Grandma's Birthday TIme!

What a wonderful sunrise from the bedroom window on Sunday announcing Caroly's 72nd birthday.

The bed is made...

the livingroom is neatly arranged...

grandma's birthday cake is ready with 32 sourpatch kids on top representing all the grandchildren (we thought 72 candles would set off the smoke alarm)...

Carrie's family made it from the subzero weather in Colorado...

so it must be party time!! Caroly decided to follow the Filipino custom of having the birthday person provide the meal--Filipino pancit and adobo of course.

Merry Christmas from Florida

The leaves are beautiful colors in the trees and the oranges are ripe--so it must be Christmas time in Florida.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

We finished!

Monday, no workers showed up. Tuesday, the plumber finished all the faucets, the bathrooms and the tankless waterheater, the air conditioner was activated, a golf cart was delivered. and the first three loads of dirt for around the foundation were dumped. It looked like we would be able to pass the inspection for the certificate of occupancy at Wednesday noon for sure.

Monday and Tuesday night we had a total of 3 inches of rain so there was standing water on the roads and the fields. The last three loads of dirt got stuck in the mud and were dumped away from the house and I got behind schedule in finishing up the bannisters for the stairs to the loft. I didn't have time to put up the lovely shelf the Kannas's gave us with horse carvings. (It is actually a fireplace mantle, but since we don't have a fireplace, we'll use it as a shelf in the kitchen.) However, the inspector could see the good work and gave us our certificate of occupancy so we could move in on Christmas Eve.

We moved some things in before dark, and after eating a celebration Christmas Eve dinner at Steak and Shake with Sage and family, we slept in our log home. Christmas morning we had our favorite breakfast, squash and eggs. I made the toast. We emptied one of our six storage units so we could host a Christmas party with Sage's family. You know our reputation as party animals. They came out for an afternoon of four-wheeling and trying out the golf cart with healthy nibbles of fruit and vegetables.

More worker bees

Here are the worker bees who helped grandma and grandpa lay 8 pallets of sod on Saturday. We had a great time and got it done in just a couple of hours. We now have a nice grassy hill for a septic drain field.

Grandpa also finished the bannister for the landing of the stairs to the loft.

Racing to the finish!

We have to get everything done by this coming Wednesday--so we are racing to the finish. Thursday, the bankers came to make sure we really are spending our money on the house (we passed inspection) and the plumbers came and installed the toilets, faucets, and the water heater. I need to install the bathroom doors for privacy. Monday they need to connect the dishwasher and icemaker on the fridge.

Friday the electricians finished up their work, installing all the switches, can lights, the range hood, and made sure that everything works. We now have power full time in the house. Now that there is electricity full time in the house, the air conditioning people will activate the thermostat and the heating and air.

All the dirt for the septic system is in place and Friday the sod was delivered. Grandma and I laid two pallets of sod before heading to the temple at noon. How do you like Duke with his sunglasses, the driver of the sod truck?

Saturday we finish sodding, work on the bannisters for the stairs to the loft and start cleaning up the inside to get ready to move in. Check back to see the progress.

Busy Tuesday!

We're rushing to get ready for the inspection so we can get our CO (certificate of occupancy) and move into our cabin. Tuesday was another busy day with workers everywhere. The HVAC people put in more vents and put up the condenser on the two foot hill grandma made for them.

Mom mopped the floors to get ready for guests.

Dad finally figured out how to use his new pneumatic finishing nailer and miter saw and installed the tongue and groove wall that connects the music room with the great room.

The carpenters finished the trim on the kitchen cabinets.

They finished tiling the last bathroom upstairs.

But most important, they put in the septic system. Now the plumber can come and finish installing the sinks, toilets and tubs. Notice the cute supervisor dog helping out with the excavations.