We're Dried In

The long awaited day finally came, you know, that day when you pay your carpenters for the last time and they drive off site. They're great guys, nothing against them personally, but what a good feeling it is when they leave for the last time!

The exterior of the house is finished except to get paint on it, which will be done next spring. The weather up there is too unpredictable throughout the winter to try to paint. The deck structure is finished as well. We have plywood nailed down on parts now just so we can get out on it and enjoy it.

We had the garage doors installed the day before Thanksgiving. It actually looks like a home when you drive up to it now.

We also installed our wood burning stove, a Lopi Endeavor, so we could warm the place up a bit while we work inside this winter. It will be much more effective after we get insulation in the walls, but if you sit close it keeps you warm.

Cliff and I had a nice, quiet Thanksgiving up there. Our dinner was very nice and we had artwork from Jake and Warren to remind us of family. There was a Thanksgiving day disaster though. As I was taking the absolutely gorgeous, totally homemade pumpkin pie out of the extremely cheap trailer oven the rack came loose and my pie fell from the rack and landed on the open oven door spilling half of the delicious filling onto the floor and beyond. At the time I didn't think it was humorous so I didn't take a picture of the mess, but I did get one of what remained of the pie. It sort of looked like dog food, but it tasted just fine.

What's next? Christmas....so there won't be much to report on this month. In January we'll continue the installation of the pex tubing for the radiant heat and get the electrical work done. Maybe even get the insulation in...who knows.

The Grandkids

I can't resist posting a few pictures of our adorable, wonderful grandkids. It's still surprising (when I pause to think about it) that only 4 years ago this month we were waiting for the birth of the first and now there are five of them. They are surely a blessing from the Lord.

Here are Warren, Aubrey and Jake posing on a quilt that my quilting friends made for me way back (!) when Jake was expected.

We take pictures of the babies with Billy our 100+ lb. doberman (mostly to frighten thier other grandma's). Aubrey was happy to make his acquaintance. (For you non-dog people Billy is very gentle with the kids).

This is Johnny in his spiderman jammies and Burger King crown. Jess and Isaac found him asleep in bed with his crown on the night this was taken.

And here's little Jeanine in her car seat smiling adoringly at Miss Bessie Cow. She (the cow) is the best thing since sliced bread according to Jeanine. (Not counting her mom and dad, they're pretty great too).

Thanks for indulging me and taking a look at the kids!

Siding & Tongue and Groove

We're getting so close to having the exterior of the house done! Next week will mark 6 months since we broke ground. I can hardly believe it's been that long. I kept thinking that it's taken the "summer" and then it struck me that it's already Nov. and summer is long gone. (You wouldn't know it by the weather however, it's supposed to be in the mid 70's today in C.V.)

This is the south side of the house. Still waiting on stairs up to the front door!



The siding is done except for one plank across the top of the west end which will be put on when the guys put up the tongue and groove cedar planks that fill in the overhang area (I can't remember what that area is officially called).




This is the tongue and groove cedar with the paint drying on the living room floor.

We installed a toilet and sink so we could get rid of the outhouse. I didn't mind the outhouse until we moved the trailer into our driveway and started to smell it venting. Whoo, am I glad to have that gone.

This window is located in our stairwell. It will bring in extra light and the view isn't bad either.

The seas were up last weekend and it was beautiful. Here are a couple of pictures, one looking south and the other down on the ocean at the end of the bluff.

We ordered our wood burning stove and are going to install it and start using it. Though we don't have insulation or drywall yet it will help to take off the chill in the great room this winter. Now that the carpenters are almost done we will be working on the radiant heat tubing and electrical. We'll keep you updated but the pictures aren't going to be quite as interesting!

Rain Gutters and Plumbing

We had another busy weekend at the house having copper rain gutters and plumbing installed. Have I mentioned that copper is expensive? But because we chose to build at the coast and because the salt air ruins most metals, copper it has to be. The upside is that it sure looks pretty!

