Saturday August 29th

roof complete and upper arched window framed. Also both tub showers in for main floor bath and basement bath.

More Plumbing

Laundry room plumbing for washer and the pressure tank and pipes in the basement where the water comes in from the well.

Mountain View

This picture is what I see when I wake up every morning. Rich and I are living in my mom's basement guest room. It is a full daylight basement with a door and windows. It is generally so nice during the night that we keep the door open and let the evening breezes blow in. It is starting to get a little fallish now. The days are in the 80's, but the nights are getting down in the 50's. So, it is a little chilly in the morning. Soon, the door will be closed for the night, maybe sooner if Mr. Bear continues to visit.

SKUNKS and RACCOONS and BEARS: oh my!

I know it is the wrong "story", but at 1:20am today, I was startled out of my sleep by something or someone knocking over the garbage can which is 15 feet from the door to our room. I jumped from my bed to see what was the matter. I ran to the window and threw up the sash. Oh yeah, wrong "story" again. I mean I ran to the screen door (because it is so nice here at night that we sleep with the door open) and threw it open thinking to find a dog trying to get into our garbage. I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when I saw it was a large, round furry animal staring back at me. We looked at each other for about 10 seconds when Rich finally awoke asking me what I was doing. I said, "There is a bear out here in our garbage!" Rich grabbed a flashlight to check him out, but he lumbered off down the driveway before we could get a good look. Yes, it was a black bear and we found other evidence of his visit when it got light out. Evidence called SCAT or bear poop. Good Grief, Charlie Brown! What other visitors will we get to entertain.

ROOF IS DONE

Yes, there are a few more framing items to go like the upper arched windows and a couple of half walls in the kitchen and master bath. The rough in plumbing is also complete. Pictures include the master bath shower pan with bench. Yes, I actually have two windows in the shower. Also, a picture of the side of the tub/shower in the main bath and the back of the house with completed roof. Now if the windows would get here, I could really see some progress. Stay tuned as we have many decisions ahead of us.

Another day in Paradise

The days started getting hot again this week. The temperatures hover around 100 degrees during the day and doesn't cool off until the middle of the night at around 76 degrees. We will probably have another week of this weather and then, it should go down to the upper 80's.

The house is coming along great. The framers should complete the roof today. It has been a tough one, much more work than originally thought. But of course, when we picked out the house plan we were looking at the floor plan only, not the roof or framing plans. Oh Well! But the framers are doing a fantastic job. Rich and I will meet with the plumber tomorrow to finalize placement of pipes, etc.

Since it is going to be so hot today, I'll plan to park myself on an air mattress and float around the pool while reading. My sister, Kathryn, will come up and do the same thing. That is how we catch up on stuff and get our laughs in. Or we just silently read.

Last night, the sky was so beautiful. I sat on the patio and watched it get dark. The sky goes through so many colors of blues and the stars were so bright. New moon last night, so it was dark.

The dog loves it here and the cats are finally starting to come around. They spend a little more time outside than they used to. This is quite odd, since in Virginia they spent most of their time outside. We think it is because we don't have a "kitty door" here and they can't come and go as they please.

More later and maybe more pics.

Salmon fishing on the Columbia River

Andrew decided back in WV that he liked to fish and I decided it was time to start up again. This is Andrew with his "lunker." Where is my fish? Well that is a another story! A good laugh though. Call me and I'll relay it to you.

Nik and Andrew

The boys decided to take my Rhino out one day.

More Mt. Rainier

No one can get enough of this majestic mountain. I could have taken pictures for days.

another cool picture, I think

who's the boss!?

Even Marson & Marson Lumber Co. knows who the boss is.

Trusses on Monday

The trusses arrived on Monday morning and with the framers standing on top (Holy Cow), the crane started lifting them into place. The framers then proceded to nail them in. It was quite a process to watch. Tuesday morning, Rich and I met with "Cabinet Rich" and the designer who works with our contractor. We were busy measuring and placing the cabinets and making needed changes to their fit and what would look best. All the while the trusses kept going up, yes over our heads.

Trip to Mt. Rainier

Last weekend we were up at Mt. Rainier. It was a fantastic weekend. This is just a taste of the mountain and I promise to post more later.