Coming Up for Air | Busy on Bainbridge

The view from here. The backdrop for my run. Mt. Rainier, the Seattle Skyline and Olympic Mountains are also visible from the good ole’ Bainbridge High School.

I wish I could compose blog posts while I run.  Well, I can compose them, I just can not get them out of my head and into cyber space without sitting down and typing.  Spring was nuts in my real estate world.  Add in several volunteer projects, a gazillion school reports, field trips, softball games (LOTS of softball games), end of school year parties,  and my time evaporated.  As did my blog posts.  But, through all the busy  times, I did manage to squeeze in my runs.  Sometimes they were two miles instead of four, but I have found they are a necessary outlet for so many reasons. If I could just blog/run.

The last day of school, annual after school party at Lytle Beach with friends.

Now, school is out and we are all finding a new routine called summer.  My older daughter plays Allstars for softball, so that keeps us here until mid-July.  Many people head off island in June.  Because, yes we have what is infamously called June-Gloom or Junuary.  Ugh.  I DO dislike gray and rain in June.  Many California natives bolt in June and head south, but a solid number of us remain and piece together the gray and the sun to make the most of the weather.  We have just come off of a string of three sunny and warm days, but alas we are headed for rain this weekend.  What will we do?  Head to the indoor pool or the library.  Explore Seattle museums. It is still warm, just not sunny.  But on SUNNY days like today, we get out and go to the beach.  My younger daughter spent the day at Fay Bainbridge with friends and all of us spent the evening at Strawberry Ball Fields playing softball and having dinner with my daughter’s  team.  As a league we are gearing up for hosting the Allstar Tournament for the District starting next week.  There is a lot of coordination and man hours that go into hosting a tournament for seven leagues.

Tug-o-War at Blakely Elementary on Bainbridge. An end of the school year tradition.

And the Rotary Auction is next week.  It is always good to be around for Rotary. We are purging a bit and getting ready for “drop off,” which starts tomorrow. The actual auction is next Saturday, June 30th.  Rotary is a HUGE rummage sale that takes over our entire middle school campus – inside and out.  From cars and boats to books . . . to massive literally tons of clothing, the sale is a right of passage, an institution on Bainbridge and I would be bummed to miss it. People come from miles away to shop. Parking is crazy we are always so glad we can walk.

The new Studio. More to come on the new space. . .

And the reason we are purging for Rotary is we are moving.  No not moving houses, but moving rooms. Last year a house we REALLY liked came one the market and we really wanted to buy it, but the market was slow, it was December, and we did not want to buy it before we sold our house.  But, the house we liked sold within days and it did inspire us to get our house ready to sell (meaning we finished up a lot of projects).  And we almost did –  put that ‘For Sale’ sign up out front.  But then we realized we really like where we live . . . really like being in town.  So, we decide to stay put but make a few changes (meaning start a few NEW projects).  One projects was building a studio/shed in the backyard for office space.  By moving our office to the new studio we gained a small “bonus” room in our remote 4th bedroom.  So, we are shifting rooms, moving couches and getting a few new pieces of furniture.  Oh, and purging a bit too.

And right around the corner is our Grand ole’ Fourth of July Parade.  One of the best events on Bainbridge.  We always make sure to be around for the parade.  This will be the sixth year one of my kiddos has been in the parade.  A very fun, small town event.  Who doesn’t love a parade, dunk tanks, huge ice cream sandwiches or root beer floats?

Stay tuned for more about our new studio/office, Allstars, the Rotary Auction and the 4th of July hoopla. Why in the world would you want to leave Bainbridge Islnad in the summer?