

ode to the powerplant

2012-01-08T11:14:00.000-08:00

Isn't this an awesome picture of the Powerplant? It is my desktop screen saver right now. I am thinking of getting it printed and having it professionally framed.

For those folks from Carlsbad, you understand the sentiment....for others, let me explain.

The Powerplant may seem like an abomination, an eyesore on an otherwise beautiful coastline, emblematic of all that is wrong with southern California. It is a concrete box that belches smog and fire in the middle of the night, and it actually intakes so much sea water to cool its jets that once expelled, the heated water warms the Pacific Ocean for hundreds of yards along the shore. This photo was taken on a beach fondly named Warm Waters.

But the Powerplant has been there forever (well, in human-years). For us locals it acts as a beacon, shining a lighted pathway to our home. It can be seen from Dana Point on a clear day - "There's the Powerplant!" one exclaims. It can be seen from a whale watching boat far out at sea. It can be seen from the sky, standing as a map marker signaling to the air traveler they are almost home. When orienting visitors to my hometown, I always look for the Powerplant to illustrate where we are geographically - and through such visual lessons, Carlsbad's place in this world becomes clearer to them.

The Powerplant - sentinal, ambassador, cherished friend.

66 years and counting

2011-12-30T15:40:00.000-08:00

My lovely grandparents celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary earlier this week. Not only do they still like each other, but I can say with considerable certainty that they still LOVE each other.

Remarkable indeed. Congratulations Papa and Grandma!

socal christmas 2011

2011-12-29T19:27:00.000-08:00

AJ and I just returned from good 'ol SoCal, where the days were warm, the ocean waves were curling, and the sun lingered in the sky a bit longer than we're used to in Seattle. It was a great trip and it great fun to see the ever-expanding Meyer/Wiegand family scene - there were babies and little kids everywhere! Made it feel like Christmas....

Christmas at 4318

4 generations

My buddy Ollie

the Self Realization Gardens in Encinitas

Grandmother and mom looking west

AJ at the sea

AJ, HM, and ME at the gardens

seastar at Carlsbad low tide

hermit crab - you can see its eyeballs if you look closely!

sunset over the Pacific

mass production

2011-12-11T18:41:00.000-08:00

Now we've got some blueberry and strawberry wine in the house! The strawberry needs lots of time to get better in the bottle - actually, I'm not convinced it will ever get there. But the blueberry...that's a different story. Smells great, looks great and...tastes great! A bit sweet - so maybe it will mellow in the bottle - but is a super good dessert wine right now. I am shocked!

the christmas centenarian

2011-11-27T17:52:00.000-08:00

The Centenarian got all in the spirit this weekend and is the first on the block to spread illuminated holiday cheer. Heck, it may end up being the only house around here with lights this season - this pagan city seems to decorate for Halloween more than for Christmas. We picked up a tree too - another four footer like last year - and decorated with some lights and ornaments. The Centenarian's looking sharp - love it, and love Christmas!

Trees at the fruit and vegetable stand down the street - reminds me of the Christmas tree

lot in A Christmas Story, sans snow

Tree is up; AJ looks on in snowy wonderment

thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-26T09:25:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2011 was another great one, with Adrienne at the helm of the Foodship and me as second mate (read: I baked the bread). Uncle Mark came down - this year escaping the snow and ice - and stayed the night, which as always was a good time. And the Packers went to 11-0 for the first time in franchise history - it was a day to be thankful indeed.

Here's the menu, which was another of AJ's stellar creations:

The humble beginnings of a Thanksgiving feast

Brunch: Shoofly Pie and mimosas

Mid-afternoon appetizers: oranges, olives, pumpkin seeds,

crackers and a blueberry cheese wheel with a 2007 Airlie Chardonnay

Dinner: philo-wrapped braised tofu and bread pudding (beer bread, leeks, carrots, chantarelles, and cheese), brussel sprout salad, crunchy parsnip mashed potatoes, ciabatta, and gin-cranberry sauce

with a 2001 Morro Bay Cabernet Sauvignon

Dessert: a rustic crostata (I learned a crostata is an ancient pie, before our ancestors had pie-pans) filled with pears, hazelnuts, chocolate, and sugar. There was also a pumkin pie, but I failed to get a picture of either of these treats when they were finished baking....

A terrible picture, but you get the...well...picture!

the REAL first bottling

2011-11-20T15:09:00.000-08:00

This is my first bottling with real fruit - nothing canned, nothing pasteurized, nothing fake. It looks like Robitussen (and tastes a bit like it too, but I am telling myself it just needs time...) - but it already tastes way better than the stuff I made before. We'll see - it needs a year in the bottle now!

landscaping with edibles

2011-11-13T12:53:00.000-08:00

Adrienne's dream of turning the 20th Avenue Garden into an urban farm continues to become reality. As part of the Centenarian's quest to be beautified, we did a bit of landscaping in the front yard using plants that will subsidize our food intake. We added huckleberries, currants, thimbleberry, Oregon myrtle/bay laurel, and elderberry - all natives and all bearing delicious fruits and leaves. Adrienne also tore out the strip of lawn near the street and planted a bunch of different bulbs for some spring color. We also threw in some lupines and a native rose for good measure.

The giant juniper comes out next to be replaced by a ceanothus, a west-coast plant that loves this climate for some reason, but is super abundant on the hillsides of California. Stay tuned!

apparently I am a 70 year-old man

2011-11-13T11:35:00.000-08:00

Birdhouses. My new hobby. I am going to make a complete tiny-town for the birds in our backyard.

progress

2011-11-06T08:54:00.000-08:00

This picture probably doesn't look much different than the last house posting, but there are three new things:
1) a sunny sky
2) a newly finished and gleaming porch rail
3) a new fence replacing the old one (did you really think AJ and I are the white-picket types? Puh-lease!)

