Day 3.

Wednesday morning brought a special treat for us. We got to see Michael's parents, who have also been working here for several years. They are dear people to both of us and invested in our lives back in Manhattan before we knew each other.

They hosted all of us for a lovely brunch and time of reconnecting. And on our way home, we found a door guy! Michael and Eric were debating whether to build doors for the new screened porch or buy a couple. Neither of them have much (any) experience building doors. Kelvin the door guy had a couple of sturdy ironwood panel doors available at a reasonable price tucked away amid piles of sawdust and roaming chickens.

Back at the house we buckled down and pushed forward on our projects. Liz patched holes and painted walls and ceilings; Eric and Michael threaded steel rods through the porch columns. After using all of their energy forcing the first few rods through precisely drilled 9.5mm holes, they were struck with inspiration and got out a 10mm bit. After a productive afternoon of work, we cleaned up (with varying degrees of success) and headed to the seaside for a double date [thanks, Oma and Opa for watching the kiddos].

M&S took us to a lovely place on the water where we watched the sunset over the mountains with the ocean foreground. Then we enjoyed the lights of the city in the distance until power went out. Happily the restaurant had backup power and we all shared an array of local seafood specialties.