STUFFED INDELICATA SQUASH, or, “What to do with those leftover Thanksgiving decorations”

Down Home...

OK… so we have a little landscaping challenge right now. And when we decided to invite a few neighbors over last month, it was really embarrassing to think about, having visions of “Tobacco Road.” To solve this, however temporarily, I bought a whole bunch of pumpkins and assorted squashes from the overflowing bin at the grocery store, scattered some straw on the ground by the front steps, along with some corn stalks from Bruce’s “South 40” corn patch, and made the entry look a little less like “down home in the southern swamps” and more like an overflowing squash bin at the grocery store.

Millstones and milestones...

We're ba-aa-ack!

The good news is (milestone) that we got enough of our stuff stashed that we could actually let people come inside and hang out with us.  When we got a little bit settled, we had some friends, family and neighbors drop in for a drink and a bite and a short tour of the place. Bruce got to show off his kegerator and pot filler and we answered a lot of questions like "what's that going to be when it's finished?"  :D

Baby Steps...

It may not look like much, but to us, it was cause for a celebration.  This weekend for the first time ever, we were able to get my car into the garage.  Tight fit, but in is in!  

"Where's the Vaseline, Mabel?"

Purple Berry-Pickin' Fingers

Well, we've been sleeping in the house for four weeks now.  Seems like we just moved in last night, in some ways.  And in others, we've always been right here, worrying about the weeds, the landscaping, the fencing, the garden, the falling down garden shed, getting the hot tub installed, getting the garage boxes unpacked, OMG!  It will not stop!

The house looks pretty cool, actually, and we are enjoying living in it.  Bruce likes to pose his manly chef pose with his (now famous) pot filler.  

A Dog's Life...

At Bufflehead Pond, it is indeed a dog's life.  This doesn't even count the fact that the two of us have been working like dogs for the past eternity of days...

For a man who claims not to like my "pussy" dogs, Bruce is enjoying pulling out all his fence building toys to create a coyote-free zone for my Skids (my four-legged kids who can't get traction on the wood floors).

Green Acres, Part One

We are in....

.....well almost.  We got the certificate of Occupancy yesterday.  Movers will show up at 8:30 this morning.

Cookin' with gas!

Oh man, the closer we get, the farther away it seems.  But the plan is coming together and everything seems to be shaping up in grand style... however slo-o-o-o-o-owly...

It'll be done when it's done

I'm sure I'm not the first person who built a new house and then got overanxious to get it done and move in.  The GC has been pushing the date out every week since mid July.  Original date was July 4th.  Then it was moved to the 15th (all my fault because I caused delays selecting plumbing fixtures).  Then

Perfect weather to build a rain garden

Seattle area has had a fantastic spring.  Since sometime in May the daily rains and cool temps have stopped  and we have had excellent dry weather with temps above normal and clear skies after the morning clouds clear away.  This weekend has been exceptional with bright blue skies and temps around 75 with low humidity and very light wind.  A perfect day to plant.....

Forensic Concrete

OK, so Dee spilled the beans about the countertops being delivered.  I have some video and more photos of that event later in this post.  But the big event this weekend was actually de-construction rather than con-struction.

Take it for Granite...

... but it's really a metamorphic rock that was transformed from sandstone by tremendous pressure and heat.  I am so excited about this that I'm tossing out a quick sneak preview of our new countertops.  Installation began today in the kitchen.

I had selected the specific slabs myself, and Bruce and I had been over at the slab yard to help position the cutting forms for the best display, so we shouldn't have been surprised when we first saw them actually in place in the kitchen.

I've got gas.....

.....LP gas that is.   Actually I don't have the gas yet but I now have a 500 gallon tank buried 5 feet underground.  That first fill is going to be a doozy at $1.69 per gallon.  But it is another milestone met.

Cabinet level work

Floors yesterday; cabinets today.  Things are moving fast.  Architectural Cabinets Inc built and is installing the Cherry cabinets yesterday and today.  They look fantastic.   They really

i'm floored.......

Yes!  This past week the white oak hardwood floors went in.  All 1,770 sq ft of it.   Going to leave it unfinished at this point.  We have decided that we will

Humpin' the Hardwood

WOW!  It's been a long time since our last post.  May has been a very slow month for progress on the house.  The GC has had some problems getting his subs to the site to do their work.  For example we had great summer-like weather in early May ands everything was ready for the painters but for whatever reason they could not be on-site.   So they did not get started the on the outside until mid-May.   As of today, May 29, they are just about done.  Today they

It's a Colorful Life

Well, it's been a while since our last post, but things are moving quickly now, just not as visibly as before.  All the construction is done, inside and out, and everything that remains is the fun stuff, as far as I'm concerned.  I'm talking about paint, cabinets, counter tops, flooring, fireplaces, and all the trim and other interior details.  The deck still has to be built too, and then the landscraping (sic) begins.

For the interior details, we had to develop two very complicated spreadsheets to keep it all organized.  Well, to keep it manageable, really.  We have two different granite types, a beautiful marble for both bath counters, marble tile for the bathrooms, entry, and fireplace hearth, and tile for the laundry room and mud room.  And colors?  OMG.  Bruce has remained quite calm through this process, considering that most people know that I'm not afraid of wild colors.  And now that he has seen the colors actually on the walls, he's still calm, but just a little unsettled.  Bear in mind that the color he chose for his office is named "Dorian Gray."  I rest my case.

