Lights! Power! Flooring!

Most of our lighting fixtures have been installed. PG&E has FINALLY hooked up our power. Flooring has been installed and our latest move in date is...February 22nd. This is the absolute last day our apartment will be ours as a new renter will be moving in, so we pray the house will be DONE so we're not homeless! And now for photos of the latest progress:

The master bedroom fan and light...and our painting supplies.

The dining room light...and boxes of flooring waiting to be installed.

The mess during floor installation was worth the finished product. (Notice the first 2 coats of "scary" (according to Steve) red on the wall. I think it's gonna need 2 MORE coats before it looks just right.)

Imagine how nice it'll look when it's clean!

You know how much I love blue...but don't worry! This is only the padding and not the actual carpet color. All the flooring (laminate and carpeting) was installed on Monday, but it was such a long day that we didn't think to take a photo of finished carpet. You'll have to stay tuned for carpet photos in the future.

All the appliances have been delivered, including the refrigerator. They should be installed in the next few days.

Our friends Lynn and John gave us a grill for a house-warming gift. They delivered it, and helped us paint, a couple of weeks ago. We've broken it in with burgers and it works great!

After a long day of painting, we finally managed to set the timer for a photo of the four of us. Thanks Lynn and John...for the BBQ and the help with painting! Thanks to our other friends who helped paint as well: Lisa, Gloria, Mel, Richard, and Roy.

Coming Out Of The Fog...

The latest move-in date is...January 31st.

We've been at the house every day this week painting and receiving deliveries. It's been a COLD week. Most mornings it's been around 30 degrees when we arrive. It does warm up into the 50s, but there's no heat in the house so it never feels real warm inside. It's NOT good weather for painting, but we're forging ahead. There has been a lot of progress:

It was VERY foggy at the house on Tuesday! (Can you see Steve on the deck, waving?)

The front steps are in...

...and so are the back steps!

This trench (which contains conduit for telephone and electrical) was inspected, approved, and closed up today. Yay! Now that the trench (which ran across the driveway) is closed, the driveway is scheduled to get gravel tomorrow.

Bill, our electrician, is working on getting the power pole ready for PG&E to activate our electrical service...hopefully tomorrow...


Luis and Noe are installing the kitchen cabinets. Now we get to prime and paint them. Appliances should be coming any day.


Cabinets, floors, and counters have been installed in the bathrooms. This is the basement bathroom. We're still waiting for sinks, faucets, light fixtures, toliets, and water. Flooring (laminate and carpet) in other rooms can't happen until we have HEAT!

My aunt, Jane, came yesterday to help install closet shelves in the master bedroom closet. The blue walls are the master bedroom.

The washer and dryer were delivered today and will be hooked up on Monday. Yes, the laundry room/pantry is YELLOW! I've had mixed reactions to my choice of paint color. What do you think?

Launch Reset: T Minus 34 Days and Counting...

Drywall that won't dry...sub-contractor delays...flooring glitches...etc...

Our new moving day is January 18th! We've taken the week of January 14th off to paint, receive deliveries, and have flooring installed. Our best friends, Lynn and John, are coming the weekend of the 19th to help unpack...and to be the very first overnight guests in our home! Dream homes take patience and, even though our patience is running out, we know it will all be worth it in the end!

This is probably our last blog post until after the new year. We'll be in Southern California for Christmas and Tucson for the start of the new year. We pray you and your loved ones have a wonderful holiday season. Please plan to visit us at Cabana de la Cruz in 2008!

T Minus 15 Days and Counting

The movers are coming Monday, December 17th so we only have 15 days left in the apartment! We'll be painting Thursday-Sunday this week. Feel free to come by to help!

OUR ELECTRICAL POLE

The wiring is in a trench leading to the house so there are no overhead wires. Maybe PG&E will finish their part of it this week so we'll have power in the house by this weekend?

The stairs leading to the front door are taking shape.

THE BASEMENT DEN

THE CLOSET IN ONE OF THE GUEST ROOMS

THE STORAGE ROOM

The tankless water heater is waiting to be installed.

THE KITCHEN

This is the wall where the sink and cabinets will go. The back door is at the left of the photo.

THE GREAT ROOM

The front door and stairs to the basement are toward the left of the photo. The log columns are the entry to the hallway which leads to the master bedroom and bathroom.

THE GREAT ROOM
...with the great view

Mulligan

We arrived at the house 2 weeks ago to find that the roof was complete...

and the WRONG COLOR!

Today it was fixed.

Before...

After...

We're still hoping to move in sometime in November...

The Waiting Game

Sorry we haven't posted anything in such a long time, but there just hasn't been much going on.

When we'd go to check on the house each week I'd think, "There'll be something more to report if I wait another week on the blog." And each week there would still not be much progress. So, here's where we are...

The deck is mostly finished and we've even had a meal out on the deck, enjoying the view to the southeast...

...and the view to the northeast.

This is the view of the laundry room/pantry...looking through the framed walls to the opening for the front door. Plumbing, air ducts, and electrical have all been started.


Here are some beautiful visitors to our property...or...more accurately:
Here are the original inhabitants of our property.


The cedar shingles are installed on the side of the house. The roof and windows are due to be in this week. Hopefully, inspections will happen soon so they can close up the walls and
begin the finish work on the inside. There is still MUCH to be done and our latest finish date is "November." We'll keep you posted.

We've Been Workin' On The Log Walls...All The Live Long Day

Glasses? Check! Hat? Check! Face Mask? Check! Gloves? Check! Brushing Tool? Check! It's time to get to work!

We brushed the walls to bring out the wood grain. Steve did everything up high..

Vanessa did everything down low...

Vanessa blew the sawdust off...

Steve sprayed the clear sealer on...

And after four days of exhausting work, we're left with sore muscles...

and beautiful, log walls!

Nothing much looks different on the outside, though the back end of the house is sealed up and ready for cedar shingles. The front and back porch roofs are done and ready to be shingled along with the main roof.

In the next several weeks the electrical, plumbing, propane tank, septic tank, and decking will be installed. After that, installation of fixtures, flooring, and appliances will be put on the inside. Our contractor is still saying we'll be in by the end of Septemer. We pray he's right and will keep you posted!