Teeny, Tiny House: Firewood Shed

One infuriating thing about having neighbors, even when they are 1 acre away is that they can do things to their home, property, or land that can adversely affect your house or lifestyle. In our case, our fairly new next door neighbor decided to clear his land of almost all vegetation. Cutting down trees, clearing underbrush and chopping down bushes. Hubs and I prefer a more natural approach to our land. In Oregon, there is no sense in fighting nature, it will grow as it wishes so best just to enjoy it. Our neighbor has decided on the more hair-pulling approach and good luck to him. The downfall for us is that now we see his house, we see his cars, we see his shed, we just see him and the point of living outside of town is not hear or see each other, if possible. Hubs came up with an inventive solution. Build a firewood shed (which we desperately needed anyway) in the line of sight of his house so that we can block the view. In the future, maybe we can plant some additional foliage behind the shed to further create a barrier between them and us.

The frame of the shed went up around Valentine's Day.

It has been terribly rainy (more so than usual) so Hubs has had to work on it slowly on weekends where there is little or no rain which took until April to achieve.

Do you see our neighbor's shed?? Why? I mean just...why live on land if you are just going to chop it all down?

The old shed that is an eye sore, and frankly probably should be condemned, will be coming down this summer. It is ugly, it is home to a host of animals and insects and it makes pulling the Challenger out of the garage a headache. We cannot wait for it to be gone!

 I took this picture today, notice how beautiful and sunny it is! The flowers are finally blooming, the grass is that insane green color and the trees are getting leaves. I love spring so much!

The shed trim isn't completed yet and we still need to paint the exterior but having a place to store and season the firewood will ensure that we don't have another winter of wet, unusable wood.

The shed should hold about 5 cords of wood which is more than we should need in one winter.

You know what the most amazing thing to me is? Hubs build this out of his brain using a picture. No plans, no schematics, no dimensions, just *poof* out of his brain. Plus, he had no help (not even from me), built the whole thing with his own two hands. I am terribly impressed.

This photo was taken as if you were driving up the driveway. Can you imagine how wonderful the yard will look without that disgusting shed? I can't wait! 

Game of Thrones In Concert (includes video)

For my birthday, which passed back in March, my sister bought me two tickets to the Game of Thrones concert at the Moda Center here in Portland. I knew it was coming to town and wanted to attend it with my girlfriend Brandi but Hubs kept telling me to hold off buying tickets. I started to quickly suspect that he had something up his sleeve but was very much surprised to find that it was my sister who had splurged on tickets.

On the night of the event, Brandi and I went out to dinner, wearing our finest GoT geeky apparel; her in a shirt which said "That's what I do, I drink and I know things" (which is even funnier because she owns a wine business) and I in my Hound helm shirt. We arrived at the Moda Center right on time, found a parking space ridiculously close to the venue, found our seats astoundingly fast and even indulged in some beverages before the show.

The show itself was incredible! Hubs and I had attended Star Wars in Concert back before moving to Oregon but they have really upped their game in the past 6+ years. This was an entirely new experience which included several stages, lights, video and even fire. There was a live orchestra and choir which performed the music from the show, conducted by the composer himself Ramin Djawadi. I cannot say enough amazing things about this experience! If you ever have an opportunity to attend something similar, I highly recommend it. One downside to the Moda Center is that they did not have a space where they could set up costumes and props from the show for public viewing like in other cities. That would have just been icing on the cake to have been able to see those as well.

Battle of the Bastards

Wizard World 2017

When I went to Texas over the summer, my sis and I attended a Wizard World convention (you can read more about that here). Simply by accident and at the very last minute, I realized that Wizard World was coming to Portland, so Hubs Man and I took a day to ourselves and went "con-ing".

The first person we saw was Tatiana Maslany from Orphan Black.

I don't watch the show, but Hubs has been watching it and thinks it is pretty good.

Second was Alan Tudyk. You probably know him from Firefly but he was also K2SO in the new Star Wars Rogue One movie. He was brilliantly funny and brought "gifts" for the people who asked him questions. The best "gift" was a broken clock from his house (but at least he signed it).

The highlight of our day, no doubt, was meeting Jon (Larry Wilcox) and Ponch (Erik Estrada) from the tv show CHiPS. Both Hubs and I have fond memories of CHiPS from our childhoods. One of the earliest photos my parents have is of me standing in front of the TV watching CHiPS. They said that I would come screaming into the living room, regardless of what I was doing, when I heard the CHiPS theme music. 

When it came time for me to get a "big wheels", I refused the pink powder puff cycle with pastel tassels on the handle bars, I wanted a CHiPS cycle. So my parents got me one just like the one above for $19.99. I rode the wheels off that thing! Gosh, I wish I had the actual photos from when I was a wee tot.

