New Developments (no photos)

Becky took a much needed day off yesterday. The day before we finished sheeting most of the roof and dormers. As a result, we were able to remove the bracing that was everywhere in the house. The roofers are coming next week, but we still haven't heard from our plumber. We need him/her to put in the vent stacks for us.

Windows Are Finished!

I worked today so Becky could have a day off. Scott Tollestrup and I worked on getting the rest of the windows in. Beck didn't take photos of the east facing windows that are really high up and a lot of fun to install. The cat was also present today and very cute. He killed and ate a gopher (Richardson's Ground Squirrel) at our house two days ago. Rraow!

More Windows

The front two windows went in today and they look really good. I was shooting into the sun w/ my cellphone camera so these pictures aren't the greatest. The windows were supposed to be triple glazed but they don't appear to be. I not sure who dropped the ball on that but we'll find out I guess.

Wind and Windows

So today was one of those days that makes you curse the day you were born. The wind here was crazy and wouldn't let up. Beck proved she is made of something stronger and she and Scott put in some of our windows and doors. She also put up a bunch of Typar housewrap which you can imagine was very difficult in the wind. She was using the new Senco® hammer tacker we bought at Poulson's.

Great Falls, MT

Not a lot was done on the house the last few days b/c we took a vacation down to Great Falls. I love Great Falls because we used to come down here all the time when we were kids. We even stayed in the same Sheraton we used to (now a Holiday Inn). We went to the Lewis and Clark Museum and it was the highlight of our trip. It was huge and very informative. It even had age-appropriate activities for the kids who each earned a badge for doing some worksheets. The Easter bunny even visited the kids in the hotel room! We went to Poulson's True Value and Home Depot to look at stuff for our house. I got to buy a garborator (sink disposal unit for my American friends) so no more forcing food down the drain with a spoon. Gross!

Becky is up at the house with Scott Tollestrup today and they are going to try to put in the windows. It is really windy today so hopefully there will be some new pictures of the progress tonight.

Beth's Big Debut

As many of you know, Beth has been rehearsing for months for our community's production of The Sound of Music.  Here are some details about the play's run.

April 2-5 (Wednesday-Saturday)  8:00 pm

April 6 (Sunday) matinee 3:00 pm

Also on Friday and Saturday there is dinner before the show (7:00 pm)  The cost for dinner and the show is $35. (Usually very delicious and catered Laurie Balog.) Tickets for the show only are $15 for adults, $10 for children under 12.

If anyone would like me to get tickets for them in advance I can, or you can get them at the door.  I am a minor nun in the play too (singing, but no speaking.)

All this is taking place at the Milk River Civic Centre.

Becky

wildr000@yahoo.com (Those are zeros.)

Thanks Trevor and Emily!

Emily and Trevor have done what they came to do and we're very happy with the results. Trevor has done this a lot and he knows his stuff. It certainly shows in the final product which we're very pleased with. I can't imagine that it was tons of fun living in our basement for a month but we're very glad Kealan, Emily, and Trevor came down. Ethan will miss having people living at his house that are into gaming as much as he is. We hope everything goes well for all of them back in Edmonton.

Becky's nephew Steve Scott came out today to help us do some sheeting. He is a star on the basketball court and equally adept at running a nail gun! He didn't miss very many of the trusses he was sheeting over. Thanks Steve!

Becky and Steve built a ladder-shaped piece, sheeted it, and then used ropes to raise it into place on the side of the house. It was kind of sketchy but they got it done. You can check out the final result on the far right-hand side of the house near the peak. Also notice that most of the back side of the house is now sheeted as well as one side of a dormer on the front. They ran out of sheeting and had to quit for the day.

Roof!

Back Jacks!

The back jacks (I think that's what they're called!) are one over the back deck and ready fo' sheeting. Also, you can see the line of the roof coming from the garage. I hope it will go under the ensuite window. If not we have remove the header, trim it, and raise the bottom ledge. Oh wait, it looks like it's okay.

Dormer Windows

Here are some photos of the dormer windows. The trusses had to be trimmed so the windows aren't hiding behind the roof.

Front Overhang, Windows, Doors, and Back Deck

Thanks to everyone who took time to comment on the previous posts. We really appreciate it!

Windows arrived today and they are sweet. The mud around the house is really drying up too. Kealan went back to Edmonton on Saturday and we were sorry to see him go. Thanks for all of the fast, quality work you did, Kealan. Also the overhangs for the roof are done for the front and the back deck is up. Tomorrow they will put up the overhangs for the back. It was super-windy today so that was pretty lame.

Floor Tile Opinions

We are probably going to go with one of these as the tiles for our kitchen floor. I've shown one of the drawer fronts for our cabinets for colour. Which one do you like? Keep in mind that the dining room and hallway will be the dark hardwood shown in one of the previous posts. You can also email us at wildr000@yahoo.com (those are zeros).

Porch O' Rama!

Bored?

If you're not doing anything (like me!) you can check out this link and help us choose a countertop for our kitchen. Please check out the link in the previous post to see what our cabinets look like. http://www.staron.com/colors.jsp

Half a Kitchen…

We went up to Calgary yesterday for Becky's job interview. We also went to IKEA® to pick out our kitchen. The first woman that we got was pretty rude so we switched to another woman named Christine who was excellent. We managed to fit most of the kitchen in the back of the truck along with a vanity Becky snagged in the "As Is" section. We will probably refinish the vanity. I really like the door pulls that I chose. The style of kitchen is a dark-stained oak called "Liljestad" and you can check it out here: http://memberstoaction.com/photos/ikea/ikea_liljestad.htm

Stairs!

These stairs are awesome and Kealan and Trevor are very proud of them.

Dirt Moving, Hole Digging, Garage Sheeting & Stair Building

The holes for the porch and the deck pilings are dug and Becky and Hughson dug and moved dirt today. Emily, Trevor, and Kealan put up some sheeting and then when the wind came up they moved on to stairs. Trevor's friend has a computer program lays out the stairs for you and what he's done so far looks really good.

In the pictures below you can see some of our siding. You can also check out the ball diamonds below our house and how the warm chinook winds have melted all of the snow in just a couple of days.

Melting Snow and Siding

I don't like the wind and I know I live in the wrong place if that is the case. However, I do like chinook winds at this time of year. Check out what these warm winds have done in the last three days. I hope they will dry out the mess that is currently our yard.

Garage Trusses & Sheeting

Trevor and Kealan were putting up the peaks on the garage trusses today. They also put some sheeting up on the south and north sides.

Hughson is coming tomorrow to drill the rest of the piling holes for the deck and front porch. Stairs, a porch, and a deck are also on the agenda. The weather is holding so that's cool too!

Sheeting!

We fixed the trusses in the garage this AM. Ethan cleaned up and I cut out door thresholds on the first floor. Then we did some roof sheeting on the south side.

Added Later: This post made it sound like I did 1/3 of the work. It was more like 1/10.

Beck was taking her firearms course for long guns today and she passed. 96% Woo Hoo!

Random New Pics