Not much more to share beyond that. Adrienne came home with a car full of plants yesterday, so now the landscaping is going to start changing. A few more changes inside, too - got some cool old lights that really make it feel like the 100 year old bungalow that it once was. I guess you'll just have to come visit to check them out!

question: how are these two things related?

2011-10-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

Answer: re-siding our house made us poor again, so back to boxed wine we go.

There you have it - the Ravenna Centenarian's facelift is complete. Sure, we have lots of details left - a little more trim work, a new fence to replace the white pickets, some major landscaping. But that's going to take a while, so I wanted to post a few pics in the meantime. We are really stoked - everything turned out like we'd hoped and now we have a restored little Craftsman that fits will all the others on the block. Our neighbors are equally stoked.

Below are a few before and after pics. I kind of miss the shabby beach shack, but now its hard to imagine our place in anything other than its dapper new digs. (you can click on each picture to make it bigger)

the 20th avenue cellar

2011-09-17T17:13:00.000-07:00

My masterpiece...is finished.

Adrienne and I have long pondered what to do with the funky little 8ft x 8ft room we have in our basement. Painting studio? Guest room? Man Cave?

Behold, The 20th Avenue Cellar. We now have a 150 bottle wine rack - enough for my homemade vino and our small collection of good stuff - shelves to house AJ's canning bounty, plenty of space for her homemade varieties of beer, and lots of storage for bottles, corks, jars, fermenters, siphons, etc. Temperature fluctuates between 60 and 65 degrees, so its pretty good to store wine and beer long term. Doubles as a nice work space to do your racking, bottling, and aging too.

You should stop by and enjoy a beverage with us!

How the room looked when I began

I got everything out of there, then discovered that every bit of wallspace was covered with multiple layers of paper and cardboard

Ripped out the paper/cardboard, then added some insulation - gotta keep those wines/beers from getting too hot/cold!

A little more insulation for good measure....

Covered up the insulation with some random boards, built a workbench and shelving, painted the floor and concrete walls

Covered up insulation with old boards from the shelves that were in this room

Cut and stained one-billion pegs for the wine rack

Stained the workbench, finished the floor, built the wine rack, and added some finishing touches

Built shelving for AJ's canned goods and beer and my wine

100 years old - time for a facelift

2011-09-17T07:56:00.000-07:00

Or rather, time for total reconstructive surgery.

The Centenarian is being resided. Not only did our house look rather shabby with its teal shingles, but we needed to protect our investment as well. When we bought the house, we had a siding guy come out and check the place over. He told me - and I quote - "Dude, this is the worst siding job I have ever seen." So not only was it ugly, but it wasn't shielding the house very well from the 10-months of rain we get every year.

So the house is stripped down to the studs. The original lap siding is gone (sad), the asbestos tiles are gone ("Thank you" says my lungs), and the beachy shingles are gone (couldn't happen fast enough). The house had zero insulation, so we've got some of that too. Another few days and it will be all buttoned up. Stay tuned for a grand unveiling.

garden color

2011-07-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

the kill

2011-07-17T19:05:00.000-07:00

When vegans hunt, greenery fares poorly...

virginia is for lovers

2011-07-16T09:55:00.000-07:00

Lovers of wine, that is! AJ and I opened this bottle of wine last night, compliments of our friends that live on the eastern shore of Virginia. It was fantastic! CA and the west coast are about to be unseated as the best wine producers - even Jersey is making outstanding juice!

Thanks, KJ and Chris!

walla walla wine weekend

2011-07-11T20:43:00.000-07:00

Walla Walla is ground zero for wine making, tasting, growing, and drinking in Washington State. And its home to some pretty good food as well. Its been on our wish list to go, but the long drive (4.5 hrs) and the price-tag associated with a weekend in wine county has kept us in Seattle. But the Sutton parental units treated us to a fantastic 3-days in the sun, surrounded by good company, food, and wine! All had a great time - below are a few pics highlighting the weekend.

our loot

AJ and Ron-meister

AJ loves her winery pets

Wine Tasters!

Wheat fields among the vines

AJ and Pops at Tero Winery

Walla Walla store front

Why don't you have another?

All 21!

garden watch 2011

2011-07-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

Things are looking good at The 20th Avenue Garden. We've had a stretch of 80 degree weather and sunshine that the plants are seemingly responding to. Adrienne has put in lots of effort to have another successful gardening year - and its paying off. Not only is the garden a fantastic place to hang out, but it significantly trims our food bill in the summer!

What you see: asparagus, corn, kolrabe, peas, chamomille, sage, nasturtiums, leeks, lettuce, and about a thousand other things that are mysteries to me....

New planter boxes with tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, and sunflowers!

chamomile

rogue morning glorys

nasturtiums and buddha

tomato beginnings!

lupine beginnings!

peas

cherry beginnings!

leek flower

this is what summer should be

2011-06-27T19:42:00.000-07:00

We have skylights over our bed. As soon as we wake up, we immediately know what kind of weather we're in for - today we were greeted by a blindingly bright blue sky. I looked over at AJ and she had her pillow over her face trying to squeeze out a few more Zzzzs in an almost iridescent room of light.

But you can't sleep too long! Must take advantage of such weather anomalies! We started the day by kayaking around Lake Union. This is an awesome spot - its about 2 miles from the house, easy boat access, lots to look at including the COOLEST little houseboat communities. We made up our mind that our next home will be one of these.

Next stop - laying out in the backyard (for AJ) and prepping dinner (for JJ). I cooked a birthday dinner for my better half tonight, so The Blondes came over to celebrate with us. On the menu: rum-infused watermelon slushees for an app, brussel sprout and tofu salad as the main dish, carrot french fries with blueberry ketsup as a side, and pineapples and bananas for dessert with ginger/agave syrup.

This was followed by the typical backyard fire and lingering twilight with good friends. This is what summer should be!

AJ modeling a stunning spray-skirt

Kayaking in Lake Union

Gas Works Park

JJM with Lake Union and the I-5 Bridge

Houseboats

Pride Week - the Space Needle is flying the rainbow flag

Batch Three Tasting - not bad!

