AUG. 31 UPDATE: Walls!

Don and Dave have gotten a lot of work done this weekend, both of the thinking kind and of the seeing-the-fruits-of-your-labor kind.

The plan was to do some wiring, and they've been working toward that end for several days now, but what needed to happen in the meantime was for them to build some walls for the wires to run through.

This is nice for me, as with the walls in place, it's a lot easier to imagine what the final result will be -- how big the rooms are going to be, whether the bed will fit nicely in the bedroom, and so on. It's just a lot easier to see ourselves living there!

This is the view from the front door, and this wall divides the living room from the room in the northwest corner, which is in the short term going to be Sofia's room and in the long term will be my office. What is the space that looks like it's for a window, you ask? Well, it's space for a window, of course! (You can see it sitting against the wall in the background.)

I spied one of the windows they'd taken out of the peak of the granary just sitting along the wall upstairs, and I thought it was a pity we couldn't come up with a way to use that window. It's not what we'd want for an outside window, of course, since it wouldn't be at all energy efficient. But it occurred to me it might be nice in that wall, as I think Sofia might think it was neat to have a window like that peeking into her room, and it might also be nice when the room is an office, to have a view into the activity in the living room but be able to shut the door to most of the noise in there.

I told the guys I had a crazy idea, and after a bit of discussion and an inspection of the window (and a quick wipedown of the majority of the fly poop on it), we agreed it would work and within a few hours they'd framed a spot for it! Gotta love a quick response.

Here's a picture of the window as it was in the wall for 50-some years:

That photo was from July. Lots of progress since then! Just for fun, since I came across it while I was searching for that photo, here's a photo of where things stood in February:

It might seem like things aren't always progressing all that quickly, but really, this half-built house was a granary not that long ago!

Anyway, back to current events. Don and Dave worked until nearly midnight last night -- they said they were having too much fun and didn't notice the time.

And here's more progress from today: They took down the railing that had been along the east side of the opening and put up one of the walls for the bedroom that will eventually go here. We weren't going to do this yet -- the plan had been to just leave the railings for a few years and leave the upstairs open -- but this will make wiring the lighting for the dining room easier.

And what is that? It looks like space for another window! Well, this window has been in the plan for a while already. The walls for the bedrooms upstairs will need some privacy, but putting in those walls meant that my cross-ventilation plan wouldn't work. So, the thought is to put some cool old-fashioned windows in those interior walls, that could be opened to keep air flowing through the upstairs. Don't you think it will look nice with a window box below it?

Here's a shot of the finished kitchen floor, and the little half-wall that will serve to block the view of the (probably messy) stovetop from many of the people at the dining room table. We'll probably put some little shelf on the top of that wall as a place to set down a salt shaker or stirring spoon.


I said I wasn't going to post pictures of Erik till his acne clears up and his hair starts to grow back, but this was just too precious. I'd call that a smile, wouldn't you? Big sister is very popular with that little one -- he likes to watch her quite a bit.

Erik was very good sitting on Dave's lap this evening, eyes open, just looking around. Dave wondered what all the complaining of fussiness had been about. Well, hon, you got a lucky 20 minutes! Actually, things have been going better in the past few days -- I think the key is his digestive issues haven't been bothering him as much, though I don't think he's necessarily not having those issues, he's just learning how to deal with them. He's growing up!

... The siding crew should be here on Tuesday, we've heard. The plumber, who is coming back to do some more work for us, won't be able to get here for a few weeks.

AUG. 29 UPDATE: Plague report

Back again!

I've been away from the computer for a few days for a silly reason (in addition to the usual lack-of-sleep, mother-of-a-newborn thing): I briefly lost the ability to take photos because the battery charger for the camera was missing. I distinctly remembered having it in my hand a few days ago -- and thereafter I drew a blank. Well, I finally found it, under the bed, along with a foam block and an ABC book. Now, I'm not accusing anyone here, but the evidence does point to a certain young Losure ...

Well, anyway. No pictures yet, as the batteries are still charging. But I thought I'd give you an update.

... No siding was put on this week; the crew was a week behind. I guess they'll start sometime next week.

... Dave has been working on finishing the flooring in the kitchen, now that the wall on the east side is reasonably weather tight.

... We've got a tentative plan for the wiring in the house, thanks to Don's work on the computer this week. I've been studying up on the kinds of lighting I want, and hopefully Dave and Don can get a good start on the wiring this weekend.

