Flies galore!

Oh, dear - someone please make these flies go away! I guess that's what you get when you have someone spreading smelly topsoil on the same day that the doors are all open so the movers can unload the moving van. I swatted a bunch of them, but there are a gazillion more, I think!

So, I spent the day unpacking boxes. Here is a photo of the vent over the cooktop. It is 1000 cfm and doesn't block my view of the family room like a regular vent would have...

The granite backsplashes look nice for the most part. There are a couple of spots where it looks like they filled in gaps with some kind of caulk, or something. We may have to complain about that. Here is the backsplash near the beverage area...
And the splash behind the main sink still needs to be done...
I took a photo of the scratch that I put on the floor when I moved the table. It's about 5" long, I think...oops...
The plumbers were here today and hopefully fixed whatever was leaking into the basement. They thought it was the ice maker. They also ran a test to prove that the gas lines weren't leaking so the gas company will come and finish hooking up our gas so we can shower and run the dishwasher. We are supposed to have hot water sometime tomorrow morning (fingers crossed).

I think I'm actually going to try to cook tonight, although I may leave the dirty dishes for tomorrow when we have hot water.

I smell the bread in the breadmaker, so I'd better go start dinner! Yummy!

The moving men cometh...

The moving men arrived bright and early yesterday morning. Seven guys and two trucks, with an estimate that it would take 11 hours for them to load the trucks, drive them to our new house, and then unload them. As they wandered through the house looking at what was to be loaded, they were all joking that "it will be an easy day", "there's no way this is an 11 hour job", "we'll be done and out of here in a few hours" - and they were serious when they were saying all of those things. Well, 11 hours later (almost to the minute), they finished unloading the truck! I guess the estimator did a much better job of figuring out the time than they imagined he did! Here are the trucks being loaded...

DH stayed at the house while the guys loaded the truck and DS, DD, and I headed over to the new house to get the van unloaded and to try to get the kitchen boxes that we moved on Monday unpacked. We also took all the cold and frozen foods over. DS and DD finished unloading the van and got in a couple of games of chess while I worked in the kitchen. (Oh, and that cute little round table that we put together so they could play on it? I pushed it closer to the fireplace when the moving van arrived so it would be out of the way, and in the process I scratched the floor - oops! I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. DD was glad that I made the scratch, instead of her.)
So, DD figured out how to turn on the cooktop and she made mac and cheese for our lunch. Later, she figured out how to turn on the oven and she made chocolate chip cookies for the movers (and us!).

Here comes my piano off the truck - it was very scary to hear DH say, "Watch out! The leg is buckling!". I should have stayed in the house while they took it off the truck! All is well now, but "egads!" that was scary! (Another little side note...at the end of the day, one of the movers called me over to the music room and asked if he could play something on the piano. He played a wonderful piece and said that he is here from Jamaica on a work/study program to earn money to continue his education. He is a piano major there and hadn't been able to play for a long time.)

Last night was the first time we had a chance to see the puck lights behind the valance lit up at night - it was a very cool effect. (I'm not sure what that moon-like thing is on the wall.)
So, the one bad thing about the new house is that the gas line was never hooked up. We really don't care that we don't have heat at this time of year, but we would really love to have the hot water working! DD, DH, and I headed over to the old house this morning to do some cleaning (while DS stayed here with the kitchen guys and the granite guys) and she took her towel and supplies with her so she could take a hot shower while we were there! I attempted to take a bath in my air tub this afternoon, hoping that the heater on the tub would take the worst of the chill off the water, but it didn't work. It did, however, wake me up! Brrrrrrr! The builder told DH that the gas will be hooked up on Friday.

So, our old house (where we lived for 11 years) is clean and we will close on it tomorrow. It looks very sad now that it's empty...this is DH's office...
And this is the family room...

I didn't think I would get emotional leaving the house, but I didn't sleep well last night and was exhausted and achy from the move and from cleaning our old house all morning. I think all those things just set me off and I bawled most of the way home! I feel much better now! LOL! Sometimes all it takes is a good cry to make things all right!

So, the granite fabricators were here to install the granite backsplash in the kitchen. They got most of it in...the pieces behind the sink were too thin, or something, and were crumbling. So, they will be back out another day to install behind the sink.

The kitchen guys were here to work on the cooktop vent and to do some other odds and ends. They have to come back another day also, as they still aren't done.

Pack, load, haul, unload, repeat...

Hey, this part of the house almost looks like we're living there already, with the new rocking/swivel chairs and some things stuck up there on the mantle! Yeah, I wish!
We drove 2 more van loads of "stuff" to the house today and packed up the van with one more load to go over tomorrow. DH and DD took the first load over and emptied it while I packed up the kitchen. We loaded up another load and DH and I took it and emptied it. This is a photo of some of the things that have been moved into my sewing studio already...

