How long has it been? Time for a new adventure!

Um, has it been nearly 4 years since I last checked in here? Wow. I didn't mean to be gone so long. Almost 4 years ago we moved into our (nearly finished) house but it didn't end there. Now that we're personally settled, we've turned our attention to other homes, including flipping and more real estate. More on all of our projects to come.

For now, welcome back and enjoy a couple photos of what I'll be writing about in the coming days and weeks. I'm glad to be back. It's always an adventure!

The Stone's Throw Cottage

The Little Yellow Bungalow

We got our internet. We have our TV. The clothes, food and furniture are here (well some of it). Just took our first showers in the new house, on our FIRST NIGHT IN!

Yahoo!

WE PASSED!

Yahoo and Yippee. Hot Damn! We passed. M worked so very hard to meet this date, and she did it. We're both surprised, relieved, and, well, tired.

This means we can legally move in. The stupid Wild land Fire Rating stickers on the 2 year old (ok, maybe only 18 months old?) windows can come off (good luck with that, right? Luckily M's mom, MaryO is dying to get to them!). We can start hauling stuff over, and get on with it!

There are still details to wrap up. We fudged a few things to pass, like we have closet rod as our stair rail inside right now because the special order railing isn't in yet. That means only part of our closet rods will be up until it comes in (hey waste not, want not! Repurpose baby!). But our guest bath is complete (just need to buy a shower curtain and a TP holder and we're good to go!) so we can bathe, and the kitchen is mostly functional. Carpet comes Thursday. What more could a girl want?

Such a relief. And yes, I promise, photos soon.

OMG Omg omg!

I know I promised photos. And I know I've been an infrequent poster. But I had to write this post tonight.

WE HAVE OUR FINAL INSPECTION SCHEDULED FOR TOMORROW AFTERNOON!

Can you believe it?

I have missed sharing so many updates in the last 6 weeks--I've been working lots of hours, I get to the house infrequently, and never feel like being online in the evenings. I will have to catch you all (all 9 of you) up. And I will.

BUT THE INSPECTION IS SCHEDULED FOR TOMORROW! We may not pass. The interesting (and I say that with a bit of tongue in cheek) thing is that our (extended) permit expires on Thursday, so M has been driving hard to have tomorrow be the day (thereby giving her another day to fix anything that doesn't pass. Let's hope we do!

We're hoping to move some stuff this weekend. Then Monday I leave again for work, and when I get home we MIGHT BE LIVING IN THE NEW HOUSE. Can you tell I'm excited?

Bedroom carpet comes Thursday. Most everything else is livable. Still stuff to do, but it'll be a "process."

Did I mention our FINAL INSPECTION IS SCHEDULED FOR TOMORROW AFTERNOON?

Wish us luck!

Yes, I'm still out here (kinda)

Oh my, I didn't mean for it to be so long. So much to report. Wondering if anyone still cares (not sure I would after 6 weeks of absence!) So let's cut to the chase:

M's back is better. She's probably at 95% normal. Still needs to be careful. I have been to the house maybe 6 or 7 times since I started working again. Lots of hours and lots of travel. Luckily the progress continues. We are VERY close. Here's the update:

* Deck just about complete (maybe totally?) Not sure about the top pieces for each panel (like a cap). Stairs done, landing pad poured, railings on.
* Office stairs in progress (haven't been out there so not sure status). Landing pad poured.
* All handles/door pulls on. Still need to do weatherstripping.
* Dryer installed. Washer still to be done? Not sure. Laundry room basket storage/folding table complete. Need handles for cabinets
* Dishwasher purchased and ready for pickup. Stove and Fridge in place (maybe not hooked up yet?)
* May have found Marble slab for island yesterday. Closest one we've seen yet. Waiting for fabrication bids (expensive!)
* Toilet in powder room installed and working (I got to be the first to use it--too much information?) Still need to install pedestal sink and purchase faucet.
* Interior stairs hardwood still needs to be laid. Railing ordered--may be in.
* Vanity in Guest bath done and in place. Ordered sink, just got the call that it's in. M in the process of installing fixtures in tub. Toilet is in and working.
* Master closet (and guest and coat closets) still need rods.
* Master bath: we're stuck. Our painter offered to paint our vanities (all prepped and ready) as a housewarming gift but hasn't picked them up yet. Shower tile still needs installation. We were waiting for M's back to heal. We're close.
* Need to pick out carpet for bedrooms. General idea of what we want, just need to find time to shop for it.

