Merry Christmas

Decker will never forgive us but had to share! Hope you had a great Christmas!

Something new

We finally found a really good deal on a used fridge & went for it. This is only 8 months old - it looks brand new, and we paid less than 1/2 of the new price. We like the black & think it looks good in the kitchen. It's a side by side, which is new to me, but not Jeff. It's going to take me some getting used to, that's for sure. But so far, I like it. Now we have one other thing to sell to make room in the garage for car #2...

Sorry I haven't had many updates lately. I'll blame the typical holiday shopping & socializing. We finally had some rain on Tuesday, and it started sprinkling again this morning. That's the last in the forecast for a while.

We went back over the bald spots on the lawn with more clover seed. Much of what we sowed before is coming up and I think it will work well. There is also another type of grass that seems to be naturalizing in the lawn and it's spreading nicely. I think that by the time spring rolls around, we'll have a nice looking lawn. Here's hoping anyway.

If I don't post again before Christmas, hope you all have a good one!

What do you think this means?

This is the wishbone from the Thanksgiving turkey. We decided to use it Saturday, and when we pulled on it, this is what happened. I've never seen this before. Do you think it means nobody gets their wish granted or we both get our wish granted? It was not, I'm sad to report, an indicator that we would win the lotto....

A rainy night, a nice bed by the fire....

Does it get any better than this? We finally had some rain, and while it wasn't really cold, we just had to have a fire. Decker approved, as you can tell. The fireplace is great and really kicks out the heat. The problem is, you want to enjoy looking at it, but it gets really hot in the living room if you run it for a long time, or on too high of a setting. So, after a bit, we turned it way down so we'd at least have the "flickering flame" effect. Very nice.

The lights above the kitchen bar are having a problem & the electrician is coming today to look at them. I'm hoping the transformer isn't fried because 1) they aren't cheap and 2)we'll have to order a new one and live without the lights for a while :(

Otherwise, things are good. Sorry I haven't had too many updates lately. I'll see what I can come up over the next week. Also, I apologize about the crappy camera-phone pictures, but it's just so easy & convenient. I think they look OK until you double click on them to expand them. So, just enjoy the small version above...unless you love looking at grainy photos ;-)

Yes, it's real

This was taken tonight, about 5:15 on the beach. It was an insane sunset, it just kept getting better and better. We've been having really low tides the past week so there was lots of wet sand to reflect the light. It's a much nicer photo than the Christmas lights below :)

Tis the season already?

I realize this isn't a very good photo, but thought I'd share it anyway. Thanksgiving is over, so hey - it's time for Christmas lights! We were actually the 2nd on our street to have our lights up - not that it's a contest or anything. We went with all blue & green, just to be different. They look good in person, although here, they just look kind of washed out. You can see the cool patterns the exterior lights make though!

Not much else going on with the house. We've really settled down on projects, but still have a list of stuff we want to do. Slowly, slowly...

Professional Style

We finally got the cabinet mounted above the laundry sink in the garage. We didn't think it would be too complicated, but of course, we ran into a stumbling block we had to overcome.

The cabinet is 24" and mounts assuming the studs are 16" on center, which is standard. Well, this particular wall is not standard, and has the studs 24" on center. So we first had to mount two strips of wood that were attached to the studs, then mount the cabinet to those strips. And, we had to do this making sure we didn't drill into the gas lines or water lines that are so prevalent in this wall. We manged to do it without any explosions or geysers :)

Now, we have an "official" spot to store cleaning products & help the garage stay organized. We still only have one car in it, but one thing at a time :)

More things green

Ok, the clover continues to sprout so that's good news. We probably need to fill in a bit more as some of the dirt spots aren't showing too many sprouts, but overall, it's looking good.

And the green in this picture, well, it's not the new backyard. This is Jeff & our friend Lori on the patio at Wolff Vineyards in the Edna Valley, which is on the southern end of SLO. Mike & Lori were visiting this weekend and we went wine tasting on Sunday. It was a beautiful day. This is a nice shot looking north, across some of the vineyards at Wolff, toward SLO.

Happy Tuesday!

It's alive....

You cant tell from this picture, but the clover has just started sprouting. Of course, as soon as we planted it, it cooled down, so I'm sure that's slowed things down a bit. So, for a while longer, we have this patchwork lawn. I hope to post an "after" picture in about a month that shows the lovely green clover filling in the dirt patches. In the meantime, we'll just enjoy the dogs tracking little pieces of topsoil around the house :)

Not much progress on anything else house wise. Personally, I've enjoyed being a slug the past week, for a change!

New & improved gate

Here's the new header on the gate. What a difference it makes. The gate now opens & closes perfectly, just like a door. We are very happy. And, it came out looking pretty cool. Once it rusts (and you know it will) it will blend in nicely.



