We've taken on a lot, and somehow managed to stay in tact. Living life now as a family of 4!

First off, a confession: When I suggested doing the floor ourselves because I was unhappy with the quotes we got and/or the service provided, I was DEFINITELY underestimating the amount of work it would be. This task has probably been one of the more labour-intensive ones and that is surely saying something. Jake spent three SOLID days patching the floor - motivated by the desire to go to a cabin with our friends Winston and Andrea.  He was painstaking and precise and managed to patch the three major spots, plus the rad-holes all with flooring salvaged from under cabinets.  Pretty good, eh? And that is before it is sanded! (obviously)  This is pretty blurry, but I'll leave it on here - washing the floor with a scraper in hand to get the last of the drywall mud off! Fun!  After the patching and cleaning, it was time to sand. Jake tried to surprise me while I was gone on my bachelorette - he wanted to have the floor sanded by the time I got home. It didn't qui

This is it! Don't get scared now! Tomorrow is our last day of back-breaking, sweat-running-off-your-nose, inhaling-dust-particles-that-surely-aren't-good-for-you labor. Tomorrow, we sand the floor with all our might. Tomorrow, we go above and beyond the normal limits of human capacity and work our butts off so that this job will be finished! Tomorrow we will get up earlier and work harder for longer on our house than we ever do for our paying jobs. It is going to be awesome. Also, when we are done this job, cleaning the tub will no longer be a futile exercise. The water won't run black off our bodies at the end of the day! After this, we will put some coats of varnish (water based) on the floor, and pack to go to a cabin. We will varnish our way out of the house on Sunday, and then leave for a week, giving the floors a good long time to cure. When we get back we will MOVE IN! For reals! Appliances, couch, counters! Kitchen! WOOOOOOOT!!!!!!!!!!!! In other news: Las

We've been getting this question quite a bit lately. The season presents a bit of a challenge, but I think it's the 'games' part that is throwing people for a loop. Let me lay your questions/fears to rest. You  can wear whatever clothes you would normally wear to a wedding to our wedding. It's fun to get a little spiffed up, right? The games we are planning to have available (and remember, it's not mandatory to play, although it is strongly encouraged, because they are fun!) are lawn games. The most exercise they involve is either an underhanded throwing motion, or walking a few yards over lawn. Considerations/Further information: 1. There is 5 minute walk to the ceremony site. 2. Grass + heels = well aerated grass. I guess that one's up to you. 3. We are hoping to get a group picture with everyone right after the ceremony (there are bleachers! Perfect!), so don't wear anything you're embarrassed to be photographed in. :) 4. If the weat

Let's just get the awkwardness right out of the way: Weddings often mean gifts. Traditionally, this was when a family or community would support the new couple with setting up their first home. And then that couple would have that stuff for the rest of their lives. I have a salt shaker and pepper grinder that my parents got for their wedding, and they are still awesome. Jake and I are in a bit of a different boat, though. We are old. We've both lived for on our own for a long time and have acquired many things that would be traditional wedding gifts. Crock pot? Got it. Knives? Jake has a great set. Towels? We have all the towels we have storage for.  This is why we mentioned 'presentation' on the invitations.  However, I also know that people like to give things - and it is nice to say 'these pots were a gift from Jake's sister' for the rest of our lives. Or whatever. We may register for a few household things (more about that later), but in

Finally, a solid example of the collateral damage this project has exacted on my sanity: Scene: A few days ago Jake: Ok, let's get to work. There are lots of jobs to do. Elisabeth: Can't we take it easy? We've been working so hard. I need to slow the pace down a bit. Let's do fun things! Go for a walk or something! Jake: There is still lots to do! We can't lose steam! Elisabeth: I know, but it's summer HOLIDAYS. I need a break! Scene: Saturday Morning Jake: Whenever you get up, let's go for a walk. Me: Yay! (And then the walk took 2.5 hours because we stopped and visited with various friends and family along the way. Glorious) Saturday Afternoon Jake: Winston just called. He wants to know if we are planning to go to the cabin with them. Elisabeth, hesitating: ....well, Jake: What!? Elisabeth: I think we should finish the floor first. We could go if the floor is done. Jake: You just said you wanted a break! I want to go to the cabin. I th

