Brett's first clam bounty. Only a few broken shells. Now he has to clean them.

Brett goes Clam Diggin'

Being a 'yooper', Brett has never experienced some of the important things in life... like Razor Clam Digging. This weekend is an awesome morning tide.

Our neighbor and area physician, Dr. Jeff Maple, invited Brett out to correct this obvious flaw. So Brett purchased his clam license last week and marked his calendar.

The low tide is at 8:38am today. At 6:40am... Jeff arrives. Startled, Brett says "He's early". I reply, "honey, this is the only time people around here take seriously... of course he arrived early."

Brett fussed with which coat to wear... (took one too light for the drizzle, in my opinion) and stared at the display of clam guns and bags I had set out. He reached for the 'whimpiest' of guns. I stopped him. "the tall white one with duct tape padded handles is Vi's gun. That is the lucky one." Jeff agreed with me... take that one.

They went off (I stayed home to prepare for my women's event honoring our county commissioner today). 20 minutes later, Brett rushed back .... red cheeked... "what a rookie, I forgot my license". Some discussion followed as he refused my advice to pin it within a ziplock baggie... on the outside of his jacket. I also realized, much as I would like to dig this morning... it is better left to the doctor to break Brett in...man to man... digging clams. I have learned there are some things... wives are not meant to do.

the progress continues

We have confirmation from the painters. (they have been scraping)The original color was a dark blackish green color.

We believe it was painted pale yellow in the 1940's and barn red in the late 1950s.

Our new color is a Miller Historical Color. A dark pewter grey. We will trim in with lots of glossy white (the porch too) and working black shutters.

Another year, we will cover the new porch.

Progress on the house.

Seaview Dune Wetland Map

The rectangle with the purple wetlands...is the controversial area. Conservation vs. development.

Work around the house.

Brett's Truck

Happy Easter!

Today Brett and I will have a quiet day at home. We will enjoy the Finnish Easter Bread I made yesterday and mix cultures with a small lamb roast.

Our plant order arrived... so between rain and hail... we will try to plant some new little poplar trees, hydrangas, roses and bamboo.

Drina Daisy - Bosnian Food in Astoria

We decided to try a new adventure that opened up in Astoria. Bosnian 'home style' food.

Upon entering the very nicely spruced up building space... you are greetly warmly with a friendly staff and a large rotisserie with a full lamb roasting away. (mid week they serve chicken)

Even though we had planned on lamb for Easter dinner the next day... of course that would be the first choice of menu items.

Our appetizer was a dried sausage and cheese plate. The center had a yogurt, cucumber and tomato mixture. (think Turkish influences)

The beer and wine was direct from Bosnia... and quite nice. They also serve vodka straight up.

Brett ordered the lamb which came with a fresh spring salad and roasted sweet red peppers. I had the Sarma (stuffed cabbage). It had sour cream and a red pepper paste that was very sweet and delicious.

The bread was baked fresh (something restaurants around here do not have).

The tables were set with white tablecloths... however the paper napkins and small utensils could have been better. But I know investing in those items takes time. I would rather see the money put into the rotisserie. This restaurant is only 3 weeks old and they mentioned that the menu is unique to the locals and that they have had to add vegetarian options.
The meal ended with an amazing coffee- Bosnian style. A turkish coffee with a cube of sugar in the small cup. You use the really nice mineral water in the little goblet to cleanse your palate and between sips I enjoyed the home made Baklava.

Another new project!

This salmon hatchery is historical site that is now a non-profit educational facility. I am strongly considering joining the board of directors. My area of interest would be development. (funding/memberships/business plan) However, I am pretty excited about renewing my high school interest of fisheries and biology. There are trails, a greenhouse for native species, classroom, kayaks, welding areas, fish ladders, and tons of interesting chemistry/biology experiments to get involved in. AND I can also help with the computer (network) and get some web cams going.

Calypso turns 9 years old.

Aura's cat, Calypso, has her birthday on April 15. She knows she is not supposed to be on tables... but when she thinks she can get away with it... she heads to the tea cart and plays with the 'moroccan toys'. Then because the fireplace insert blows a warm current of air in that direction... she stretches out for a nice nap.

Brett's New Truck- 1959 Ford

These photos were taken off ebay. Brett found this truck (year of his birth) located in Longview...but being sold on ebay. They delivered it to him the very next day!

Busy week

While Brett and I continue on with our projects... Travis worked hard on the porch and started to prime the carriage house.

Preserving the Seaview Dunes

This project is huge. State Parks drove from Olympia for lunch and a long meeting here at our house.... going over who owns title to what and how the owners feel about the proposed ordinance. We had one public hearing last night and another in 2 weeks. This map is a aerial view of the accreted land. Note the skinny piano key lots. As the land accreted... the lots grew in length. The ordinance asks for a develop ban west of the Urban Growth Boundary (yellow line)... with increased density east to the 1889 line. I am personally contacting each and every property owner to be certain they understand the proposal and to discover what it would take for them to be 'finanically whole'. I served 'make-it-yourself' salads for lunch.

Girls come to visit

We had a nice visit from my niece, Kimberly Grams, and her daughters... Brooky and Mackenzie. We had fun in the hot tub after they played in the beach sand.. and enjoyed 'burger night' at The Depot too! Where else but at my house can you 'speak with a microphone' and entertain everyone?

This is the inspiration for the theme of our house. The columns will be different...and we won't cover the porch until next year...(and then have a terrace on the top), plus we need to move the front door. But the colors- gray with white trim and black shutters give you enough to visualize with.

Adding on the porch.

We are adding on the wrap-around porch. Next year... we will cover it.