JJM cooking birthday dinner

Appetizer: Watermelon slushees!

Dinner

Amigos!

the longest day

2011-06-25T19:10:00.000-07:00

Last year, Adrienne pointed out to me that the longest day of the year had already come and gone, and we still hadn't seen any sun. This was a keen and depressing observation on my wife's part...are you telling me that by the time the sun FINALLY comes out for summer, the days are already getting shorter?! That's a bunch of b.s., if you ask me.

This year has hardly been better. Grey days and rain are still the dominant weather pattern, and its a week before July. We're handling it a bit better this year - first, we expected it this time; second, that Indonesian sun is still a recent memory; and third...well...I guess its still memories of that Indonesian sun.

BUT! This year, on that longest day of June 21st - the official beginning of summer - the day was full of sun and 79 degrees! It was awesome. We welcomed summer by eating from the garden, drinkin AJ's favorite wine, grilling tofu, and having a fire. We sat outside until there was no more light left in the sky - it was 11:15!

our bedroom...

2011-06-19T17:35:00.000-07:00

...is done. With the completion of AJ's home-made curtains, we have now FINISHED! Out with the yellow paint, track lights, leaky windows and dirty white carpet...in with the earthtones, hand-crafted lamps, airtight and bright new windows, and organic wool carpet with a cork yoga studio insert.

Take that, Sunset!

Before...

After...

Before...

After...

Before...

After!

sew like the wind!

2011-06-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

My wife excels in nearly all she does - brewing beer, cooking, gardening, swimming, personifying Jersey. This is not news to anyone who knows her. Today, she finished the curtains for our bedroom - another talent in her repertoire...seamstress. See below for her handiwork.

The raw materials

Sewing like she's never sewed before!

Attention to detail...

My task while AJ sewed...

The finished product!

those wacky scientists

2011-06-04T10:26:00.000-07:00

A scientist recently had a great idea - affix a CO2 sensor on top of the Space Needle to monitor daily fluctuations of the now-famous greenhouse gas around downtown Seattle. Then, display the information in real time so any random Joe can see how the measurements go up and down

(http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/Space+Needle) due to wind, weather, morning/evening commutes, etc. Science - love it!

Adrienne's boss was that scientist with the idea - so she got the opportunity to go up the Space Needle in 70 degree weather to do a little maintenance on the instruments. She literally went to the tip-top of the Needle - above the restaurant, above the observation deck, through the boiler room, up 4-stories of telephone-pole ladders, and out to the scene you see above and below.

Nice job perk!

omg, that's disgusting....

2011-05-21T16:11:00.000-07:00

I decided to open up a bottle of my wine and try it. Its recommended that it spends 4 months in the bottle, and this has only been in for 1+. But when I bottled it, it tasted pretty good - so I thought it might be drinkable.

Its drinkable alright - if you like turpentine and mouthwash with a subtle after-taste of battery acid. It was disgusting...it needs to age.

look what we got!

2011-05-14T18:12:00.000-07:00

Well, there goes the money to reside the house....

AJ and I are both water people, but since body-surfing and swimming are generally 'out' in the frigid Puget Sound, our relationship with the water has floundered. And what does a floundering water-relationship need? Kayaks of course!

Adrienne noticed that recently on Craigslist, people are apparently spring cleaning and seemingly just want to get rid of stuff because things are cheap. She saw these online this morning, called immediately and secured the sale. Between our phone call and picking them up, about a hundred other folks inquired - some even offering considerably more money - but the guy already promised them to us, so we lucked out. Included in the sale: life vests, spray-skirts, paddles, roof rack, and two 15' touring kayaks.

We bought 'em for pennies, drove straight to the Sound, and gave them a spin. Awesome!

branding

2011-05-01T19:11:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking that when we're done saving the oceans, perhaps Adrienne and I can just sell our wares out of an old station wagon. Today I bottled batch number 4 and 5 of my wine while drinking a beer that Adrienne made last fall. Meanwhile, AJ was making all sorts of delicious things from scratch in the kitchen - Kimchee, vegan fish sauce, and BBQ sauce. She asked me to make some labels for her goods - thus The 20th Avenue brand is born. My wine is from The 20th Avenue Cellar. AJ's assorted goods are from The 20th Avenue Kitchen. Our garden is ramping up to be most prodigious - so we will soon have fresh produce from The 20th Avenue Garden.

Stay tuned folks - I think we'll be a worldwide household name soon....

indonesia

2011-04-27T18:29:00.000-07:00

AJ and I returned from Indonesia last night. The trip was over-the-top stellar and has whetted our appetite for more excursions to southeast Asia. We visited the world-famous beach breaks and cultural centers of Bali, and chilled like professional chillers on Pulau Bunaken where coral walls fringe the shoreline. A couple pictures are below, but I will be sure to add many more in a folder at my flickr site (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jjmeyerphotos/) - check back soon!

batch one

2011-03-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

Behold - the first bottling. Vintage 1 of The 20th Avenue Cellar.

pop, pop, fizzle fizzzz

2011-02-08T18:24:00.000-08:00

That's the sound our closet makes.

To be clear, our guest bedroom closet has been turned into Moonshine Central. Adrienne got her second batch of beer going in as many months, and I have three one-gallon jugs of apple wine fermenting. These nascent alcoholic beverages love the dark closet as the yeasts do their thing, turning sugar into alcohol. They off-gas, so what you see are copious amounts of bubbles dashing to the surface in each of these containers, going 'pop, pop, fizzle, fizz' all the way to the top. Its an orchestra of carbonic action in there....

it begins

2011-01-18T23:07:00.000-08:00

What you see above is my first jug of wine. Apple wine, to be precise. In 6 months, this will be nearing perfection and ready to be enjoyed on a nice, hot, summer day. Here marks the beginning of my career as a winemaker - I predict an award winning amateur Pinot in about 6-8 years....

