I found my Vashon nest. My lease is up at the Tacoma place, and the island has provided admirably.

Last week, I had arranged to stay with my friend Linda, who loves to have long-term houseguests. As in a month or two is just fine by her. My ex is taking the cats, I am selling my large bed, things are on track.

Then I had this idea to just cruise craigslist and see what came up for "vashon rental". Oh, Universe, how precious is Thy timing.

The Cove Apartments were built in 1904 as a mercantile on one of the stops for the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet. These small cargo and passenger boats were the main transportation to and from small communities on Puget Sound for several decades.

This building has been a private home, a store, post office, and reputedly a brothel, though this last one isn't historically confirmed. Still some cachet, nonetheless. For a long time, the building was in crappy shape and full of what folks may have called "filthy hippies" (or insert another concept of society's downtrodden and lazy here). There were rats, I heard.

Now a woman has owned it for almost 3 years, and she is renovating, renovating, renovating. New windows. New fixtures. New bathrooms, for goodness' sake!

My unit is on the upper floor, on the southwest corner. I look right up and down Colvos Passage, and when the weather comes, it will be coming right at me. There is a front yard and a bulkhead and a pebbly beach. I am so excited to find out how it feels to live there. And it's on the west side of the island, the side that looks onto quiet, wooded peninsula rather than Seattle or Tacoma. Excellent.

I start moving next Monday. G&T is on me.