Waking from a Noisy Dream

Anyone who's built a special home (or had a home built) has his own stories and memories, chock full of highs and lows. It definitely is one of those "life experiences" that challenges everything you've got..physically, emotionally and financially.

We'd heard it many times from friends who'd been there: "If your marriage can survive home-building, then it can survive anything." For Don and me, it was never hard on our relationship, although it was difficult on us individually...which certainly affected our moods from time to time.

I can't speak for him or know his feelings, but I can tell you what the completion of our house was like for me: waking up from a noisy, tumultuous, confusing, fragmented dream.

Those types of dreams are pretty common for me...they seem to run in my family, since my sister has vivid, detailed, crazy dreams too. There's always a lot going on, plenty of background noise, many voices, colors, etc., and I'm just sort of "there" in the middle of this kaleidescope. It's usually a relief to awaken, gradually, to a quiet bedroom and the comfort and stillness of consciousness in my own bed. Within minutes of waking, the memories of those noisy dreams have completely faded.

That's what it's like to be in this house now, enveloped in the present and totally content with it. The last four years have been so confusing, so busy, so goal-oriented, so NOISY...selling businesses, selling our Yakima house, packing, unpacking, trying to get a house built over the phone, thousands of miles of driving back and forth, making arrangements, saying goodbye to friends, fighting depression and thinking the house would never be completed, readjusting EVERYTHING....

and then I awaken in this quiet, beautiful room with cedar ceiling and cedar walls. There's a mountain right outside my window. There's no alarm clock. There's only peace. And I'm so "into the present" that there's no room for the stressful memories of the last four years, and they just fade away like last night's dreams.

This is what it's like for me to be here now. We are here. We've reached the destination. It is "The Precious Present."

Bear in Sunglasses

Her name is Bosca. (At the Mannings, every critter has a name.) It would have been Bosco (a good generic bear name), but she's a female.

She's a good guard, a good landmark, and she doesn't eat much.

Come Sign the Guest Book

Milestones:
1. The grass we planted two weeks ago is coming up.
2. The dirt pile that was in front of the house is gone.
3. Don has removed about 500 trees (no kidding) to create our "defensible space."
4. The lights are on in the barn.
5. Don's lost 25 pounds without even trying (and I found some of it).

We thought we'd have an "open house" in June, but too much remains to be done. The porch and deck need sealing, there's a bit more rockwork to do on the windowsills, Don's library furniture isn't ready yet, and the exterior still needs to be stained. Maybe in the fall??? By then we should also have our horseshoe pit and fire ring in the back yard.

Visitors have come in a steady and very welcome procession since early March...Maurice Alpert, Barb Madsen, Jim Stump, Larry Demoss, Judy Otteson, Celine Bates, Dominic Viega. My friends Charlie Reddick and Laurie Mosher will be here later this week, followed by Gene Carner, Rollie Taylor, John Jay, and all of the rest of you. If you're reading this, you're invited. It's just as much fun to be able to share this incredible place with you as it is to live here ourselves.

Don hopes to have his gunsmithing capabilities up and running in a week or so, as soon as he gets his machines wired up. I'm teaching free dog classes in town once a week and already have about 10 students.

We work/play outside all day...pruning, hiking, riding, spraying for knapweed, mowing, planting deer-proof (i.e., silk) flowers, dog agility training, road grading, and more hiking. We go to bed tired. It's wonderful. Gas prices don't even seem to affect us that much, because we never want to leave here.

The river is very high and muddy, due to spring runoff and lots of rain. It'll be a while before the fishermen get out on it. Don is shopping on the internet for fishing stuff, so he'll be ready when the river is.

Even without fishing, there's plenty of fun around here....like endless hiking just out the back door, and shooting to your heart's content. So don't wait for clear water; come over and see us now....and later too!

April 21 Weather Report

Everyone says this is absolutely crazy weather this year. It's snowed almost every day for the past three weeks, with the exception of April 12-13 when it was around 78 degrees.

One good thing about the snow....the harder it falls, the more certain that the sun will break through blue sky about five minutes later.

We have green grass here and there...and ice in the horses' stock tank every morning!

