Almost Finished

Hello to Friends and Family!

I haven't posted in almost a year. It's hard to keep up with the changes. That is, until March of this year. Butch and I spent our spring break working on the house painting trim and doors. We stayed in Joe and Sharon's basement and worked everyday at Wellcroft. Then as soon as we left, our builder forgot who we were.

When we returned in May we couldn't see where anything had been done. Even the electricians commented that, "Nothin's changed!"

We let the builder know we were back in town, and he said he'd get a crew out to Wellcroft to finish up so we could close with the bank. But we didn't see anyone on site until mid-June three weeks later. And this ghosting trend continued throughout the summer.

Jane and Perry came to visit, except the house was not ready for them! But they were wonderful for our morale and helped us through the decision to have the house painted. Such patient folks and a good example for us.

Front of house, note the number.

Kitchen windows below, pool room above,
Mud room entrance.

South side, exit from Ranae's room.

Landon, Kyle, Kelly, and the girls came on July 19. We had no where to put them except at Wellcroft. So we all camped at Wellcroft, sleeping on air mattresses, eating from paper plates with plastic utensils. Kelly called it glamping. After they went home Butch and I couldn't face the basement again. So we continued camping.

Family meal on paper plates.

However, here we are on August 15 and we still have not closed the loan with the bank. (That's two months of haggling, waiting, complaining, etc.) The main hold up was the stair post, called a newel. One of them got lost back in April (!) and had to be re-ordered. Then the company kept postponing delivery. Finally, on August 6 we drove to south Seattle to pick up the newel ourselves. It was installed later that week.

With each step, we felt we were getting closer to done, but instead we got our tickets punched for the inspection circus. Soil and erosion inspection failed on July 12. Butch started working to bring in 22 cubic yards of mulch to satisfy the county. On August 12 we failed again. And not only in the yard but also in the house. We were given a list of 17 items in the house that must be correctly addressed before we can receive our occupancy permit.

Re-inspection is tomorrow afternoon. Stay tuned for results. All prayers appreciated.

In the meantime, enjoy some pictures of the place.

Ranae's sink.

Ranae's room.

Ranae's shower. (I installed the floor tile,
Butch and a friend, Tim, installed everything else.)

First fire, just a small one!

Miracle front door.
Welcome to Wellcroft.

Entry way.

Front yard with new grass.

Guest bedroom view.

Kitchen, china hutch, and a table
we got from beside the road for free.

Lift and safety gate  above.
When the lift lowers, the gate comes down.

Living room,

Pool room, table is still disassembled.

Powder room. Note the backsplash!

Long awaited stair railings.

Master bedroom, still sleeping under a sleeping bag.

Upstairs bathroom vanity.

Upstairs shower.

Well house and well.

Woodshed that Kyle and Butch built.