... We made a nice Norman Rockwell-esque picture last night: The whole family (my dad in his usual chair, Mom cutting rags for her next rug, Sofia in her pajamas, Erik nursing himself to sleep, me alternately nursing and folding laundry, and even Dave in his sawdust-covered overalls) was gathered around the television watching Barack Obama give his speech accepting the Democrats' nomination for president. I thought it was a very good speech -- we'll see if they pre-empted enough McCain arguments for it to be truly successful. In any case, it is absolutely amazing to see 80,000 people get so excited about something so hopeful and optimistic. I loved what he had to say about the hot-button issues of abortion, gun rights, and same-sex marriage. If only more people had his focus on finding common ground and practical solutions!

Anyway, I digress. We were all gathered around the TV when we were joined by one more -- a mouse scurried across the doorway right next to the television. I'm not one to get too upset when a mouse runs by, but I don't really care to have a mouse run at me, and that little guy seemed to be trying to figure out how he could make his break across the living room. I tried to startle him into going the other direction. Dave said not to be too hard on the mouse for wanting to get in the living room -- he's probably an Obama backer too, and was trying to figure out how to sign up to vote!

Well, even if that were true, it wouldn't alter that mouse's fate -- we've set up several traps in the house now. A mouse is just a mouse, until you start thinking too hard about Hanta virus, which is found in mouse droppings. And Dave found out not long ago that the guy who has the same job as Dave's boss in another North Dakota county died of Hanta virus -- a fairly young, healthy guy who left a wife and three children behind. So sorry, mouse, no mercy.

... We've got another plague to worry about: The mosquitoes are absolutely horrible here now. The air positively whines with their noise in the evenings, and the lovely weather we've been having is ruined by frequent fevered slapping and, worse, thoughts of West Nile virus. South Dakota is one of the worst states in the nation for West Nile, and Brown County has the highest rate of infection in the state.

I wish there was something we could do about it. At least it does give us one reason to be thankful once the frost hits!

... I'm not going to post pictures of Erik for a bit, so he doesn't get angry with me later in life for doing so. The poor kid has a case of baby acne, and in addition to that, the hair he was born with is falling out in a male-pattern baldness way. Both of these are common for little ones -- but they don't need to be recorded for posterity, I say. Both problems should clear up in a few weeks.

AUG. 24 UPDATE: More pics

Well, my sister tells me you all need more pictures. So today's entry is just a variety of views of the house, to keep my sister happy!


Our lovely abode! Note the newly painted trim. Dave got quite a bit of that done today.


Here's the addition, with the new window on the east wall.



A view of that new window from the inside. I think placing it a bit off-center was a good idea -- it makes a nice sight line as you step in the front door.


The east second-floor window. I don't think I'd put in a photo of that yet.


Here's the view out from that window.


And here's the view from the direction of the farmhouse's kitchen window, which is where I'm forever peeking out to see the progress on the house. I like this view -- I like the way the three skylights balance with the three east windows.


And here's a baby photo. Erik had a very good afternoon! None of the fussiness he had yesterday. He spent some time just kicking around under his infant gym, listening to music.

And, of course, when Erik has a good afternoon, we all have a fine afternoon!


He's showing off his right hook in this one. Stronger and bigger by the day!

AUG. 23 UPDATE: All the windows are in!

Well, after gathering 17 windows from four different sources over four months, they are finally all in! Don and Dave put the last two windows in today. I only got this one photo today, though -- the batteries on the camera went dead, for one thing, and Erik was quite fussy this afternoon and evening, so you'll have to wait for another day to see the nice window on the east wall in the addition.

After doing the window work this morning, Don and Dave went to Menard's this afternoon to get supplies to do wiring on the house. The trip took nearly all afternoon -- they had to spend a lot of time deciding exactly what they needed. But Mary and Sofia went along, and they had a fine time playing in the Menard's play area. Sofia was all excited telling me about the slide she went on and fell off onto her bum. She was none the worse for wear. When they got home, Sofia was asleep in her car seat, her face smeared brown with ice cream and the nub of an ice cream cone still in her hand.

AUG. 22 UPDATE: Back to blogging

Well, after a brief hiatus, I'm back at the keyboard! Sorry for the down time, but I am at the moment living the life of a Holstein, only the milkings aren't as regular. For several evenings I couldn't get out to take any photos -- it seemed I was always nursing until it was too dark for photography. Throw in a church council meeting and a trip to Aberdeen, along with too little sleep, and it seemed like my blogging moments and inspiration were hard to come by this week.

