Puppy Project

With our abundance of rain, we discovered the kennel became a mud pit. Our solution... Expand the deck and add some rocks for drainage.

Then add sister boards and secondary locks for support against budding buffalo because he already pushed and bent the gate to get out. I was using a concrete block, but my sailor fixed that with a second lock below. Now, no worries.

Fionnlagh chillin' in his updated digs. 

Snapshot Sunday

It's a beautiful fall October day here at RiverHaven.  

I don't even mind having to do schoolwork when this is my view. 

 Finn found a place to nest and wacth the salmon in the river.

He's been sitting there for 20 minutes. :)

The big leaf maples are starting to drop their leaves.  Colors are changing all around. 

I love the way everything catches the light.

Pressure washed the porch. No more slipping on moss.

Finn switched to the other side. Can you see him?  If you look closely, you can see a few salmon gettin' busy. 

Too many things to do - Tuesday

Ok, on a previous post I mentioned that this is NOT a hydrangea. It turns out that it is actually going to be a rather large deciduous tree. It was only about 2 1/2 feet tall when I first transplanted it.  I moved it to a sunny location in the back area of the house.  Bad move.

 These little puppies more than tripled in height in just one year. Yes, there are two. Both now clear the rooftop.  

Mystery Plant Monday

Today's post is an update on all things in the garden, although I do have a mystery or two to solve there as well. I can hardly believe that these are my hydrangeas. Love this plant! I have two varieties: the top is a vibrant violet purple, the bottom is a beautiful sky blue with creme centers. Nature is amazing for sure!

 Now for the rest of the garden tour . . .

Simply Sunday

Mystery Plant Monday!

THESE ARE NOT HYDRENGEAS

Last summer, mum pulled the dead plants out of these garden beds and relocated what she *thought* were hydrengeas from another garden. They were too small to identify, so she figured they'd keep here outside the downstairs office windows until they were big enough.

They tripled in size from last spring until now, haha!

So now they are the topic of mum's first mystery plant of the season. Mum clipped one of the shoots, making sure she had enough leaves for identification, then went hunting: 

leaves - Lobed vs Toothed

bark characteristics

Location etc

Mom used a tree identifier from the Arbor Day Foundation (http://www.arborday.org/trees/whattree/) Answered a series of questions and came out with two possibilities.

And the answer is . . . tree! Beech or Birch

They are still too young to tell- but either way, they'll get 60-80 ft tall!

DEFINITELY planning to relocate these suckers while we still can. The thought right now is maybe putting them by the dog kennel, to give it some eventual shade in the years to come. THAT  however would require digging a rather large whole in our Irish soil - rocks every two inches! We will need more than a shovel for that.

Wishful Wednesday - Meeting Finn (finally!)

Finn & the kitties meeting for the first time.  He's had a long day already, but seems in fine spirits.  Settled into the car ride after the flight and earl ride to the aiport this morning.  He's had a nice 'migratory walk' and has checked out his new digs. After eating, he snacked on a pig ear, then settled in for a nap. He's currenty asleep on my foot. 

He has his first puppy class later. We'll see how that goes. 

Project Puppy - here he is!

** I originally pepared this post two weeks ago, when we were supposed to get the fuzball. I delayed posting it because, alas, he caught a cold. We wanted to make sure he was well and healthy before moving forward so we waited for the clean bill of health.  Fingers crossed, he should arrive this afternoon. **


June 30, 2014: As I am sitting at the courthouse awaiting the opportunity to do my civic duty, I can't stop thinking about our impending puppydom.  Today's post  is all about the puppy! Isn't he the cutest fuzball!!!

Mama is "Cherokee" from Comancheria Tibetan Mastiff Kennels. Papa is "Cochise" from the same. Puppy, named Fionnlagh (old Gaelic) and will be called Finn, will have mom's coloring, but maybe not so red. These pictures are from the breeder.