We worked in the yard quite a bit yesterday, finally getting our new shrub planted where the bamboo was. We chose a Pittosporum Silver Sheen which is a somewhat open & loose shrub. It should grow 10-12 feet tall, be able to handle the wind, and not need any pruning. We think it will look good.



We also spent a lot to time getting what's left of the lawn ready for the clover seed, which we will sow today. I'm not sure how long it will take to germinate & grow, but the stuff is supposed to be really hardy & be able to grow on barren soil. I hope to have a good picture of the new lawn in a month or so.



Yesterday saw another hot day with temps in the high 80's. Today though, is foggy a cool so far. What a difference a day makes! I'll leave you with another picture of the gate, from the front of the house.

Still here :)

Yup, still here, just haven't posted in a bit. But, we do have an update. They came the other day to add the steel support header for the gate, but it didn't fit. So, they made this temporary plywood gate for us until the bracket could be replaced. They are supposed to install it today, which is great, because the gate has been very difficult to use and is getting damaged because it was sagging so much. I'll post a picture after the header is in - hope it looks ok...

We actually had five trick or treaters last night! Ok, three of them were high schoolers, but they were dressed up and that's all it takes in my book. Needless to say, everybody who did come got lots of candy.

In other news, we are overseeding the lawn (or what's left of it) with white clover on Saturday. It's in horrible shape and we want to give clover a try before completely removing the lawn, which is a serious option at this point.

The onshores are starting again, and it's supposed to warm up this weekend - I'll take that!

Post party mayhem

Hey Decker, what do you think is in that bag? Oh, I don't know Riley. It's tied up in a bag so I think you are supposed to leave it alone. I know, I know, but it smells so good.... Riley, don't, no, really, you shouldn't do that! Uh oh. Well, since you opened it, I might as well help you explore the contents....

It was fun!

This is a picture of my camera. It was sitting in this exact spot, on the counter during the open house, and we were going to take all kinds of wonderful photos. Well, lets just say I was having too much fun hosting and it sat idle the entire time. So, while I have zero photos to share with you, I can tell you it was a great day.

The weather was perfect, the food was good (at least I think so) and it was great to show the house to so many people who have had to endure us talking about it this past year.

We started at 2:00 and wound up the day around 10:00 with just the neighbors. We were also thrilled that a couple of friends from Pasadena surprised us and showed up. They had seen the house before and during, and it was nice they got a chance to see the "after."

Thanks to everybody who came and made it a great afternoon!

One down, one to go!

This may not look like much a feat, but trust me, it was. We spent a couple of hours yesterday working in the garage and this was the fruits of our labor. Nice :) We could have spent 8 hours sorting stuff out, but had a time limit and did pretty good. We'll continue on and maybe in another month we'll have both back in.

In other news - the Pergola is done (I know, I know, pictures!) and it looks good. It just took a bit of tweaking but we are very happy with it now. I also got the guest room closet doors up yesterday, so that project is done.

The only big thing we are waiting on right now is the added support for the side gate. It might go up this week, if it's done, but I'm not counting on it....

A bit of excitement

This was the view from my office window this morning. A fire broke out on the north end of campus, in the hills just above the horse unit. It spread up the hills and at one point, there were two helicopters dumping water, and three airplanes dropping retardant. It was quite the event and lasted for a couple of hours. It's still smoking, but seems to be under control now. I don't think we were in any danger because the wind was pushing it up the hill, away from us, but still, when you see those flames...

Closet "doors" finally

I got the closet doors - which are actually sliding panels - up in the master bedroom yesterday. For you Ikea fans, these are Kvartal. At the outset, it looked complicated, as the directions were 13 pages long, and in true Ikea fashion, had no words - just pictures. However, once I looked at all the parts & figured out the general principal, it was actually very easy. The only bummer is that we under-bought by three parts for the guest room. Fortunately, we have a friend driving up from SoCal Thursday and she is going to stop and get them for us. Then, we can be done with the closets.

I like the panels. They look really nice and they work pretty well. Maybe not as easy as curtains or real doors, but they work fine & the price to look ratio is great. The aluminum & glass doors we wanted were $1200 a closet; these panels were about $75 a closet. We might get the aluminum & glass doors someday, but for now, these work/look just fine.

The Shins

We met Lisa, her sister Sandra & her friend Quin in Santa Barbara last night to see The Shins. It was a great show - one of the best I've seen in a while. Really enjoyed it. Here's the requisite crappy phone-camera picture for you to enjoy ;-)

I actually have a house update photo for you tomorrow....

Yard sale day

Our friend Peter changing the doorbell in between customers. Its now yellow instead of green.

