I will look at two living spaces on the island today, and another on Tuesday. Craigslist is an amazing thing - you go there, and there is stuff you need or want. Truly amazing.

The first place is a 500-square-foot cottage in a neighborhood called Beulah Park, on the coveted West Side of Vashon Island. My friend Laura used to live in that neighborhood - there are a bunch of cottages, as if it used to be a small resort or vacation spot, say, in the 1930s or so. The cottage has been totally redone, with funky colors. The owner and a designer friend did the work. This place is a close second to #2, which I will see today also.

The second is a one-of-a-kind space - a third (top) floor, south-facing apartment in a historic building just down the road from contestant #1. This is the Cove Motel, which legend says used to be a brothel, though no historical data exist to confirm that. It was a grocery store and post office, near a Mosquito Fleet dock. (In the late 1800's and early 1900's the mail and supplies got to many Puget Sound communities via the MF, a number of small ferries and cargo ships.) This building is on a beach, and the apartment apparently has a 180-degree view of Colvos Passage. This means watching pleasure boats go by against the background of wooded hillsides that is the Kitsap Peninsula. Sunsets galore, with the Olympic Mountains in the distance. No shipping traffic, to speak of, most of which goes around the east side of the island. This unit has fir floors, a deck, washer dryer, granite counters and a dishwasher. If the owner will have me, I may just write a check today. Of course, I have to see it first, but it is no doubt one of those quintessential island quirky places, and therefore to be coveted.

The third place is too expensive for what and where it is, but friends own it: a substitute teacher and his wife have updated a cottage on their Green Man Farm, and they will show it to me on Tuesday. There is woodstove heat, plus electric, and a yard I would have to mow (mow? Oh, just a distant, ex-homeowner memory!). This unit is a distant third. I may not get so far as to actually need to see it.

Then I go to see my mommy and daddy, to pick up boxes at their place. I'm sure there will be free dinner, too. Maybe even a small donation to the apartment cause. My mom is like that, and my dad no longer checks the finances that closely. Thank goodness for the blessings of old age and infirmity.

I am having breakfast at the Homegrown Café with LMT. Bring on the biscuits and gravy! I've got work to do!