Addendum

I made two other batches tonight (Feb 5th) - each with slight variations of the same ingredients. "A" is the original from above, "B" and "C" are new. Its the next suggested step in my beginner wine-making book. The point is to learn what more/less fruit, more/less sugar, or going with/without different juices does to the wine. So far this is really easy - I hope I am not totally screwing this up...

a day in the snow

2011-01-12T19:41:00.000-08:00

Adrienne tried her hand in earnest at skiing last weekend. After hitting the slopes and carving some sick trails, she remarked several times about how much she liked it. I am not used to this kind of emotional gushing from my wife, especially about something she has been resisting since I've known her. My attempts to get her on skis before have only been met with protests - "I have weak ankles!" and "I'm a terrible skier!" I found out that the few times she has gone involved telemark skiing (hence the 'ankles' comments) and a treacherous trip down a double black diamond where her friends told her she'd be fine.

We went up to Snoqualmie Pass, which is excellent because its only 1 hour from our house yet its deep in the mountains! AJ enrolled in a class with a bunch of 5 year olds on the bunny hill, while our friend Faith and I attacked the mountain on some wicked steep terrain (not true - just trying to look tough). Being the ever-so-capable athlete that AJ is, she OF-COURSE picked up skiing like a champ and even finished her day going all the way up the mountain to descend on a challenging blue run.

So she's hooked. And now I have a regular skiing buddy. By Colorado standards, Washington State is average for skiing. But for us relative novices, its amazing. Its also pretty incredible to go from our house on the shores of Puget Sound to the spine of the Cascades and back leisurely in one day. Very cool!

The scene at the mountain's base

Headed up...

the view across the valley...

Faith shredding trails

AJ at the precipice....

AJ and Faith...a near miss.

"I told you I could ski..."

AJ, Faith and JJ

(no, that is not a booger on my moustache...just a well-placed snowflake)

the 1st's sunset

2011-01-01T18:15:00.000-08:00

Adrienne and I caught this sunset tonight over Greenlake, about a 15 minute walk from our house. Temps have been in the 30s, but its been crystal-clear the last couple days and the PacNorWest has been delivering some good light. We thought this was a great sunset to kick off the year.

Happy 2011, everyone - we hope this new year finds you well.

those silly vegans and their guacamole!

2010-12-21T11:20:00.000-08:00

It has been said that vegans exist off of hummus and guacamole. Maybe a little soy too. I can vouch that the avocado is a staple for a vegan...kind of like bananas to a monkey or peanuts to an elephant.

Adrienne once again wowed us with her fantastic cooking this past weekend - we had a little Christmas shindig where she made an excellent home made pot pie, creamy brussel sprouts, and a fresh citrus and fennel salad. But dessert took the "cake" so to speak.

AJ did this - cut an avocado in half, gently removing the pit. The pit was then replaced with chocolate mousse, the avocado then rubber-banded back together and placed in the fridge. Once cooled, the avocado was gingerly peeled to keep its shape, then rolled in chocolate nibs and pistachios. Accompanying this little gem was home made grape sorbet, which AJ made in her ice cream maker and flavored with the juice from hand-pressed grapes. Unbelievable.

It was, as always, a great nite with excellent food, wine, and after-dinner sweets. Spoiled, I am.

the kitchen....is done

2010-12-19T13:43:00.000-08:00

I thought our kitchen would take about 5-6 weeks to remodel, start to finish, and that everything would be nice and tidy by the time our friends came to visit over Memorial Day weekend...2010.

Wrong. We just finished yesterday. 5-6 weeks turned into 5-6 months.

But, oh - what a kitchen! Adrienne and I had no real vision for this space when we started. It was an organic process and the end result is beautiful, functional, and about 10 orders of magnitude better than what we had. Everything you see was our design, the work done by us with lots of help from contractors and uncles along the way.

The biggest change you will see is that the fridge and stove were bunched up against the soon-to-be unearthed brick chimney, while the sink and counter were back in the main kitchen space. So we pushed everything back into that main space and transformed the area near the chimney into a bar. The other major change was taking the washer and dryer out of the main kitchen space, replacing them with the fridge, and concealing the w and d behind the white folding doors.

One more thing...all of this was done in a way that Mother Nature would approve. Countertops - recycled paper. Sink - recycled copper. Paint - no VOC. Cabinets - reclaimed 100 year old fir. Slate tiles - quarried and then re-landscaped with native plants. Hardwood floors - refurbished as opposed to new. Butcher Block island - reclaimed African hardwoods. Hardware for cabinets - reclaimed from a house demolition. Window and doorway trim - compressed sawdust collected as a byproduct of sawmills. Corkboard decoration - from our gallons and gallons of wine we've consumed, framed by unrepairable floorboards. Pantry and shelves - FSC certified lumber. And all of this was done with just a little thought and research and not a huge pocketbook. I'm just sayin...

Important lessons learned:
- some of this was fun!
- most of this was frustrating!
- don't plan a wedding while remodeling your kitchen!
- timelines are mere suggestions!
- budgets are no more than a poor hypothesis of cost!
- create a bar in your house if you can!
- go the extra mile - its worth the effort!

We are totally stoked on how this turned out - way better than we could have imagined. Below is a photo-journey of this kitchen metamorphosis.

You can click on each of these pics for a larger view...

One of the first things we did was open up the wall between the dining area and the kitchen (now bar)

You can see the fridge and stove and small counter space occupying the space where we now have a bar

The Bar

Moving from the Bar into the Kitchen (note the old post in the middle of the kitchen that we replaced with a wooden beam - opened it all up!)

