What a busy day!!

First off, I like to welcome a new  reader from.....the Netherlands!  Always nice to know we have an international audience.  People from the following countries have read this blog....but heaven knows why!  United States, Switzerland, France, Germany, Russia, and the Netherlands.  But I am baffled...the numbers change each day, sometimes going down, sometimes up.  I have no idea who is following the progress of our house....or why.  That is, except our friends in Switzerland and you know who you are!
Anyway, the house was a center of activity today.  First, we met with the HVAC installer.  Placing vents is not easy.  I wondered why vents are placed in front of windows....today I learned why.  People usually don't put furniture in front of windows, so that becomes a natural spot to place a vent and not have it blocked by a sofa or chair.  Huh.
Brother in law Bob came and looked over the project....and his grandson became the first guest to use our bathroom.  Actually, it is the port a potty in front, but we'll count it.
Renee the architect and his family also came for a walk through to see what we've done.  That answers the question:  Oh god, what have I done????  He seemed somewhat satisfied.  At least he put up a sign with his name on it in front of the house, so how bad can it be?
I think we made some choices today.
First off, we inadvertently partitioned off part of the basement into two rooms.  Inadvertently because that was what we had decided.  But last Friday as I stood in the basement I thought:  How cool a room would this be!  Monday I called the builder and said to hold off on framing the basement in the way we had discussed.  He called back within 20 minutes and said they were already done....been working on it since 6 a.m.
When I went out and looked, it was ok.  I think I will like that space in the basement, which will also double as a guest room, in case anyone with two little girls is looking for a place to stay.  (I know it sounds perverted, but it isn't)
So, HVAC is going in, plumbing is started......what more can I say?
I do know I am decisioned out.  I don't know if I can decide between chocolate or vanilla ice cream, or even to have ice cream at all.  That is not me.  I always go for ice cream.
But we do have to decide what to do with the ceiling in the finished part.  We could put drywall up, a dropped ceiling, or leave it a loft look and paint it.  I am leaning toward that last option.

PVC piping in bathroom

Kitchen looking out

Basement at 5 p.m. Friday

Basement at 11 a.m. Monday

Time for a shower

Windows....more than a pane!

Yes, windows are more than a pane (of glass...getting metaphorical here).  They can be a symbol of  progress.  They can give a house shell the look of a home.
Our windows went in today and the house is shaping up nicely.  I do admit I have a lot of angst over the building process.  Did we (or more specifically,  me) make the right decision?  Are we spending too much money? (yes) Will we be happy with our home?  Are those the right cabinets, and windows, and trim , and colors, and siding and.....the list goes on.
Those of you who really know me know my problem with menu envy.  If I order a steak, I get it and wish I had the fish.  If I order the fish, I get it and wish I ordered the steak.  If I order the chicken I wish I had ordered the lamb because I never get to eat lamb.
I have spent 10 minutes examining salad dressing to find the one that I eventually regret buying because I really wanted a different one.
I have had at least five heart attacks, three strokes, two highly contagious disease and I think a case of dengue fever in the past four weeks.  I am now convinced my sore right foot will end up in a total amputation of everything below my naval.  Or navel.  Now I don't know which word goes there.... and I really can't decide tonight.
Yet I can buy a $200 weed trimmer on a whim and not read the directions on how to use it.
Or complain about not getting paid for writing something when I have never requested payment.
And lately everyone has gained in intelligence, even the flat-landers of the world seem brilliant to me.
Which brings me back to the windows.
They are a symbol of hope.  A symbol that things are progressing as planned and some of those choices (not all, just some) I/we made were the right ones.
That maybe I do not have one foot in the grave.
That maybe we can afford the house.
That maybe the steak is pretty darn good afterall.  Besides, after we pay off all the bills I won't have to worry about ordering steak anyway!

On the porch

east side...hexagon window is the WC

In the kitchen looking out back

front of the house

Oops...Pardon me!!

