Where, oh where have the drywallers gone,
Oh where, oh where can they be??
With the drywall sheets unhung, well they've done me wrong,
a check they'll not be gettin from me....

At least that's the game plan .....
Let's see-the drywall was delivered on the 31st of May; Oh how excited we were!!
Called on the 6th of June, we're ready anytime. They're coming on the 9th, they arrived on the 14th! OK, they hung all the ceilings. YEAH!!! (Misplaced excitement)
Came back (finally) on the 19th & hung the walls; well 3/4 of them anyway.
Apparently the owner miscalculated the amount of sheet rock needed, so they couldn't finish. The BOSS called, he's coming on the 29th to measure the remaining amount. NOPE, maybe the 30th. Nope...well it's the 6th of July now, still no show.
For the most part we're pretty easy going people, taking things in stride...but what do you do
to get things moving without pissing off the people who are helping you build your house?
We'll keep you posted...

Eva has an outdoor and an indoor jail!

Well as Uncle Tom refers to them anyway. When we were in North Carolina to visit our niece Michele, her husband Kem ( the artist we told you about in April's update) & our great nephew Zane; we saw the most practical, yet awesome kiddie corral ever!! They used white metal Closet Maid wire shelving units, they come in asst'd lengths & widths & can be adapted to pretty much any configuration. So our shelves that we are going to put in the attic "some day" are currently being used for a 6' x6' x 20" kiddie play area outside. Connected together with zip ties, easily moveable, dismantles in a snap! ( I sound like a commercial) Worked so well, we set up the ones we slated to use in the closet in the office for a temporary play area inside.
Although, Eva has decided playing under & thru her "bouncey" seat is much more fun than bouncing in it; the corral keeps her in sight while Auntie Martha sits & reads romance novels & eats Bon-Bons..all day.That is what retirees do when they watch their neice.
How long do you think, is she going to be in this jail before my shelves go up? Oh-wait, not a problem-I have no place to put the shelves...Eva-have fun..Looks like we'll be playing awhile.

Then, there is the old "Do & Redo" story. It's the Medaj way, we'll do something one way, sit down, ponder, think & tear it all up & start over! Love you honey, but the Do & Redo or the Pete & Repeat is a challenge. Not that it's not for the best....take the boat slip for example.
It was all installed last fall & the boat was up on slings with a make shift power source.
Can't get the boat in the water just yet due to the makeshift power source. But.....we can make the boat slip more accommodating by moving two of the 2x6 concrete blocks
forward ; hence making more room for the boat that we're not using just yet.

Kitchen Floor Take #2
Well, you heard about the concrete kitchen floor change; so the game plan is linoleum in the kitchen, 'cause hardwood gets damaged & ceramic breaks things....
So don't I see this really cool picture in a Canadian magazine that our adopted Aunt Sharon & Uncle Terry sent us?? Awesome! (P.S. Sharon & Terry???? Your in BIG trouble with Tom!! He'll chat with you at the clambake....oh...oh) It was of this great porcelain design in the floor & I thought we could mimic it in a smaller version on the back splash behind the stove.
Showed Mandy & discussed it, then there's Tom-(well Mandy's installing it right?) So, if that's the area behind the island & the backsplash mimics it, the linoleum just won't do...hardwood would be awesome in the rest of the kitchen , right?
One of the positves of building your own home, you can take your time, live in it & change your mind.
One of the negitives of building your own home,you can take your time, live in it & change your mind.
Now it looks like the outside is up for some changes.......