Great Mini-Lodge of the Northwest

Don and I found a coffee-table book at Costco about 8 years ago: "Great Lodges of the West." All our lives we've both had a fascination with places like Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone, or Paradise Inn at Mt. Rainier. The massive logs, the old timbers, towering ceilings, the stonework and elegant but rustic 1940s style grandeur.

So we've tried to incorporate that feel in a mini-version at Shorthorse. For a couple of rank amateurs, it seems to have turned out pretty well!

The Master Bedroom

Our bedroom is the warmest room in the house. It's a comforting room with cedar walls and ceiling, and a couple big windows, plus a glass door that opens out onto a small balcony. There are no dressers or closets; we have a walk-in dressing room adjacent to the master bath.

We have a small gas stove/fireplace near the foot of the bed. It adds a little extra heat to the room very quickly, which is nice on those cold evenings (or mornings).

The outdoor pictures above are the views from the little balcony. Notice the deer in one of them. They live here.

A Well Deserved Nap

Here's Don, learning how to relax in the new house. Retirement is rough!

My Hideaway

Our old furniture from Yakima is up here in my room, where I'm blogging this. The dogs like to hang out here with me. It's a cozy multi-purpose room....office, exercise room, lounge, music room.

Don's room (his office) is downstairs and is the one room that's not done yet. Tom Wagler is making a desk and some bookcases for him.

Before and After

No more need to pretend or to be impatient for completion. It's happened. This is our foyer...in August '07 and March '08.

The Kitchen

I grew up in northern Minnesota, in summer cabins that were lined in knotty pine. It's one of the warmest, friendliest, most comforting looks I know of. So I wanted that in my own new kitchen.

The walls are still light, but I'm looking forward to the day they mellow into that honey-gold hue.

Tom Wagler did all the cabinetry. He and his family are part of a large Mennonite population here, and they are impeccable craftsmen. Tom delivered the cabinets one late afternoon in December, and piled them in the kitchen for installation the next day. We went in to look at them after he'd left, and noticed a simple, philosophical Bible verse written prominently on the bottom side of a drawer that was sitting on end so we could clearly see it. A nice personal touch.

Our countertops are Cambria (brand) quartz. The stainless steel sink has two bowls--the big one is about 10 inches deep and big enough to accommodate a cookie sheet. The other one is small.

All our appliances came from Lowes. I'm having fun with the double wall oven, both of which have convection features. I'm finding that convection cooking really is faster and better than traditional baking.

The cooktop is a smooth ceramic electric, on the island. I wanted it that way so I could stand there and cook, while looking at Don who'd typically be sitting at the eating nook. Much nicer than having my back turned to him, particularly if we're trying to converse.

A downdraft on the island pops up when you push a button.

The floor is a rustic-looking, reddish-brown ceramic tile with dark gray grout.

The Monti's Room

This room was one of our biggest indulgences, but it was worth it.

The inspiration came from several places. I had mentioned that I'd like some adobe incorporated into the house. I liked the arches and the earthy, western feel it gave a place. Don liked the idea too, and wanted to add a kiva fireplace to the house. We both enjoyed the idea of having our own "saloon," just like we did in the Yakima house. And we both loved the bar & restaurant named "Monti's" in Tempe, Arizona. That place was a rambling, historic, dimly lit maze with lots of character.

So our own "Monti's Room" came into being.

It features a hickory bar and back-bar made by our Mennonite neighbor Tom Wagler.

The walls are authentic adobe, colorwashed an antique gold, done by Chip Helmer out of Missoula.

Don drove down toward Hamilton to pick out the logs for the ceiling. He brought them back here, sawed them into half-rounds, and had them stained. He helped Larry the contractor and his crew put them up.

The floor is rough-sawn, wide-plank hardwood with many coats of finish on it to make it moppable.

The kiva was put together by Kim Mathews, who also did our stone fireplace in the living room.

Some special lighting fixtures add the finishing touch.

Stop on by and we'll share a toast with you, "to the sunny slopes of long ago!" You'll never encounter a surly bartender at this place.

Rye, or what'll it be, old-timer??

No More Three Weeks!

We're no longer counting "three more weeks" to this and that. The project is near enough completion that we can live here now. The plumbing is in, our furniture is out, some artwork is hung, our clothes are unpacked, and dog toys are all over the floor. My office is set up, my desk is appropriately cluttered, and all is well.