And the kitchen is full of boxes because we moved all of the kitchen things ourselves...
And more boxes in the kitchen! You might also notice that we angled the lights over the penisula to open up the center, give it more interest, and to move the right-hand lights away from the wall a bit more. I think I like it this way better!
Here is a shot of the master bathroom so you can see how the granite looks with the rest of the stone in the bathroom.
And here is the tub side of the bathroom. There are still several things that need to be done in the master bathroom - some of the tile in the toilet area isn't grouted, the shower door is hinged on the wrong side, there is a pull missing from the cabinets, and a few other minor things...
Tomorrow the movers arrive bright and early. I think DD and I will head over to the house with the food from the refrigerator and freezer and spend the morning unloading the van and attempting to put things away in the kitchen. We might even take DS with us to help unload. We'll come back here on Wednesday to do some cleaning and to move the cleaning supplies, vacuum, etc. over to the house.

I can't believe this is the last night we'll be sleeping in this house - we've lived here for 11 years. That's the longest we have ever lived in any one house since we were married 26 years ago!

Countdown to move day: 1 day and counting! (or, more accurately, 10 hours and counting!)

Well on our way!

DH and DS did an incredible job getting things moved this weekend! I had stacked most of the things they were to move in the dining room, and the dining room is now empty. They also took everything from the garage and a bunch of things from the basement over to the house.

Tomorrow is more of the same - I need to pack up the rest of the kitchen and we'll move the kitchen things, small musical instruments, and clothing on the hangers (and probably a bunch of other things I don't even know about!).

The movers come on Tuesday to move the furniture and the non-breakable things that I boxed up.

Countdown to move day: 2 days, and counting!

Master bathroom granite!

DH emailed me a photo of the master bathroom granite, so I thought I'd post it before I hit the road again. It's a bit hard to tell from the photo, but I think it looks nice! We were afraid that the bathroom as a whole would be too busy with a granite that has this much movement, and it's a bit hard to tell without seeing the granite in context with the floor and shower, but I like what I see in the photo! (clicking on the photo will enlarge it so you can see the details better)

Countdown to move day: 3 days and counting!

Have a great day, everyone!

We have a house! And it's mostly finished!

I don't have any photos to post tonight, as I am in WV at a hotel and have been on the road since 5pm. DH met the builder out at the house tonight and had the final walk-through. We now officially have the keys to our house! I guess there is a long list of things to be finished/fixed, but overall the house looks great and DH and DS will be hauling things over to the house this weekend that the moving company can't/won't/we-don't-want-them-to move.

I spent this morning and afternoon packing up a lot of the things in the kitchen - baking supplies, boxed mixes, spices, things we won't need until we're in the new house.

Since I never got around to sewing the cushion for DD's windowseat, I packed up the fabric and my machine to transport to the new house.

Items completed as of today are marked in green...

septic tank - I think this is done
gas lines - still need to be connected by the gas company (Monday)
furnace
A/C
painting
kitchen - granite, finish-work, vent fan (Monday), pulls, granite backsplash, appliances
plumbing
electrical - lights/fans, valance lights (done, but not correctly - need to be re-wired)
gutters
brick/stone/pillars
driveway - concrete, gravel
grading - rough, topsoil (Tuesday)
sewing studio - knobs/pulls, upper crown moulding on cabinets
master bath - grout, finish shower, cabinets, glass doors, baseboard stone, granite
stained woodwork on great room walls
closet shelves/rods
pantry shelves
stain front door
paint garage doors, install gaskets
grab bars on guest tub
shower curtain rods in 2 bathrooms
stairs
fix vanity granite backsplash in kids' bathroom, recess medicine cabinet?
top for windowseat
doors on bookcase shelves in great room
doorknobs
carpet (going in on Monday)
fireplace granite surround

Countdown to move day: 4 days and counting!

So bummed!

DS and I headed out to the house this afternoon so that I could see the master bathroom granite before I leave town tomorrow. Just as we arrived, 2 workmen were getting into their truck to leave. One of them said that they had just put another coat of sealer on the hardwood floors and stairs and they had it taped off as a reminder not to walk on them. It took a few minutes for his words to sink in, and to realize that I wasn't going to be able to get up the stairs to the master bathroom to see the granite. Aaargh!!!

The floors did look lovely though, and were very obviously still wet from the sealer that had been applied...