Old kitchen with washer and dryer acting as continued counter top space, now replaced with fridge and new island (washer and dryer are now behind the white folding doors seen in the above picture)

Back of the kitchen going into our room and out to our deck

Guest bedroom and bathroom doors off the kitchen

Long view of kitchen, bar, and out to dining area

Exposing the brick in our bar area

Progression of the floor in our bar area - there were about 7 layers of tar, marmoleum, linoleum, tiles, wood paneling (?), etc over the 100 year old wood floors

Flooring progression in the main kitchen and bar - more of the same from above, but we transitioned to laying down slate tiles

Installation of counters and cabinets

meet e.t., the christmas tree

2010-12-12T18:48:00.000-08:00

Adrienne and I have lacked the enthusiasm to decorate our house for Christmas this year - we'll be out of town for the big day and we've been focusing all our time on finishing our kitchen. But the holiday bug bit us this weekend, so we picked up this 4-footer and busted out the ornaments and lights. I'm glad we did - it seems criminal to forego the smell of living-room-pine-tree for the month of December...

I think this tree looks like E.T. - Adrienne disagrees. All I see is a long neck, big head, and spindly arms and fingers. E.T. indeed.

i've gone crackers...

2010-11-27T13:45:00.000-08:00

Ha ha. But its kind of true. In our fancy breadmaking book, there is a recipe for fancy crackers. I took my first stab at making these for Thanksgiving dinner appetizers - not bad for a first attempt, but they were a bit chewy rather than crunchy. Since then, I have made TWO more batches of crackers - each getting much better! I can't believe you can just make fancy crackers at home - who knew!

My first attempt

2nd batch

3rd batch

thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-26T10:22:00.000-08:00

Adrienne pulled out all the stops as expected for Thanksgiving Day. It was just us for the day - I don't even think we went outside - as Mark was snowed in at his house and couldn't make it down. We missed family and friends, but sure enjoyed the day just the two of us. Below you'll find in pictures our gastronomical delights from the holiday.

note: Almost all of this was either grown in our garden or made from scratch. Truly remarkable!

Breakfast - Buckwheat waffles with blackberry maple syrup and tempeh bacon

Mid-morning snack - Spicy Bloody Marys

AJ creating food-magic in the kitchen

Mid-Afternoon Snack - Spinach Dip with Crackers

Wine for 1st Course - 2009 Demetria Beton Blanc

1st Course - Chipotle-Butternut Squash Soup and Wild Mushroom Ciabatta

2nd Course Wine - 2000 Citation (Firesteed) Pinot Noir

2nd Course - Seitan Roulade with Chestnut Stuffing, Sauteed Brussel Sprouts in Apple Cider Vinegar, Honey, and Tarragon-infused Carmelized Onions, Green Bean Casserole with Homemade Fried Onions, Garlic Purple Potatoes, Wild Mushroom Ciabatta

Cheers!

Dessert: Swirled Pumpkin Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Crust

The Aftermath: Full, on the couch, watching When Harry Met Sally

diggin out

2010-11-23T11:47:00.000-08:00

A day after a huge winter snowstorm, there's nothin but sun and a predicted high of 25...

Seattle has come to a standstill - snow everywhere with ice underneath. In a hilly city like this one, that spells trouble. Folks leaving work last night to go home found themselves still on the road at midnight. Today, abandoned cars are littered throughout the metro area as people gave up and walked the rest of the way home! Most of the city is shut down, most state and federal agencies are shuttered, and everyone is staying put. The kids in our neighborhood are taking advantage of the empty streets and sledding down the snowed-over pavement. Others are choosing to use x-country skis to get from here to there rather than the typical cars and bikes.

Tonight's low is 12 degrees. Wiesty, cold even under all that furry fur, has grown quite fond of my down jacket over the past two days...

AJ taking care of the sidewalk - what a model citizen!

Wiesty nestled inside my black down jacket

snowy in seattle

2010-11-22T18:13:00.000-08:00

AJ and I woke up to a thin veneer of snow in the Ravenna neighborhood, which quickly turned to about 3 inches on the ground! Last year there was not a lick of snow the entire season - this year it is predicted to be a snowy and cold winter scene here in the PacNorWest. We cruised through the neighborhood and to the park after work - below are some scenes of white.

AJ on the 20th St bridge

Ravenna Park

JJ in the park

AJ showing off the park

3rd Place Books lookin chilly

AJ and Olive

20th Ave NE

6847

a classic northwest activity

2010-11-14T09:58:00.000-08:00

AJ and I joined some friends this weekend for a jaunt into the Cascade foothills in search of edible mushrooms. This season is apparently the best in 10 years for hunting mushrooms, and lucky for us we live in one of the best places on the planet to do so. The forest was a mix of cedar and fir and was spooky-dark under the canopy. The forest floor was covered with sword ferns and spongy from excess water and mossy mosses. This environment yields the most bizarre fungi. We searched in a few places with no luck, but then AJ found the mother-lode on a steep ridge descending into the Nooksack River. It was very cool - they shall grace our pizza tonight!

The Nooksack River

Searching for Chantarelles

forest loot

drying before eating

restoring sanity

2010-10-31T17:08:00.000-07:00

AJ and I we among the masses attending a satellite Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, sponsored by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Being in DC would have been a dream, but we agreed it was more sane to stay local - so we went to downtown Seattle. Several thousand folks were there, all polite, all with diverse political views, all with funny signs. It was awesome - and a breath of fresh air in this nasty political climate. It made me proud to be an American.

Congressman Jim McDermott

Jon Stewart makes his entrance! (note funny sign in crowd...)

AJ taking a stand for civility

JJ states his view on taxes

Funny signs everywhere

JJ and AJ exercising their civic duty

our love floweth like the wine....

2010-10-24T17:36:00.000-07:00

...which means there's a lot of love around here.

Adrienne and I enjoy our vino. How could we not? Its liquid gold. Gold that's drinkable. I digress... Because of our various wine tasting trips and a great wedding where folks brought us TONS of wine (as we humbly requested, thank you), we now have a collection pushing triple digits. Another great wedding gift, we received a wine fridge - so now our favorite bottles have a good home for the long term. And as part of our kitchen remodel this summer, we left an empty space in the cabinetry for an integrated wine rack - which I built this weekend as you can see below. We're pretty stoked how it turned out - nothing special, but it needed to be custom for that space!