Immediately after taking group photos there was a 45 minute Q&A session. It is truly rare to meet people you admired in your youth, it is even more rare for them to not disappoint you! This was their first convention appearance together and it was refreshing to see/meet guests who haven't been jaded by the convention circuit. They were funny, entertaining, honest and truly grateful to be there and meeting the fans. Both had great stories from the CHiPS days as well as stories from their lives, both professional and personal. I cannot express enough how much I enjoyed meeting them!

Overall, Wizard World is a smaller convention than we are used to. Much smaller than the conventions in Las Vegas, by far, but even smaller than the Rose City Comic Con in September. At first we thought that would be a drawback, but honestly, the smaller size made it easier to navigate and much more personal with the guests. It was easy to find seats and navigating the food/beverage/vendor area was fairly simple. I am already looking forward to Wizard World 2018!

We are still Arizonans Living in Oregon

5 years into living in Oregon and we discover, occasionally, that we aren't as prepared for inclement weather as we think. A cold arctic blast hit our area right before Christmas and we were trapped in our house for 5 days. While we had food, power, heat and water (the most important stuff), we weren't able to leave our house for work or pleasure. The driveway was treacherously slick with snow and ice, we didn't have a snow shovel and our cars didn't have chains. Even if we could get down our hill, there was no getting out of our neighborhood or onto the country road that leads to civilization. By no means is this the worst snow we have seen or even the deepest, but it stuck around the longest with below freezing temperatures. We are bracing for another cold blast on Sunday and perhaps another week indoors. We have a snow shovel and chains now, though!

Update:

That second cold blast of arctic air hit us just as predicted and this one was a doozy! Portland reported about 12-14 inches of snow. Our town got about 4 inches. The entire northwestern corner of Oregon shut down for 7 days. No going to work, no trash pickup, no mail...just nothing...for 7 days. Chains didn't help and the snow shovel didn't matter as the temperatures never rose above freezing. Hubs worked from home. I read, watched movies and tv,  and played video games but when I got a chance to leave the house yesterday after an entire week at home, it was glorious! There is something about "forced" couch surfing that isn't nearly as fun as choosing to couch surf. All the girls were troopers and did pretty well through it all. Our only issue now is that our reserve of firewood is almost gone. This epically cold winter caused us to burn through more of it than we ever expected, plus half of it got rained on unexpectedly during a storm, so that half won't be available until next winter. It will be a chilly few months in our house until spring as we must rely solely on baseboard heating now (yuck)!

I thought this was a bad afternoon...

...until this happened! She had cabin fever just like the rest of us.

Merry Christmas

Wishing all of our friends and family all over the country a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 2016 has been a difficult year, here's to hoping that 2017 has something better in store for us!

This is our version of roasting a chestnut.

Teeny Tiny Kitchen: Cabinets and Countertop

While I was on vacation in Texas, Hubby decided to do some major home renovations. Surprise! I had no idea what he was up to but was amazingly stunned at the transformation upon my return.

We have big plans to gut the entire kitchen next year and start over, but in the meantime there were just a few things that we were having a hard time tolerating. The sink was too shallow making large pots difficult to clean, the water faucet leaked unless you put it in just the perfect position, there were burn marks on the countertop, the fridge took up half the kitchen and the oak cabinets were original to the house and, frankly, were disgusting.

Hubby fixed all of that in just one week. He moved the fridge, dropped in a new sink, installed a new faucet, painted all the existing cabinets white, painted all the cabinet hardware bronze and installed brand new countertop.

The good thing about having a really small kitchen is that minor updates like this don't break the bank. He bought a few quality items which we can reutilize in the new kitchen but didn't invest a lot in others so they can literally be donated or thrown away in the future.

BEFORE

AFTER

What do you think of the white cabinets? I wasn't sure it "fit" the style of a cabin but any other color just seemed to darken the room and make it gloomy. There is a clean feeling about white that is refreshing in a wood house. Don't like white? Let me know what other colors to consider...

Texas Vacation: Day 5

The highlight of my entire trip was going to Johnson Space Center in Houston! I have worked at and visited so many museums but I have never set foot in an actual NASA facility. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning, the anticipation was almost more than I could bare. My sis, Mo and I met up with his sister, brother-in-law and nephew who also love space history. Having a big group was so much fun and we literally arrived at opening and stayed until closing. Not too often have I opened and shut a museum down!

Lunar Module

Saturn V building while taking the tram tour

Mission Control...the real Mission Control from the Apollo days.

I almost couldn't breath, seeing it in person and sitting in the VIP section was such an intense moment. After looking at pictures for decades, I finally saw it with my own eyes and sat in the exact same chairs as prominent historical figures.

