solar and water capture update

Hello Everyone!

I thought it might be interesting to you interested in solar and water capture to see how things are going out here in Argyle, Texas!  The solar has been online since just before the new year and the chart below is a monthly report we have generated to see how much energy we are producing.  We generated an average of 25 kilowatt-hours per day during February, with a high of 36.38 kWh on the 28th.  As the days get longer and we have more sun, more power is being generated.  You can tell when we had either rain or an overcast day.  I am pleasantly surprised that even on an overcast day we generate a bit of solar energy!  Chuck has been checking the meter to see what our output is and we are generating about 50% of electrical usage thru the solar panels!  Now that we are having more nice days and the heat runs a bit less that percentage should go higher!  It was interesting to note that Chuck charted our usage and was perturbed to find a day (a nice day that normally would have seen less usage) had a somewhat higher than expected usage.  After thinking about it we figured out it was due to Chuck mowing (we have an electric mower and trimmer instead of a pollution spewing gas ones) and trimming the yard!  Amazing how much power those buggers use!  I found the chart below to be interesting, so wanted to share it!  Crazy how many "miles" we "saved" and the number of barrels of oil!

This chart shows the daily electricity production from January 15th through February 28th.  The green bar is the electricity produced and the tan bar is the additional amount that we used.

Ok, on to the water capture tank....I have to say, I look at rain and thunderstorms (here in Texas we call these a "gully washer"!) much differently.  Knowing a good ole downpour is going to fill up that tank makes up for the fact we have no energy being produced by the solar panels.  So, basically it's a win-win situation (really overcast days make me ornery, I must admit, because no sun, so solar, no rain, no capture).  We have calculated that for each 1/4 inch of rain, we get about 6 inches of water in the tank.  We had a beauty of a storm and got about 22 inches one day which was cause for a happy dance!  We use the tank water mainly for irrigation.  We figures out it takes about 2 inches of tank water to irrigate each zone in the yard (we have 8 zones). The tank can hold approximately 6 1/2 to 7 feet of water, so we can irrigate the entire yard several times with tank water.  I have no doubt there will come a time in July or August when the tank, runs dry, but a few fabulous summer storms can provided a good watering or 2!

Hope this post finds you all healthy, happy and recycling!

Love and composting (next on my list),
Lori

Sunshine and Double Rainbows

The honor of a "guest" post has been bestowed upon me, the hubby, for one of our final entries.  As this will likely be my one and only direct contribution to the documentation of our journey, I have splurged on an abundance of technical descriptions and jargon not previously seen.

The latest development, and the last major component of the house, is the installation of the solar panels.  We've installed three strips of six SunPower Model 327 panels each on our back roof, for a total of 18. They run through two SPR-4000m inverters to connect to the grid, with six panels on one inverter and 12 on the other.  The inverters are tied directly to CoServ’s grid, but we’ll use the power that the panels generate throughout the day, with the excess going back to CoServ, our electric service provider, for a credit.  During the peak of the day, you can watch the electric meter run backwards, and, yes, it’s a pretty good feeling.

Each module is capable of generating up to 327 watts, or 5.8 kilowatts total for all 18.  Pending some final changes to our breaker box, we currently only have the one inverter with 12 panels online, but it's been running for a few days now.   And just as we’ve only had a couple good rains since putting in our water capture tank in November, we’ve only had a few clear sunny days.  Based on the results that we’ve seen with 12 panels active, we should be able to generate about 27 kilowatt-hours (kWh) on a clear day, and even more in the summer, when the sun’s at a better angle for the panels.  Cloudy days can still produce 5-10 kWh for the day.  As you can see from the morning and afternoon production on  the graph below for the past three days, the angle of the sun is important.  Did I mention that we get some pretty cool monitoring tools?  The red dots represent the amount of power being generated at the given time and the yellow dots represent the cumulative power produced to that point in the day.  You can see the red dots fluctuate on cloudy days (Friday was really overcast, and it was partly cloudy in the morning yesterday, while today was a beacon of efficiency!).

