progress update, hampered by SNOW!

 The insulation guys arrived early last week and spent two and a half days 

at the house, creating a snug and energy efficient home for us.

Here's one well-protected guy spraying in the foam insulation.

Wearing a respirator, with a fresh air feed and a protective body suit,

he looked a little other worldly.

Watching the foam expand to full size.

Once it's expanded and cooled, the excess is carved off,

allowing the drywall to be installed flush with the uprights.  

Here's the view side of the house,

all nicely insulated.

Now we are getting a better idea of how things will look

with light and bright walls.

Late Friday afternoon we finally got HEAT in the semi-finished basement where we are staying during the renovation! This was a most welcomed development as the temperatures have been dropping lately.

Over the weekend the guy who is installing our roof tried valiantly to get it finished up. In a freak October snowstorm it became more difficult to accomplish! He was shoveling as fast as he could to clear the roof on Sunday and finally gave up. He came back yesterday after the snow melted and we now have a brand new roof on the house, woodshed, three season porch, front porch, office and breezeway. The old metal roofing has found a variety of new homes all over the neighborhood, thanks to the giveaway culture up here.

In a race to beat the drywall installers due to arrive next week, the plumber and electrician are working hard to get the rest of their work roughed in. The interior strapping is nearly done, and the first of the exterior siding is going up today. 

I must say that the early snow lit a fire under the whole process, and for that we are grateful!

today's tour

Hello. Won't you please come into the living room? If you sit on the couch just here, you can see the mountains. And that little hole in the wall? That's where the sweet little propane stove will vent, just to take the chill off. 

After years of waiting, we will now be able to invite you to step out onto the three season porch right from the house. In nice weather, we'll be able to leave the door open and let the breezes flow through. How about before dinner drinks? Or games of "pass the pig", bananagrams and poker? Maybe overflow sleeping or afternoon naps...

Come on upstairs. At the top of the stairway, there's a window that overlooks the road and driveway. We are going to build a Carl Larsson-esque nook up here. There will be a twin mattress, surrounded by a wooden cut out frame, with a curtain to pull across for privacy. It will provide a lovely spot to knit, sip tea, read, hang out with a friend or sibling, nap or slumber for a whole night.

Step into the upstairs bathroom. On the left is the tub/shower. To the right of the windows is a space for the stacking washer/dryer. And to the right of that the five foot vanity will hold one sink. Yes, one. We are good at sharing at our house. :-)

This is our bedroom, and our bed will fit quite nicely between those two windows, night tables on either side.

This is the view that we will see when we sit up in bed in the morning, through the windows (to the right, above).

Are we greedy to claim the whole front of the house upstairs for ourselves? Our bedroom will open to a wide hallway into an alcove on the northwest side of the house.  A fine place for a yoga mat, a writing desk, a spot to curl up with Masterpiece Theatre...

And the exterior color???

Some of our favorite people live in Sweden and although we've never been there, we do just love their red houses. After much internet research, I discovered that the red is called "Falu" and  the closest we can come to it in the States is Sherwin Williams' "Vermillion". Wayyyyyyy out of my usual color scheme, but this just seems so right to us. Beautiful in the snow and balsams of deep winter, spectacular in the foliage, bold in the pale spring and steady in the summer sun. We are painting the first coat of the siding ourselves on the ground, and then the pros will come in to spray the second coat once it has been installed on the exterior.