Let's see- Where are we now?

Thank goodness for family!

Without Arlene and Terry- this project would have been impossible to complete. Not only has Terry provided his earthmoving talents but they both have been sharing their home with us. Our spot is the front slanted roof portion of the house. Not only are we occupying their home but we are also taking up one side of their garage. All of our worldly possessions are in one stall of their garage. I am sure they will be glad to see us get into our own space. Hopefully by October we will be in the our new home.

We've been berry picking up on the Denali highway. Climbed up a steep hillside to find blueberries along the ground like strawberries. One hour later we had about 2 gallons of wild blueberries. It is a bit disconcerting when Mike straps on his "bear" gun. I guess we are all competing for the berries. This last weekend we picked cranberries at our own place. Once again we had a gallon of cranberries for future jelly and cranberry ketchup.

You all have to forgive me for not getting the updates on here as quickly as they should be. A lot of the work that is being completed until today was "small stuff" like outdoor lights, receptacles, oiling and wrapping plastic on all of the windows. The constant sweeping, cleaning and picking up also keeps us busy. Mike got our cradle built for the 500 gallon fuel tank. We picked the diesel tank up today and onto the cradle it went. I have tiled/grouted our Japanese soaking tub deck area as it had to be completed prior to the sheetrock installation. My other job has been caulking all the seams under the deck. I now have cedar colored caulk all over my painting bibs- not a pretty sight.

Plumber "Ritchie" is still working on the heating and plumbing system. I think this project was much bigger than he thought. A quick peek into the "boiler" room shows you all of the pipes and valves required to heat our house. Ritchie sits on that bucket everyday- putting pipes together to get it all routed to the right places.

Now today- things really started to move. Current River Electric moved all of the digging equipment in and started to lay in our cable for electricity. We got all of our transformers and cable and the power is now in sight. It seems like it has taken a long time to get to this point.
The great news is that we have red cable running down the side of the road- tomorrow it will be buried and connected to the transformers in the near future (hopefully next week).

The drywall people started hanging sheetrock and will be done with that today. They sent a crew of 6 to get it done quickly. It is amazing to watch them cut, lift, fit and screw all of the pieces like a gigantic jig saw puzzle. Tomorrow they will start to tape the seams. Then the mud, then paint, then flooring- Oh Boy!! We are getting closer!

Siding Completed & Blow up Insulation

The Siding guys- Dave & Dave are done with our upper siding and trim. It looks great and they got it done in record time. They worked great with Mike as he was their "cut guy" and cut all the siding to their liking. Many thanks for their help. They were great to work with and appreciated my attempts at cooking lunch for them. Yes- I am becoming chief cook and bottle washer since Mike is building this house. I haven't killed anyone off yet but it has been a real challenge for me to learn how to get everything on the table at one time.

This week the Insulation guys showed up. In drove two big trucks- one has a large generator with pumps in it and the other had misc supplies. This is a very interesting process- they spray a thin layer of soybean based insulation on the walls- then spray on the actuator. The first layer BLOOMS out from the wall and fills the gaps (like watching the cartoon the HULK). The material is like a styrofoam- soft and firm at the same time. After the spraying is all complete- they come in and trim it down to size with saws so the sheetrock can be attached to the studs. They will come back and do the lower level ceiling and above the ceiling sheetrock once the rock has been hung.

Spraying it on.

The Blooming insulation!

Trimmed out insulation on the floor and upper insulation that needs to be trimmed.

Next week the sheetrock guys show up and MEA (Electric company) gets started on getting power to our site. Good News- the kitchen windows are in and ready for pick up. Now the house will truly be ready for cold weather as it is water tight.

Green and Tan

Oooppps- the picture didn't get on the blog!

The upper siding is almost complete. The "Dave & Dave show" got up on the scaffolding, ladders and got it all up there without any problems. They make it look easy. Now we just have the front kitchen window to wait for....my error...I did not take into account for the 12" header and order the windows too long. We reused them elsewhere so nothing goes to waste. The heating is going in this weekend- lots of tubing under the floor joists. Busy! Busy!

