Drywall Delivery

Well, it's the 31st of May and we're looking at going into June on a high note! Isn't this the greatest.....the last phase of drywall is delivered. There is LIGHT at the end of the tunnel...
We're into the final push....the last of the mechanicals are going in; the the plumbing, gas, electrical, cable, phone, speaker wire...we're ready!!!!The electrical inspector was here & gave his seal of approval(he also called Tom ahead & asked him to count the switches & receptacles so he didn't have to)...
Last count Switches 110 Receptacles 145...but until the drywall is up it's anybody's game! Coach Martha could throw in a switched outlet or a 3 way receptacle at any time!!!
Coach Tom is just praying the walls get closed in with drywall soon!!

Posted by Tom & Martha at 6:18 PM

Shower night

Saturday was bath night, Sunday night was shower night. (no, there are no pictures of us in the shower...settle for pic before the grouting & all body sprays were installed).
We climbed into Tom's 7x5 Master shower with 4 body sprays on each side, 2 hand held shower heads & a rain shower head in the center of the ceiling.Now that's a lot of water coming at you! Even at that rate it still took awhile to run out of hot water! A far cry from our first few weeks when we had none at all!

1 comments:

Grama Colleen said...

Looks wonderful...I love the tile....very creative and elegant look !!!!

6:55 PM

EEEK!! A BAT!!

Just another chapter in the strange animal happenings here. On Thursday Eva & I went outside to sit on the deck, being the conscientious aunt that I am, I put the patio umbrella up to protect her beautiful skin from the sun.
I turned & saw what I thought was a dead bat on the deck, must have fallen from the umbrella. I called to Tom to come remove the dead bat from the deck & of course Mandy & Dana had to come too. (WORK STOPPAGE!!!)
Well of course we had to grab the camera, as I said before...who would believe this stuff?? Mandy gets down to look at the little bugger & doesn't it start hissing at her. Guess it's not dead...Well when Mandy took the camera to get a close up hissing shot , it wasn't too pleased & took off. Guess I'll be a little more careful opening the umbrella from now on....
We think the bats lived in the house we tore down and now need a home, even though we have plenty of room here, we're not offering. We are however going to be putting a Bat house up in the tree very soon.

1 comments:

Grama Colleen said...

Have I mentioned how much I HATE BATS ????? could you dispose of it PLEASE....Before I get to NY..... :)

6:55 PM

One little lady

Well there's one little lady that deserves an awful lot of credit for what she has gone through the last 3 months.(OK, no it's not me-no one can call me little.) It's Eva. They say kids are quite adaptable , but most of them do not have to try adapt not only to a new environment and a new care taker, but to do it all in a construction atmosphere. There are electric saws going, air compressors going off, air guns & nailers, drills,hammering, pounding, nailing and yelling. It can be jolting & scary.
Remember we are basically living in 3 rooms, so Eva is limited in the area she has to play, eat & nap. We'll go for a walk thru the construction site if all is quiet, so we can see Mommy working. We have had to be creative on some days on finding areas where she can actually nap and hopefully sleep. The most creative has been the shower, it was the quietest area for a few days. The most enjoyable was on me on the deck in the rocker.We've moved the rocker to the bathroom vanity area, we've moved the crib to the bathroom vanity area, to the den; basically we'll do what we need to work around the construction workers so Eva gets a nap (and Auntie Martha gets a break). It's also a day to day learning . Eva turned 7 mos on the 24th, she had her first Arrowroot cookie at Auntie Martha's & we found this neat mesh feeder for fresh fruits & vegggies that's just great. She thought the slice of banana Uncle Tom gave her to try was great, she couldn't have any more though; Uncle Tom & Mommy ate them all.

3 comments:

Grama Colleen said...

WHAT a BEAUTIFUL baby !!!!!!! Can't imagine that she would not LOVE cookies !!!!!! Love you Eva...

6:53 PM

The Fipps family said...

I know I'm there a lot- but I need an update!! It should look a lot different next week... when the drywallers actually come!! It's pretty discouraging when the most "dependable" person only comes a few days a week, and brings the baby! We'll get it done soon Martha... I promise!!!

6:57 PM

Grama Colleen said...

I NEED NEW PICTURES Please !!!! :) CAGz

6:01 PM

I'm In Heaven......

Saturday night is bath night! I haven't had a bath in 9 months (gee, that doesn't sound so good..)! I'm christening the Mistress' Tub! Bought curtains for the windows, have a fragrant candle from our niece & nephew, lavender bath salts, a nice glass of chardonnay and a good book on tape (no page turning or wet pages)! Now remember, there is a tub with a bay window & a separate shower; there is no lighting, extension cords are running the jets & blower in the tub; the rest of the master bath is still just studs, 2 by 4's and a concrete floor.
But I've accomplished my own little oasis of relaxation.
So... Ladies, as I'm enjoying a well deserved soak, doesn't my husband come in with my cell phone??? As I send him an evil, dirty look ...he innocently says "I brought you your phone so you can call me when you need a refill on your glass of wine." Well all is right in my world again, I soaked for 1 1/2 hours & certainly did call for a refill! I'm in Heaven.....

1 comments:

Grama Colleen said...

...and who said heaven might NOT exist...... 9 months with out a tubby ??? takes less time to make babies.... unless your last name is FIPPS....