Two things

First, we had some friends over for dinner last night, and we are happy to report that even with the leaf in the dining room table, we still have plenty of space to get around the table. Very nice :)

Second, apparently there was another shark sighting. Sigh. Not trying to scare you all, but thought you might find it interesting. Read about it here: Here fishy fishy.....

Fall is in the air

I just took this picture outside my office. The Liquid Amber trees you see on the right are about the extent of the fall color we get around here. I take that back - the grapes are beautiful too. Anyway, I think this is a nice view and thought I'd share it with you.

No earth shaking house news. The yard sale is Saturday and I'm looking forward to getting some room in the garage!

Monday update

We had a list of projects a mile long we wanted to attack this weekend. Lets just say we made "moderate" progress :) We did get the TV hung on the wall, which was a big accomplishment, and we did get Jeff's closet organize, so that was good. We can't complain though - the weather was beautiful, and I got to surf both days.

In exciting non house news - the power went out Saturday night at 9:00 and stayed out until after midnight. I guess a transformer blew & most of Cayucos was out. Boy, do we take electricity for granted. And then there was this article in the Tribune this morning: Yikes. I was out of the water by then, and surfing about a mile south anyway....

I need to take a picture of the pergola and get some input from you all. We feel it needs tweaking, but just don't know what.....

Have a seat...

One of the carpenters was on site this week finishing up some stuff. The bench is finally completed and I think it looks great. It also works well :) He's just about done with the pergola, and that, well, we aren't as thrilled with. I don't have a picture for you today, but we are thinking it's a bit busy & out of character with the rest of the house. We are going to talk to the builder today & have him come over and give us his opinion, and we'll go from there.

In other news, we continue to putter along with little projects, getting things organized, etc. We are still on for a yard sale next weekend and are going to start pricing stuff this weekend.

That's it for now. I'm going to continue with the sporadic post for a while; I'll try at least one a week and see how it goes, but at some time in the near future, I probably won't have anything new about the house to talk about. I'll cross that bridge when I get there! Have a great weekend....

*Edit - I just saw this on Digg and can't resist. It is sitting related. Enjoy

Hanging artwork

We've spent quite a bit of time the past few days putting paintings up. Many of them ended up going in exactly the same spot as they were before because they still worked great in those spots. Some we ended up moving all together. We have a few more to put up, but overall, they are looking good. Here's a mediocre phone camera shot of the the entry.

It's supposed to rain today & tomorrow, strangely out of season. Oh well - my car is filthy & it could use a good washing...

Small updates

We got the first painting hung on Sunday. And, after 45 minutes of discussion & measuring, it is, of course, about 3" too low. No big deal - we'll fix it today. FYI - we saw these at Home Depot and decided to try them MonkeyHooks We thought they might be a gimmick, but they are really easy and work great. There are a couple of brands of them but I would guess they all work the same. Way easier than drilling holes & putting in drywall anchors.

I started working on the office more and finally got the printer hooked up. I really tried to keep all the wires nice & neat and did a pretty good job, but there are so many wires on our computer it's tricky. Jeff spent most of the day in the yard on Saturday and things are looking good. He put the Papyrus in the front beds, and planted the Mandevilla in the back yard. Riley has been chewing on the Papyrus in the back yard - not sure why (other than the fact that he's a dog...).

We decided we can't do the open house on the 29th - too soon. We might do the yard sale that day, and then don't have an open weekend until October 20th, so that's the new tentative date: Saturday, October 20th. Fall weather is generally really nice here, so should work out OK.

No new pictures today, sorry!

Exterior Lights

We finally go out exterior lights up and are happy with them. They give the front of the house a much more finished look. Now if we can get the bench in, we'll be in pretty good shape! The exterior lights around the house are all the same except for the front porch light, which is larger than the rest.

We also got lights above the kitchen counter installed, and the rail light in the living room. Overall, things look really good.

I've finally started hooking up the stereo/DVD player/TV but have some work to do. I want to do it right & keep it clean, so it's a bit of a chore, but it will be worth it when it's done. The dining room speakers are hooked up & working but I still need to attach the outdoor speakers.

Tomorrow is our semi-annual junk day, commonly called "gutter day" for the city folks who actually have gutters. We were surprised that we didn't actually have that much crud to put out. We managed to find some, but have already gotten rid of most of our junk.

FYI - we are thinking of Saturday, October 6th for the open house....

Settling in

We are slowly making progress in getting organized. I have moved things around in the kitchen just a little more and it's making sense to me now. The electrician will be here tomorrow to put up the exterior lights, the dining room light, the rail light in the living room, and the mini-track above the kitchen sink. It will be nice to get all that squared away.

