24 hour home update

Adam and I had a 24 hour marathon to tidy up our garage in hopes of achieving "Additional Living Quarters" status (very important for legal reasons).

First, Adam removed exhaust pipes from our rocket mass heater (coincidentally, the power was out). 

We wanted to make the place look more "normal" and since we want to modify the exhaust flow anyway and don't need the heat for another few months, it seemed worth it. Stay tuned for the all night re-installation of those pipes as the weather cools...

Our builder friend Jake graciously accommodated our short notice and came to weld the remaining counter top frame. He also did the sink frame back in December. I bought him: 

1" x 1/4"  square bar for floor supports

1" square tube 1/8" thick for vertical supports

1 1/2" angle iron for counter top supports

He welded everything onsite, which was educational for the whole family. After he left and the kids were all asleep, we bolted it to the floor using a drill hammer and wedge anchors.

 It was thrilling to see the beginnings of my kitchen finally take the shape I have envisioned for months. It really will look wonderful when all finished.

 (decided to not remove the RM barrel)

For the "long term temporary" counter top, Adam cut nice quality 3/4" plywood. My jaw dropped when the sink hole was cut out...it looked so beautiful :)

midnight visitor:

I helped Adam with the construction but also rearranged furniture and cleaned out old refrigerator to move food into the new garage fridge and freezer. We wanted to make the space look like our hobby/game/office space.

 Then, we used an interesting plywood called Iron Ply to cover the faces, anchored with self-tipping screws and washers. It gave an overall IKEA / plywood / wood veneer look that was more pleasant than expected. In the end, I want a light white and grey marble or other swirled stone counter top with either stained wood or sheet metal facing. Our little firehouse is going for the white and black vintage industrial look.

 A little D&D in the early morning light.

 ....And, 10 am we are done.

Luther Burbank Park (twice)

My cousin invited us to Luther Burbank Park on Mercer Island. It was a convenient midway point between her place in West Seattle and mine in Woodinvilleplace, and we hadn't been to this park yet. There was a grass mound maze, several lakefront beaches for swimming, newly installed playground with a zipline, large grass fields, walking trails, dog parks, etc.

We went back again in the evening with take out dinner.

Our Country's Birthday

For Cur Country's Birthday, I made and ate the most delicious blueberry slab pie with rye crust I have ever tasted.

We also hung out the flags

ate a pancake breakfast at church with kids bike parade, worked my shift at the food bank, BBQ picnic with friends (they made a delicious cherry pie), and then back home for fireworks.

 

This was our first 4th of July in our new house which is in unincorporated King County, where all kinds of fireworks are legal). I shouldn't have been surprised but was at the thousands of fireworks going off all night. Our wealthy neighbors had a beautiful display which we could see through the trees. Elliott enjoyed his first year of lighting fireworks.

rainbow chili

Yesterday, we drove to Covington in rush hour traffic plus holiday traffic (4th of July travelling) to pick up our argosy from having the roof repainted and bring it back to the Airstream Dealership so they could finish installing the new water tank. We also got rear-ended (no injuries!) and thus delayed an additional 40 min :) I haven't written much about these plans (yet) but along with our home remodel, we are also remodeling our 1977 Argosy. In our dreams, when everything is finished, we will have a sweet home and sweet home on wheels.