I couldn't go in the great room because of the wet floors, but I did sneak a photo of some of the puck lights that were installed up under/behind the valance that circles the room. It looks like the lights are up, but not wired in yet.
The rough grading is still looking very rough and was a bit smelly. I also saw some of the flies that I was warned about yesterday.
The columns look nice now that they have been painted to match the house and trim colors...
The granite backsplash in the kitchen was not installed today - I don't know when it is scheduled to go in. The granite fabricators were trying to get it ready in time to install it today when they did the master bath, but that obviously didn't work out.

So, DD and I are off to NC tomorrow afternoon for the wedding (well, actually we are only going as far as Beckley, WV because we can't leave until about 4:30 - we'll go the rest of the way on Saturday morning). I told DH that I was going to leave him the camera so he can email me photos of the master bathroom with the granite counters installed!

Items completed as of today are marked in green...

septic tank - I think this is done, although their equipment was still there
gas lines - still need to be connected by the gas company
furnace
A/C
painting
kitchen - granite, finish-work, vent fan, pulls, granite backsplash, appliances
plumbing
electrical - lights/fans, valance lights (almost done)
gutters
brick/stone/pillars
driveway - concrete, gravel (part of the driveway had gravel on it, but not all)
grading - rough, topsoil
sewing studio - knobs/pulls, upper crown moulding on cabinets
master bath - grout, finish shower, cabinets, glass doors, baseboard stone, granite
stained woodwork on great room walls
closet shelves/rods
pantry shelves
stain front door
paint garage doors, install gaskets
grab bars on guest tub
shower curtain rods in 2 bathrooms
stairs
fix vanity granite backsplash in kids' bathroom, recess medicine cabinet?
top for windowseat
doors on bookcase shelves in great room (doors are on site and stained, but not installed)
doorknobs
carpet (going in on Monday)
fireplace granite surround

Countdown to move day: 5 days and counting!

A view through the window...

While I was out at the house today waiting for the cable guy to show up, I took several photos from inside the house, so excuse the view of the window screens...

The septic guys were there on their bobcat, filling in the trenches with dirt...
The builder had someone doing the rough grading of the yard...
There were many painters there doing last minute jobs and touch-ups...
The electricians were there to install the small lights behind the valance in the great room. Each light was individually packaged and one guy sat there for a long time just unpacking all the lights.
The kitchen guy had put the fans up in the vent over the cooktop. He still doesn't have the vent cover and needs to add some insulation in around the fans to lessen the noise.
After the heavy rain we had last night, it looks like we still have a couple areas in the basement where water is getting in...
DH is heading out to the house after work tonight to see how things are coming along. I think I'm going to stay right here and pack, pack, pack!

Countdown to move day: 6 days and counting! (oh, and did I mention that we're going to a wedding in NC on Saturday? and that we're driving and leaving on Friday? and that we won't be home until late Sunday? well, DH decided he and DS need to stay here and move a bunch of stuff this weekend, so he won't be going to the wedding after all. dd and I will lose out on 2.5 days of packing while we're away - yikes!)

Showers and nieces and vents! Oh, my!

I drove out to the house this afternoon with my MIL, a friend, and DH's 2 nieces from TX who are visiting their grandmother, so they could all see the house. The shower door had just been installed in the master bathroom...

DH and I just noticed that the door is hinged on the left instead of the right. The water controls are behind the half-wall on the left, so the door should have been hinged on the other side to make access to the controls easier.
Here is a photo of DH's nieces, taken from the basement, looking up at them on the attic level...
That view up the stairs isn't nearly as interesting as looking down to the basement from the attic level...
We also noticed (now that the doors are on) that the master bathroom toilet room (or should I call it a water closet?) door is opening into the main section of the bathroom, instead of opening into the toilet area. Having the door open out blocks the light switches just inside the bathroom.
I spoke with the builder. He said that there should be someone there tomorrow to start moving some dirt around. He also said the flies will arrive, as they will be spreading mushroom manure, or something similar that will attract the flies (and it won't smell nearly as nice as it does today!!).

The kitchen guy was working on the in-ceiling vent when we arrived. He said he didn't have the vent cover yet, so he couldn't finish it.

The septic guys are not done yet. It looks like they've run most of the pipe from the tanks to the leech field, but they are still working on something.

I'm heading out to the house in the morning so that I can meet the cable guy. Of course I have a 3.5 hour window of time that he could arrive, so I'll have to find a book to read. I wish I could take some of my sewing things out with me to start organizing the sewing studio while I wait for him...

