The Sky Came Down

It was a humid evening, with light showers all afternoon. We were anxious to see the kitchen cabinets, so planned a picnic dinner out at the house. We have been doing that at least once a week for the past month or two. The mist was heavy in the valley. This picture was taken just down the road from our place.

The kitchen cabinets were all still in boxes, so unfortunately they remain a mystery.

Most of the light fixtures and smoke alarms have been installed. I spent an hour on line last night and approximately $500, ordering compact fluorescent lamps for all of the light fixtures! This is the fan in the library.

Several of the window sills and trim have been installed too. They look really sharp.

This wood on the back porch is for the window trim in the Great Room.

All of the interior doors were delivered today as well. A bunch of them are in storage in the Master Bed Room.

These ones have been painted and are out on the porch.

The wood ceiling in the Kitchen/Dining Room is nearly completed. The builder was there late finishing the solatube. Even at 7:45 PM on a cloudy evening, it was generating a lot of light.

We put the girls to work filling their little red wagon with scraps of wood and taking it to the burn pile. They had fun, but got very muddy (as did the wagon) in the process.

A Bright Spot

It was dry but cloudy most of the day today...a nice break from the 24/7 wetness we've been having lately. I think it is happening because we are trying to get the shingles on! J got her school work done in record time today, so we had time for baking Chocolate Chip Banana Bread to share with our builders while L napped.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

recipe adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

3 c flour (1/2 whole wheat)

1 c sugar

1 1/8 tsp baking soda

3/4 t salt

2 c mashed bananas (about 3-4 large)

9 T melted butter, cooled**

3 eggs

1/2 c yogurt (plain or vanilla)

1 1/2 t vanilla

3/4 c mini chocolate chips

Whisk together dry ingredients. Combine remaining ingredients except chocolate chips. Mix all ingredients together until moist. Divide into 2 small loaf pans, greased, and bake at 350* for 45-50 minutes. **This recipe actually works without all this butter, as I discovered after coming home from delivering the bread and finding my melted butter still in the microwave! It is a bit more chewy than normal, but I think I'll try decreasing it for the next time!**

We arrived on Poplar Ridge just as some sprinkles started to come down. The girls and I disappeared into the woods for a stroll, where we were sheltered from the rain by the trees. We looked half-heartedly for ramps and morels (no crawling through the underbrush, in other words), but none were to be seen from the path.

The photo at the beginning of this post is of our Solatube in the kitchen ceiling. In spite of the fact that it was gray and rainy, you can see that it let in quite a lot of light! This is the way it looks from the outside...just a "bubble" on the roof!

The roofers did manage to get most of the roof shingled so far this week, to my delight. The hip roof, and garage remain...probably just part of a day's work for them!

The dry-wallers have made good progress on the first floor. Most of the walls and ceilings are covered. Here is the kitchen...

...and the great room. Hubby noted that the rooms are feeling bigger again now that they are being closed in. Seems paradoxical, but it's true!

The power was turned on in the house today, the builders used the first 2 indoor outlets instead of running an extension cord in from the pole. They also got the siding on the house and breezeway behind the porch. The windows are trimmed out, and the soffit is going on...looks nice...like a finished house! They will still have to paint once everything is sided, but it LOOKS like progress!

I worked my last day of the school year yesterday, so I am feeling on top of the world! According to what I've read, J should have met the criteria to complete her school year by the end of this week as well. I would like for her to finish her subjects before summer, but we will still be finished well before moving day.

Oh, and another thing...

I have been trying to update this blog for the past 24 hours. First the computer crashed, twice, while I was trying to edit photos. Then the computer chair was usurped by my husband. Then life happened, and we actually made yet another trip up the hill tonight for a pre-vacation meeting with the builder.

So, we have finally reached that point in our building experience where I get a call every day or so from the builder with questions. It's nice to know that we've reached the point where we need to pick out faucets and what-not for the bathrooms. But now we've really reached the point where our "Over-Budget" bill is rising. We have decided to have a wood ceiling put in the great room and kitchen, and possibly a Solatube in the kitchen.

The builder is making lots of lists too. This one is downstairs.

The tinted concrete looks great now that it is completely dry. This shot shows it up against the block of the garage.

Here are the girls' hand prints...a bit hard to make out.

Speaking of the girls...they have decided that the big equipment is the best place to play lately. This time they brought along their baby dolls.

Most of the wiring in the house is done. I couldn't get a shot of the circuit board in the girls' closet because I would have gotten another butt shot of one of the crew. These are a few of the recessed lighting cans in the kitchen/dining room. They are all over the place! (No more bare light bulbs in closets!)

The egress window well arrived for the girls' window downstairs. The very nice folks at Wayne Lumber brought it out for me, and stayed for a quick look at the house. This came in 4 sections, and includes steps for exiting/entering. It is designed to be large enough to fit a firefighter with equipment.

We have had thunder storms and quite a bit of rain in the past 24 hours. The driveway has held up very well so far. I haven't shown pictures of our field and stream (Wisecarver Run) because they aren't where the action is at lately. However, things are completely soggy and flooded over there. It would probably help if we dig all the old tires and crap out of it, but we are focused elsewhere at the moment.

I should be focusing on packing at this moment. By the end of next week, we are promised showers, tubs and toilets!