Here you can see better puppy's size. Both mom and dad are on the larger size for the breed; dad stands 29+ inches at the shoulders. 

Now for the cuteness!!!  These are from when he was a wee one: 

I think our little guy is on the left - I can tell by the mustache under his nose. :)

about 11 weeks old

We have all the goodies set, though I'm thinking about a baby monitor while we housebreak. He's going to be downstairs and I won't here him with my door closed (I don't like sleeping with my cats). Still deciding on that.  Can hardly wait to meet this little guy in person. 

Getting Crafty - a Big Pillow for my Comfy Chair!

Now that I have a sewing room again, I can widdle down those projects that accumulate. This outdoor pillow was one of them.  I had a bunch of  denim I had been saving and wanted to try a new quilt technique on a smaller scale before I make a park quilt out of the denim.  BTW: I flipped the milk can upside down for a side table until I put a top on it right side up - but that's a different project.

Project Puppy

One of the numerous projects going on here at RiverHaven is the dog run. This weekend, the girl-child and I attached a shade awning. The "NOT Hydrangea" trees we are transplanting won't be big enough to offer any significant  shade for a few years and the kennel gets full summer sun.  

The other reason for the cover is to protect puppy from eagles we have flying about. Until he is bigger, he could be tempting bait (a la The Proposal - see clip below).

Snapshot Saturday

The weather's gorgeous and we're doing the last minute touches on Puppy-proofing the house- so enjoy a few snap shots taken while on watering patrol.

Chicken Improv

Coyote trouble means the Ladies are on lock down until we can get a larger area fenced off for them. They have been less than thrilled so  to make up for it I did put together some chicken treats/entertainment.

Currently - lots going on here at RiverHaven

My rhododendrons have bloomed. Some are quite pretty. I would love to know the varieties. I have counted at least three; this one stayed this color. One of the others started a pretty bright pink, then settled to white. Something to add to the Mystery Plant topic list.

We continue to prepare for puppy, finishing touches to the outdoor kennel and continued work on the fencing. 

 Below is a picture of the run area we built. I still need to attach the cover to the run to protect puppy from the eagles until he's bigger. We need to cross brace the corners for stability because my sailor didn't have time or energy to set it all in concrete before he had to leave. Then there's the access gate to attach between the run and the garden shed. 

I want to put a skirt on the porch so puppy's not encouraged to dig under.  I also need to set up a water station and I want to add solar lights to the pole posts for winter light. A quick finishing touch of string to the gates so we humans don't get locked in.

Introducing Puppy!

AAAAAAH - SO CUTE. AND ALMOST HERE! 

Puppy update: Puppy developed a cough, treated through antibiotics. Cough has turned into a wheeze. Vet says it's not Kennel Cough, but who knows. Long story short - puppy arrival is on hold, perhaps indefinitely.

Snapshot Saturday - Sewing Room Reclamation

Part of my Summer Clean up post National Board and School Year chaos was to reclaim my sewing room. I finally have breathing time and I have sewing projects to finish which makes this project a timely necessity. We had been using it as a secondary office for studying and my Sailors contract work when we was home. 

 I hadn't done anything to the walls after we moved in and it was sorely in need of attention. The previous owners had removed whatever wall paper and painted it a lovely butter yellow. Unfortunately when the sun blazes through the windows it's like the sun is IN the room. I chose a green with blue undertones to mute the glare of the light and I really love how it turned out.

The paint is still drying here. On the wall on the left you can still see the wallpaper glue the previous owners didn't remove but painted over. After the four-day fiasco of doing boy-child's room I can understand why.  I will eventually either have to cover the walls with paper or sheet rock - neither of which do I want to undertake right now. 

I didn't get started painting until 8:30 pm as it took about an hour to empty the room of "office mode". I was working on other projects from my list during the day too. Once I started, it only took about 3 hours. I was surprised how fast it really went.   

