Finishing details

Not a lot of time for a whole bunch of talk, but I will give you guys some pictures!

Our beautiful ceiling!

David in the storage loft

Me in the sleeping loft

David and is wonderfully functional drawers!

Book shelves

More drawers, David has become an expert

We rested

Spectacular wall paper in the bathroom

Emma came over and we planted some seeds

And she waters too!

Look at that! An outdoor shower- with hot water!

Moving countdown, and plumbing a tub.

 

 

 

 

We are moving forward! We always are, there's never any going back, but you can really see the progress. This weekend we put the tub in place. The big ole' galvanized tub got a whole cut through, a compression drain was threaded through, and fit through the hole drilled through the floor. Drilling through the floor was a little terrifying. After building so many layers of weather proofing and structural integrity, cutting straight through the five layers of floor was nerve rattling.

Here my dad drills up through the pre drilled floor hole into the tub to get the drain centered, as much as structurally possible. My feet are holding the tub down so it doesn't resist.

 

 

The tub is great. So is the reused outdoor shower cedar. I love this bathroom.

 

Here is the before picture to compliment the after! and I'm sure there will be an after after picture too.

This was when the tub came, sometime in March it looks like, judging by the snow.

 

 

Along with the inside plumbing comes the outside plumbing! We have the luxury of a well so close to our home site that we can put in a standing hydrant! Its frost free which means we can have water into the winter, at least at the well, if not the in the house.

Along with that came the propane hookup for the on demand water heater. A family friend came out to help us with the tricky stuff, and his generosity really made me appreciative to be raised here in this island community.

 

David has been working on the cabinets, and we almost finished the window seat/bookcase.

 

 

It really looks livable! places for our books, places for our crafts and tools, and check it out, window sills!

 

The window sills gave me nightmares. Really. It was one of those things that I thought so much about- all the ways it could be done, all the things I didn't know, all the things I wanted them to be. To me window sills were such a sign of completion. It makes the inside look done. Compete. Pretty and neat. They are simple, we decided to go with what we know, and they are beautiful and functional. David's family was here this weekend and we made an assembly line of window sill cutting, nailing and tongue oiling. It went so much quicker than I could have imagined!

We're moving out of where we are now, so we'll be moving into Sweetpea soon. We have a few things on our priority list that need to be done this weekend to make it possible, but its so close. There will always be projects, its part of owning a house, but by next week the projects should be small and manageable. We are of course still waiting on our awning windows, and that is a big project for sure, but those will come when they come. Before that we will replace the wood glue and chalk line in the kitchen shelves with millet and flour, and make this house into a place we live, not just work.

 

Tackling the hard stuff

We made such amazing progress this weekend!

 

 

That's our on demand water heater! I learned phrases like pipe dope on Saturday. That's me applying the nylon tape before adding the pipe dope (its sealant) and my dad, with his super big hair, double checking the valves.

This is where the water heater will go. A bit high into our kitchen counter, but hot water is important. More important than pretty bowls that might otherwise have that space. Where you see the plywood will be covered by kitchen counter soon. Part is already framed out, you can see just a smidge in the lower right corner. You don't really have to frame a kitchen counter, I've been told it can just be a plywood box, but that sounds way harder to me. I stuck with what I knew.

 

And it gets attached!

And David made drawers! The proper tool makes all the difference. Once he got a table saw, David cruised through box making, which translates into perfectly functional drawers. We got one side of the bookcase done too with a scrap piece of 1x10 my dad saved, and it looks really awesome.


I woke up at 6 in the morning on Saturday and woke David to talk about what we would do that weekend. It was raining out and we probably could have slept in, but I was like a kid on Christmas. We got all wet taking our dump run, but we dried when the sun came out. We're getting there! It's going to happen!

I'd love some help

Hey guys.

We're trying to move in by May 31st. Before we can move in though, we have a lot to do. We sure could use your help.

We've come up to projects that neither of use have a clue about even starting. Window jams? No idea. Finish carpentry? I'm trying. Plumbing? oo boy.

If you have any experience, or just think you could lend some energy to the project, I'd love to see you at 17 Okorwaw Saturday or Sunday between 10 and 5.