I worked on my closet today and after buying a few more shelves & moving the clothes rods around, I got everything to fit just fine. We lost a space for the bigger dresser in the bedroom, so the goal was to make use of the closet space the best we could and so far, it seems good. Of course, my closet may never again look as neat as it does in this picture, but I least I have a record of it :) Obviously, we still haven't put up the closet "doors," maybe we will this week.

Our stereo receiver was totally misbehaving so we had to buy a new one. We'll get that on Tuesday, then we can hook up the rest of the stereo & DVD player, and mount the TV on the wall. The office is really the room that is lagging behind right now. We just have the basics setup, but I think I'll slowly start working on it this week. I'll post some exterior shots after the outside lights go up. I did put a few more pictures in the photo album if you care to look....

Sad

Von's is closing Saturday and they started a 50% off sale yesterday morning. I stopped by on the way home from work last night and it was depressing. Von's was the store with the best customer service and great prices. It was a small store, but it was a really nice place to shop. By the time I got there, it was well on its way to getting cleaned out. I did manage to buy some stuff, but it was a disturbing feeling, walking through a normally familiar store and seeing it look like a disaster area. I can't imagine there will be anything left in the store by Saturday!

Fire!

Well, I have not done a good job updating the Blog the past week. We have been busy, very busy, trying to settle in. I have wanted to take some pictures of the house but there has been stuff piled everywhere and it just wasn't looking so hot, so, I've passed. I promise, I will get some more pictures soon! In the meantime, here's the fire bowl in action. It needs a few more rocks, but otherwise, it's very nice. Of course, you can't just use rocks you find (we are told they could explode) so you have to *buy* man-made fire rocks. You would think rocks should be cheap, but oh no....

I would say we have about 75% of the boxes unpacked, thanks to my mom. She came down over the long weekend and really helped us keep things in high gear. I have re-arranged the kitchen cabinets multiple times, but I think I'm getting it figured out :) I want to have a yard sale Saturday morning and I think we will. Most of the stuff is gathered for it, but I still have to price stuff....

The final inspection is on Thursday, and hopefully we'll get signed off this time. We had to put clips on the hot tub lid to keep it secure, but otherwise, that's all we did. Everything else is "explainable."

That's it for now. It really is nice being home :)

Quite a night!

It was an interesting night. Quite unexpectedly, the lingerings of Hurricane Dean made their way up & over us. We had a really good thunder & lightning show last night, and a decent amount of rain. There was a little over 1/4" of water in the dog bowls this morning. It was also in the 60's, so quite balmy. It was kinda neat being in the new house hearing the rain sounds. One thing I noticed - there is a skylight in the bathroom now so the rain is really audible in the bedroom. That's OK, I like the sound.

Also, of course, we put a bunch of open & mostly used paint cans outside to dry out. Naturally, the night we put them out is the first night it's rained since April. Figures!

I managed to ding the floor myself this morning. Not sure what I did (that's why they are called "accidents" right?) but the coffee pot ended up bouncing off the floor (it's a metal carafe). The handle broke on the first impact, and landed with a screw facing down on the 2nd. Oh well. I'll always remember that coffee maker, right?

We unpacked a bit more last night and found a few bathmats and the bed side lamps. Not that we got them plugged in, but at least we know where they are. We also found the drum pendant for the living room which the electrician needed to put up, so that was good.

Oh, and we found a mystery light switch. In the office, by the garage door, there are two light switches. For the life of us, we can't figure out what they do. We'll have to ask the electrician if he remembers the next time he is over...

the first box

So this was actually Sunday, but here was the first box to get unpacked. Five kitchen boxes have been emptied now and we are trying to figure out where to put stuff...

Ahh, home sweet home

Well, it was a busy weekend. We really haven't done much unpacking, just a few kitchen boxes. We have a fair amount of stuff we had been carting from house to house, and we are presently dealing with all of that. It's going to take a while to figure out where to put stuff in the new kitchen, etc. Yesterday, we worked on a few of the sprinklers in the back yard that weren't quite right. We wanted to make sure the system was working properly so we can keep the sod watered & healthy. So far it's looking really good.

It's interesting being back in the house. In many ways, it seems so familiar. The layout is basically the same and the "travel patterns" moving through the house are similar. But, the look & feel of the house is so different. I notice the living room the most. When I walk in the front door, the living room seems so big! For now, we've just put the living room furniture where it was. There aren't too many placement options and it seems to work, but we'll see.

We need to coordinate with the electrician. They have to do a bit of work before the final so one day this week we'll need to get them into the house.

As I was opening a few kitchen boxes, I chuckled at what objects made me happy. The best find was the bowl I like to eat cereal out of. None of the places we've lived had the right bowls for cereal (personal preference, I'm sure) and this morning I thoroughly enjoyed my Wheaties in the proper bowl. That's the way to start a week out!

