A recent conversation with a relative faced me with an interesting question. What do you like most about life in the Pacific Northwest? This post outlines the things a Mid-Atlantic native finds odd, interesting, and noteworthy about life here.
1) Language. For example: I see/hear the words 'car prowl' often. It means car break in. Or, 'prowler' I'll hear. A prowler was spotted in the 900 block of 35th Ave. Weird, eh?
2) Hyper Local. Everyone here recognizes the value of purchasing goods from LOCAL supplies. Whether it be produce, meats, or holiday gifts from local artists. Everyone here gets the 'local' movement.
3) Neighborhood clicks. If a fellow Seattle-lite asks you where you live, you don't say Seattle. You specify the neighborhood "Ballard", "Queene Anne", "West Seattle", "SoDo". There is a distinct sense of community in each neighborhood that is just so weird to me. It is very nice, but weird.
4) While driving over a mountain pass, we kept seeing signs marking "chain up area". What the hell is that? Well, to travel over certain mountain roads during winter months, you are required to have snow chains in your car, and be ready to 'chain up' if conditions require. In Maryland they were illegal, and here they are required by law!
5) Composting is Huge. We have a garbage truck, a recycling truck, and a compost/yard waste truck. Even restaurants and cafes will have a Compost Bin next to the Trash and Recycling receptacles. Some cities even ban the use of plastic bags (like Edmonds). Carry out isn't given in Styrofoam containers, no, instead, in compostable containers.
6) Freedoms. It's funny that living in Maryland I never felt restricted in my freedoms, until I moved here and realized how really controlled by the government life was there. Here, I can purchase beer, wine, (and in February hard liquor) in the grocery stores and other locations (like Costco)! And this state is an open-carry state, so if a resident chooses to openly carry a fire-arm, it is totally legal without any permits required. Note, they are banned from certain areas (bars, government buildings). But how wonderful it is to have a CHOICE. It's funny that I never thought of that as a choice I had to make until moving here.
My absolute favorite thing without a doubt, about living here is the beauty. It is incredibly beautiful to see snow capped mountains even in August. Or seals in the bay. It is truly beautiful. Just driving out of the neighborhood to run an errand we frequently get such amazing views of the Olympics behind the Puget Sound, that we will pull over to admire it.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
House Renovations - Stage 1
This week starts our house renovations. There is so much that needs to be done. The list of things we'd like to do includes: kitchen (complete renovation, is mostly original 1950's), main bathroom (needs new cabinet/counter and a second sink), the bonus room needs updating (adding a closet and putting in new flooring), and the siding need something to make it more aesthetically appealing (nothing wrong with it, but is very drab).
The biggest project by far will be the total overhaul of the kitchen, but the plumbing needs to be take care of first. Our house is cute and mostly updated, except the kitchen. It is just plain ugly. It has white cabinets, white Formica-like counters with gold swirls, and some type of plastic flooring. Some of the cabinets can't open without hitting the updated appliances (I guess old appliances were smaller). For example, to open the cutlery drawer completely, I need to open the oven or the drawer will hit the oven door after being opened 6 inches. To fit the new fridge, they had to cut a hold in the top cabinets, the edges were left raw with visible cut marks. There is a large burn hole in one of the counters about 2 inches long and 1 centimeter deep.
This week plumbers will be here for 3-4 days completing 3 different projects. All the original galvanized plumbing from the 50's is being removed and replace with PEX. The new water lines will be insulated. Then, they are moving the washer/dryer out of the kitchen to hookup they are installing in the bonus room, and patching up the walls where they were removed from. Lastly, the sewer pipe exiting the 2nd bathroom will be regraded (it is pitched slightly the wrong way, making the toilet difficult to flush and prone to back up).
