1.18.19

after 4 days of inversion we were really happy to see the sun in fairfield! halle & echo are chasing rocky, the neighbor's gsp, along the snowmobile tracks (where they don't sink in)

there were signs of hoar frost- it gets fogged in at night, but burned off both days we were up- fortunately.

clear at sunset-

foggy in the morning-

here are poor echo & halle being bored to death while we work (though they did have a long hike in the morning, then they chased rocky around, so you'd think they'd be tired!)

to the work part- here's steve working on making the prehung door hangable. somehow, the hinges on the ones we bought don't match the construction doors. and for some reason the contractor hasn't been able to get up to fix them. so, steve is going to give it a shot.

he did decide to wait on this project until he can get both the front and back doors tackled at the same time so we can bring both construction doors back together.

so the main projects were lights and painting. it is wonderful to be able to flip a switch and have lights! we're still a little confused about how things got wired. we have a few spots with covers- no switch, even though we asked for one. not sure why that is either, but figure if we need to bring an electrician in to fix things the way we want them we will at some point. guess that's the danger of doing something far enough away that you can't be there when stuff like that is getting done.

things that help the work go smoothly: the ipod and the reward. the dream catcher is part of steve's snow making kit.

i painted the light colored part of the downstairs walls, touched up around the ceiling edges on the back porch & painted the ceiling in the spare bedroom.

we had another good dinner at the surprisingly busy brew pub. smoked salmon pizza, a good salad & live music! along with a nice cab franc from carmela vineyards.

also painted the sconces.....they will match the walls-

steve tried out the power roller and liked it once he got past the pita edging part.

the living room is painted! we can push the couch back and clear a space in the clutter to sit.

you can tell i was painting the ceiling! camembert freckles-
then, heading home- and back to the gray......

january 11

we popped up for the day sunday, neither of us having much energy (Steve had the super crud)to do anything but watch football saturday (well, after i ran errands all morning anyway and trying not to succumb to the super crud).

stopped at home depot for paint on the way out, and ended up completing our lighting purchases. we got some pretty homely but really priced right lights (2/$15) for the back porch & upstairs hallway, and sconces for the stairway.

all of these need to be painted- the sconces to match the walls & the overhead light sanded down & painted with some faux finish that will look better than the current shiny stainless.

so poor halle and echo, like the kids who never want to have to touch each other (mom! she's crossing the line! she touched me!) have to cuddle up. i guess it's ok for echo to rest his head on halle, but not visa versa.... she looks kind of put upon, doesn't she?

the sun was out- yay!
the pups & i did a short walk- they were sinking b/c it has warmed up so much- until echo remembered the snowmobile track trick. lest you find that hard to believe, i have the evidence below:

bunnyman has the most delicate little toes- he scrapes them on the ice and starts bleeding pretty quickly. good thing the dog boots came in the mail today (that's another story).

then i finished hanging curtains, put some test paint colors on the guest bedroom wall. then we all hid while steve worked on the shower.

Steve's 2 cents worth now. While they we're out having a nice hike, I was busy troubleshooting the sled, as to why the lights and gauges had decided to quit working. Minimal cursing, actually none now that I think about it. Anyway found the relay I was looking for and got it off, changed plugs, etc...

So into the house to figure out how to make the screaming deal shower controls work. That required cursing. After their big hike they appear to be all worn out (and, for some of us, trying to stay fairly healthy). At least this is what I viewed.

Yep, looks like it was a rough afternoon for them. I did manage to get something figured out on the shower, just a little more shopping to do.

(and i, so far, thanks i'm sure to getting some sleep sunday, seem to be fending off the major nastiness).

january 4

there's a little bit of snow in fairfield now. steve had to shovel out the driveway when he got there, and here he is working on the walkway to the front door.

this is the pile at the end of the street. can only assume it will get REALLY big over the winter.

the snow was fairly crusty, but every once in a while the dogs would posthole. the snowshoes worked quite well for me. the dogs did figure out that if they walked in the snowmobile tracks they didn't sink as often.

here's the sunset from the master bedroom window. very pretty, isn't it? snowmobile tracks all over the field behind us- and sleds going through with some regularity.

the brew pub was open, so we ate there for a change of pace. it was really good- a good selection of beer & wine, yummy gorgonzola chicken pasta, and a great salad. john had ribs which he liked a lot. john and kathleen bought some really warm winter hats made out of yak yarn & lined with fleece there too- a very handy place all in all!

it's starting to feel more like a house & less like a camp. john found us the stove & the fridge on craig's list. both work just fine and were good deals.

the stackable washer & dryer also came from craig's list, also very reasonable, and both with warranty left on them....

and we have a bed! (yep, you guessed it- craig's list). mattress & box springs were still in the plastic, it had been used as a guest bed. a little soft, but not bad. the headboard is also just fine. and now we have the inflatable mini queen mattress and the foam pads for guests and helpers...

we have a shower! still need to work on the handle, but the paint is done & it all looks good. one small issue is that the electricians put in a fan without a light- the only light in the bathroom is the sconce above where the mirror will be. would be too dark even with lighter wall color. so we'll be buying a fan/light combo- which is what we have in the master bath.

there are some other wiring questions, but i guess we'll figure it out- or have electricians come back in & make it the way we want at some point.

this is the color that steve finally settled on for the downstairs. it looks very different depending on the light and time of day.
we made good painting progress. most of the ceilings are done, got spots touched up in the bathrooms on the ceilings and i got most of the edging painted.

found the handiest edging tool- since i do not have the rock steady hand of my friend carolyn. it has a pad that you put the paint on and then you roll the guides along the edge. it works like a charm!
steve also got a coat hook & key hanger up, and we brought the couch in the house. steve's kids have been great- jake & tina gave us the upstairs bathtub and the couch; john has done a lot of work- a lot of the texturing and he got most of the lights hung for us today. kathleen helped paint today. john keeps finding great deals on craig's list (the fridge & oven for example). this trip, they brought up a rocking chair and pots & pans & glasses that their roommate was going to toss out. it's really nice of all of them, and i hope they will enjoy the house in the future.

in the meantime, echo thinks the couch is just dandy! :)