Who has time to build a house?  The past 5 weeks have been a chaotic blur, and the new home has been on my back burner.  My folks moved here from California in May, so several days were devoted to helping them settle in.  Then it was a week or so getting ready for and recovering from a massive house purge and garage sale (my car is still filled with donations to be taken to specific charities).  Now I am obsessed with getting our current home on the market. It goes live in 15 days, and I have no idea how we are going to get it ready, between my husband’s travel and our kids’ activities.  Plus, there’s the nagging to do list over at Walden!

Last week I got an email from the painters, asking if I had finalized my selections as they were scheduled to start painting June 16th.  Gulp…uh…no.  So I ran to a couple of paint stores and frantically absconded with about a hundred paint chips.  Sorted them out at home to about 10 per room,, then asked (forced) Rich to give his opinion.  Now we are down to just a few per room, and tomorrow I will meet the painters at the site so we can hopefully make some decisions.  Still can’t decide if I want gold or silver in our bedroom…

Also had to order another plumbing fixture, as I forgot to get one for the garage utility sink.  Totally unsexy, but we will want it at some point!  Hoping that Melissa at Ferguson’s can email me some options so I don’t have to visit the showroom.

Settling on cabinet hardware is also on my short list.  Anne at Nob Hill is helping me here.  We met in April and I picked my initial selections.  Once I saw the $$$$, I decided to tweak the choices a tad.  She will send me some new options soon, so hopefully I can check that one off.

Gotta call the landscapers tomorrow.  I wasn’t planning on thinking of that stuff for awhile, but I guess we can’t pass inspection without something covering up the mud.  Picky, picky.

We love the color of the doors!  Brushmasters tried to match the woodwork on the antique doors for Rich’s office, and they did an awesome job.  Problem is, we wanted a floor darker than the doors and cabinetry, but worried it might be too dark now.  Hopefully the painting geniuses will help us find the right option.  We did things a little out of order on this house.  Normally, you drywall first then install doors.  But we flip-flopped that, as we are having rounded edges rather than right angled corners.  Will be very cool when it is all done!

They should start the boulder retaining wall very soon.  Once that behemoth is in place we can pour the garage floor, apply the stucco, and really start getting the yard level.  I am eager to get the garage done, because then they can install the attic stairs and I can go up and see just how big the storage are will be up there.  That will help me decide what bookshelves I should and will move from house A to house B, and which ones to sell to the long list of folks who asked for them at the garage sale!

Now, back to cleaning out closets in House A…

Last week while moving around dirt, Super Bill found snow — in June! Told ya last winter was a bear!

Have I posted this before? It’s the front of the house. Garage are 3 windows on the right, next window is mud room, then the 3 in the middle are the front hallway. The French doors that appear next are for the pergola patio. The front door is under the peaked roof.

A view from the future kitchen to the fireplace wall and great room window. Those pipes in the foreground are where the island and sink will be.

We are evidently not the first occupants of the house. A bird made its nest on this … thing. It is a temporary piece put up as a step or hand hold on the outside of the house, we think. It’s above our bathroom window. Hope the birdies hatch and move away before they stucco!

Something we didn’t know: they install drywall first, then cut around the windows. This is Carter’s bedroom window.

Rich’s office. The header will be drywalled, so the antique, stained glass french doors stand out! His desk will be built in straight ahead on that wall. Can double as a serving station during parties, as this room is directly off of the great room.

The dining room doors looking out to the deck on the right, and the great room windows on the left. The ceiling holes are for both lights and speakers. The woodwork here is not yet stained.

Our bedroom window. Love the tray ceiling!