16 mile run

Here is the run Chris and I will do next weekend. I'm posting it mostly so we don't forget it!

"Um, we have a problem..."

Those are words you just don't want to hear from your builder. Unfortunately, that's exactly what Barry told us on Tuesday. The electrician was at our house, doing final checks. He went to hook the house up to the street, and discovered that WE DON'T HAVE AN ELECTRICAL HOOK UP!!!! Somehow, FPL skipped our lot a few years ago when they were wiring the subdivision. And it took until now to find this out. A few calls to FPL later, a wired check from Maronda homes, and we think we're on schedule to get the wiring. FPL has to come out and tear up our street. Won't the neighbors love us? Ironically, we will be putting in solar electric panels, but are not allowed to do so until we close on the house. We can't close on the house until we have electric. Ugh.


On a brighter note, our landscaping was put in. We have four trees in the front and some more in the back.
They also put the hurricane shutter bolts on all of the windows. We will get hurricane shuttters with the house. How we'll ever get them up on the second floor, I don't know.

Then we walked around back and realized they had done the porch in a day. The slab was already there.

I like the location of the back door. We should have room for our table, 4 chairs, and lounge chair.

They haven't put the sod in yet, but they probably won't until they get electricity to run the sprinklers! I hope they can keep the trees alive until then.

Closets and bathrooms

Chris and Benjamin went by today to take some measurements and found more work had been done. Here the living room is awaiting carpet. Our stair rail is in. The plans originally called for a half wall, and I'm so glad we upgraded to a railing.

Gotta love those pull-out cabinets!!!

More cabinets!

Master closet now has shelving (minimal, but some shelving.)

Our master sink - a double

Single sink bathroom

Closet in Mom and Dad's bathroom - it has 5 shelves!

Kitchen - appliances will be pulled out and replaced with ones we have chosen from Sears.

Landscaping and Quilt

Many years ago, when I was a full-time mom, I got ambitious and started a scrap quilt. I cut up hundreds of triangles from material remnants and started piecing them together, making about 12 or so squares. Then I had a third child, started working part time, and it stayed under my bed in a box. When we moved to the apartment, I discovered it and handed it off to my mother-in-law, who makes amazing quilts. She quickly took on the project and was cranking out the squares. It's now done and ready for quilting! Incredible, isn't it????
Close up of the squares. Many of the squares on the outside are ones I made. Some of the fabric came from my mom and was used in some of my childhood clothes.

It's really fun to look at and remember the clothing from each fabric.

On another note, I drove by the house today and they were quite busy. There was a cleaning crew working on the windows and another man working on the sprinkler system.

Look carefully to see the tree that will be planted.

I took a quick peek inside and saw that they have begun to lay the floor!

Kitchen/dining room, awaitng completion

Hallway
I also took pictures of the yard so we will know where the pipes are. He said he would be back tomorrow to finish up before they lay the sod.

electricity goes in!!

When we stopped by this afternoon, we were unable to get in the house. I was, however, able to take some pictures outside and through the windows. We now have a back porch light. No back porch yet, but I'm sure that's coming soon.
The two air conditioners are in and hooked up. I could see the control through the window.

As usual, the plans are just strewn around. I took this through the dining room window. They had better do some serious window cleaning before we walk through.

The dishwasher and range hood are installed, as is the faucet. I'm assuming the faucets in the bathroom are in, too. You can even see the water connector for the fridge.

Looking through the front window, you can see our formal dining room light.

The pavers were put in. There's lots of sand on them, which I understand is how they are placed in.

Light next to the garage door.

Look - a doorbell!

Jonathan trying to get in the front door.

Benjamin and the house

We now have our air conditioners!

Tonight we rode our bikes by the house to see what progress was made. As we pulled up, Barry (the sales agent) had just finished showing the model to another family. He informed us that from now on the house will stay locked to prevent theivery. Bummer. So now we will have to time our drive-by's to coincide with the workers. He let us in, and here is a picture of the kitchen cabinets.

