Merry Christmas to all our friends and family!!!  Thanks so much for all your support and encouragement!!  We have our first Christmas tree in the new house!  We have boogers all over the windows; footprints all over the floor; dirt in the dog shower; and our chairs in the living room!  Life is Good!

Osker ripped a toenail off his back paw.  He's been hopping around on 3 legs  for a week.  It's going to take a while for the nail to grow back.

We installed the laundry sink on a temporary plywood  countertop.  The inspector wanted to see the plumbing hookups otherwise we'd  have to get another permit when we put it in on the real countertop (yea, right).

More of the laundry room cabinets should be coming soon.  Mom had to chip up a few tiles and replace them because the cabinet guy gave her the wrong measurements for cabinet placement. 

The returns on the stairway handrail are done, except for touch-up varnish.

So our list is complete and we called for the final inspection, but the inspector didn't want to come out because of the road conditions.  Now he wants to make sure the original elevation certificates have been submitted.  They were submitted this week...

We have certainly slowed the pace now that the pressure of moving is off!!  We had a wonderful, party-filled Thanksgiving.  Now we're back to working on the short list for the final inspection. 

We had our first snow and have had several days of single digit temps.  The water line from the spring is frozen, so the geothermal heat pump powered by spring water is not working--bummer!  Keeping the wood stove stoked!

Dad likes to tease me by putting me in the princess tub.  I don't like it one bit.  I don't think it's funny.

 Ahhh....!!  Life is good!!
We called for final inspections!!  The inspector left us with a short list of things to take care of like:  strap the water heater to the wall; put the bathroom fans on timers; caulk around the bottom of the toilets; return the top and bottom of the stair handrail to the wall; install a dishwasher; and install the laundry room sink.  He also said it was OK for us to "unofficially" move in!!!   Yeah!!!

This was another joyous moment!!!


We're going to work on moving until Thanksgiving, then get back to the list!

 The rock guy delivered a truck and trailer load of 1 1/2 minus for the base of the garage area.  He did a pretty good job of spreading it for us!

 The soaker tub is installed and working! 

Uncle Jim came for a visit and helped us out with the final drain plumbing.  We also cut a 16' pole, skinned it, sanded it, and varnished it for the handrail to the upstairs.  

We had a good time with Jada.  She's learning how to play with me.  When I gallop towards her she hides behind her dad.  We had her running in the rain without her raincoat!!!  She got muddy and full of burrs too!!

 You got it!!  Here's my chair in the new house!  I had been spending a lot of time in my chair in the old house to emphasize how much I enjoy it.  Well, we suddenly started spending the night in the new house and I simply was not comfortable, and became noticeably crabby.  The folks got the message and here I am!!  Doing the happy dance!!!

Grandma and Grandpa are cruising back east in their land-ship!  Before they left Grandpa helped Mom cut all the window sills!! One window is trimmed!! 

Rather than continue to heat two houses we decided to move the stove (in the bucket of the tractor) and start "camping" in the new house.  As far as the County goes, we don't live there yet, but have started moving things into cupboards!!!  Very exciting!

The shower panels in the master bath shower were installed.  Need to work on finding glass doors now.  The tub is in place--working on plumbing it.  The tub and heat pump are the last things to finish before we call for the plumbing inspection.

One of the french door windows shattered when it was hit by a rock while weed wacking.....

It had to go back to the manufacturer for replacement, and came back with half the finish sanded off.  We spent some time staining and varnishing again!!!

 Then we discovered that the fricken chickens have been pecking the exposed styrofoam on the garage footer, so we had to take time out to bring in more rock to cover it.

 Grandpa helped us create this banister for the basement!!  We made this one out of wood we had around too!  Hope it passes inspection!

 Dad has been covering the ICF styrofoam in the mechanical room with plywood.  Then he'll be able to mount things like the water filter system.

Grandpa and Mom built a 2x6 16" OC, 3/4" plywood deck for the exterior cellar entrance.  It's covered with plastic to keep the weather out.  It's all screwed together so that it can be taken apart and the wood reused when we get ready to put the actual cellar entrance on.

