Practically a party!

We've had lots going on this week. Wednesday and Thursday, it looked like a party with everyone there at once!

This is part of the material for our leach field being off-loaded. Leach fields are built entirely differently than when I was a kid. (OK, I'm old.) I don't understand how this system works, and I'm looking forward to watching it go in.






At the same time we had dirt delivery. Bob Kellogg has his back to the camera. The sling is post-shoulder surgery, undoubtedly from years of working with big rocks. The shaved headed guy is Dave Hammond, the dirt seller and deliverer.










Jeff Kellogg, Bob's son, was busy moving rock and dirt. I don't think Bob locks him in to keep him working, but I could be wrong. . . .










And, good progress is being made on the wall itself.












Just to add to the fun, Jimmy the painter and his crew were also on hand. Jimmy is running really tight on a schedule between our house and a BIG house he has coming up, so he took the opportunity of nice weather to work on the exterior paint.


Cabinets go in next week, then Jimmy and his guys can start the interior painting and staining.


I ordered my kitchen island, and it will be delivered either end of next week or first of the following.






And, Scottie, never one to miss a photo-op, posed with the rock wall. I just wanted to show its present stage and the size of some of the rocks. I think he'd like you to think he did part of the work!

Finally a word about ethics: Bob Kellogg cracked a trim board, pointed it out to me, said to have the contractor fix it and bill him. Then, I got concerned that we may not be gaining as much wall height as I'd thought we would with this wall, and called Bob in a panic. His basic response is that he's pretty sure it will be OK, and if it's not, he will come back and add another row without charge.

So, I add him to my very short list of persons I'd work with on a handshake!

A mid-week update on the wall

Wow, wow, double wow! I'm just lovin' this!


Check out these big, beautiful rocks. Notice how the wood pieces lean back toward the hillside - called battering - and the gravel is behind the boulders??? Bob knows his rock stuff! We should have no danger of our wall slipping off the hill.









Looking at the wall from the down side you can get a feel of the job that's being done on fitting. These rocks are big; none are of the same size in any direction; no concrete is used (hence "dry laid" or "dry stacked"). I am SO impressed.






And, let us not forget Moro Rock lurking there in the distance along with all the other rock out-croppings. It's this type of thing that makes the wonderful (but too expensive) rock wall so perfect for our lot.










Oh - our real front door is in though it will be red in its final incarnation. Just a touch of glass at the top for light, but not so much as to eliminate privacy in case I don't want to answer the door. But, did I mention the rocks???

Rock wall starts AND hawks visit the cabin

Things are getting started with the rock wall.

The gravel being delivered is for the footing for the wall. Boulders are already delivered and will be moved one or two at a time. They are much larger than I had pictured.










Trenching got started with care. That's Bob Kellogg running the big toy, his son Jeff with shovel in hand, and Ray Murry of the little water company looking on.










If you didn't read the part about the breaking of the water line early in the building process, this would be a good time to check out the "archives". We sighted as well as possible where we thought the line should be. Ray probed with a metal do-hickey. (Yes, that's another technical term.) And Jeff shoveled to find the elusive water line. All the moving of dirt got done without breaking the line. Yeah!!!







So, the line is in the for wall; and you can see how the stucco is shaping up. I think the final coat with the color will go on next week.












And, these are some of the BIG, beautiful, glorious rocks that will go into the wall. Yes, I love rocks. Don't know why; don't care. Just love the look, the feel, the sense of history they carry. As you can see from the proximity to Scoobie, my little car, we are talking BIG rocks.









Now, about those hawks:

Two, showed up at the rental cabin this AM, screeching like crazy.


This is mama, in a tree just outside the entrance to the cabin.





And, this is Papa, alight on the old power pole after their mating.

No, I did not photograph the mating.

EVERYONE deserves privacy for their romance!

The photos aren't great, 'cuz I could only get them as I was looking into the sun, but aren't they magnificent? I love hawks, love the power and majesty they have when they soar.

One of the best things about Three Rivers is the proximity to wildlife.

Oak Trees and Stucco

We got to watch the second coat of stucco going on. Can't wait to see the third coat since that when the color goes on.


I find the whole process quite interesting. The changes in materials, technology, etc., fascinate me.







Now, stucco gets blown on, then any smoothing, etc., happens by hand. Wonder what it was like in the days before big equipment??











