Photo: Great grandparents at their farm in Blandinsville, IL, with five of their six children .. my grandpa was yet a twinkle in grandma's eye. Stable boy and governess also pictured. Hodges farm, circa 1903-4

Friday, December 22, 2006







A winter wonderland greeted me as I peeked in on the work at the new home. Today the workers had applied a top finish to the basement's stained concrete floor ... next step is a nice polishing ... looking good! We have part of the siding up ... the entire back side is done ... now they're working around to the front.

Photos top to bottom: Front with partial siding up ... taken a few days ago; dining room, new garage doors; evening time; neighbor's cabin (across the street from me).

Saturday, December 16, 2006






This past week all of the drywall was installed and the litter strewn floors were cleaned. No more peeking through the wall studs :) Both garage doors were also installed. Dh's "barn"(garage) is nearly complete! Next week work begins on the outside with the installation of our siding; ceiling insullation is to be "blown" in the attic; carpet and other flooring materials are to be measured; rock for the hearth ordered; tile for the masterbath shower and kitchen backsplash ordered; drywall to be taped ... bullnose corners installed ... and skip troweling the texture on the wall and ceiling surface; and the interior doors and hardware need to be ordered. It will be a busy week to say the least.

Photos (top to bottom) Bonus room (guest/office) above garage; storage area (with tub) in basement; sunny day; basement family room showing fireplace; Ann's bedroom bay window with newly installed cedar shingles.

Sunday, December 10, 2006


Yesterday, DH and I popped on over to the new home. It was an exciting day as quite a bit of the dry-wall had been put up on the walls. Now the interior is taking shape and the rooms are being defined. Hubby has dubbed his garage, The Barn, as it's about the size of one (1150 sq feet) with a 13 foot ceiling. He really liked the surprise of finding a gas heater/fireplace down in the basement. This was his Christmas present from me to him. Tomorrow, we're off to select the exterior rock trim and rock for behind the great room stove and the front of basement fireplace. What am I doing?? Posting and my daughter is getting married in two more hours???? Better run.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006


I actually found a few moments to drive out to our new home. The wall insullation is in and the latest round of county inspections has been completed. Next ... the front door and interior French doors need to be stained and finished along with installing the drywall. Dh will be here to help select the stain colors which will be a big help. Another week closer to our move-in countdown. Things are really coming along. I'm so glad we got the driveway gravel down before all of the snow! The Lord is opening little windows and slots of time to get work done in and around the weather He dishes out. Oh, how thrilled dh is to finally be up and inspecting the progress. He has not seen or walked through the house yet.