XXXIX: Paint, and cabinets, and ditches, oh my!!

On Tuesday I got an early morning text that a delivery I needed to sign for would be arriving that day (instead of Friday).

I left the kids a note and took off.

I found the cabinet guys installing the cabinets!

The rooms had a preliminary coat of paint—most of them were right.  Gabby and Katie’s rooms were paint swapped, so hopefully that can be remedied quickly for them.  As I looked back over the pictures, I can still see the mud through the paint in some photos, so I’m certain the painters are coming back anyway.

I had to run out to get a battery for the generator for the electrician to install.

When I came back, the masons were finishing the fireplace hearth and clearing their messes.  The cabinet guys were finished and heading out.

Then I met the septic/grading crew to pay for a couple of loads of dirt.  It was cold, but thankfully sunny to spend the better part of the day out there looking things over.

We paid the drywall draw last week.  This week we authorized the cabinet draw.  I *think* I have propane worked out.  Our last financial obligation on the house is at the end of the build, plus an overage we know will be coming to cover the extra stairs for the back door (only 4 steps are included, and we’ll need several more).  We’ll still have the outbuilding, but that’s a whole ’nother ball of wax!

It’s actually a house!

XXXVIII: Walls

The drywall is up, so there are actually rooms!

The living room even has the brick work for the fireplace

All kinds of natural light in our room

XXXVII: Paint

While we are waiting, I started painting furniture to fit our new home.

I started with a small stand that I from my grandmother.  We’ve used it in a couple of locations over the years, near the door in Kansas and our first house here to catch keys and bags.  Here we used it in the half bath for hand towels,  hair supplies (though now the girls don’t really need my help with that anymore), etc.  The new half bath will have a cabinet instead of the pedestal sink.

We took the old doors off, and I filled the holes.

And painted it white to go in my master bathroom—thank you Gabby for helping me get it done by dark!

Since their isn’t a linen closet on that floor, it will serve that purpose.

Then Ellie and I worked on my dresser.  It was originally a gray-ish paint, as I recall.  My dad stained it for me 15 years ago.

We moved this project indoors due to weather, and put down plastic sheeting.  We sanded.

Used tack cloth.

Primed.

Painted.

Changed the hardware and have left it to cure.

Speaking of paint, the builder confirmed paint colors and should be painting in the next week or two!

XXXVI

Not much to update this week, but the doors are all on and in the right places.

Front

Back

Garage

XXXV

 

We have more brick

The gravel has filled in the low spot in the garage

And the insulation is going in

Our attic access is cut in

The closed in walls help you see the space so much better—and it’s so much quieter

2022

Year in Review

Nate became a communing member of our church—on the eleventh anniversary of our visiting the church for the first time.

We got snowed in

I had a flat tire (and couldn’t get my lug nuts loosened)

We attended AHG meetings

Katie started her Stars & Stripes project

They got blind book ‘dates’ from the library

I went on a women’s retreat

An ‘80’s night at church

A backpacking trip for these guys

Lots of rope work to earn a badge

A trip to the Space and Rocket Center

For the older two

Work on Katie’s project

Geocaching

Winter camp

With the polar bear plunge—she’s in the water on the right 🥶

Our new Ellie-ton

More Stars & Stripes paperwork 

Her completed project

Passover

Ellie found a golden egg

And jumped with a friend

We celebrated Easter

Gabby hosted a book drive for a local ESL class and food pantry

We got a building permit

AHG’ers went camping

And Ellie earned her biking badge

The gals decided to dress up to run errands

They got strange looks and compliments

We had *another* flat tire

Our Tenderheart

 

Became an Explorer

Ellie worked on string art

Gabby went to pre-med camp

She learned a lot and made some great friends

Ellie made us dessert while blindfolded

Nate taught Ellie fire building

Katie got an important package—

her Stars & Stripes Award

I taught Ellie how to lattice a pie

These gals ran errands with me, so I took them for frozen yogurt

These guys went out west with Trail Life

To volunteer at a reservation,

Hike, and sight see

We celebrated that S&S award with a trail mix bar

Cake

And silliness

We visited our rock pile (no house yet)

Visited my parents

The three of us visited DC

It was fun, exhausting, educational, and hot!

I worked on a quilt

Katie went back to serve another week at her favorite camp, taking a break from nannying as the family was traveling that week

Ellie worked on PRAY: God & Family with a friend

A foundation

These guys changed a lightbulb in the stairway

Justin got a medical alert tattoo 

Katie got her senior photos taken

Gabby went to Night Ops

Katie began to really enjoy photography

Katie got her first real job

We worked on two other girls’ Stars & Stripes projects: an English language learner classroom above

Working on cleanup after a big day of making Christmas decorations for a domestic violence shelter

Katie using the drill press for the board to hold the snowmen sections for the decorations

Back to school

Reading

Learning

Experimenting

Studying

And silliness

Playing

My parents celebrated 50 years of marriage

We visited a farm

Gabby acted as Fanny Crosby for our little Pathfinders

We dog sat for friends

Nate’s night time chess game at a campout

A hard earned fire—started with only a magnifying glass

A new Harry Potter book

A driver’s permit

Lucy and Bellum hung out together

A trip to The Hermitage

AHG Campout

Wild child

Nate’s shelter at his campout

Halloween pumpkins

Caramel apples

Costumes

Thanksgiving dinner

Cocoa with whipped cream, peppermint, and blue sugar

Kids picture day

Date night

I replaced some hard drives

I drove to NKY and back in a day to see an I’ll friend

Ginger bread making

Nate earned his fourth Worthy Life Award (faith award in Trail Life). He previously earned at Fox, Hawk, and Mountain Lion.  This was for Navigator (middle school grades).

Celebratory Thai food dinner for Katie’s surprise graduation 

With ice cream after.

Driving practice continues for this one.

I took Nate to meet a friend to skate

We got pictures with Katie’s graduation gown.  She doesn’t wish to walk, so I let her pick whichever robes she wanted—pink it was!

We got some snow

The fellows ran in our -1* F weather

They got their Christmas Eve PJs after the Christmas Eve service

Listened to ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas

The stockings were hung

The packages

The fellows modeling some of their gifts before church

It’s been a busy year!!!