A pictorial blog

As quickly as I take pictures and get around to having Mark download them (I have to learn how to do this myself one of these days) , the house evolves, making it seem as if I am posting “old”  news. Ah well, it will be new to you. Actually, we have progressed beyond this construction point this week. They are now laying the floors and finishing details that make it all start to look like a fantastic home, rather than a rustic cabin filled with construction. I take pictures with the construction team in view because I like to remember them, though it might seem odd to you. Hey, it is all about preserving the process – remembering the stages that linked to create our new home – NOT about my wanting to capture photos of the cute young, muscle bound builders (ahem) .

But first, I thought I’d start with my chicken house. Admit it, you are dying to see the foolish cage I spent way too much on. This is the scaled down version of my origional plan, but still it cost me over 3 grand. Taught me a valuable lesson – leave the building to the men . . . when they have time to pay attention to what you are talking about. Anyway here is my chicken coup, complete with six scrawny chickens. May be folly, but it is still mine to enjoy.

A side-front view: Note that the chicken coup (the actuall laying boxes) is still in the delivery box leaning against the wall-  not put together or hung. Hummm…… I have to conspire a way to get Mark to help me with this still.
It isn’t easy when I have more egg on my face than in the coup.
 
This is the coup from the back. You can see that I have a bunny cage on the side too – but it is still in disrepar since the bear tore the hinges off. It also has some holes torn in the heavy duty wire that you can’t see. The nesting box is full of teeth marks and paw gashes and torn open in the front too. It is a sad reminder of the carnage. Boo hoo.


I’ve also include a close up of my door decoration. I went on-line and ordered this metal chicken thing-a-ma-bob to mount on the entrance. Mark saw it and said, “You are the biggest queer-bo I have ever met.” (That is his idea of romantic.) I didn’t have the gall to tell him I’ve also been searching for an inexpensive rooster weather vain for the roof. How cute would that be? Mark thinks (now that he is the big shot house designer) that he is the only one with good ideas. Well, I think my smartly decorated chicken coup will prove he isn’t the only one with an eye for classy design!

Now, for the house. As I’ve mentioned, we have 4 fireplaces, so I thought I’d share them with you. They don’t look nearly as good as they will when the construction is removed and they have things on the mantle etc.. And we have track lights to aim at the primary fireplace to bring out the chrysals in the geods and stuff, to make it more a focal point. But this gives you the general idea.


The first is the fireplace in the great room. You can’t see the geods in the picture, but they are all over – to the ceiling. The second fireplace is on the porch. We have nifty holes in the stone to stack wood into. Mark made this mantle from a tree on the lot. Cedar. He carved out the burls and finished it. Cool, hun? He also did the logs above. This floor is being laid today with slate. It is a striking room, more so if you can see the view because it looks down on our creek. I suspect I’ll waste many afternoons reading out here when I should be doing something productive. What can I say, my ambitions have shifted. Now I sway towards “shiftless”.

    
The bedroom fireplace is actually a wood stove. It has a nice leaf pattern so when it is turned on the glow of leaves fills the room. This one is gas with a remote and a timer, because we are lazy and want to be able to fall asleap with it on with no effort on our part. The next one is in the downstairs family room. This is the “kid’s fireplace. Gas also, because they can’t resist throwing things into the fire and messing with it and we now have a house that can be burnt to the ground with a single match and a good wind. We designed a place for the TV on top, thus explaining the hole in the stone. 

This is what my kitchen looks like from the living room. Well, you can’t see much except that it curves around into the room a bit. There are no doors on the cabinets yet. They have since built a wood slab bar to sit at by the sink. I love this kitchen, but you have to wait for pictures, ’cause not enough is done to show it off yet. Next is a picture of my super, collosal, fantastic, wonderful, adaquate food pantry. Think it is long enough? I plan to fill the dang thing with jars of blueberry jam and pickles once I learn how to make pickles. Yep, a pantry like this is aching for homemade stuff, and I won’t let it down. It is the principal of the thing. Across from it is the washer and dryer and cabinets, etc. I’m loath to admit I will be spending plenty of time in this portion of the room. At least it will be neat.


This is our bathroom – well, the guest bathroom that you would use if you stopped by to visit. I haven’t taken a pix of our master bathroom, which is the best room in the house. Next time. I think this bathroom is the kind Fred Flinstone would have had with the stone and all. Ha. Next to that is a picture of our driveway, what I see each time I drive away from the house. Pretty, hun? It isn’t finished yet either, obviously.


Now for the serious stuff. Here are our stairs. Mark and the building boys made these out of huge trees on the lot. They weigh a billion pounds, more or less. This is an origional design, because usually these are done in a different way, though don’t ask me to explain it. The rails are made of smaller trees, and what you don’t see yet is the interesting laurel posts that will be between the rails (Mark is cutting the laurel today at the national forest with a permit from the forestry service).  This stairway leads to his loft office, that opens to a small deck over the front entrance of the house. The stairs also lead down to the lower level of the house where the family room, kids bedrooms, pool table room, guest room and DANCE STUDIO/WORKOUT ROOM are.  The stairs are kind of a focal point in the house, seen from every room since it is an open plan. They are prettier than the picture shows, and when they are all oiled and finished, they will be amazing. (My humble opinion)


I’m running out of pictures here, so I will end with a pix of the path Mark cut into the woods so I can walk (or ride) to my chicken coup. And a picture of our new pasture area that we fenced in for the horse. I think I am missing my horses, because I have had two dreams this week about them. In both, they have run away and I am searching for them frantically and only find the one who is still on our land. Clearly, my psychee is unsettled with this thing we did, loaning them out to the neighbor. Guess you only know if you try. Anyway, I do miss them and I can’t wait for the month to be over so they come home. It is like sending your kid to camp. You are dying to get rid of them, but when they are gone you get all mooney and sad and you want them ho
me where they belong. 


Now, I have homework to do. I promised I wouldn’t blog until my paper was written, and look at me, acting as if posting pictures doesn’t count. Amazing how I can justify something I want . . . . sinful, actually.