Can you tell that the front of our house looks a bit different? No longer can you see the insulation hanging out of the roof. They installed the aluminum things (neither Benjamin nor I can remember what they are called) right below the roof line. Barry says they are breathable and allow the air to flow in and out of the attic, helping with ventilation.

Close up of those things...

Inside, we saw the airconditioner controls. I sent Benjamin running around back to snap a picture of the airconditioners. I wonder which one is the top floor and which one is the bottom.

That's about all we had time for tonight - we had to get back before darkness fell. Dusk is a very unsafe time to be riding our bikes.

The cabinets are in!

Yahoo!!! The kitchen cabinets were put in today, as were the bathroom cabinets. Here is the spot for the fridge.

The island, with Jonathan peeking out of the sink hole.

Mom and Dad's bathroom

Looking at the dining room/kitchen
Our sink

Jonathan and Alexander's sink Jonathan's closets - he's peeking out from inside. Most of the closet doors are installed.

Benjamin's sink

Outside view from the side

The pavers are sitting by the curb, waiting to be made into a driveway.

U2 Part 2 by Benjamin

At 5:30, the security let us onto the field. The stage, AKA "The Claw" was huge and covered half of the stadium floor. They had carpeted the grass with metal so you could walk on it. Dad and I walked as quickly as we could without running, and were able to get a place at the rail on Adam's side. There we met an older man and his daughter, who was crazy about Muse, U2's opening act. We waited until 7:00 until Muse started playing. We really enjoyed their act, but were kind of disappointed that they didn't play Knights of Cydonia, one of our favorite pieces.


After they were finished, we had to wait another half hour for U2 to set up. In that time, the people next to us were given a bass string and the set list for Muse. We also bought frozen lemonade.


Then, finally, U2 started their concert with "Breathe." Everybody screamed as The Edge, Larry, and Adam walked on to the stage. Then, they screamed louder as Bono came on. I was so excited because I looked up and Bono was right there. Also I was able to see my favorite band LIVE after watching all of Dad's music videos. They also played some of my favorite pieces, like Vertigo, Elevation, and City of Blinding Lights. During City of Blinding Lights, one boy my age was taken out of the crowd to walk/run with Bono. I was so jealous. Afterwards, Dad and I were talking, and Dad was like "That could have been you!"


It was a great experience.

This is me, in front of "The Claw." We had awesome "seats."

Bono (lead singer) and Larry (bassist)
Larry during City of Blinding Lights. The screen (top) split apart and descended upon the stage. It was an awesome effect.

During the concert, I was estatic!

The noisy, stuffy hallway where we stood for 2 1/2 hours! If anybody asks me what hell is like, that's it.

The painting continues...

Well, I was wrong about the exterior color. I thought the red was going on the trim, but it is going on the front door. We met the painter today and he said the door would be the very last thing - after the carpet, cabinets, and everything else is inside. That way the door won't get nicked as they bring things in and out.


Oops - once again I forgot to turn the picture. It shows some of our closet doors that were painted today. It's easy to paint when you don't have to worry about the floor!
You can see the insulation at the top of the house - they still need to put something there - not sure what it is called.

Our kitchen cabinets, awaiting installation.

We were disappointed to find out that not only are they doing just plain white, but they are also using flat paint in all the rooms and hallways. It would take about a week for the boys to make it dirty, if that. So we're planning on painting all of the rooms (except bathrooms, which are done in semi-gloss) before we move in. Good thing our closing date is a week before our move-in date! We're in the process of choosing colors right now, playing around on the Sherwin Williams web site. Even though it's a pain, I am excited to have COLOR in the house. I thought we were going to have all white walls, which is not especially appealing. More money, more work, but a better final product!

November 16th is the magic day!