Here it is all finished! After I hung the curtains, I remembered I had this lovely garland and decided it was just what the window needed.    I LOVE how it turned out!!!  I still need to find my Ott lamp and put up my flannel board for pieces, but that's a project for another day. 

It was rainy and overcast today, so there isn't a blaze of sunshine. The colors are soft and muted to the eye, but it doesn't read well for my iPad w/ no flash. I will replace  it with a better one when I get the chance. 

Tool Round-up: Garage Edition

Moving and never totally unpacking really puts a dent in the cleanliness factor. So today, we went full UFYH on the garage. Having a garage and a barn, we have tools and projects scattered between them. Today's goal was to get those all in one place. Garden projects? In a garden bin. House maintenance/materials? In a house bin.  Car materials? Fencing swag? You get the picture. The main MAIN goal however is to be able FIND the materials we need to finish up projects whilst dad is away YET STILL be true to dad's organization system enough that when he gets home, HE can find and rearrange as necessary. 

oh. em. gee. Do we have our work cut out for us! 

In true Washington fashion, it was raining most of today! So I threw up our little cabana over my truck bed to help the transition from garage to barn be less moist. Cardboard and rain just don't mix, you know? 

Woo! Part one complete! Our initial focus was "do we need immediate access to this? or can it live in the barn?" and keeping this in mind, we were able to free up space. We compounded computer boxes from 3.5 to 2, took Boy-Child boxes to his room for HIM to deal with, and got rid of the trash. We keep a box of cracked corn for the chickens in the garage as their treat (mostly called "crack" because, well... it is) but there have been some spills which encouraged rodents to roost and defecate. Mum has also been collecting the empty feed bags, they're canvas and so would make great grocery bags. Well, they still had bits and pieces of food left in them- also encouraging rodents. Unhealthy droppings EVERYWHERE: on the floor, on top of boxes, and, in the case of some un-taped boxes, INSIDE. At the stage this photo was taken, Mum was pretty happy with what was left. The pegboard will continue to be scant and disorganized until ALL the tools are rounded up, cleaned, and redistributed accordingly. It is a great idea, just needs tools!

At this point, the back wall looks pretty good but there are two tool stations that still could use some UfYH-ing. Mum focused on the smaller station (right photo) first while I got rid of trash, broke down boxes, and prepped stuff to be hauled to the barn. Dad's tool rack and shelves is pretty sacred ground, but he hasn't had a chance to properly move-in or arrange things to his liking. We tried to keep true to what he DID organize.

 Topmost shelf is exterior lights (a few motion sensor ones and the solar lights for the yard), next shelf down is adhesives and sprays. Everything from WD-40, to super glue, to Rustoleum. It's all in one place. Next shelf down is actually pretty empty- we found a bunch of stray fishing paraphanelia as we were cleaning (both the inside cupboard and the garage) and were able to relocate them to a tacklebox. The three shelves to the right have car supplies (Dad recently did the brakes on two of the vehicles), Door making materials, B&D sander, sandpaper, mum's awesome Dremel, etc. All within easy reach and within sight.

We did a little rehab on dad's poor tool-tower, pulling all the paper to one drawer and electronic/electrical materials to another. Top drawer is for misc nuts, bolts, screws, blades that can be gone through another time. We pulled all of the actual tools, though, and put them in little green army bags for easy moving.

The right hand photo is actually immediately to a person's left as they exit the house from the laundry room. Mum wanted to keep the car supplies (windshield washer fluid, oil refills, and cleaning materials) to their own shelf. Dad's boots have been cleaned and tucked out of the way for his return.

Speaking of tool round up - man that wrench in the center is Clue worthy in heft! 

All these puppies and the bits and pieces of tool boxes have been culled from the house and now the garage, and are ready to move to their second to final stage: the barn. Once there, that will be ALL the tools possible and they can be cleaned, organized, and delegated throughout the property. We'll KNOW what sets are complete, what needs filling, and what just ought to be replaced. 

