VACAY HAS BEGUN!!! (sound the horns!)
So, even with my workload unexpectedly cut in half, Friday (the zero-hour of my involvement with the remaining proposal) was still a very intense day. The technical staff was far, far behind because of Thursday’s power outage. Even though I accomplished what I possibly could and left a comprehensive checklist of what all yet needed to be done and how to do it, well…there sure is a whole helluva lot that needs to be done! (And I worry a bunch about the strong likelihood that the damned thing won’t be edited or proofed…)
I stewed about that, up until I walked out of the office yesterday afternoon. And then I was DONE stewing about that.
And here we are!
And get a load of what’s in store for us this week!
(And that’s Seattle’s forecast—it’s generally warmer here in the South Sound). Holy cow.
“Muggy” is the part I don’t like.
John’s been working on the sides of the house that are most conducive to the best “degree” of comfort-level. His focus this week will be the decks, and also installing the tar paper for the roof. Ew.
Today, I’ve been doing a fair amount of cleaning. Jeesh, this camping trailer collects the cobwebs and dust (construction site, after all), plus the fact that’s it’s an OLD camping trailer. There is a spongy spot in the kitchen floor that has become progressively worse, and I just hope a leg doesn’t end up jamming through it before the time comes that we have to dismantle, demolish, and remove this thing to make way for the driveway. But, it does look better. Bugs are out of the light fixtures, cobwebs scooped up (for the most part), mirrors cleaned, appliances cleaned, floors mopped. I’ve had the A/C cranked up to manage this quite well. (Thank you, 27-year-old A/C unit for still working just fine).
Helen is coming to visit tomorrow for the day. We’ll have dinner and a couple of crantinis and she’ll get to see the HOUSE! I’m excited for her to see it – she has a lot of history here at Harstine, coming to visit every summer that we’ve had this plot of paradise. I know she really loves it here. In fact, when I walk into the guest bedroom in the house, I think of it as “Helen’s room!” She can also relate to having a house built, as she and her husband went through this just a few years ago. It’s a daunting undertaking, that’s for sure.
And Margaret is coming to visit one day this week, too! She also knows Harstine in its natural form (BC – Before Construction). It’ll be great to see her, and especially knowing the weather will be warm and sunny and summery.
(I’m also hoping that my brother can come to visit—hey, bro! There’s still room for your Taj Mahal tent!)
A few new pictures, although progress has slowed the past week or so. The framers still have some work to do, but they’ll tend to it all once they return to install the windows, which should be within the next couple of weeks. The plumber was SUPPOSED to start his work this past week, but it sounds like he’ll be out this coming Monday to begin that task. It gets down to brass tacks now, because certain things can’t happen until “this” happens. And you can’t trench for the electrical wiring until they’ve delivered the windows and doors because otherwise there wouldn’t be access. Jeesh.
(Above) – Here I actually worked up the courage to step out on one of those (rather flimsy) sheathing boards on the deck that is a gazillion feet off the ground. This is beneath the main living room dormer and looks down toward the smaller dormer off the master bedroom.
(Below) – This is the “back” (tree-side) of the house, and the forward part of the picture is a portion of the smallish deck off the kitchen. John has extended it, which he calls the “weenie walk,” that connects with the gully bank so that there will only be 3-4 steps down, thereby making it easy possible for the dogs to get outside to their potty grounds. If he hadn’t extended it, it would have been a whole LOT of steps down to the ground (15-20) because it’s very steep there. And I can guarantee you – the dogs would have totally balked. Not a good thing. It also will make it much easier for US to get to the ground there, and then around to the “box,” or “wine cellar,” as John calls it. That will be a major storage area, as well as house the hot water tank, furnace, etc. (And who knows? Maybe even wine!)
This (above) is a photo I took through my glass “studio” window onto the main deck. Hee!
(Above) – Here you can see John’s nifty new scaffolding thingy. He will TOTALLY need this for all of the bazillion items of finishing work he plans to do, and so much of it UP HIGH.
(Below) – I love how this looks right now, although it won’t look like this for long. As part of the framing skeleton, I think this looks like a ship. Don’t you? I’d love to be able to preserve this look.
Here’s the view of the ol’ trailer from the garage. Love that thing! So very thankful that we’ve been able to keep it throughout all of this construction. It has been our “cabin” since spring of 2005!
I’m still decompressing somewhat from my awful work-week, but easing into the the wonderfulness that is VACATION.
The only downside (and I’m trying to get my head wrapped around this) is that I left my iPhone at work! I have NEVER been anywhere without my iPhone at my side, and I am bereft! I have lost an appendage! When I think about it, I know I’ll survive. I have my laptop and iPad. And I have a digital camera. Just can’t take/make phone calls. I miss the convenience of my iPhone’s camera, though. Argh! Email me if you need to get ahold of me.
Steamer clams on tap for din-din!