Cookin' going on!!!

The kitchen is now finished except for the hood pipe. In the last week, the final appliances were installed- stove top, sink (now classified as an appliance to us) and dishwasher. The countertop has been laid- ceramic tile and grouted. For once I was able to put my skills to use and grout the tiles, seal them and clean up the area.

Mike installed the stove top and is shown below with his stove top, pot filler and hood (which still has to be hooked up. The stove top came with all kinds of accessories such as a wok stand and griddle.

The sink was installed after the tile countertop was finished. Of course "PLUMBING" is a dirty word to Mike. It is always a struggle and does not come naturally like all the other things he does. BUT he got it completed without much pain- only one big scrape on his bare head.

Picture of completed area- all moved in.

View of countertop and sink area- back splash to be installed soon.

Mike said that there were requests for better pictures of the living room floor. Well- here it is....the furniture accentuates the colors in the floors and vice versa. It is one of those floors that changes with every color that you put with it.

Now the days are getting shorter. We have about 18 inches of snow on the ground and each day it gets deeper. Today we walked the neighborhood and it was a real workout walking through the deep fluffy snow. The snow is so dry- you cannot make it stick together.

We are the only people moving on our road and then only by foot.

Snow on the rooftop!!

WOW! Cool! I can't believe all the work you've done!

After three weeks- Finally I am home.
Mike picked me up from the airport on Thursday. We stayed in Anchorage as we had alot of Friday shopping to do- Groceries, furniture and details. Consequently I was picking out furniture and countertop blindly as I had not seen the finished floors, trim or cabinets.

Friday night we get home after a long day of picking out stuff, getting groceries and all of those things to make a house run smoothly. We arrive at 10 pm and have to unload all of the food- it is too cold to let it sit in the truck overnight- it would freeze our fruit and juices. So still I have not been inside the house- it is my job to get into the truck box and hand out all of the Costco boxes to Mike. After about 30 minutes, we are finished with that chore and I finally get to see the house.

I could not believe how finished it had become in the three weeks I was gone. The stone floors has been laid, doors are hung, trim is on, cabinets are complete and waiting for a countertop. Appliances have been installed as much as they can be without a countertop (stove and sink are next). Bathrooms are complete.

The Freezer (left) and refrigerator (right) are full of meat and food. The Hood (to the right of the refrigerator) still has a pipe to be installed.

The bedroom with alot of light!

Our towel warmer is installed! What a needed tool in this part of the country! Our towels are always warm and dry. It is also a great way to dry off mittens, sweaters and hats.

My "door" bell (from the Pickard farm) is installed under the deck and ready for ringing. I just need to attach a rope so it can be used as a door bell.

Mike and the Lily cat have found their respective places on the couch and loveseat. Both have enjoyed the new TV. We have been busy unpacking the kitchen stuff, doing laundry and getting caught up.

The snow is about 12" deep, fluffy and barely wet. It is weird to see it stacked up on top of everything. Where ever it stops is where it stays- we have no wind so it just gets taller and taller- inch by inch. .

Today the decks were scooped off in anticipation of more snow. It is warmer here than in Anchorage but we have all the snow. The sunrise is about 8:30 am and sunset is around 4:30 pm. While we have daylight- it is a very low level of light.