AUG. 16 UPDATE: Quick peek

Hello, all. It's late, and I'm just getting to the computer, so I'll just post a few photos to show you things are still happening around here!


Here's one baby photo, to keep all the relatives appeased. Erik seemed surprised by the flash -- his eyes opened really big after the first photo!


Dave was installing windows today. He got two of the three windows in that go on the east side, on the first floor.

He did have one problem: When he went to get the first window, after he had already cut the opening for it, it most definitely did not fit in that hole. The hole was at least an inch too small, in both width and height. Then he went and got one of the other windows, which did fit. He realized one of the three windows we'd received for that west wall is the wrong size. It was hard to notice when the windows were in their packaging, but it's enough of a difference that I think a person would notice if one of three windows in a row was bigger than the others.

Luckily, we hadn't put in the window on the second floor, east side, so the odd-sized window can go there, and I don't think anyone will know the difference. That was the window I forgot to order earlier -- that last window, which will now go on the first floor on the west side, is back-ordered but due to arrive at the Minneapolis warehouse on the 21st. Just barely in time for Dave's parents to pick it up and bring it with them on their next visit -- here's hoping that plan falls into place!

These windows aren't very big -- 24 by 38 inches -- but they let in a nice bit of light from the west side. And in a passive solar design, we really shouldn't have too much glazing, or window square footage, on the west side to avoid overheating in the summertime.


Dave and Dad got quite a bit of the foam and house wrap up today as well.

... Both the plumber and the siding guy visited this morning. The plumber should be here on Wednesday, and the siding should be started in two weeks or so.

... We're doing fiber cement siding; the siding will be in a slightly off-white color called Cobble Stone, and the trim will be all white. You can go to the James Hardie web site if you're really curious about the colors.

We had been debating whether the house should be white, like the rest of the buildings on the farm, or red, like the original granary that preceded the one we're converting into a house. But when we got the color samples for the prefinished siding (which are guaranteed not to need painting for 15 years), there was only one choice of a red color, and it would not have looked right -- it's more of a cinnamon red, not a barn red. So we were back to white -- but I thought a little contrast between the siding and trim would be nice, so I went with Cobble Stone and Arctic White. Hopefully it will be OK!


... A scene from our brief walk this evening. Click on this photo to zoom in on the view of the Forbes Hills and the windmills on top of them.

Sofia had just finished telling Daddy that she was too tired to walk. But apparently she had plenty of energy to run!