After an exhausting weekend, the storeroom is officially ready for hubby to fill.   I did the last bit of touch-up painting this morning, and we assembled two heavy-duty shelving units.   Now it's up to hubby to sort thru the stuff and put thing away.   The storeroom is his domain and it's all his space to deal with

The insulating team dropped off all the insulation this morning.  They'll return in the morning and begin getting all the exterior walls done.   Yippee!!! 

I need to get to town to get a different color of paint for the exterior doors.   I wasn't exactly pleased with the guy who mixed the paint for me....the first gallon was way off, and the second apparently isn't right either.   I did brush on a small section and let it dry all night (he assured me it would darken as it dried) but it's still a kind of pukey color.

We've just had a moment of real clarity.

If the dog really really wants out of his fenced yard, it's not a difficult task for him to escape.

It's really quite easy when you're a 125lb large dog......just knock down a fence section.   Heaven help the beast that actually threatens my children....he won't stand a chance against our canine protector.

And here the girls were just playing and squealing....nobody was really hurt or in danger....but the dog raced to protect them from the evil evil cat who was alert enough to hide in the pasture ROFL

Oh I've been bad about updating here for a few days, huh?   Oh well. 

I still haven't gotten over to start painting the new front door.   The week it went in was warm enough, but I was super busy for a few days.   Then it got cold....too cold to be painting.    Today and tomorrow are forecast to be a bit warmer than we've had for a few, so my plan is to do some painting this weekend.

A small crew came back out and finished up the storeroom....a week ago!.....so now we can get that painted and start moving crap....I mean, stuff/treasures...out of the bedrooms and maybe find some of the missing items we're needing.     I would have painted last weekend (again, cold!) but I needed a jaunt to pick up a few items.   Since I had a meeting with the flooring guy on Monday to finalize our flooring selections, I really needed to get the powder room's cabinet here so we could see if the flooring would blend or if we needed to choose something different.    All but one of my items ordered had arrived...and it's a good thing I went ahead and made the drive because that final item didn't arrive until Wednesday.    Anyway, the flooring looks great with the cabinet.    No, I don't have pics just yet either (yea yeah, where are my priorities these days!).  

So today the goal is to slap a coat of paint on the storeroom.    The girls are excited to help, and the way I see it, the storeroom is just a storage room....and once I tape the electric outlets and the windows, there's nothing to worry about when the girls get sloppy.  Note I said when the girls get sloppy.  Emphasis on the when.   I know it'll happen.  Heck, they'll probably end up covered in paint and we'll be picking it out of their hair for a week.   But hey, they'll love it and they'll feel a vital part of this project.....and I won't mind a little bit of help.   I'll just turn them loose, then follow behind and cover the spots they miss. 

Then maybe I'll get ambitious and pick up some masonry paint and turn them loose on the basement as well

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I received a very pleasant surprising phone call this week.    A trucking firm was calling to schedule a delivery.    The spiral staircase we weren't expecting to see until early December is here!      Yaaay!    That only took 4 weeks instead of 8.   Wow!!     Now I'm hopeful that the oak handrail will arrive sooner than expected as well, and maybe we won't even need the temporary one.    The oak portion is a custom deal, so we were told it would take 16 weeks (I think it was 16).    We had them divvy up the custom from the standard stuff...especially after I changed the landing....so we could at least HAVE a staircase instead of a big open hole when we move back.  

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There are some days I really enjoy living in this smaller home, and some days it just seems way too small.    Right now is one of those "too small" moments.   Apparently it's a completely foreign thought for the girls to understand the concept of "BE QUIET" because other people in the house are sleeping.   Geesh, it's Saturday, for cripes sake, and I could finally sleep in a bit....right?    Hah!  Maybe if I were hearing impaired.    So I get up, close the bedroom door so hubby and Monkey Boy can sleep a bit longer, then proceed to remind the girls to be quiet.....and I've repeated that phrase at least 10 times in the last hour.   WHY on earth can't they get it????

So they finally left the kitchen table and are now in one of the bedrooms.....with the door closed.....and it still seems as though they are in the room with me.  Yeah, although they are only a few feet from one another, they must SHOUT. EVERY.WORD.    Good grief.

Nope, no photos yet.   And I didn't get to town yesterday to get the paint, locksets, and other assorted stuff.   Maybe today.......maybe tomorrow

Yesterday hubby was working at the north farm.    One elevator closed early, but he was able to get loads taken to another elevator that was staying open till 5pm.    Employee clocked out at 6pm.  Hubby had ASSumed he'd be back home right around dinnertime and then I could sneak away to town by myself in the evening.

Hubby didn't come home till 9:30.

And today he's back up at the north farm, trying to get everything filled so tomorrow morning we can haul as much as we've got to the closer elevator before they close down at 10-freaking-AM.    He says he'll only be up there for about 2 or 3 hours, and THEN he'll be here so I can get to town without my young entourage....ya know, so I can actually get some shopping done.   It's so wonderful to actually have my intended purchases stay in my shopping cart, make it to the checkout, and then stay with me to the car.    Mr. Monkey Butt takes great delight in heaving all my selections over the edge of the cart; if said items make a great amount of noise, it's a bonus for him.

