Running Water

Slice bread is nice and all, but having a kitchen sink and working dishwasher beats the loaf every time. It's been a while since I've blogged, but my hands have been either covered in sawdust, grout or flooring adhesive.

I've learned a lot about measuring twice, then once more but luckily didn't have many costly errors that required repair with a hacksaw.

The counter tops were a last minute change to the job, but they really look 200% better than our original plan.

So now we are 90% done with only the moldings and minor touchups to go - might turn out to be the hardest 10% of the job since everything is now usable. Big push this weekend to actually get the thing done! We are both now really proud of our house and, dare we say it, looking forward to cooking in our house! Well worth the effort and it looks great. My favorite touch is the window screen above the sink - we had a bit of dust we were blowing out during the counter top work...

Oh yeah, I forgot about the tile on the wall. Maybe not quite 90% yet, but getting closer!

Happy Birthday Courtney and Lucy!

Lucy and her littermates turned 1 yesterday!

(L-R): Nala, Lucy, Duchess, Pete, Bisko, Gretchen, Roxy, and Stella

Lucy is 1, Courtney is... (last year she was 36).

We're excited to celebrate with Courtney tomorrow for a birthday party at Smith in Seattle. She is going to be a great sister-in-law. These Brooks boys seem to need some stong-minded women to keep them in line.

We had a birthday party today for Lucy and her littermates at Edmonds Off-leash Dog Park. They had a blast swimming, playing tug-a-war and generally frolicing in the sand. All were very dirty and I'm sure all needed a bath, just like Lucy. Lucy came from a litter of 9 and 8 were present. We hope to do it again next year.

Kitchen

We are nearly finished with our kitchen remodel! We started it in the middle of February- the dishwasher is being put in as I type and a co-worker of Steve's is coming in the morning to complete the plumbing work and help install our new sink and faucet. The only remaining thing is the tile work and mouldings. Steve and I are both thrilled with the outcome and can't wait to start stocking and using it. Our great friend, Sean Kilger, has helped every inch of the process. Thanks! Here are some pictures...
We (when I say we, I mean Steve and Sean) took the lovely flourescent light fictures and soffets out. We were left with studs and insulation. That was a cold week.
We were extremely smart and hired someone to do the drywall and mudding. No more light soffets!
The top cabinets went in, followed by new flooring (thanks Sean and Matt), and finally the base cabinets. We got our cabinets at IKEA and so far, we are really happy with them.
We initially bought countertops from IKEA as well, but as soon as we tried to clean them with a dustbuster, we realized why they're so cheap. The dustbuster scratched them. Last weekend, we went in search of a cheap, but quick option for new countertops. We almost went with slab granite, but changed our minds when we found large 26"x18" granite tiles. Steve spent most of last Saturday installing plywood, backerboard, and then Sean came over on Sunday for the installation of the granite tiles. A very quick, but labor intensive process! The counters look great!
We have a lot of this brown paper left... Let us know if you need some. We covered our whole kitchen in it. Lucy and Emily had a great time shredding it.
I'll post some more pictures after it's all done. We should have water tomorrow and we'll finally be able to move into the kitchen! No more eating out or eating Hot Pockets/ cereal for every meal!!

Lessons from Dogs

This story was sent to me by our friend, Sean Kliger. I thought it was fitting after thinking about all I have witnessed from Lucy. She is truly a gift.

Dog's Purpose (from a 6-year-old)

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle. I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on.

Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away..

The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, 'I know why.'
Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, 'People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?' The six-year-old continued, 'Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.'

Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply...
Speak kindly.

Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
Take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you have had enough. (Lucy hasn't learned this one)
Be loyal.
Never pretend to be something you're not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.
Being always grateful for each new day and for the blessing you have.

That's what dogs teach us...

What do you see?

Someone sent this to Steve in an email and I thought it was pretty cool. Click on the picture to make it bigger.

Duchess

Lucy had a busy day today. She got to come to work with me this morning and then she took Emily to the dog park (North Acres) for the first time. I didn't think Lucy was tired enough, so I took her to Magnuson to meet up with her sister, Duchess. They hadn't met before, so it was quite fun to see what Duchess is like. Her owner is Mike Moore, who works in Mukilteo with me.

As many of you know, Lucy is a ball hound. She lives for fetching balls. She will fetch balls from fields, lakes, streams, or other dogs' mouths. She can also sense when someone has a ball. She's not too concerned about other dogs and likes to play a little, but not too much. She's become quite the swimmer and is learning to bring balls back- sometimes two at a time. Anytime a ball is thrown in the water, she thinks it's for her and she goes running and swimming and usually brings it back to the person who threw it so they can throw it again. Luckily, most dog owners at dog parks are fairly reasonable and Lucy hasn't caused too many problems- who could get mad at such a cute dog?? Lucy is also great about dropping her balls as well as following me or Steve when we walk.

It was a kick to meet Duchess and see a completely different personality. Duchess would rather play with other dogs than chase balls. The only reason she runs with balls is to get other dogs to chase her. She tends to get off in her own world when playing with other dogs, so she had to be grabbed a few times when she was getting left behind. The best Duchess moment from today was when Lucy was swimming back in with a ball and Duchess would sit in the water and then crouch down. When Lucy got close, she pounced on Lucy and took the ball. Lucy then had to try and get the ball from Duchess by chasing her around. It looked as though Lucy just wanted the ball and didn't really want to play. They were a kick to watch. I'm hoping Duchess and Lucy can get together more often. Here are some pictures from their afternoon together.

Who Needs a Kitchen?

On Saturday afternoon, Steve started demolishing our kitchen. We have been planning (somewhat planning) this project for some time and thought that since I have the week off from teaching, this would be a good week to start. Steve called his buddy, Sean who brought a bunch of his knowledge and tools, as well as his new puppy Emily, over to help. The boys were able to rip out the light soffets and take down the top cabinets. What was left, however, was a bare ceiling. There are currently only studs for the ceiling, so it's quite cold. It makes it even harder to get out of bed in the morning when the house is 50 degrees. A guy named Greg is coming tomorrow to hang the drywall and his friend Victor will be taping, mudding, and texturizing. We are hoping to purchase new top cabinets on Friday (IKEA) and then assemble and hang them this weekend. Steve and Sean have also done new lighting, which looks awesome. We have 6 new cans to light up the kitchen instead of the ugly florescent tube lights.

Lucy (10 mo.) and Emily (4 mo.) had a blast playing while their daddies worked. We found out that Lucy is incredibly patient and that Emily is a bully. Most young puppies are bullies- Emily will learn social skills in time. Both pups had a great time rough and tumbling. Our new name for Emily is "Emperess Emily" because she promptly found Lucy's bed and laid down in the middle of it. Not only did she lay on her bed, but she found her favorite bone and chewed on it on Lucy's bed. When Lucy came to get it back, Emily growled at her. Lucy may not be the best one to put Emily in her place. The only time she got upset at Emily was when Emily chomped on Lucy's Achilles tendon. Ouch. The girls have seen each other every day since Saturday. Not only are the pups getting to be good friends, but Steve and I feel lucky to have such great new people friends here in Shoreline. Check out the Kligers' blog by clicking on the link to the right.