Dec 8 - Solstice, One Year Later

So what happened after December 8th last year?

It's December 23rd, 2014, and I just sat down to finish the adventing that I started last year.  Got reading the entries of November and December, marveling at how much we were accomplishing each day.  How did we do it? 

Most astonishing is my inability to remember the details until I read my daily entries.  Then it all comes back. So grateful that I kept up with the blog, so I'll have the prompts to remember this energetic feat, this massive and demanding project that culminated in our warm, sunny, beautiful home. 

True to my memory's pattern, I don't recall the details of the days.  I remember the constancy, the unending details to be solved.  The focus and mania that comes with impending Deadline. And I remember the call from Kenny, when he said that he wanted to sponsor a button blanket for Neal for his 50th birthday. It never rains, but it pours, you say?  Deluge, more like.

In the big picture, this was a project to delight in.  How many of us get to work with friends to design and sew a ceremonial blanket for their partners? 

In the December picture, part of me shuddered at the thought of adding yet another project.  There is a peculiar and distinctive feeling of stretching, of thinness, when the limits of your stamina are tested. 

While Neal skated and pounded out the house, I stole away four or five times that month, drinking tea at Kenny's, talking symbols.  Unbelievably, we kept it a secret until the "mbira party" that Patrick hosted.  Cosmos - Neal - was oblivious that it was all for him until the circle formed, and Kenny stepped in front of him with an open journal.  "What's happening?" Neal said.

Neal was receiving his Flicker blanket, that's what.

The other marker in my memory is Solstice.  Literally days before Sonja was to fly in, the community gathers for two days of winter Solstice celebration.  Neal packed up the truck with food and warm clothes, and went to join them.

I couldn't leave the house.  It was ready. Neal had busted out the punch list, and a mad sucking sound followed his tools out of the house. It was ready, but every surface was covered with construction dust.  I stayed at home, and spent three entire days wiping every inch of the house.

It was easier than I expected, and more extensive than I could have dreamed.  Easier, because it wasn't really dirty.  It was just dusty.  No cooking grease or woodstove ash.  Nothing from people.  Just dust dust dust on everything.  I wiped it all.  It was oddly grounding.  Claiming, almost.

Such a clean, unused place. It needed people.  And on the 23rd, it got them.  First, Sonja and Uma:

Then, the first fire in the woodstove.  

Christmas Eve brought Kenny.  Kenny and Neal, working their magic in the kitchen:

And on the 25th, our first Christmas in our home.

We love you, House!!

Adventing

We find that we are counting down the month of December - not in anticipation of Santa, but of another miraculous event: moving in.  My parents arrive on the 27th, and we want to be in the house.

To mark the sprint, I'll try to catch the jist of our days.

December 1st -  Sunday

Milled up closet rods and stair handrail
Installed air intake pipe under wood stove - ready for first burn
Continued install of shower doors - drilled holes for thresholds, found that Jan tilted one shower curb out instead of in: will have to grind it down
Jan grouted the final pieces of base, trim and backsplash in both baths, helped with adding and subtracting integers (Uma's homework), did laundry, cleaned the Cabin

December 2nd - Monday

Continued construction of the many pieces of the closet shelving
Milled and painted trim pieces for stairway

In crawlspace, insulated bathtub plumbing and added plywood
Cleanup of back porch in anticipation of wind and cold temperatures due tonight


Jan replaced insulation in crawlspace that Peter moved to install plumbing, ordered glass for kitchen cabinet, pulls for kitchen, and talked with Doug about scheduling our blower door test, talked with the County about the Notice of Value which increases the house to $185,000, for which we'll have to pay property taxes for 2013.
Amy stopped by to see the house
Salvador dug 12" trench from house to studio, Neal laid conduit and Cat5 wire for data
At 9pm, Neal went back out to put finish on more cabinetry wood

The temperature plummets tonight.  The morning finds the ground frozen, and us grateful that we completed the insulation and ditching yesterday.

December 2nd - Tuesday

The shelves and drawers are assembled and attached, awaiting facing wood from the mainland.

The first of the kitchen backsplash tile:  purchased at the Portland architectural salvage store a year ago, this tile - by absolute chance - was formulated to match the Kohler "biscuit" finish.  Which happens to be our kitchen sink color.  Bonus!  At 50 cents a square foot, this wins the Best Find prize.

December 3rd - Wednesday

Two small things left:  the faces, and switching the door swing from 'in' to 'out'.  My first closet in 15 years:  I am inordinately thrilled.

Kitchen backsplash continues...

December 5th - Thursday

Neal heads off-island with a list; wood and supplies and fitting his new ski boots.  Several phone conversations with him from the aisles of Home Depot:  which cover plates, which mirrors, which knobs...

I install another light fixture, several outlets, and the ceiling fan motor.  Was worried about this, but turns out to be the most readable, easily followed set of directions thus far.