Mercury Redstone Rocket (outside the Saturn building)

Walking the gantry

For decades I looked at pictures in books of the moon-era space flights. I have read, studied and know this section of our history better than anything I learned in college. For 4 years at Evergreen, I took people on tours and tried to explain to them the incredible size of a Saturn V rocket. "It is over 300 ft tall", "it is three Titan II's on top of each other tall", "it is wider than this particular area of our museum" but nothing could prepare me for walking into that building and seeing it. To say that it was a spiritual moment for me just doesn't explain it. My hand immediately went over my mouth and tears welled up in my eyes. Not just because of was the Saturn V stands for but because I was finally there, with it, in person. I could touch it and smell it. A dream that I have held in my heart since I was 16 years old was realized in that moment. I have my sister to thank, who made this trip to Houston happen and who was hell-bent on getting me there, even in the worst of Texas weather. I also have my hubby to thank, who sent me on this trip with a smile and hug and told me to have a wonderful time and make incredible memories. My Love -- it's you and me at Kennedy!

Texas Vacation: Day 4

My sister and I are no strangers to conventions! Our very first convention was a Star Trek convention when I was in high school and she was in middle school (when Star Trek Generations came out -- circa 1994). That was quickly followed by an X-Files convention and now we have been to more conventions than I can count so when Wizard World was coming to Austin, I made sure to plan my trip to Texas so we could attend.

The first thing my sister's boyfriend asked was "can we dress up?" My sis and I were hesitant. One of the things we prided ourselves in was not being one of "those people". But we agreed. Morgan decided to be Link, my sis Leela and I wanted to be Rey. I love that we all picked something different, although next time I think we should do a group costume.

I openly admit that I wasn't sold on dressing up (even after buying all the costume pieces) but I figured I am a thousand miles from home, who will notice me? A lot of people, in fact. It is the closest thing to being a celebrity for a day. So many people wanted pictures with me, especially little girls who love Rey and BB8. It made me happy each time I felt a tug on my costume and a little girl was there asking for a picture. I even ran into a guy dressed like Old Luke, which was awesome!

In the end, I am glad that my sis and Morgan convinced me to do something outside my comfort zone. It was a blast! Would you do it again, you ask? Absolutely, I am one of "those people" now!

They just couldn't get their selfie game going!

Bruce Campbell was a rockstar! Funny and just all around great guy!

Texas Vacation: Day 3

Day 3's adventure began in Waco, Texas to visit Magnolia Market. Some of you may be familiar with Chip and Joanna Gaines and their television show "Fixer Upper" on HGTV. I loved visiting their retail shop and seeing in real life what I have watched being built on television.

Located in downtown Waco

The Magnolia Silos

Magnolia Flour: the most delicious cupcake I have ever eaten!

Called the "Cup of Jo", chocolate cupcake with coffee frosting.

Dr. Pepper Museum located just steps away from Magnolia Market

The soda you purchase from this museum is the best Dr. Pepper I have ever tasted. I don't know what they have done to it but it is more fresh and delicious than any fountain or bottled drink.

Saw the Magnificent 7 at the Alamo Draft House.

The single best movie-going experience of my life!

They deliver food and drinks right to you as you watch the movie.

Texas Vacation: Day 1 & 2

Unfortunately this year Hubs and I were not able to take a vacation together. Circumstances with both Trudy and Mom-in-law precluded both of us from leaving simultaneously. Back in August, Hubs went to CA to visit his bestie which left September open for me to visit my sister in the great state of Texas! 

My initial impression of Texas after getting off the plane into the airport was, "well the humidity isn't so bad" and than I walked outside and thought I had been slapped in the face with a wet wash cloth. Wow! High temperatures and high humidity...I cannot even adequately describe it.

Mexican food in Texas is the best Mexican I have had since leaving AZ

Breakfast burritos in Texas: NOPE

Breakfast tacos in Texas: ABSOLUTELY

Very cool museum on Camp Mabry

The Austin Toy Museum! A blast from our past. 

This place literally has every toy from the 80s that we had or wished we had!

The infamous Austin bats which live under the bridges and fly out in swarms at dusk. 

EXCEPT on this night, they decided to take some time off.

Teeny Tiny Kitchen: Walls

Phase 2 of the kitchen remodel is underway. If you remember from back in February we had the whole house replumbed and we moved the washer/dryer & hot water heater into the garage. Before moving forward in this section of the house the walls of our cabin had to be addressed. Unfortunately since the 1970s (when it was built) no one thought to seal or protect the logs. Stains, dust, grease and water intrusion have left unfortunate marks on most of the logs. It took many months of trial and error to find a solution that would clean the logs without harming them. Hubby ultimately discovered that a combination of water, vinegar and Borax along with scouring pads got most of the dirt and grime off the logs. Sometimes in bad spots, it took several cleanings over several days. Once dry, Hubby applied a tinted stain to help even out the log coloring and than a glossy top coat for protection. Even I couldn't have anticipated what a remarkable change occurred in this small area.

(above) This is where the washer and dryer used to be, notice all the stains on the right-hand wall from a roof leak before we moved in. We discovered that water stains are almost impossible to remove from unprotected logs, so most of the repair had to be with stain. This will be where the fridge goes.

View from the garage, dead ahead will be where we build the pantry.

We are considering opening up that doorway into the kitchen even more by creating a "pony" wall.

View from inside the kitchen. Isn't the difference amazing between the cleaned and protected logs and the logs in the kitchen?