One Mother of a Blog

Life is slowly returning to normal, if you can call me living 90 minutes away in an apartment through the week while kitty and my DH stay in our new home normal.  For the past two weeks we have been running ourselves ragged moving out of the apartment and into our new home which is not quite finished.

At the end of July we packed up the apartment and moved on down the road.   I traveled in the Honda during one of the hottest days in July, while kitty and DH drove in the air-conditioned van.   Goes to show who is the important one in our little family.   Kitty meowed and panted the entire 2 1/2 hours.  By the time she reached her new home, she was  exhausted.    However she soon recovered exploring two stories of home surrounded by field and fresh grass.  Kitty loves nothing better than a good chew of grass.  After being in a fourth floor apartment for 11 months, she thought she was in heaven.

The plumbing and electricity were not completed so we still had to use the trailer for cooking our meals, and the porta-potty for the rest of our business.  I spent the first two days attempting to sort through boxes making some resemblance of home from the chaos.   I returned to work leaving poor DH to deal with the contractors.   Last Friday I returned to  both electricity, plumbing and running water!  Not bad for less than four months of construction.  DH finally has a few good hairs and we have a home that exceeds our dreams. Life is good.

Compared to previous weeks, work on the house was slow.   The majority of the work was done by the crack fillers.  They would work for a few hours one day then not come back for a day or two depending on the weather.   The area had to be completely dried before they could work on it again.   One day the weather would be perfect, hot and sunny, the next day, fog and rain.   By week’s end we had to resort to using fans to circulate the air to speed the drying process.

The biggest work (in my mind) was the burying of the septic tank.  It sat in front of the house for so long it became part of the scenery.  Now it is safely buried waiting for an array of cutting flower garden  to be planted on top of it.

The electrican has installed two plugs with the full entry hook up to be slated for next week, or whenever he gets around to installing the rest of the plugs.

The dozer guy began backing filling the property, leveling off the roads and the extra banks.  Behind the house we have plans for a flat stone patio with a pergola.   I see it as a place for lazy summer suppers, the family, friends and grandchildren gathered around a rustic old table, eating vegetables from our garden while tiny fairy lights flicker  in the apple tree.  DH sees it as a lot of work, not high on the priority list.   For now it looks like this.

By this time we hoped to have the painting completed but due to last week’s rain and muggy weather, the crack fillers are still working away.  So DH had the carpenters build three large closets down stairs, to use up the extra gyproc.  I’m not complaining at all, the closets are a welcome addition.   We opted for wardrobes rather than closets in the upstairs bedrooms, so these 3 closets will provide much-needed storage.

Mr. Huff and Puff (that’s his company’s name) filled the ceiling with pink insulation. You can feel the difference in the house already.  Once the sun slips behind the mountain to our back, a cool wind blows down into the house, chasing away the hot summer air.

The long weekend was a busy one with us running between the setting up the apartment in Shediac and visiting at Hatfield Point.  Cousin San graciously volunteered to help us clean out  mouse house (our old travel trailer).  I wasn’t too much help due to a recurring problem with my hip.  The road running and driving to and from Moncton daily finally caught up with me. By Sunday morning I was at the local hospital as the pain was not going away.   A series of x-rays, two prescriptions, a diagnosis of inflammation of the hip, and a note for a week of rest later.   I’ll be as good as new by this time next week.

To see the past week in pictures, go here.

There was a whole lot of finishing going on this past week.  The ceiling were prepped for the insulation, the extra lights were added over the kitchen sink and the island, the basement floor was poured, the rest of the windows installed, and the gyproc was added.

When DH agreed to be the general contractor on the house building he did not bargain for a trip to the local Benjamin Moore paint shop.

Last Wednesday I did the initial visit to the paint shop, discussing the pros and cons of the various colour combination.   Early Saturday morning when I asked him to look at paint chips he moaned, “I don’t care what colour you pick, as long as it is not Easter candy purple.”

Wanting him to be part of every decision concerning the house, I cajoled him into spending his only day off ooohing and aaahing over the colour palettes.  I know in my heart he can not tell the difference (nor does his care) between fernwood green and dry sage.  He was a real trooper waiting patiently while I decided what colour would go where.

Besides I promised him a trip to Canadian Tire if he behaved.

This week the crack filler and the painters will be at the house.   We are hoping by week’s end the interior walls and ceilings will be painted.  All the cans and lids are duly labeled.  Each room has been photographed and notes added regarding colour. I can just imagine the eye rolling when DH reviews the colour scheme with the painter.

To see pictures of last week’s progress, go here.

Last week had its ups and downs.  Due to the flood this past spring in Quebec, delivery of our windows were delayed.  Originally the windows and doors were to arrive the first of May, then the middle of May, then the end of the month.  You get the story!  Each week it seemed like we were getting a different story.  Finally on Thursdays the windows arrived.  Mind you one of the set of doors had someone else’s name crossed off and our name written over theirs.  We didn’t care, we had windows.

The deck was added to the front.   DH called in a panic, the carpenters installed the cedar deck rails and completely removed our wonderful view.   A quick run to the local Home Hardware and the view was back.  DH purchased tempered glass panels, which are Izzy proof, unless she is running with a hammer!

The air exchangers and the heat pump, along with the electrical lines were all installed last week as well.

Friday night I drive to view the week’s work. We spent Saturday cleaning up after the carpenters.

Lately we always seem to be driving to and fro’ but someday soon we will be able to sit on our front deck and relax.

To check out last week’s work in pictures, go here.

I’ve just uploaded the pictures from last week’s progress to flickr.  You can see the pics here

Last week was another week of being dependent on the weather, the carpenters, the subcontractors and Lord knows who else! Monday was a lovely sunny day so the carpenters managed to get the upper front of the house up and the opening cut for the curved window over the door. The front part of the house has a cathedral ceiling. The rest of the house has 8.5 foot ceilings.

Cousin San and her dog Sunshine drove from Dartmouth to view the progress.  DH enjoyed having someone else to talk to besides the carpenters.

Due to the width of our house, it was decided to order the roof trusses locally. The order was placed last December and confirmed two weeks ago, for an end of May delivery. On Monday DH received a call from Julie of Riverbend that the subcontractor could not deliver the trusses as he did not have a vehicle available. As DH was within 10 kms of the truss builder he decided to drop in to discuss the issue. Guess what! The truck was not the problem, the truss company hadn’t even begun to build the trusses. Julie soon became that man’s worse nightmare.

Tuesday the interior wall studs were put in place.

By Wednesday supper time the trusses were built and being delivered. Unfortunately, the next two days were windy, wet and the carpenters were trying to finish up a deck for someone else.

On Friday DH hung the mail box and our house number at the beginning of the driveway. It seems more like home every day.

I’ve changed the header of the blog so you can see how green the landscape is becoming.  If you want to see last week’s progress in pictures, click here.