Our "gutter guys" showed up at about noon on Friday and got right to work. We wanted seamless gutters so they had some long, heavy gutters to carry from the street where they were set up to the house and then up either on the roof or up ladders. These 3 men worked hard and got the job done without any dents, dings or scratches. They even wore plastic gloves so they wouldn't get fingerprints on the copper. We are impressed with their work.

On Saturday and Sunday we had 3 plumbers doing plumbing (of course). They put in all the copper (yes, more copper) for the water, and the waste and vent.

The siding is looking good and continuing this week. We aren't going to have it painted until spring or summer of next year. The weather is unpredictable this time of year and we don't want to get the painting started only to have to stop due to the dampness from the fog or from rain. So for now our house is sort of grayish, but it will be green when it's done. That's all for now. Downspouts coming soon!

A Roof in One Day

We had another busy weekend at the property, this time it was the roof going on. Who would have thought that 6 men could put a roof on in one day? These were hard working guys. They arrived at 8:00 in the morning, worked with very little break time and drove away at 7:00 that evening. It was a long day for everyone involved and we're so glad it's over but even more happy that we have a roof. We no longer dread the words, "It might rain"! Our carpenters are putting the siding on this week, so we will be dried in when that's completed.

Here's a few pictures from the weekend....

The roofing materials being delivered

Roof installation

Unfortunately we forgot to take pictures after the roof was completed. Next time!

Here are our stairs, finally done. Now it feels like a house to me because I don't have to go out through the garage, down the side of the house and into the french doors to get in the master bedroom.

For you people who work in construction here's the under side of the stairs. Built to last!

We also moved our 5th wheel from our neighbor's property (where it's been all summer) into our driveway. Thank you to Jerry and Mary Lou for being wonderful hosts and making us feel welcome.

Yes, that is fog you see in this picture. We couldn't even see the water for most of the day. The day dawned sunny, the fog came in sometime in the morning, and in the late afternoon it cleared up for a little while. That's a fairly typical day up on the north coast. What's not to love?

Buzzing the Bluff

Today is our 30th anniversary. Because we're building the house I didn't plan on doing anything out of the ordinary but Cliff had other ideas. His friend Travis has a pilot's license and goes flying frequently in small planes. So Cliff arranged for us to go flying. He told me we were doing something special and challenged me to guess a few weeks ago thinking that I would never get it right. But about a week ago I figured it out although our destination was still a secret.



This morning at about 10 we took off from Palo Alto and flew west to the coast. We headed up the coast from about Half Moon Bay all the way up to our property. It was absolutely beautiful! We couldn't have been blessed with a better day for flying on the coast - no fog and abundant sunshine.



After flying over our house, waving at neighbors and taking a few pictures we headed inland to Petaluma, landed, had lunch at the airport cafe, took off again and landed in Palo Alto. What a blast! We highly recommend it! Here's a few pictures of the day.

The Golden Gate Bridge

Point Bonita Lighthouse

Two views of our house (it looks huge)

The end of the day, parking the plane and tying it down.

More of Looking House-ish

When the decking is built and the X bracing removed we will have one more row of posts down below in line with those already installed.

Copper vents for bathroom exhaust fan and kitchen range hood. (Steve C.--keep praying that no one steals the copper!)

All the materials for the siding are on site and ready to be installed.

This picture is the overhang on the west end. It will be covered with 1"x 6" tongue and groove boards painted white.


This is our dining area with the stairs beyond which go down to the master bedroom.


This is our kitchen. It you squint your eyes and hold your head to the right you might be able to see the island and cabinets beyond. Under the window will be our computer/desk area.


We hate it here, it's always foggy. : ' )


This is the front door from the inside looking south.

Looking Quite House-ish

The construction is moving along quickly as you'll see in the pictures. Cliff and I didn't go up to the property for 2 weekends in a row and that's why we haven't posted for 3 weeks. (Sorry about that).

All of the plywood is on, including the roof, so the house is somewhat draft free at this point. We had a picnic lunch in the living room on Friday--what a view!

Cliff installed the front door, it looks wonderful. The roof structure creates our deck covering as you'll see from the next two pictures.

Our well is now hooked up to the pump and we have water!