One man's trash...

Is a construction project for two crazy ladies! Day one of Operation Garbage Thingy was a major success. You may recall the pile of "compost" behind the shed which included such treasures as a screen door, the boat cover, a frisbee, a collection of markers, a wood bee nest, a life jacket and several Budweiser cans. Did I mention this is also where Nali likes to do her business? I wore gloves. Okay, no I didn't but I'm realizing now while writing this that I should have. Anyway, those delightful treasures have now been bagged and tossed while the remaining dirt, leaves and grass clippings have been raked and leveled. Phew. Time for a beer. And to submerge my hands in bleach.

Okay, and we're back. We have refreshed ourselves with a beer so now it's time to start building stuff, with tools. What? Is there a problem?

Our plan is to construct a Garbage Thingy to hide unsightly barrels and such. Next to which there will be a mesh compost enclosure - for real compost this time. Around the corner and behind the shed will be nice, new grass shaded by forsythia (Mary-Lou's choice, I am not-so-silently against it but she pays the mortgage so that's that). We started today by constructing the base of the Garbage Thingy, a frame of 2x4's topped with spaced planking to allow for drainage. That took all of three seconds to write and all afternoon to do which doesn't really do our efforts justice so to better illustrate our diligence and hard work I will tell you that Bob's first comment was that "it is perfect". And it is. That's what happens when you spend all afternoon building a frame. Perfection.

Before...

Step One:

In the meantime...

You should read this:

www.greenaroundtheglobe.com

Let's try this again...

I said we were back and then all you got is a measly picture of the dogs' rear-ends. My apologies. I was hoping to post pictures of Casey's recent "before and after" project but forgot to take the "before" pictures which kind of makes the "after" shots a bit underwhelming. However, Mary-Lou and I are starting our trash can enclosure project this week following a very successful trip to Home Depot (they cut your wood for you, awesome) so details to follow including the "before" pictures (trash cans and dog poop buckets), "in progress" pictures (perhaps Mom and chasing each other around the yard with power tools. I kid, I kid) and "after"shots which will hopefully look something like this.

I'm heading out now to the Salvation Army to find some cheap old night stands and tables to refurbish. I was pretty happy with my nightstand project last spring and I have this crazy idea that I might be able to sell some of these things. Hopefully, I don't end up featured on regretsy.com.

For now, I will leave you with a dusk shot from Monahan's dock during our recent biblical rain storms here in Rhode Island...

Snow Day

And we're back...

It's been a long time, folks, but we'll be moving back east in just a few short weeks and I'd like to get back into writing. Living in a new place helped us realize that we never really explored or took advantage of our great location back East (unless you count every bar in Newport). We intend to camp and hike in New England just as much as we did here and I'd like to continue writing here at what I guess should now be kategoeswestgetsmarriedgoeseast. It is a convenient way to keep track of pictures and stories chronologically. So, we're back!!

First up: check out some wedding pics at kenluallen.com/gallery. Password is seattle.

Get it while it's hot!

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Couldn't resist...

More of my favorites :)...

east meets west meets SOUTH!!

In exactly 40 days, we will be on a plane to Quito, Ecuador. With all of the weddnig planning hoopla, we haven't really taken any time to consider the honeymoon (or the fact that we don't speak Spanish) so last night I stopped off at Barnes and Noble and picked up a Spanish phrase book along with a few travel guides for Ecuador. Within 5 minutes or cracking open those books I was trying to convince Casey to extend our trip - not because I simply wanted to but because we HAVE to! There is so much to see and do between the rainforest, the historic colonial era cities, the coast, the Andes mountains and the Galapagos. How could we possibly do it all in 8 days? Our current itinerary includes two nights in Old Town Quito (one night when we arrive and one before we leave) with 4 nights in Banos and 3 nights along the coast at yet-to-be-determined beaches. Get a napkin because you're about to start drooling:

Hotel Patio Andaluz, accomodations for our first night as honeymooners:

Quito:

Next stop: Four nights at Luna Runtun in Banos along the Avenue of the Volcanoes. I can't say more about the volcano here because my mom will read this and call the whole thing off so if you're interested in learning about the volcano next to Banos, called Tungurahua, see here.

While in Banos, we're planning to seek out recommendations on the best beaches along the Pacific Coast and then hop on a few buses to visit the best spots Saturday thruogh Tuesday before making our way back to Quito. Example:

If -and I really, really hope that this is possible - if we're able to get a few extra days, we'll plan to take 3-4 days at the end of the trip to fly to the Galapagos Islands before returning to Quito. Everyone we've spoken to has told us that we have to go to the Galapagos and it really didn't sink in until last night when I saw photos of marine iguanas and blue footed boobies and of course, the giant tortoises.

6 weeks, 3 days...

... until the wedding! Since we're getting so close the family planned a great weekend for the bachelorette, bridal shower and guys golf outing (men, men, men, men). I have included some pictures below! Thank you Mom, Dad, Melissa and especially Lindsey.

Engagement Shots

Last weekend while in Rhode Island Casey and I spent a muggy morning in East Boston with our amazing photographer, Ken Luallen. I stole a few shots to include below but you can see them all at kenluallen.com/gallery, password is seattle. Perhaps you may want to order a few life size shots for around the house and above the mantle.