May 26, 2016:

 

 

This is the beginning of a real driveway.  Exciting I know.  It's as much as they can do until the county inspects the placement in relation to two other driveways near us.  Hopefully, that will get done soon.

 

 



The huge trench that contains the electricity, etc. has been covered.  See the soil?  Not bad, heh?

 

 

Look closely and you can see the baby apples forming on the ole apple tree.  I really must remember to bring some fertilizer stakes and some Malathion with me next time we visit.  The deer will thank me for it and I'm sure we will become the best of friends.

 

We sold our lovely house in Woodinville to a couple who are absolutely in love with it.  I push the thought of someone else using my bathtub out of my head as best I can.  The new owners love it so much that they asked if we would leave the furniture in the entryway. By "leave", I mean "give".  Is it worth it to store the pieces or should I let them go?  I have a couple days to decide. The inspection was yesterday and there was only one tiny comment which is a relief.  We know the house really well, but you never know what an inspector might find. 

 

Meanwhile, we are getting used to condo living.  Someone broke into our truck and rifled through it but we had been warned about recent car prowls and there was nothing in it a drug addict would want.  I guess that is a good initiation.  Creeps.

 

I'm getting along better with the condo oven.  Today I made brownies and they look good.  I suddenly realized that if I have a baking disaster, all I have to do is blame it on the oven.  But I find myself avoiding the kitchen.  It's like my confidence is gone.

 

Have a safe Memorial Day Weekend.

 

 

 

 

 



 

May 14, 2016 -  Open House

 

This is the house that we are leaving.  She's still ours but not for long.  Today and tomorrow is Open House and, if you are familiar with the real estate market in Seattle and surrounding areas, it's probable that we will get an offer or two this week.  Of course there are no promises. 

Within her are eighteen years of memories.  That's why it's so hard to leave.  Every room has a story.  We were fortunate to live in such a fine house.  The kids were fortunate to have a large yard to play in off the street.  Two acres gives you a nice buffer from neighbors, too. 

I spent a lot of time in this kitchen but it didn't always look like this.  The old one wasn't bad but this one is MUCH better.  We had the entire suite of Wolf/Subzero appliances and I definitely want to purchase them again for the Cle Elum farmhouse.  Geez I'm spoiled.

 

 

The master bath.  Oh my goodness.  My favorite place in the entire house and my pride and joy.  My husband worked many hours to pay for this thing.  Thanks, honey.  Sarah Richardson inspired me here with the white and walnut and it turned out stunning.  It's like a personal spa.  That bathtub is amazing.  I was going to take the crystal chandelier with us to Cle Elum but decided that it belonged to the house.  Wasn't that generous of me? 

 

Cle Elum Farmhouse

 

 

 

Springtime at our little piece of heaven in Cle Elum - the most beautiful time of the year.  Lots of wildflowers, blossoms, green grass (albeit cheat grass).  This photo was taken a few years ago right after we purchased our 11 acres.  I felt like the luckiest woman in the world.  We had been looking for three acres+ for about four years and this just literally fell into our laps.  We were in the area looking at more three acre parcels and just happened to see the "For Sale" sign.  As we explored the property looking for the surveyors stakes, neither one of us said much.  Should we?  Could we?  Is this too good to be true?  We made an offer that night.

We began the design of our farmhouse in February 2015 with an architect in Seattle.  It was a long process and we enjoyed every minute of it.  After many hours on Houzz and agonizing over getting everything just right, my husband and I now believe we have designed a house that is right for the setting and fits us.  Is it my dream house?  No. That would be a chateau somewhere in the French countryside.  Living in Cle Elum will be, as our architect says, a "lifestyle change".  I'm hoping that will mean less housework and more enjoyment of the outdoors and nature, making new friends, and entertaining.

I'll be honest - I'm a little scared.  I miss my kids and we aren't even living there yet.  We've promised to build a swimming pool in hopes that this will entice them to come visit more often.  I hope they will love it as much as we do and that we will see them often.

May 10, 2016 - Day One of Construction:

It could not have been a more beautiful day to begin.  The sun was shining and we were all excited to get started.  I made morning buns for the crew, who were busy working on the neighbors house on the adjoining ten acres.  More information on our contractor and how we found him or how he found us when I get his permission to use his company's name, etc.

What the heck??!!!  That big, yellow machine just took out three pine trees in less than two minutes!  Where were you the last two years when we were taking them down with a chainsaw and limbing by hand?

First things first - digging a trench for the utilities.  I wish my grandson could have been here because it was fascinating watching this machine work.  The good news is that the first three feet of soil is actually pretty good!  We'll see what else is under there when we visit the site next week.  Can't wait to have a driveway!

D