The things you never think about...

With all the rain we've had lately, DH decided not to go out and use the brush-hog on the long grass like he had planned to do today. We ran some errands instead.

Since the LG refrigerator that I wanted is no longer available locally, and buying it online will create a lot of issues with where and when to get it delivered, I think we'll find another refrigerator. We stopped at several stores today to see if they had the JennAir refrigerator in stock (the refrigerator handles, etc. would then match my other appliances, which are all JennAir), but none of them had a floor model to see. I think the only thing I didn't like about the JennAir when I was researching them a few months ago was that when you pull out the freezer door, the bottom of the freezer doesn't pull out with it, only the wire drawer pulls out. It seems to me that this would result in crumbs falling onto the kitchen floor. I think I'll just live with it and hope it isn't a problem. Anyone have any experience with a French door JennAir refrigerator/freezer?

We also took a look at washers and dryers, as the people buying our house wanted our current washer and dryer included in the deal. I was having a difficult time deciding between front loading and top loading washers as there seem to be pros and cons with each. The decision pretty much became a moot point when we were at the store and started thinking about the position of the washer and dryer. In our new house, the washer has been placed to the right of the dryer, which is backward from how all the doors open on the front loading machines. The doors on the dryers are reversible, but not on the washers - they are all hinged on the left. This makes it tricky to move things directly from the washer to the dryer if the washer is on the right. Make sure you have your washer to the left of your dryer if you ever build a house!

So, we'll go with a top loading high efficiency washer and dryer. We are thinking it will be the Whirlpool Cabrio washer and dryer. The dryer door hinges on the wrong side, but it opens 180 degrees and I think it will work OK to move the clothes from washer to dryer. Both the washer and dryer have pretty good ratings on Consumer Reports.

DD just called from the new house. She and a couple of her friends went out to see it. She found the French doors in the family room open and rain coming in. She said they have put the stone on the fireplace and it looks really nice. Unfortunately, she didn't take her camera, so I don't have any photos.

Who likes a bright kitchen?

So, in case you haven't figured it out yet from other kitchen photos, maybe this one will help you to realize just how much I like a bright kitchen... ;-D

The drywall people were there today, finishing the ceilings. This is the office ceiling - it looks so much better without the drywall and tape and mud showing! I'm a bit worried about the paint in this room and the music room. I thought that the last time we were out there the paint on those walls was the actual paint color, not just the primer. It turns out it was just the tinted primer. The real paint color seems very dark and I'm not sure I'm crazy about the color (the very top of the wall in this photo is the real paint color, the lower part of the wall is still the tinted primer).
The drywall (or fireproof board of some kind?) is getting put up around the fireplace.
The underlayment has been put in the rooms that will be tiled. This is the guest bathroom...
DD's room is painted with the tinted primer only so far. The window seat will have a stained board on top and I will eventually make a cushion for it.
It looked like the brick was finished on the back of the house, but I forgot to take my boots with me, so no photos of the outside today. I think the bricklayers are working on the windowsills now.

So, the builder's assistant has been searching for our LG refrigerator and is not having any luck. It seems that there is a new model out now and no one (at least locally) has the old model in stock. The biggest problem with getting the new model is that they changed the door handle style and the old model had handles that matched very well with all the JennAir appliances that we are putting in the kitchen. The inside of the refrigerator had minor changes also which I didn't care for as well. The 2 large bins are now 2 medium bins with a small can-size bin in-between and the large drawer under the bins where large trays can be stored opens differently and I don't like it, either. My guess is that we will try to find the old model online, but I wonder whether that makes repairs difficult if you buy it online.

House Plans

I thought I'd post our house plans today. We had an architect draw up these plans for us.

We're anxious to break ground. DH filed for a building permit and we're still waiting on some building estimates to come in. We're hoping to break ground in September and get the house under cover before winter so that the builders can work through the winter. Our plan is to be done in early Spring and to put our current house on the market just before the new house is ready to move into. The best laid plans of mice and men...we shall see...

I stopped by Home Depot yesterday to look at refrigerators - I wanted to make sure that the spot we are planning to put it will actually be the right size. The refrigerators that I'm looking at are ones with the freezer on the bottom and French doors on the top so that I can fit large trays of food in the refrigerator, as we entertain a lot. When the builder built this house, he decided on the size of the refrigerator opening by measuring his own refrigerator, which he later admitted was rather old and small. The frig we brought with us when we moved here from NC was practically new and we had to sell it because it wouldn't fit in the space here. I could have lived with the smaller frig if I could only open the freezer door all the way - the builder put the frig so close to the corner that the door hits the cabinets on the wall next to the refrig wall. I long to be able to put a 9x13 pan into my freezer. That's why I'm bound and determined to make sure the refrigerator in the new house is done right!