Today's project and meeting neighbors

Today I helped my hubby with the building of a shed.  I don't know the fancy name for it, but it's a 10 x 12 metal shed.  We got it at Menard's a while back and last week the floor was built while I stained the doors in the house. 

It was a was a learning process and if we ever build another one it will go crazy fast compared to this time around. It's sturdy as heck though.  I dare any wind to try and blow it down!

The whole family participated.  My son put washers on the screws It felt like there were thousands of screws and bolts that needed washers (But I'm sure it wasn't that many).  His little fingers were perfect for it and because he was such a good helper he earned a few extra bucks for allowance.  He really was a good trooper today

The shed happens to be under a few Oak trees.  The acorns were falling all day until we got the roof on.  I can only imagine what it is going to sound like next fall.  With a couple exceptions it really is like the particular area was meant to have a shed there.  It was pretty level and the trees weren't too close. 

Today I also met the lady that lives *right across* the road from the new house.  Those neighbors have a hobby farm, I think.  Two horses, a few dogs, few cats, several chickens and a few geese.  Turns out there is a fox in the neighborhood and it's after her chickens.  She said she's been live trapping for several months and so far has caught only raccoons.  She thought my son would get a kick out of seeing a live one before she went down the road and released it. It was pretty calm, all things considered.  It was impressive to see how big the raccoon was. Probably as big as a Maine Coon cat.  The neighbor said this particular raccoon was the biggest she had caught so far. 

Tomorrow the vinyl for the kitchen is to be installed.  Exciting stuff! :-) I think after that they will start putting in the cabinets and the rest of the kitchen together.  The appliances were delivered yesterday.  I can't wait to see the kitchen all put together. 

Siding

The siding on the front of the house is all done!  

Looks like just how I envisioned it!.

Picture time!

I've had some people asking me for pictures of the new house while it's in the process of being renovated. This blog entry is a bit picture heavy.  The majority of these photos were taken two weekends ago.  

Here is the kitchen.  This side will have the kitchen sink and the dishwasher.  The window provides a lovely view of the back yard. 

Here is a picture hubby took out of the window.  It's like a painting out there. 

Here is the back door.  You see one of the many birches on the property. 

Here is a shot of the hallway.  At the time the photo was taken the hallway was full of the doors. 

Here is a photo of what will be my craft room. Nice color eh?  The color is called "Olive oil."  

Here is a shot o the living room from the hallway.  Wanna see what I see when you look out that big window? 

Here you go!

Here is a photo of the livingroom from the doorway that connects the livingroom to the dining room. 

One of my favorite shots from the day I took these photos?

This one.  My son was sitting out on the porch "surveying his domain"

This past weekend the family and I went out to the house.  Hubby was working on a shed and I was staining the interior doors.

Hubby took a photo of me staining the closet door in the living room.

Here are the two doors I stained in the kitchen.  The left one is a half W.C. and the right door is the laundry area. 

I love this color of stain.  It's called "Gun Stock".  I asked hubby about it and he said that it's more of a cinnamon color.  I love the red hues that this stain has.  Makes me very happy.  

I still need to put a coat of poly on the doors.  This coming weekend I will be either staining bi-fold doors or putting a coat of poly on the doors. I haven't decided yet.  Some point in the near future I will be staining the trim.  After working on the doors the trim will be a piece of cake.  Just need plenty of room for the boards to be spread out. 

My next blog post I will share pictures of the yard and surrounding area.  I'm still in awe about how pretty and big the trees are.

Crocheting during the Olympics

This year I picked a crochet project.  I have wicked newbie skills when it comes to crochet. Basically I know the basic single, double crochet and triple crochet stitches and that's about it.    I picked the "Blossomy" scarf. I decided to really push myself and expand my horizons. 

I haven't learned to read crochet patterns all that well yet so I misinterpreted a few things and didn't look for clarification always and this scarf is uniquely my own.  While I was making the second medallion I worked the last few rows with the wrong size hook.  One that was teeny tiny, like 1.0 m.m.  How I didn't catch that while I was working the project is beyond me.  Thankfully, crochet is forgiving and I was able to bring it back to where I needed it and I started working it with the correct hook again.

I'm very happy with how this turned out.  It's almost a shame that it's still summer and too warm to wear scarfs. I enjoyed the pattern very much. It's well-written and the different stitches are explained.  I can definitely see myself making more of these in the future.  

Pattern: "Blossomy"

Yarn: MadelineTosh in the "Iris" colorway

Hook size: U.S. size G/4 m.m.

I didn't finish this before the closing ceremonies. Life got too busy so the first week I barely touched it.

We have some windows

This weekend hubby went to work on the house.  New windows were installed on the front of the house.  

 I'm in love with that big front window. It's nine feet wide.

Here's a picture with one of the workers, for scale, standing by the window.

All the interior doors have been delivered.  Those need to be hung and stained. Interior painting has started.

Exciting times!

One more thing taken care of

Yesterday I signed my son up for school in the new district.  In that one action I now feel that we have an anchor to the new house and the new community.

The school sounds better in many ways than the old school. You can bring homemade goodies to class.  It's still a Christmas program rather than a Winter program or "Fine Arts Festival." It reminds me of how school was when I was in elementary school.  There is also another student from my son's old school that will be transferring to the new school.  Same grade but will be in a different classroom.

We got a tour of the school and I think my son my son asked more questions than me.  He wanted to know the important stuff like where the music room, art room and gym was.

Next week there is a back to school event where the kids can bring all their stuff in, set up their locker, meet the teacher and see classmates.  It sounds like fun.

Now I get to review the new school supply list and fill in the gaps.

Amazing how quick the summertime went.

A couple before photos

We headed out to the new house tonight for a bit.  My husband took a few photos of the progress so far.

I didn't mention in my last post that the house needs a complete renovation, inside and out.  So far the biggest improvement to the exterior has been the brand new roof.

 Some new exterior doors have been installed too.  Very nice doors.  I'm pretty excited for when the that big front window will be replaced.  If I had been thinking I would have taken a picture of the what you would see out that window.

Here is a shot of the back.  The back hasn't been cleaned up yet.  Next year there will be a big ol' deck on the back.  I already have grand illusions of canning and dyeing fiber and yarn on the back deck. Again, I should have taken photos of the view.