The goal was to produce about 60% of our electricity use.  CoServ uses the default net-metering, which essentially means that while they’re happy to take back as much power as we feed to them, we will only be reimbursed up to a certain level.  Hopefully, as solar becomes more mainstream and as they get more incentives to look for alternate sources of energy, they’ll work on modifying their systems and policies to remove these limits and encourage more homeowners to participate.  We were, however, able to participate in CoServ’s rebate program, which reimburses us $5,000 for the cost of the equipment and installation.  We also expect to receive several thousand dollars in tax credits to offset the expense, but we don’t have specific numbers on that yet.

As it stands now, the inverters are connected to the grid.  So if the power goes out, the panels do too.  But if we start seeing signs of the eventual zombie apocalypse, we’ve got some options.  One of the two inverters is set up to be connected to a battery pack that can power a couple of specific circuits in the house.  If we end up purchasing and installing it as spec’d out, it will provide power for a day or two without being recharged.  It will be kept at a full charge by the 12-panel inverter, and if grid power goes out, the battery pack kicks in to supply power to part of the house.  The inverter will continue to keep it charged, even while the grid is down.  Future options also include adding more panels.  The roof layout and current inverters will allow us to double or triple the number of panels that we’ve currently got in place.

May 2013 bring each of you a year of sunshine and may your cloudy days be filled with double rainbows.

Chuck

POSTSCRIPT FROM LORI:  For those of you who glazed over or dozed off during the Hubs spiel due to the technical BS he provided, I will put it in Lori terms (which is considered normal people terms, but hey, the geek talk pays the bills in this house and is therefore not a dirty word).  Sun good, rain good (because the tank fills up), overcast, not so wonderful.  Suffice it to say, we are excited to cut down on our electric bill, use rain water to water the lawn and fill the pool and to do out part for the environment!

Happy New Year to Everyone and may your 2013 be the best year yet!!!!!!!

Love and recycle

Lori

We Got Tanked!!

Hello Everyone! Happy Fall to those of you who are experiencing it.  Here in sunny Texas it is still getting into the 80's and the occasional 90's, so fall is but a dream.  I really can't complain, I love the warm weather.  It has also been conducive to getting a few things done around here!

Sorry about the long lapses in updating you all, but not much had been happening and then all of a sudden a lot happened.  So, here we go....

First of all, we finally got our water capture tank!!  It's 10,000 gallons and is just so darn cute!  It looks like a mini silo.  Not sure if the pictures do it justice.  It even matches the house!  That's the good news.  The not so great (but hopefully soon to be good) news is it is not hooked up to the roof run off yet.  Our builder is putting this thing together for us and it's his first time.  There have been a few visits by our builder and the plumber where they stand around the tank and the pipes and stare at it for awhile and then come up with a solution to whatever the problems seems to be.  I am told we need to be able to flush out the system so leaves and dirt don't clog up the whole shebang.  This appears to be the snag....finding the right pump/reservoir (what the hell ever!) to do the job.  I have been assured it will (maybe) go in next week.  I sure hope so because the rainy season is approaching.  I have to admit every time  it has rained in the last month - which has been REALLY slim, luckily for him - I have cursed my builders name for not having the damn thing up and running.  OK, with that off my chest, I resolve to be more patient.  Anyway, once it's working our water bill will likely be negligible, except of course when it runs dry in the "Rain? What Rain?" part of the summer.

We also have landscaping!!!!  We put in drought tolerant plants - mostly ornamental grasses - in the front along with some small tree/bushes, some sage and some salvia - all non-water sucking.  Some boulders - which we dug up out of our yard during construction - will be added in the very near future.  The grass is slow to come.  We put in some winter rye which seems to be doing pretty well, but is a bit patchy.  Hopefully, it will fill in so it's not so darn muddy out there.  Wiping Doppler's feet is not ours (or her) favorite activity.  In the spring we will plant the regular grass seed.  We decided to do seed since sod is UNGODLY expensive!  Who knew????  Chuck almost did a happy dance when they hooked up the irrigation system (which is hooked into the water tank, so we have been filling the stupid thing with water which I hate to do since it, to me, absolutely defeats the tanks purpose!).  He was very tired of moving a sprinkler around all day every day trying to get the grass to grow.  We were also able to use mulch that was created from the construction.  All the wood scraps from the house were ground up and we got a ton of mulch out of it.  We used about half of it on the landscaping, so we have a nice little hill of it in the back of the yard for later!  We used wood that had no preservatives (like formaldehyde) during building so it is safe to put it on the landscaping.  I am contemplating a few rain barrels on the gutters of the small portion of roof that will not drain into the water capture tank, also.  I figure we can wash  cars, give Doppler a dreaded bath and water pots with it.