Reclaiming the South Forty

Farm jobs can start out seeming rather small, like an afternoon "project" for two people to finish completely.  But no-o-o, this is such wrong thinking and I don't understand why we don't seem to learn!  Just one example, from last weekend, was the simple trimming of some tree limbs that had grown over the "orchard" (trust me, it WILL be an orchard some day!).  Armed with two chain saws, we thought it would be a breeze.  So, we took time to admire the farm life, the ducks and the visiting pair of geese (noisy fellows!), and all the little trees that will produce tons of delicious fruit, hopefully within our lifetimes.

Visiting Honkers

Baby Steps

WOW!  Three weeks since I last posted.  Much activity but a lot of it was behind the scenes.  Working with my contractor to change my deck material from clear cedar to a tropical hardwood.  Cost is an issue but I think we have worked out a good compromise.  But before I go any further I wanted to post

Mi Casa Es Mi Casa...

Well, as you can see by some of the earlier posts, the house is looking more and more like a house, and there are now about a million little details of inside finish work to worry about.  Most of the big stuff has been chosen, like granite and marble, flooring, doorknobs, sinks and faucets... but trying to ponder interior colors is making me nuts.  We have too many woods, too many stone surfaces, too many windows, and almost no walls at all, so I'm going to just think about something else until the last minute.  Something will suggest itself!

It's spring now (rumor has it) and planting season is well upon us... We're really late, actually.  No seedlings are started yet, and the bare root trees that we bought a month ago are begging to put their feet into a permanent home.  We got several of them planted on Sunday, and that was about all we could get done in a weekend.  Doesn't sound like much, but it took all both of us had in us to get even that much done!

But the project I'm eager to get back to is the sweet little cottage.  And the old garden shed hasn't fallen down yet, so Bruce has agreed to let it be for another season... and by then I hope to have a new clear "sun roof" on it, and maybe a couple of braces to help it stand up for a while longer.  But back to the cottage:  This is my project, with a little help from Bruce, and eventually it will become a little artist's retreat and/or guest cottage.  It needs everything done to it... new interior, new exterior, new roof, gutters... new window at the back, new little powder room, new French doors on the front...  And the exterior soil level has to be lowered also, plus a backhoe job to pull old ivy and blackberry roots.

So, without boring you with the written details of this job, let me bore you with a video about it...  This is the first installation of many, as I get started with the major stuff...  I'm loving this work, actually.  It's really fun to be utterly destructive in such a constructive way!  Totally therapeutic.  Enjoy the film.  It's about two and a half minutes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLLlv-UIKyQ.

It's not all about the house

Much interior work getting done.  The HVAC guy has done his thing.  The monster heat exchanger is not set yet but all the interior stuff is done including mounting the air-handler under the house in the crawl space.  Ducting is done as well.  Electricians have been in there for the last 10 or 12 days.  All the ceiling cans, fan mounts, vent fans (there are 5 in the house for some reason), outlets and switches, main panel, sub panel, all that stuff is in.  Exterior boxes to mount the door lights, floods, hot tub outlet, and probably 10 other things I can't think of right now are in.  But it is not all about the house.  Dee and I spent the weekend prepping the

Where have I been?

I have been derelict in my blogging responsibilities.  There has been much progress in the two weeks since I last updated the blog but as I said earlier once the structure is up  and enclosed, progress is less visible.  Nonetheless our crew has completed the siding, roofing, most of the trim

A roof over our heads

In a previous episode we saw that the roof membrane was installed.  This helped keep the rain out of the house to a point but it is not a finished roof.  This week the standing seam sheet metal roof material arrived and

That's a wrap

No, the house is not done but it is all wrapped up in a nice thin layer of Tyvek.  My thanks to all the furry little tyveks who gave up their hides for this material.....

The Brain Trust

Normally I start out with a paragraph of what has been accomplished this past few days.

Beams, columns, subroof

Dee and I took a mid-winter break and traveled to Costa Rica last week.  Went to a pretty remote little town on the west coast of the country called Nosara.  It is a pretty well known place in the surfing community but otherwise not so much.  Will be posting pictures on Facebook so look for more info on that adventure there.

A Far Cry...

The first time I ever set foot on Bufflehead Pond Farm, the farm still believed its name was Abildhøj Farm.  The place utterly charmed me and I fell completely, hopelessly, terminally in love... and I knew that I would be a very lucky girl indeed if ever I were invited to go and live there.

The Shape of things to come

Well now things are really taking shape.  The second floor of the garage has been put in by nature of building the roof supports.  The contractors lifted the last of the interior glulams which are the very thick beams

I've been framed....

Just a short update today.  I was told that changes are dramatic and rapid once construction starts and then even though work continues

Beam me up Scottie...

Friday Jan 11.  Finally some sun here in Western Washington.  Granted it came with chilly temperatures in the low 40's but as long as that sun is out it's not too bad working outside.  All the exterior walls are up, not counting the garage, and most important some of the interior beams which will support the roof are also up and 

It ain't Pink Floyd but it is The Wall

Today (Friday Jan 4) was a landmark.  The first wall section went up.......and stayed up, at least for the time being.  It was quite a process and I was fortunate that I ran up to the farm at lunch just

I'm Floored

Floor supports and Subfloor are installed.  That pile of lumber, uncerimoneously dumped near the front door in our last post is now an organized subfloor system which is designed to support all our furniture and