Space left over for a wine rack

Built, stain drying

Installed

Stocked!

new wine fridge - stocked!

its a bit cheesy....

2010-08-24T20:51:00.000-07:00

...but I have to say Adrienne and I live in amazing place. Today I rode the ferry to work. No commuting in traffic, not buses, no trains. Instead I rode a boat to work. And from the boat, I could see in crystal clear imagery two ENORMOUS volcanoes capped with glaciers, a city's skyline graced with mountains in the background and an ocean in the foreground, islands dotting the seascape, and sailboats taking advantage of both the sun and the wind. And my meeting focused on developing strategies to protect and restore the Puget Sound, one of the world's most biodiverse and unique waterways.

Adrienne's day wasn't entirely different. She spent the day educating community college professors as an invited speaker at Western Washington U about ocean acidification, its implications, and how these educators can share stories and lessons with their students. She just called me and told me she's on her way home, and that the moon is full and rising over the islands and the mountains of north-western Washington. I stepped outside to see if I could see this moon and snapped a photo of it rising in the east over our neighborhood. Not a great picture...but conveys the moment.

all you need is 1000 corks!

2010-08-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

If you were to tell me that Adrienne and I are the most creative people in the whole wide world, I might just believe you. Check out our super cool new corkboard that we just made! We've been saving our corks for years (yes, years) without a grand plan of what to do with them. This is what we came up with - and we didn't even get the idea from Sunset magazine. We figured it out all on our own. What makes it even cooler is the frame was made from the old hardwood floors from our house. Some of the boards were beyond repair and needed replacing - so with the old scraps, we made this frame.

We're pretty proud, I must say...

another (multi) weekend project

2010-07-26T18:12:00.000-07:00

What drew us initially to the Centenarian was its amazing backyard. It was the perfect amount of space for what we wanted to do - which in the end will include a deck, vegetable garden, potting station, patio, fountain, fire pit, outdoor kitchen with BBQ and wood-fired oven, a fern grotto, split rail fence, native garden demonstration...and maybe even a vineyard if we can find rain-loving grapes.

But the one thing we didn't like was the crummy chain-link fence separating us from the neighbors. Its no big deal when no one's hanging out in the backyard - but now its summer, and our backyard BBQs were clashing with their backyard BBQs. It was about to get ugly in the urbs. So we collaborated with them to build the beautiful 95 ft long viewing obstruction you see below. Garden before-and-after pics only add to the dramatic effect.

Before

After!

research diversion...

2010-07-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

Follow the link below to read an article I (Adrienne) wrote for a scuba magazine - Sources: The Journal of Underwater Education. Nothing like a little light reading on ocean chemistry for the weekend!

ftp://ftp.pmel.noaa.gov/OCRD/sutton/Pages%20from%20Sources%202010-2ndQtr.pdf

project closet

2010-07-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

When we moved in here, the washer and dryer were squarely part of the kitchen and we used them as an extension of our limited countertops. There was also a HUGE closet that connected to the kitchen, but no closet at all in the master bedroom. Clearly, there was a problem here waiting for a clever solution.

That solution: cut a doorway from our room into the HUGE closet adjoining the kitchen, then cut that closet in half leaving one part for our clothes and the other for our washer and dryer. This was one of our many projects around this place - check out its progression from start to finish.

Newly cut doorway into our room

Cutting the closet in half

Make sure its square...

Now one closet = two

They fit!

A little paint, a little tile...

Done!

it feels great to have gas...

2010-07-01T19:15:00.000-07:00

I'm serious. And just to make it clear, I am talking about a gas stove. Adrienne and I have been cooking on old electric coil ranges for a couple of years now. As a matter of fact, our old house's range was temperature controlled by 3 buttons for each burner - low, medium, high. This is not the way foodies like to prepare their meals.

All is changed as of today - out with the old, in with the new. And the new is stainless steel with 5 burners fueled by pure, blue-flame producing GAS...the epitome of awesome.

Can't wait to see how dinner turns out tonight....

our kitchen WILL rock!

2010-06-28T22:39:00.000-07:00

Adrienne and I took an adventurous weekend break from our kitchen remodel, which was awesome - she wants to blog about it later, so I will offer no hints as to why it was awesome. But it was totally awesome. I will say no more.

So our kitchen remodel continues. Plaster over old brick chimney - gone. Umpteen-layers of kitchen substrate (i.e., linoleum, marmolium, old hardwood floors, tar, glue, paper, faux-wood wall paneling, nailed every 3 inches...etc) - up. Decorative railing circumnavigating the kitchen walls - removed. Post supporting skylight infrastructure - replaced with exposed wood beam. Cheap checkerboard linoleum - trashed and replaced lovingly with quarried multi-colored stones. Cabinetry - being built. Sink - recycled hammered copper basin awaiting cabinets. Stove - here and waiting to receive a new gas line since only electric exists.

Yes, our kitchen WILL rock! Below are some updates of what we've been up to.

Our kitchen before... note the linoleum (which we will call "layer 1"), the white post obstruction, and the washer and dryer (used here as additional countertop).

Wow! The washer and dryer in a closet. How revolutionary! And the beginnings of tiling...

New tiles close-up. Cool, huh?!

The subfloor of the old portion of the house and the addition built by previous owners (who apparently were not rocket scientists) are different heights - by a lot! So the tiles had to go directly onto the subfloor on the new portion of the house, and therefore, a layer of paper (let's call this "layer 2") had to go...

The layers under the linoleum: wall paneling (yes, wall paneling on the floor) and some type of particle board... "layers 3 and 4".

500 bajillion staples and nails...

And "layer 5", the old marmoleum, glued on with tar, of course!

And where we are today... cabinets going in this weekend or next so stay tuned!

chipping away...