One other little item we invested in was a pump to push hot water to the opposite end of the house.  Our hot water heater is in the storage room off the garage, so it took a bit of time (and wasted water) to get it hot at the other end of the house (the master bath and laundry room).  The pump was put under my sink in the master and there is a little wireless button that looks like a doorbell to push to start the pump.  You push the button, wait about a minute, turn on the shower and almost immediately have hot water!!  SO AWESOME! No more wasting gallons of water just to heat up the shower or bath!

A bit of possible unexpected good news has come our way.  Chuck called to check to make sure all was in order for us to qualify for a rebate on our solar panels with our electricity provider.  Well, come to find out, someone backed out of their previously awarded rebate and we might be able to get it!!!  So, instead  of waiting until January and just hoping they are still handing out the rebates, we might get it this year!  That way we can get it installed sooner than we planned!  I'm crossing my fingers.....

Most of the little "punch list" items have been taken care of (touch up paint, touch up stain, unclogging the guest bath, etc).  All we really have left to deal with is getting a ledge built, tiled and installed in the master bath behind the tub.  Oh, and finishing up the dang water tank!!!!

We are pretty much settled in and are awaiting the holidays and the long awaited graduation of the number one son in December!  It's going to be a great holiday!  Now to find the perfect spot for the new eco-friendly Christmas tree..........

Peace, Love and Recycle,
Lori

We're In!!

Hello Everyone!

I know I have been remiss in posting on this blog, but we've been REALLY busy moving!!  YAY!!  We were finally able to move into the new house on September 5th.  We moved that Wednesday and closed on the old house on Friday.  Quite a hectic week!!  We got everything moved in - that was not in the pod (which I will go on to say was the best decision we ever made!) - and were able to breathe a sigh of relief.  Admittedly, there was still several things left to do on the house.  For instance, the A/C was knocking up a storm, so our builder went up in the attic, figured out it was the dehumidifier and turned it off.  Early the next week, the A/C guys came in and fixed it and showed us how to maintain it.  Seems we have one of the most efficient air conditioners on the market - whoohoo!  There was also a weird knocking noise when the water in the master bath, guest bath and laundry room ran.  So, the plumber came out and tried in vain to figure it out.  He put big ole holes in my master bath - which will hopefully soon be patched and painted.  He went into the attic, added an overflow tank and strapped down some pipes up there....still knocking.  While in the garage he stepped on one of those plastic things filled with air that come with your Amazon purchases and the resulting POP sent him over the edge.  He said he needed to come back the following week and bring someone with him to help.  Seems I broke the plumber!  Well, he came back, messed around a bit, found out our water pressure was set sky high, turned it down and the knocking miraculously went away!!  So, holes in the master bath for no reason, but it's fixed.  Shoot, I was beginning to think the place was haunted with all the knocking.  But, it was new construction, so Chuck was thinking that was highly unlikely - plus the fact that "Lori, ghosts aren't real!"  Besides that, the house is too tight for any ghosts to get in.  We had the house measured for an Energy Star rating and the house scored so well that the inspector's boss called our builder in near disbelief.  He said that the inspector was amazed at the results; he had never seen a house score so well in his 15 years of doing the tests.  Our house is so tight that we have to run the bathroom fan for fresh air every time the dog passes gas (yes, it's always the dog).

The pool is done at this writing also.  We spent about 30 hours filling that sucker up.  Nothing like building an eco-friendly home that will (in the very near future) have a 10,000 gallon water capture tank using up all of the Argyle water supply to fill their pool (and water the crap outta the dirt yard where we have put grass seed - but, that's another story all together)!  It looks fabulous and I can't wait to swim laps in it next year.  Seems the weather has decided to go in the direction of fall and it is not likely going to be warm enough to swim in this year....bummer!  The concrete patio has been poured and now we are planning on putting some winter grass seed in the back inside the fenced area.  Yes, we put up a wrought-iron fence around the pool and a small grassy area for the dog to do her business.  Right now it is raining....nope, couldn't rain while we were filling up the pool.  Therefore, the backyard - and the front for that matter - are a muddy mess.  At least we are not having to water it so the seed with grow.   We are working with a landscaper who will be putting in the irrigation system - Chuck will not miss going out to move the sprinklers every 10 minutes - and the drought tolerant plants we have chosesn.  The mulch we will be using is from all the wood waste from the house that was ground up.  We certainly have a large pile of it, so should have enough for the landscaping.  We hope to get that moving along next week.

