We make fire. Fire good.

Especially in the wet, wicked, windy winter. Actually, it was kind of mild when I went out this morning, but that doesn't have the same ring to it.

After several delays, which were frustrating and annoying, we have a fireplace. Not only do we have a fireplace but L has redone all the damaged sheetrock, redone the texture, repainted, etc. We have a template for the small mantel that will go above said fireplace. Life is good.

In other news, we have discovered a heretofore undiscovered feature of the new dishwasher. Apparently, it cleans or at least entertains pets. As tempting as this was, they do perform other services, like double-teaming on security detail, or possibly central heating.

L has started work on the baseboards and trim. Everything will be custom and I think it will all look very special, judging from the bits he's completed so far. These are the special baseboards that will be done at base of arches.

Stairway to Completion

It's been a long time, eh? Not too much happening until last week. The roughed-in stairs were replaced with hardwoods. Then the hardwood finisher guy came in and, well, finished them. Surfaces were filled in with wood putty and then sanded, and finally varnished. Here's a sample of stairs from office/garage to Main Level.

Skirting boards and risers still need primer and paint but still...

More, main floor to new bedrooms:

Detail of individual stair tread

Finally, the floors:

Hallway - return air vent

Pantry

Loft

Living Room (oooh, pretty!)

Next week - the stairway will be finished with newel posts and balusters.

Remaining - some interior painting - 2nd coat in Living Room, kitchen, dining room, still haven't finalized colors. And we need to order tiles for the backsplash. I've been procrastinating on the design for months and tiles take 6-8 weeks.

We've been shopping for Living Room furniture and finding something we both can agree on is a challenge. I do not like the overstuffed, "Welcome to 1978" look. He wants a couch with a recliner at one end. Sigh. We'll get there. Maybe I'll post some of those options this weekend.

Misc Updates

Craig came in and tiled and grouted the decorative tile in half-bath. The tiles are not bright green, but almost gray-green. Which is fine; I think it gives us more options for wall paint color.

He also did the "raw" hardwoods in Living Room, Pantry, Hallway, and Loft. There initially was some confusion about which direction they should go in the hallway, and, mean mom that I am, I pointed this out. L told them to rip it and do it the other direction. The next day, carpenter came in and said that was the right choice - it looks better this way.

DH did a 95% install on the DW, but it turns out the counters are higher than standard and we have extra space at the top - you can even see the insulation wrapped around the unit.. Cabinet guy is going to come on Monday and put in a filler piece there. Also, they need to fix the fancy-a&& wire basket assembly which will not clear the oven door, meaning the interior set of baskets can not "come out to play." Grrr. We will probably get the corners trimmed off at a 45-degree angle and get them rechromed, but I don't know who does that.

All in all, we are settling in a bit into the new environment.

Doesn't mean we don't have some work to do, some things to unpack:

Oh, if only this were all of them and not just a portion...

We've gone over several different ideas for backsplashes, some very ornate, but this one, in a Lowe's ad, caught our eye.

If we replace the plain green ones in this design with the little Celtic Earthsong tiles, we could have a real project instead of an idea...

I think you saw the chairs in last post. It turns out they are wildly popular and not just with the humans.

We ran some errands Saturday and came upon some excellent finds that we weren't even actively looking for. This table, from Pier 1, appeared to be a good match with the chairs. Huge sale going on, and we knew that if we left and thought about it for a week, it wouldn't be there long. So, there you go. We needed some sort of end table but weren't sure what we wanted until we lucked upon this.

At Staples, we went in for tiny little ziploc bags, for DH's parts in garage (nails, wire connectors, etc.) I have been complaining that my office chair is too low. Actually, I am using my dad's old desk and I think it is high. Typing on the laptop, I feel like a kid at the grownup's table. We found another copy of DH's chair, the same chair, on closeout for about 55% of the regular price. Clearance. Done.

We looked at some large floor vases and DH's wallet was itching to get that too but we decided to hold off for now because the idea was "close but no cigar."

Then, DH came upon a lucky find. He and DD are dragon freaks. He found a ceramic he HAD to have. And he's put it somewhere I can't find it to photograph (smile). Eventually, it will show up.

Finally, had a wonderful visit from an old friend and she gave us these. They are machine-stitched and made in the Yucatan, where she and her DH are teaching. I am trying to figure out the best way to display them. They would really add a pop of color in the Dining Room, I think. Aren't they lovely?