Ditto thoughts about tile. We are told you "have" to have green board on walls and tile backing on any upstairs (w sub-floor) tile areas; that tile "can't" be put up/down otherwise. So, how did it happen in ancient Rome and Greece? How has all that beautiful tile held up for centuries w/o green board?


Somewhere along the line craftsmanship has given way to technology. Now don't take that to mean I'm unhappy with the house we are building. I'm not. It's going to be just right. It simply baffles me how we becomes so convinced that something "has to be" a certain way.

At one point I had considered wide pine plank floors, figuring let the dog nails, etc., scratch, let the dents happen, and it will simply develop it's own age and character. I was told you "can't" put pine, a soft wood, on floors. Yet, all over America there are beautiful wide plank pine floors that have been in place for decades.

Oh well, enough of my mental meandering.
If you scroll up and look at the first photo in this post you'll see the oak trees to the left of our house. Here are the ones to the right.


I'm pretty convinced that the name is Sheltering Oaks. I've also found a guy who can do a sign for us. Now I need to design it.

Rock wall starts Thursday. Stay tuned for photos.

Check out the elephant

We've finally gotten rain, meaning snow in the upper elevations, the past few weeks; and the elephant has become white. For those not from this area, look carefully at the snow-covered peak. Rafting season can be tracked by how white the elephant is. When he's mostly gray again, the season's over! (you can double click on the photo to see it larger.)










When I walk the dogs around the Hammond Drive/Mineral King circuit there are several places where our house can be seen very clearly. This is shot from one of the curves on Mineral King. This looks toward us as we'll be looking up toward Moro Rock.


The things happening now, finalizing cabinet questions, flooring questions, etc., hanging doors inside, etc., are not things that show up in photos. Final stucco layer should go on in the next week or two. Cabinets should go in in 2 - 3 weeks. Then painting will start. Closer and closer. Already the visitors calendar is filling up, so get your reservations in.

It's all about the weather!

What can I say? We've had incredible weather. Last night we had pea-sized hail, and a lot of it, for at least a half an hour. The deck of the little rental cabin was completely white and the noise beating on the metal roof was awesome. Then it poured and poured rain all night.















This AM I went to meet a friend for breakfast and found slushy snow (?) on the deck here, the steps and railings up to our parking and on my little car. That "doesn't happen" here at this elevation.

























So, while I had pastry at We Three, Scottie went up to our new house and took photos. Enjoy! What else is there to say?









Well, one more thing to say: I love the way the foothills look when it's cloudy or foggy. Add snow to that, and it's simply amazing.

Walls that look like walls!

Well, we are getting closer all the time. George still says he thinks we'll be in the end of March. I think that's optimistic, but not by a lot. After a few 70 degree days, trees budding out, some flowers blooming, and big signs of spring, we have SNOW probably down to 2000 or 2500 ft elevation. Love it.

The small changes to a couple of door areas and the bigger change to the fireplace have been re-done, and the texturing has been done.

It's been a crazy week. On Wednesday, I thought I had a day "off" in the sense of nothing on the have to do list, though there was quite a bit on the need to do list. Then George called to say that the company that does the trim wood had gone ahead and cut the trim for around doors. We had been supposed to select the style and size of trim first. Oops. So, I called Scottie who was in Visalia and made arrangements to meet to drive to Porterville to pick trim. That day. ASAP. Didn't get done what I wanted and Scottie had to skip his bike ride.

Oh - check out this great view of Eagle's nest. That's the view from my kitchen window, the one above the sink, and it's also what you see from our front porch. With that in mind. . . .

We've come to the conclusion that we will need
a retaining wall on the West side of the house, essentially the "down" side. We talked about railroad ties, but don't like the look with our house. We talked about those fake "rock" things that stack and make walls, but don't really care for them. We both really like natural rock walls in a stacked,
not a mortared, style.

Fortunately, we had met Bob Kellogg, rock man extraordinaire, who came to the site to check things out. He can do a 65 foot long wall, about 4 feet high, for us for a cost we can manage. It's something we hadn't planned on, but it's one of those things that really needs to be done now, while some other things, maybe a garden shed or various parts of landscaping, can wait 'till later.
These are some of the rocks Bob will use. Part of them came out of Sequoia National Park, when Bob was re-building various walls that had become unsafe. So, we are getting some historic rocks.
On the other hand, maybe all rocks are historic.

