home is where the hitch is

our happy home.
sits amid the melting snow and muddy mud pit.
i have feared for my subaru's capacity to make it from the road to the pole barn...
but so far so good!
we do leave awesome tire tracks of mud paint on the road when we leave though :)


makes us all the more excited for our home to continue being built!


olaf certainly likes the kitchen floor already!

fireworks in february?

So today I was driving home from work a bit late (about 6:30pm) because I stopped to see my good friend Shannon, who is due any day with her lovely baby girl... Can't wait to meet that little gal!

Anyway, I was driving the Chumstick Hwy (the 13.5 miles of curvy curvy road between the town of Leavenworth and the valley of PLain, where we live). It was pretty nasty conditions - about 2-3 inches of heavy icy slush on the road. Nothing new, but I was going slow due to the precious cargo in the backseat. I had just passed mile marker 4, and was coming up on the canyon (Sunich Canyon?) where Tierra Learning Center is. Out of nowhere I saw this orange/red flash of light which lit up the WHOLE sky. I didn't hear any noise accompany it so I had no idea what it was. Lightning? Nah. Then it did it again! I saw someone come out of their house and look around (confirming that I was not crazy). STill had no idea of the source. Then up ahead of me I saw this huge blue cloud and brightness and puff of smoke -- oooohhh, must be some crazy person, excited that it was snowing, lighting up leftovers from New Years. I saw it again up ahead, and started driving slower because MAN those were big blue fireballs. As I approached the next straight stretch I finally got a glimpse of what was happening -- about 40 feet ahead on the right side of the road, there was a huge blue fireball and SPARKS coming from the powerline! I HIT the gas just in case it was about to come down. Perhaps the ice had built up and a line had fallen? I don't know but I am just happy I passed it and didn't have to turn around and drive Tumwater instead.

And then there was darkness, because it apparently also cut power to the whole upper end of the Chumstick. (thankfully it did not extend to my trailer in Plain) So that was my excitement on my very long drive home. Aside from the one car I passed which had gone off the road and was at a 45 degree angle up on the cut bank. Yes I stopped and yes the people were okay and already had people on they way. Luckily they got a call out prior to the power being cut out. Since cell phones don't work on the Chummy.

Whew.

just imagine

... this stove... can you picture it in a dark cherry enamel instead of grey? Oh how I love RED.

The Lopi 'Leyden'

This is what I am picturing in our living room! However we are also trying to minimize how far off the wall the stove will have to be (since we have a small living room), so this may not be the best choice because it has to come off quite a bit. But whatever we do I am sure will look great, because behind it our friend Zachary is going to build us a BEAUTIFUL dry stack river rock mantle and backing. Check out their website www.millerstoneworks.com for pictures of recent dry stack installations - gorgeous! I have never imagined that stonework can also be like art... but that could be because I had only ever seen standard (kind of) boring installations. Beautiful, but not as cool as what Zachary and Mike do. I love having talented friends!

some ideas...

So our framing inside the house is COMPLETE as of today! Well it looks complete anyway, but I can't really tell the difference if there are small things left to be done. So here is a layout of what we decided on. This only took like... 30 iterations. At least. And of course since we were working within the existing constraints of walls/ceiling, some of the walls were moved a bit this way or that.
So this first one is downstairs. Living room in front, kitchen right behind it, and dining area off to the left. Behind the stairs is my office (ITS ALL MINE FOR WHATEVER I WANT I AM SO EXCITED!! Room for a sewing machine?) And then a nice big laundry room and half bath behind the kitchen.

This second one is the upstairs. Our master bedroom is in the back, and the two kid/guest rooms are up front. Yes I know the bathrooms are small, but we don't really care!

My favorite space right now is... well all of it. But I really really like the bonus space at the top of the stairs. It's going to be such a great spot for reading, playing, coloring, art projects... I want to make a space that I won't care too much if the kid destroys it :)

So now I have moved on to trying to pick out light fixtures... Here is what I am dreaming of over the kitchen table (Pottery Barn Hundi Lantern)...


And I LOVE these. (PB Rustic Glass Pendant)


Originally I was thinking over the bar/counter, but Steve pointed out that those lights should probably be directional, not so much ambient light. I can't wait to continue to look, though I am sure we'll end up with some cheap-ohs from Lowes or Home Depot just to fit our budget. Especially after I splurge on that first one from Pottery Barn.... :)

Also, I just returned from a short trip to the garage for frozen pizza and to visit the green room (which we so lovingly refer to the port-o-potty as), and found that our exterior doors have arrived, yay! I can't wait to see them stained and installed, though I am sure that will be a little while. But how exciting, eh?

Maybe later this week I'll give you all a sneak preview of one of the woodstoves that we like... It is RED and beautiful.

Until then.

interior framing

Steve posted a bunch more remodel pics on his picasa site. Feels like it is becoming a house! Only a few walls left to put up, then we can move on to wiring, plumbing, roofing... I admit I am more excited to shop for light fixtures and appliances than anything... Enjoy the walkthrough of our someday home!

http://picasaweb.google.com/stevesaugen/PlainHouseRemodel#

mango cubes of goodness

Things that frozen mango puree is good for:

1. Baby food, of course!
2. Substitute for ice cubes when your margarita is warm.

Luckily I had them in the freezer, or I couldn't celebrate Steve being home and Olaf being asleep!

gummy bear graduation

well, it's official... olaf is no longer my little gummy bear. he has graduated to the new nickname of "white fang" :) yup, olaf's first tooth broke through today! i am quite impressed with my little buddy, because he was sort of fussy the last few days, but honestly he wasn't too bad! still slept well through the night and all... actually i think he went to bed early when fussy! what a kiddo! he must know that mommy gets a bit stressed out when daddy is gone for such a long period, and she (i) couldn't handle not sleeping. i wish i could get a picture of the tooth through those huge saugen lips, but alas, i do not have the photographic talent of annie and kyle. perhaps this weekend when poppa is home!

walking with oly

Today I actually got off work early enough that it was light outside when I got home! What a joy! It's amazing how much more motivated I am do get out and do things when it is not dark... so I decided to capitalize on the time that we had and I put on my boots, popped Oly in his fleece suit, and headed out the door. We just headed up to the irrigation ditch at the top of the property and walked along it then came back down. For an out of shape working mama, trust me that was enough :) It was so wonderful just to be outside doing something, I felt invigorated in the cold. The dogs were SO excited that I took them out too, and they ran around like maniacs. Olaf just kept giggling and giggling. It was one of those times when I feel SO BLESSED to be a mommy!

request for pictures part ii

Lots of remodel pics posted at --

http://picasaweb.google.com/stevesaugen/PlainHouseRemodel#

Have fun perusing!

request for pictures

Steven told me that Grandma Riley requested more pictures on here :) Sorry I don't have time to write a post before bed, but here is some love sent from Plain to Oak Harbor!