Away we go.

Off to Italy today for two weeks.  (You can follow me on Twitter for updates if you're into that sort of thing.) First Rome for a lot of lazy walking around, hanging out, beating the heat with gelato, and even seeing The Tindersticks in concert. Then to Villa Cicolina in Montepulciano for a few days to hang out by a pool and escape a crowded Rome.

Then to Praiano (with the one and only SGM) which is just a few km south of Positano.

That will be us in the big red circle.

In about a week, my butt will be planet firmly in one of these chairs and (finally) I'll be reading Beautiful Ruins. I'm looking forward to getting away from it all. 

Eglon.

If you've been following along, you know I looked at a cabin on a little piece of waterfront property in Kingston, WA. Today I went back to look at another place. Technically, Kingston claims this house as its own, but as you drive to the house, it's clear it belongs to Eglon, a place I'd never heard of until today.

Eglon is an unincorporated part of Kitsap County. I passed farms, cows, and horses (the latter actually on the road) as I made my way to the house, which is perched on high-bank waterfront that seems slightly less likely to collapse into the salt waters of the Puget Sound than the last house I toured. The Eglon house is cute. Less of a fixer. And while it comes with 60 feet of beach, access hasn't been carved out yet. So that's a project.

But let's talk about Eglon. It's barely a town. It's got a church, the old school (above, which is now a community center) and a little beach with a boat ramp. No gas station. No stores. That's about it.

In the 20s, Eglon tried to become a port. Boats would bring people from across the water, but when tides were too high or low, people had to stay on and try again the next time their boat made the loop. Not super reliable, as ports go. So Eglon never really happened. From what I can tell, they're happy about that. The state occasionally tried to consolidate authority over small ports now and then. But Eglon, with no mayor, does have a port commission. Gene Duvall, port commissioner, has said, "The wish of the community is to keep the port basically as it is."

Here's the "port" (and Commissioner Duvall):

And here's the view from the house:

Eglon, while sleepy, is a contender.

On repeat:

Frank Ocean - Thinking About You

Powered by mp3skull.com

Cabin.

Look people, I haven't forgotten you. I had to spend time in Ohio (God punishes me), and I have also been trying to figure out the buying-that-cabin situation. Previous owners installed a $50k bulkhead along the shoreline to make sure they could build on it. The geotech report says the property is in a slide area, but I can't tell if that's an imminent-danger problem, or if that's like scaring someone away from buying in California because it's "on a fault line." Know what I mean? So, this will take some time. Which sucks because - in my best Varuca Salt voice - I want a beach house NOW. 

I would like to add that this was my horoscope last week, before I knew about the cabin:

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): There's a term for people who have the ardor

of a nymphomaniac in their efforts to gather useful information:

*infomaniac.* That's exactly what I think you should be in the coming

week. You need data and evidence, and you need them in abundance.

What you don't know would definitely hurt you, so make sure you find out

everything you need to know. Be as thorough as a spy, as relentless as a

muckraking journalist, and as curious as a child. P.S. See if you can set

aside as many of your strong opinions and emotional biases as possible.

Otherwise they might distort your quest for the raw truth. Your word of

power is *empirical.*

Image.

What is up with

1) Pinterest profile pictures with the husband in the shot
2) Couples who share an email address

I find both really creepy.

This is priceless.

HERE.

Tom & Katie

Discuss.

Weekend house?

So, this place is for sale:
It's kind of a hot mess, but can't 30 gallons of white paint fix that?

The view: 

The fixer exterior:

My slice of beach:

The inside. (And you know I am keeping that luscious carpet...)

 White wash the place. Maybe don't Texas-Frenchy-fy it quite so much, but you get the idea what a crew of painters, some Benjamin Moore White Dove, a few Ikea sofas mixed with vintage pieces could do to the place:

Yes, no, maybe?