Made the first forays into the "Obamacare" health care plans, which must be applied for by December 25th.  Did I need another paperwork task?  Really?

December 6th - Friday

Oh - one more thing in my closet.  The base.  He put it in today.

And the trim along the ceiling in the hall.

And built the shelving for the first floor bathroom.

In the morning, I ran around putting the last of the cover plates (that are ready to be covered, anyway).  Opened Chimera Gallery at 10, and Patty agreed to cover for me between 1:30 and 3:30, so I could be at home when Doug from Sage Building Solutions came by to run our blower door test.

This is big.  It's a new requirement for permitting in San Juan County:  it's a pass/fail test for now.  If you fail the first time, you can try to improve the problems, and then pay to run the test again.  If you fail a second time, you're grandfathered in.  The idea is to start getting designers, builders, and homeowners thinking about increasing energy efficiency and ventilation.

Doug set up this unit in a doorway

 and used it to bring the pressure inside our house to 50 pascals.  Then he used this gizmo

to monitor the air flowing back into the house through cracks, openings, gaps, etc.  He also took us around the house with an infrared sensor, and on the screen we could see the 'hot spots' where cold air was entering the building.  Then he used San Juan County's formula, and determined that -

Yes!  We passed.

Whew.  This means that once Neal installs the stair railing, we can ask for our final inspection.  Since the kitchen cabinet that houses the hood exhaust (that must be installed before the backsplash, that must be installed before the stove - and still isn't scheduled to arrive before the 12th) isn't in yet, the inspector said he's willing to show that as an exception, since the duct can be in place.

December 7th - Saturday

In the morning, we decided to try a different backsplash in the upstairs bathroom.  We held up two different bathroom mirrors that he brought home, and decided to keep one and look for another.   The cellular blind samples came in the mail:  I'm rooting for them in the bedrooms and upstairs bath before we move in.

Neal puzzled over the stair railing angles and regulations.  The brackets are up, and the pieces are cut and waiting on the living room floor.

And, of course, there's a step backwards: the designated rail height means that it will cross directly in front of the light switches.  So he went to Sunset to buy a cut-in box, so he can move the switches.  What's that, Nancy?  "Another Rookie Mistake?"  Yep.

I did another kitchen backsplash session, after thawing out the tile saw pump in a bucket of warm water which I had to bring from inside the studio since the hose bibs are all frozen.  Good news is that the kitchen is warm and sun-filled, a complete contrast to the Cabin kitchen, which is dark and Cold.

After a week of freezing temperatures - odd for Lopez - the ponds have ice ready for skating.  Neal took off with his skates, a thermos of chai, his hockey stick, knee pads, and a big smile. 

December 8th - Sunday

Ponds are still frozen - and Neal's still skating! 

I set up another section of tiling in the kitchen.  Then I installed the puck lights in the upper cabinet with glass doors. 

Turned to ordering more items, anticipating slower deliveries because of the holidays.

For once, our Sunday was more like a weekend day than another work day.

Acceleration

Only halfway through November...and the progress is astounding.  Due, in part, to the arrival of the subs.

Do you hear grumbling?

No, that's just Peter the Plumber.  But check out the toilet!!

Here I'm putting the legs on the tub, so installation can begin tomorrow.

It fits!  And is that a light fixture on the ceiling? Yes, Jan has been busy.  Lights that really turn on and off, all over the house.  Notice the door, one of many already installed.

Giant sigh of relief.   Neal and I tackled the install of the first shower door and managed it.  Whew.  The warnings on the packaging are daunting.

  Back in the kitchen, Neal goes back to the demo stage, and opens up more room behind the frig, so it will sit flush with the cabinets. 

Small idea, big results.  What you can't see is the line running from the new reverse osmosis water filter to the frig.  Filtered water AND ice.  Amazing, really.

More subs!  The guys from the stone shop are back.  At 7am.  It was like Christmas.  Neal and I were practically shivering from excitement.

We still adore our granite.  Look at this inclusion!

All of the counters are in, with the sinks siliconed in place.  What a difference a morning makes...

And the next morning (yep.  at 7am), the Kinetico installer arrived with the reverse osmosis unit and the conditioning system.

Mike did brilliant work in our pumphouse.  It was a rubik's cube of a problem, and he solved it in style. 

Now we'll just find out how to fix the little leak under the counter...

Meanwhile Neal, Kenny, Salvador and David wrestle the 625 lb. woodstove onto the hearth.

And we receive our least-local item: vintage door pulls from where?  Estonia?  A prize if you can tell me where that is without going to the google!

But of course, we found them on Etsy.  Don't you love it?

Had to open the package for you...

And finally, we were about to loose it.  Oh, that's right, we DID loose it a few times.  Good thing Jan got those tickets for the ballet.  Kilian + Pite, an incredible show.  Here's an excerpt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88mnjR9ejxs

And Seattle in a glitter storm, courtesy of the hotel!

We needed that.

