At 4 PM today we finally got the OK from the county to have our coveted Occupancy Certificate in hand stating that we could finally move into our newly constructed home. This was the date our builder told us to plan on about four weeks ago. Of course, anything could have happened to postpone the date, but he jumped through many hoops to get it approved today, bless him! So first thing Saturday morning, we will be taking our short U-Haul move across town for the last time! Our driveway was/is ice and snow free so our PODS units were delivered without a hitch! Just last week we had quite a bit of snow accumulated that just finished melting within the past few days. Next week hopefully I can be back with an official home tour. Thanks for all the support, encouragement, and prayers for a successful move.

Down to the wire. Busy bees are we. (WE as in ME!) Tomorrow I'll give dh a load of stuff to take care of when he arrives around noon. Here are a few recent pictures.


Photos: Newly installed banister, foyer, and a shot showing the foyer on the right and the kitchen on the left from great room. Shot taken from back entrance to kitchen (with stove still out of place) looking into the green dining room.

Dh arrives a week from today! The new home is busy with workers til the late hours of the day. Last night I thought I'd take a little drive out there about 9:30 PM ... in my bright blue robe and jammies to walk around without all the workers in the way ... what do I find??? but workers still working! Needless to say I turned around and drove back to my rental home (hee, hee). This week my clawfoot tub got installed (still waiting to get the plumbing hooked up) ... all of the lights are working now, and more of the interior trim work got painted. Today the front steps were built leading up to the covered porch. Over the weekend a cleaning lady will begin the first phase of the clean up. She'll come back once again right before we move in. The carpet will be the last thing to get installed.

Photos: bonus/guest room above garage, foyer with new lights installed

Anyone out there that is a regular reader, I have a prayer request. Please pray that the weather channel is off its rocker by predicting snow for the next ten days. For my Michigan friends, guess what?? Probably means some of this will be heading your way, and you sensed spring in the air didn't you? My moving company, PODS, will not deliver to my driveway if there is snow or ice on it. I'm tempted to get a very large heat gun and melt any precipitation that sticks :). In the meantime, the workers are busy taking turns installing light fixtures, plugs, and fans this week. The trim molding is gorgeous and adds such a vintage/craftsman feeling to the home. Today was a bit hectic as I had my cell phone, caller ID, school bus, mailman, and a neighbor require my attention all within a four minute period! My mind just cannot multi-task with more than two items in the frying pan at a time ;)

The picture of the vintage ironing board cabinet with the rustic and crackled (dinged up, peeling paint look :) is the reason for my grungy fingers as reported in my other blog. You see, I gutted, stripped, refinished and inverted it then had it built into my kitchen wall; this will be my new spice cabinet. It holds even those large Costco size bottles. The opening at the top of the door (appears as a small golden rectangle) is waiting for a glass front (and glass shelves inside). Of course it will be that old vintage looking glass that has a few ripples/distortions in it. An amber glass/oil rubbed bronze pull knob and new hinges will grace it too. This was a big debate (in my mind :) "Do I take the chance of having it installed and then not liking it leaving me with a big hole in my wall ... or do I just go for it and use my gut instinct about it? I chose to use my gut and not my wishy-washy mind. You ask, but it's golden and brown??? Yes, you see, when the cream backsplash gets installed in the kitchen, there are iridescent gold and beige and eggplant glass tile accents. And my vintage dining room light has amber prisms (much like the ones used by Pollyanna in the book and movie ;). The French doors have been finished to match the front door; they grace the bonus room above the garage.

Getting things in high gear: This morning I stopped in to see what was going on in the finish production of our home. The painters were patching and sanding and prepping the interior trim molding prior to painting this week. The contractor was making the final decisions (with my help) on the design of the banister rail and newel post placement. Mr. Alarm guy was there finishing up the alarm system (and I thought he was done weeks ago). Mr. Cabinet guy was there inspecting the bead board interior of a kitchen cabinet that was replaced with the correct finish ... and adding the wooden shelves that have cutouts for future inset glass in said cabinet. I was informed that the granite people would be replacing the kitchen sink & counter top since it was a breach in their own policy that caused the wrong sink to be installed in the first place. DH was not pleased with the oversight nor was the contractor. It really was a pathetic sink as one side was not even big enough for more than a few cups and small saucers to rest inside of it. I have a similar sink in our rental and have had glass bowls and pots actually get quite stuck and this sink is even smaller. So I consented to having it replaced after saying I'd live with it. Hey, when you're paying this kind of money and someone else messes up like that, they should make it right, right?? Our master bathroom floor is installed and the shower is 3/4's tiled. With only three weeks until our agreed upon move-in date, things are happening fast.