The water capture tank should be arriving in a few weeks.  Who knew it would take so long to get a 10,000 gallon water tank.  We are hoping it will be large enough to help us with the landscaping and keeping the pool full.  The trenches have been dug, the pipe laid and the gutters diverted, so all we need at this point is the tank.  It sure would have been nice to have it during this nice steady rain we have had for the last 24 hours, but hopefully it will be a rainy fall and winter so we can get that baby filled up!  We will continue to keep you posted on the unfolding of the water capture saga!

So far there have been few surprises.  We love the house and felt instantly comfortable and at home.  I guess it has something to do with being part of the design process and spending oodles of time out here while the house went up.  We are slowly, but surely, settling in.  Most all boxes are unpacked and some decorating has taken place.  Artwork will be the last thing to go up and I have asked an artistic friend to help with placement.  I look forward to having it all up although there is some merit to having nothing on the shelves or wall....less dusting!  We got somewhat used to the "clean" look, but I found it too neutral and couldn't help but start to put stuff out.  We are still fighting a little construction dust, but we will keep plugging away at it to get rid of it!

We are absolutely loving the polished aggregate floors!  They may be extremely hard - and cold in the winter - but they look great.  They are easy to clean - just a dust mop or a wet mop and special cleaner - and hide a multitude of sins!  Can't really see the dog hair - or my dark hair that appears to be falling out of my head in my old age - unless there are what I affectionately call "doggy tumbleweeds".  The floor has so many colors in it it's hard to tell when it's dirty!

Doppler is finally settling in.  She had a rough go of it for awhile there.  She was confused and cranky  (I can totally relate to that!) and would not leave our sides.  She paced and whined when either of us left, so we had to tag team her for a few days before leaving her alone.  She has finally calmed down and realized this is home.  She is back to barking at the workers (for awhile she would sniff them and walk away, which was soooo unlike her) and the doorbell (took her about a week to figure out that noise was the doorbell as it did not sound like the old one).  We are finally able to leave her alone and now worry she's freaking out.  Funny, the move never seemed to affect her appetite.....

We have met some of the neighbors and they all seem very nice!  They tell us Argyle is a very community oriented town and neighbors help neighbors!  Lovely to hear!  I have been taking walks out on the country roads and have been eyeballed by horses, cows and quite a few dogs.  I almost stepped on a small snake the other day, which kind of unnerved me for a moment.  As they say, "he's probably more scared of you than you are of him"....doubtful!  One of the neighbors warned us about the brown recluse spiders around here.  She said to make sure to keep your baseboards clear of dead bugs because that's what the spiders like.  Well, I honestly have no intention of there ever being ANY dead bugs in this house - those of you who know me and my cleaning compulsion know this would be very disconcerting for me!  We have road runners ambling thru the backyard, had a huge beautiful barn owl land on our temporary electric pole (which has sadly been removed) and watched the crows gather in packs on the electrical lines in the backyard.  It's quiet and peaceful here except for the occasional train crossing the tracks (which is much more preferable than being in the flight path for DFW airport!).

One last little tidbit before I sign off today.  It appears we have, in addition to the peach trees in the backyard, a pecan tree!!!  Yessireeeeeee!  Looks like I'll be making pecan pie for Thanksgiving!  Anyone have a great pie recipe???  Please share it!

The End Is Near.....

Hello Everyone!  Hope you are all staying nice and cool and your A/C is working!  It's pretty darn hot here, but nothing like last year when we had something like 70 or more days of 100 or more.  I'm taking full advantage of the pool, but it seems to be getting to that point where it is no longer refreshing, just wet!

Yes, the end is near....in a good way!!  The new house is getting to the point where it's looking like we might actually live in it in this lifetime.  I know it takes time, but it seems like its been going on FOREVER! So, lets get to it....