This has been quite a busy week. It started on a high note, when we got word that we will be closing on November 16th - only a month away!! To say we are excited is an understatement. The timing couldn't be better - we have to be out of this apartment on the 24th, which will give us a week leeway. I will be away at a women's retreat from the 13th to the 15th. There won't be much for us to do that weekend, as we are not allowed to do ANYTHING to the house until it is officially ours. Plus, we'll be in by Thanksgiving. Yea!! We've scheduled the movers to get our big furniture on the 23rd, a day I have off from school. The public schools are still in session, but that's even better. We'll be moved in by the time they get off the bus. We plan to spend the week of the 16th painting, installing new appliances and a garage door opener, and putting in solar electricity. So much to do, but all so worth it!
Mom and Dad's room - closets on either side and Benjamin standing in the bathroom.

The interior doors and trim have been installed.
I am amazed at the amount of trash our one house is generating.

We often see our blueprints haphardardly shoved into a corner on laying on the floor. They must not use them too often. Hopefully they've made other "monroe" models before and know what they're doing.
Family room and dinining room, all textured and ready.

The walls and ceilings show their texture, awaiting paint.

Our yard is now graded and awaiting landscaping.

On Wednesday, they put the primer on the exterior of the house.

Awaiting the concrete

They were busy today - when I came by at 2:30, the outside paint was on. Inside, they were working on the interior paint, so I didn't get to go around. I also met the cabinet delivery team. We now have kitchen cabinets sitting in our living/dining room. They're scheduled to be installed on Monday.

The white around the windows, etc. will be a nice shade of red. My mother-in-law asked me if I like the color. Yes! I have to - it's what we chose and what we're stuck with. But, I do like it and I think it's going to look great with the red trim.

Oops - forgot to turn this picture. Oh well - It's our sidewalk. The driveway will be done with pavers.

The walls are done and ready for paint.

We stopped by the house Saturday morning to check out the walls. They have finished all of the seams. This is a closet - you can see the edges aren't finished. It took me awhile, but I finally figured out that is where molding is going to go.

Going up the stairs. It's a good thing the stairs are going to be covered with carpet - they are a royal mess!
Jonathan is standing in the formal living room/dining room.

Here's mom and dad's room. The archway leads to the bathroom.

The hallway upstairs. I feel like I should have brought a broom.

The loft. We're going to put wall-to-wall bookshelves on the left-hand wall.

Whenever Chris and I run together, we always make sure to go by the house. This morning we had a 10-miler to do. At mile 7, we arrived at the house and took a break to look inside. We discovered that they had textured the walls yesterday! Here's a close-up of the texture.
The family room, ready to be painted.

Yet another huge pile of trash. Yuck.

U2 by Benjamin, part 1

U2 360 finally arrived on Friday!!!!!!! And my dad and I were there to see it! Of course, we did have to stand in line for 9 hours, but it was totally worth it.

We arrived at 9:30a.m. (The show started at 7:00p.m.). We got in line and received wristbands. Then we camped out. We just sat and read, ate, and listened to music until 10:30, when security decided to squish us up. That's when it started to get HOT. We kept being bored until a couple of people invited us to play UNO. That lasted us up to 2:00, when we had to bring our stuff back to the cars. At 2:10, security divided us into groups according to our wristband #s. Then, we all had to stand in the sun. At 3:00, we were coralled into a tunnel. We thought this was good until we realized that we were even more cramped, plus, there was no breeze. There we stood 'till 5:00.

To Be Continued

The house continues!

I stopped by yesterday to get some pictures of the completed stucco. I wasn't able to get inside because a crew was working.
They are finishing up the drywall and will probably paint very soon.

I was standing there, taking pictures, when all of a sudden this giant walked out of the garage. I had heard that they wear stilts to work on the ceilings, but I hadn't seen it yet. Sure enough, they were! I wasn't able to get in the house, but that's fine with me if they're working! I'll try again today.

He played six Bach pieces for 60 minutes

Musician playing violin in a Washington DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007.

He played six Bach pieces for about 60 minutes. During that time approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After:

• 3 minutes: A middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.
• 4 minutes: The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, continued to walk.
• 6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
• 10 minutes: A three year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly, as the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced them to move on.
• 45 minutes: The musician played. Only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32.
• 1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over.. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

This is a real story. The Washington Post, as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities, arranged the entire scenario. Playing incognito, no one knew the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days prior to this, Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the tickets averaged $100 per seat.

