The End is Near

After months and months of stress and labor, the end is finally approaching.

Matt and Scott Miller laid down the slate tile in the entry and laundry room last night. The ceramic tile in the bathrooms is laid, grouted, and sealed. All light fixtures sans the dining room pendant are installed and functioning. All painting is completed after I finally broke down and repainted the master bedroom. Cabinets are set and countertops installed with the exception of the master bathroom countertop - we aren't certain what material we are going to use yet....

We decided to hire some help for the trimwork and hopefully that will get started this week. We were hoping it was going to start last week, and then yesterday, and then this morning....but sometimes you have to stake contractors on a run line to get them to work. Of course, you can't stake them out unless they actually show up. We are optimistic that it will actually BEGIN this week.

The woodstove is nearly completed. It should have been done last week, but once again it would be aweful nice to have the manufacturer actually ship all the necessary parts rather than having Matt work the install only to realize a critical piece is missing. Once the stovepipe is completed and after we share a family picnic by the first laid fire, Matt will start the stonework around the stove. I am excited to see this completed - it is going to be awesome.

Matt has been working too hard and his back demanded a rest this past week. Thanks to sick leave and a Flexoral, he is well rested, loose and limber, and back to work. I am a bit jealous of all that resting, but I will be sunning myself on a Hawaiian beach in just a few short weeks.

Ahhhh, Hawaii. It was to be our reward for finishing, but we are behind schedule. It doesn't matter - it is warm - it is sunny - it has a beach - it has childcare (thanks Yvonne). I cannot wait.

The artist within

I am a terrible artist - you can't even call me an artist. Having never taken a single art class in my life, the most challenging thing I have ever painted was a paint by number back when my age was only in the single digits. So, when I saw a picture of a "mod mural" in a Parents magazine I want it for Tyler's room yet I wondered if it was something that I could pull off. I tore the page from the magazine hoping that maybe Matt would pencil it on the wall and I could color it in.

So, this past week was the deciding time of whether or not to follow through with this idea. Matt was too busy with more important tasks (ie the fireplace) to draw lines on the wall for me, so the decision was all the harder. I, in a moment of impulsiveness, went to Spenards and ordered all the paint I would need...there - I was committed. And I did it, freehand. All by myself. I am pretty stinking proud of it too. Most would consider it a simplistic task but it was a hurdle to me. I know not every one will like the look of it, but Tyler loves it and so do I.

Let the long hours begin

The new year has marked the beginning of our "final push". Are we near the end? Well, no, but from here on out it is pretty much all on us: painting, flooring, cabinets, stove, concrete, stone, lighting, doors, ect, ect, ect. Our previous work schedule is amped up with longer hours, more nights, and a constant voice in the back of our heads to get back up there. I am trying to keep perspective and just tackle one task at a time.

This is not going well. My first task was to paint. My second task is to repaint all the colors that looks much better on that little 2x3 swatch than they do on a wall. Honestly, I am taking a break from my second task so as to avoid an overwhelming wave of despair that I have to retape and repaint all those spaces. Why did I have this fixation on deep purple........


Our cork flooring has arrived and we are excited to see how it looks installed. We will have to be quite patient since it will be pretty much the last thing we do before we move in. The tile is installed in the bathrooms and will be finished and sealed by the weekend. Some light fixtures are here and installed with the rest arriving within a week.




Matt has been working hard on installing the woodstove and setting kitchen cabinets. It would be much simpler if the items checked as packed on the packing list were, in fact, included.





The exterior rock looks wonderful. It still needs to be pressure washed, but still looks great. Matt and Dad installed the garage door this past week with its brown trim and obscured glass doors, it stands out in a pleasing way.

No plumbing available...

Tyler, our 3 year old, is potty trained. When we began the potty training process, we were told to "take 'em outside" and let the pee fly. Well, I wasn't too keen on this, but it is a habit that has repeatedly occured when we are at the building site with no plumbing available. Today was a classic reason why I had formed this opinion.

I was working on the wiring for an entry light switch - which is currently a mass of wires. I was talking on the phone with Grandpa trying to create an understanding of which way the current is travelling and what that means when Tyler comes and announces that he needs to poop. I, in my asborption of trying to understand these yellow wires, didn't allow the words to sink in to action. I went back to task and within a few minutes Tyler returns saying that he needs to be wiped.

Tyler has walked outside the dining room door, dropped drawers, and promptly pooped by the side of the house!! Of course, in the action of squatting, he didn't perform a complete squat and ended up dropping half the load into the pocket of his pants. So, there he comes into the house with poo squeezing from his cheeks and drooping from his pocket.

I am not a prepared woman. There is no wipes, diapers, clean clothes, or well anything to get me out of this bind. It requires a bit of contractor cleaning cloth (we had one left), a bit of squealing from T, and folding the pants down to cover the scent and poop trail....and then....back to work I went.

I will be calling the plumber tomorrow and we will, hopefully, have a toilet in place by Saturday. PLEASE by Saturday!!!!!

Rock On!

Somehow in the middle of January we had a week of 50 degree + weather. This was after over a month of clear cold with spots of snow. A blessing for me which allowed me to finally get some masonry work done, but for others in the neighborhood it meant rain with heavy snow melt that washed out culverts, flooded crawlspaces and muddied everything up.

My first attempt at installing cultured stone. Maybe it went to well?

We have been busy other places in the house but not yet photo worthy. Naomi has been painting her colors all around the house. Nice colors and we'll soon see how they look with everything else installed around them.

This week we look forward to the garage door being installed and the rest of the cabinets in the kitchen and the Laundry room. Tile in the bathrooms will be shortly after. We look forward to more pictures being posted as things are starting to be completed.

Looking Hot

One more major purchase under our belt.

We finally picked the wood fireplace for the house. I learned so much about fireplaces. If any of you have a obscure question, I probably know the answer.

For a week I have foregone my normal evenings to scour the internet and check out installation instructions to find the stove that is just right.


We are soon to be proud owners of a RSF Opel3 Fireplace. Up to 70,000 BTUs will be pumping through the house just in time for summer. Meanwhile Galen the taper is finishing the sheetrock with a couple electric portable heaters in 20 degree weather.

I am certain some more pictures will be posted. We really haven't made much visible progress but with the sheet rock almost done, we should have something to show you soon.

A Price too High to be Paid

There are only a few things that can be appreciated as much as many friends. On Saturday, eight of these Good Examples showed up to help move 190 sheets of 12' sheet rock.

No time for a group photo. It was all in the house in an hour and twenty minutes!

They each, literally, helped a ton!