The Pieces Are Coming Together

As I sit here contemplating my navel, waiting for Barbara to retire....

I thought I would go over the last year, mostly subsequent to the entries for the construction in Englewood. Most of my time was indeed married to the construction, and Barbara was working, working, working.

We took three major trips between the beginning of 2009 and today, all in the truck. We went to the east coast and visited with much of Barbara's family, while we packed and hauled items from her parent's estate to New Mexico. Then we went to the west coast to see Trudy, Cami and, for the first time, Gabe & Alina - Tru's grands. From there it was up to Vancouver to see Brian and Michelle's family and to look at the housing market in the northwest.

Then it was all work until Christmas, when we went back to the northwest to spend Christmas with Brian's family and buy a house if one was available that we wanted. Fortunately for us there was, and we made an offer which was accepted. In January, I returned to sign the papers and move our stuff out of storage, so all we have to do now is bail out of Crownpoint and complete our move.

So sometime between March 15th and the 22nd we are outta here, and the next chapter begins. We are lining up some kid and dog sitting in June for Colorado, and going to Scotland in July for the first of what we hope will be many trips as tourists. I will definitely post a report of our Scotland tour.

John

The Floors are Finished!

We are just about ready for our final inspection! John finished the large task of installing the wood floors for the addition and Brendan installed the wood on the stairs. The banister is up on the stairs. It just needs some stain at some point. The kitchen is complete and all of the appliances are hooked up. They are both working on trim throughout the house - a large task that takes time and patience!

Counters and fences...it's looking good!

The long awaited granite tops were delivered and installed today. The first two pictures are the bar area in the dining room followed by John and Barbara's kitchen counters and then their bathroom "grotto." Now we just have to get the faucets in and hooked up and we are good to go. After 4 months of a relatively open back yard, Jameson is nice and secure with the new section of fence up. Of course now that he can relax outside in the sun without running away, he would rather nap on the couch. Go figure!

Goodbye Fred...

We said goodbye to Fred the shed today. It served us well and let us put a ton of things in him. We are very excited to see the backyard again. Got grass anyone?

Bet You Thought We Were Done...

Well, the answer is no. However, we are really on our way. The tile is done on the main floor as well as all the areas in the bathrooms. John has worked a tremendous amount on his kitchen cabinets and will have them up and ready for appliances by early this week. We also painted and painted and painted. John did most of the ceilings while Barbara and Meg worked on the walls. The great room is just about finished. It is "Svelte Sage" and ready for trim and crown molding. All the furniture is in and Brendan has the speakers throughout the house dialed in with a remote that he can use anywhere (we call it 'Tim Rainwater' style ; )). While we are tired and achy, we are loving the progress and excited for the next week. We expect the plumber and HVAC guys to finish complete their jobs as well as completing a dry wall punch list. We also plan to empty "Fred" our nice trailer that has held everything in our backyard since April. Once Fred is empty we will move dirt and get him hauled away. After that, you all have to come and help us landscape and move in. Sounds like fun, right???

Looking at the pictures, there are two views of the house, one of the shower tile in the boys bathroom upstairs, John and Barbara's bath tile, the main floor bathroom tile, John and Barbara's kitchen cabinets (some of the uppers are not hung yet), and then 3 pictures of the great room as you pan to the left from the fireplace.

Special Posting for Garret and Owen

Well, your Daddy and I worked very hard over the last 4 days, and I have some things to show you. First is your bathroom, without the shower walls and then with them. Also Grammy and Papa's floor with the tub and shower walls.

We finished the floor of the family room and the dining room. First is the dining room when we started to do it, then when it was finished. Then there is a picture of the family room. There sure is a lot of room to play in there!!

Here is another picture of the family room, then we want you to know that Jameson is still interested in only one thing -- bunnies in the front yard. Grammy arrives today, and we can't wait to see you!

Love,
Papa

Contractor Finishing, Wood Floors Starting

Tomorrow the contractor will finish tape and texture, and primer painting will be done Monday. This will complete his contract except for the odds and ends that must be done to finalize. The tile installer has put the tile on the floor in the addition, and is lining the shower area, which is shown below, along with the great room, ready for texture. We moved the appliances back into the kitchen, along with the table, and they all needed serious cleaning.

We started the wood floor in Brendan and Megan's family room today, and it looks wonderful, if I do say so myself. From a production standpoint, we did about 30 sq ft per hour, and got 2/3 of the room done. Tomorrow we will finish it and perhaps finish the dining room. Sunday we will finish the floor if necessary, them move kitchen cabinets from storage to the great room in the addition.