Photos: Sink in question, tile in M/B shower, hickory floor, granite counter in M/bath

My builder will let me know officially tomorrow, but He thinks our move in date will be March 9th. He has to get the OK from the county planning office, which will be tomorrow sometime. Not too far off from the end of February; I can live with that. Today the granite counters were installed in the kitchen and two of the bathrooms. They came out bee-U-tee-ful ! I didn't have the heart to tell the builder that the granite people supplied the wrong kitchen sink ... there's nothing that could be done now ... and I'll just learn to love this one. Since it's an under mount and the sink holes are already in, nothing can be done . I'm not the type of person to have it all ripped out over something like that. Besides, the granite was hard to come by in this shade. Such a little woe when you consider much of what's going on the the world, and I AM getting a new house :) Wait til the cream color trim molding is in and the cream travertine back splash with a few bold iridescent glass accent pieces thrown in randomly are installed, then you'll see the connection of the wood and cream finishes and white modern appliances. (Trust me :)

Photos: Rock skirting under garage windows (front of house), Kitchen showing bead board at counter bar area (the bead board in the cabinet needs to be switched to a distressed cream color .. they put in white), rock fireplace surround with mantle.

Peeking in on the progress today, I found the front door installed. (The dark zig-zag lines are from a shadow). The windows have paper over them still, but I'm very pleased with the color. Down in the basement I found the fireplace ready for it's rock face and the split log mantel installed. It's got a fire going to help heat up the room until our furnace is officially turned on. Now I'll have to stain and varnish the log sometime next week. I'm becoming a regular "handy-woman".

Shaping Up ... the interior is coming together this week with most of the cabinets now installed. Take a peek and see the progress.

I'm going to be so bold as to have a count down 'til move in. Dh needs to make his travel arrangements very soon ... so I'm going to trust our builder that the home will be ready by the end of February. Over the next two weeks much of the final interior appointments are scheduled to be finished up. This coming week the cabinets get installed in the rooms that have flooring completed. The trim molding and painting of said trim will take about two weeks to finish. Once the cabinets are installed in the kitchen (tomorrow - Monday - 1/22/07), then the template can be made for the counter tops (they should take about ten days to make and install). The most important item I'd like completed is the banister rail in the foyer ... currently there is just a "drop off" down to the basement ... this limits my time inspecting the progress to when Nathan is in school (AM) ... and it's better to inspect in the afternoon to see the day's progress after the workers have quit for the day. The front porch steps and steps leading up from inside the garage to the house also need to be done. Once we do make the move, the builder has some outside projects that have to wait until spring ... i.e. concrete patios that need the ground cleared of snow ... and dried out and some exterior trim that needs painting. We had quite a bit of snow Friday night and the temps have been in the twenties and thirties (a warm spell from last week). Being that this project got started 11 weeks behind schedule, I'm pleased with the progress. We're in the home stretch of the race.

The inside walls are finished being painted. Ann wanted to know why the plaster wall texture looks uneven and like her grandma's walls :) She prefers the orange peel finish ... but I like the rustic texture of the hand applied plaster. My pictures (digital) are a bit hazy due to poor lighting inside ... and such bright outside light streaming through the windows. The bathroom, kitchen, and dining room floors are installed and look gorgeous. Next week the wood floors get installed. Tomorrow the trim molding and inside doors will begin to be installed ... and let's not forget that the electrician will begin putting in all the plugs and switches. The big decision yesterday was almond or white switch/plug plates. I've opted for white (glad that decision is over :) The garage walls should be getting taped and textured soon. Today I've been searching for a rustic log for the fireplace mantel in the basement ... I think the example shown is what will be ordered. It's made from white cedar and is similar to what dh mentioned he liked. This morning I had the nerve to go shopping for living room couches. Hope dh approves ... he did mention leather. I'm picky about leather and prefer the type that looks better with age, scratches, spills, etc. A less processed leather that is pretty indestructible with kids and ages well after time and use. It's been a busy but productive week. Looking like our home instead of just a bunch of pencil drawings on napkins

Photos: sofa and love seat ... same style but a wee bit lighter leather. Log mantels in showroom. Great room after being painted.

Yesterday the siding was completed. The only outside surface not covered is soon to be sporting a nice rock skirt below the garage windows. The plastering is completed inside and the "old world" plaster finish on the main floor looks fantastic. Even the "orange peel" finish in the other rooms is actually nice ... not too heavy of an application. Today the painter begins his magic of transforming the colorless walls into warm and inviting rooms.

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).

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.

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.

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.