 We have a doe, buck, and young buck stopping by every evening to eat the fallen pears.  They're doing such a great job that we don't have to bend over to pick up pears.  Me and Osker don't think it's fair that the chickens can hang with the deer and we're not allowed.

 Grandma and Grandpa are visiting!  Grandpa helped Mom put up a banister on the stairs.  One more thing to check off on the list!! 

We didn't quite pass the electrical inspection but the things that need to be fixed are easy, like adding a few more GFCIs.

Dad has the hot water hooked up; faucets are going in including this funky one for the kitchen sink.  It extends to each end of the sink, but fully extended straight out it would pour water on the floor, hmmm......

Osker will "hop in the tub"!!  He sold out for treats.  I'm holding out. 

Friends...  Ya gotta help me out.  I've overheard Mom saying that our dog chairs do not fit her "decor" in the new house!!!  How can a house be designed and built with my needs in mind and not have a space for MY CHAIR?????  Me and Osker LOVE these chairs.  We were RAISED in these chairs.  Putting them in the basement or attic is NOT an option.  Center front in the living room is the only place -- change the fricken decor.  The chairs are getting a little dirty, and yes, we cuddle-down when we're wet, but does she want us sitting on one of the other chairs?  The windows in the front room are low, but does she think we're going to sleep on the FLOOR????  Come on!  Help us out here.  Please, if you talk to Mom tell her you think the chairs are lovely and complement all decors!!!!

Pacific Power came on Friday!!  They put a new transformer on the main power pole, pulled the wire through the conduit to the house, and connected it!!!  Yeah! we have light switches and lights!

 Then they disassembled the power pole near the double-wide and pulled it out!  Wahoo!  Dad then used the circuit/wire that went from the old house to the new house and reversed everything so we have power in both houses now!  Everything except the oven, because he took the outlet out and put it in the new house.  No baking for a while.

Trying to finish up the electrical this week so we can call for a final inspection!

The laundry room floor was tiled with the lights on!  How we appreciate things when we haven't had them for a period of time! We can turn on switches in the new house without running extension cords!

The bare areas are where cabinets will go.  The cabinet guy is behind schedule so he said he would put the cabinets on top of the tile.

Me and Osker treed a little black bear yesterday!  He's kindof in the middle of the picture.  He climbed way up to the top of the tree. Then we ran home to get the camera where Mom locked us in the house.  She ran back with Dad but he made too much noise for the bear to come down.  After he left the bear started coming down the tree.  Mom waited until he was close enough for a picture, then they both high-tailed it in opposite directions!!  We think he wasn't alone!

The dog shower is tiled!  Those little tiles are not so easy to work with especially on a wall.  We don't have the correct size spacers so ended up tearing up a cardboard box and using tape to hold them in place. 


We got a nasty notice from the County's Code Enforcement Dept last week saying that our permits had expired and we have 45 days to comply by getting all new permits (thousands of dollars) or get fined!!!  Yikes!!  Fortunately the guy who wrote the letter answered the phone and when it was explained to him that we have had some inspections and are making "significant progress", he renewed all the permits.  Guilty until proven innocent.

The old pear tree on the left broke a couple branches today.  It's loaded with little, hard-as-rock, Comice pears.  The pears drop like bombs on the metal roof and scare the you-know-what out of us.  The tree is over 50 years old and is getting fragile.  The pear tree on the right is dead.  We haven't cut it down yet because it holds our radio antennae!!  

Beadboard backsplash on the west side of the kitchen has been cut, installed, caulked, and is being painted!

Lights and receptacles are still going in!  Just the laundry room to go, then attic, and garage/shop.

Baseboards are still being cut, varnished and installed.  Tile is still being sealed!

The master bath floor is grouted and sealed; the shower pan is tiled and grouted!!! 

