1 day to go!.... and a change of plans

Well, the good news is that there's actually a lot done. The steps leading upstairs are done. We have a toilet and a sink in the downstairs bathroom. There's heat (in the basement). The temporary exterior doors are hung - we even have house keys. Safety banisters and guards are in place. The plaster is, can I say done?, just about. Ceilings are being painted. And, this is important, everything is clean.

That said, there are a few important things that are not done. We don't have our permanent electricity; which means that while we can run some things off of extension cords running to the temporary pole outside, we don't have light switches or sockets or much power. Secondly, not all the plumbing is done. We don't have heat to the upstairs. And finally, the floors aren't painted. We'll be treading on sub-floor for a while, and apparently that needs to be painted to get a certificate of occupancy. So, while painted floors aren't high on my priority list, the building inspector thinks highly of them.

Since everything mentioned above needs to be done before we are allowed to live in the house, we have made alternate plans for a few days. We are still moving everything into the house tomorrow. We have a fleet of friends lined up ready to help, so we're going to use them. (By the way, Jack is at the house now painting as many floors as he can before we move everything in tomorrow. He plans to work until he drops.) But, our family will sleep in the house of a friend of a friend for a few days. It's uninhabited and furnished - just what we need. Jack thinks that by the end of next week, the issues for the building inspector will be resolved. Not only that, but there may be shelves in closets and in the pantry - a feature that would make the house infinitely more comfortable for me. So, that's the plan. I'm adjusting my mental state and my packing accordingly. Stay tuned...

The finished steps. Beautiful. They have cardboard on them now for protection.


My lovely (temporary) kitchen sink. The faucet even works. The painter asked me today if I'm excited to move in. Um..... I'm getting there.....


In contrast to my very primitive kitchen, Annie and Lauren got their long-awaited kitchen from Grandpa. Jim has been working on this beautiful kitchen for a while, but we think it is worth the wait. He still needs to hang the cupboard doors, but otherwise, it's ready to be played with tomorrow for moving day! The green color is supposed to be the kitchen cabinet color, but now I'm wondering how that is going to look in the room next to the gold living room. Stay tuned for that decision as well....


And now, I'm off to bed. Tomorrow is a busy day!

2 days to go

Jack and Jim are still at the house, so I can't give the official report of the day until they are home. Here's what I know: the porch is done (yay!), the refrigerator was delivered today, Jack will have our temporary exterior doors hung tonight (he's building the permanent ones... sometime), Jim should finish the steps tonight and I think some painting and shelf-building are happening.

The steps as of this morning


I love the living room wall color. In 48 hours all of those building supplies need to be replaced by furniture.


And while the mad rush goes on at the new house, my mother-in-law and I have been packing up everything here. The kids had fun making forts out of the empty boxes.


All available spaces are slowly being taken over by full boxes.

3 days to go

As expected, we're getting into the exhausting part of the week. The part when Jack and Jim are at the house from 7:30am until 10pm with short breaks for lunch and dinner. And there's still a long way to go. There's going to be a delay in getting our permanent electricity hooked up, which is discouraging. After considering our options, it looks like we can still move in. We just won't have access to everything for a few days. Keep going.... keep going.....

This is fun. Our mailbox is in. I even put the house numbers on it yesterday.


Our bedroom is tinted. After the plaster sit for a few days, it gets a final wax coat (I think) so the final product isn't so splotchy.


Jim has the steps ripped out now. He's hoping to finish the permanent steps on Thursday.


The porch is almost done


The tile in the shower is ready to be grouted, except for the niche. Jim is waiting for Jack to cut shelves for it. Another thing on Jack's really long list :)

4 days to go

Sorry, no pictures today. The day was so busy that I only had about 10 minutes at the house and I forgot my camera. There was some progress, but seeing more progress would have been more encouraging. Jim finished the tile in the bathroom, except for the niche. He's waiting for Jack to make shelves for the niche before the tile can be finished. The tinted plaster in our bedroom is done, which hopefully means that they can start cleaning up in the upstairs. Still need plaster in the pantry and living room and a few other random places. Jim started cutting the stairway. Some cleaning up. And there were some pieces that came together, but not other big things.

5 days to go...

Ok, this is going to be fun. We move in five days. The mountains that need to be moved in that time in order for our move to be possible are colossal. Each day of this week I hope to offer a photo countdown as we prepare for the big day. Enjoy! And you might as well laugh with us.

We have the tremendous blessing of having my mother- and father-in-law here with us this week. Jim will spend an exhausting week at the house with Jack. Nettie is preparing meals and helping me with the kids as I pack and run back and forth to the house. Pictured below is the one bathroom that will be ready on moving day. As of this morning there was nothing. No toilet, no sinks, no tile, no doors, no vanity, no countertops... you get the idea. Jim got a good jump on the shower tile today.


Among other things, Jack primed three bedrooms and our master closet.


This is our living room - the room I hope will be my sanctuary (in 5 days). The "finished" room. We are still messing with the tint in the plaster for the walls. It's going to be a roll of the dice - no more time for samples - but I think we've got it.


Part way through on tinting the plaster in our bedroom


Right now we have two toilets - both in the basement. The trick is to make sure you use the one that is hooked up to plumbing.


FIVE DAYS! Well, now it's four. See you tomorrow!

Update on the house

To see these pictures, one would think we are on a good pace to move in to the house by the first of the year. But, we move next Saturday. Exciting? Yes! Overwhelming? Yes!

This is the view upstairs at the top of the steps looking into our bedroom. I love love love that there are windows at the end of that view. So welcoming and comfortable, I think.


The girls check out their newly sheet-rocked bedroom. Their reaction? Squeals of delight and much running in circles.


The kitchen and dining rooms. Annie is standing at the door of the pantry. (I think the spots on the picture are from the dust?)


And.... all of Jack's (and the boys') hard work over Labor Day weekend to put in our lawn paid off. We have real grass in the yard. So much that Jack has actually had to mow it.


I have, well, adjusted my expectations. Gone, for example, are my visions of moving my silverware from its home at our current house, so the perfect drawer designed specifically for silverware in the new house. But, Jack assures me that we will have the basics: heat (propane tank and boiler arrived today), one bathroom (which still has nothing in it, but Jack seems confident), kitchen appliances (but no counter-tops or cabinets), doors (at least temporary ones), electricity and running water. The rest will come in time. I'm OK with all of that. Jack couldn't be working any harder than he is, so the house is just going to be what it is. And even though all of our thoughts and efforts have been directed in the direction of our house for so long, it still seems surreal that we will be living there in a little over a week. Until then, there are boxes to pack! And walls to plaster! And windows to hang! And.... and..... and.....

Good morning!

With T-minus 14 days until Moving Day, our house and our lives are chaos. But, here the girls enjoy a slow morning, waking up together with an American Girl catalog.