putting things into place

Yesterday was another wet winter day in Julian--but we kept busy and warm (for the most part) in the house.

We put the kitchen range into its place, lifting it carefully over the pretty new floors.Matt showed off some acrobatic skill getting it plugged in.
Emily climbed into its hole to try to corral the cord into place so it'd all fit nicely...
and then showed her acrobatic skill in getting out before it slid into its final place.
Nice, eh?
We put up all the final bits of window and door trim, and Mom worked hard getting them all sanded and ready for lacquer.
Emily and I put up the rest of the baseboard--now it's all in place. Even behind the laundry area and in the closets. :)
Matt started hanging the lovely new shower door downstairs--the doors in place, but the tile-cutting bit wore out before he could get the side panel installed. It's gonna look great, though!
And, again, Mom worked at conquering the muddy disaster that has become of our entryway. Now there's plastic dropcloth protecting it. And, someday, hopefully, our walkway paths will make travel from the street and the garage a little less muddy...
As Mom and Dad left, the snow began to fall. Matt and I stayed to lacquer the new wood trim, and by the time we left, there were 3" of snow in the driveway. It was coming down fast, in giant clumps!
We're happy to report that the window and door trim is all installed and lacquered, the baseboard all in, the pump that recirculates hot water all wired and functioning, stairway trim partway done, appliances installed...and we're nearly ready for an inspection. Perhaps one more weekend of clean-up and odd jobs and we'll be ready. :) Then (inspector willing) we'll be ready for a real electrical hookup. And we can turn the heater on. Ahhh...

Plus, Dad's been hard at work on cabinet doors and drawer fronts in his home workshop. Soon we'll be lookin' like (nearly) finished house.

a muddy day for details

Welcome to the house: with gorgeous wood floors, and the tile floor we're sure glad we installed in the entryway. 'Cause look at that mud...
It was rainy all day today, and chilly in the house, but we enjoyed some time together, anyhow. The lemon meringue pie was good, too! (For evidence of this, look at the brightness of Dad's smile as he dishes himself a piece...) The kitchen's as clean as it's been, thanks to Mom's cleaning and sorting.

In the garage, Phil got to work lacquering the baseboard, while Shan put polyurethane on some oak trim pieces.
Dad took care of lots of little jobs, including detaching the range cord so it can be shortened.
Shan sanded the trim around doors downstairs, getting them ready for lacquer. We ran out today, but things are all ready for next time.

Shan and I started installing baseboard, getting creative with the strange angles in the big room's walls. It's looking pretty nice!
Here we are toward the end of the day. We'd thought we were past the point where saws belong in the house, but the rain and the mud between the house and garage convinced us that the big room makes a fine workspace for the time being. :)
Phil got some vent covers in, trimming the floor to make it work. If only we hadn't had to move the stairs (almost exactly a year ago!), this would have been less work today, too...
Matt and I also installed the upstairs bathroom vanity--another antique dresser transformed into a vanity. Now, given that it has a door and toilet paper, the upstairs bathroom is definitely the finest one to use. Thanks to Mom for cleaning it all up and getting it ready to use.
The big (unexpected) excitement, though, came from our attempts at getting Matt's truck out of the mud. It was convenient unloading the vanity from so close to the front door...but not so convenient to get the car back to the road. Here's a few fun pics of the project--toward the end, you get to meet our new neighbor, Bob, whose pulley figured prominently in the eventual solution. Thanks, Bob!

floored

The big job this past weekend: finishing the wood floor.

Matt and I went up on Friday to do our last bits of sanding and prep work, put down the sanding sealer, and get the first coat of polyurethane down. If you look closely here, you can see the reflection of Matt in the left window, as he puts the finish down. :)We finished the first coats on the floor, admiring how good the oak looks with a clear coat on top!
On Saturday, Mom and Emily came up with us, to sand and add another coat of polyurethane, and to do a bunch of other jobs. Now, the electrical box is well-labeled, the wall patch in the bathroom is repainted, the hot water pump is mostly installed, and the step up to the front porch is done and stained!


See, it makes us happy...
Today, Matt and I went back for the final coat--here's Matt just before sanding the floor. We definitely got better--or else we did a better job of estimating how long things will take: the last coast took less time than we figured.

This is a new phenomenon for us.
The floor is looking great, and we look forward to it getting nice and hard before next weekend, when we'll return for more fun!