Post 32- PROGRESS! (getting close)

Well, it's about that time again!  I've been somewhat remiss on posts recently, so taking the opportunity now to update :).

Mom and Dad came up and stayed with us for a few days and we had a great time.  I was very pleased that Ma was well enough to travel, it was just 3 months ago that she was at death's door.  I think they were pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the bed is.  While Dad, Josh, and I worked, Mom and Heather helped out, cleaned up, and kept us fed.  We got quite a bit done, and I'm now down to 1 project before I can sheetrock the walls entirely (and that's only a tiny area in the bathroom, everywhere else is ready).

I think Heather's starting to be able to visualize how it's going to look finished now, and is getting pretty excited too.  We don't have THAT much left to do to finish it up honestly, but since we're building as we get the finances our primary limitation isn't time, but money.  After the house is done though, I expect that won't be a problem.

Without further ado, since you're probably skipping over the wordy bits anyway, here's lots of pictures!

First, a bit of a rewind into the super snow storm we had up here: it really was amazingly pretty.

I've got video that's pretty funny too, of all of us surf-sledding on a "Boogie Board" and making snow angels.  I've got lots more snow pix if you're interested, but it's one of those things that it was probably more exciting to be there than to see pix.

Josh's Ladder is built, and his room is actually mostly done (this is an older pic).  It's looking great, the computer desk and shelves are built in, it's all sheetrocked up, and the ladder works great.  I'll update some of the pix to josh's room here in a couple days.

Kitchen de la Awesome:

 We got a very nice stove from a friend at work, and we love it.  That space on the left of the stove there is the exact size needed for a full size refrigerator, but I think I like my small one now (see below).  What I'm planning on doing at the end of the counter there is a cupboard/pantry type thing with a door, I'll either go super fancy finished oak or rustic wood, we'll see.

You can see the shelves a bit better here.

 You can see the countertop a bit better here->
and below.  Note the extremely nice oak on the face.

The stairs were a "little shaky", due to settling and such, so we strengthened those up considerably, bracing every other step or so and tying it to the wall on 3 sides.  This was a MUCH better solution to the issue than I'd originally planned.  Much, much better, and we added a little stub wall there too, to create 2 unique spaces (in addition to supporting the stairs better).  Ignore the drywall scraps on the right.

BELOW: one of the projects I needed to do was alter my benches slightly, that left angle side needed to come out so we could put in a wood burning stove (it will set about where the IR heater on the far left is).  I expect to finish up the benches this week, lifty seats, facing, and all.

We sheetrocked the right side of the upstairs for privacy, left the other side open for the view.

At the top of the stairs, I added a little table/shelf that looks great, primarily because that was a wasted space of nothing, and now it's supporting The Shatner (as should we all).

 William Shatner: going green since the mid 60s.

And now, the Piece de Resistance, or Piece de Caca depending on your perspective I suppose: with our awesome new white stove, we didn't like the look of the black refrigerator RIGHT next to it.  Sooooo...
Heather's been bugging me for months to hang up this chalkboard we got at IKEA.  We tend to write each other a lot of notes and stick them to the fridge.  I started thinking about it...the chalkboard happened to be almost exactly the right size as the refrigerator door, so here is the final result:

It's got a little bill holder at the bottom of it too.  Looks good, eh? :)  (it's installed remarkably well, if I do say so myself).


Anyway, that's it for now, hope that you've enjoyed reading and that you're enjoying life.  See you next time!
Jj