The next, NEXT project is the barn. Which is now mostly classroom, haha. But will be barn again once mum moves into her new classroom right and proper. Before that, we have a PUPPY COMING as well as guests so the organization and puppy-proofing of the house is a priority. 

So have a picture of our chickens to tide you over :D

Puppy Possibilities!

So - quick news update. We ARE getting a puppy after all!

Isn't he a cutie pie? Well, we're spending the next few days re-puppy proofing the house- having all but given up on puppies until next spring. We put carpets back down and took out gates and stored the toys away... 

First things first- where to put the food? While mum was researching local puppy training programs and terminology, I cleaned out the front closet. We had all the winter coats and boots, not to mention two incredibly messy boxes full of tools and miscellany. I pulled the coats and for now they're in the upstairs closet, but will eventually (once the garage is conquered) go in a winter box in the garage. Having pared down to just the rain coats and guest sweaters, vacuum and mop to one side- we were able to store all of the puppy necessities on the other.

Mum found these great gasket lidded, ant proof food bins- the upright one holding up to 50lbs. The best part is they require thumbs to open, so while the dog food will be in a room near the puppy, the puppy will not be able to access the goodies. Same goes for the smaller pig ear/chew food box. Thinning out the gloves and heavy socks and the tons and tons of extra plastic bags freed up a basket and a few canvas bags for toys, leash, collar, and wee-pads.

Easy to access- for us! but still well out of reach of critters.

But what to do with all the tool miscellany that puppy products replaced?

I don't have any before photos for you, so you'll have to just believe me, but there were two boxes full of tools and odds and ends and three partially completed tool boxes. Having tools spread between the house, the garage, and the barn has been crazy and frustrating - so going through this closet is only the first step on a property wide tool round up. Some of them have been left out in the elements (victims of fence building in the rain) and require some cleaning, sanitizing and others have just wandered so far from their original locations that their purpose is also obscured. 

I pulled everything out of the boxes, one piece at a time, and separated them by type and use. Are they for inside the house projects? Like toilet/shower repair? Like light switch plate replacement covers? Or are they for long term projects, or seasonal ones, where they could be better served living in the garage or barn? 

Here you can see some of the oddities (8 alan wrenches- some pictured here, end of a plunger, squeegie, and ... necklace clasps?) I separated as I went through the boxes. I decided to bag each thing individually by type (nuts, bolts, washers, screws, hanging materials, etc) and label them with a sharpie. Organizing, I was able eliminate one box entirely. All of those things are better suited elsewhere (soldering kit, useful but probably shouldn't live in the kitchen). The top drawer has quick access things like the aforementioned nuts and bolts and screws and nails, as well as masks (safety first!) and tape, white grease, mysterious yellow plastic triangles (they remind me of the cones used in pottery but you know, plastic. I'll have to inquire after the sailor for explanation), and gloves. The idea is to keep all the little bits from getting everywhere so we here at home can fix things while the sailor is sailing and yet, when the sailor comes to shore he can get (and rearrange) at will. 

Voce was overseeing the efficiency of this project.

The inside doesn't look terribly organized, but everything is bagged and labeled so a quick rummage will allow anyone to find a project (curtain rods for the sewing room par exemple) with ease. Things in here are quick fixes (under-carpet fabric to keep carpets from slipping/curling etc) or project materials, things we will need access to but not necessarily all the time. 

I think there's enough room for this guy to live in the front closet, but an alternative is finding somewhere in the laundry/mudroom or just outside that door in the garage. The idea is immediate access and knowing where things are- mise en place. 

Next stop tools! We consolidated the three mostly full toolboxes into one, leaving that one, a box cutter, and measuring tape within immediate reach above the rain jackets and vacuum. But the other two are joining the migration to the barn- where they'll be gone through and organized properly. 

This is a quick update- but don't worry, there will be puppy pictures and puppy prep discussions this weekend.