Bits of Progress
Sun, Jan 25 2009 11:07
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Things are moving along pretty steadily, but not in big easy to see segments. The chimney is up to the roof and the middle column is up to about six feet- right up to where they will put my Lake Texoma-found fossilized ammonite shell into the wall. I found that fossil over ten years ago when there was a drought causing a low water level. I gave it to Mom and Dad, and they gave it back to me for the house. Sort of thematic- brother Mike gave them the petrified wood log, and they gave THAT to me for the fireplace.
Mike's guys are still working on staining and finishing the wood. They spent all day out there Saturday cleaning windows and doors of dust. This rock laying business is very messy. Every single thing out there is covered in a fine coating of silty, grayish dust. Inside and outside. All the beautiful rock is getting covered in it. Johnny cleaned a small amount of the rock wall on the outside with a diluted acid, to teat and make sure it wouldn't cause any discoloration. It looks remarkably good, especially next to the ashy white of everything else.
The beams are up and stained in the master bedroom, and the ceiling was getting its final coating of satin sealer when I was out today.
I will be SO glad when the rock is completed and everything has had a good cleaning.
Mike was out today with his guys working on getting as much metal up on the roof as possible before the next couple of days, when we might get rain or even ice. We had to wait for the exterior stone to be completed, and by that time there was moisture under the felt paper, so we had to let it dry out.
After much deliberation I placed an online order for the all of the bathroom vanity lights. Some purchase decisions have come very easily, and some have been ridiculously hard. But, this one is D-O-N-E, and I am on to the next of many more. Onward!
Mike's guys are still working on staining and finishing the wood. They spent all day out there Saturday cleaning windows and doors of dust. This rock laying business is very messy. Every single thing out there is covered in a fine coating of silty, grayish dust. Inside and outside. All the beautiful rock is getting covered in it. Johnny cleaned a small amount of the rock wall on the outside with a diluted acid, to teat and make sure it wouldn't cause any discoloration. It looks remarkably good, especially next to the ashy white of everything else.
The beams are up and stained in the master bedroom, and the ceiling was getting its final coating of satin sealer when I was out today.
I will be SO glad when the rock is completed and everything has had a good cleaning.
Mike was out today with his guys working on getting as much metal up on the roof as possible before the next couple of days, when we might get rain or even ice. We had to wait for the exterior stone to be completed, and by that time there was moisture under the felt paper, so we had to let it dry out.
After much deliberation I placed an online order for the all of the bathroom vanity lights. Some purchase decisions have come very easily, and some have been ridiculously hard. But, this one is D-O-N-E, and I am on to the next of many more. Onward!
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Winter Reprieve
Mon, Jan 19 2009 12:21
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We've had some luck with the weather- as far as laying down stone is concerned. No rain with highs in the 60s to 70s. Of course, the burn ban is continuing because everything is so dry. Wednesday night I had a scare after seeing a plume of "smoke" coming from house site as I was driving up in the early evening. It turned out to be dust from all the rock sawing. I had a little flash of the life of the house as I drove up and was already rebuilding in my mind. Whew!Johnny's team completed the exterior stonework on the walls and the chimney and have the interior chimney built to six feet in the living area and to the ceiling in the bedroom. I am hoping this means they are in a fast groove. They built for me three insets with ledges on one of the bedroom rock walls where I can put candles. Nice!
Mike's guys have completed staining the wood on the ceilings and most of the windows, and they were out there again on Sunday putting on the satin finish. The final product is really beautiful. Because the fumes were so strong we decided against lighting the first fire in the hearth- something Johnny had given me the go ahead for. Decided I shouldn't blow up the house with the first fire...
I am very happy that David started with us on Wednesday. He finished up the door framing on the main back wall and then moved onto to wrapping the beams over the dining and piano areas. Lalo and his team were right behind him with red mahogany stain. I like the way the dark beams show up against the Ipswich Pine finish on the ceiling.
Tracy, Ashley and I spent a few hours out there yesterday. We had a picnic on the deck, and later we went on an adventure walk down under, following the dry creek beds. We found a few nice fossils and the usual array of driftwood.
Looks like we might make our April 15 deadline, Good Lord willing.
Catching Up
Mon, Jan 12 2009 11:45
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I got comfortable in the vacation mode over Christmas and New Years. I took six days off from work. I am now running behind in EVERYTHING- not just work, but car maintenance, grocery shopping, home chores, and of course blogs.