Anyway, Friday, again I'd planned a down day, we learned about problems with our flooring choices. Back to Porterville we went to re-select. Guess this is just a week when I'm not destined to rest. For me that equates to a fibromyalgia flare and pain and lack of sleep, and escalation of the pain, and more lack of sleep.
I got into jammies at 4 PM today (Friday) and absolutely determined to take it easy tonight and tomorrow. I'm even leaving this as a "draft" overnight and finishing it tomorrow! How's that for good thinking?



So, back at it, and we've got texture on the walls courtesy of these two guys. And, miracle of all, they cleaned up after themselves! It's a first on the job site.



The cabinet shop is supposed to fax me a sketch of their plan on Monday. George is to drop off a color chart for the stucco. We've got our basic color ideas for both inside and out, but need to be sure we can do what we want with the top and have it work OK with the stucco. So, that's for next week.


And, of course, I can't close out without a photo of Scottie, he'd be heartbroken. This is the latest.

Still didn't sleep well last night.
I've asked Scottie to sleep in the back room tonight so I can have a night without snoring. Give me a neurontin for pain and a couple of tylenol PM, maybe a warm dog or two, and I'm hoping for SLEEP.

Fireplace is in

Yeah!! I'm quite pleased with the fireplace. Additional framing obviously has to be done. As a finish item, the cabinet makers will also make a surround and mantle for us. At the sides, under the two small windows, will be shelves for stereo gear, Scottie's old album collection, etc. Music in the living room; tv in the den. Never the twain shall meet.










And, this will be the view as I sit in the claw foot tub and dream. . . . What more could a girl want?














And this is the main view from the guest room. Better start getting those reservations in - interest is running hot! I'm thinking we'll have to have a calendar designated just for visitors.



We're getting there, really.

Dedicated to Winnie

For some of us, dogs become family members.


Winnie Mandela, or Winnie the Poo-poo to some of us who loved her, has gone to that Great Dog Park. Good friends Jan and John had to make a very painful decision to end the suffering of this beautiful girl who had developed lymphoma.


Winnie, she of the showing off her special toys, she of the sticks to carry on the way home, she of the tooth up your nostril to accompany a kiss will
be missed.



Winnie was a frequent visitor to our New Mexico home whenever her people were at their New Mexico home. And, she was always just as welcome as her humans. That beautiful girl with the shiny coat and sweet, sweet personality knew the location of the dog door, the treat jar, and the toy box.


Having had to make the same choice for Mousse, our beloved chocolate lab, our hearts are with Jan and John now. I'm picturing Mousse and Winnie playing tug-of-war with that favorite toy, the one with three rings. I'm seeing them both pain-free, running together with those beautiful lab smiles.


I can't imagine a heaven or an afterlife where dogs wouldn't be welcome for what would we be without them?

GOT STUCCO!

Well, a first coat anyway. We are also getting rain so it will be longer drying than if the weather was dry. After it dries, we then will get a second coat.



Here's George and son Alvin. I told them to look handsome, and George replied that they always do. Not lacking in confidence, these Stewart men. George and Alvin will be framing for the fireplace. It was framed for the one that wasn't doable, and they will re-do as well as make a small change to a door area.



Check out the house with it's first coat of stucco.
I'm likin' how it looks. Notice the storm clouds hanging over the hills. This was after 2 days of rain.



Word is that our architect, Gary Cort, is healing well from his heart surgery and could be back in Three Rivers in early April. That means he will be home in time for our housewarming.




Scottie and Matt, the rep from Tuff Shed, walking down to the house. Looks like we'll be going with them rather than the company we first thought. Better warranty, better service, etc. It was sprinkling when I took this photo and started to pour shortly after. I'm really glad we have those 4 foot roof overhangs!


That Matt is a BIG guy.

Drywall is being taped

What a strange week it has been! I guess we are at a building stage where things are moving quickly but the photos don't show it.

All the drywall is up and the first layer of taping and mudding is done. Now it has to dry, be sanded, then get another layer before the spraying of texture takes place.

This view is from the kitchen, looking over the half wall where the cooktop will be into the dining room. The pipe in the ceiling is where the hood will be - the very cool stainless steel hood.