2010-05-11T12:21:00.000-07:00

As you can see from one of our recent posts, we are slowly trying to restore some of the charm that's been stripped from our little house over the years. We (and as in 'we' I mean John) uncovered our chimney from 3 different layers of plaster.

Here's the white wall where the chimney was covered:

And here's the uncovered chimney:

This is the beginning of our kitchen renovation, which is going to include a lot of materials like wood, slate, and iron that we thought would look nice with the existing brick. The rest of the kitchen is going to be lots of work, so stay tuned for the transformation!

a levitating cat?

2010-04-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

We walked into our room today, and caught Wiesty floating in mid air...but only half of her. Isn't that strange?

the centenarian through time

2010-04-20T21:26:00.000-07:00

We've been pouring cash into our house, but recently we made our best investment so far. And it only cost $15.

We managed to get our hands on historic photos of the Centenarian. The Puget Sound Regional Archives has photos of most houses in Seattle since 1937. For record keeping, tax purposes, and to generally keep track of change over time, the City photographs each home every so often. So we got a few snapshots of our little bungalow here in Ravenna - its seen good times, its seen bad, and its seen times at which it should have been demolished. We thought our little place looked shabby when we bought it, but look at 1982 - I think our house was ground zero for dealing crack.

The last photo is from the day we bought the place. Stay tuned for one final photo, when we finish our renovations!

1937

1968

1982

2009

succulent lover

2010-04-02T16:05:00.000-07:00

John is very proud of his framed succulent box, so I wanted to share his handiwork. We found the idea in a magazine a month or so ago. That same weekend we went searching for succulents to buy so John could start his project, and alas... no one was selling succulents that early in the season. It ruined John's entire weekend...

So last weekend we found some succulents for sale, and John's finally happy again. The idea here is for the succulents to take root in the soil/wire mesh that's build into the frame. Then, you can hang it on the wall like a picture. Pretty cool. This is just a little one - about 8"x6". Ultimately, we'd like to build some bigger ones for the porch and other spots around the outside of the house. John would be happy to share the directions if any of you are inspired.

what to do with a sideyard?

2010-03-06T16:21:00.000-08:00

Spring has sprung in the PacNorWest. It sprung like a month ago. Trees and plants have been blooming like crazy already, the daffodils are yellowing the landscape, and Seattleites - drawn outside by an unfamiliar sun - have started prepping their gardens for growing season 2010. We are no different, and the promise of a 60 degree March day with no clouds and no chance of rain brought us out-of-doors too. Last weekend and this have been gorgeous, so we decided to transform our sideyard from a grassy, biological wasteland to a garden of eaten. Check out our before, during, and after pics below.

When we first saw this house with our real estate agent, we thought the sideyard would be a great place for raised veggie beds.

Adrienne made all those little pots out of newspaper and planted lettuce, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, peppers, melons, pumpkins, cucumbers, amaranth, millet, basil, cilantro, sage, chives, dill, camomile, marigolds, calendulas, alyssum, leeks, cabbage, kale, chard, mustard, okra, squash, mint, yarrow...and others we can't remember. They are all starting to grow in our basement grow room. A cherry tree, fig tree, blueberry bushes, asparagus starts, and salmonberry just arrived in the mail.

Got this ginormous truck to haul our 4 yards of dirt...which equals 8,000 lbs.

Shovelin dirt.

Haulin dirt.

The finished product (thank you, Vanna).

wine tasting - new homeowner style

2010-01-24T15:22:00.000-08:00

We like wine. If you didn't know that, then apparently we've never met. There is nothing like a single block Cab from the Alexander Valley, a peppery Zin from the Dry Creek, or a silky-smooth Pinot from either the Willamette or Santa Ynez Valleys (you choose). We've become refined connoisseurs, sharpening our palates enough to differentiate the taste of one year's juice from the next, or being able to detect a region's subtle undertones of their signature soil in a quick sniff. And yes - I drive a Saab, we listen to NPR, and use reusable shopping bags to do our organic produce shopping with zeal. So what.

Now we own a home that's a bit of a fixer. We're poor. Gone are the days of side-by-side wine comparos; their replacement is what you see above. The Black Box is actually quite good - smooth and bold, well balanced with a nice lingering finish. Its no Santa Barbara Syrah, but hey - we like it. But to quote a line from one of our favorite movies, the Bota Box tastes like "the back of a LA school bus."

Don't worry about us - we'll drink good wines again someday. In the meantime, our challenge is to find the good boxes of wine out there. And it gives us something to look forward to - once we finish pouring cash into our new (and progressively more beautiful) house, we can once again embark on that journey of finding the perfect red blend that's promised to come from the Columbia Valley.

hawaii

2010-01-16T12:54:00.000-08:00

My final treat on my month-long vacation before staring a new job: 4 days visiting a college buddy, Courtney, and her two kids in Waipio Valley, Hawaii. Waipio Valley is one of the few valleys in the northwest region of the Big Island that's accessible by land, but barely accessible... the steep drive down in a 4x4 is always an adventure in itself! See that road cut into the 2000 ft cliff in the background? That's the only way in!

There are maybe 100 folks that live off the grid in the valley among the rivers, waterfalls, taro fields, black sand beach, and tropical forest. It's such a unique place to raise children. Courtney has a few friends in the valley raising kids as well, and it's quite an adventure for the young group. On my first day there, we did some fruit harvesting...

First some coconut tree climbing with a riveted audience.

Nothing better than drinking coconut milk out of a papaya branch straw and gnawing on a sugar cane!

And then there's the beach... my favorite place to be...

The next day we took a hike further back into the back of the valley to our favorite waterfall. Here's a picture of me climbing up to get a water neck massage. Abram and Angelina also did some dancing in the hose spray, with some much needed warming up from mom afterwards.

Lots of hiking...