The cabinets are in (mostly), stained and look great!  I say mostly because there was some weirdness going on in the finish of several of the cabinet doors (if you want details make a comment or email me and I'll fill you in) and our builder basically rejected them, so the cabinet guy had to take them back, sand the crap  out of them and see if they looked better.  Some of them still did not pass our builder's muster, so about 10 or so will be replaced entirely!  Glad I'm not the one having to climb up a subcontractor's tookus to get stuff done!!  So, hopefully those will be done within the next week or so.  Painting is also done.  We are really happy with the colors we have chosen.  You just never really know what its going to look like (even tho' a large swatch is on the wall) until the whole room is painted.  Obviously, there will be touch ups later, but all in all it looks great! I also am super happy with the texture we chose for the plaster which I refer to as "cake icing", but I'm sure there is a more technical term for it - some texture, but not a lot (the only thing I knew for sure was I did NOT want that "orange peel" texture that appears to be so popular here....is it popular anywhere else?  Non-Texans, let me know.  It's a huge pain to repaint, this I know intimately).

We were out at the house today to meet with a landscaper so we would plan out irrigation and how much water capture we will want to put in.  While we were there a couple of young guys were there putting in the light fixtures (listening to classical music, I might add - this is for you Aunt Dawn!!!  They said it was relaxing).  It's really funny because Chuck took the light fixtures out to the house last night (they had been sitting in our garage) and came home and said, "I don't think there is wiring sticking out of the wall in the guest bath for the light fixture we bought".  I told him that maybe they put in a can light by mistake?  After talking about it a bit it dawned on us that when they put up the extra plywood for it to be the safe room they did not make a hole and thread the wiring thru it.  So, while out today, we pointed it out to our builder and I asked him if our guests were supposed to brush their teeth or put on their makeup by candlelight because that could get UGLY!  Good thing he gets my sense of humor because I laughed my butt off when we realized what had happened.  The builder assured us a hole would be drilled and the wire fished outta the wall!  Some of the stuff that goes wrong just cracks me up!  My builder also assured me that the problems with subs happen on each and every job.

Speaking of sub problems.....apparently the tile installer messed something up in every single room that had tile in it.  There was not enough tile for the kitchen (Chuck and I got it online because the tile place we were using had nothing I liked well enough) because he put a large backsplash in the PANTRY!  Really, Mr. Tile Man?  We were out there on Monday and told you to finish the kitchen tile before doing the pantry and to adjust the height of the pantry backsplash accordingly!  They ran out of bullnose tile in the master bath due to a measuring error - which doesn't surprise me since the sales guy they set me up with has been somewhat of a "dipwad" thru the entire process (my poor builder has dealt with him whenever he screwed up and has met with him several times to make sure things were ok).  They neglected to join the waterproof board that is against the linen closet to the wall, so in time water from the shower could permeate and rot the entire linen closet?????!!!!  So, all the tile on that waterproof board on the wall has to be torn out and redone!  Yikes!  Once again, unhappy builder!  Seriously, I have to laugh or I'd be crying a river!  I also know our builder will make them make it right!  I can't even wrap my head around what went on in the pool bath.....

Countertops were an adventure.  Not the fun kind.  I find as I get older I really don't have an adventurous bone in my body - maybe that's the osteoarthritis is my back talking, but I've never been one to find roller coasters or bungy jumping exciting.  Anyway, I have always wanted to use remnants in as many rooms as I could besides the kitchen and master bath - high use areas.  So, I had been approached by a sales guy while I was at the tile place - yep, the tile place where I was dealing with the dipwad and you don't have to tell me that I should have known better - telling me the company he worked for had a huge inventory of remnants and he'd be happy to hook me up with a deal.  Well, the dude was WRONG!  Chuck, the builder (who had not had any contact with this particular counter top dealer - heck, I should name names because they were a huge pain in the butt, but I shall remain dignified) and I went off to the warehouse to check out what they had.  I had looked at their website which had ALL the slabs online and had kind of narrowed down the ones to look at.  So, we get there and we are browsing and I come across some Vetrazzo which is basically recycled glass busted up and mixed with cement and epoxy stuff to make slabs.  It was BEAUTIFUL and about as eco friendly as it comes.  Well, the counter people were unwilling to admit it was a remnant because it was so large - even tho' it was housed with the quartz remnants - and refused to budge from retail price (which is kinda ridiculously expensive!).  My builder told them he'd give them the rest of the counters in the house to do and on and on.  This continued for about a week and finally I just said "nope, not playing this game and holding things up" - this is why I am sure my builder loves me!  So, off we went to another place, found some nice remnants for the guest bath, pool bath and pantry, no problems and under budget!!!  So, all's well that ends well.  Personally, don't put it in the remnant room if it ain't a remnant and please feel free to let that huge slab sit in your warehouse taking up space!!!!  Sheesh!

