markathbauer: 2012

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Happy Holidays for 2012! This has been an eventful life changing year for us, in many ways. No, we didn't retire. In fact we probably just ensured we signed up for another ten years! Good thing we thoroughly enjoy what we do! After 33 years in one house, with no intent to move, we moved! Through a momentary fluke of online boredom, I saw a gorgeous house that, through sad reasons for its owners, was for sale at a ridiculously low price. Being a short sale, we never expected to get it ... but with fingers (toes and legs, eyes and arms) crossed we put in a bid way below the asking price. We weren't really committed to moving; heck, we knew where the elevator was going for our old age in the other house! Instead of waiting 3-9 months for a response from the bank, as expected, 9 days later, on Mark's 63rd birthday, the bank approved the offer. We closed 4 weeks later on my birthday - March 14. We went from 0.3 acres to almost 2 acres, necessitating a couple of teenage gardeners and a ride-able mower to help out. Mark loves it! (Mark's toy chest is getting bigger) We almost doubled the square footage of our old house too. So much for down-sizing as we AGE. Mainly, the larger square footage has to do with bigger rooms and the fantastic shop. The place is perfect for us, the dogs and grandkids! Room to explore inside and out. And as a bonus, we were fortunate to sell our house within a few days and never had to put it on the market. CLICK ON A PICTURE FOR A LARGER ZOOMED VIEW Lots of pictures and more information about the family below and on older posts for 2012, all posted this month. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, BE SURE TO CLICK EITHER "OLDER POSTS" AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH PAGE AFTER YOU ARE DONE READING A PAGE -- OR CLICK ON THE ARCHIVED 2012 POSTS ON THE RIGHT!

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

old house early 2012 and miscellaneous pictures

With a new house in such a lovely setting, so peaceful and serene, it is hard to go to work or leave town...few vacations are in the works this year or next. Grandkids are more present than before. Ian and Candace live just up the hill and drop by more often. Kathie still has Cooper and Grace on Thursdays. Easter found us having rubber duck races in the stream; Fourth of July was quite an extravaganza over the water with all the rich neighbors trying to outdo each other for fireworks. We just sat back and watched the show over a bonfire. We found time for quite a bit of kayaking; much easier to step out of the door and onto the water when you don't have to pile the kayaks on the car and drive somewhere. We have every assortment of bird you can imagine, plus foxes, raccoons, lots of deer and two dogs exhausted from chasing the chipmunks in the rock walls (or under the hot tub). There are oysters, clams and geoducks for the harvesting and the neighbors seem to catch salmon once in awhile. Haven't tried that yet. Much more fun to watch the sea otters and seals than try to thread a worm onto a hook. Plans for the future include a little fishing dingy and laser sailboat to join the kayaks.

We had one last visit for the family in the old house. Here, the 5 oldest grandchildren, all boys between 2 and 5, have been rampaging around the darkened house - blinding each other with LED headlamps

One last snow in January 2012 at Oldstead Court. Bye bye home!

Sunrise in Winter from Mark's new office

Sunrise in summer from our new home

Wilson dog likes to play with the kids, here he is "doll" being put down for a nap

moving day

Boxes, boxes and more boxes. 33 years of stuff crammed into a 10 year batch of boxes

No need to get rid of much, says Mark, we will do it at the new house. Yeah, right! Pity our children when we die.

Three moving trucks later, we are heading into our new home!

new toys

Mark blames the new toys on the need to entertain the grandkids!

Cooper certainly appreciates the new bike that matches grandad's tractor and wagon!

Inside Supervisor

Starts with wallpaper removal

... and grandkids bathing in new master tub

while Mark looks for his phone, or a wall plug in the garage :)

Before and After - firepit area, what we call "Middle Earth"

The last 6 months has been a blur of activity and contractors. The inside of the new house is finally up to speed and we have been working steadily on the outside with bulldozers, work crews and garden stuff for about 2 months. We are on Eld Inlet of Puget Sound, west of downtown about 10 minutes from Mark's office, and 15 from mine. There were small maple and alder trees, fir trees and an abundance of horsetail in the lawn and yard. We spent the summer weeding and mowing the "lawn." The low bluff was sloughing off into the sound with heavy rainstorms and needed some grading, drainage ditches and low walls for terraces. We couldn't start without permits from the County, since we are on the water. In addition, a beautiful rock-sided stream flows out of a cedar grove on the south end of the land, under the driveway, through the middle of the property, and out to a lagoon. (It absorbed 150 goldfish for the summer) The whole lot is therefore within a critical area watershed, subject to ordinances (here's where that masters in environmental sciences comes in handy) and necessitating more approval permits for landscaping. No pool possible so we bought a swim spa. ( I really love it! - Mark not so much!) We have now built retaining walls, drainage ditches, new decks, graded the lawn, planted gardens, laid sod and planted (so far) more than 1000 plants. Another 1000 came today - then it snowed... We will wait a day or two for planting. The final batch will arrive in spring when the new perennials are available. Everything is edible (the deer certainly love that), most are native, and we have high hopes for how gorgeous it may be in the spring and summer. Quite the competition for the horsetail. The landscaper supplying the plants was a bit stunned at the list of plants I wanted to put in...and where I wanted to put them. ! The soil is concrete in the summer and wet slurpy, cow-pie consistency clay in the rain. Careful where you walk as you sink in up to your ankles - or above! Mark planted about 40 plants late last spring and the place just kind of swallowed them up - and with the cement ground, he wasn't doing anymore. Hence the landscape company is planting the rest, thank heavens! Middle Earth make-over

Lots of weeds

and a lawn that "flows" into the sound in a heavy rain!

Middle Earth

There's a rock wall in here somewhere, or should be!

July 4th with the old set-up

And then, to work!

The new fire pit, rock seats and native plants for the first 30 feet from the sound (requirement under new laws)and a new retaining wall to stop mud slump into sound