The questions raised: In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty; do we stop to appreciate it; do we recognize talent in such an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be:If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ....... How many other things are we missing?

Just a reminder..."Stop and smell the Roses" !

Time for Stucco!!

I drove by afterschool today, and there was a crew busy at work putting the stucco on our house. I tried to talk to them, but I don't think any of them spoke English.

After watching for awhile, I figured out the process. First, they put a smooth layer of cement down (look at the bottom of the house). Then they kind of sprinkle some more on top to give it the textured look.

Close up so you can see textured and untextured.

After church, around 6:30, I stopped by again, hoping to get inside the house. To my surprise, they were still hard at work (they still were at 7:30 when Chris drove by.) Now they are almost done.

The machine that mixes it.

There was scaffolding all around the house, which they were taking down at night.
The back is done and the scaffolding has been taken down. They were starting to pick up their mess.

View from the back, looking out to the street. The houses in this subdivision are close together, but we chose this lot because it has this "conservation area" next to it. Once the house is done, they'll put a dirt/mulch trail through it to...

...our back yard. Jonathan had to take a few minutes to run through it before we left.

As we were ready to leave, we met some of the neighborhood kids. They seemed very nice. We found out that there are at least 4 boys around Benjamin and Alexander's age just in the 10 houses around us. Nick took Alexander into the big conservation area and showed him the downed tree.

They didn't see the owl today, but Nick says he has seen it in the forest and in the neighborhood, too.

The view down our street. Our house is on the right, by the port-o-potty.

To add some excitement to our evening, Benjamin tried to jump over the laundry basket and instead fell on it (and my foot) and broke it.

Goodbye allowance for the next few weeks.

The walls are up!

The front of our house now looks "real." It is awaiting the stucco on the outside. On Saturday they prepped it.
They put these metal grates at all the outside corners or intersections.

And the windows

Then we went inside to look at the walls that were put up on Sunday. They put up all of the walls and ceilings in one day! Here's Alexander at the entrance to Gram and Pop-Pop's room.

Standing in Mom and Dad's room. The two closets are on the outsides, and the middle arch is the walkway to their bathroom. Shower/toilet on the left, sink/tub on the right.

Here's how they prep for the final drywall coating. They still have to come in and tape up all of the seams.

Here is our "Harry Potter" space under the stairs.

Looking into the loft, after just coming up the stairs/

A crooked picture of the upstairs master bath.

They have created quite a load of trash this week. It was emptied last week.

Benjamin's room/closet
Alexander's room/double closets

Here's what they used for the ceilings. I wish I had seen them install it. There was a crew of at least 4 men, if not more.

The bathroom that Alexander and Jonathan will share. When I took the picture, I couldn't tell that the top was blue - it's too dark to see much inside. They must put the lights in soon, if only so that the contractors can see to do their work.

Standing by Alexander and Jonathan's room, looking down the hallway towards the front of the house.

I had a few more pictures that didn't come out well due to the low lighting. As the boys keep saying, it now looks like a "real house." How exciting!!!!

The insulation goes in

This week they put in the wall insulation in preparation for what I thought was called "drywall" but is actually "sheet rock." I'm learning something new every day.

Every outside wall has insulation on it.

Remember those broken roof trusses? Here is how they were fixed - two 2x4's nailed on either side of the break.

This shield is all around the top of the roof. It looks cardboard, so I'm sure it's just temporary (better be) to keep the insulation from getting wet.

There's only a bit of insulation in the ceiling so far - at each corner.

The main electrical box.

The garage

This morning, when Chris and I ran by the house at 6:30 AM (!!!!), a crew was there putting this over the "housewrap." They were still working when I snapped this picture at 5PM. I'm telling you, construction workers work long hours, and they work hard! The house is now ready for stucco, which will be applied as soon as the sheetrock is in place. As the man explained to me, if you try to nail in the sheetrock after the stucco is on, it could dislodge some of it. And you definitely can't do both of them at the same time.