Our pool is kind of on hold at the moment.  It appears the city is giving the pool guy some grief because of our neighbors having pitched a hissy fit about drainage (I think I mentioned this in an earlier post that we had to meet with the city about this issue before getting a permit for the house) to the city something like 3 years ago!!!  The pool guy said he had built pools in Argyle before and never had this issue. It appears our 70 year old neighbor lady has them wetting their pants!  Well, I say, quit being wussies and stop pandering to one resident at the expense of another!!!! Apparently, they are not aware that "The Wrath Of Lori" exists! Cheez Whiz!!!!!

On another note, our current home went up on the market 8/2.  We had an offer, which we accepted, within 36 hours!!!  We still had several showings over the next few days (and kept them, in case the deal went south) and it kept us (and poor Doppler) on our toes!  Spent very little time at home last Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  The inspection was Wednesday and now we await their request for repairs.  Cross your fingers this works out!!  We have met the people who made the offer twice and I really would like to see them in this house.  As I told them, this house needs a family.  Chuck and I are just rattling around in here and don't need all these bedrooms.  Just keeping it clean is a Herculean event!

I hope I have covered everything new.  Honestly, I'm tired and my brain is a tad fuzzy, so please excuse typos and a wee bit of venting!

Take Care and Stay Cool,
Lori

The Big Slowdown

Hello Everyone!

I trust everyone made it thru the 4th of July with patriotic aplomb!  I realized I haven't posted in over a month and have disciplined myself thoroughly for it.  I always intend on posting more often, but then life gets in the way!  Onward and upward!

Things seem to have slowed down a bit.  I think the holiday and the heat has affected things in some cosmic way.  As of the last time we were out at the house, the roof is done as is all the stone and brick.  We have doors, inside and out!  It seems finding interior solid core wood doors was a bit of a challenge for our builder.  Finding ones without formaldehyde was more difficult than anticipated, but he was able to get the job done and on budget!  Three cheers for his efforts!  The cabinets are in and hopefully are in the process of being stained as we speak.  The stainer/painters are supposed to be the only subs in the house for a little while as they get things done.  We were able to have samples of stain on a piece of maple - what are cabinets are made of - so we could pick the color we wanted.  Everyone who comes into the house says "wow, you've got a ton of storage"!  We DO!  We have lots and lots of cabinetry and I'm sure the stain guy is cursing my name!  We were also able to get paint samples up on the walls and picked our colors for all the rooms except Chuck's office.  We are waiting on a new sample to be put up because we felt the colors we had chosen earlier were a bit dark.  We are sticking with mainly neutral grays, beige and browns (except for the multipurpose room which will be my exercise/craft room and a guest room - this room will be a fabulous dusty teal!!)  Our plan is for the artwork we inherited from my dad and Karen be the pop of color we need in the house.

We went on another choosing spree last week.  We went back to the guy who helped us with plumbing fixtures and he was able to hook us up with door knobs, cabinet pulls and bath fixtures (towel bars, TP holders, etc).  I found out just how many doors/drawers we ended up with when we went to do a final count for the pulls.  HOLY MOLEY, we really DO have a butt load of cabinets!  We can't go without knobs or pulls due to the type of cabinet fronts we chose.  They call it a European style where the fronts are all flat and there is no space between.  They are all flush with  one another so every drawer and door needs a pull.  We still need mirrors as I totally zoned off that we might need to look at ourselves while doing our make up (if we use it), hair (if we have it) or shaving!  The last thing we have left to pick out (at least I think it's the last thing!!!) are counter tops.  I'm hoping to get to that this week.  My plan is to use quartz, as it is more environmentally conscious, in the main areas - kitchen, master bath - and to use remnants of quartz or granite or recycled glass for the rest of the areas still needing counters - guest and pool bath and the pantry.

