counters and tubs

Slate – a natural Maine product.

I had always thought my final countertops would be made of granite (also a Maine product). However, Dave thinks it just looks to “hard” and commercial. So, we have been investigating soapstone to match the Tulikivi. But, I just came across something that I really like – slate!!!!!!!!

It is extracted just an hour or so from our lot and looks very interesting. Check out:

http://www.sheldonslate.com

We are also on the lookout for my bathtub – I plan on soaking away the years eventually (and pounds??). This place looks interesting:

http://www.frankwebb.com/html/me.html

The plan is to take Friday off – rain is forecast, so it shouldn't hold Dave back on any work. Off we go to checkout slate and tubs. I'll let you know if we finalize any selections.

BTW – still no phone or internet and the walls are postponed until next week. We still have electricity and footers though.

Footers - concrete phase 1

We have a footer and I can now see the room shapes and orientation. Everything always looks so small at this stage. The "hole" seems to have a leak and continues to stay wet. Dave says they will handle that and it isn't a problem. Such fun to be able to see the outline of the house.
Check out the Gallery.

I also found a local slate quarry. They do some nice looking sinks and backsplashes -- has anyone ever done anything in slate? I am really into natural and this looks interesing.
Click the picture to check it out:

Off topic - family update

Going to make a family update post today -- not much happening at the lake (I mean lot). It is nice to have electricity, but would be better if the rain stopped. Dave has wired some lights in the garage now, too.

We drove down to Wells on Saturday for lunch with Micah. He looks great and has already got another car (his was "drowned" in the flooding last week). He bought (or is buying....) a 2003 Chevy Malabu in dark blue. It is in excellent shape with all the options (sunroof, leather seats etc.) School was over for the summer for him and he says he believes he has about 3 more classes to go. It was great to see him -- now to meet up with Ryan and Robyn soon. I believe they spent the weekend in NYC. I did get a picture of "Banjo" -- she is really growing.

We are fine and enjoying having power from a line instead of the generator. Last night, Dave hooked up our little TV and we got 4 -5 stations quite well. I do have an order in for the cable (have to keep up with those Sox). We are still waiting for the phone service, too.

There is a chance that the concrete group will appear sometime today with forms. I hope so -- if not, Dave was going to make a run to the laundrymat (he is so great). I am researching countertops trying to decide on granite or soapstone. Wish I had some references.
Hopefully, there will be more on the construction front later this week........

Let the light shine in!

We have electricity. After numerous glitches (plug wired wrong for trailer, Central Maine Power taking their own sweet time, etc.), we now are powered. No more waiting to turn on the coffeepot in the morning until the generator is started -- and no more growling generator noises all evening long. This is a step toward civilization. I feel like we have joined the 21st century with running water and power -- that portapotty and those black flies are still a bit of a trial, but whatever.
It is still raining :(

We have a minor swimming hole, but the concrete people say not to worry. They may try to start setting some forms tomorrow. We are off to Wells for lunch with Micah then and won't be around though. I'll get some pictures if they get started.

Muddy Waters

Whew - what a mess southern Maine is in. Wells (our old hometown) had about a foot of rain and is under a state of emergency. We were feeling badly about having a muddy foundation hole -- but I guess 3 inches aren't really a problem.
Yes, we do have a "hole", septic tank and leachfield on site. There are some pictures posted at in the Gallery of the process. The dogs find the entire thing quite interesting as you can see. With luck the concrete workers arrived today and started to build forms for the footer. I'll post tomorrow if that happened.
Since I have now moved into the trailer with Dave, we don't have internet connectivity and I need to do this after work from my desk -- the postings will probably get shorter, but I will try to do more of them. The black flies are out -- UGH. The scourge of Maine. They get after anything warm blooded and pretty much make life miserable. Times like that make me almost wish for those colder days again.

Don't Fence Me In!

Phase one is complete -- we have a fence for Sophie and Milos. They don't appreciate being jailed much, but it is great to know there is somewhere to put them during the construction phases. You can see pictures of the fencing project in the Gallery. We had a minor setback on the utilities. They are going to need to move the electric panel closer to the actual entry point.

But, there is VERY good news!! I had to go to work, but the excavator thought he would able to start today. Sunday afternoon, the contractor and Dave did some work laying out the exact foundation and deciding on the final floor level. It looks like we will get quite a bit of dirt from digging out for the house. Hopefully, we won't need to scrounge much other dirt.
Maybe the next posting will have pictures of the house foundation under construction. Yippee.

Saturday was Dave's birthday and we went out for Chinese food -- had a great weekend weatherwise, too.
The only downside was when Sophie managed to get a stick wedged between her molars across the top of her mouth while wrestling with Milos. We couldn't figure out what was wrong -- she was ok until she would try to eat or drink and then was in a lot of discomfort. We pried her mouth open and tried everything, but couldn't see the problem

So, off to the emergency vet (about 1.5 hours away) at 4:30. Long story -- it took two vet techs and two vets to finally see that stupid black stick resting on the black roof of her mouth. It was fit snuggly into one of the ridges and completely hidden. Anyway, after it was removed -- she licked everyone wagged her tail and drank a gallon of water.
Everyone was fine when I left at 11 pm for the B&B. It is about time for me to move to the lot. Dave used the shower with the generator and we have the hot water heater working. So, I am running out of excuses (ha).
Now, I'm off to bed.

Update - Shows

WOW - remind me to never schedule 2 weekends of dogshows unless they are closer than 15 hours from home.

After 2 long days on the road, Milos and I arrived in Frankenmuth, MI and checked into a glorious hotel. He is a great traveler, entertaining himself looking out the windows, licking my ear and generally being a dog. The location was great with fantastic weather. Milos placed 4th in his class on Saturday (should have been higher, but handler errors really occurred -- I need to go to class!). On Sunday, a friend showed him (she is a professional handler) and he placed 2nd. VERY GOOD. The picture is of the two of them during the judging. There are more pictures posted in the Gallery.