We’re hoping for green grass in the days to come as we went with the ever popular hydro seed in these northern parts. We’re told we should see sprouts in as soon as two or three days.

Here’s a little snippet from the hefty nozzle and spray to an up close picture on the far right showing what it looks like on the ground.

A view from our far side yard up next to our neighbors freshly cut lawn.

We’re taking advantage of the nice 3 day weekend. We’re installing chandeliers as well as other fun stuff around the house. Stay tuned for more changes.

The house is still unfolding and spreading her little wings day by day. Although we’re all moved in and starting to settle, there are still things the builder is working on to make our house a home.

For starters, the siding was finished this week

The built-in’s were put into place yesterday – It took quite a team to install them.

Hubby was upstairs guiding the electricians as to what direction the wires needed to go.

Unfortunately the carpenter had to rip off the window trim to get the left side of the cabinet into place.

They were able to ease the unit into place nice and easy, with the trim removed. The builder hopes to have the painters here tomorrow to have the unit painted.

While the boys played, I fiddled with some of my favorite pieces of pottery from South Korea.

This is a lovely double walled piece.

A grape vase that I love so much. I still remember the long day trip, (in South Korea) with a bunch of girls, where I fell in love with this design.

And this matching lid – I still need to find the missing pot for this yet.

A peak out the breakfast bar window this morning – I’ve decided not to mess up the trim by adding curtains.

My neighbors fishing early this morning

I love the way the sun rays danced through this tree in the side yard.

As night fell last evening the little vignette glowed in the foyer

The Emperor

And Emperoress

In time, our once empty house will find a home for all the little pretties we’ve collected through the years. I’ll be sharing as we go.

We’re enjoying our new peaceful homestead, surroundings and neighbors. The other day while out on the balcony having lunch I was delighted to have these guests gallop in and stop for a visit on the distant bank.

The commotion was faint but I could definitely tell they were having a great time. Her pooch is already in for a dip fetching whatever it is she threw in the water.

I never dreamed we would enjoy our backyard so much.

A few days later, that same gal (my neighbor) dropped by for a visit and I was shocked to find she was not a girl rather an older stately lady. She and her hubby both enjoy pottery and the moment she learned I was a potter was all it took for her to wrap her arms around me and a bond was formed instantly.

The next day she dropped by with one of their pottery plates filled to the brim with goodies. My goodness, I love this place so much.

A fisherman threw in his line over the weekend

The boys splished and splashed a week or so ago

And last evening, the last evening of August, we experienced a chill in the house…A chill that required attention. Hubby tended the fireplace (the first time this season) and we snuggled in with a nice warm fuzzy blanket as we watched our movie last evening.

I’m definitely a homebody and now even more so. It truly is good to be home sweet home.

There’s still a lot of work to be done before we’re all settled in. Today is a brand new day to make things happen, one day closer to organization.

I’ve been away far too long, so long that I hardly know where to begin.

The good news is:

• We closed on the house
• We’re finally right smack dab in the middle of all our stuff
• And it’s a beautiful new chapter in our lives

We were delayed on the closing by a few days because the builder needed to finish up a few things. However, she was kind enough to allow us to move in before the closing as our lease ran out on the apartment.

So over to the house we came with our belongings (it will be two weeks tomorrow) from the apartment and we settled in.

We closed on the house a week and ½ ago.

Then, the movers arrived with our things from storage this past Tuesday.

Along with a tag along truck with more stuff, they say we had a total of 23,000 pounds of stuff. We’re hoping to get rid of some junk as we go along. That’s way too much for two people.

Hubby got home from work just in time to…

Observe the unloading of one of the things he’s missed most the last two years.

And one on my babies arrived too, my kiln! It took 5 guys to man handle this thing off the truck and down the drive, it’s on wheels at that.

In no time the rooms began to fill with furniture and boxes and things we totally forgot we even had.

Kitchen

Dining room

His and Her Office

One side of our bedroom

And a partial view of the other

Foyer, not too much going on there

Family room

And in the midst of all our mess, the cabinet man came over to work on hubby’s built-in’s. We look forward to the completion of the units.

We declined the movers service of unpacking as we wanted to do that ourselves. So from Wednesday through Saturday I spent unpacking. So far, the kitchen, master bed/bath and living room are unpacked. My next room is the dining room, I should have that tackled tomorrow.

My kitchen is almost ready to share but not quite as I still have things to display and pictures to hang in the breakfast area.

The living room is pretty much all fixed up but still in need of pictures and our bedroom is the same.