So anyway, I'm babbling....blame the coffee......two cups of coffee.   In a bit maybe I'll have a third because, holy moly, I'm actually getting stuff done around here.    I've decided to tackle some of the laundry mountain residing beside the washer.   I've slapped a coat of primer on the hallway walls and on the lovely marker "signatures" the girls so thoughtfully made (in giant mural-size letters) in Demon's bedroom.    I'm finally getting to the point of repainting the hallway......it's only been an "in progress" for about a month since Monkey Butt started peeling the old wallpaper away.   

Speaking of that old wallpaper....sheesh, you should see what those walls are like.  I found three different wallpapers....two of which are wall PAPER.   Which was painted over, a few times, wallpapered again, and then painted a few more times.   The wall is a very uneven plaster....which, hey, is pretty much a lot of character.    Some people actually try to make the plastered look in their homes theseadays .     Anyway, I've stripped down as much of the loose stuff as I could, patched up where it was needed, and applied a good coat of stainkiller primer.   Maybe today or tomorrow or sometime this week I'll actually paint the walls and touch up the trim.   Whoo hoo.

And while I'm at the store, I'll have to pick up some paint for Demon's room.

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Kerri - right now we don't have a deadline date to be back at the big house, but the builder sure would like to be done by January 1st.  I think it may actually be sometime in January, but I'm not counting on that.    Heck, at this point, I think I'll only be disappointed if we're not back there by Easter

Hope to have photos later today......but we have our new front door installed!!   whoo hoo!!   I need to go get the lock and handset and install them today.   Right now there's just the holes on the door and it really would look a whole lot better if they were finished.

Oh!  I should probably pick up some exterior paint and start painting the door while the temperatures are still decent.   If I wait until the crews are all done to put on paint, it'll be December or January.....much too cold for painting the out-facing side of a door .   I'm thinking a mocha/milk&coffee kind of color....something that'll look really good with the browns in the roof.    Would be good to take one of the shingles with me to select the perfect paint color.

And the tubs are now sitting in their places!

The bathroom faucets are all here...sitting in the garage, but they're here.

The whole-house fan and attic fans have been installed.

Electrician is going to work a bit today and start hooking up the new lights and outlets.

After a few weeks of just the nuts-and-bolts stuff for plumbing going on, it's very exciting to start "seeing" things happening again!

Water at the other places has been fine and there have been no further reports of problems.  Yaay!

Yesterday, after doing a bit of research on security stuff, I made the jump into one that will be installed at the big house.  Now is the time to get this done, so it can be easily wired.   Yaaay!

Today I had to get to town for med refills.   I always have to stroll the store to see what's fresh on the markdowns.  There were a few bathroom items I've been patiently waiting to be marked down in price....and today I was rewarded.     And thanks to a friend who stopped at her local store,  the girls should have an ample supply of nice towels for their future new bathroom.    While I was grabbing towels off the shelf, I spied another color in the same towel style that's perfect for the new master bathroom....so I bought all in the store that I could find.   I'm still hoping to find a few more....because good bath towels are something that's good to have a nice stockpile.  again...Yaaay!

Had to run my little Tinkerbell Pixie girl in to the clinic to have her ears checked out.  She doesn't have an ear infection....yet.....but the excess fluid in her ear is an infection in the making.   The doc suggested adding another OTC med to her allergy stuff, as well as adding a nosespray.    I knew she'd been growing, as several of her clothes are starting to become snug, but during today's height and weight check it was very obvious that she has hit a good growth spurt.  

Took Demon Angel to doc yesterday to have her checked over....it seems something is causing a kick-butt allergy for her.  And now we're trying a prescription allergy med in hopes that it'll get her breathing (and sleeping...and eating) better.

My sweet RoseBud girl has been complaining that her shoes have been making her toes hurt.   She's gotten a few callused areas on a few toes, so I thought maybe we should get her a wide pair of sneakers for school.    Oh.My.Goodness....that child has done a bit of growing.   Less than 2 months ago I bought her two pair of Skechers for school, buying them about a half-size too big so she'd have ample growth room.   Those two pair of shoes are TOO SMALL and yes, indeed, her toes are crammed in the ends....ACK!   Poor girl.   But she now has two new pair of shoes in a size that fit well and keep her toes comfy.

Just when things were looking bleak, turns out to be good after all!!

We learned late last week that there was a water problem at one of the rentals....the water pressure was pitiful.    But apparently they took it upon themselves to call the plumber guy and not inform us of anything.   Plumber guy knows that it's our place and wouldn't go out until we'd given him the go-ahead.....gee, maybe the butthead living there could have called us?!?!

Anyway, we thought we needed a new water pump for the well.   Then the well appeared to be very very low.  Greaaaaat.   Just what we need is to have to dig a new, deeper well.    And this morning our new tenant at the other house called and they didn't have water.

