The Last Day of June

So, where were we?

My husband arrived home tonight from another week away in the Big Shitty - road-weary and mind-numbed. The poor guy has been down to the Cities SO much lately for work. The only upside to his travels is that they're paying the bills for all the progress on the house.

Boy, now that I sit down - fresh and clean from a much-needed shower - I find myself so worn out that I don't know where to begin!

This past week's activities were timber framing and sheetrock. Our timber framer and friend (who built the house) came back from his now-permanent home in Montana (he and his wife used to split their time between here and there) to do a little work locally - including the timber frame entrance which will go in front of our 6' wide front doors. He worked on the timbers all week, and, at the end of next week when he returns from a frame raising (in the aforementioned Big Shitty), we'll assemble it and raise the front entrance.

And, as you know from the few pictures I managed to post, sheetrock took the rest of the time. Well, sheetrock and electrical work and plumbing. While our fantastic hired Jack-of-all-trades attacked the sheetrock (with me hanging around nearby to help heft the 4' x 12' sheets - and there's a reason they call it sheetROCK!) I worked on mapping out, marking, and, where I could, installing electrical outlet and switch boxes. The kitchen alone has 12 ceiling lights, 1 double wall switch, and 23 (if I remember correctly) outlets! Once I have the entire house and garage mapped and marked out with every single outlet, light, and switch placement, our electrician will return to finish all the wiring. (We're shooting for the end of next week.)

Then, I also met with our new plumber this week. That meeting was a bit aggravating in the sense that, before he can go much farther, he needs the EXACT placement from me for every single water faucet and drain in the house (and garage). And, oh, yes, actually physically having (in place) every single shower, tub, toilet, and sink (with hardware, preferably) would help, too! And, all this by next week or the following! So, as you can tell, my schedule right now is not a schedule at all - my "to do" list has been replaced by a "just stay ahead of the next subcontractor" list!

And, just to add a little excitement to our lives, I have an order of 40 day-old chicks (19 different varieties) arriving on Monday! To keep up on production for the families we sell eggs to, I had to order these now (even tho things are so crazy for us) . . . for they will be ready to lay in January when my then 2 1/2 year old girls will be slowing down.