Disappearing Act

Amazingly enough, I actually had a planned idea for "Almost Wordless Wednesday" today. But my camera battery charger --which is ALWAYS in the outlet above our fruit bowls in the kitchen-- is

*P o o f !*  

gone.  NO one knows where it is.  There is NO reason for anyone to remove or move it.  It is NOT in the fruit bowls or lurking behind them.  A mystery........
Just what I need!  ;-)

Meanwhile, there is lots going on around here...

The kids (and Hubby) are enduring the last week of school, the siding is finally wrapping around to the front of the garage, and I'm about to spend a bunch for doorknob sets, plumbing fixtures, and base cabinets for the upstairs kitchen area.  We've decided to go 'non-upper' and install open shelves instead.

We also replaced our laundry equipment after our dryer overheated to an alarming extent last week, and we'd already been using limited cycles (actually 1 only) on the washer for a couple of years or more, due to repeated problems with the mother board.  So we are now are catching up on the backlog of dirty clothes and towels that can grow amazingly large in 5 days.  Our new set is the low tech, but heavy and durable, made by Speed Queen.

Prince CuddleBunny and I stay almost constantly enthralled, watching the visitors to our bird feeders.  We've had some new visitors this year.. Big ones!  

Meet Mr. Ring-necked Pigeon (the Mrs. came with him, but flew off too fast to get her pic), Mr. and Mrs. Mallard, and Mr. Pileated Woodpecker.  We've also had his much smaller, but similarly marked cousins, a pair of Downy Woodpeckers, which we've also never seen before this year.

Uh-oh...

Princess Sassy is looking like this these days...

Last week, actually

And the countdown-to-Baby chain is getting short!















But the garage space?  Not quite what you'd call ready and waiting.  


The siding guys I thought were coming (and finishing) in March, actually started closer to May, and their schedule is hit and miss.  

It really did look just like this the day we visited
Northwest Door,
but I found this image here

We have beautiful new (aluminum) carriage-style garage doors, manufactured locally by Northwest Door.   We were able to visit the factory where they were made and get a close up look at our options.  

These doors have a powder-coated finish that has an amazingly real-looking, faux wood pattern. These were not inexpensive, but they are very high quality, and just the wooden, carriage-door look Hubby dreamed of, without any of the upkeep required by wood. Even though our front door is Douglas Fir and they offer a fir option, we chose the deeper colored "Dark Cherry" finish, because our front door is already darkened past the color of the fir sample, and the southern exposure on the garage doors would make them look even lighter.

Hubby devised a roof detail to bring better focus to them, and to add interest to the tall front of the garage.  

The interior is mostly framed, with a bit more to go where we want to drop the ceilings in the hallway.  


I'm installing outlet and switch boxes, so wiring can start.

We'd planned to heat this space with a picturesque, but also practical, gas stove.  But our most recent big decision is to use a "mini split" heat pump instead.  It will mount on the wall, near the ceiling.  These are ductless

image source

and will cost about half the price of the gas stove, plus the benefit of also providing air conditioning when needed.  They are supposed to be extremely efficient and quiet.



Poor Hubby has spent almost every spare moment of the last 20 months, working away, and the nesting princess is getting antsy. We're back to the building construction phrase this control-freak, deadline-oriented, soon-to-be grandma hates: "It'll be done when it gets done."  ;-)