We will be signing the contract to get the pool started in the next few days, so construction should begin in a week or so.  Our builder will be happy to hear it as he is saying he "needs the dirt".  For what I'm not sure, but I guess to help level out the yard and for under the driveway slab that will be installed in the not too distant future.

So far, it looks like there has been a ton of materials hauled off to the recycler.  We have a guy, his name is Moe, and he comes by frequently and takes stuff off to be recycled or brings a wood chipper and grinds up all the leftover wood so we can use it for mulch once we get landscaping!  There seems to have been very little waste at our site, which makes me really happy!  One of the funniest things was when the brick was going up that was going to be covered in mortar for a kind of stucco look.  The brick was a hodge podge of leftover brick, some of it a bright ugly orange.  It was all very mismatched!  I can imagine what the neighbors were thinking!!!  It looks great now, but while in process it looked a bit schizophrenic!

Guess what?  We have peaches coming out of our ears at the new house.  It seems we have 2 or 3 peach trees up against the back fence.  I was not even aware they were ready for picking until I watched one of the workers walk back to the tree and pick 3 or 4!  I have so many I have encouraged all the workers to take as many as they can eat and take home.  I have brought some home and they are really good.  Guess I'm going to have to learn how to make peach jam!  And cobbler!  And pie!  So, if in the future you come visit in June or July, be prepared to take home peaches!!

Chuck and I have also been busy getting our current house in order so we can put it on the market.  I have to say this thing about  "staging" your house is for the birds (not nice birds, either!!)  We have boxed us a good portion of the house and have some stuff to sell on Craig's List....anyone need a 1920's rustic farmhouse cabinet??????  Or a humongous desk??  Downsizing certainly makes you get more brutal with your attachment to things!  I have learned one VERY important lesson from this packing up experience....take Spring Cleaning seriously EVERY YEAR!  I can't tell you the stuff I found in the back of cabinets or in Alex's old bathroom (Nyquil that expired in 2007?  Holy toxic, Batman!  Or a dog medication that expired in 2002?????  What the....)  I think the local charity organization is in love with us.  They have come out and picked up 2 loads of stuff already and we likely have at least one more.  We have also given a bunch of stuff to friends, especially ones just setting up new households.  We are also saving a few things for Alex for when he gets a bigger place.  That old adage that you grow to fill your space is so very true!

Peace, Love, and Recycle,

Lori

Leaps and Bounds

Happy Memorial Day Everyone!!!

Things have been hopping here as the house begins to really take shape!!  It seems every week is filled with meetings with subcontractors.  It is amazing all the details that have to be attended to.  Chuck has been able to participate in these meetings, but it makes for a lonely evening when he has work left to do at the end of the day because of it.  I guess it leaves me more time to surf the net for more stuff for the house.

So, what has occurred since my last post?  I'm not really sure where to start since so much is happening.  We had to make a small change to the facade of the house as the metal contractor the builder usually uses was being difficult - I'm immensely glad I do not have to deal with all these contractors and their varied personalities, would make me crazy!  So, the builder was able to talk with the metal roof guy who punched out a prototype for the metal on the facade.  It came back a wee bit expensive, so we elected to only put metal on the section that is the clerestory (the three horizontal windows up high) and not put the section on the front.  We decided to just use the stone we are currently using to finish off that front part.  It's looking really good.  Our plan had been to paint the metal, but have decided we like the look au naturale!  It is the same color as the roof and the trim on the windows and soffits will make it pop!  Suffice it to say, the stone and brick are going up quickly!  I imagine it will be finished this week!  The only things left for the exterior are painting the trim and exterior doors.  The doors, much to our builder's angst, will not be in until the middle of June.  It will be nice to get the doors on and have less crud blowing through the house.  It's been super windy here and between the plaster dust, mortar dust and general outside dust (it's dry as a bone here) the interior of the house is a dusty mess!  The builder has some thick cardboard put down on the floors to protect them, so we haven't seen the floors since they went in. Can't wait to see how they look with the walls up.  This stuff will have to be pulled up in order for the trim work to be done which is not that far into the future.