A couple of people have asked (and for all I know, only a couple of people read this) and I'm going to continue posting for a while. There is still much work to do setting stuff up and a few things to finish off with the house, so for a while, I'll keep posting, and try to add pictures as well.

Home

The dogs dont care the furniture isn't in its final position. They are just happy to be HOME! I have to say, we feel the same way :-)

the movers are gone

Almost everything is here, just a few things across the street and next door. As we guessed, some of the furniture doesn't fit but we'll figure it out. Now to start opening boxes. Thanks to Mr. Kimball for helping!

fire bowl

Waiting for the movers, just putting up window covering & putting in some shelf liner. The phone is back on and the cable guy should be here soon...

Final, not so final

Well, the building inspector found a couple of things to tweak before they will sign off. It does not affect us moving in tomorrow, but they are things that have to be dealt with. We had to call the fire district to schedule a fire inspection. Also, it looks like, somehow, the hot tub wasn't on the original plans, so even though it is existing, they may make us get a permit for it. We also have to change the emergency cut off on the hot tub too. That's it, which the inspector says is an incredibly small list. He also said that Steve, our builder, is the best in town. But, we already knew that :)

Backyard 2.0

The sod is in and it looks good. For some reason though, the guy installing it also put some into one of the planting beds. Go figure. Not a big deal; it's a very small space and we'll just yank it out today.

The plumbers were on site yesterday but need to come back today to install the toilet seats and hook up the fridge. Speaking of the fridge, all the appliances are in the kitchen now black/stainless steel. We did a stove switch-a-roo (selling ours & buying another used one) and now have a black & stainless model. We also had to buy a new microwave, which is stainless, and we've been working on a (rather complicated) procedure to turn our white dishwasher black. The idea was to try and find an inexpensive way to change the color of the appliances. So far, it's worked out, but we still have a white fridge. Oh well, we can live with that for now, it works fine.

Most of the quarter round is in, and I *hope* they are finishing that today. They also need to get to the wine rack today. I finished sealing the guest bath last night, and I got the kitchen & master bath grout sealed. Still have to do the entry & office floor.

The Pod comes today, and the movers come tomorrow at 2:00. Truth be told, we could use a few more days, but that's always the case with life, isn't it? I think we are going to work on the garage again tonight so we have room to store overflow furniture & boxes until we need them.

One night left!

Keepin' busy

Last night, I left work a bit early and jammed home so I could meet the head carpenter before he left. We needed to talk about how the wine rack was going to get framed in. I think we got it squared away. During the day, they had taped paper over most of the floor to protect it for the next few days while they are finishing inside. That was nice to see. About 1/4 of the quarter round was installed and it's looking good. I have a feeling we may not get the sod until next week, but we'll see.

I spent quite a while sealing the limestone in the master bath. Boy, that was an ugly job. The sealer is really stinky, and destroyed the thin rubber gloves I was wearing, so I had it all over my hands by the time I was done. It looks good though, but I want to do another coat on the shower floor pebbles. Tonight, I do the guest bath. It should be easier because that limestone is not as absorbent.

I also cleaned up the fridge because the plumber is supposed to be installing all the appliances today. The gas company came & turned the gas back on, and the cable & phone are on Friday. We are getting there, but still so much to do! FYI - Decker had three lumps removed last week and the biopsy came back negative, so he's just fine. However, dealing with the D-dog wearing a giant cone is a major PITA. He's managed to get out of it several times and done some major licking, but no suture removal yet. Another week of the cone and he'll be liberated from it...

And I keep forgetting - but a shout out to Cinn - who's now teaching High School English after many years of Jr. High. Hope her first week is going well!

Making progress

I was at the house working until about 9:30 last night. I got both the bathrooms cleaned so I can seal the stone tonight. I also assembled the wine rack, but I need to talk to the carpenters about installing it as it's going to need some trim work to make it look right. I got the remaining light fixtures ready for the electrician to install as well. They are working at the house today and I hope that they get all the quarter round put in on the floor. The sod is also supposed to go in today. I left the guys quite a list of things to so they should be busy all day. Three nights left before we'll be home!

I finally christened the outdoor shower on Sunday. The waves were really small, but it was such a nice day I went surfing anyway. The hot water had been shut off since Friday because they had to turn the gas off for the fumigation, but there was still enough warm water. It was really nice :) I'm definitely spoiled now....

The circus has left town

They took the tent down yesterday. I thought it would stay up the entire time, but apparently not. We still can't go in the house until tomorrow afternoon, but at least I can have access to the yard. I need to install pressure reducers in the drip system, so I can do that today. One of the builder's workers used to do landscaping and he finished up the sprinkler/drip system for us. Overall, he did a good job, but he did neglect the pressure reducers. Not a big deal, that's something I can do myself.

