blue jay

blue jay, originally uploaded by J J Justinsen.

This photo was taken last summer, through our kitchen window. I shot it through the screen, which may account for the overall softness. We haven't seen the blue jays in our yard for some time now, but I hear them around and hope they will come back now that it's warmed up some.

It only took six months

A couple of nights ago, I was on Facebook chatting with one of my friends in Vancouver. He wanted to know how things were going with the house, and I told him that it was keeping me pretty busy. I told him I was learning lots, like framing walls, hanging drywall, crack-filling and taping. His response to all this was that I needed to post more photos of the house and the work that was getting done.

Well, this post is especially for him. I'm starting small, with a little tiling job I did in front of our dishwasher. It's not quite finished yet, but you get the idea.

When we first moved in some 6 months ago, we had to do a little surgery to the kitchen floor. The hardwood in there had been laid over the old floor, and there wasn't enough clearance between the new floor and the kitchen counter to slide the dishwasher in. We eventually ended up having to cut a few floorboards out, and for the past 6 months there has been a hole in front of our dishwasher; a patch of old vinyl flooring; a window into the past.

It was always our intention to get that cutout patched up. and we decided that some slate would look best. We picked up some tumbled mixed slate mosaic, and they've been languishing in the garage for months now.

On Thursday morning, after dropping Nate off at his play group, I got back and started work. Cutting the trim pieces from the floorboards we had removed. Then I cut a piece of plywood to fill in the space so that the tiles would come level with the rest of the floor. First time laying tile, and as you can probably see, it's not exactly level or straight. I had also underestimated just how hard it would be working under the dishwasher door. I could barely get the notched trowel or grout float under it. I laid the tile on Thursday morning, and let it set for 48 hours. Did the grout about an hour ago, and will seal it in the next few days. In all I'd say about 2-3 hours work.

Patty should be home in the next hour, hope she likes it.

Inside our house

The front door/hallway

The living room

Dining room

Master bedroom

Nate's room

Kitchen

Our house

I've been trying to get photos of the house, but haven't been too successful. I just don't seem to have a wide enough lens to shoot the interior. They all end up being views of walls, and not much else. I will keep trying, but in the meantime, here are some photos of the outside.

I assure you, there really is a house in there somewhere.

Covered in paint

It's in my hair, on my glasses, my fingers, my arms, my clothes.

We've been painting the house. It looks like a different house now. The main floor is almost all done, and today we made a start on the second floor. With a little luck, we might get it all done by the weekend. We've also got a new hot water tank, and a new burner for it. Dad did the plumbing hookups, and we put the burner in together. It took another day before I was able to figure out the wiring for the burner and get it fired up.

We've got a range, refrigerator and dishwasher now. The dishwasher is still a work in progress. We had to cut out some of the kitchen floor in order to get it under the counter. Today we hooked up water and electricity and ran it without any leaks. Now we have to figure out how to patch the floor! Washer and dryer were hooked up today too.

It's all starting to take shape. There is still lots to do though, and I feel like the house will keep me busy for a long time to come. Not that I am complaining. I am learning lots and having fun. Yes, I am a little sore from being on my knees most of today, bent over painting the baseboards, but the end result was worth it! Tomorrow...we'll tackle the refrigerator and hook up the ice-maker. I'm starting to think it won't be such a big job to plumb the espresso machine now.

Photos to follow.