While all this has been going on, we've been occupied with the picking of things from lighting and plumbing fixtures, to changing our counter choice and floor choice to problems with our fireplace that meant we had to go choose another. It's seemed very problematic, yet at the actual site, things have just kept on happening.

This photo give a view from the kitchen looking toward the living room end of the great room. Actually, I don't like the term "great room" for what we are doing. While the kitchen is partially open to the dining room, it's also partly closed off; and, since
the kitchen will also have it's own eating area, it doesn't have
the feel of the typical great room.

Also, the living room is far enough from the kitchen to avoid the feel of everything just running together.

This view is from the back corner of the kitchen, where the banquet and little round table will be, looking down the hallway. The door visible on the left is the back door. The opening partially visible (showing wood) is the pantry. Just past that, and not visible in the photo, is an opening to the right that goes into the den. Straight down the hallway is the half bath or powder room. Way back in the planning stages our debate was whether to locate the "powder room" toward the front or more public part of the ground floor, giving it a more formal feel, or locate it at the back of the house, giving it more a casual feel. We opted for the casual feel, both because we are casual people and because it puts the bathroom near the back door.

This is upstairs in the master bedroom.
It's funny how the rooms change their feeling as the building progresses. Right now the master bedroom feels much smaller than it did a week ago.

So, lighting choices are made. We are doing three pendants over what will be our loooong dining table rather than doing a single chandelier.
The kitchen table gets a neat weighted hanging light that can be pulled down, pushed up, etc., and will stay where you put it. Stainless steel of course.

My childhood friend, Yvonne - HI Y- is giving me a chandelier that will grace our bathroom! It's a very unique glass, girlie, but not too girlie, thing that will look superb over our old claw foot tub. The tub, for those who don't know, is a wonderful old clawfoot that we got from my inlaws. It was removed from their downstairs bath when we needed a handicapped shower for Ruth. We carted it to New Mexico, stored it for years in a barn there, carted it back and put it in storage here, and have finally gotten it out and spiffed up! It was have a place of honor in the master bath, with Y's chandelier above, and my grandmother's old pie cabinet next to it as our linen closet. The master bath is the one place in the house where I'm allowing myself to be openly girlie AND openly sentimental. I'm lovin' it! I can lounge in the tub, gaze out the window or up at the light, reach out and touch the old cabinet and think about and quietly THANK all the people who have been important to me.

Drywall is nearly up

We've had a crew of three for the past few days busily hanging drywall. They are using big sheets, maybe 4' x 16', that have to be incredibly heavy to maneuver. It does make the work go quickly though.


This guy seems to be in charge, though I haven't asked that specifically. Maybe it's just that he has the best English of the three, and since my Espanol is nearly non-existent, he is the one who communicates with me. Nice guys, all three.
This shot is in the kitchen, with a lovely view of the porta potty out the window.



In theory they were going to be back up there today (Saturday) to finish hanging the drywall in preparation for the next crew who does the taping and mudding. But, when I went up to take pastries to reward them for working Saturday, they didn't show up. So, I walked dogs, waited to see if they might come late, then came home and ate a pastry myself! Not a bad trade.

This is the other two guys working in the little half bath on the ground floor.



This is the North side of the house. We'll be putting in a patio in front of the French doors, but will do that ourselves after the construction guys are done and we are moved in. I did find out that the bags on the front porch are for the stucco, but I don't know when that is supposed to go on. Soon I think.

In yet another sleepless night of not breathing with the dumb sinus infection I'm fighting, I managed to pick colors, including exterior colors, map out a placement of bookshelves, etc., for the den, and work on how to bring some of our choices for "allowance" items more in line with the
allowances allowed. I guess there is something to be
said for not sleeping, but not much.

This view is from the South-east, with me on the bank above the driveway. We added the little porch above the back door to the original plan. We didn't join the two roofs 'cuz want to be able to plant a small tree in the area where the two porches meet. The overhang of the main roof is four feet, so we have weather coverage w/o joining the two porch roofs. It also gives us more light to the kitchen window in that corner. See? I really do think about these things.





This isn't a good photo with the glass reflection, but you can see 2 of the 3 little Chihauhau mix dogs that belong to the main drywall guy. The little brown and white one is terrified of my big dogs! They go to work with "dad" but stay in the truck so they don't get stepped on.


And, we did some research this week on pre-fab storage/shop building and have found one we like. That could actually get done soon if permitting doesn't take too long.