Pictures of the First Night

As exciting as it could have been, I had an endodontics test to study for, so this is all you get from last night's camping adventure. We slept on a blowup mattress, listened to the howling wind and road noise (we forgot to bring the ever necessary noise-blocking fan) and tossed and turned all night long.

Tonight, we sleep at the folks'.

The Move

So, we've put off the move for another night. I hoped I'd have the energy to get some stuff moved over there, but a trip to Walmart for Claritin D was a bit too much for this sicko. I hope one more good night's sleep will do it.

I was running errands in Rockwall the other day and it kinda hit me that we really would be living there. That may sound funny to some of you - I mean, I went to Rockwall High School, right? But I've never lived in Rockwall. Only in Rowlett, the red-headed step-child of Rockwall County. Even at that, I've lived in my parents' house longer this time around than ever before. Is that right? It's close. We moved in this house in Feb '98, and I went off to A&M that fall. Anyway, it's just a little odd for me. Especially to be living in Chandlers. I spent a lot of time there in high school over at the Kentopps' and babysitting and going to brunch after church. But now I'm a grown-up living there in a house that my husband and I built. A house that wouldn't be there if we hadn't made it. Craziness.

So tomorrow, I hope to wake up at a decent hour and make that house as comfortable as possible for our first night's stay. I'll get some pictures.

We passed!

Hallelujah!

A few more details:

We are planning on moving in slowly - probably slower than I thought since I've had the flu. We'll sleep there tomorrow night, but as we really think about what that entails, we realize we'll want tv and internet which means cable which we don't have. We also won't have a fridge which makes me a little uncomfortable. And no couches. How will I study? We'll basically be camping for a while.

Erik hopes to close with the bank on Friday. He's had all of that rolling this whole time.

I really hope I start feeling up to a lot of movement soon, because I'll need all the energy I can get!

Are we there yet?

Erik pulled up more grass today. Re-graded more dirt today. And put the grass back today.

This is our real front door. It's not stained yet. Not sure how we're going to go about that. I think we should get Polo at Dad's shop to do it. But that's just me.

Apparently the inspector's boss thinks that this area also needs to be re-graded. Thanks, city of Rockwall!

Erik laid another palate of grass today because the city of Rockwall said so.

And he moved the pile of rocks and bricks to the other side of the back yard because they said so.

Some of you may wonder, "Why didn't you help? Why is Erik doing all the work?" Because he won't let me. He accuses me of trying to get out of studying by helping with the house. Whatever. I just want to move. But, he would also like to have clean clothes next week. So, alas, I'm forced to stay in the warm house and do laundry and quilt : )

So anyway, we should be finished following orders tomorrow and they will hopefully call a truce on Monday and pass us. This is not a game I want to play anymore.

Strike Two

Well, our inspector decided to bring his boss with him today. Therefore, despite all of Erik's efforts to cross everything off inspector #3's list, inspector #4 created an entirely new list for Erik to work on tonight. All doable silly stuff, but annoying, nonetheless.

Oy.

Done, now?

Erik's been out at the house tonight crossing EVERYTHING off the final inspector's list!

He should come out tomorrow and hopefully pass us.

Please!

Working on That List

We started to tackle the list on Saturday. Erik got a pallate of grass and went out to the house to start grading the yard on the right side of the house (by the neighbors). I came out to help and he made a 3x1 measuring device to determine where the slope was greater and we needed to regrade. This meant pulling up already planted grass, moving dirt, and putting it back down again. When he told me this, I told him, "You realize I'm going to cry." He suggested that I go home in order to avoid that. I stayed. So we kept moving that thing around and the bigger the area got, the more upset I got, and I fulfilled my prophecy. I got ahold of myself and we started pulling up grass. Not 5 mins later, I decided that I did, in fact, need to go home and did just that.

Regrading just about done:

See, I was ready to plant this grass, not pull up grass that was already planted and then replant it.

Thankfully, the Manns came out to replace me and they did a great job regrading the yard. Erik finished grading the side yard for the most part, too. They also did an amazing job cleaning inside and Evelyn planted the rest of the pansies with my broken spade (which I also had to use to plant pansies - apparently no one is willing to make the drive to Lowes to remedy that problem : )). I'm pretty sure it was sacrificed in the Great Mann-hole Fiasco as the two giant holes were trying to be connected. Anyhoo, it was a huge help and especialy nice since we had some friends coming out to see the house that night.



As it was Valentine's Day, Erik and I had a picnic of Vietnamese noodles by the fire in our house later that night : )

Today, Mom, Dad, and Erik laid the grass on the side yard and Dad started prepping for shelves in the pantry and linen closet. Erik fixed the cut-off thing and Mom and I did a number on the kitchen. I also painted the pantry so we can put the shelves in and finished cutting in on the linen closet.
Just a little bit left. I'm picking up one *hopefully* last pallate of grass after school tomorrow.

That bottle on the counter is the sealer I need to use on the counters after I get all the residual glue and what-not off of them.

I also cleaned up the counters in the bath and found the other mirror on the wall!

Failed - As Expected...But we have a list, now!