In any case, Dave didn't slow down while I was away from my reporting! He was busy installing windows and a door this week. Now all that we have left to install are two windows -- the final one on the west side of the first floor and the window that goes on the east wall of the addition.

We decided to leave out one window that had been in the house plan -- the one that would have been over the kitchen sink, on the east wall of the house. While it would have been nice to get that east light in the morning, we'll get plenty of light during the rest of the day from the south windows, and as we looked around the kitchen, we realized that we were going to be short of cupboard space if we put it in!

Also, this means there's no problem putting in one of the features of Finnish households that I really want to incorporate: a drying cupboard over the sink. It's basically a large dish drying rack behind cupboard doors -- instead of putting dishes into a rack, that takes up counter space and from which the dishes need to be emptied to de-clutter the counter, you just put the dishes into the cupboard after you've rinsed them, and when you're done you shut the door. You can either put the dishes away from that rack later, after the dishes are dry, or the dishes you use most often can just live in that cupboard.

I think those cupboards haven't caught on in the U.S. for several reasons -- we are very fond of our dishwashers here, so I think fewer people wash dishes by hand, and also people like to look out a window as they do dishes. (I am still planning on having a dishwasher, in case you are wondering. I'm all for a simpler, less plugged-in lifestyle, but I've got better things to think about and spend time on than dishes.)



... The plumber was hard at work by 8 Wednesday morning, and by 3 Wednesday afternoon, he was done! He is just doing the pipes that lead out of the building, and the venting system -- Dave is planning on doing the water input pipes himself, depending on how much time he feels he can devote to learning that, and/or whether our bank account can stand paying the plumber to do that work. He certainly did work quickly on this part of the job!

The rest of the plumbing is going to wait a bit. There are other needs more pressing -- Dave wants the whole outside of the building to be weather tight and basically done before doing much more work on the inside.

So, to that end, Dave took today off to paint the wood trim on the house. He didn't get as far has he had hoped -- it was still windy today, despite forecasts from early yesterday that the wind should die down today. And it wasn't as bad as yesterday, which was truly a batten-down-the-hatches kind of wind, but it still wasn't all that pleasant to be up on a ladder.

But up he went anyway. He painted until he ran out of primer -- the wood really soaked it up, he said.

You can see the new door and one of the new windows here on the south side of the addition. Eventually I want a nice deck to fit into that little corner -- a great place to put my little herb tub, and maybe a chair or two.

Figuring out what kind of skirting needs to go around the base of the addition (you can see the wide open space under there in the photo above -- the dogs have found refuge under there from the heat) is the last outdoor project we're going to tackle this year. Eventually a stone (heh, heh -- I'll get my stone in this house somehow!) skirting would be nice, but I think in the meantime it's going to be treated plywood.


Dave is going to let Gary, the guy whose crew is coming to do the siding, do the high-up work that he can't quite reach -- painting, and putting up the last of the insulating foam and house wrap. They should be here on Monday to get going on the siding. (Notice there's a window on the east side second floor now!)

... Don and Mary will be here for the weekend again, and I think the plan is to do some wiring while they are here -- Don has some experience with that. Mom asked if we needed to have someone with a license do electrical work, and apparently we don't -- we just need to have the work inspected before the juice is turned on. ... So I need to be helping to decide where all the outlets go! Apparently there are guidelines for this that spell out where outlets should be, but I'll help if needed.


... Sofia got a present in the mail today, in honor of becoming a big sister, from her great-uncle Walt and great-aunt Karen. She wanted to try the outfit on right away, of course, and I took some pictures for a thank-you card. She had a great time posing in it! I just love that flower on that hat -- it really works well for her.



... No new Erik picture today! I should get one up soon, though -- he's really filling out. He's looking more like a baby and less like a newborn now. And he gave a smile, or at least something close to one, to Sofia, another to Mom, and another to me -- though he can't be counted on to repeat them. The first smiles are such a big moment! I clearly remember when Sofia first smiled at me. It truly became a relationship then -- she could respond to the care I was taking of her, and suddenly became more of a person. Somehow that slight shift made mothering a lot easier.

Guest Blog-window on the way

We're bringing a window from a warehouse in Minneapolis this weekend, so we'll be able to see the house's latest incarnation in real life, not cyberspace. But I hope Heidi will be able to get back to the blog soon!

I am lost without it!

Mary

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!