I bought another brand of enhancer/sealer for all the limestone and am going to try a sample of it today. The first one we got from the builder seemed to heavy. We also tried a "natural" look sealer, but it truly was invisible. So, I'll try this other brand today and see how it goes. If it looks good, I'll start sealing the master bath tomorrow night.

I've posted a before & after pic for you, just so you can remember how far we've come! They two pictures aren't exactly the same view, but they give you the general idea...

Hey, the circus is in town!

Not really, it's just our house. The tent went up yesterday and our house is basking in toxins until Monday afternoon. Kind of creepy, but a necessity along the coast where termites are a fact of life. We had active termite activity before tearing the house apart, and it was the builders recommendation to wait until we were done before tenting. Hopefully, we won't have problems down the road, but that's probably just wishful thinking.

The floors are done and they look great. I couldn't be happier. Tuesday will be a busy day at the house, with the carpenters back on site putting in the "shoe," which is the quarter round molding at the edge of the wood floor. Because our slab is so uneven, it was the builder's recommendation that we not put the baseboards in over the floor. His thought was that it would be too uneven & there would be a range in gap sizes. While we would have preferred the look of just floor & baseboards, the quarter round will be fine. The electrician will also be there putting up a few more light fixtures, and the plumber should be on site plumbing the fire bowl and putting on toilet seats.

We are still on track for next Friday. The final inspection is on Thursday and we are not expecting any problems. I can't believe it's down to less than a week!

I'm on ur floor and luvin it

Well, the last major step is well underway. They made really good progress today, and they *think* they might even finish on Friday. It's not a big deal if they go until Monday, but Friday would be nice. The wood is Maple, and this is what's called "character grade," meaning it has lots of knots, sap wood & grain. We did not want plain, blonde maple, but something with some verigation & character to it. This looks perfect! Plus, Maple is really hard so it should wear well.

In other news, the bamboo in the backyard is gone. While it was clumping and easy to control, as it gets older, the new stalks are really big and it was moving into the lawn. Plus, we didn't realize how messy bamboo is. It was constantly shedding. That said, we still loved it, but felt it was best for it to go. We'll replace it with some kind of small scale tree, but not sure yet.

The sprinklers are coming along well, and we might even have sod by the end of the week. Yikes - all of a sudden it looks like a house! I put a few more pictures up in the gallery...

So we don't have a cat. It's still funny..

The wood floor install is underway. I'll try to get a pic or two tonight.

In the mean time, enjoy this LolCat. You can see others here LolCats

Not the gravel we wanted

Well, everything can't go smoothly can it? I got home yesterday to find that this was the gravel they spread all over the place. It's not at all what we wanted. It basically looks like dirt with rocks in it. Granted, they had dumped the pile in the yard last week, and we thought it looked a bit heavy on the DG (decomposed granite) but we figured it was just what had settled in the bottom of the dump truck. It's about 75% DG which is not what we want, at all. So, now we will pay to have a bunch of it removed and taken away (after paying for it to be delivered & spread) and then buy some other gravel to go on top. Oh well. We aren't dealing with real money any more anyway ;-)

The floor installers were here yesterday working hard, and they are ready to put down the moisture barrier today. They'll start on the wood tomorrow, and will probably have to come back Monday to finish up. We are still looking good for the 24th.....

I put some new photos in the gallery if you are interested...

A few firsts

Well, a couple of firsts this weekend, even though we aren’t in the house yet. The hot tub is full & warmed up, and we’ve already used it twice. We have been missing it for seven months now and it was great to be able to use it. We saw a bit of the Perseid meteor shower last night while soaking. Also, the BBQ is hooked up & we took it for the inaugural grill last night (Johnsonville Brawts & Zucchini). How nice not to worry about the propane running out. Just turn the valve on & endless gas. Love it. And lastly, the washer & dryer are hooked up so we did a few loads of laundry.

Riley figure out how to get out of the yard of the house we are staying in, so we spent some time using a variety of materials to secure the place (an old door, some old shutters, a piece of lattice, some bird netting, and some wire. While it doesn’t do much for the appearance of the house, it seems to work.

I’ve attached another pic of the entry way tile. It came out really nice. All the tile is done & grouted, and unless we find a problem, the tile guy is done. Thanks Scott – great job!

We spent quite a bit of time installing some of the sprinkler lines on Saturday. We are trying to take advantage of the spaces between the concrete to run pipes in. This saves quite a bit of digging. They are going to start spreading the gravel today, so we really wanted to have everything run that we could. I think we did ok. I did take more pictures over the weekend, and will try and updated the album tonight.

