I enjoy impromptu drives with my husband on pretty days.
We were out and about doing some errands. The sky was clear. The sun was shining. We had time. So we headed south a bit to take a longer way home, driving through the veterans’ cemetery. Strange? Not when you know that it has the most outrageously gorgeous views of our mountain peaks. And with our recent snows at lower elevations, it would be even more beautiful with a dusting of white in the foothills.
But before I continue this sliver of a slice of life, you need a tiny bit of back story. We are in the beginning stages of remodeling …I suppose that is the right term when you are gutting some rooms down to lath and plaster… As I was saying, we are remolding a 100-year-old house, and it has become a thread in our conversations these days.
As we slowly crawl around the curving cemetery road, between my exclamations of delight and requests to backup or stop, we talk of our 100-year-old house project.
Carl wraps up an idea he’s been sharing with, “What do you think?”
“Well, I’m not sure …” My voice trails as I turn to get a better look at Mt. Hood.
He interrupts the brief lapse in my response, “Answer.”
Puzzled, but still looking at Mt. Hood, I begin again, “I’m just not ….”
With a firmer voice, he interrupts again, “Answer.”
I frown, increase my volume, “Uhhh, I said… ” Then with a laugh, “Oh! Sorry.”
Why do I always forget he uses a blue-tooth earpiece with his iPhone?
________
Photo Gallery
Portland Skyline against the West Hills
Snow-Covered Foothills in Washington
Mt. St. Helens — Mt. Rainier on horizon just to the right
Mt. Hood
Installing beam so we can open up kitchen / dining room
Looking across dining room to kitchen — Loving the flow
Cutting a wider doorway for the new door (replacing one covered with red drape in photo above.
___________
Thank you to
Two Writing Teachers
So fortunate.. I love the idea of a 100-yr-old home, and remodeling it from the ground up with love!
What a funny ending! Your pictures are gorgeous and so is your house! I’m sure the prices is difficult but it will surely pay off! I love the way your story curved and creeped in different dorections mimicking what I pictured your car doing through the cemetery.
Ha! That made me laugh! I have to say that even the first “answer” made me think, “Well, that doesn’t sound like Carl from her other stories!” Love the pictures of the mountains. I lived in Portland for graduate school and really fell in love with seeing Mt. Hood every day. I used to wonder what the native tribes there would have thought of the mountain – it must have influenced their daily lives; it surely influenced mine. Also, we’re starting renovations on our 110 year old house this summer, so I loved the renovation photos, too!
Do you ever come back to Portland? Thankfully we are not living in the house. I wish you well with your renovations this summer. I hope we see some posts about it.
I haven’t been back to Portland in ages, but I still have friends there. Maybe one of these days. As for the renovations, I can’t imagine that I *won’t* post about it. I’m already stressed about it & we haven’t even started.
Great photos. Love the dialogue in the car especially the little unexpected twist at the end. Good luck with the remodeling. The end result is always worth the upset during the process.
Stunning photos, an exciting project! I laughed at the end of your story! Thanks for a great read to start my Saturday!
Your ending was a surprise! And a hoot! haha. So great. I love the renovation photos too. Exciting times around your place.