October Flashes By

Big Exhaltation.  Neal turned cabinet installer, and true to form managed it beautifully.

But wait - what am I remembering - is it the discovery that 33"w sink base cabinets are no longer the norm, and the sink we have chosen is too large?

Or that the upper cabinet that was supposed to support the exhaust hood puts it at the perfect height for Jan, but directly in the line of sight for Neal, who happens to do the cooking? Our cabinet supplier hadn't mentioned this detail, and we didn't think of it. So now the replacement cabinet (that we'll have to pay for ) isn't due to arrive until December 5th. And won't line up with the cabinet you see above.

Or that two base cabinets were incorrect (not our fault, and not our responsibility) ... but we had to wait to start the install until one was modified and another was shipped to us...

There are a string of petit desolations for this photo...but I'll desist.

Because in the end, it's coming together.

Interestingly, about half of the people who walk in the kitchen at this stage comment on how small it is.  The others?  "What a big kitchen!"

Next:  the Saga of the Stone begins.
It's one of our big splurges - stone for the countertops.  It was a splurge because it's something we couldn't do ourselves, and so paid others to do.

This is The Pink.  We spotted the remnant during one of our stone runs to Seattle, tucked in the corner of a fabricator's boneyard. It had been there for years, waiting for us.  It is so unusual and delightful that we came home sure that we had to use it somewhere. 

After MUCH deliberation, we decided on a remnant for one bath that was from the same shop as the kitchen stone.  Easy:  they take care of the transport, fabrication, templates, and installation.

The other bath counter, though, was from the same shop as The Pink.  So Neal built this bomber support rack (which the guys admired), and drove to Seattle with the sink and a template that he made.  Uh - drove the night before, since it had to be at the shop at 8am.

Wait.  Wasn't that also when the sink was shipped to Everett when expected, but then sat in a storage room waiting for the Lopez freight truck to make its' twice-a-week-run?  And Pete, the owner, gave Neal the codes to the gate and the storage room, advised taking a headlamp, and let him pick it up and take it with him to Seattle?

 Exhaltation:  the counter made it all the way home.  We love it.

And check out that incredible cabinet that Neal made with Margie.  More Exhaltation.

But wait.  The guys at the shop suggested that because the sink has a rolled edge, we should reduce the size of the cut-out.  Too bad no one thought to hold the sink up to the modified hole.  Drive it all the way back to Seattle to fix?

Enter the guys who are providing the kitchen counters.  These are the templates that they built to take back to their shop.  Which is in Mount Vernon - much closer than Seattle.

Back onto the truck support goes the slab, to be modified and brought back to us by the this crew.

And a few simultaneous projects:

Here's a preview of the travertine for the hearth. Here I've set it, using a grinder for the soft curved edge. 

And the bookcase is in.  Hello - Exhaltation! 

I'm taking perverse pleasure in dedicating such a prominent part of the living room to the soon-to-be-obsolete BOOK.

Exhaltation Desolation Exhaltation Desolation Exhaltation

You get the picture.  It's been a ride since I last wrote on August 31.

"How's the house coming?" people ask.
"I thought we were working hard on it before", starts my most frequent response "but now it has taken over."

A typical day: up early (OK:  early for us),  breakfast, straight into the house.  I'm mainly installing the electrical trim-out, Neal is finishing up the thousands of pieces of wood that have to be cut, planed, sanded, varnished, and installed.  In the afternoon I leave to go to work, he stays in the house.  At the end of the work day I run with the horse, Neal runs with himself, and then we're back in the house.  He leaves to start dinner at 8 or so, and I come in at 8:30 to eat.  I finish washing the dishes by 9:30, and then we collapse on the sofa for a few minutes before bed.  We've become big fans of series reruns like Northern Exposure or Downton Abbey:  one episode to clear our brains, then it's off to bed.

And happily for all, that's all the details I'll give.

Instead, here are some images that illustrate the swings from extreme pleasure (we did it, look at that!) to desolation (one more problem to research, make numerous phone calls about, and take steps to reverse  --  or just learn to live with).

I'll start with September.

Starting with the most difficult tiles - the ones hanging against gravity -

and the shower base.  To be determined:  will it drain correctly?

Limestone wall tiles hung, but not grouted.

 Shower completed and grouted

What a joy, to do the second bathroom!  Not a question of the 'first time' anymore, and I manage installation of the under-floor heating quickly and more precisely.  Will it work?  We'll see.

The travertine remnants we bought for $3.50/square foot laid up beautifully. Now I've done the grouting and the first coat of sealant.  No base in yet.

 Elsewhere, the tinkertoys have changed a bit.  Now we have kitchen components in the living room, trim begun but not completed.  And is that green on the back wall?  Hm, seems to be a different color these days.

 After Neal's stint on San Juan assisting a master cabinet maker in her workshop, here is the first of the components that he installs -  part of the bookcase in the living room.  A big wow for us, to see cabinetry come into the house.