December Update. . .

These pictures show the concrete slabs in the garage (above); the pool/exercise room and the basement.

Okay, okay . . . it's been a busy few weeks so my blogging has fallen behind! We spent 10 days in Phoenix over Thanksgiving to watch brother Kyle compete/complete his first IRONMAN. It was amazing - so proud of him!! Meanwhile, back on the island - lots going on since last I wrote. Here's a quick recap:

- Footing drains and underground utilities around all the buildings have been installed.

- A lot more dirt was moved! Back-filled over the septic drain field and up to what will be the patio. It's now actually possible to stand on the patio-to-be and envision where the yard will be.

-The slab for the garage, the basement and the pool/exercise room has been poured. We opted to use 'color' other than concrete -- so it's called cappucino (sort of the color of the dirt. . . ) But, truly, it looks good!

- A cistern was installed which will catch all the downspout water and (eventually) be stored and used for yard/garden irrigation. An environmentally friendly element.

We have been really fortunate with weather that continues to cooperate!

SO . . .what's next?? More backfill around the basement and finishing the crawlspace. Then they will start installing floor joists and sub-floor in the casita and then the FRAMING will begin! Probably a 90 day project (I promise to update the blog in the interim though!)

Final Foundation Pour . . . . and more!

Today marked the final pour of the foundation - 7 cement trucks worth! Yikes! The much-predicated HUGE storm didn't really matierialize, so they were able to work sans rain & wind. The only little glitch today was that somehow (?) a big chunk of cement or rock or something created a blockage as they were pouring and it halted the progress for about 30 minutes -- just enough time to mess up the timing of the trucks I guess. Suddenly three trucks appeared, lined up down the driveway. In the one photo with the guy in the foreground, he's actually controlling the pump using a device that seriously looks like an X-Box controller. Probably where he learned the skill! Next on the agenda will be footing drains and backfill (aka moving the same dirt for at least the third, possibly fourth time). For now I guess we will be hanging around waiting for the cement to dry . . . .

But even bigger news than our foundation pour (much, much bigger news!) is that Katey and Greg became engaged this past weekend -- and we are all very excited and happy for them. Greg pulled off a big surprise and I think Katey has been smiling that beautiful smile ever since!

It's November - progress continues. . .

It was fun having Alan and Katey & Greg come up on Saturday for a "tour" of the work-site in progress! The weather cooperated (ie. no rain!) and Alan even managed to climb down into the basement hole for a photo opp! The footings are all complete and this week will be more forms and pouring foundations as well as the basement walls - which will be either late this week or more likely early next week. The septic tanks and drain field are all in - even a quick test to make sure the pipes were all connected (see photo that looks like a four-tiered water feature). No major glitches to date - Peter is the chief-checker-of the-plans each day watching all his hard work on details over the past two years come to life!

Forms and fittings and pours, oh my!

Lots of changes this past week. They finished digging the basement; put in the forms for the footings; poured the concrete footings in the casita, the basement and the pool house; and have begun the installation of the septic system. I actually don't really understand what all that really means, but Peter's coaching me on the terms!
He has been on-site each day - keeping tabs and taking pictures and ready to share the events of the day with me. Tonight we just stood on what will be our patio and savored the view. . . . ahhhhh.
It's quite amazing and more than a little exciting to see the plans we've been looking at on paper for so many months coming to life!
The next "pour" will be on Thursday morning - check it out on the web-camera if you want to see it in action. I'm going to try to be there to see it live!

News Flash!! We have broken ground!

Our last entry to this blog site was 8/7/07 (yes that is 07 - not a typo) -- we've been asked many times "are you ever going to make another blog entry?" So this is it - the blog is back and we are SO excited to announce that construction has begun! We were actually in Santa Barbara with our friends Darlene & Art on the day of the actual ground breaking - 10/9/08 - so watched it via the web-camera (see link).

For anyone who hasn't kept up on the events of our life the past year here's a quick recap:

We still have the house in Seattle, where we live sometimes; we've rented a cute house on the beach on the south side of Samish Island, where we live the rest of the time. And we manage to both be in the same place about 95% of the time! We changed contractors a couple times; redesigned (aka downsized) the house; finished the shop with insulation and tons of shelving; and managed for the most part to stay sane and happy! So here we are - building our home!

My promise to Peter is to keep the blog updated on this journey called building a home - so he's giving me a crash course in blogging 101. Enjoy!