The Celebration of Martha's 46th Year on This Earth

Happy Birthday Week to ME....The first week of my 46th year on this earth was a week to remember. A friend who thought she was funny decided to get even (we'd sent her mutiple cards leading up to her 50th) & sent me quite a few cards to remind me my 46th was coming up.
So...Big Deal...Not quite the same as the BIG 50 is it Colleen????
Weather was hot & humid...makes for a very cranky Martha
(Poor Saint Thomas of Brewerton).
The week started out great-Monday was a play day, shopping & lunch with friends.
Tuesday just a work day; getting ready for the drywall crew to show up. Everything had to be out of the way , which included the ceiling shop light in the laundry room; so I was doing laundry by flashlight Tues eve. Hey-at least I didn't have to use a washboard.
Wednesday- Eva comes with an adorable gift for Auntie Martha
from her & her big brothers. A beautiful collection of towels. Especially the red towel fringed with ladybugs & embroidered with "Auntie Martha" on it for the Ladybug bath. (more on that bath later)
The drywallers also showed up...Saints Be Praised-our prayers are answered!
Thursday the 15th-the big day, dawns humid, bright & beautiful. Well a little too bright..migraine...a no quit migraine..cancel lunch; it was going to be another play day-I deserved it-no Eva today- just play. WRONG.
Thank goodness for drugs...that eve we were going to dinner & a play with special friends.
Play was great ( 5 Guys Named Moe-if you get a chance-catch it), dinner was great as usual & the dessert was delicious. My favorite-cheesecake. It was so good, I tried to convince the rest of the company to go for small slices so I'd be able to take home the left overs.
Got home about midnight (w/leftover cheesecake-yum).
Friday brought a baby who's 1st tooth is coming in & driving us both nuts, but it just won't come in.....(believe me, I invited it in just to get this over...)she's cranky,wants to be held,arms are flailing,feet are kicking, Aunt Martha is a jungle gym today, doesn't she scratch my cornea???? Damn...well it's not the first time, I'm an old hat at this.
But...I'll be damned if we're going to the neighbors for dinner with a patch on my eye. I'll do it later. (Vanity is thy downfall)
Besides, I'm sure a glass of good red wine will take the edge off the pain & our neighbors have good red wine!!!
It turned out to be a suprise dinner for my Birthday and they went all out!!!
We had the most awesome antipasta you have ever seen,wonderful red wine , pasta, balls, sausage w/sauce & shrimp scampi!!! We're damn glad they moved into the neighborhood & bought our house. Dessert was a mile high Bannana Cream Pie from our original next door neighbor whose now two doors down...Got that??
OK B'day dinner's over, I know I really need to patch my eye & call it a night, but it's such a beautiful night I thought I'd have a night cap on the deck. It's late, it's dark,don't I step on a flippin crowbar my husband must have left out just for me?!?!? Let me tell you it hurt like the dickens when I stepped on it. Cut my foot open....not bad enough for stitches, not good enough for a good night.
Sat. brings another migraine & a husband who installs a window A/C unit for his cranky wife.
I now have a cool haven & we're both glad this week is over.
Happy Birthday To Me.....
The next 51 weeks are going to bring many treasured memories of my 46th year, I'm sure.

We've Got Ceilings!!!
Kitchen on the left, upstairs guest bedroom on the right.
(which by the way already has multiple reservations & construction isn't even completed! But more about that later.)
Things were pretty quiet the first two weeks of June, well let's see, the drywall was delivered on the 31st of May, mechanicals are all in, we call & say we're ready for the drywall to be hung anytime after Tues the 6th of June. The time frame is the 9th. OK-What are you gonna say, we've seen some of the work out there...maybe that's why these guys are so hard to pin down, they may frustrate the hell out of you; but they do a damn fine job.
The drywallers will be here the 9th @ the latest...well here it is the 12th, 13th, ...
@ 7:15am the phone rings on the 14th; we'l be there in 30 minutes.....
The ceiings are now drywalled in the house!!!! HOT DAM-We got ceilings!!!

That was the 14th, it's now the 19th....OK-That's all we've got....ceilings.
Now, you need to understand-there are things that have to happen in a house that's about to be drywalled, you bust your butt making sure there is nothing in the way, when your husband tells you he took care of it; you can plan on another two hours at least...
so you wake up each morning wondering, will they show or won't they??
Will I have walls today???

Please note: a correction brought to the editor's notice for the prior post...it's a 3-way switched outlet not a 3-way recetacle. (picky, picky, picky)
Now on to more important information...

The 50 cent tour....

Well it's the first weekend in June & it's Judy's Birthday weekend. Judy & Bob bought our house next door-remember I told you a long time ago they're from Long Island?? Well their family & friends came from L. I. to celebrate the next chapter in Judy's Life. Of course we had to be there also....neighbors are required at milestones in your life; so if you're overserved at your celebration, they can bust your chops for a long time! (The phrase being "Overserved" must be down state slang...no one uses it up here except bartenders.Just an FYI new neighbors)
But, I digress...Judy brought her family over for a "House in Progress Tour".
DIDN'T they all walk in & hand me 2 quarters each???? Just lookin for that 50 cent tour...goes to show you...downstaters will pay for anything!
(Well I'll tell you I wasn't taking any suggestions without them puttin their 2 cents worth in too! I'm gonna make me some here money offa this! Which is hard to say, cause they fed us &treated us right real kind...but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. I'm collectin my 2 cents worth, that's what upstaters do...)
So, as I'm giving the tour (which I've gotten quite good at) & I'm talking about the guest bath vanity that fell off the truck. These downstaters are all laughing & I'm confused. We've got some repair work & faux finishing that needs to be done due to the damage from when it hit the road & slid across the pavement. WELL....apparently, as Lori shared with me..."falling off the back of a truck" has a whole different meaning downstate.
Our vanity actually did fall off the back of the truck when the tailgate opened in transit.
We learn something new every day.

Drywall Delivery

Well, it's the 31st of May and we're looking at going into June on a high note! Isn't this the greatest.....the last phase of drywall is delivered. There is LIGHT at the end of the tunnel...
we're into the final push....the last of the mechanicals are going in; the the plumbing, gas, electrical, cable, phone, speaker wire...we're ready!!!!The electrical inspector was here & gave his seal of approval(he also called Tom ahead & asked him to count the switches & receptacles so he didn't have to)...
Last count Switches 110 Receptacles 145...but until the drywall is up it's anybody's game! Coach Martha could throw in a switched outlet or a 3 way receptacle at any time!!!
Coach Tom is just praying the walls get closed in with drywall soon!!