Yesterday was a big day around here. Finally, after months/years of describing where the door was going, it was arriving! Step 1*: Cut hole in wall. (Actually, the real step one is to put a header in to hold up the house above, but we did that a long time ago) Step 2: Beg for sawsall to finish cutting the hole. Have your friend's dad finish the cut for you because he does it really straight. Step 3 (Not Pictured): Haul the patio door up on the deck.  Step 4 (Not Pictured): Admire the patio door, then realize none of us have any idea how to put it in. Which is the top? What are those sticky-outy parts for? Step 5: Make a plan. Use crappy old skill saw to cut the siding off around the hole so the patio door can sit flush with the house.  Step 6: Employ an unwitting friend to help. Step 7: Make sure you go all the way around! The bottom has a nailing plate too! Step 8: Try to manoever the door into position. Lift with your legs, not your back

Guess what? Templates for the counters are being made right now! Woot! And now, on with the content of the post: We had to go to the States to get some stuff I had ordered off the internet. Peeps, I know that the world is going to hell in a handbasket and buying from local businesses is key to maintaining a healthy economy at home but when you can save 60 - 90% online, it is just stupid to shop at the local store. Case in point #1: In cabinet lighting LED strips - was going to cost $200 at the store. We bought what we needed on amazon for $14 (I was going to link to it, but can't find it anymore). Case in point #2: Kitchen sink - was going to cost $860 and take 4 weeks to order in. Online for $237 for better quality and accessories and shipped in 1 week. Seriously. Somehow the stores have got to figure out a way to compete! Back to the story. We had to go to Pembina to get our parcels and then to Grand Forks to see if we could find some lighting stuff we couldn't find h

As was pointed out by my cousin/friend Brendan last week on fb, I haven't really talked much about my/our sanity levels, although I have alluded to my shifting mood at different times. Mostly, I think I am handling things quite well. Especially considering how many decisions I make/we make in any given day. It helps greatly that the pace has slowed quite a bit. There are things to do, but the urgency isn't quite as intense as it was before we were prepping for drywall. Now I can stay in bed till 9 or 10 if I want to (the other day I slept till 11 - like, actually slept. Clearly I was exhausted), which is what summer is all about, in my opinion. All that said, I have driven Jake right up the wall a few times with what I guess must be a touch of crazy. When he got back from his bachelor party in the woods (5 days he was gone!), he was raring to go and I was already used to a slower pace. Add to that the fact that the drywallers were still working, which severely limited wha

Such nice symmetry! Sometimes life is just so durn poetic! On May 5th we had our big bash-n-crash party. There were many many crowbars and pry bars, and many many buckets of plaster. Exactly three months later, we are painting the walls. That's right! Tomorrow, August 5th, Seaspray will cover most of the walls on the main floor. Exactly 3 months after we tore the walls down. Tres excited. It's starting to feel like a house again! PS - I had stated elsewhere that the next post I wrote would be about my sanity levels, but this is too exciting not to mention. There is a post about craziness coming soon, never you fear.

Drywall guy says he is going to sand today! That means tomorrow we will get up raring to go, clean the ENTIRE HOUSE including the floors, and then....and then...we will prime the drywall. And you know what we'll do after that? PAINT the drywall. I am so excited I can barely contain myself. WOOT!!!! We're getting so close! Also, the lower cabinets for the kitchen are in! Tuesday we'll do the uppers! All of a sudden we are back on track and making progress at an incredible rate. I am PUMPED! And also, the wedding has been bumped down on the priority list for the next few days while we go crazy on our house! Many pictures to come!