"Blind" Man

Lucky for us, Chip Conley can really see because he is making sure this blind in the master bedroom works after installing all of them today, Monday, November 27. He is with Carolina Blind Factory in Lexington, NC where the blinds for each window in the house was custom built. What took this company three weeks - including an estimate, measurement, building the blinds and installation - would have taken Tim a couple of months at least, not to mention how long it would have taken us to get the blinds after ordering them. It was well worth our money.

This other photo shows the blinds in the master bedroom. We chose an off-white color to match the trim. After the blinds were installed, it really looked like a home even though it doesn't quite "smell" like one yet between paint touch-ups, water heater and fireplace testing - all of which happened today too.

"Kool" Kitchen Features

In these Wednesday, November 22 photos you can see two of the many upgrades we did in this house. The first one is the pantry with two pull-out drawers on the bottom and shelves on the top. The second photo shows the desk in the breakfast nook. Our plan with that is to put a computer there for paying bills and for the kids to do their homework or play games on while dinner is being fixed. The desk is in the area where we will be eating dinner a lot anyway, so hopefully that will work.

Thankful Feet

These two photographs from Sunday, November 19 and Wednesday, November 22 make our feet happy on this Thanksgiving eve. One shows the carpet in the bedrooms (and up the steps) and the other shows the hardwood in the great room, dining, kitchen, hall and foyer. The Berber carpet was being installed when the photo was taken. The Berber in the kids' room is a tighter weave to withstand play than the carpet in the master bedroom.

The rest of the week entails touch ups, installation of bathroom fixtures and cleaning which means that yes, we are definitely closing on Monday, November 27, 2006. So our hearts are happy too as we have a bunch to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving.

Tim continues to finish his little projects like installation of alarm materials, under the cabinet lights in the kitchen, central vacuum things and speaker panels. He has done tons of work on this house saving us bunches of money - another thing to be thankful for!

Sinks and Floor

In these Monday, November 13 photos, you can see the kitchen sink with the built-in dish drain closest to the camera. The kitchen countertop was "poured," meaning that there are no creases between the countertop and back splash so that is why there is a built-in dish drain. There are two separate sinks, a smaller one for the disposal.

Tim and I picked out this pedestal sink for the upstairs bath which will serve as a guest bathroom for overnight guests.

And continuing upstairs, you can see four days worth of work for Tim in the laminate flooring which he completed Monday, November 13. While he wore himself out, he did an awesome job!

Other happenings this week included the installation of the hardwood floor on the main floor as well as the kitchen countertop and plumbing and electrician work for toilets, sinks, dishwasher, cooktop, etc. Watch soon for a hardwood floor picture.

We are down, believe it or not, to the last week or so worth of work. What remains is closet shelving, touchups, and various little details.

"For the Boys"

"For the Boys" - mail and flooring for home theater/play area.

We know that this picture from Friday, November 10, 2006 might be out of focus but Evan sure enjoyed receiving our first piece of mail. We got four pieces - his magazine, two pieces of junk mail and two pieces that didn't belong to us. The fancy mailbox is required for all houses in the neighborhood.

And "for the second boy," aka Tim, you can see him talking to family about the upstairs bonus area flooring and layout in this Saturday, November 11 picture. One of Tim's many projects on this house is the installation of about 600 square feet of laminate flooring in the bonus room which is serving as a play area, office in the dormer/window area and home theater (where Tim's 100-inch projection screen is going on the wall). Tim also installed the stick-on tile in the bathroom upstairs. Luckily he knows and likes doing all these kind of projects!

After Evan conducted a tour of the house for his Aunt Dawn and Grandmother (seen in the picture), we all enjoyed our first picnic lunch on the back patio. We improvised with no furniture by using towels and the steps - enjoying the breeze and view - on this unseasonably warm November day!

Other happenings this past week were the installation of shelves in the closets; installation of water heater, water filter and outside facuets. The plumber also installed the bathroom sinks and toilets in the two baths downstairs. Electricians finished installing the light fixtures. Finally, we got an estimate on blinds for the 19 windows.

'Light at end of tunnel'

Dianne had fun shooting these Monday, November 6, 2006 pictures of the foyer light, upstairs fan, master bathroom sink faucet and master bathroom shower head. Her assistant, in case you see a reflection in some of the photos, was Evan. He held the flashlight up to the faucets and shower head since it was dark at 7pm tonight! He also enjoyed making finger shadows on the wall as we waited for Tim.

The electricians will finish installing the fixtures on Tuesday and the plumber returns on Friday, November 10 to finish.

We are seeing the "light at the end of the tunnel" in these last couple of weeks before we move!

Hay for Home

These photos were also taken on Thursday, November 2, 2006 - right at dusk. The front yard is now finished with a sprinkler system, grass seed (under the hay), some shrubs and three trees. After much research via North Carolina State University's Horticulture Department websites, we spent a good half-day picking out the shrubs and trees at two local nurseries.

With some help of Evan and Tim, the two landscapers got the yard done shortly after dark on Wednesday, November 1. Once Evan moved the pots, Tim started digging the holes. The landscaper put in the trees while Evan carried the empty pots to the garage. Dianne supervised and Tim continued digging and talking. Then, armed with a flashlight, the landscaper showed Tim how to turn on the sprinkler system by hand. I think Evan was the only one who enjoyed getting a little wet!

This second photograph shows the vinyl railing on the back porch. While more expensive than wood, this will last a lot longer and is easier to maintain.

Dolphins in Tub

There will be two entries today, Thursday, November 2, 2006. Since we are down to the last month, a lot has happened this week including interior painting; installation of hardware (door knobs, locks, etc.); garage doors; irrigation/sprinkler system in yard; and landscaping. We have a confirmed date of November 27 for closing on the house.

Dianne has loved and collected dolphins since age 7 as evidenced in these images of the dolphin tile mural right above the master bathroom tub. Tim did good - he bought a "transparent" poster from England; had it cut in the size of the tiles; and placed it on the tiles. A local pottery business fired the "transparencies" so it would stay on the tile forever and ever!!!