The biggest project by far will be the total overhaul of the kitchen, but the plumbing needs to be take care of first. Our house is cute and mostly updated, except the kitchen. It is just plain ugly. It has white cabinets, white Formica-like counters with gold swirls, and some type of plastic flooring. Some of the cabinets can't open without hitting the updated appliances (I guess old appliances were smaller). For example, to open the cutlery drawer completely, I need to open the oven or the drawer will hit the oven door after being opened 6 inches. To fit the new fridge, they had to cut a hold in the top cabinets, the edges were left raw with visible cut marks. There is a large burn hole in one of the counters about 2 inches long and 1 centimeter deep.
This week plumbers will be here for 3-4 days completing 3 different projects. All the original galvanized plumbing from the 50's is being removed and replace with PEX. The new water lines will be insulated. Then, they are moving the washer/dryer out of the kitchen to hookup they are installing in the bonus room, and patching up the walls where they were removed from. Lastly, the sewer pipe exiting the 2nd bathroom will be regraded (it is pitched slightly the wrong way, making the toilet difficult to flush and prone to back up).
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Chickens Milestone: 20 weeks
Today the chicks turned 20 weeks old! It's an important milestone, as they are no longer adolescents, and are now 'pullets', or young adult birds. This is also when they are due to start laying eggs - I could have my first eggs any day now. Last week I started switching their feed over from 'grower' to 'layer' ration. This is supposed to happen at 20 weeks, as the layer feed has more calcium (and other nutrients) that laying hens need. However, I ran out of grower ration 2 weeks ago, and didnt want to buy another 25 pound of it when I needed a pound or two to last me from weeks 18 through 20. So I started to mix in the 'layer' feed to transition them over slowly (a few people in the farm co-op told me it was OK to do so).
Back to the eggs. I could have some anytime now. The first few eggs are usually 'odd' (in terms of size/shape). They are usually small and odd shaped. This happens while the chicken's system is getting used to laying eggs. After the first few, they are more or less 'normal' eggs. I'll be sure to post pics of my first few eggs.
I am slightly concerned that my girls will not know where to lay their eggs. I may be worrying over nothing. Their egg boxes are in the top of their coop, a place where they seldom venture. So I'm worried they won't know to lay them in there, despite me putting some 'fake' eggs in their nestboxes. This helps them to know where to lay. They seek out someplace tucked away and quiet. I keep showing them the nestboxes, so they know where they are. Also, they free range in the yard all day, so Im worried that the urge will strike to lay, and they will do so someplace in the yard, and I'll never know they laid. There are several places in the yard that have lots of little smooth eggs shaped rocks, so Im worried they will mistake this for a nest and lay there. Who knows, I may be worrying over nothing.
Then there is the daylight issue. With less than 12 hours/day, most hens stop/slow down laying in the winter. Some people provide artificial light to trick their girls into laying through the winter. I am currently doing nothing. So with the diminished daylight, my girls may be slower to start laying. So much to worry about!
Back to the eggs. I could have some anytime now. The first few eggs are usually 'odd' (in terms of size/shape). They are usually small and odd shaped. This happens while the chicken's system is getting used to laying eggs. After the first few, they are more or less 'normal' eggs. I'll be sure to post pics of my first few eggs.
I am slightly concerned that my girls will not know where to lay their eggs. I may be worrying over nothing. Their egg boxes are in the top of their coop, a place where they seldom venture. So I'm worried they won't know to lay them in there, despite me putting some 'fake' eggs in their nestboxes. This helps them to know where to lay. They seek out someplace tucked away and quiet. I keep showing them the nestboxes, so they know where they are. Also, they free range in the yard all day, so Im worried that the urge will strike to lay, and they will do so someplace in the yard, and I'll never know they laid. There are several places in the yard that have lots of little smooth eggs shaped rocks, so Im worried they will mistake this for a nest and lay there. Who knows, I may be worrying over nothing.
Then there is the daylight issue. With less than 12 hours/day, most hens stop/slow down laying in the winter. Some people provide artificial light to trick their girls into laying through the winter. I am currently doing nothing. So with the diminished daylight, my girls may be slower to start laying. So much to worry about!
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