WE ARE IN ! !! !!!

Yikes, It's been 2 1/2 months since we have updated the blog.  I guess we have had our heads down and focused on getting to this point.  This point?  We are in the house... and loving it.

We moved in on September 26th and had our first (of many) party on September 29th.  Since that time we have been organizing and settling in.  Laura is still working hard on the master bathroom which is the last major job.  The other component that is underway are shelves which will run the length of the house under the clarestory windows.  We expect them in about a month.

Otherwise, there are plenty of finishing touches and bits and pieces to keep us busy for months to come.

BTW, our address is now:

           Laura Davis & Rich Morris  (Laura changed her name too!)
           700 Taylor Lane
           Stoughton, WI 53589

Here are some pictures.  Click on them to enlarge.



Looking south

Looking down

 



Laura's garden #2

 

From Taylor Lane

Looking North-east

 

From the river



Night time

Laura's Garden #1

 

Laura herself

 

Friends breaking in the kitchen 3 days after move-in

 

And finally... the interior.

More of July

This is the chaos. We considered keeping the toilet in the
kitchen, but decided our guests might not like it there. 
Notice the slabs of maple leaning against the island.   Those
are the wrong drawer fronts we had just finished switching out
for the right drawer fronts.  Took all day.

This is one of the pieces of copper we used to
make the kitchen backsplash.  This is he back
waiting to be adhered to the hard board.

Here Rich is installing the range hood over the stove after the
copper backsplash was installed.

Here is the finished product.   The colors in the copper patina
"really bring the room together," for all you Labowski fans.



The kitchen is pretty much finished.  Notice the wall below the
windows is still raw.   The next project will be to intsall cedar
boards up there, like the ones on the ceiling. 

This is the window guy converting the fixed window in the
foyer to a window we can open.   We get a nice breeze
through there now.



The foyer is finished.

This is the rock garden in front of the house. 
"What drought?" you ask...

Oh yeah...This is the front yard.   We obviously didn't waste
any well water on that!   The weeds are nice and green, though.

We found a nice clear pine baseboard that stains well
to match the walnut flooring.   Don't tell anybody we're cheating.

Here's Master Crafstman Richie installing the stainless steel
railing around the steps to the basement.   We'll be putting the
same rails around the roof of the garage, too.

Finished product.

Here's the mud/laundry room in the rough.

Finished product...everything works!

Guest bath just waiting for guests.

We gain very little heat from the sun in summer thanks to the
southeast orientation, the overhang of the roof, and the trees.

This garden is along the property line.   The flowers were
transplanted from Laura's garden in Madison.   They love
their new home, and so will we.

Rich installing the walnut floor in the guest
room.  

The guest room is finished.    When we move
in, we'll use this room until the master bedrom
is done.

Current state of the master bathroom.   No
plumbing yet; this will be the last room
to be completed.   Lord knows when, we don't!

Laura's closet, ready for use.

What keeps us going....

July!!

Wow, once again, it's been a while.  A thankfully long summer, wish we had more rain though.  We're making lots of progress.  Our current mission is to completely complete what we call the annex, the low roof part of the house.  To date...
. Pantry is done
. Guest bedroom is done except for floor trim
. Guest bathroom is done
. Entryway is done except for floor trim
. Laundry is done except for utility sink
. Laura's closet is done except for floor trim
. Garage is done

Besides that, the kitchen should be done in the next couple of days.  After that, we'll install the big floor and be ready to more in (to the guest room...).

It's still fun, but it will be more fun to be living here.  Soon enough...

Some pics, may not make sense because they are wide, wide angle.... Cheers, Rich

Can you find the house?

 Laura's garden... still alive!

The guest bath

Laundry

Laura's sanctuary

Ahh, this is the life...              Snapping turtle laying eggs!

A couple from the air

It was a beautiful night so I flew to Walnut Bank.  Here are a couple of shots.

Lit up

Sneaking up on Progress

Rich worked his rear end off the last few weeks installing the air ventinaltion system, including the air exchanger and the duct-work.  This is the fresh air system,which is needed because the heat and AC are ductless.  He also wired the entire house BY HIMSELF and took last week off from his real job to install all the outlets, switches, and fixtures.   The list of stuff still left to do there is relatively short.   Having lighting has brought the house to life and has us more eager than ever to move in.   Each room is now a blank slate waiting for finishes.
Laura's current project is finishing the areas we're hoping to live in, tentatively planning to move in sometime in June.   We're finishing the upstairs guest bedroom and bath to live in while we finish the rest.   The kitchen is also a work in progress, and the cabinets will be delivered in mid-May and the appliances at the end of May.

Here are some photos of some of the recent work done, and some current "before" shots of some of the rooms.

Looking past the porch to the Yahara River on a dreary day.

Master bathroom in progress.   Yes, we'll have shades.  They'll
open from the top or the bottom, depending on what the bather
wants to either look at or cover up.  

Looking into the living room/kitchen/dining areas
from the porch.

This is the future Den. The stairway to the basement
is under this structure.  The top will be a bunk for an
extra guest, and also accesses the little "attic"
above the master bath.

Rich getting his beehive started in the
front yard.

Don't know how our drywall guy could pull this off..

Rich leveling the dock after the winter ice upheaval.

Basement family room/guest apartment

Guest bedroom in progress. We're planning to
use this room when we move in while we finish
the rest of the rooms'

Rich installing the fan above the dining area.

The back yard from the living room.  That's cement board
and circular saw on the ground, which was
the current project that day.

Guest bathroom tiling in progress

The kitchen, with cement board installed for backsplash tile.
The door to the pantry is on the right.

Rich in the little attic above the master bathroom, organizing
 all the armor cable wiring for the upstairs ceiling lights and fans.
This was an amazingly complicated undertaking,
and all the lights and fans now work!

Laura installing the wall tiles in the guest
bathroom.

Laura installing the cement board underlayment
for the foyer tiles.

Rich cutting the openings for the air handling system.

Rich peeking through said opening, taken from the pantry
where the ducts travel to the basement. Very elegant.  

On Thansgiving Day last year, Laura planted 150 tulips
and daffodils on the sloping rock garden in front of the
house.   They all came up this spring. Not a bad start!

Had to show you The Cutest Baby in the World, Norah,
Laura's grandaughter.

Proud Gram and Norah, The Cutest Baby in the World.