Inside the house there have also been plenty of changes.  The sheet rock, taping and plastering is almost done.  Will surely be done this week.  The pocket door frames are in.  We have done two walk thrus of the house with the cabinet makers to make sure we are all on the same page.  We are going to have tons of storage.  Since we are losing about 800 - 1000 square feet, storage is going to be important.  We are even having a Murphy bed put into one of the extra bedrooms.  This room will be my craft/exersise room on top of serving as a guest bedroom.  The tile people came out and measured for tile in the baths and kitchen.  I was happy that all the tile I ordered has some recycled content.  The glass accents for the baths and glass subway tile for the kitchen we will be using are all 100% recycled!  Also, they are all made in America.  So far we have had pretty good luck getting items made here in the good old USA!   We also ordered all of our appliances two weeks ago.  Our Sears Appliance Store was having a huge sale - one of those where the more appliances you order the more off you get - and we were able to come in waaayyy under budget!  (I keep asking myself why the stuff I have been given allowances for are coming in under budget, but the stuff I have little control over is not?  HMMMM?)  All the appliances are Energy Star.  Since we have no natural gas in our neighborhood, I was a bit dismayed I could not have a gas range - I love my gas cooktop I have now - but was pacified by the fact I was able to get an electric range with 2 ovens, one being convection.  I will have to read the instruction manual front to back on that one!  Chuck went out and picked up all of our ceiling fans and a few of the outdoor lights we ordered a few weeks ago.  Alex's old room is filling up with all kinds of stuff for the house, a pile of stuff to donate and a stack of boxes I have already packed (yes, my friends, I have started to pack away the low priority stuff - when you have a bad back, you need to do stuff at a different pace.....slowly).  Good thing he doesn't want to move home.  We have also ordered our other lighting for the house and it is trickling in.  Once again, all made in the USA!

One other thing we were able to accomplish is to find  someone to build the pool.  The first bid we got from them was so outrageous I almost had a kitten right there in front of him.  It appears I did not express my desire to have a "simple lap pool with fence and some grass for the dog to do her business in".  Not sure what's hard about that, but the design he brought had fountains, a spa and fancy landscaping - which would totally clash with the house and cost a mint.  I put the kabash on that, went into detail about "simple" and got a much better design the next round.  It's going to be really nice, understated and functional, as requested!

We have come up with a bit of a hiccup concerning the cabinets, extra refrigerator and the pantry.  The design calls for the extra frig to be in the pantry, but in order for it to be placed in that small space we might have to make the cabinets quite a bit shallower in order to be able to spin the frig into place after sliding it sideways into the pantry.  Not sure I want to give up that much cabinet space.  The other option is to put the frig in the mudroom and move what cabinetry it replaces into the pantry.  Any thoughts?  The architect and builder are convinced we can get the frig in the pantry without a problem, but I have concerns about the cabinet and walls getting all banged up (and the builder and architect certainly aren't going to be around to help us move in!) and the loss of cabinet space.  The architect was actually concerned Chuck would have to see the frig every time he went from his office thru the mudroom into the house.  Cracked me up...Chuck nor  I have any problems aesthetically with looking at the frig in the mudroom.  Also, Chuck will have to pass the darn kegerator every time he goes from his office into the rest of the house!  I tell you what, my frig is MUCH cuter than the kegerator.

Well, I guess next up in the never ending decision making process will be countertops and paint colors.  Up to this point, Chuck and I have been pretty much on the same page about all the decisions that have come up (either our tastes are extremely similar or the fact I told Chuck to "do whatever you want in your office" has given me extra points and consideration?!!!!)  I'm sure there will be some serious discussion (nope, we don't fight, folks, ask Alex) and one of us will "prevail" in these discussions.  I have a feeling hearing "I just can't picture that" from Chuck repeatedly might get a bit tedious, but he's "very visual" (aren't most people?).  I have heard is said that if a couple can survive a remodel or building a house your marriage will be stronger for it!  I'm going with that premise as I have found most of this process to be fun and wouldn't do it with anyone but Chuck.

The builder seems to think the house will be ready late July, early August.  I have to say I was expecting September/October as a move in time.  So, I am in a bit of panic mode.  Guess we better get a real estate agent out here and prepare to stage the house.  This will be my least favorite part.  I may have to get one of my decoratory friends out here to assist me.  The housing market here is on the upswing, so that is a huge positive and we hope our house will go fairly quickly - not so fast I go into a panic driven coma, tho'!

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and takes the time to think about all the men and women who have served or are serving our country!

Love to all!
Lori