Green, Green, Everywhere

When we first saw our current home, we immediately liked so many things about it. But, there was one thing that was a little off putting, which somewhat explained why it had not sold in 9 months...the whole house was painted GREEN. It was not the pleasant, earthy, Northwest green that one might imagine, but a BRIGHT green that I soon realized had to go. Bob is color blind and the official family painter, so he was more on board to "keep it the way it is", but Angie and her friend, Beth, backed me up and paint we (I mean, Bob)did.

The week before our furniture arrived, we moved in and Bob painted all week. I love the main color we found which is a nice, warm yellow that is cheery on cloudy days. I recently read that it is the perfect Northwest wall color with our climate. By the end of that first week, Bob was getting tired of painting and so I suggested leaving the laundry area, the computer room, and one wall in the kitchen green. The color wasn't so bad in bits and pieces, but the whole house??? What was the former owner thinking?

This summer I had hoped to do some painting to finally get rid of the rest of the green. I happen to like the one accent wall of green in the kitchen area, so that area will stay put. Summer is almost gone, but today Bob did the easy laundry room and I LOVE it. It's a color in the light brown family and blends so nice with the warm yellow. So, we have just one room left of the green and I will be so glad to see it go. This room will require a little more work as we've packed lots of things into our computer/library/boat building space. I'm not sure when I will convince Bob to get it done, but now that I've seen how nice the laundry room came out, maybe it will be sooner than later. It sure is wonderful when painting makes such a big difference!


The only green that will remain


Green that will be painted over, hopefully "sooner than later"


Laundry room: Before-Yucky GREEN


Laundry room: After-Nice warm brown

Living in Paradise

It amazes me how I continue to fall in love over and over with the Pacific Northwest. Before living here, I'd met wonderful people and seen pretty areas in all the places we've been, but I never truly understood "love of place". South Dakota was probably the prettiest place we previously lived, but the winters were awfully COLD. Iowa City has a special place in my heart because that's where we raised our children and my friends there are like family. I always thought the rolling farmlands of Iowa were a peaceful respite from the rest of the world, but the long winters and hot, humid summers could make me weary.

All through my life, I've met folks who "loved where they lived". Our relatives who live near the New Jersey shore would not live anywhere else. Our closest NJ friends, Ken, Jackie, Rose, and Glenn also have that "NJ state of mind". Scott and Kristen have always loved Rhode Island life and Roger and Marianne fell in love with Florida. AZ winters are not like winters at all for the Garvey's. And, now for us, the Northwest has captured our hearts.

I believe that how you feel about anything in life is your perception of it. I will never forget my first perceptions when I drove from the Seattle airport, viewing the beautiful evergreens that our state is known for. I was mesmerized and that feeling continued with each new beautiful place I saw. I grew to wonder, "How could anybody not love it here"? Well, certainly, if one needs lots of intense sun, this is definitely NOT the place to settle down. But, I've been pleasantly surprised by how "sun breaks" make all the difference in getting through our cloudy winters. Also, the mild winter temps are very nice indeed and, for me, more than make up for our "famous rainy weather".

The best thing about living in the PNW is that it's not just ONE thing that makes this place so spectacular...it's the Cascade range, the Olympic range, the San Juan Islands, the Chuckanut Mountains, the Puget Sound, Bellingham Bay, Lake Whatcom, Lake Padden, Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier, and all the cool places right here in Bellingham! Believe me, it's not possible to over estimate the beauty!

Life has so many if's for all of us. If we hadn't moved from IC ten years ago, if Steve wouldn't have gone to San Diego for his first job, if Steve had not followed his heart and Angie to the Northwest...if any of those things had not happened, we would not be here now. Even though I was very excited to settle here, it still was a scary prospect to "start all over again". I thought there would be lots of tears, but I have been pleasantly surprised that there haven't been any. It's taken effort on our part to become connected, but not anywhere near difficult. I feel incredibly blessed that we've finally found "our paradise", incredibly grateful for each and every day in it!

Proud x 2

It's a pretty much known fact that most parents love to take credit when their offspring do well, but try to blame "other factors" when trouble brews. Both Pete and Steve have had some wonderful accomplishments this year, but Bob and I can take NO credit whatsoever. They are grown men now and their successes are their own. Still, it's hard not to be proud when they work hard, with positive results.

Bob doesn't have too many career regrets, but often wished he had gotten his professional engineering certification. It probably would not have changed his work life, but it would have been a nice honor to have. When Steve became an engineer, I wonder if he internalized that story as he decided pretty early in his career to pursue his professional engineering certification. Steve is an industrial engineer and there is no PE in that field, so he taught himself what he needed to know for the mechanical engineer professional certification. Last summer and fall, we would often see his review books on the dining room table and one look at the complicated stuff he was studying would make this math adverse Mom cringe. The good news that he passed came before the holidays and Bob and I were thrilled for him. Steve and Angie took it all in stride, but Bob and I were all smiles, ear to ear.

Pete has had an interesting career path. I have always loved politics, but somehow my democratic gene was not passed down to my first born. He became involved in Republican politics in college and with a political science major and determination has always worked in the field of politics. Pete is passionate about his work and no doubt, has gotten where he is completely on his own. After working as the Director of the Iowa Republican State Senate caucus for the past few years, he just was offered and accepted the position as Director of Federal Relations for his beloved University of Iowa in Iowa City. It is his dream job and we are so excited for his new opportunity.

Yes, it has been a good year for our Hawkeye alums. Steve became a first time Dad, along with his PE and Pete will have a new home in IC to go along with his new job. And, more than anything, they are happy...which is what most parents really want after all. Way to go, Pete and Steve!

East Coast Family Visits West Coast Family

Last week at this time we were in the midst of hosting Bob's brother Scott, his wife, Kristen, and our nephew, Calvin on their first trip to the Pacific Northwest. We thoroughly enjoyed showing them places we've come to love. In fact, during our explorations over the past 1 1/2 years, we would often comment, "Scott and Kristen would love it here"! And, we were right. They love being active and outdoors, which is the mantra of the Pacific Northwest lifestyle.

We kept very busy and some of the highlights included:

Walking along the Edmond's waterfront with Steve, Angie, and Evan
Having our own guided tour of the BEAUTIFUL University of Washington by the famous alumnus, Angie
Touring Seattle's Pike's Market, eating at the Sleepless in Seattle restaurant
Seeing Seattle, Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker from the top of the Space Needle
Kayaking along the Chuckanuts
Hiking Goat Mountain in the rain and being amazed at barefoot Cal
Exploring downtown Bellingham, Fairhaven, and Boulevard Park
Eating lots and lots of good food at Fiamma's Pizza, The Beach Cafe, The Rumor Mill-just to name a few
Having a delicious salmon meal at home, thanks to our talented chef, Scott
Eating wonderful "Crepes by Bob"
A fun ferry ride to San Juan Island, soaking up all the beauty in this lovely part of the world
And, watching the Mariners at Safeco Field finally win, breaking their losing streak!

We had such a fun visit and wish we were not clear across the country from each other. Although we began missing them as soon as we parted, we'll reconnect this fall when we travel to Saratoga Springs for a wedding. And, we hope they will consider visiting us again...there's still so much to explore!