• need trash bin (obviously, he is mistaken)
• drain plates under gutter spouts (I'll go to Lowe's tomorrow)
• cut off needs to be done right and level with grade of land (easy fix)
• grass on side of house (he said this was the biggest overall issue - that's good!)
• dirt on water meter (seriously?)
• incorrect drainage (side yard - we'll do it before we plant)
• get trash out of garage (ok)
• remove t-pole (working on it)
• termite report (it was in the permit box, silly)
• energy audit (we passed, just need a few fixes and the report)
• bath tub motor needs to be accessible (listed about 4 times on the printout. Obviously a serious issue - or computer glitch. And we have a panel...the painter just painted it shut. Done.)
• grade of land exceeds 3:1 requirement (Erik's pretty sure he's mistaken)

So, Erik will call the guy tomorrow and talk about the issues. Did you notice what wasn't on there? Yup, no tempered window issue. That's nice. Gunna have to cancel that order and apologize to the window guy for all the phone calls and nagging. Oops.

We got off pretty easy! Next week, I predict a PASS and a lot of moving in our future!

So close it hurts.

Just a few tiles on the sides....and some grout. And the mirror actually hanging on the wall.

If you didn't already know that Erik is amazing, here's proof. He put up all these doors in one night. By himself. All 26ish of them. He's working on the door knobs tonight.

If you've ever helped us out at the house or come for a visit, you'll understand the value of a door on the bathroom here. Ok, maybe everyone understands that, but we're sure happy about it.

The first flower bed is still looking good...

And the second one is well on its way. Need a few more pansies and some bushes in the back.

Guest mirror:

ONE master mirror. The other, well, let's just say that gray dot on the wall is a couple of washers covering a somewhat inconvenient hole that was created when one of the dry wall anchors did not perform well in the course of its duties. But Erik's a genius and has a plan to make it work.

So, update time...

• Erik did not call in the inspection. He said he will do it tonight. We'll see about that.
• The big trash bin is gone! (a necessary step for passing)
• We passed our energy audit (pending a few minor fixes - weather stripping on the attic door and some paper posted in the attic)
• The window guy is ordering new tempered window panes for the window in the master bath that will be here next week. We'll see about that.
• The electric company should come tomorrow and pick up the old t-pole meter. Then our electrician can come get the t-pole and hopefully fix the outlets in the master bath that mysteriously stopped working.

Done?

Well, that's the word Erik keeps using. I respectfully disagree, but as far as "biggies" for final are concerned (except putting on doors) he seems to think we are. I think we still need to put on doors.

The inspector will, too, when he comes tomorrow.

We filled in the hole, started grading the side yard, I made a new flower bed under the master windows and planted 3 flats of pansies (and used a tiller, I might add). I caulked baseboards, we put up a few mirrors, and put the real locks on the garage door and back door. When the real front door comes in, we'll put that one on, too. Oh, and Erik started the tile surround on the fireplace. And we capped off some pipe at the street.

We still need shelves in the pantry and linen closet.

There's just a tad of baseboard left to put on and then caulk. I mean an amount so small it hurts that it's not done.

So that's where we are now. Once we pass final, we will "move in". Right now, that means blow up mattress and some suitcases.

Yay for carpet!

It actually feels like a house now. A house that needs a lot of cleaning to keep the pretty new carpet from getting super dirty ; )

Still working on the window issue. Erik wants to put in for final inspection on Monday anyway. We'll see. You've heard me say that before.

Erik wants to tile the fireplace tomorrow, grade the side yard, and fill in the remnants of the Mann-hole in the back yard. Since it should be a nice day and all. Mom and I are anxious to clean for realz now. Since there will not be any more subs coming inside the house, we can better control the dirt that gets tracked in (ie take your shoes off when you come inside!)

Prepping for Carpet

Wood floors are done.

Last night, I caulked all the "carpet areas" and Erik worked on fixing some tile in some threshold areas that wasn't matching up just right. Just a little bit of cleaning and one more baseboard and we're ready for carpet. Maybe Friday??? Erik's kind of hoping for Monday so we can clean a lot this weekend.

Turns out that even if a window doesn't have a sticker, it has "tempered" etched into the glass. Ours does not. But our window guy is going to check and see what was ordered...looks like we may have to suck it up and change out a window. Oy.

I think we'll be painting some closets tonight and maybe finishing up the baseboards/caulking in the main areas.

I was so exhausted, I decided to sleep in a bit this morning. Thank God mandatory attendance is gone...

Posting for the Sake of Posting

Carpet: ordered (3-5 days)
Wood: so close to completely finished. Those last cuts are boogers.
Baseboards: maybe one more night and they'll be complete but not caulked
Island in kitchen: cleaned off

Our goal is to have all the floors covered with cardboard (walkways at least) before the carpet guys come. I started that tonight. We also want all dust out and all dust making machines in the garage (no more saws in the house!) We're going to clean from the top down as much as possible because our respiratory systems just can't handle all the dust any more. It was so great on Sunday when we could turn off the heater and open all the windows and just air out for a while. Can't do that at night with saws going....But really, we're almost done with the sawing which is very exciting.

We would like to apply for final inspection, but are waiting to resolve one very minor obstacle (a window sticker, actually) before we do that. At this rate, we might actually be ready for final by the time we apply for it! : )

I've finished installing light bulbs in the garage, so all lights are functional. I also did a lot of cleaning...not that you can tell...

This weekend might be spent laying grass....Pray for no rain and good weather!

Progress is Progress

Erik went to Dad's shop Saturday to paint the mantel. We also went by the carpet place to sign papers and write a check to get this process going. We also realized he didn't measure a hallway, so out he comes to the house tomorrow. Carpet in 3-5 days. : )



Just needs some tile around the inside!

The floor is "mostly" done. Just a few pretty hard cuts agains the wall and in the hallways.

Evidence of the amount of cleaning that needs to happen here.

I finished caulking the entire right side of the house. Now I need to clean up the bedrooms on the left side and caulk those rooms.

So, so much to do.