Mommy's Houseboat?

Your Autumn Home, Lynma?

The approach from Boyer.  Enter down the driveway to the right of the little brick house.  That's where the "dock-lord" lives.  He's old, nice, cross-dressing, and likes friendly people.  They have a 68-year lease from him.  

There's a parking spot for your use at the back of the brick house where these stairs -- slippery in winter -- await you.  I sprained my ankle (not badly) on the way down but I no longer have any ligamentous strength at this point in pregnancy :)  There's some terraced garden that's theirs on the right side of the stairs as you go down.  You can just see the right side of their orangeish house at the end of the dock there.   Across the water you can see UW.

There's a little study that would fit a queen-sized air mattress if you moved that nice chair.   Cute little Diane and Henry room or Agnes napping area.  Windows face east and south so important to close shades when it's sunny/hot.

Looking out from the study/guest room toward the kitchen.   If you could look up you'd see a door in the ceiling from which you could pull down a ladder to get to storage.  I think there was a door like that in the Stewarts' Stamford house; delusion of childhood?

Here's the kitchen.  The counters are nice, 3" higher than average because the owner is tall.  Stacked washer-dryer with a closeable door.  Fridge is hidden to the left.  There's no dishwasher.  Kitchen is stocked.

To orient: Behind Elliott is the kitchen.  The bed area is raised a couple stairs.  There's a pillow blocking a skylight above it (thanks to the current renter).  The shelves in the middle have a record player, records, CD, tape player.  

I swiveled to the right past the pump organ (!) to see this cozy desk nook.  The heating duct spits out at your feet while you sit at this desk.

  

I kept rotating right to look North towards the water and the U.  There is ample sitting space out on the dock and there are sliding screen doors for when you want air flow but duck exclusion.  She says they walk right in then freak out and shit everywhere.  Hah!

I rotated another 1/4-turn to look east.  Now I'm standing in the nook looking at the living room area.  No curtains on the big windows facing the water.  She says that you can't see in because of glare off the windows.  The neighbors are all nice.  Through that window you can sort of see the neighbor's house across 10' of water. 

Rotating a little right (water pretty much at my back now), here's the dining area.  In the background you can see closet doors with a lot of storage area.  There's also storage above these into magic space in the upper walls. 

The little bathroom has really nice tiling, all in good shape.  You can see the tub in the mirror. 

Now you can see my enormous belly in the other mirror!  We're looking out at the dining area.  

Across the street is the Canal Market.  Not the main place for groceries but you can get coffee, sandwiches, bread, eggs... a good little market.  

 The Market's storefront.  We shared a good pastrami sandwich at the boat launch park-let  just down the block.  

Some drawbacks, about which she was very upfront:

-There have been water rats.  They had to have an exterminator and may well again.  They swim under the house and get into the under-pipes.  Not into living space.

-No curtains on front room.  You will be a slave to the natural rhythm of life :)

-Some critter comes by and nibbles the houseplants on the docks.  Unclear identity.

Some yummy things:

-She swims most mornings on Portage Bay - jumps off the dock and swims along the houses.  It's really calm water in the mornings before boat wakes and wind fetch has picked up.

-The rowboat that's there is heavy but functional; they secretly hope it will be stolen.  A different boat (say, Elliott's dory) could be launched from the nearby park and rowed over to be stored on your dock. 

-Right across the water is Agua Verde, a fun Mexican restaurant from which to rent kayaks and have a Marguerita of a summer's evening.

-It's overall very clean and lovely and in good shape.  

-There's a little back shed with a freezer and tools in it.

-There's a no-shoes-inside policy which adds to the cozy charm.

xoxo