Thankful!

What a beautiful Thanksgiving morning. It is cold and clear. . .a perfect Idaho morning. The doors have been added to the south side of the house. The light that it lets in is amazing.



The deck has been started with the footings poured and the supports added.



As soon as the deck is complete, the rest of the rock can be finished on the cement block wall. As you can see, the siding is coming along too.



This is the new stairwell that goes from the family room upstairs to the bonus room and the original upstairs. It is in the middle of the house and totally mirrors the original stairwell. The banisters and railings will duplicate the original stairwell.



This shows the new bonus room. It is over 800 square feet. Originally, I wasn't going to finish it, but have decided that it is just easier to complete it now. It will be a fun place for Sarri's kids to play, and for me to do projects out of the way.



I am thankful for Ken Kostelic. Ken has been a friend since the late '70's. He originally built my house. He is honest and makes doing this project fun. I think he is as excited about it as I am! You can see where the old dining room/kitchen wall was. I am thankful they got the drain moved to the opposite wall, so the upstairs bathroom now is working!! Ken is marking where the cabinets and the islands will be in the new kitchen. I ordered my appliances this week. There is so much new technology in cooking that I didn't even know existed! He teases me all the time that I am the gadget queen, and he may be right. Do you think the fact that I wanted a charging station for all my gadgets tipped him off?



My pets have been a bit stressed by this remodel. Checquers has to smell everyone that comes on the job site. He is very picky about who he will let pet him. He is crazy about Ken; however, when Ken finished the upstairs a couple of years ago, he wouldn't have anything to do with him!! I sent him (Chec not Ken!) to my friend's, Jan, for doggy daycare last week. He loves it there and gets to go on long walks and explore their farm. He is always happy and very dirty when he gets home! He slept for 12 hours when he got home, and his groomer said it took her 20 minutes to comb him out! He loves checking out the new space. It makes me nervous when is up in the bonus room. He goes right to the edge and it looks like he is calculating if he could make the jump or not! Yikes!! I am thrilled about the progress on my house and am starting to envision what it will be like when its completed. Hopefully, we will have the plumbing, electrical, and mechanical inspection at the first of next week. I will really be thankful when that happens as it means insulation is next! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Another day, another gable!

I came home from McCall to find the other gables done, but that was also the day that I lost heat and hotwater. It has been a week and 2 days. You don't realize how much you love those two things until you don't have them!! I have taken baths here and there trying not to wear out my welcome at any one place! The advantage to it has been that I get to look over other bathrooms and try the tub for comfort. For those of you who are not aware. . .my bath and bathtub are a huge deal to me! It is my quiet time in the morning where I read and pray for the people I love and other issues. Yesterday, was a huge day...the walls came down opening up the old part to the new part. It really makes it easier to visualize what it will be like when it is finished. Today, Ken finished tearing out my bathroom. I wanted double sinks in the master and he ingeniously figured out how to make that happen. I also want a copper tub, and I think he figured that out too. My stained glass window, which I had purchased 30 years ago, with my friend, Chery Wold, had to come out. We know just the spot to relocate it. We passed the shear inspection yesterday. The rock wall was built to the south of the house and about 1/3 of the rock is on the rest of the house. The pets are very curious to check out the new area. Checquers has been kept very busy barking at all the subs. Today, while I was gone they relocated the relocated kennel, so they could remove the old roof. I think the barking exhaused him as he was asleep by 7.

Gables are completed!

Another view. . .



This new stairwell will join with the original stairs and share a common landing, so that you can go to the bonus room or the upstairs bedrooms from either side of the house.

My bathroom as it appears today. We fixed it so that I could take baths this weekend! I have no guarantees of privacy; however, as you can see!


This is my one working sink and toilet! Again, not a lot of privacy. The wall and door that were there are now open to the hall and the former laundry room.