Wall-flowers

In the place that forms used to be, we now have concrete walls! And not just any walls, but walls certified with a plaque. Sounds like a big deal, huh? We climbed into and out of the basement area to check it all out tonight. There was a brief moment where I wondered if I would be stuck there until Aaron lowered a rope for me... but I managed to scramble up a lot easier once I handed over the camera to him. We also got to meet our neighbors from the east and west. Ken & Nancy and Mike & Sandy stopped by to introduce themselves. They were nice and gave us some scoop on the neighborhood. Maybe they'll bake cookies and bring them over next time. A girl can dream...

Form-ula

Outside of forms above; Inside of forms below;

Today all of the forms were put up. It was really exciting to see the shape of where the basement walls will be soon. Because the foundation is so important, we decided to bring the crew donuts this morning before work. They were more than a little surprised to see us... but they didn't turn down our snacks. According to Gerrit (our builder) the snacks were long gone before he got to the site this morning. I guess that means they were a hit!

Let There Be Light... But No Microwaves

This weekend was spent shopping for lighting and appliances. We were able to finalize almost all of our appliances... except a microwave. There weren't very many floor models to look at and we're waiting for a sales person to earn their commission and call us back with our choices to finalize things. The good news: We were able to locate and purchase all of our decorative lighting fixtures. We did have to stop at 5 different stores plus one internet purchase... but we've got everything we need. I'll spare you the picture of all of them sitting in our stairwell, but use your imagination to make it as white trashy as you wish! The overwhelming feeling of the weekend is relief! It's so great to have two more items on the checklist mostly complete!!

Sneak Preview

It's hard to make sense of what our land looks like right now... and we know how it's supposed to turn out! So, by popular demand, here's a sneak preview of what the outside of the house will look like. Trust me when I say that the interior is just as exquisite!

One of my favorite features about the house is all the windows. Our architect designed it to leverage passive solar technology (a green feature!). Basically, passive solar buildings aim to maintain interior thermal comfort throughout the sun's daily and annual cycles while reducing the requirement for active heating and cooling systems. Read more on the all-knowing Wikipedia if you're interested.

One foot in the hole

We have footings! I wasn't really sure what those were or what they would look like... and I definitely wasn't picturing this... Wouldn't it be easier to call it a border? Maybe I'll make a recommendation that they change their terminology. Regardless, it's forward progress and we'll gladly take it!

Also, as we were checking out the site tonight, a small mouse was doing some exploring and was skittering all over the soon to be basement. He better live it up before Baxter and Azrael move in!!

Our Name in Lights

It's not often that we get to see our name up in lights! Of course, until recently, it wasn't often that we were hanging out at plumbing showrooms and lighting galleries... But let me just say that more than 2 hours of plumbing fixtures will start to wear on pretty much any person. The good news is that we got everything figured out in one visit, so we don't have to go back! Want to know the crazy part? We already had about 85% of our fixtures decided before we got there. Just imagine if we hadn't done a little homework before hand!!

Rain, Rain... Go Away!

The skies threatened most of the day, but only a little rain ever came down. And although that's bad news for crops, it's fantastic news when your basement is being dug!! Gravel was brought in today and we actually have a driveway (like many places in the UP!) in addition to a great big hole. We get to spend the weekend meeting with suppliers while we wait for more excitement at the lot next week!

A Hole Lot of Nothing

So who knew that a hole in the ground could be so exciting? And yet, here we are, taking pictures of it and everything! To catch those of you up that may be a little behind... we officially started construction on our home today!! A year of planning and dreaming and we finally have something that is no longer just on paper. It's not a lot of something just yet, but it sure feels great to have it started. Estimated time to completion: 7 months. For those of you doing the math, that's February 16, 2010. Save the date now for a really awesome (moving) party!