House Progress

Things are hoppin over at the new home site.  Shingles on, doors and windows in, electrical and plumbing rough in completed and inspected, CH&A rough in done, central vac installed (Yeah baby!).  Meeting with the cabinet man tomorrow to finalize the design and sign a contract. Fireplace soon, then insulation, then sheetrock. I am hoping the brick and stone will be going up soon too.

I took a friend with me to help me pick out tile for the bathrooms and laundry room.  She helped me step out of my comfort zone a bit and I am really excited about what we picked.  Have you seen the stencil tiles?  A lot of people (Pinterest) are putting it in laundry rooms like below....

Here is the one I picked.  If I was going to go bold, the laundry room seemed a good, safe place to do it!

My washer and dryer is black and I'll have some white cabinets in there.  It was so budget friendly at 99 cents a square foot, I figure if I really got tired of it in a few years I could always paint it, or rip it up.

Next up the bathrooms.  The Floor and Decor designer I worked with (a free service!) was really great.  She helped me pick some simple tile that has a transitional style to it, which means it can go with several kinds of decor.  Simple like the modern farmhouse style so popular now, and which I really like, but also just a bit different.  I went with a bigger 4" x 10" subway tile for the showers. I stepped out of my comfort zone on the shower floor tile.  I picked a penny tile that has a slight metallic look.

 Below is a picture from Pinterest that is similar to what I picked.  We decided on a darker grey grout.

As you can see I love the simplistic look of subway tile and wanted white with a soft gray grout for the kitchen.  The designer suggested I go a little smaller than traditional subway tile. The counter will be a white quartz with some marble veining.

We are just so very, very thankful we are getting to build our dream home.  The home we hope to live in until we pass away.  Most everything is handicap accessible with wide door ways and easy access. No steps to get into the house or out to the porches.  This is very important for my husband.  He has a bad leg from polio he contracted at the age of one. Steps are getting more and more difficult as he ages.

Just wanted to document our progress!  Thanks for stopping by.

Trip, kitty cat, house and grandbabies

An update on what is transpiring around here.  I got home today from my trip.  I am such a homebody and I've gotten to where I really hate to travel (unless it is to see my grand babies). Although I must say these three young folks are fun to travel with.  I am so proud of these three.  I hired two of them and all three worked in my group.  I'd like to think I helped them move on up the ladder in our field. One is the department manager now, and the other two are group supervisors.  The young lady took my place when I retired three years ago.  All of them are so very smart and just really good people.

 It was some beautiful country and we were able to take some time one day after work to visit Bandolier National Monument.  Here's a little from wikipedia about it ----  Bandelier National Monument is a 33,677-acre United States National Monument near Los Alamos in Sandoval and Los Alamos Counties, New Mexico. The monument preserves the homes and territory of the Ancestral Puebloans of a later era in the Southwest. Most of the pueblo structures date to two eras, dating between 1150 and 1600 AD.

 We thought the little hole above this opening in the cliff was pretty neat.

 We each took turns climbing up a few of the ladders to view inside the cliff dwellings.

 We also visited two missions in Santa Fe.....

 There is a very interesting story behind this curved staircase. Notice there is no center support pole. You can read about it here --  https://www.lorettochapel.com/info/history

 And of course Camel Rock, which is on the way from Santa Fe to Los Alamos.

I had good news when I arrived home.  Our cat's eye infection hasn't improved a lot so two days ago the hubby made an appointment to evaluate it and determine if it is feasible to remove it, so he can live, otherwise we may need to put him under.  :(  That was such a sad thought, but Jim has managed to be such a good nurse, when he took him this morning, the vet thinks he has improved and wants to wait another week before deciding whether the eye should be removed. He still looks pretty rough but he is still with us!

I received this today.  My grand daughter was wanting her picture made with a bag piper.  She got it today! She's getting so big, *sniff, sniff

 And today was her "half birthday", so mommy made her a cake.  Can you tell she was excited?

 Love this picture of the two cuties! I especially love how she has her arm around her little brother.

While I was gone all the windows were installed and some of the doors. I am really happy with the front door.  It has 'vapor' glass.

Since the roof isn't finished we have some water and lots and lots of mud (the worker's muddy boots) all over the floors.  Our builder says the rain won't hurt the structure, in fact will help it settle faster, but we would really like to get it in the dry. This coming week we are hoping to get the rest of the doors installed, the shingles on, and get the mess inside cleaned up.  I am meeting our cabinet man early Monday to measure.  Exciting times.

Home progress

The home building is trucking right along.  They got the felt on the roof today.  Windows are scheduled to be delivered next Wednesday and shingles on Friday.  It's an exciting time.

We are just so, so thankful we are able to do this. We want this home to be full of friends, company, life and laughter.  (drone pics thanks to a good friend who lives close and has a drone!)

Speaking of life and laughter....

This girl is growing up so much.  She looks so tall!  Her and her family and getting ready for a big move to Cambridge, UK.  It marks the end of a wonderful time in their lives.  They have made so many good friends in Edinburgh, but as they and their friends graduate and move on to other things, it is sad for them. They have been soaking up all the sights, sounds, and friends lately in preparation for the move.

I'm still not doing any quilting.  I've been spending my time re-furbishing furniture, cleaning out closets, organizing my quilting room, and all the errands associated with building - picking this and that.

Our 10 year old cat, Jesse, has some kind of eye infection.  We took him to the vet about 10 days ago and they gave us some pain medicine for him.  I had already bought terramycin ointment which is what she recommended.  He isn't sneezing, or pawing at it.  It runs and he keeps it closed.  He was getting better, but we neglected the ointment the last few days and now it is bad again.  He has another appointment on Monday but I have an out of town business trip, so the hubby is going to have to figure out how to get him there.  Jim walks with a cane and can't lift the cat.  He plans to get a friend to help him get Jesse in the carrier and to and from the vet.  We are pretty worried about him.  When this first happened he didn't eat or drink for almost 3 days.  He didn't eat anything last night or today.  He is holding his head kind of weird, and just not acting himself. I'm wondering if it is a secondary problem due to something more serious.

HIs good eye, was very dilated earlier today.  He has been the perfect cat.  Never jumps on the tables, never claws the furniture, does his business outside.  I just pray that if this is something serious the good Lord won't let him suffer. I hate the the hubby will have to handle this alone.  He adores this animal.

Although I retired three years ago, I've been working part time as a subcontractor.  I never intended to travel for work any more, but here I go..  :(  Not sure why I agreed to this, but I don't think I will again.  I get enough traveling to see the kids.  Off to Los Alamos tomorrow for six days.