Two weeks and counting...

We are still looking good for the 24th. The wood floor guy is supposed to start today and should be finished by the end of next week, which is the last major thing. There are lots of smaller things to finish up, but they are moving along.

The tile setter just got this set & cut last night. it's the entry way, and the wood floor will butt right up against it. The height looks just about right, so we are hoping for a really smooth transition between the two materials. It should look really nice. It's the same tile as the office. You can't see the texture in this photo, which is kind of odd, but it's there.

In other local news, the Von's in Morro Bay is closing. Apparently, it's not for lack of business, but the company is converting all their stores to a "Marketplace" concept and this store isn't big enough. It seems strange to me they would close a good store, but what do I know. We'll miss it. The space is rented to somebody else, but they aren't saying. We can always hope for a Trader Joes, but since they just opened a third one in the county, I doubt it.

Still don't know where the battery charger is for the camera. I'll try and find it this weekend and get some better pictures.

More updates

Here's a not-so-hot phone picture of the front gate. I can't find the battery charger and until I do, the regular camera is DOA. Regardless, this is so cool! I love the gate. You can see our builder is really into details & the Craftsman style, but he also managed to make this a little more contemporary. I love it. It still needs to be stained. The lock on it is an electronic keypad with a deadbolt so we can enter & leave the yard and keep it completely secure. Not really important where we live, security wise, but we always feel more comfortable knowing somebody can't just open the gate & let the dogs out.

Spent the first night in the neighbors house last night which is very strange. As most of you know, their house is/was almost identical to ours. They were both built with the same floor plan at the same time. Theirs, however, still retains all the knotty pine & old features. It's a blast from the past, and really makes me realize how much the small amount of space we added to ours impacts the space.

Master Bath

You can see the glass tile & limestone here. The back splash is taller than we thought it would be, but it's fine. The same tile will be used as a "liner" (decorative strip) at about eye level in the shower.

The house numbers are up - they look really cool, and the front gate is in. I'll post more pictures as the week goes on. Stuff is happening fast & furious lately, I like that!

News Flash....

No, the house isn't done. But....we are moving again! Another set of neighbors (who's house we haven't stayed in yet) has offered us their house starting tomorrow through August 24th. Needless to say, we said yes. It will be easier to have a place to our own for the next few weeks and it's as close to our house as you could be without being in our yard :) For those of you in the know, it's the house just to the west of ours - the one that used to be a fairly identical twin to ours. No longer...

So, tomorrow is move #7, but it should be an easy one, just schlepping a few boxes across the street. My remote sources tell me there were some nice additions to the house today, so I'll try and snag a few photos tonight for an update....

Front details

Jeff spent quite a bit of time cleaning up in the yard the other day. He moved all the old potted plants that were stored in the back yard around to the other side. We need to get an estimate for sod so this was necessary. In moving stuff around, he brought the pot we use as a fountain back to the front. I think it looks good. You can see here where the bench will go, to the left of the pot.

The tile setter has been working seven days a week and is making good progress. One of the builder's guys has been helping him and I think that moves it along well. He might be done by Wednesday, it's hard to say. The wood floor guy can't come in until the tile guy is done, and I think it's going to take the wood floor guy a week. So, you know what that means, right? It's highly unlikely we'll move in on the 10th. I would say the 17th is the earliest possible now. We are living across the street with our very generous neighbor Richard. We are trying to be good house guests!

We've got a few questions for the electrician and have only noticed a couple of problems so far. We had to use 4" can lights because of the depth of the ceilings and they are not super bright, but I think they will work. We have some really nice exterior lights, but they can't go up until after the building inspection. We have fluorescent bulbs to put in them, but because they *could* take incandescent, they aren't code.

At this point, we are so over budget it's not even funny. We are pretty much out of money, which is fairly stressful because we still have a number of things to pay for. We'll make it, I'm just not looking forward to the payments when we are done. But it will all be worth it, right? I posted a bunch of new pictures to the photo album. Enjoy!

More tile

This is the guest bath again, with the glass liner & pebble floor in place. It is not grouted yet, and the pebbles are not sealed. We are leaning toward having the pebbles sealed with a "wet" look so they will be darker, but aren't sure yet. I feel better about the limestone now that the glass tile & the floor is in. The floor really helps ground the shower to the room. You can't really see the floor in this photo. We've been trying to take photos at the house, but there have been so many people working it's been difficult. This weekend, I'll take a bunch & post them.

We move again today, back across the street to our neighbors, but this time, they are not on vacation. So, we are going to try and be good house guests for a week....or two.....

And now for something completely different...