Items completed as of today are marked in green...

septic tank - almost done - probably 1 more day of work
gas lines - still need to be connected by the gas company
furnace
A/C
painting
kitchen - granite, finish-work, vent fan, pulls, granite backsplash, appliances
plumbing
electrical - lights/fans, valance lights (probably going in Wednesday or Thursday)
gutters
brick/stone/pillars
driveway - concrete, gravel
grading - rough, topsoil
sewing studio - knobs/pulls, upper crown moulding on cabinets
master bath - grout, finish shower, cabinets, glass doors, baseboard stone, granite
stained woodwork on great room walls
closet shelves/rods
pantry shelves
stain front door
paint garage doors, install gaskets
grab bars on guest tub
shower curtain rods in 2 bathrooms
stairs
fix vanity granite backsplash in kids' bathroom, recess medicine cabinet?
top for windowseat
doors on bookcase shelves in great room
doorknobs
carpet (going in on Monday)
fireplace granite surround

Countdown to move day: 7 days and counting!

Step by tiny step...

The house is looking quite finished from the front, except for the rough grading, and top soil that needs to be spread. The front porch looks finished, except for the columns that need to be painted. The builder added a stone-covered pillar in the front of the house to display our house number and for the outdoor light to sit on.
The bathroom tiler must have worked today - the shower has had an enhancing sealer applied and the whole shower is now grouted. The sealer really brought the colors out. The tub still hasn't been grouted yet, but the plumber installed the shower heads and handles.

The carpet was partially finished. They completed the carpet installation in the guest bedroom...
and in the music room...
But the carpet in the other bedrooms and the third floor hallway wasn't done. All the pieces are there and laid out, but not installed. This is the master bedroom carpet...
This is DS's bedroom...
I'm not going to repeat the list of what needs to be finished, as not enough was done today. The kitchen guys hadn't done anything new, the electrician hadn't been back, and if the septic guys were there at all, they didn't get finished.

Countdown to move day: 8 days and counting!

It's looking good...

The electrician and a couple of carpenters were at the house today putting in lights and doorknobs. The cleaning crew was also there making everything look nice. It certainly makes a huge difference to get all the plaster dust off of everything, especially the wood on the stairs and the floors. The wood floors had been given another coat of sealer and they are looking gorgeous. I believe they are doing the final coat on Tuesday or Wednesday.

We came up to the house through the field today so that we could check out what the septic guys have been up to. From the patio side of the house, we could see that the support columns are finished. DH was surprised to see that they were square, as the plans had called for round ones. I like these much better...they still need to be painted. The patio columns match the columns on the front porch (which are almost done).

The bricklayers had finished up the brick over the concrete pad and up to the step near the mudroom door. I'm not sure why they didn't have the brick in there before the pad was poured.
I was also very happy to see the bathroom fixtures installed! And they even work now - the water was connected to both. And judging from the partial roll of toilet paper sitting there, the ones in the powder room have also been broken in. :-D
My fear that the refrigerator was still in the garage because it didn't fit in the space turned out to be unfounded (phew!). It was in place and running, as were all the other appliances in the kitchen...
The fireplace hearth is finished - the triangular pieces were not in place the last time we were out there...
I had taken lightbulbs out to the house today so I could see what the kitchen pendant lights look like when they are lit up, but we found when we got there that someone had put bulbs in them yesterday after I left. I like these better now that they are lit up...
I still like the blue ones too!
DD's window seat looks really nice now that it is clean and shiny! I bought fabric for the back of her window seat pad yesterday so now I can finish making the pad (and she can cover up all that gorgeous, shiny wood with her seat cushion)!

This is the leech field for the septic system...
It looks like they had to cut down about 4 small trees to get the septic system installed...
The septic tanks are now in the ground and connected to the plumbing in the house...
Here is one of the outdoor sconces...

Items completed as of today are marked in green...

septic tank - almost done - probably 1 more day of work
gas lines - still need to be connected by the gas company
furnace
A/C
painting
kitchen - granite, finish work, vent fan, pulls, granite backsplash, appliances
plumbing
electrical - lights/fans, valance lights (probably going in Wednesday or Thursday)
gutters
brick/stone/pillars
driveway - concrete, gravel
grading - rough, topsoil
sewing studio - knobs/pulls, upper crown moulding on cabinets
master bath - grout, finish shower, cabinets, glass doors, baseboard stone, granite
stained woodwork on great room walls
closet shelves/rods
pantry shelves
stain front door
paint garage doors, install gaskets
grab bars on guest tub
shower curtain rods in 2 bathrooms
stairs
fix vanity granite backsplash in kids' bathroom, recess medicine cabinet?
top for windowseat
doors on bookcase shelves in great room
doorknobs
carpet (going in on Monday)
fireplace granite surround

Countdown to move day: 10 days and counting!