House Update

Mike had Veteran's Day off. I rushed to do everything I needed to around the house in the morning so Mike and I would have this rare day off completely free to accomplish ... all that needs accomplished.

(Ha! We have embarked on a life where we will never check the box of "everything accomplished". And perhaps I would make you all a list--to give you some idea of what "everything accomplished" might actually entail, only ... the list would need to include things that I could only explain in the very vaguest of terms (since I only understand them in the very vaguest of ways). (Things about winter troughs and running pipe for example.)  

Still, I think we both had hoped we would get done at least several things. As it was, all that could be accomplished (and even then, not fully) was getting light fixtures for the new house. 

(Why must everything in the world take four times as long as you imagine it will? Why don't I just ... start imagining everything taking four times longer? Then would it take just as long as I think? Or four times longer still? Haha.)

Anyway.

We went to the house to make certain we weren't forgetting any lights. (We'd already purchased all bathroom fixtures several months ago, yet we still counted 24 fixtures that we needed to buy. 24!) 

We went to four different lighting stores (five if you count going to Home Depot a second time) and still ended up needing to order multiple things online and have Mike stop at Lowe's in Ogden after work the next day. (And we are, as of this typing, six fixtures short.)

Goodness! And we aren't even doing fancy pants lighting. Just very basic stuff!

But perhaps this all leads you to wonder about the house's progress? (That is the question we are all most often asked these days. "How's the house coming?")

We'd had hopes, originally, of being in for the holidays. But we've had so many nonsense delays (window mistakes alone probably set us back two months, and the flooring that was supposed to go in last week but, through some oversight, was never ordered at all likely set us back another month). 

But! We have a propane tank! (Perhaps I already shared that exciting news.)

(I can't recall how one has heat, etc. when living in the city, but out here you just ... need your own tank full of propane.)

And we have some pea green doors.

(I like how tall the doors are. The actual color looks lighter than this picture.)

And we have a green bookshelf. (Did I mention how they covered the butcher block all in primer?? That was a sad discovery! They managed to sand it all back off pretty well, but it still needs stained.)

(The bookshelf green, which is different than the door green, looks quite a lot darker in person.)

And we have a sidewalk and a driveway pad! (And we just discovered that they wired the doorbell for the mudroom door rather than the front door. [Wry expression.] I guess people can just ring the doorbell and then run to the front door. Hmph.)

This is fun. There were a bunch of bricks over by the barn that were left over from the patio Mike's parents built at their home when Mike was little. So, we gathered those up and found enough still in good shape to use for the woodstove pad (as the woodstove can't just be set on the normal flooring).

(You can see up on the top where the woodstove pipe will leave the house. I think the big metal pipe going up will look fun, and I'm excited for such a good fall back way to heat the house if power is out, etc. Have you been around woodstove heat? Both Mike and I grew up with woodstoves. They are very efficient at heating and also just, somehow, a very cozy heat.)

Oh! And perhaps the biggest news. Cabinets! (Ideally, they would have put them in after the flooring, but, well, I told you about the flooring, so I guess the flooring will go around them.)

The main kitchen (still needing a counter on the bar and glass doors on several cabinets):

The apartment kitchen:

(It's fun to wonder which all of our kids/grandkids will make use of this over the years ahead!)

And last, but not least, Mike found and ordered these little knobs as another nod to us living on the pea-viner land. We won't put them on all of the cabinets. Just one here and there for fun. 

And that is all for now!