Tidbits

And while all that was happening, we had to think about things like ---

kitchen cabinets.  Why?  Because the kitchen outlets and lighting had to be placed correctly.  Where is the frig going?  Counters?  Need water lines for anything?  Uh-oh.

So now we have a preliminary cabinet layout.

Check out the 3-D that Colleen did for us.

And why is Neal moving one of the front windows over?  To increase the sink counter by - get this - 2 and a half INCHES.  You ask, is it worth it?  Ahhh....

And on a nice Sunday, he got away from his wiring to build a long-awaited trellis for our "A Shropshire Lad" climbing rose.  It's already budding out, due to our super-mild winter.

And finally, the everlasting punchlist.  Neal's take on it is endearing, no?

Shredding 2013

As if I know the difference between powder and blue ice...

Neal, Jan, Luna, and Uma, celebrating Neal's birthday on the mountain

Uma casting - a shadow?? - don't see them much around here.

But wait - what about the house? Have we been ski bums since Christmas?

No.  We haven't.

RIGHT after Peter finished up the plumbing (and filled the lines with water to check them, whereupon water sluiced into the building.  One of the new pipes had a dime-sized hole in it...how's that for quality control?  Glad it wasn't underground.), Neal started on the electrical.  

Whee-ow, you would not believe all of the wiring in the house.  They tell us it's a simple one...

Simple or no, we're grateful to Andy and Ashley, who came and tamed the medusa.

Setting up a temporary woodstove helps fingers stay thawed.  It will dry the drywall mud eventually.

One of the most difficult things is figuring out where everything should go, before the house even looks like a house.  This is our comm box.  The wires go to our phone and data jacks.  Where do we need data jacks?  Who knows...  but we guessed.

BIG DAYS --  on the 13th, the inspector signed off on our rough-in mechanical and plumbing.
Then on the 14th, the state inspector approved our rough-in electrical.  How's that for a birthday gift? Go Neal.

That means we're good to cover.  And thank goodness, neither one of us wanted to cover it ourselves!  On Monday the 25th, a crew arrives to insulate.

How many shingles does it take....?

Watching Neal finish up the exterior reminds me of beading.  Little tiny beads, sewn on one by one - and eventually, the piece is done.

His coup-de-grace is the hand-split shingles on the gable ends of the house.  The cedar is from our land.  To see it, you'd think it was a black burnt lump on the ground.  But when split, the beautiful old-growth wood comes to light.

Wacking it with the fro

Splitting a shake off

He'll trim up the edges, and then they're ready to use.

These are the store-bought version, cut to a fixed dimension.  Here he is, finishing up the last of the second story siding. We've trimmed the windows and doors with cedar also.