another day of paint scraping.

 woke fairly early. it's supposed to be raining all week, but it's been nice during the days. above was on todays break to get some fresh air. this is a lions mane i believe.  i spotted it from some distance.  surprised it's still there.  edible i believe. i left it of course.  fairly large and always a great find.

 this are a blend from the past few weeks of course so above is in Girdwood and below is in Valdez.

 have spent the bulk of the last few days getting the old cabinets prepped for the new counters/sinks. the T's have been enormous help getting me ready. Thanks!!  MT came by today again to get the new connectors installed.  one is leaking just a wee bit. i put a bowl under it but don't want to make it worse in the wee hours.

 i got the upstairs cabinets paint off, sanded, cleaned and have put on stencils and stain.  so far so good.  fingers crossed. plumbing scary.  MTgot the water turned off at the wall under the cabinet and gave me pointers for removing the old sink.  it took a few more texts but i did manage it and the counters from both bathrooms are out too.  i felt a wee bit empowered yesterday. 

 i know compared to what others can do this is pretty minor, but for me, I felt a wee bit triumphant. 

 pride does goeth before the fall so i don't want to tempt fate but going rouge and thinking i can fix this tiny leak at 11:30pm. i have a bowl under there right now.  not much has drained, so i'll empty the bowl before i head to bed.

 if all goes well the counter guy will be here as scheduled on Wednesday.  not sure when i'll be back to normal in the bathrooms but hopefully it won't take too long. will try to get the one part hooked up as encouraged before we drop the counter in. save some crawling around under the sink.

 plenty of mushrooms around town to keep me happy.  i feel a bit guilty that i'm not out doing major hikes but when the time comes to walk....i really just want to hunt for these crazy mushrooms

 you just never know what you will find out there so it's fun.

 not sure what this little thing is...fungi no doubt though.

 my beach art from the other day.

 spent some time in one of these shelters. the locals have made several of these on the beach at Kincaid. this one was my favorite

 this is the view of sunset from a patients room the other night.

 rotting mushroom...even they can look cool...others just look rotten

 i was tossing the tennis ball from inside in the shade.  very relaxing.

 this evening i was trying to entertain three pets.  Ivy wanted her tennis ball tossed, Tusker wanted the laser light and Covi Cat was chasing a feather....how will i keep up tomorrow when i have a puppy for the day.  Audrey will be staying the day with us.  i have put out some blockades in an attempt to puppy proof...it will be a work in progress though.  puppies can be very stealth.  hopefully we can teach her the dog door while she is here as she will eventually have one.

 slime fungi below.

 the cats were also represented in the beach art.  the fluffy tail is Covi Cat of course.

 removing the old paint/stain is a disgusting and time consuming project.  the doors for these seem to be pretty much ready for sanding/cleaning and then staining.  so winding down for the moment.  i still will want to remove the paint and do all the same to the cabinets over the dryer.  it wasn't something that had to be done immediately though.  hopefully, i don't put it off too long.

 i bought some new hinges for the door...will they work and can i get them on...well, we shall see.  i also bought pulls so we shall see if i can figure that out as well.

 then i'm thinking of some shelves downstairs and then next thing to do is focus on flooring. 

 those are the projects...in a house there is always projects.

 i have a lot of stuff that needs to be done.  i'm not doing well keeping up with the neighbors at this point.  haha.  big fail.

 another interesting fungi above

 at the dunes the other day.  the dogs always love it there. folks seemed to like the pictures.  there were a few folks out there with hammocks...you can see one above.

 a little breeze out there.  it can get windy and when it does it's not a fun place to be really.  that sand can take out an eyeball.

 i'd also not want to be there in a big earthquake.  liquifaction...could suck you under never to see the surface of the earth again. suffocation would soon take you out.

 today we did some various loops and twists.  a few old bear scats  but no signs at the North Bivouac trailhead....seems to be bear signs at all the other trails. 

 the dogs have been tired each night. 

 i was happy to get the old stuff out in time for garbage day.  i have put the sinks out and posted a free listing on Marketplace on fb. no bites yet.  not sure anyone would want the old sinks but i always figure it's worth a try.  you never know. if not...they just can get tossed in the garbage i guess.

 here is one picture of the work i did today.  i like to stain, add a stencil and then stain again.  i'm not a perfectionist, which is why i'm a bit nervous about the hinges and pulls.  i'm going to have to be more of a perfectionist so that the cabinets open correctly,

 i think these are turning out nice so far.

 more of the pet love at the house. it may be a bit crazy tomorrow with the puppy around.  we shall see. i put the crate out for her so she can nap.

 the animals all have clean ears with Ivy Rose around

 i like to find flowers or other items and dress up my mushrooms for better photo ops

 i remember in the class in Denali a few would run across one and i'd have to explain that i had actually done this.  it wasn't how things happened naturally.  would like to take that course again.  not that i learned all that much...i mean i suspect i did learn quite a lot.  mostly, i had a great time just wandering around and hunting the mushrooms out. 

 loved that Miss Breezy Chatterbug is looking up at the camera.

 Covi Kitty comes and goes through the dog door through the night.  i did close the outside run last night as there was some thunder and lightening again.

 the animals on the peds rooms in the ER are wearing masks. i just noticed.  funny.

 see those berries..i added those.  i suppose if you are out there and see odd stuff like this you may figure out which paths i have taken.

 more berries...i just think it can add to the mushroom shot. 

 i still haven't even looked at the photos on the big camera from Valdez.  no trips this week.  next stretch?  not sure yet.  soon it will be fall color hunting time.  do i want to re-do the Denali Highway or head to Fairbanks?  maybe a later trip to Homer again and see if i can catch fall colors down there.

 views from the shelter on the beach

 always the tennis ball.  the pups take out a few mushrooms on each walk.  hard not to i guess.

 like how Breezy is pulling his eye with this lick.

 like Tusker he doesn't return the favor...is it males?

 so many pretty colors out there in the world.

 i'm tired and ready to crash.  night.

thankful for A.  the T's and help getting the plumbing part B.  for making me do some of the work myself.  C. some days for not having human kids...they can be a lot of work and you just never know what twists are out there, it seems like it can be super stressful when there are physical or emotional issues and those can't be predicted necessarily.  hats off to all the parents out there, especially those dealing with issues way beyond what they ever imagined...who could?