Happy New Year!

 We've had a wonderful, restful Christmas break here in South Georgia.  Here are a few pictures from last week.

Christmas Eve Church Service

Christmas Eve at our house

Christmas Eve with a new 11-year-old

Christmas morning

A Christmas present!

15 Rhode Islands for the boys

One of my resolutions is to start blogging again - at least one post per week.

Happy New Year from South Georgia!

Move-In Date!!!

Unless something crazy happens - and, it may - we are moving in next Saturday, the 27th! The closing date is set, and the movers are hired.
I'll post pictures in a few days.

We're Getting Close!

It is so very hot here in South Georgia, but I am keeping positive because my house should be ready for move in very soon. I don't think we'll make it before I go back to work on August 1, but it should be only a week or two after that. Here are the pictures that I took while we were there last night:

The porch railing arrived yesterday, so it should go up soon.

With the exception of needing one more column and some railing, the side porch and patio are finished.

Another view of the side porch from the back.

Kitchen - the cabinets are ready; we're just waiting on the painter to finish up.

Kitchen - the sink will be under the window.

The back side of the house - the concrete was poured Tuesday.

Finally, a new post

The house project is moving along... slowly, but surely. We had hoped to be in the house by June 1. Now, I'm hoping to be in by August 1. Here are a few pictures of the progress:

Next week, exterior painting should be completed, interior trim will begin, gutters should be installed, and, hopefully, the concrete for the parking area, porch stairs and patio will be poured.  I hate to be a pessimist, but I'll have to see it to believe it. Some of the subs that came HIGHLY recommended to us have turned out to be unreliable. The trim guys have been pretty much holding up the entire project for two weeks. They say they will start Tuesday. If we can find someone else to do it before then, we've decided that we'll fire them. 

There are many positives to designing and building your own house, but there are a couple of things I've learned after going through this process twice:

1 - it will take twice as long (at least) as you expected;

2 - you will wind up hating with a hot passion at least half of the subs you hire.

Enough being negative - we are very excited about our new home and hope that we never move again. So, if it takes a few more weeks than expected, is that really such a big deal? Probably not.

Almost-Complete Exterior

At last, I have some news to report on the home front: the exterior of our house is almost finished. The only thing left to do is paint the garage, add the brick steps and porch columns, and build a roof over the side stoop. Inside, the wiring is complete, the plumbing is roughed in, and the HVAC is installed.

Columns, steps, rails, and some finishing trim are all these porches need now.

We will pour a patio on this side of the house. Steps from the dining room
and a roof over the stoop have to be added.

The side porch needs steps and columns.

I've got to pick out a garage door soon.

Here is my front door. I'm very happy with it.
For some reason, I couldn't get my camera to flash. 

I think it's interesting to see what is going to be behind our walls.  
Isn't it cute how these HVAC lines are strapped up? I guess I thought
they would just lay on the floor.

Any storage space I thought I would have in that attic eave
is clearly not going to happen.

About three weeks ago, I planted these strawberries. They are already putting on fruit.
I ordered ten plants from Gurney's, but there were 24 in the box they sent!

That's all to report for now. Currently, the move-in date is the second week of June. Let's hope that doesn't change - again.  Have a super day!

Brick

    I've been nervous about the brick for the house for a while now. We started this house-building project planning to use siding, which we would paint white. I love white houses! However, after researching and comparing costs, we determined that the brick would not be much more expensive than the siding. In fact, we estimated that by the time we had the siding cleaned every year and painted it in ten years, the brick will have more than paid for the difference.  Mr. Perfect and I love the brick that his parents have on their house, so we went with the same - easy choice. I was nervous though because I had been picturing the house painted white, and I wasn't sure that I would like it as much with the brick. 

    Yesterday, the brick layers started, so I drove out to check on their progress after school. I am very happy with how it's looking so far and think we made the right call. 

Spalding Tudor brick.

Front of the house.

Corner of porch and garage.