This is not our new back yard. Steph & Greg are in town, so we took a day off. I had always wanted to hike out onto San Simeon Point and this is the view going out. The views on the hike are absolutely amazing. The sun was shining, it was warm, we saw a Cormorant rookery, I could go on. This is just a photo from my cell phone, so it doesn't do it justice, but the next time you visit, you can expect a hike here. It's beautiful.

In house news: the guest bath is almost done. Now that the limestone is on the floor & the glass tile is in, I'm liking it. It does look different than I anticipated, but I think it's looking really cool. The cabinet guy was here working on the kitchen. He's got almost all the trim in, and the microwave is installed. The range hood is in (he didn't do it) but it's not quite right.

The electricians have been busy and most of the can lights & other fixtures are in, as are the plugs & outlets. We got to turn on some of the lights yesterday - amazing! The hot tub is hooked up & we can get it cleaned and filled. Actually, until the gate is done, we won't do that.

All in all, things are moving along. I don't think we'll hit next weekend (the 11th) but we are sure getting close. Today is our last day back in this house, then it's off to our neighbors for a week.

Guest bath stone

This is the limestone in the guest bath shower. It's the same stuff that will also be on the floor. We are having mixed feelings about it. It's really neat, but is substantially heavier on the fossils & shells than the samples we saw. We think it looks cool but it's a lot busier. We are going to do a double check with the glass tile today that goes in the liner (the decorative strip around the shower) to make sure it doesn't clash.

The office floor is floated and they are supposed to put in the tile in the next few days. The hot water heater is in & the laundry sink goes in today. Making progress.

It's still looking possible for the 10th, I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Kitchen tile

This isn't a very good photo, but it should give you the general idea. This is the glass tile that is the backsplash in the kitchen. I got to the house last night about 5:15 and he had about 75% of it up. I think it looks great. It still has the spacers in it and isn't grouted yet, obviously. The grout is going to be gray in color, lighter than the counter tops. I'm very happy with how the kitchen is turning out. It's going to be sharp (it better be for the $$!) when it's done.

I painted the trellis in the back yard so they can move the hot tub back in place. I think they may have painted the garage wall also, which means they can move the washer & dryer back and install the hot water heater. Making progress!

Kitchen counters

Well, the counters are installed. Yeah! They look great. The color is a bit off in this picture. They are actually a bit darker and they have a very subtle pattern to them, like marble, sort of. Anyway, they look great. The overhang on the sink side is a bit bigger than it's supposed to be, but it works fine. The faucet still fits fine (we tried it). The material is Cesar Stone and is ground up & put back together quartz. Doesn't need sealing, isn't supposed to scratch, and is supposed to last longer than the house.

After a lengthy meeting with the builder today, we may, and I repeat may, have a "real" move in date: August 10th. He's heading out of town for a week and wants to be done when he leaves, which is fine with us. I hope we make it. I am so over moving. Move number 6 is next week.

They are definitely making progress on the house. The closet organizers went in today. all the interior trim is painted & the mahogany is lacquered. It looks great! Somebody put up the exterior speakers today & the in ceiling speakers in the dining room. They have also started on the gates, which is wonderful. I'm going to go over and touch up paint the trellis in the back yard tomorrow night so they can move the hot tub back. The builder says once that's done, the electrician will come over & start on stuff.

I put a few more pictures in the album. Enjoy!

General progress

The replacement kitchen cabinets came in & the installer was working yesterday. That's great news because we can move forward with the kitchen counters, which means it won't hold up the tile guy. Yahoo.

The concrete is poured for the front walkway so that's the end of the concrete. There is still some work to do in the front, but mostly just gravel. We toyed with the idea of another surface out there, but at this point, gravel looks like a good option (meaning: affordable).

We are back in rental house number two and will be here for a few weeks. Things are moving along well, but I still don't think we'll hit August 3rd - it's just too close. Maybe the 10th?

I'll try to upload some new photos early in the week. Things are settling down after this last move, so I should have some time....

Progress

Well, something is almost finished :) This is the vanity in the master bath. The installer brought & installed the Limestone slab yesterday and it looks great. It will match the rest of the Limestone in the bathroom very nicely.

The tile guy has been busy prepping the showers for stone, and the shower floors both have mud on them now.

We've got the front walkway laid out & the forms for the concrete should be done today. That will be the last pour we do. We found a spot to incorporate a bench which will be a nice addition to the front of the house.

They have been busy on the inside staining the rest of the mahogany and painting the baseboards & interior door trim. They'll get all cleaned up, then the wood floor guy is going to come and grind the existing concrete to smooth it out, once again, making a huge mess.

Move in wise, we are hoping for August 3rd, but are thinking the 10th is more likely. Someday, we'll be back home. Friday, we move back to house number two for a few weeks, then August 3rd, we are homeless again...