Nation...we have gas.
No, I am not talking about a personal problem that comes from eating too much cheese and gingersnaps, although that could apply.
 I'm talking about natural gas.  Cooking gas.  Crank up the fireplace gas.  Turn up the heat gas.  Dry my clothes unless it's a blue linen shirt that specifically has to be hung to dry or it gets lots of wrinkles and shrinks gas.  Warm the water I'm gonna shower the worries off my dusty old body gas.
I think you understand.
We also have water....the elixir of life.
Now  when I say we have it, that does not mean we can use it.  But the gas is run to the house.  The water is run to the house.  The electricity is run to the house.
Geez....feel like a Dick and Jane book.  (For those under the age of 45, Dick and Jane were the reading books that provided countless hours of stimulating reading in school.  See Dick run.  See Jane run.  See Spot run.  Run Dick run.  Run Spot run.  Run Jane run.  Substitute walk, work, sing, or any other verb that seems appropriate and does not rhyme with duck. That was in the era when Dick was a respectable name and not the punchline for an off color joke.  You wonder anyone ever picked up a book again.  But I digress.)
Progress is a little slower this week. Windows should arrive soon, along with doors.  Once that happens, then the plumbers and electricians will get to work plumbing and electrifying.
Today we picked out the tile for the fireplace surround.  My $180 estimate became a $345 order.  We need 12 tiles of the kind that come in boxes of 10 and six tiles of the size that come in boxes of five, and of course you have to order a box, not an individual tile.
We also picked out the manufactured stone for the porch piers.
We are looking at paint colors for the interior but Jackie does not agree we should paint all of it neon pink or lime green.  Earthy, warm colors indeed.
Yet I wonder.
After living in a rental unit where the yard work is done, do I have the ability or desire to mow and trim?  Since it is only going to be 92 tomorrow (today?) I think I will find out at Emily's.  We left June 4, returned June 22 and she has mowed.........one time.  The grass really doesn't need it yet, but I am mowing anyway because I feel like my life is a vacation, living in a resort, no responsibilities. Truthfully, it's getting boring.

Our utility work!!  Nicor on the job!!

Our well head

Well, Oh Well...a mighty deep subject

The well guys were out drilling for water on Saturday.  With as little rain as we have had, I hope they find some!
Here is a little quiz.
Several of our friends and family members read this blog.  So, here is my question.  After the United States, what country has the most people viewing this blog?
First....a note about follow through.  We picked out some nice flooring from Hardwood Floors and More in Dixon.  We had a price estimate, met with Wyatt the owner, talked about all sorts of things.
He was leaving on a vacation.  When he returned, we left on a vacation.  In other words, almost 6 weeks went past before we contacted him again.
We went to choose some accent pieces for the floor.  He brought out some samples that went with the floor and found.....wrong flooring!
So we all sat there wondering how the color was not what we wanted.  That's when we realized what happened.
His proposal included finishing the floor....but we were supposed to let him know the color when we came back from our trip.
When we came back from our trip, we looked at his proposal and saw that it including finishing the floor and assumed he knew the color.  Take u and me out of assume, guess who is left?
All is well that ends well.  He has not ordered the flooring yet, so we selected our preferred color and will see a sample on the wood we have chosen in a week or so.
Michael the cabinet guru was told:  be ready to go in six weeks.  Six weeks!!  Holy crap!  That's sooner than we expected.
And now, a drum roll please.
The country with the most views of this blog after the United States is.......
Russia.
Russia!!
Freakin' Switzerland is third, but Russia !!!! is second.
So....while I know people in Switzerland, and France, and Germany..... I don't know anyone is Russia.
If you are in Russia and reading this, great.  Could you please tell me why?
Who knows....this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

Well drillers at work

Or should it be good dwellers at work?

I hope they don't use all the pipe

House from the back (south) side

A quiet day on Shagbark Lane

The roof is shingled, so now it can rain.
I am amazed at how fast this portion of the project has gone.  When we came back from Julia's on June 22, there were only concrete foundation walls.  Three weeks later, there is a house with a shingled roof.
Windows are next and should be here in the next week or so.  The plumber and electrician will start soon after, and then the drywaller will come along and make it all nice looking.  Then we will move in for the next chapter in our lives.
Sounds so simple.
Jackie made her first visit inside the house today!  It took two of us, but Michael from ALM Cabinetry and I got her up the two big steps, and then back down.  He was laying out the kitchen and when I could not figure out one small detail, we called in Jackie for help.  I just don't see the finished product sometimes......it eludes me.  I try to make everything difficult when there are simple solutions that I might not be hearing.
We made some adjustments in the layout and cabinetry and it will be a great kitchen.
It was quiet there today.  The roofing is done and the crew has moved on until the windows arrive.  I could hear some traffic from Flagg Road, but not a lot.  A couple of trees along that side should dull that noise.
I take pictures every day..... except today.  For some reason I thought I took pictures with the completed roof, but I didn't.  Must be losing it.
Next decisions ... lighting fixtures.  That should be interesting.
And now for something different.....

Work on Tuesday afternoon

Tuesday evening

Wednesday morning

Surveying the manor

Mike in the kitchen, standing on the dishwasher

Thursday morning, everyone's gone

Another step closer

Learned more about septic tanks than I really wanted to know today.

All I really need to know is where the shit does not go when we flush.....today I found out where it did go.  

Our old septic field was gravel, with a tile, then gravel.  The field at our new house has no gravel and the tile is thick, black, and vented.  This is supposed to be a more efficient way to install septic fields.

We also have a contour dam, (at least I think that is what it was called) that prevents groundwater from entering the septic field.  The contour dam tile collects the ground water and then funnels it around the septic to a line which hooks to another line which hooks to another line that goes into the ground at the end of the property.

