Its been a really long time since I have headed out to Alki Beach. I used to live about 15 minutes away and somehow never ended up over there, but that was a different time, different life. Driving through some of the areas on my way toward the cleans we had on Alki yesterday definitely got the memories going.
When I lived in West Seattle (which is where the Alki District/Alki Beach is) wasn’t a great time for me. It’s not that much horrible actually happened, I was just miserable. The kids’ dad and I were still together and we were less than happy in our relationship. Other things in life were going ok – we had recently opened our vintage collectibles shop, Hula’s Vintage, my best friend didn’t live very far away so we got together quite often, rent was paid and food was in the house, had a reliable vehicle to drive, but I was miserable. I look back at that time and I realize it was all me. I wasn’t happy, hadn’t learned how much I need to been learning something to help keep me content , wasn’t really doing anything productive with me. Remembering that time reminded me of the kids’ dad and the fact that, despite the fact that we were horrible for each other in an intimate relationship, we had been good friends. The beginning of this month was the two-year anniversary of his death. It is really odd whenever I come face to face with that reality. He was a part of my life for over 20 years and it’s just strange knowing his is gone. I guess I haven’t completely come to terms with that, exactly.
The cleans we had on Alki were….well, not horrible but not great either. There is still a bunch of maintenance things that need to be taken care of in the units. When we walked into the lower unit and found tools and other evidence that maintenance wasn’t done, we were a little concerned. It took almost 2 hours to get to there, due to the weather and all, and we didn’t want this to be a wasted trip. Usually maintenance is done when we come in. It makes sense. Maintenance makes a mess, we come in after to put the shine on the unit. After about an hour of trying to get things sorted out through Cayle (the guy I’m working with), it was determined that this was as far as the owner had wanted maintenance to go before having us come in. They are having new vinyl laid down over the existing vinyl and wanted the vinyl scrubbed really well for that.
Most of the appliances had been removed from the unit to expose the vinyl so it could get thoroughly cleaned. This was an upside since it meant I didn’t need to clean the fridge or the oven in both units. YAY!! It still left a lot to do though. When we finally finished about 6 hours later, we were exhausted and more than ready to go home. Too bad the battery in the van was dead.
Our van has the automatic sliding doors on it. Unfortunately, they don’t close properly and we have to butt bump them closed at the end. One of the doors didn’t get bumped in, which leaves the lights on in the van, and it drained the battery. I’ll admit I wanted to have a temper tantrum when Lance came and told me about it. It was that kind of day, plus I’m worn out, but we just loaded the van with our cleaning supplies, pushed the van out to the street, then attempted to get someone to give us a jump. After about 15 minutes, I finally got someone to actually acknowledge our existence and help us out. People on Alki are a little…snooty.
I forgot to bring my camera with me so that I could get some pictures. That turned out to be ok since it has been raining, nearly monsooning, and all the photos would have been of the dense cloud bank settled in over the water between Alki and downtown Seattle. Of course, as we were driving out of there last night around 7pm, I glanced toward the water and immediately regretted not having my camera. The cloud bank had lifted and the stunning view that has been photographed by many a photographer of downtown Seattle at night from Alki was beaming at me. I thought of stopping to take the picture with my phone but decided it wasn’t worth it. It wouldn’t end up being the shot I wanted so on I drove.
The rain yesterday, and looks like today, is intense. It comes down in buckets then lightens up just long enough to put the wipers on the lowest setting only to have it start dumping buckets, again. My driveway and part of my yard are flooded. By the end of the day today I am going to wish I had a little boat to get to and from the van.
Lance, to his credit, is out walking the dogs in this weather. I’m sure the dogs were soaked within the first 3 minutes or less of walking. I should get them rain coats for this time of year, and for Spring. Especially Truman and Achilles. Truman’s fur is so thick (German Sheppard mix) that, despite drying him off after the walk, retains so much moisture that we have had to start using an anti-fungal shampoo on him. Achilles, on the other side of the spectrum, has a single layer of fur and the water goes straight to his skin. Poor kid is probably really cold on the walks when it rains and a raincoat would at least keep him dry. I’m going to have to look around and see what I can find. The feed store, Del’s, right up the road sells some coats for dogs and I believe I saw rain coats in the mix.
One ‘really quick’ clean today and then my days off begin! I’m looking forward to it. Lance and I discussed when we wanted to do this clean since there isn’t a time limit on it today. Both of us agreed we want to get it done first thing so that we can get on with the time off. This is supposed to be a light cleaning but we shall see. We have been told that before by people who don’t do deep cleaning. They just don’t see the unit the same way we see it. At any rate, by lunch time, we should be starting our down time. I think I may just start it out with a nap. 😉
Dragonfly Gypsy USA 