it's not too late to help!

Good news: we got the approval of the fire marshall this week. So, now, we have just 2 things remaining on the list the Inspector gave us recently. Matt will take care of the railing on Friday.

You're most welcome to help us take care of the mulch on Friday afternoon or Saturday! We have some piles of brush to put through the wood chipper, and mulch to spread over the bare ground. This is the kind of work that requires little skill, and is way more fun with friends. :)

If you're interested, just let us know. We'll bring good food and grateful spirits...

Inspecting and Correcting

A bit over a week ago, Mom, Dad, Matt and Emily spent a day working on the house. Dad did some finish work inside, while the others worked outside in the yard.

Here, Matt and Emily are cleaning out the old concrete wash-out pit, and preparing the area for a set of steps down toward the house.


They decided to cut up the old, burned power pole, to use as steps, and Emly started putting them into place.

Looking good, eh? This will improve both the look and the function of the hill!
Inside, Dad attached the edges to the kitchen counter. It all is looking amazing.
And, a week ago, we did have an inspection. With a new inspector. He had a whole list of new things to take care of, as well as the news that we cannot have our power connection until our final inspection is signed off on. So, Matt spent some quality time last week crossing things off that list while he was on Spring Break. (Mom and Dad, too.) Piece by piece, we're getting closer!

Last Friday--Good Friday--we had some fill dirt delivered, to level out the yard a bit and make appropriate slopes away from the house. Here, Matt caught the truck mid-dump, while some friends and I watched from the front porch.
But, I confess, our Good Friday trip wasn't for work: we went to enjoy the spring wildflowers in the desert. (They were beautiful.) And, we enjoyed our first *real* breakfast in the kitchen, making good use of the new griddle. We ate in the sunshine on the back deck. This is going to be a cool house to hang out in. I mean, really: just look how happy Matt is cooking there!

After looking at flowers, we did get just a small piece of work in: cutting a slab out of a log, so Matt could make the two more balusters that the inspector asked for on his railing. He's since cut them to the right dimensions in Dad's garage.

Now, we'll see what happens tomorrow when Mom and Dad meet with the Fire Inspector. Then, we have just 2 more things on our list: installing those balusters and putting mulch on the dirt where there are not yet growing plants.

We'd like to get all this done by next week. Which means that if you, Dear Reader, are looking for a way to help, and are free this Friday afternoon or Saturday, there'd be a job for you in Julian this weekend!

fixed!

For years (now), we've known that we needed to make a fix on our septic system; today's it's done. :) After Roger succeeded in finding the septic line yesterday, Matt went up the hill this afternoon and repaired its connection to the tank.

Here, he tested the line by running water through it--everything worked beautifully.
Take a good look at these holes and piles--they'll be gone after tomorrow!

Also, Matt renewed our building permit yesterday (after surviving a fire drill in the county office...) All of which means we're now ready for an inspection on Friday. Here's hoping it all goes well!

details, details

It's been a good couple of days of work this weekend, taking care of more details in preparation for an inspection (and for move-in!!).

Matt and I went up on Friday, and he lacquered the beautiful cabinet doors that Dad built. Isn't Matt's door-hanging-for-spraying trick clever?
And, of course, he lacquered the drawer fronts, too, as the sun set.
Saturday, Mom and Dad, Emily, Phil and Shan came up to take care of projects. Mom vacuumed. And then re-vacuumed. And, again, re-vacuumed.

Building makes a lot of dust.
Dad hung most of the cabinet doors, which is really pulling the kitchen together. :)
In the distance, you can see Phil and a piece of trim for the stairway.
Here are the kitchen cabinets after Saturday--looking good, don't you think?
Mom removed all the plastic from the appliances, and she and Shan took more plastic off the windows outside--our view is getting clearer and cleaner.
Emily and Matt did some landscaping planning, and began reshaping the hill in front to be more lovely.

I think that removing the giant pile of dirt by the road goes a long ways toward making the property look less like a construction site... :)

Shan helped Phil hang a few pieces of trim on the stairs--finishing touches that look excellent.
The fading light (and a cold) didn't stop Phil's work.

Today, Matt and I went back up the hill to retrieve the plans, as we realized we need to renew our building permit (again). This gave me a chance to hang some simple curtains in the downstairs bathroom. Now we have a door AND curtains--sophisticated.
When we arrived, we found Roger at work digging to help us fix up the septic system. But, when we couldn't find what we were looking for, our neighbor Bob decided to call on the memory of an old friend and neighbor, while Matt explored the options up close.

Happily, we've since found some paperwork evidence that should help the task. That, and it's still just exciting to have the help of a backhoe. Backhoes are WAY more fun than shovels.

some crappy work

Lucky for me, I was away this weekend, while Matt was digging to the (overflowing) septic tank. Here he is bailing it out a bit. Crappy, eh?
Some quite nice things happened, too, though, including one most visible through absence: check out the yard without a trailer parked in it! Thanks to neighbors Bob and Eric, who shared 4wd and expertise to make it possible to get it up the hill to the road.
Here's the trailer, which Matt towed down the hill to Nona's driveway, where it'll get a little (much-needed) TLC.

Dad helped with lots of projects--including plenty of workshop time at home during the week, getting cabinet doors, drawer fronts and trim pieces ready. Here he is straightening out a 3-way switch that was just a little mixed up.

Matt went up again on Sunday, when the weather was more pleasant, and made good use of the space freed up by moving the trailer! Here, it's home to a new painting spot, for the last interior door.

Then, he continued to clean the garage, heartened by Mom's good work the day before. He built a clever rack for lumber and containing a bit of our mess.
Looks quite organized, no? Perhaps even like the kind of garage you could park a car in!
Ah, yes. It works.
Nicely done, all!

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!