Fidalgo Island

In an effort to distract myself from obsessing over my current lack of employment, Rosie and I have been exploring our new home.  Last week we visited Washington Park on Fidalgo Island, in the city of Anacortes.  Fidalgo Island in peppered with parks large and small and is an illustration of the Washington spirit of conservation and recreation.

This is a view from the park's boat ramp area, looking towards the San Juan Islands.  We hiked a bit of the loop road and forest trail that day.  It was gorgeous!  And absolutely FREE.  We barely made a dent in the acreage of the park!  Even though it was a weekend and there were quite a few people in the park, it did not feel crowded and folks were very courteous on the road.

You can access Washington Park by the State Hwy 20 Spur going into downtown and then towards the ferry, or heading towards Whidbey and turning on Rosario Road.  Rosario Road is definitely the scenic route.  After our hike Rosie and I headed into downtown Anacortes because I wanted to check out a bakery there (closed) and another one of the cool historical murals that are all over town.

This dragon is to honor the many Chinese residents made contributions to Anacortes' success.

On an earlier trip I shot this mural of a local family.  The murals were taken from photographs and the murals' information can be found within the picture itself.  Fun!

Here's Rosie in front of Causland Park - a very funky little park in the heart of town.  If you are a fan of rock walls, this is the park for you.

On another day we visited the reclaimed waterfront.  Very lovely.  This is looking towards the Cascades.  The bay was reconfigured to prevent the erosion by sea waves that had been a problem in the past.  Computer modeling helped engineers figure out the best placement of material to diminish wave power.  Kind of tricky, I guess.  The park area has also been replanted with hardy native species and wetlands are being restored.  Good job, Washington!

Kitchen Fixes

I wanted to get my knives out on one of those handy magnetic knife strips, but I didn't have any wall space large enough for even a small strip.  After puzzling over it for a while, I decided to mount the strip under one of my kitchen shelves.

I put the strip at an angle because I didn't want the knife handles sticking out in my way.  They are just over the stove.  I find this arrangement very handy and it takes advantage of some otherwise unusable space!

The large shelf brackets above my kitchen counter were crying out for SOME function (besides holding up the shelf).  I had hung my pots and pans over the windows, but the pesky lids had no home.  Then, it hit me - I got out some nails and...

The lids are out of the way AND within easy reach.  The nails are slightly bent around the edges of the lids to hold them securely.  The smaller lids (shown) only required two nails each.  The largest lid (you can kind of see one edge of it hanging below the far bracket in the top picture) required three nails - one I just twist out of the way when I use the lid.

Adding Access

My kitchen has tall shelves on one side, next to the stove.  Unfortunately, I had to be something of a contortionist to reach the shelves UNDER the countertop.  Then one day, I realized that I could do something different!

A friend of mine did the actual carpentering for me - his tools.  At first I thought I would add doors, but I prefer them as they are now.  The mangy towels hanging on the cabinet are my "floor towels" - a necessity in the winter in a very wet climate!  Rosebud and I bring in puddles of water several times a day during the wet season, so I've taken to swabbing the deck after every outing.



Cat Shelves

 

 

Here is a photo of one of the window shelves I created for my cats, Jack and Stormy.  The only place in the house where they were able to access a window view was the loft.  I decided, after dealing with hairballs on my bed (and worse), that the loft would be off-limits during the day.  So, I needed to provide the cats with some kitty TV!  The shelves are supported by the inverted bracket at one end, and a brace running the length underneath.  The bracket has wingnuts holding it and there is only one screw running down through the shelf to the brace below, that way, I can quickly remove the shelf if needed.  I used 2-sided carpet tape to attach some carpet to the shelves for comfort and clawing.  The shelf above is in the office.

 

 



 

Stormy is sitting on the shelf in the great room.  Both shelves are trapezoids which give the cats plenty of sleeping space, but allow sufficient room for me to access the bathroom, or, in the office, my desk.  I was quite pleased with how much weight the shelves can bear with such low profile support.  They are a great place to snooze!

 

 

Perfect Autumn Day

I might just be the tiniest bit of a perfectionist, but I HAD to tweak my pumpkin light.  Here is his new look, complete with pumpkin-y lines...

And, just above his nose, that little spot is actually a spider!  How perfectly Halloween!  He's so cute - here's another shot!

 

 

I also took Rosie for a walk in the lovely park in town.  It was a perfect autumn afternoon, maybe a bit warm for it to feel like autumn, but the light was golden and the geese were flying.  The statue and the windmill in the park acknowledge the many Dutch immigrants that came to Oak Harbor in the early days.





 

 

You can just make out the windmill above Rosebud (the reflection in the lagoon looks like it's balancing on his tail).

 

I've had a few of my neighbors stop by and tell me how cute the house is.  The yard definitely looks better now that the grass has greened up.  I need to get a new picture tomorrow.



Yard Art

When I moved in to Wagon Wheel Mobile Home Park, I discovered on the first night that the lights for each of the spaces is an orange globe.  I immediately knew what I would do for Halloween.  Here is my Pumpkin Light...

 

I used electrical tape for the features.  I think he turned out very cheery - I'm not really into scary jack-o-lanterns.

At Riverside RV Resort, we had white globes for each space, so I had a Christmas light...

His name was "Frosty Light"!  And yes, I was in space 13.

My first winter in the tiny house (2009) I had a ridiculously large propane tank - it was the smallest one I could lease - and I decided to dress him up for the holidays.  "Frosty the Pro-man" was my first yard art...

That's a plastic grill cover doubling as his top hat.  He really looks like a giant marshmallow!