Don's helping the carpenters with the last-minute details--installing doggy doors, hanging cabinets in the laundry room, helping install appliances. We haven't had time to sit down and relax and enjoy it yet, but our energy level is so high that both of us have a hard time going to bed before midnight. This part is fun!!

The photo above was taken this afternoon. The snow's melting fast, but there's still a good 18 inches on the ground.

Our $254 Toilet Paper Holder

Ah, the adventures of internet shopping....

Pictured is a $306 towel rod that now belongs to us, by accident.

When you stay with us at Shorthorse, you'll have the distinction of using the guest bathroom, outfitted with a $254 toilet paper holder, a $306 towel rod, and a slightly shorter $285 towel rod.

Before last night, I didn't even know they MADE $254 toilet paper holders. I certainly didn't pay that much for this one, although that's apparently the going price for this particular model.

Here's what happened. About 18 months ago I ordered some nice but modest hardware for our bathrooms from a very nice, very large internet company that sells bath fixtures. The shipments were sent to our contractor's house and remained there, unopened, until last fall when he brought them down to our place. Then they sat, still unopened in our barn, waiting for installation day in the house. That didn't happen until yesterday. We opened the boxes and marveled at how heavy and high-quality these nickel-pewter rods and paper holder were. Don began to mount the paper holder and then discovered--ah hah!-it wasn't a paper holder at all. It was a TOWEL RING.

I was quite sure I'd originally ordered the right stuff, all those many months ago. So I looked up the company and the merchandise on line. Sure enough, I'd been sent the wrong three items. I had ordered nickel-pewter hardware, but at about one tenth the cost of these babies!

Frankly, it's rather embarrassing and uncomfortable, to think that anyone would even willingly pay $306 for a 24-inch towel rod. Maybe no one did...maybe the company was trying to get rid of them...who knows? After all this time, I'm sure it's a non-issue that would be way too complicated to try to resolve.

What a country we live in!

A Home for Doug

Meet Doug, our official greeter. He's a little hard to miss as you walk into our living room.

Doug PCS'd (got a permanent change of station) three months ago, after hanging out at Shooters Supply for many years. Doug, a cape buffalo, was one of Don's trophies from his second trip to Africa about 10 years ago. He spent this past winter in our basement at Shorthorse, wrapped up snugly in green cellophane Don procured from the Yakima U-Haul Store. He made the six-hour trip in the bed of our little blue Dodge Dakota, and didn't get unloaded for a couple days after we got here in December. One day I had to drive the truck to town, with Doug still in the back, mummified in green cellophane. I got some pretty strange looks. One brave soul stopped me and asked, "What IS that?" There probably aren't a lot of cape buffalo heads in Sanders County.

But today was the big day, when Doug was permanently mounted in our foyer. Don's kudu, gemsbok, springbok and hartebeast are already mounted on the high living room walls which are tongue-in-groove cedar.

Now all we have to do is move our three live horses from the neighbor's pasture to our own, and we'll have the whole family all together in one place.

I've Seen This Room Before!

Finally it's happening. We're moving in!

The foyer is set up the way it's supposed to be. I stepped back to admire it, and was surprised that I didn't get that "Oh, wow!" feeling. Why not? I wasn't seeing anything new! As I smugly told Don, "I've already seen this room, this way, at least a thousand times already, in my mind. It's not new."

It's been said by many an inspirational speaker and world-class athlete. What the mind can imagine, the body can achieve.

Lanny Bassham, Olympic Gold Medalist in smallbore rifle, called it "mental management." Others have called it "mental rehearsal," "mental imagery," or just "mental training."

Some might just say, "If you can dream it, you can do it."

They're right.

Maybe we'll finally find that camera bettery this week! I think I'd better mentally rehearse that.

Fraternal Decor

We've put up the NRA mirror/coat rack from last year's Friends of NRA dinner in Yakima.

We have our NRA brass bell at the front door (from Ellensburg's first Friends of NRA banquet).

Our "Friends of NRA" rug will be rolled out today in the foyer.

The Grand Lodge Clock from last year's Friends of NRA banquet in Yakima will be hung this weekend.

The lamp from the Friends of NRA banquet in Plains last year is in the guest bedroom.