Mike and I spoke with David Grammer, a construction professional from Telluride this week. His son Danny lives here. His daughter-in-law Leandra and he came out over the holidays to look at the work. She reads the blog, and they both wanted to check on the progress.
We decided to ask David if he might be available to help us with completion of the house and so the meeting came to be. Mike let me know today that David will start work with us on Wednesday. His specialty is trim work, which is mostly what we have left. I am very happy this is working out. I pray for God's hand in it.
The front entry walls are COMPLETED! The rooftop chimney is COMPLETED! Now for the interior columns, wall and chimney. Then on to the floors.
Lalo and his brother Ricardo have been working hard to get the ceilings stained before the mason team comes inside. Oh what a mess that will be.
Tracy, Betty Grace and I watched a spectacular full moon rise last night. It was just like 2007 Christmas Eve- a huge, fat, orange globe rising up over the town of Glen Rose. Not a whisper of wind nor cloud in the sky. I brought out homemade beef stew and we had ourselves a great time. Linda and Karen came out just as we were leaving, and we got to visit some more before going home to get ready to face Monday and the "real" world.
2009- New Beginnings
Tue, Jan 6 2009 11:09
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New Year's Eve passed quietly on the hill. A waxing crescent moon, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury all lined up in a tall rectangle in the southwestern sky. Venus was the brightest it would be all year. It was so cold that Tracy and I sat in the sun room, currently the construction "junk room", to watch the show.
We settled into two chairs squeezed in amongst the tiles, nails, lumber, tape and paint supplies, while we sipped on Cabernet and mused about past and future times. A feral orange tabby cat wandered in and out of our view. Even in the middle of the construction chaos there was a peaceful atmosphere. I imagine that will only get better.
The weather this the week went from brutal chill to spring time highs and then back to ice! While the warmth prevailed Johnny and his guys completed one of the front dry stack walls, much to my delight. I know they are tired of me asking every single day, "Are y'all going to finish that wall today?" To which Frank always replies, "Yes, we'll finish at five o'clock".
The wood on the ceiling is almost all done. Just half of the kitchen and TV area left to do, and then of course the edging (not to be confused with crown molding- there will be none of that here). They also got most of the wooden slats on the TV wall nailed up, and it looks very nice. We just turned the car siding over to show the non beaded side and used up the leftovers in a random pattern. I really like the way the grain shows.
I ordered all the rest of the ceiling fans on-line. It is a bit like Christmas when you order from the Internet, since you don't really get to see how something looks until it arrives. So far I have been very pleased with my choices. I just hope it looks good together, all in one house. In my head it all flows beautifully and is overall a very peaceful setting. Let's hope for a successful transition from mind to reality.
We are in the "home" stretch, and I find myself having to calm down a bit, stay on target, and remember that God is, as always, in control of every single thing. And He is the Boss of me.
We settled into two chairs squeezed in amongst the tiles, nails, lumber, tape and paint supplies, while we sipped on Cabernet and mused about past and future times. A feral orange tabby cat wandered in and out of our view. Even in the middle of the construction chaos there was a peaceful atmosphere. I imagine that will only get better.
The weather this the week went from brutal chill to spring time highs and then back to ice! While the warmth prevailed Johnny and his guys completed one of the front dry stack walls, much to my delight. I know they are tired of me asking every single day, "Are y'all going to finish that wall today?" To which Frank always replies, "Yes, we'll finish at five o'clock".
The wood on the ceiling is almost all done. Just half of the kitchen and TV area left to do, and then of course the edging (not to be confused with crown molding- there will be none of that here). They also got most of the wooden slats on the TV wall nailed up, and it looks very nice. We just turned the car siding over to show the non beaded side and used up the leftovers in a random pattern. I really like the way the grain shows.
I ordered all the rest of the ceiling fans on-line. It is a bit like Christmas when you order from the Internet, since you don't really get to see how something looks until it arrives. So far I have been very pleased with my choices. I just hope it looks good together, all in one house. In my head it all flows beautifully and is overall a very peaceful setting. Let's hope for a successful transition from mind to reality.
We are in the "home" stretch, and I find myself having to calm down a bit, stay on target, and remember that God is, as always, in control of every single thing. And He is the Boss of me.
