Lots of Progress!

I returned from a multipurpose trip to California yesterday and within an hour of landing at the Syracuse airport, I was up at the house meeting with Steve about some questions the plumbers have before they begin their work.  So much got accomplished during my week away.  Steve got the east side of the front part of the house sided and the eyebrow window installed on the third floor.  I am loving the punch that the third color provides!

Spike finished the den fireplace facelift, and Larry finished sealing the beautiful brownstone hearth.

Joel created a lovely garden area in the east lawn between the trees near the outdoor fireplace.  He transplanted several varieties of hostas from our current home and spread 25 bags of small creek bed stones.  Next to transition over are all our birdhouses, but not until we are ready to move!

Steve poured a concrete slab on the west side of the house in preparation for a generator which was delivered late last week.  It will run on propane and keep most of our house running in the event of a power outage, which we hear happens semi frequently up on Stokes-Westernville Road.

Joel and I caught Steve at the end of the day yesterday just in time for him to give Joel a tutorial on how to operate the lift.  Joel wants to use it in the evenings and on the weekend to give a second coat of paint to the trim work up high.

Oh, and I almost forgot;  Joel spent all day Saturday in the attic sweeping and vacuuming up all the insulation.  12 contractor garbage bags in all.  Quite an improvement when he was finished!

This Just In!!

Steve texted me this picture early this morning.  How exciting to see Eric, our fabricator from Raulli Iron Works, putting together our 4 foot by 18 foot upper deck at their shop.  Delivery and installation are set for sometime in July:)

The Calm Before the Storm

Joel and I worked up at the house all day on Saturday.  He finished digging out the walkways and patios then leveled out the dirt that he removed and planted grass.  He delivered old beams and posts from the house down to the area that will soon become the path to the lake.  I painted countless pieces of decorative molding for the outside of the house.  Most were the cream color, but I also did 7 large runs of our third color, purple.  The highlight of my day came at the cocktail hour when my junior high school bff, Tracy, brought her mom for a glass of chardonnay and a tour.  Tracy now lives in Connecticut but visits upstate NY frequently.  Mrs. Klingbail was my 7th grade English teacher!!  We had such a fun, relaxing visit.

Sunday was a day of rest...but today, Monday, was crazy busy at the house.  Steve had a lift delivered so he can work on the upper level soffit and siding.  Spike worked on the den fireplace and also the exposed chimney in our bedroom.  Mark, our electrician, met with Joel and me to finalize plans for outside lighting as well as all the places that we might want cable run for televisions.  Joel created a slate path from the patio to the outdoor fireplace.  The plumbers are due to come this week as well as the air conditioning crew to finishing hooking up the units.

So Many Exciting Things Happening all at Once!

I have been away on a little vacation, thus the longer time between posts.  I am home now, though, and so very happy to see all that Steve and Larry and Joel accomplished while I was gone.  I will list the progress then show you the pics.

The in-floor radiant heating installation is complete!  The rustic room looks like the inside of a spaceship with all the foil on the ceiling to reflect and contain the warm air.

Larry stripped off all the old wallpapered sheetrock from the chimney in our bedroom, leaving a lovely exposed backdrop/headboard for our bed. 

Spike cleaned up the hearth area of the den fireplace and Steve put in a beautiful hunk of brownstone which Larry sealed several times.  A similar piece will go into the dining room hearth in August.

Joel cut down several small trees to improve our view of the lake.  He also started laying out the general design for the pathway down to the water.   He then framed out all the gardens and walkways so that when our paving friend, Rusty, comes to lay down the stamped concrete, our design ideas are clear.  Joel spent hours last week building and installing the outside frames for all the windows on the parts of the house that have not yet been sided.  He painted them all this past weekend.  This will allow Steve to finish putting up the beautiful sage hardiplank.

Excitement abounded on Saturday as Roy brought up his backhoe to dredge a huge hole in the west side yard.  He then lowered in our propane tank (with Steve on it!). 

The weather for this week looks good so I imagine a lot of outdoor work will get done:)