Our friends Cynthia and Jim and their little dog Jada visited this past weekend.  We tried to take a picture of me and Jada but I growled at her which freaked everyone out--so no picture.  I can't help it.  I have little patience for dogs who don't know my rules.  All the toys are mine, all the sticks are mine, all the food is mine, and don't get near my Mom.
 
Cynthia helped Mom paint the floor of the upstairs "attic" to keep the dust down and now we can move stuff up there.

They also unpacked wine, beer and martini glasses!! First things first.  Outlets and switches are going in too!

This week we've been chasing our tails...

Dad has been checking outlets and switches against the circuits.  There have been a few that made him scratch his head, say a few swear words, and drink a beer!!

Mom finished laying tile in the bathroom but ran out of mortar and grout so couldn't go any farther.  She finished a batch of baseboard and got that installed.  She started going through boxes trying to figure out which order to move things.  It looks messy around here...

She also put the waterproofing on what is referred to as the "dog shower".  Well, this is as close as I'm getting to that area, and it took a couple treats to get this close.  I don't do "showers".  I splash in the creek.  I run in the rain.  I don't do showers!

Dad drew the layout for the warm wire and tile center line in the master bath.  Mom got the wire  installed...

 and the tile is coming along!  The walls have been painted a dark taupe.

The other night we heard commotion in the field across the road, then a turkey flew over the fence.  Osker chased it down and apparently got a few bites of feathers before Mom caught up with him and told him to "leave it" and "come", which he surprisingly did!  Although the turkey was missing quite a few feathers it managed to get away!

Uncle Dave and cousin Jimmy helped Dad move rocks out of the the electric conduit trench!!!  They helped him do the rockiest section, so good progress is being made on filling in the trench.









We have a couple forest fires close by.  One night of dry lightning started about 70 fires.  It's spooky.  We have total respect for our fire fighters.

Got knobs!!!  The kitchen cabinets are about 99% done!!!  Just a couple of drawer inserts to go!  Mom can't resist putting a few things in the drawers dreaming about the day she can use them!

The madrones are shedding their bark and you can hear it crackling!!!  It curls and falls leaving the bright green new bark underneath!

Here is the boulder from the power line trench!!  It's a beauty and will be incorporated into landscaping as a memento!

The trench was "bedded" with sand and conduit was installed.  The power company inspected it--we passed--then it was bedded with sand again, and now the long process of filling it in with no large rocks.  There are a lot of rocks!

 Another friend who likes to split wood!  Tony finished the two piles and added a couple more rows to the shed!


The tile floor grout has been sealed.  The upstairs pony wall has been primed and painted!

 The hallway and mudroom have been tiled and grouted!!  Waiting for the grout to cure, then we'll seal it and we can walk on it!

Our neighbor put up the sheetrock and textured the upstairs pony wall!  Now it's ready for paint.

Wouldn't ya know that at the last section of the power line trench there is a one-ton boulder right where the conduit needs to go.  Dad loves a challenge and is determined to remove it!

Open range on Elk Creek Rd looks like it will be a challenging one.  Rumor is that the rancher brought 3 times (240) as many cattle as last year.  If he takes them to the high country they should stay and eat there, but they seem to meander down the road.  Surely the log truckers don't like it.  It's starting to smell like a barnyard around here!

We got a new toy with a squeaker.  We're doing pretty well with the new chicks; I am anyway.  Osker is having a hard time resisting the chase!

Zambit did not survive the impacted crop although she gave it a good try.

We decided to build a pony-wall at the top of the stairs instead of a railing.  It's framed in, and now a local guy is going to come drywall and texture it.

 The electrical conduit project is moving along!  Drilled a core through the footing of the garage and set the first sections of conduit.  It's kindof hot to work in the trench now.

The mudroom cabinets were installed last week!!!

Tiling the hallway and mudroom floor has started.  It's like playing twister when you're tiling in a small place and can't step on tiles! We borrowed a bigger tile saw, but it is not cutting straight lines.  Dad has been diagnosing the problem and vows to figure it out!!