A Friends of NRA school clock hangs on the wall in my study.

A Friends of NRA dart board goes outside in the spring.

A set of bronze buffalo-head bookends will be unboxed today. They're from the Ellensburg Friends of NRA banquet about three years ago.

A black bear cookie jar will sit on the kitchen counter. I won it in an "Air Soft" pistol shoot-out at the Ellensburg Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation barbecue three years ago.

A slate-top accent table from the Ellensburg RMEF barbecue last year sits on our bridge.

In Don's vault, I have my very own little Friends of NRA gun rack (and of course it's full!) from last year's Ellensburg Friends of NRA banquet.

We have three antler lamps, all "won" at animal banquets....one RMEF, one Mule Deer, and one NRA.

The guest beds are covered with Pendleton blankets from NRA banquets.

The picture hanging over our kitchen table in the kitchen is a great raffle prize from an RMEF dinner in Yakima. We have four or five other prints collected from the various banquets.

We have a fire ring from a Mule Deer Foundation dinner in Yakima..the crowded one that was held upstairs in that hotel downtown about four years ago.

And then there's the mirror, that I "share" with Marion Kooyman. It was from that same Mule Deer Foundation dinner about four years ago. She and I were in a silent auction bidding war for this cute little wall mirror with a frame that featured wildlife cutouts. But, at the last minute, she sneaked a bid in over mine and won the mirror.

Flash forward to November 2007, just a few weeks before our final departure from Yakima. I had, by chance, stopped in at Manning Dog Training (which I sold to Jane Bumgardner in January '07). Marion stopped by too, with an exquisitely wrapped package for me. The moment I tore away the corner wrapping, I knew what it was: OUR MIRROR! Marion was "surrendering" it to me, for our new Montana home! Marion assured me it had hung in their home for several years, so it came completely broken in with good karma.

That mirror now graces the wall of our guest bedroom, where I'm hoping Marion and Jack...and all the rest of our friends....will see it.

Most of the stuff you buy at animal banquets could be purchased for a lot less if you went shopping on the internet. But my very wise husband reminded me a few years back that it's not just an item you're buying. It's memories of good friends and good times At those banquets (which comprised our total social life for 23 years). Those are priceless...like the mirror from Marion.

We were so saddened to hear we'd lost a couple good "animal banquet" friends last month: Maggie Justice and Gerry Perryman. Their spirits, and those of all our other close Yakima friends, will live on in our new house...in mirrors, clocks, rugs, lamps and fire rings.

Life Within Bumping Distance

For those of you who are still just dreaming about retirement and wondering if it could possibly be as good as your fantasies, I hope you find this inspirational: it is that good. Even in this trailer, where we literally can't move without bumping into each other or the dogs, this has been the best "vacation" of our lives. Allow me to elaborate:

Sleep: We go to bed when we're tired, and get up when we feel like it. If the dogs get us up in the middle of the night, no biggy...we can always take a nap the next day if we're sleepy.

Naps: Haven't needed one since we moved. It's too much fun being awake. Don nods off about once a day after lunch...and feels no guilt about it.

Eating habits: We eat three meals together every day. We're eating dinner nowdays at 6:30 instead of 10:30. Much better for our digestive systems!

Newspaper: We read a delightfully upbeat daily paper from Missoula. Don reads it cover to cover, leisurely. And then takes a short nap.

Shaving: Don does it when he has to go to town.

Clothes: Wear something moderately clean that covers the body and keeps you warm.

Snow: Don doesn't even mind it anymore. And I love it.

Worries & stress: Huh?

Waking up: A happy and optimistic feeling every morning.

Calendars: Don't matter.

Oatmeal: We've had it every other day. Had it six times a year previous to moving here.

Peanut butter: I never knew my husband liked it till we moved here.

Big day in town: Going to the library to rent old videos, then off to Minnie's Cafe for a $2 bowl of soup.

Big Sunday afternoon: Going to massage class together at the local grade school.

Big night: When we both take our three-minute showers...

Internet: Don has learned to enjoy surfing until he can't think of anything else to look at.

Solitaire: We've enjoyed lots of it, and Don's learned how to shuffle cards like a pro.

Outside World: Hard to even imagine down here in our pocket of Paradise.