And some nice downtime at the house. The house (pictured below) is the result of Courtney's and her late husband's handywork. I've seen it through many stages over the years, and it's so comfy with it's running water, propane-powered full kitchen, and solar-powered electricity. The kids (to the left) are preparing for their auditions with Cirque du Soleil on one of their favorite Christmas presents. Every evening after Abram and Angelina went to bed, Courtney and I had some quiet time catching up with some wine in the candlelight. I'm really lucky to have a friend living in such a magical place. It's a great break in the middle of a Seattle winter and so nice to catch up with an old friend. I miss my girlfriends!

christmas 2009 in seattle

2010-01-03T20:31:00.000-08:00

Ahhh, Christmas. That time of year when one hopes to hunker down in a cozy cabin with loved ones, hot cider (spiked with booze of choice) in hand, surrounded by holiday cheer, music, and movies. Presents and carols abound, and the spirit of the season just seems to ooze from everywhere.

Now you'll expect me to switch gears here and tell you ours was exactly the opposite. But it wasn't - Adrienne and I had a great first Christmas and New Year in the Ravenna Centenarian (which is remarkably cabin-like and cozy)! What we missed: old friends, east- and west-coast family gatherings, and that big Christmas ham (for JJM). What we didn't miss: winter travel, rushed visits, and worries about the Fluffer being all alone (for AJS). We did get a samll dose of family - we were treated to a visit from my folks after Christmas which was great. And they hit a gorgeous great stretch of weather that allowed our new city to really show off.

Below are a few images that capture our great holiday.

Home made stockings for J, A and the Fluff. Good stuff was in there - no coal, just cheddar.

Fluffer got a pretty pretty pink princess house - which she loves! (do you see the eyes peering out from within?)

Spicy Bloody Marys...Christmas morning done right...

Our city on a beautiful winter day.

To all...may 2010 (pronounced 'two thousand ten, or twenty ten? Discuss....) bring you nothing but the best for you and all that you love. And maybe it may also bring you for a visit to J and A near the 49th parallel?

thanksgiving

2009-11-30T14:15:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was a blast! Sara came out from Philly for the weekend and Uncle Mark made the trek down to Seattle for the day. We did it right: parade on TV, yummy brunch, bloody marys, football, long walk in the neighborhood, dinner, and pecan pie. By Friday morning, Sara woke up with sore muscles in her sides from laughing so much. Yes, it was a fun group and a great way to break in the new home.

Sara stayed the weekend and we explored the Seattle area a bit. Went to see the salmon running, but alas, no salmon in the little river (i.e., "Disappointment Creek"). The clouds parted for a day, so Sara had a chance to see the Seattle skyline surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. The snow capped mountains definitely impress any east coast visitor (they still shock me a little every time I see them). Went down to the very busy Pike Place Market, which apparently is what the rest of Seattleites with visitors in town did. Included a wine tasting trip to Woodinville and discovered we have 40 wineries a 20 minute drive from Seattle - nice! This was our first weekend in Seattle without a trip to Home Depot, and it was awesome to relax and hang out with my bff.

construction

2009-11-17T19:59:00.000-08:00

New windows, some paint on the wall, and opening up a wall a bit really make a big difference! We still have lots of work to do before we have Thanksgiving guests, but things are coming along.

Old living room with horrible windows (check out the two next to the front door - weird)...

New living room with awesome windows...

Old entrance to kitchen...

New entrance to kitchen...

And our FINISHED guest room... We're ready for guests! Sara's first!

our neighborhood

2009-11-03T10:38:00.000-08:00

We are still blown away by the fact that we were able to buy a house in a neighborhood like Ravenna. After living is some marginal areas of cities in the past, we were expecting our limited budget to bring us there again. Instead, we are in a quiet residential neighborhood that's accessible to everything and walkable to the essentials (pub, Whole Foods, yoga studio, park, bus stop, etc.). We've met many of our new neighbors, all great and all with young children, so we've already been asked when we're having some. Answer: maybe when your kids are old enough to babysit.

"Ravenna" was apparently named after the Italian seaport... not sure why, other than it's close to both Lake Union and Lake Washington. The map to the right (from Seattle Public Library) shows Ravenna around the time our house was built. As you can see from the topographic lines, it is hilly. We've scoped out the nearest lookouts to Mount Rainier, the Cascades, and Olympics so we can 'wow' our guests (especially east coasters) on a clear day. A few blocks south of us is a particularly steep ravine that was probably impossible to build on, so the city has maintained it as a park for a long time (after cutting down all the old growth Douglas Fir in the early 1900's... which is probably where our floors came from!). For you DC folks, it reminds us a lot of Rock Creek Park. So we have a new place for a run or for a mini forest escape.

Spent some time enjoying Lake Union on a sunny day this weekend. Such a beautiful city, that's for sure... Love being surrounded by water (for A) and mountains (for J). What a perfect combo...

living in 300 sq ft

2009-10-26T16:46:00.000-07:00

So when we 'moved into our house' last week, it was actually only moving boxes into the basement and furniture into the bedroom. This is how we lived for a week. Not the best, especially when you're working from your 'home office'. But I suppose I've seen scientists' offices with more piles than this, so it's possible...

Wiesty loved the set-up. She had plenty of hiding spots. Note the large pile against the wall on the left. That was her cat cave for the week.

The inconvenience was worth it. The fir floors have been restored to their original grandeur and look stunning! Check out the video where I welcome our new floors with a tribute to the Meyer-Sutton household's favorite Sunday pastime.

as close as it gets to facebook

2009-10-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

Here you have it. We're blogging. It's our attempt to keep our loved ones appraised of our life in Seattle, which will be dominated largely by our 100-year old house for a while. Yes folks, while all our friends are writing blogs about how their children are evolving in this world, we'll be sharing the experiences we're having transforming our new baby, our Seattle home.

For those of you that are able to visit us in Seattle (and we hope most of you do!), you'll see the house at one point or another during it's transformation. Here you'll find posts about all our trials and tribulations with our centenarian, with some classic John and Adrienne adventures thrown in here and there (wine tasting in Walla Walla anyone?).