6:57 PM

Rock garden

Well-8 months on the 30th!
Updated side, rear and front views respectively,(per request).
Please note there is no snow on these photos. Also of note & worth mentioning; is the well tended rock garden in the front, it also wraps around both side of the house. Some of the rocks have gotten quite large over the winter (excellent growing conditions), or so it seems. In fact some of them are large enough to be classified as "ankle turners". Interspersed between some of the larger ones are lovely blue shingle pieces and assorted shapes & sizes of woodsy colored, pressure treated ground cover. Then there is the most unusual background fill of roofing nails, decking nails & sawdust to complement our spring landscape design. We were amazed at the wealth of color uncovered after all the snow was gone! We have neighbors who are apparently very adept at rock trekking since they traverse the "ankle turners" just to come visit us (Steve & Tina, even if we do go in each time before you get here)!

1 comments:

Grama Colleen said...

Looks very much like PROGRESS...maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel... Love ya !!! CAGz

6:58 PM

Relaxing pastoral scene

Well, the tub is finally in!! Plumbed up & almost ready to go. And on a very strange coincidence , the neighbor had his junk car towed out on a flat bed the same day, in fact, just after Tom & Mandy finished plumbing the tub up!!! They couldn't wait to let me know & get a picture! That relaxing pastoral scene is improving......

3 comments:

The Fipps family said...

I love the new site!!! I see your house all the time (obviously!), but now everyone can keep up with progress, instead of waiting for your monthly report!! We're getting to the fun stuff now- glad I'm a part of it!!!

5:54 PM

Erica Collins said...

Wow! It's really looking great guys and I am glad to know the redneck neighbors removed the car that was blocking the gorgeous view of their mansion! LOL!!!

Love ya,
Erica

6:29 PM

Grama Colleen said...

Ahhhhhhhhh..I can already feel the WINTER warmth (when you need it most of course!) Looks great !!! LYL

4:40 AM

Mistress' tub

The area around the Mistress' tub in the Master Bath (& really, why do they call it that if the Master never takes a bath?) has been painted & tiled. Please note the view out of the window of the neighbor's junk car, what a pastoral scene for a relaxing soak...

1 comments:

Grama Colleen said...

Beautiful VIEW !!!!!!!!

4:35 AM

Mother's Day

Well, Mother's Day was our first get together at the house & the weather cooperated(mostly). Mom & Louise came early & took advantage of the peace & quiet, they soaked for a while in the hot tub before the festivities began. Then we fished and hot tubbed and ate and drank. If you didn't bring your own pole we had spares-I think Danny was using a Mickey Mouse Original?!? A little short but what the heck? We had an awesome time and we were sorry Rick & Cheryl and David & Kristin couldn't join us. The Three Mom's- Mom, Louise & Nancy certainly knew they were loved & appreciated.

1 comments:

Grama Colleen said...

It STILL looks cold to me...see ya next week !!!!!

6:54 PM

The Hot Tub

The Hot tub has been moved to it's place!!! Cleaned & ready to fill!! We filled it with water to run it thru a cycle & check for leaks(remember this is the tub that came home from the auction with the infamous kitchen cabinets), shouldn't be a problem since it came with a manufacturer's warranty; but we're checking just the same, since it sat for a couple of months outside. Well, guess what??? Leaks?
Yup, a couple of them. Tom who is already quite good at repairing leaks is fixing these too.
You see the reason he's fixing them and not taking advantage of the warranty (and no, it's not because he's tired of his wife's bitching & just wants to get it over with...good guess though), is because we found out after calling the 1-800 # that it was a reconditioned tub & came with only a 30 day warranty from the date of purchase. "Basically," said the voice on the end line, "you're S.O.L." OK...I'm cleaning it & Damn It.... Happy Hour will be in the hot tub on Friday!!! The 5th of May, Happy Hour was in the Tub & it's working fine. If Tom want's to fight with the auctioneer he's on his own...we've got our tub & all is right with the world.

1 comments:

Grama Colleen said...

I LIKE HAPPY HOURS...anywhere... looks like it will be the "SPOT" in C Square.....I'll call the neighbors for you !!!! enjoy..... LYL

4:34 AM

Eva was 6 months old!

Eva was 6 months old! We were so busy harassing her Gramma Colleen for turning 50, that we missed Eva's big day! Uncle Tom was so into it, that he got her a drill! Please note (lower right hand corner) that it is yellow & not girlie pink. He decided she's here so much anyway she might as well do something; then maybe he could get some work out of Aunt Martha too!

1 comments:

Grama Colleen said...

WHAT A beautiful BABY !! A DRILL?????? How about a doll next time Uncle TOM ?????

4:33 AM

Deck Pow-Wow

Then there's the patio deck...big Pow-Wow to map out the design, they've come up with the herringbone design, multilevel.
In addition to that, the porch roof was finished this past week.
On a sad & frustrating note, our framer has informed us, he has decided he wants to get out of the business. We're hoping that at least the work that was agreed on gets done first.
Fingers crossed. Then maybe a little incentive????? Hiring another framer at this time of year & one willing to take on anther's job won't be easy to find.

1 comments:

Grama Colleen said...

I might know this guy !!!! I had a similar situation at MY HOUSE on ONEIDA RIVER Road.....IT SUCKS when that happens !!!!! CALL STEVE MAKEPEACE of Fulton NY....

4:39 AM