This "winter vacation," where we entertained ourselves with solitaire, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, old movies, and internet shopping is coming to an end. As we begin moving into our new home, our daily minutes are now spent unpacking, cleaning, and organizing. We won't be bumping into each other as frequently in that big house. Frankly, I'm going to kind of miss that!

This was a good day.....about 10 men scurrying around our house, including Don who was on hand to answer questions and help where he could. He was so busy that he never even ate breakfast or lunch. (I had to force-feed him a banana at 2pm.)

The tile guy has just about completed the master bath shower, so he can soon start on the rest of the floors.

The electricians installed and hooked up virtually all the remaining lights today. WOW! We can give you a light show when you arrive, if we can figure out what switches control which lights!

The cabinet guy brought the rest of the kitchen stuff, plus a custom made bookcase.

What remains:

• putting finish on the stair treads, the saloon floor, and a couple miscellaneous doors...and sealing the rock around the fireplaces.
• installing the potbelly stove in the kitchen and the gas stove in master bedroom
• installing toilets, dog tub, sinks, shower doors
• installing the major appliances
• finishing the remaining floors (tile, carpet and vinyl)
• installing countertops in the sink and master bath

It sounds like a lot, but if they work like they did today, it could be accomplished in a matter of days. We'll be moving some preliminary furniture in this week.

Vacation is about over. Back to mirrors (ugh!), a varied and clean wardrobe, long showers, makeup and bras for me (!) , major big-time housecleaning, doing laundry every couple days instead of once a week at the local laundromat, and entertaining. We are plain folk about to move into a grand house. I hope we can live up to it!

By the way, it's been snowing big, wet, beautiful flakes for 24 hours and WE DON'T REALLY CARE!!!!

Another Three Weeks......?

Floor tile is going in. Doors are all hung, trimmed and finished. Electricians will put in lights this week. Most interior painting is done, and the closets and pantries are outfitted with shelves and/or rods. There is an incredible amount of detailed work being done by fine local craftsmen who work more patiently than I wait.

Meanwhile, Don helps the builders where he can, and works on his vault cabinetry in the basement. I cross-country ski till my knees give out, then go to the trailer to "blog," mostly at http://janthedogtalker.blogspot.com/. Every other day we take our three-minute showers, and on Fridays I go to the laundromat.

Lizzie doesn't chase deer or turkeys anymore since we outfitted her with an electronic collar. The old boys, Kosmo and Atlas (sometimes known as Moron and Putz) are well.

Don will make another trip to Yakima as soon as we move into the house (another three weeks????) He has a few more things to clean out of Shooters Supply. The building, of course, is for sale.

Roughing It

Seems EVERYONE here has done what we're doing in some shape or form. Somebody lived in a tent for a year. Someone else lived in a garage for three months. Someone else lived in their unfinished home's basement for two years till the home above was completed. And lots of folks here have "camped" in trailers, as we are, over the winter, while waiting to move into a new house.

It's been a month now, and we still have at least three weeks to go. No problem. Life is good. We've been preparing for this for a long, long time. The lack of space in this 5th-wheel is definitely a challenge, primarily for our nearly 12-year-old Swiss Mountain Dog, Atlas, who is struggling with dementia and arthritis and would really like more room to turn around and get comfortable. He won't be with us much longer, but for now is basically enjoying a pretty good quality of life.

My body aches too, I think from the strain of crawling around this human-size kennel with three large dogs and a husband, tromping around in big snow boots (there's 10 inches on the ground), and snowshoeing. I could use a good therapeutic 15-minute shower, but three minutes is about as luxurious as it gets in the trailer. But we're managing.

The house is nearing completion. The cabinets arrived last week. Painting is almost done. Then come the floor coverings and lights. And bathroom fixtures. That's about it. Things happen fast now, in big chunks (except when these darn four-day weekends get in the way!)

Don's been working in his 12x16 vault, putting tongue-in-groove pine on the walls. That will be his playroom. Mine will be the basement, outfitted with all the exercise equipment.

Our house is turning out to be exquisite, at least to us. It's a work of heart. Well designed for functionality, but appealing to anyone who cherishes the great outdoors. We want to share this place, inside and out, with all our friends, so start contacting us with your travel dates! We should be "open for business" in short order!