Amazing!

It's so hard to resist having every single post say "have I mentioned how cool my husband is? Tim is so the best!" but, today, it can't be helped. I came home not only to a splendid meal of salmon and quinoa just going on to the table, but also a tired out dog and a garden! Evidently Tim fixed the rototiller today and did the whole yard. Finally!!! The fenced bit of lawn is starting to look like a garden! I am so ready to be planting seeds and starting the beds!

Job Interview!

Tim had a great phone-interview with an interesting company in Mukilteo this morning and they've asked him to come in for an in-person interview early next week!  Lets all keep our fingers crossed and send well wishes that way for a successful final interview and a rewarding new career! The company makes batteries the size of shipping containers for things like wind/solar/tidal power plants where supply may fluctuate but demand is constant. We can all pester Tim for more details after Monday if all goes well.

More visiting!

I've had a lovely day off today, and we even had a little sunshine! After Zac and Connor and Evan came up Sunday, Tim drove back down to Seattle with them Monday afternoon and stayed the night to beat the traffic before picking our friend Scott up from the train station Tuesday night and heading home. Today, I got some work done in the "garden" meaning I raked up sod and other bio-mass from the fenced area on the edge of our neighbors upper yard while imagining with rose glasses what my garden will be and watching my personal Tiller sacrificed her own cleanliness for the sake of turning the soil in a hole-digging manner. I am now about two-sevenths through the initial process, though even after my scraping and raking efforts and all of Tilly's help, I'll still likely need to till the area properly before planting my poor little seedlings. Also, the giant pile of bio-stuff Alice helped me collect has been moved to it's proper place piled high in an empty garden bed with tree branches and other mater. It started raining and I decided I'm still recovering from that terrible illness and there is no shame in laying around watching movies and taking it easy with Tim and Scott for the rest of the day.

Recovery!

I'm not sick any more! And the truck runs! And I've been coming home from work to delicious hot meals by my outstanding husband like salmon and veggies and tortillas in various combinations. The sun is out, it's warm, I'm not sick, and the truck is better than ever with it's new clutch, freshly machined fly wheel, clean transmission, and all the pieces back together.

On Saturday, I brought my young charges, Oliver and Abby, over to the house for some time on the beach. Tilly and Tim came down with us and all three 40-50lb creatures ran free happily together - not even a stolen peanut butter sandwich to complain of. Tim and I rebuilt our fire circle to be excellent and Abby found many balls, shells, and other treasures on the beach. It was one of those perfectly wonderful days where children and puppies are so fun to share time with and not stressful. I love our beach and think we have the most wonderful spot here with everything we could want. 

It's a great property for visiting children and also a great property for visiting young men! Last night, Zac and Connor and Evan from Juneau came up to stay the night and we put our new fire circle to use while Tilly ran free, digging holes in the sand and chewing (hopefully) sticks. 

In bed

Still... Still in bed. As my amazing husband of many hidden talents takes apart the truck clutch and transmission and feeds me and takes our little puppy for romps on the beach. The deal was as long as I listen to him and stay in bed, he will take care of me and hopefully I will stop being so sick soon.

Despite my never ending bed rest, I was allowed to bring my blankets and coats and hats and puppy and water bottle with me and ride along in the car up to Anacortes and back yesterday as Tim went to get his flywheel machined and I went to score some gates for my fence from Home Depot. I dream of digging post holes for my fence. At least I got one good day of working in our little garden with Alice before  being bundled up and sent to bed on Friday night.

Between naps, I've been as productive as getting a bit farther on finishing my Masters in Teaching papers and I corresponded with the lovely people who have my baby chickens. It looks like April 15 is the new date as the winter seems to have dragged on a little too long and froze the early spring eggs of those outdoor hens. You can buy asparagus in December, but if you want to grow it, it only comes up in spring and you'll only find it at the farmers markets then. I am trying to remember I believe in this and want to support the awesome Sand Hill Preservation Center as I hear that they don't have 20 hatch-able eggs yet. I must remember this as I walk past the isles of chicks at the Farm Supply store. I must be patient! But it would be so nice to have baby chicks in bed with me while I'm ill. Give me little cheeps to brighten my day.

Bwa ha ha! Warm, sunny, gardening!

Aaand I've been blogging again! See? It really is directly related to what's going on in our lives, the weather, and our health (I am still rather sick but Alice says it doesn't sound like pneumonia, so Tim has given up on restraining me for the time being). We had an awesome day today with Alice. After waffle breakfast, Tim, Alice, Tilly and I loaded into the car to drop it off at Les Shuab, then spent about three hours or so exploring the shops with excellent thrift store scores and kind, dog-loving folks at the hardware store. We took a long walk around the block, down wooded lanes, back around to the shop, had popcorn and tea, then stopped by the Goose community grocery store to stock up on fruits.

This afternoon, Alice floated between Tim's rocket fuel project and my gardening project. Despite the extra set of eyes, Tim managed to burn his new fingers on the molten sugar mixture, but my gardening went much better as I mastered the weedwacker and Tilly ran in joyous bounds up and down the now fully enclosed garden space and Alice scooped up the giant armloads of cut stuff and piled it high. It was a lovely afternoon of working along side my mother-in-law building a garden with intermittent visits from an injured Tim and frequent visits from a delighted puppy.

Grandpa joined us for some roasted veggies, corned beef, and experimental tofu. Oh! and sometime in the day Fritz dropped by with a map of trails through the Trillium forest and a little local history! What a delightful day off. Now I will go see if Alice is up for a little Downton Abby.

Noise complaints.

Last night after work, Tim and I made the long drive to Sea-Tac to pick up his mom, Alice. On our way home, we stopped by the shell station down the street from our house and were met with a deafening noise - frogs! We got out of the car and walked to the soggy spot between the parking lot and road and I covered my ears at a noise like an industrial fire alarm. Tim and I each easily caught one of the thousands of culprits that seem to think noise is a better defense than diving under the water. The buggers were surprisingly small for how intensely loud they were! I was imagining what a terror it would be to have a plague of frogs if your doors and windows didn't seal too well and everything was a bit damp. I think I would quickly go insane if I couldn't escape from the intensity of the noise. I can't remember if I mentioned, but the other night we heard very loud seals on our beach. During the day the birds have been filling the trees and doing their part to call in the spring. This morning, it was warm and sunny so I kicked my seeding out of the house. Hopefully I can get some good work on my garden done tomorrow with Alice if Tim decides I'm not too sick and lets me out of bed. It's supposed to be even hotter and sunnier! I don't know how I'll survive the summer; lemonade and a hammock I suppose.