Springtime at Magnolia

Spring has sprung here in the PNW, but our building progress has remained in winter hibernation. I’m half kidding. There have been a few developments – and I thought I better mention them before I head off to Topsail Island to visit my parents. Who knows… maybe the house will be done by the time I get back. (A girl can dream, can’t she!?!)

The biggest news is we now have kitchen countertops. Although it’s true that we went with the most economical (NOT CHEAP!) granite, we are very happy with the end product. It looks gorgeous with our maple cabinets and mesa buff floors. As the name Blue Dunes suggests, there’s a tint of blue weaving through the veins and swirls of the stone. To accentuate it, we found chic (per the website description) hammered blue glass pendant lights to hang above our breakfast bar. We loved how they looked during the day – and then we were ecstatic to see how they look at night. Built-in party lights! We spent a Saturday installing our cabinet drawer hardware (also shockingly not cheap) and our new dishwasher. It has been 25 years since I’ve lived in a house with a dishwasher… does this mean I’m officially an adult!?

Let’s see… what else? Tache painted and installed a couple interior doors. There’s been some measuring and digging for the deck. I ordered a brand-new mattress for the guest room. (We’ll be testing it out for a couple months to ensure it’s suitable for our visitors.) Since we got home from our last vacation, we had been sleeping on a mattress generously given to us by neighbors who moved to France. It was their extra guest bed in the basement (barely used!), so we thought it was a great deal. Now I’m thinking they purposely bought the cheapest, least supportive, most horribly uncomfortable mattress they could find in order to keep their visitors’ stays to a minimum. It was TERRIBLE! My arms would fall asleep and tingle all night; my neck and shoulders felt like I had been scrubbing concrete floors for days on end; and my back was so stiff I looked like an 80-year-old granny getting out of bed every morning. I barely got any sleep for weeks – it actually brought me to tears one night. That’s when I pulled the trigger and bought a mattress in a box.

Since that’s about if for the house, I’ll update you on other spring happenings. I went through a 5-day rope rescue training for my search and rescue gig. The weather was shitty, I camped out with 10 dudes who only talk about gear, and worked muscles I never knew I had. Luckily the ground was more comfortable than our mattress, so I finally got some good sleep. Jokes aside, I am now officially a backcountry rope rescue technician. (I’d still advice not falling off a cliff.)

Other spring highlights include:

A trip to Seattle to hang with Art and Erin, although most the trip was spent dealing with my car (not a highlight).
The hummingbirds are back! They’re so zippy that it’s hard to get a clear view of them, but I think they’re rufous hummingbirds. Apparently they’ve been traveling over 2,000 miles at 25 mph during their winter migration. They’re so tiny! No wonder they need all that sugar.
A pair of seasonally monogamous mallards have taken up residency at Lake Magnolia. I love them! They’ve kept their distance for weeks, but last night as we were eating outside with friends, they waddled up through the yard, right past us to munch on the seed under the bird feeder. I honestly think I might lose it when they bring up their ducklings. Did I mention I love them!?
Prince Paddy is back and loud as ever calling in this year’s lucky queen. His offspring can be seen hopping around the yard and in the garden. Pacific tree frogs have a three-year life expectancy, so I’m positive Prince Paddy’s bloodline will reign for years to come.
Halibut season is underway and Tache brought some home from a fishing trip on the big water. We were enjoying that last night as our duck friends shuffled past us.

It’s quite wonderful here in the spring – the beauty and signs of life remind us we’ve made it through the dark, cold winter months. We will do our best to get back to working on the house – we need it ready for all our summer visitors!!