Hubby was out of town the last few days and one evening I had an alarm go off on the house. It was early enough in the evening that I called the builder and she told me not to worry and that she and her team would be out the following day.

Here’s what that thing-a-ma-jigger looked like going off that night.

I turned on the box fan to drown the noise and was able to sleep through it no prob.

And here’s a little pic from the balcony. Love the changing color in the leaves.

So for now I’m letting the season determine weather it’s summer or autumn and she speaks…

The builder has promised to have us all set and ready to close on the 13th. We’re making all preparations on our end to ensure a smooth transaction next week.

It’s been a while since I’ve updated the status of the house so here’s a few pics to somewhat bring this blog up to speed.

Meet the painting crew; they have done a fabulous job coating the walls.

They’re a wonderful husband and wife team

The kitchen area last week

Another view of the kitchen today

Preparations to make the cut out for the stovetop

Bathroom counters – we went with the same counters/cabinets for all the bathrooms

The granite for the bathrooms is called imperial coffee – I was smitten by the name alone.

Oops, the granite truck backed into my car. Hubby surveying the damage, he’s holding the license plate that broke. Hubby states that I have a pretty loose bumper.

A pic around the back of the house from last week

The cat tails hangin’ out by the water in the backyard, I couldn’t resist them.

Our driveway and sidewalk made an entrance today.

So all the builder needs to do is scurry to get er done or get enough done so that we can close next week.

Or so it feels. We’re making daily trips to the house these days and last evening after hubby got off, that’s the first place we wanted to go. So off we went.

The guys are making great progress on the siding out back

While the crew inside continues to install the flooring.

Here’s a peak of the paint color I picked for the walls. I was debating a creamy yellowy feel early on and also debated mixing up the kitchen with green. In the end I decided to carry the yellowy feel throughout. I did change colors in all the bathrooms and laundry room and gave them an earthy light brown color. Can’t wait to see that color on the walls. The painting crew will be completely finished by Friday, so we’ll see soon enough.

Those holes up above are going to be plugins over the kitchen cabinets complete with a switch down below. I’m pretty excited about that.

It’s going to be another big day today as we’re going back to the house to meet with the granite people as they plan to make templates for some of the cabinets. The builder is installing cabinets for the bathrooms today and will start on the kitchen soon.

There is so much going on and excitement for us would be an understatement about right now.

We’re on the last stretch as we watch the finishing touches bring our home together.

Earlier in the week the guys were finishing up work on the drywall

While the crew outdoors did their thing

Hubby had the day off today and we made a lot of rounds. We spent time at the house, the flooring place and then drove out to visit the man making the mantel for the fireplace.

First stop was at the house – the walls were completely prepped for paint and the flooring was well underway.

Hubby visiting with the electrician upstairs.

Breakfast bar area

After we wrapped things up at the house, we drove over to the workshop of the gentleman building the mantel. As we drove up through his yard, I was in awe of the lovely setting. He had lots of barns and silos, old tractors and trucks

and such a pretty view with a nice crop of corn

But the thing I really fell in love with is Mack, he stole my heart.

He was big yet gentle and greeted us as we pulled in.

Hey Mack, I really like you and wish you tons of fun on this great farm.

This is the inside of Mack’s master’s shop

Where tools abound

But the thing I wanted most, was to steal Mack away.

He was such a lovable pooch. Of course I realize Mack has nothing to do with finishing touches, but I got sidetracked, it’s what I do sometimes.

Each day that passes we find ourselves on the edge of our seats waiting to move into the house. The builder told us last week that she will be ready for closing no later than the second week in August. We’re beyond excited at the thought.

There has been a bit of decline on the blog and I apologize for that. Too much going on and something has to take a back seat, right? I thought about doing a couple posts to keep everything in order but then I decided to just post all the progress into one. So here we go.

The family room ~ Around July 1st

And here’s how I left it yesterday afternoon ~ July 9th

Kitchen/breakfast bar area ~ Around July 1st

And July 9th ~ Please excuse the mess

The foyer ~ July 9th

My guy in his garage ~ Around July 1st.

Love that guy standing over there so much ~ Around July 1st

Couldn’t believe his garage was already painted complete with light fixtures ~ July 9th

Interior doors all lined up ~ July 9

Here’s the last picture I showed of the exterior

And here’s how she looked yesterday afternoon – The siding is going up really fast and I’m so pleased with the color. ~ July 9th

Ah…waiting, in some ways I wish I could go over there and help move things along. But I’m sure without a doubt I would be in the way and potentially do more harm than good. But in just a few short weeks, these move in jitters will be a thing of the past.