Uh oh.   Could it be that the lack of rainfall this summer really has caused a serious drought condition?   That would not be good.  Not good at all.  Looked bleak, huh?   But never fear.....all is well with the wells.    At the trailer site, it seems some substandard piping was used for the water hydrant and it's now leaking...constantly.  That's what caused the water level and water pressure to plummet.    Good news is the lines to the hydrants have been plugged and water to the trailer is good again.

At the house, hubby went down there with the plumber to investigate what's happening with their no-water situation.   Hee hee hee...someone's gonna get a butt-chewing because apparently last evening *someone* turned on the water to fill the cattle trough in the barn and forgot to turn it off.   Whoops!    The woman of that household isn't particularly happy about that, but is very please that it's an easily fixed problem.    It's been reset and all is well.

**whew**   We really dodged a few bullets on those!! 

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Since the plumber was busy this morning doing those other places, he didn't get as much accomplished on the big house as he would have liked.   However, I've been informed that some of the bathroom stuff has been delivered.....such as my new soaking tub, and the tub for the kid bathroom.    I'm ever-so-patiently waiting for those to be set in place in the new bathrooms.   Okay, so maybe not being that patient.  

Insulation has been installed in the storeroom.   Hopefully all they did was knock the bulbs in the recessed fixtures, but none of the lights are working in that room now.  

Haven't seen the electrician yet this week.....expect him any day now to start his work on lighting and stuff.

I have to admit I'm really liking having an extra fridge in the house.   Seriously.   I finally got to the grocery store yesterday morning.....after trying to juggle it into the schedule for about 2 or 3 days.   Knowing that hubby will probably be pretty busy for the next few weeks, and my shopping get-aways aren't easy to come by, I was able to stock-up style.   There's enough milk to realistically last the children for over a week.  If we'd just had the one fridge, it would hold all those gallons but left me in a juggle stance trying to fit in everything else.    Now it's easy peasy....plenty of space!

I really need to find the motivation to work on the hallway at this house.   Eh....I'm not finding much motivation to do much of anything today.    I am managing to slowly attack the laundry piled in front of the washer. 

Sooo.   Spent yesterday morning with the builder and electrician going over light and outlet placements.    Had to realize that the light I fell in love with would not fit well over the staircase.   I uttered a few choice words over that one.   The options are select a different light in the same line, or involve a modification to the ceiling to created a trayed ceiling in that area.   Yeah.    So I'm looking at a smaller light in that same style.      It'll look great and I know it'll serve that location much better.

Next week the storeroom and hidey-hole room will be insulated.   Hidey-hole room.   Yep, that's exactly what hubby and the girls are calling it.   It's a little space that we'll have an access to that will be perfect for hiding a few things well out of sight or even hiding from house intruders.   It won't be an official "panic room" kinda thing, but it would be great for playing hide-and-seek.   Anyway, those areas will be insulated and the walls and ceiling finished.   We need the storage spaces to start moving stuff outta the way to get to our winter things.   Well, after I get the rooms painted, that is.

The electrician will start his work next week.  He estimates it'll take him about two weeks to get everything in.   Then the insulation and drywall will go in.  Whoo hoo!   I'm really getting antsy to see this project get finished, even though I know it's projected to take another 2-3 months.   

 But as things are getting done, I can start working on the older rooms, which need some attention.   Right now the bedrooms are filled with items from the storeroom and other rooms we had to clear.    Once we can sort through things and move them into the storeroom, I can start tackling tasks such as washing down the walls, repainting walls and ceilings, shampooing carpets, and getting the bedrooms all redone for the girls.    Monkey boy's room will be the same, but of course it'll need a good thorough cleaning..as will the living room and sunroom.

We're going to have to do a bit more to the dining room than we'd anticipated.   We knew some of the ceiling would be affected....but there's a bit more than we thought.   And in order to have sufficient plumbing and a/c runs, there'll be a small corner taken in there for that to reside.   That means there'll be another small area of the room that won't have the textured wallpaper that's been long discontinued and can't be found anywhere.    *sigh*   I'm preparing myself for having to re-do all the walls in that room, as much as I really don't wanna do that.  Hopefully they can transition to the old walls and preserve the wallpaper.    Yes, I know I could just re-do the entire room in a new paper, but ~hello~ I don't do wallpaper installation well at all!    Give me a paintbrush and I'm on the job, but wallpaper is something I just can't get.    Borders I can do...that's easy....full walls, no way.

Speaking of walls and wallpaper.....I knew the hallway in this house has wallpaper underneath the paint.   The walls are old plaster and obviously not smooth and even...but hey, to me that lends character to a 100+ year old home.    However, I've now discovered that someone (I can guess which family, lived here about 15 years ago) apparently peeled the wallpaper facing off, left the paper backing on the walls, and proceeded to paint over the backing.     And when the wallpaper was applied to one section of the walls (don't know about the other walls just yet), there was no primer used on the plaster first.   So can you guess what's happening?  Yep, after so many years the wallpaper backing is starting to separate from the plaster.......and flaw my children are so very skilled at finding and picking at.    So I'm gradually working on that walls, trying to get all the paper crap off the wall so I can prime and repaint.    I really need to get motivated and keep after that project.