Whew! There's some other stuff we've done (outside) and some new lighting, etc. I promise to show pix soon, but wanted to check in and ask you to hang in there with me and my sporadic posting.

We're getting ready to plan our housewarming. You're all invited (who are you all anyway?). : )

Vanity

As in, the bathroom sink kind, not the concern about how we look.

M is still down with her bad back. VERY slow progress. Our goal is for her to be able to tie her own shoes by March 31 when I leave for 6 days. I am cautiously optimistic. As for me, I'm trying to talk myself down from feeling like the next handful of days are my last days ever to work on the house, and the time is wasted because M is not up to working, yet. This is all a result of starting a new job next week, and knowing that with a fair amount of travel in my immediate future, my time to contribute anything substantial to the house will be minimal.

But onward! We have been making progress on our guest bath vanity. We started it BBB (before bad back) and have continued a bit while M has been hurting. And by continue I mean that she's been standing beside me with her umbrella cane (she calls it Mr. Peanut) and coaching me through what to do. For some reason, though, she seems to not want me to use the chop or table saw. Hmmmm. Anyway, here are the beginning stages of the vanity construction.

First M built a basic box. Then we started with our cladding materials:

Yes, those are pallets.

We disassembled them (read: cut through the screws holding them together) to get our planks.

The leftover pile.

Then I made five "washes" of paint (from interior leftovers we had on hand). I just watered it down in: pale green (white + guest bath green), guest bath green, powder room dark gray, laundry floor light gray and some random medium blue we had a tester for. Here I am painting. Yes, it looks like an animal living on my head (trying to grow my hair out a bit).

The finished planks drying. The colors are more intense than shown here, but because of the late day sun they look washed out.

One side attached, mostly. This is still in progress, so more to come. Again, colors are a bit brighter in person, but still subtle. This is the "public" side that will be next to the toilet. The left side will be nearly against the wall. We're considering a tin top with an overmount sink.

Another (slightly different) view. We have a few more steps to finish and may get to do that today depending on how well I take direction from M, and whether she can trust my measurements (I hate measuring tiny increments with a tape measure--I'm always 1/8 inch off!).






Stay tuned for more progress. Oh yeah, and that white stuff that's all over the driveway? Well, when we tore the original house down, we had a lot of old stucco (backed by chicken wire-like backing) and so to keep our driveway from getting too muddy or weed infested, we laid it down there (as a maybe temporary measure). It helps, but it uneven and I've nearly tripped so many times!

Back in black

Ok, not an AC/DC reference, but a reference to M's back, which is still in a terrible way. Also, though, a reference to my new employment gig.

I start my new job on the 27th, and make a trip to NJ on the 31st. So kinda back. In black. Yah, I know it's not exactly the correct reference. Whatever.

We've tried to work, and I do have some photos to show of the vanity we've been constructing for the guest bathroom. Plus today we did some plumbing (very cool, one of my favorite jobs so far) though it was not a good level, angle, or job for M to be involved with.

I promise to be back with photos soon. But I need to find a way to convince M to take a few more days off to heal her back. It's so hard to lie around, and so frustrating to everyone, but it's important.

Meanwhile, I'm assessing my work wardrobe, and hoping that my new (consulting) gig will afford me the opportunity to get to see all my east coast peeps in the upcoming weeks, as it seems I will be making multiple trips to my old stomping grounds. If you are there in earshot of NJ, send me an email at karensedmonds@yahoo.com and let's coordinate! : )