Thursday, June 24, 2010

Simple Pleasures

It won't be long now. Lots of loose ends being wrapped up.
Today's progress, bathroom mirrors, towel racks, and the granite back splash. More bathroom accessories, doorknobs and doorstops.

Front porch posts! The color of the cedar posts really draws out the darker shades in the stone(sorry you can't see the stone in the picture). There's also a doorbell and a new doorknob and lock. Bobby had to run back to the Pebble Lane house for a screwdriver to fix the sliding door so while he was gone I settled into a chair on the front porch, closed my eyes and listened to the early evening bird songs.

Simple pleasures.


Back porch posts!


Kitchen cabinet door knobs! Where's Waldo, can you find the one cabinet that is missing a knob and which two drawers are missing pulls? Looks like we will be making yet another trip to Home Depot to get the missing parts!

Cool swirly knobs on the bathroom cabinets!


The contractor spent part of his day scraping the paint off the windows in the french doors. Handles were also added today.

All the cold air returns and heating vent covers were put on yesterday. The smoke detectors were hooked up last week.
Air conditioner was set yesterday!

The contractor and his family stopped by tonight so that he could show his wife the house. They've got a couple of super cute and friendly tow headed kids! They're planning a trip to DisneyWorld in October so I asked the little girl which was her favorite Disney princess, it's a toss up between Cinderella and Snow White!
The full moon was rising and it was getting dark when they left so Bobby and I headed inside to lock up. It was pretty cool to go from room to room switching off lights for the first time.
Simple pleasures.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Allen Fieldhouse South

Can't really see it that good in this picture, but the front porch concrete is poured! There's even a plank over the concrete in case anyone needs to get into the house. The site of future post-Thanksgiving dinner basketball games!

And folks, if you can't find me in a month or so, look out here on the back porch because that's most likely where I'll be parked! Come on out and join me!
We're extremely happy with our last minute decision to change to an L-shaped back porch, plenty of room now for a table or hot tub some day.

These are the 6x6 cedar posts which will be installed for porch supports/decorative accents. There will be four in the front and two in the back. They will be left their natural color and the ones in the front will be boxed out on the bottom.
They smell really good!

With this pile of wooden stakes I guess we are prepared for any vampire invasions! Which reminds me; I really need to read the Twilight series of books!


Monday, June 21, 2010

Pro Forma

Lots of progress today!
The forms for the front and back porch and the driveway were built and tomorrow we should have concrete! Bobby had thought about using gravel instead of concrete in front of the shed so that heavy equipment could cross over it without worry of damage. But the concrete guy suggested putting in 6 inches of concrete rather than 4 inches on that side, he thought it would be a shame to take a chance of dragging a bunch of mud into the shed!
So....it will be trucks to the right and cars to the left! Front porch!
See the farthest pole that is leaning? When we were out back looking at the back porch we heard a clattering sound and rushed to find out that this pole had fallen.
Back porch! With the addition of a pad for the future hot tub or a table!


Beans are coming up!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Happy Fathers Day

Pop and his monkeys (circa 1992)!


Friday, June 18, 2010

Late Night Post

Officially it's a Bis fireplace insert that will put out enough heat to keep an 1800 square foot house toasty warm. Unofficially it's just darn good looking now that the door has been installed! Granite countertops, shiny enough to reflect the electrical outlets!

Light installed in the entryway!
The fumes from the wood floor are still strong so we've been opening doors & windows when we visit.
The office is shaping up nicely.
Ceiling fans in the two guest/kids bedrooms.

It won't be long now and we'll be moving in! Probably two to three weeks!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Under the Boardwalk

WOW! The floors turned out awesome! And the floor finish really brings out the richness of the cabinet color too. The granite countertops and sink were installed today but I was rushing and forgot to get a picture of just them alone. You can kind of see the granite here on the ledge. And look, we have light, not just fixtures but real flip the switch and get some glowing light too!
Another view of the floors!

Here is the master bedroom ceiling fan, the picture does not do it justice. The blades are slightly cupped and have the appearance of being carved out of wood. This fan will be a close match to the living room fan which is on back order until July 1st...sigh.

"Under the boardwalk, down by the sea..."

And this picture? Well, this is a picture of our boardwalks and our Kansas mud puddles. Not so picturesque or worthy of song lyrics and tourists but they serve their purpose to get people from the gravel driveway to the house with a minimum amount of mud on their shoes! I will be sooooo happy when the concrete is poured for the porches and the pad between the house & shed!

Other Gering happenings. Evan had a birthday on Saturday and we joined his family for a celebration at Jazz a Cajun restaurant at the Legends. The band called him up and played Happy Birthday for him and insisted he make a speech! It was a good time! And today Sara drove to Manhattan to surprise him since he is working and living there all summer.

Bobby received a package in the mail today from Josh & Susan. A tin of his favorite Topsy's popcorn! We got a chuckle from the gift card which read "Happy Fathers Day to the best Pop(corn) ever." Lucky for me he is sharing the bounty!

Life is good, very good..........

Friday, June 11, 2010

Peeping Tom(s)

Tonight when we went to the land we were greeted by this sign! The first coat of 'stuff' has been put on the floor and needs to dry until tomorrow! So we had to make do with peeking in the windows like a couple of peeping toms. The floor is absolutely gorgeous!


While the floors were being treated, the electrician kept busy putting up these ceiling fans on the back porch.
And the outside lights on the garage and shed. Plus most of the outside outlets are finished.









These popped out a few days ago, wild raspberry patches along the driveway.




And a few wildflowers too!!









Thursday, June 10, 2010

Power Ranger

All the inside painting has been completed! This is the floor finish, no stain only a finish & sealer.
We love the way it brings out the variations in the wood without darkening up the wood too much.

The finish electrician had a busy day installing light switches and electrical outlets. Light fixtures and ceiling fans are next!


Monday, June 7, 2010

Paint by Number

Painting continues. The trim and doors are all complete and today the three bedrooms were painted. This is the master bedroom.The front bedroom.
And the back bedroom.
The grouting is all finished now too

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Can You Hear Me Now?

Thursday: Bathroom tile is all grouted! Thursday: Sara & Evan taking a break from playing on the gravel pile! Saturday: Josh & Susan are back in town to attend a wedding! Here they are all dressed up and ready to head out! Bobby and I are dog sitting Cooper while they are at the wedding and reception. We took Coop out to the land while we cleaned up more construction trash and had a fire, he is one pooped pup now! Sara and the Rapp's came out too and we enjoyed visiting until after dark. It was a clear night and the star viewing was fantastic!
Since our T-Mobile phones don't get reliable reception out at the land, we headed to Verizon on Saturday afternoon to check out their plans and phones. Jerry has Verizon and his phone worked fine at LD so we thought we'd try them first. We explained the situation and they suggested we get just one phone and try it out for 30 days and then come back in to get the other phones and convert the numbers over. So far, so good, we can definitely hear you now!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

He Does Shelves Too!

The toilets were all put in! This is the half bathroom.Countertops and faucets were also installed today. This is the master bathroom.

Guest bathroom.

Yesterday Bobby finished the stone shelves for the fireplace. Love the unique rugged look!


Not sure what kind of tree/bush these are but they are all over the place and their pretty white blooms all popped out today!
Saw a quail running alongside the ditch tonight!