Back of house.

    I did not want to build a house that looked brand new and out of place on a quiet country road. So, instead of bricking the entire thing, we decided to put siding on the garage so that it would have the feel of an addition. Most old houses have had additions, so it seemed like a good idea! You can see in the first picture above where the brick stops. Above that will be siding painted white. The rest of the house will be brick. All of the trim on the windows and columns will be white, so that will tie everything together.
    Apparently, the bricking should be finished by the end of next week. Also, the plumbing will be in by then. After that, the roof can be finished. I'm trying not to be impatient, but I'm ready to move!

Windows and Our 1st Garden

Well, we are almost "dried in." That means that the house is wrapped, the windows are in, and the under-roofing is up.  It's looking so good, and we feel very blessed. Tomorrow, the boys' bathtub should arrive with the rest of the bathroom plumbing to show up early next week. I was not able to take a picture of the front of the house because it was way too muddy after yesterday's torrential rain. Here are a few pictures of the rest of the house:

Back of the house

Back of the house

Looking at the front wall of my bedroom

Upstairs hallway, down to the landing, and up into the guest bedroom.

The boys' playroom

Another  view of the boys' playroom

Boy #2 is giving his bedroom a thumbs up!

Boy #1 also loves his new bedroom.

We are addicted to plants, so we could not wait until the house was finished to start growing things. The green clumps are day lilies transplanted from Mr. Perfect's sister's yard. We also planted dahlia bulbs which should come up in a few more weeks, a cabbage plant (part of a school project), a hibiscus we brought down from Virginia, and a fern. I'm planning on sowing some lettuce this weekend. Also, I think we're going to bring our bird feeders out this weekend and start doing our best to attract all the birds within a 10 mile radius to our yard!

Boy #1 and #2 in our temporary garden.

Almost Ready for Windows & Roof!

I found out today that our window order should arrive any day now, which is a good thing because our builder is just about ready for them. The dormers have been added to the guest room above the garage and the rear of the house is almost finished.

Front of house.

Rear of house. That's the garage on the the left.

This is the rear of the house, but with a look at the covered porch.

 Today, I have to pick out my ice maker and wall oven, so that we can finalize and place the cabinet order. I must say that we are so very excited about this house, but all of the myriad decisions is stressing us out a good bit. I'll be so glad when it's over. On a nicer note, our daylilies that we dug up from Mr. Perfect's sister's yard are very happy in their temporary home behind our well.

Roof and Porches

Here are three pictures I took yesterday. They are not a very good quality as I used my phone to take them. It rained pretty heavily all morning, so this is probably all that will happen on the site until Monday. However, by then we should be nice and dry, and no rain is forecasted until next Friday!

Nothing much has changed on the front of the house since the last post except that the roof it now black. I don't know what it's called, but the material came on a roll and looks like some kind of paper. Either shingles or a metal roof will be added later - we haven't decided yet. If you look closely through the second floor, you can see the roof over the one-story part of the house on the back that was added yesterday.

Here is a view of the left side of the house. There's the roof being added to the back. The one-story part of the house is the family room and sun room. Also, there is a covered porch. In the finished attic over this part will be the boys' bathroom and playroom. 

This is a picture of the same side of the house as above, but here you can see a side view of the two front porches. I cannot wait to sit out there enjoying a nice cup of coffee and some quiet country air!

Second Floor!

Our second floor has been framed and today the builders are working on the main attic. On the right is the garage. Above it will be the guest bedroom and bath. That should be framed today as well. I am hoping stairs will be put in very soon, so that we won't have to climb scary ladders anymore!

First Floor!

I am happy to report that our first floor has been framed.

Front of house - The boys are standing in the doorway.

Back of house - The garage is to the left, but is not in the picture.

Once the second floor and attic are framed, I'll post more pictures and add descriptions.  Today, the garage floor is scheduled to be poured. I hope it happens. If it does, the boys are going to put their names and handprints in it after school!