Deck The Halls

Having been nomads for the past couple years, it felt especially nice to have some halls to deck this year.  With all the decorations unpacked and up, it's finally starting to feel like home. 

We got to the tree farm a little late, because the last big tree they had left was this eleven footer.  It fits our front hall nicely, but next year I'm looking to go thirteen+.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and the best to you all in the New Year.

Winter Wonderland

Just in time for Thanksgiving, Mother Nature delivered a fresh blanket of holiday decoration.

Country Roads, Take Me Home

Around town there are lots of what the locals call "scenic" roads.  Dirt roads that have been, and always will be, dirt roads.  Much of the time they're a bother of rocks, dust, mud, and ruts.  But around foliage season?  It's like living in a painting.

The Green, Green Grass...Of Home

Around here, it's been as exciting as watching grass grow...

Rainbird

Water is life, and I am the giver

Hose down the driveway,

flow to the river.

Hot Top

Here's the paving crew in action, laying down a base coat of asphalt for the driveway.  With this and the walkways now in place, we stand a half decent chance of walking into the house without tracking in a mountain of dirt.

Now let's get a little grass and it'll look like a real home.

Tetris, anyone?

This is where we will soon be grillin' & chillin'.

Gonna Make This Place Our Home

The big day has finally arrived!   The building inspector gave a big thumbs up the other day and granted a certificate of occupancy. 

The moving crew returned today to get everything settled just about where it needs to be.  We're spending one last night at the hotel, then packing up the circus and moving over to the house tomorrow. Dozens and dozens of boxes to unpack, but after 4 moves in 1 year I suspect we'll have it all done in short order.

Walk This Way

The landscaping crew has finished the brick work for the front walkway. Amazing to see how much prep work goes in. Beneath those pavers is about a foot of excavated, laser-leveled, compacted base. Sweeping curves create an inviting entrance to our home.

Movin' On Up

Had to clear out of the rental.  That means our stuff gets packed into a couple corners of the house, and we get packed into a hotel room.  Again.  Just like the way we started this crazy adventure. It's deju vu all over again.

Curb Appeal

Landscapers have arrived to add a bit of beauty to our big patch of dirt.

Another Brick in the Wall

Lean On Me

Good to see the kids being so supportive of each other...

I knew we'd regret naming him Bench.

You...Light Up My Life...

In the beginning there was darkness. 

A formless and empty void.   

"Let there be light," 

and there was light. 

And the light was good, for it separated us all from the darkness.

 

 

Serenity Now!

Tile work in the steam shower has completed. Beyond expectations.  Now it just needs fixtures, steam unit, and a door to become my sanctuary.

add a TV and mini-fridge, and I'll never have to leave.

Rock All Night. (and party ev-er-y day)

Stone mason has arrived to add a sense of permanence to our home, in the form of a stone fireplace and porch columns.  I can already tell it'll be an amazing focal point to our living space.

Ebony and Ivory....

...side by side on my kitchen counters.

Forget the appliances. Plug in the coffee maker first.

Everybody must get stoned...

Granite counters have been fabricated and are being installed.  

 

 

This means that the finish plumbing and appliances can now be done.

Our Cab is here.

Kitchen cabinets have been installed.  They still need finishing details like crown & base molding and knobs & pulls, but they look great.   Counters have been measured and are about a week out.  Appliances are out there somewhere on their way...

We're totally floored...

The tile setters have just about completed doing their magic, so now all our floors are officially done.

Even covered in construction dust and unpolished, it looks amazing.

This turns me on...

Splish splash...

Now we can test if Erma Bombeck was right...

Septic and leaching field has finally been installed.

Now I feel flush.

Fine things under foot...

Floors have been stained, which clears the way for a lot of finish work to be done.

Updated view, now with the railings stained to match.  Looking nice!

Finishing touches

On the home stretch now. Interior finish details are under way. Paint, trim, doors, floors.

The Rainbow connection...

Coming soon to a wall near you...

An Inside Job

Rough-in of all the internal systems has finished and passed inspection. That cleared way for the insulation crew to wrap the house up in a nice thick pink blanket. Last week ended with a delivery of sheet rock.   The drywall crew has been rockin' all week and looks ready to start mudding and taping.

Our excellent framing crew has moved on to the lot down the road and are halfway thru building another great home. Word has it that the lot next to that has also sold and the owners are busy working with their architect.  By fall we should have a whole slew of new neighbors.

Now that it's no longer see-thru, it's starting to really feel like a home. Funny how it starts to feel so much smaller too.

We've been busy getting all our finish selections done. Spent a night agonizing over the subtle differences in shades of porch decking. Drove about 40 miles to a rock yard to look at material for the fireplace. Have gone thru countless poster boards colored with various shades of paint samples.  Kids have picked out their bedroom colors. Oh boy!  Now we're working our way thru floor tile samples: digging up pictures online, chasing down sample boards in stores another state away, and trying to guess which combination of 5 different floor materials will fit in the budget. Also starting to hunt down 25 different light fixtures.

Gonna stack 'em 2-high in here.

Half way home

Just about three months in, about half way thru the project timeline.  The exterior is mostly done: roofing, siding, most of the doors. 

The well has been drilled. Inside plumbers and electricians and HVAC crews are expertly navigating around each other to get the guts in place.  Cabinets have been ordered for the kitchens and baths. 

And after driving to numerous showrooms and sitting in countless tubs, we've got that selection done so the framing, wiring, and plumbing in the master bath can be finished.