Please and thank you!

I've been thinking about space lately.




back

Outer space a bit-

A full moon is coming, and David called me outside at the last bone pink of sunset to see Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn. What a beautiful, close shake planets give out. Not a twinkle, more alive than all that magic- a shake, a shimmy.

I know more winter stars and planets. Orion's bow is my heart string, and its coming in fall never fails to strum.                 
                                                               But the spring stars.

 I see them without Orion, much alone without his direction and grounding.

But I got a David these days. And he shows me a starless sky, full of dancing planets.



And living space.

How I move in a kitchen. How we move in a kitchen. David chops, and I stir, and how does that translate into countertop space? Some things are already decided. I framed a window halfway between the counter for a sink. It has enough space for the water heater and a trash can to the left, and some space for cutting to the right. So stirring (and  the stove top) go in the small part of the L shaped kitchen, above the fridge, and below the spices. Makes perfect sense to me. Some decisions are just made right for you.

The things that needed to be stored under and in the kitchen cabinets fleshed out what they would need to look like. A drawer for utensils. A drawer for foil, potholders, the sharp knives maybe. A cabinets for food, halved by a cabinets for pots and maybe an extra skillet. And under toe kick drawers for that weird stuff- extra chargers, a phone book, birthday candles.

David has been working on cabinet drawers for the storage in the couch. I've never made a drawer. I've never made a box. The thought of all this cabinetry intimidated me to no end, I have to admit, and maybe David would admit it too- but he did it. He made some beautiful boxes, that later turned into beautiful drawers. Slow going, but shit's getting done.


And outdoor space.

We decided on a place to live. We were blessed with multiple options, all with their pros and cons, but where we are has treated us well, and we will be staying there. Our many tomato, pepper, cucumber, nasturtium, whathaveyou, seedlings that have been sleeping over at the greenhouse now have a home. And us too, the harder we push, the sooner it will be.

front

Busy, busy, busy!

 

Look how far it's come! We have been working like maniacs, and its paying off. The insulation went in a few weeks ago and its been full steam ahead since then.

We chose closed cell spray insulation for its high R value, even though it's heavier. With the Andersen windows and the insulation, the house will be sure to stay nice and toasty in the winter, and cool in the summer months.

Next, the floor went in. We used salvaged oak my dad found extra from a job site. Its beautiful wood, and was a great find.

 And check out that built in couch! I'm particularly proud of that one. There will be drawers underneath for extra storage, and there's actually quite a bit of room in there! There will be bookcases along both ends. It' going to be a useful piece of furniture!

Then came the ceiling. David worked really hard on gathering pallets (with Jeremy's help, of course), breaking them up, and placing them on the ceiling. The result is a really beautiful patchwork of wood tones and textures.

 This has gotten whitewashed since, and looks like a sky of many blues.

We put spruce tongue and groove on the interior walls too.

 

 

For the bathroom wall we salvaged the cedar from an outdoor shower that was being ripped off a house that's getting moved soon. It looks awesome, and is semi water resistant. I think it's my favorite wall. Great thanks to my mom and dad for that project!

 

 

Before the bathroom wall could be closed off we had to get the tub in the bathroom. Its too big to fit through the bathroom door!

 

 

 

And we got a door!

 

Ani painted it a green to match the roof. We have keys to our home!

Its coming along, and more was done this weekend. April flew by. Between work, moving, and making progress on the house, we have not been sleeping much! But it will make sleeping up in that sleeping loft when it's all finished all that much sweeter.

 

 

 

Building party! Today, Sunday April 13th

Hello friends and family!

I know this is last minute, and you all are busy prepping gardens, and maybe packing for that rental shuffle coming up, but if you can lend us a half hour, an hour, two- we'd appreciate it! We're getting down to the crunch, we too are moving at the end of the month, and there is still lots to do!

Today David is working on the ceiling and needs some extra hands. My mom is shingling and could use some assistance. My dad and I are on various ceiling and framing projects. There is plenty to do! If you've been curious about progress, or have been itching to get that hammer out- come on over to 17 Okorwaw, off the boulevard. We'll be there until probably around 5 today!

Hope to see you there!