Sunny Days are here again !

I guess I should let my Mom know that the "SUN" and "MOUNTAIN" has been out since she left. Unfortunately for Mom, Ivy and Star- it rained the whole week they were here. Really it does not rain all the time! Since everyone left- it seems really quiet around here. Things are progressing- the siding guys are here putting on the Hardi Board siding. Mike has been reduced to the "cut guy" again while the big boys are on ladders.

Next week the plumber will be done with his job. My tub has been installed and I am so excited to see the future of soaking in that tub. The infloor heat will be complete with boiler and pressure tanks in place. The insulation guy will be in to get started next week and then the drywall will be hung. Not too bad for 8 weeks of work.....

Family and Friends Week

This last week has been busy with family and friends. Star arrived one week ago since then they have been fishing most everyday with Mike and friends Mike and Linda Walsh. The silvers are running so early morning fishing was in the works. This way they could get a couple or hours in before getting to work on the house.

My mom and Ivy arrived this week as well. They drove Mike's new truck from Iowa to Alaska. I know they are amazed at how there is "not much in Trapper Creek" to do or to shop for. While they were here- they took a day trip through Denali Park. We also took a trip to the Matanuska Glacier. We walked on the ice, looked into crevasses and were in amazement at the volume of the glacier. And to think it has been reduced in size over the last 25 years....I cannot imagine seeing this in its heyday.

The house work has slowed down a bit- the plumber is still working on the bathrooms and kitchen. The heating system will be going in next week. Then the insulation gets sprayed on and finally (if we find one)- the sheetrockers will be in to finish the walls.

We are so close to being in the house...just a few more weeks.

Lower Siding Completed !

While Casey has been wiring our house (we have more outlets and circuits than ever!)- Mike has been siding the lower section of the house. This is the same material as the roof- green galvenized metal that clips together and hides all the screws. Once again- no holes equals no water in the walls. The upper siding will be Hardie board that looks like cedar but is made of cement.

Casey and Mike also lifted all of the big windows and huge door into place- this was quite the task without a boom truck. With the combination of a forklift and strong backs- they were able to get those upper windows and doors mounted without any breakage.

Plumber Richie has started his work and is plumbing his way through the house. Thank goodness we have 9' ceilings in the garage to allow for the correct drop for outflow. I can't wait to get into that Japanese soaking tub (right of the shower in this picture).

Casey's friends- Mike and Linda Walsh arrived this week to enjoy Alaska for a week's reprieve from Washington State's unusual heat. Star has arrived so now we all get to play for the week with bits of work intermixed each day. My mom is to arrive with friend Ivanelle. They drove Mike's new truck from Iowa to Alaska and will be here today.

So at the end of "Week Five"- we have the house water tight and ready for the rest of the plumbing, insulation, sheetrock and then the design details such as flooring and trim.

Talented Kids

With all that is going on this week, Mike and I have decided that we are very lucky to have good talented and healthy kids.

My daughter -Justine- is finding her way through life on her own and at her own pace. She is financially independent and paying her own bills at the ripe age of 21. I know that most of my friends and co-workers kids still have their fingers in their parents checkbook so I feel very fortunate that Justine has taken me seriously about being on her own. She has a great work ethic and will be very successful at whatever job she is doing. Justine works at a bank in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Mike's son Brady is a Information Tech in the Navy. He is located in San Diego with his two kids (Dylan and Travis) and wife Jeanette. He too is talented and working hard to raise his family. His co-workers are enjoying Brady's ability to trouble shoot most any issues they have.

You all know Casey (Mike's oldest son) - Casey is located in Marysville, Wa with his wife Star. He has impacted our life this summer with his strength, great ideas and constant patience.

It is amazing how each one of these kids is doing so well. We are both very proud of their abilities and lives. Thank you -to all three of you.... for being you.