For those of you who don't know.... a septic field replaces sanitary sewer.  Instead of it going to a facility where the waste is treated, cleaned, reinserted into the water supply (Interjection:  We are drinking the same water dinosaurs peed out millions of years ago.  Or just 20 years ago if you don't believe the science.) a septic field has a tank, which slowly fills up over the years.  The liquid portion of this drains off  through the tubing and percolates down through the soil.  The solid waste decomposes and some also percs out into the soil.... but some does not, so every few years you have to have your tank pumped.

You can see septic fields when it gets dry..... the only green grass is over the septic tank.  I think someone named Erma Bombeck wrote a book titled The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Field.  It was funny.

Not that any job is less desirable than any other job, but can you imagine sticking a hose into a concrete tank of excrement (a more polite term) and pumping it out into a truck when the temperature is 100 and the sun is boiling down on you and suddenly the hose breaks and you see brown material spraying all over the place and the neighbors are yelling, people screaming, dogs howling in protest!

But I digress.

The roof shingling starts tomorrow.  My guess is siding and windows won't be too far behind.

The weather is a little cooler this week, so working on the roof should be a little better, but it is still in the 80s and still sunny.

Now for some pictures.

finishing up the chimney

the septic field

back of the house

roofing stuff

deer. not in the headlights; in the park

Under roof!!

The temperature in Chicago hit 103.....for those of you living in the metric world, that is a little over 39 C.  That was the third day of 100 degree temperatures in a row.  We are not far from Chicago and we are just as hot.  We were only at 99.
I stress that, because we have a roof on the house.
Trusses arrived Tuesday.  By Friday afternoon, the trusses were set in place and sheathing was done on the majority of the roof.  Is it completely done?  No, but the crew working on the house did an amazing amount of work in those two days.
I can't imagine how hot it was on top of the house.  I can't imagine what it felt like to do that two days in a row, with no clouds in sight.  I can't imagine how they did it.
No amount of water  and ice that I took out would have been enough.
And we had our first official visitor....Mary Kay came out and looked around with us on Friday.  Even got Jackie into the garage, but she could not get all the way into the house.

Tuesday

Thursday mid morning

Thursday

Thursday

Thursday afternoon

Friday mid morning

watch your step!!

Friday afternoon

The roof is taking shape

The Fourth of July was hot.  Triple digits in many areas, with the same expected for Thursday and Friday.
The roof trusses arrived Tuesday morning.  They are scheduled to be put in place starting Thursday.
I never was one to work well in the heat.  Mind you, I spent a summer delivering mail, one summer working construction for Tilton Industries, and most of my youth living in a non air conditioned house. I love the heat if I can sit in it and drink tea, coffee or lemonade.  I don't like to work in the  heat.  So my sympathies are with the people working construction on my house and on any other outside project over the next few days.  I just hope they take it easy.
That said, here are some pictures from today.

Reach for the sky

Waiting for the crane

The porch

From our bedroom

The garage

Bracing is in for the grab bars

If only the meter would stay at this rate

From the back

From the west side

Not a fan fan

Whew!!!  It is hot.  Sure could use a new fan or two.  Let's see....Google Made in USA fans....
What?  None??  Just one company that makes fans in South America with USA parts?  Sounds like a conspiracy to us.
We bought fans.  Four of them, for the new house.  We had wanted one in the family room, but we are not sure how that would look, so we are passing on the fan.  Maybe we will regret it.... but anything can be changed in life.
Two sets of storms over the weekend....high winds, rain, hail...... house is still up and looking better each day.
Brother-in-law Bob came out and gave his approval .... he knows construction and I don't.
My understanding is roof trusses come this week and a crane will be here Thursday to start lifting them for placement.  I think it will look more like a house at that point.
After this weekend and the Jimmy Buffett concert, I am contemplating some changes to the patio.  Maybe a tiki bar, cooler, mixer for margaritas.... little beach, some water, stereo system.
Pinch me, I'm dreaming.
Speaking of pinching, at the Buffett concert I was making my way through the crowd to the bathroom when some one grabbed my butt!!!
I turned around and this young guy says, "Sorry sir,  it wasn't me."
The other young guy says, "Don't look at me....look at this young lady."
And there was this young beauty hiding behind sunglasses and a margarita.
I said to her, "Bless you sweetheart.  You have restored an old man's faith in the future."
I turned to the guys and said, "And even if it was one of you, that's ok cause at my age I consider a good butt grab a compliment."  High fives all around.
Went back later, but couldn't find them.

Sheathing going on

Outstanding Side Board????

We figure this will save us a ton of money over conventional bathrooms

Looks like a garage

Back corner

Wondering....how will it get graded to allow water to flow away?