Reading Nook Makeover

So we have an area in our house that was supposed to be a dining room, but it is so small that we decided to make it into a reading nook.  We had some black bookshelves in there, but they were a bit precarious. We were worried that when Nova becomes mobile that she would pull on them and they would come toppling down. So, I looked online and found some mid-century modern looking ones that bolt to the wall.  We bought three of them, and this weekend Scott & I assembled and installed two them.  First, I painted behind where they would go; I hate the green that the former owner painted, so am changing it to something more neutral.  We decided to go with Accessible Beige by Sherwin Williams.  It's a classic for a reason!  I think they turned out pretty good. I'm looking forward to the kitchen being done so we can move our dining room table back and reclaim this area as our reading nook.  

Reading chairs which is where our dining room table is currently residing. This was taken right after we moved into the house. You can see our old kitchen in the background.

Old bookcases and green walls.

Starting to paint.

Above the doorway you can see the light green vs the new beige color.  Hopefully the dining table will moved be back to the dining room soon!

Harvey supervising the assembly of the bookcase.

Harvey telling Scott he's doing a good job!

Finished product!

Gabby & The Puppies Meet Nova

Yesterday Gabby and the pups got to meet Nova for the first time.  Gabby dropped by for about an hour on her way to Olympia.  The puppies did not know what to make of Nova.  They were both pretty scared of her, but they did sniff her and Harvey gave her a couple kisses on her head and hands.  Rosie didn't like when Nova made noise or cried..she would start whining.  It will be interesting to see how they react to Nova when she becomes mobile!

What is that, Mom?

Rosie was interested in her milk!

Olympia Volksmarch #2

On Saturday morning we met up with Teresa, Jennifer & Clarissa to do a 5k volksmarch in West Olympia.  We started at a church on Kaiser Road, then made our way to the Ralph Munro Trail and then walked on the McLane Forest trail.  The funny thing is that we never knew about these trails while we lived in Tumwater even though they are relatively close by!  What the heck?  It was a cold morning, but we managed to stay dry until the very end.  We saw some red-winged black birds and lots of daffodils that were just starting to bloom.  We didn't bring the puppies as we had a lot of errands we needed to run afterward.  But first, we stopped by Meconi's in Tumwater to have lunch with Pam, Michele & James.  It was so great to see them! It's been a long time.  We rounded out the day with a boba at my favorite spot in Capital Mall, a trip to REI for shoes, and a stop at the Lacey Lowes for more backsplash tile.  A fun, but long day!

Scott, Clarissa, Jen, Teresa with Aspen & Logan

Sniffspot in Gig Harbor

My friend Tammy told me about Sniffspot on Friday so I went online and checked them out.  It's basically a rent by the hour private park for your dogs. It can range from just someone's back yard to multiple acres of land.  We found the Woods of Spadoni Hill in Gig Harbor which looked promising, so I booked an hour for Sunday morning.  It is 12 private acres of wooded land with trails to explore and was less than 20 minutes from our house.  The puppies loved it!  They haven't had a chance to be off leash in a while, so they were happy to run all around and enjoy all the sniffs.  We enjoyed seeing them so happy and would definitely go back!

New smells to sniff.

They are funny in that they love to explore but never leave our sides for long.

We found a bridge!

Rosie was the first one to cross.

Harvey gave it a go, too.

Volksmarch in West Seattle #1

We completed our first volksmarch of 2023 on Saturday with the puppies in West Seattle.  It was a beautiful day and was the first day it really felt like spring.  It was a beautiful walk through some neighborhoods and up to Myrtle Resevoir Park which is the highest point in Seattle. We had some fantastic views from up there and along the walk.  We were excited to see that the flag was still there when we completed our walk; another successful volksmarch in the books!

We walked by the bee garden at High Point Commons Park.

On 31st Ave SW we encountered all these (and more) cool & colorful fish murals painted on the road.

Harvey checking out the directional signage. 

Viewpoint

There was an elevation circle which had the elevations of the surrounding hills. West Seattle is the highest at 520 feet.

Beacon Hill 364 feet.

First Hill 367 feet.

Capitol Hill 464 feet and Queen Anne Hill 470 feet.

Not sure why this one shrunk?

View of downtown Seattle.

Magnolia Hill 392 feet.

Flag photo!

When we got back into town, Corey & Terrell texted us that they were heading out for a walk, so we met them in Proctor district and went with them and Nova.  She slept the entire walk.

Kitchen Update--Floors Are In!

We took another step towards finishing the kitchen; the floors got installed in the kitchen/dining room. We asked our contractor, who is renovating our main bathroom, to flex and get the floors done first so that once the countertops are installed, the cabinet installer can complete the rest of the cabinet installation.  It took them 2.5 days to get it done.  We were a bit nervous about how they would look with the cabinets since we bought them based on a pretty small sample, but we think they look great next to the cabinets.  Tomorrow the countertop people come to measure.  Cross fingers it will go smoothly.

Halfway through. They had to buy some cheap vinyl to go in the dining room where it used to be carpet to level the area with the kitchen. So, it looks like we're putting wood on top of wood.

Finished for now; baseboards will get installed later.