Two in one day!

Jeff moved more of the bushes onto our lot line - did I tell you about this? When they divided the lots in our part of Motts - Pamela's Place - they originally had 7 lots on our side of the street. A lot of people wanted to build a model called 'The Capri' that is wide and not a deep floor plan - so they redivided and made it 6 lots. We're not sure if that is what happened, but the bushes planted on the back lot line are actually about 4' on to our property. Normally it wouldn't matter, but we want to fence in the largest amount of space for the dogs. The yard is already little compared to the almost one acre they have now, so every foot counts. 

Among the things that happened today -

We have shelves in the linen closets in our bathroom - we will put something smooth over the wire so we don't have funny, imprinted clothes.

This is our mandatory Bradford Pear (we MUST plant one and we MUST pay for the tree we must plant?) - it's a great size - thank you Rebecca!

One more mandatory 'thing' is the red brick around the perimeter of the house - no organic material. We're not crazy about the red color, but, hey, what if some brown dye falls on it during the night? You are all sworn to secrecy!

Jeff's Oso Bene (sounds like Osso Bucco!) with brick

 In front of the garage

The landscaper (smile)

 

The Bradford Pear, Oso Bene, and red bricks!

Our mailbox - of course, we're #1!

Today we learned that the house passed all the major inspections - that means the "lanai" may be enclosed. Also, because the landscaping is finished, we may install the dog fence. (Oops - the latter also means Jeff has to cut down a tree RIGHT on the property line. This is probably not legal, so shhhh!)

Who knows what may happen tomorrow?

We are landscaped (or mostly landscaped) January 21 - January 29

We knew they were landscaping while we were in Florida - amazing to see the house looking like a home instead of a construction site. There are still some tweaks, but in general, we're happy with the results. Jeff would like some grasses around the ugly green box - we decided not to make a fuss about it - or pay the $4000 to move it! I'm going to check with the power company to see if I can paint it and add decals. Actually one of our neighbors found a cover that's supposed to look like a bush, but he doesn't know if it's legal. Could be funny.

The "Oso Bene" Maple that Jeff planted yesterday. It is the same type as ours on Blackbrook. It's a beautiful tree - the leaves continually change color. Right now they're clear!

The back yard -

 In another year, the neighbors should be barely visible.

Note the absence of anything even vaguely resembling soil!

The sides -

In front of the garage -

and on the inside -

the beautiful butcher block counter

 prep sink and composting container

The pull-out tray for the coffee maker - Jeff did a lot of research to be sure it would fit!

Shower doors 

 Note the lovely light fixtures in the mirror. Error! The mirror people cut the holes for the sconces too large - 4 3/4" so the backplates wouldn't cover them. Guess what? 4.5" is standard backplate width. I did find some fantastic replacements at a mere $1990/light! Needless to say, I compromised!

$1990????

 Guest shower door - hard to see

 Powder room - we didn't know we were getting a mirror

The walnut top on the fireplace. 

Closet shelving - we'll make a lot of modifications, including a barndoor style mirrored door to replace the standard door.  In hindsight, we should have used a pocket door to make the space more usable, but the barndoor will do the same thing and look pretty neat.

We have water - and flushable toilets. The GC says they'll have heat in time for the final painting. We passed electrical and plumbing inspections so that's only a matter of time. There are still some lights to install, the refrigerator to install now that the plumbing is inspected - lots of little door adjustments and then the final painting. My guess is about a month or less amount of work. Then the "fun" begins!

Greetings from Jensen Beach - warm and sunny!

We flew here yesterday - to Jeff's brother, Tom, and wife, Lorraine's condo. The view from their condo reminds me of why we miss the beach so much - also why we miss warm weather! We'll stay here until either Friday or Saturday - depending on the weather. ("Weather" or not we can fly?)

Because it is such a spectacular venue, here are a few more photos of the Gaylord Palms. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of the ship restaurant/bar that's inside in a little pond.

Turtles and baby alligators.

Our room is in the middle of the photo on the top floor - open doors.

Views from our room - the building below is a very expensive steak restaurant.

The ship restaurant is through the opening behind the trees.

 It felt like we were very high.

Phil went to the house yesterday and sent these photos. The floor is finished and totally covered.

The gas is hooked up, the cooktop is assembled, and the drawers are being modified to accommodate the gas line.

The puppies hideaway is 'hardwooded'.

 The shower door are installed and there is a mirror on 'Jeff's' side. I just wrote to Phil to ask if there's a mirror on 'my' side, too.

 They started the patio - it will have a second color applied to the top. The color stays on for a while and is then washed off, leaving the color in the indentations in the "stone".

I heard from the landscaper - if the weather cooperates, she will start installing the sod, plants and trees on Friday. Wow - moving in day is getting very close. 

Greetings from Orlando - well, actually Kissimmee.

We flew here this morning/afternoon with a lunch stop at St. Simon's Island, GA. 3 hours, 11 minutes total flying time. It was a very smooth flight - with a tailwind for a change. Captain Jeff was excellent as usual. We're here at the Gaylord Palms (a view from our room below) for the annual NAVC (North America Veterinary Conference). Beside fulfilling Jeff's annual Continuing Education requirement, it is also a chance to go a bit farther south and see his brothers.

Normally this is one of our most favorite trips, but it was hard to leave home with so much happening at the new house. They installed the outside entry light.

We need to order a rug for the Family Room? (Great Room? Living Room?) so Jeff made cut-outs of our furniture, and we tried it out on the floor.

Here it is with an 8' x 10' rug (aka an electric cord). We decided on a 10' x 13' instead.

Most of the electrical work is done. Most of the outlets, switches, etc and installed and the panel is wired. Below is our 'charging station'.

It looks like a bad hair job.

The dishwasher is installed

My kitchen faucet. We wondered about the blue light (since we don't have electricity) and found out that the faucet is a 'touch' faucet and the blue light runs on a battery. The internet is a great source of information - Google: I have a blue light on my faucet - what is it? Answer: Delta faucet ..........

Our joke is that our favorite lighting fixture is the bare bulb in the kitchen. Eventually it will be our island light - with any luck, it will be a masterpiece.

The Powder Room light - the vanity is neat but can't be installed until the flooring is in.

Surprise - they started to install the hardwood. We thought that was going to happen next week. It fun to see it 'in person' since we picked it out from a small sample. This is the guest room.

and in the room to be named.

Jeff was insistent that we not have the threshold by the slider be above the level of the floor. There was some grumbling when the slab was poured, but it came out perfectly. Now if our 'old friends' visit with their walkers, they won't have a speed bump going on to the porch.

It's not this shiny in person.

Jeff ordered all the shelving for the pantry and storage area online and had to pick it up from the freight company. He definitely maxed out our little pick-up. Unfortunately there was a bit of a mix-up in the order - you'll have to talk to him about that!

We had an email from the patio people - they will start on Monday and finish my Wednesday. After that, they will start with the landscaping. It is almost finished! The designer at the patio place said she will send photos - plus our trusty 'second', Phil, will be on the job.

Of course I need to add a few photos of the pets. Below are three of the reasons we love to come home, and why we hate to leave.

 To all a "Good Night" - this is where Marcus and Rosie love to sleep until it's crate time. I love these photos.