Broke

Crazy is the new normal. At least here it is. We have learned to go with the flow, and deal with the stuff that's going on. There are times, however, that it really gets to be too much. Then, I have a good cry, talk to my friends, and move on.



I've mentioned the roof raising planned for this week. All is going well, and the work is actually ahead of schedule.



We have had quite a crew this week, 4 of whom are staying here at the house. Mom and I, and my aunt have been quite busy just keeping up with meals, dishes and laundry. Last night I spent 4 hours cleaning up the mess in the girls' bathroom that was the result of the "grey water" (waste water from the sinks and washer) backing up into the tub. It was over flowing with dark brown water, and left a ring of coffee grounds and alphabet noodle when all was said and done. The good news was that 2 bathrooms, and the laundry room were not affected by the blockage, the bad news was that the kitchen was.

Today the poopsmith was out with his video snake. He was able to determine that the blockage was WAY out in the yard, not too far from where the whole thing empties out over the hill. Apparently something heavy drove over it and pulled a section apart, so it took the next 9 months for the dirt between the two ends to pack down enough to completely block it. So now there is a hole in the yard, but the water goes down the drain again.



In the meantime, I've managed to develop a wound infection where I had a thorn from one of those nasty multiflora rose bushes. JP has me on antibiotic horse pills 4 times a day for forever.

The best thing about yesterday was the half off Peeps, of which I bought a rainbow of colors!

Whew!

We have been very busy shuttling back and forth from Poplar Ridge lately. I have been out every day since last Wednesday when the appliances arrived. Unfortunately I have forgotten the camera on most of the trips! Our electrical inspection went well, so we should be able to hook up to power very soon!

Monday evening, we went up to meet with the builder to discuss the kitchen case work, and choose our cabinet style. It ends up that by purchasing the separate cooktop and wall ovens, we are needing more cabinets...over $3000 more! I've always heard that the kitchens and baths suck up the money, but I never expected the extreme! By a gracious coincidence, the builder realized that he had priced the kitchen with solid surface counter-tops, and we have decided to go with high quality laminate, so that will save us a bit. We are getting oak cabinets, in a stain to match the flooring. This is similar to the style and color we chose.

The builder stopped by today with carpet and tile samples. He brought more tile samples with him than in all of the Lowe's store we visited on Saturday! We drove out after lunch to put some winter clothes in storage and check the new placement of the vacuum kick plate in the kitchen. (We asked them to move it from next to the kitchen sink, to the end of the breakfast bar to make it accessible to both kitchen and dining room.)

I have been looking on line for light fixtures, but it is a bit overwhelming...there are literally thousands of choices! I have tried to narrow it down by choosing Energy Saver models, but still haven't found just the right thing!

In the meantime, the roofers are due out yet this week. In order to be completely ready for the shingles, the porch roof is on, and the chimney is up.

In addition, the porch roof over the front door is on...looks really nice! It mimics the prow out front.

Today, they are putting in the insulation in the ceilings and the walls. The drywallers are scheduled for Monday.

Signs of Spring

It was a glorious day today! It started out a bit nippy, but warmed up to the mid thirties by mid-day. We took the opportunity, while the mud was frozen, to hike around the property.

We had to stop for a rest and a snack, half-way through the walk.

Everywhere we looked, there were signs of Spring. The poplars are blooming on Poplar Ridge!

Tiny fingers of fern were uncurling from beneath the skeletons of last years leaves. The grass was verdant near a spring on the hillside.

The last bit of roof is on the house now.

The prow comes out over the deck in front.

This is the view from inside. There will be another row of windows above the french doors in front.

I liked the air pockets under the ice in our "moat". J usually comes around with a piece of board and smashes all the ice, so I had to snap this quickly!

Hooray for Spring!

Oh...NOW I get it!

The roof is basically on our house, with the exception of the roof over the upstairs deck which will span the space between the "bump outs" in front.

I am finally able to "see" what the house is going to look like. It has taken me a long time because I have a spatial handicap. This is the great room, with cathedral ceilings...changing light bulbs might be a challenge in here!

Under the dropped ceiling will be our dining room and kitchen. Kitchen counters will extend up to the space for the stairs, with the pantry wall taking shape at the far right of this picture.

This is the opening in the wall of my work space. Yes, you heard right: I get my own room again! (Of course, I have to share space with such feminine things as the washer & dryer, freezer, and the coats and boots.) I will, however, have cabinets and a built in desk which looks out over the Great Room through this opening. It will have a pull-down door of some sort.

If you examine this picture closely, you can see that the ceiling in the Master Bedroom is not even. There will be a tray ceiling in this room and the study on the opposite side of the Great Room. This is a nice feature that we forgot to delete during one of our cost-cutting sessions.

Here is a view from the main entrance of the house, with the hip roof completed, and space for a small window for lighting purposes.

It is so exciting to see things looking more like a house and less like a giant white box!