Anyone out there that is a regular reader, I have a prayer request. Please pray that the weather channel is off its rocker by predicting snow for the next ten days. For my Michigan friends, guess what?? Probably means some of this will be heading your way, and you sensed spring in the air didn't you? My moving company, PODS, will not deliver to my driveway if there is snow or ice on it. I'm tempted to get a very large heat gun and melt any precipitation that sticks :). In the meantime, the workers are busy taking turns installing light fixtures, plugs, and fans this week. The trim molding is gorgeous and adds such a vintage/craftsman feeling to the home. Today was a bit hectic as I had my cell phone, caller ID, school bus, mailman, and a neighbor require my attention all within a four minute period! My mind just cannot multi-task with more than two items in the frying pan at a time ;)

The picture of the vintage ironing board cabinet with the rustic and crackled (dinged up, peeling paint look :) is the reason for my grungy fingers as reported in my other blog. You see, I gutted, stripped, refinished and inverted it then had it built into my kitchen wall; this will be my new spice cabinet. It holds even those large Costco size bottles. The opening at the top of the door (appears as a small golden rectangle) is waiting for a glass front (and glass shelves inside). Of course it will be that old vintage looking glass that has a few ripples/distortions in it. An amber glass/oil rubbed bronze pull knob and new hinges will grace it too. This was a big debate (in my mind :) "Do I take the chance of having it installed and then not liking it leaving me with a big hole in my wall ... or do I just go for it and use my gut instinct about it? I chose to use my gut and not my wishy-washy mind. You ask, but it's golden and brown??? Yes, you see, when the cream backsplash gets installed in the kitchen, there are iridescent gold and beige and eggplant glass tile accents. And my vintage dining room light has amber prisms (much like the ones used by Pollyanna in the book and movie ;). The French doors have been finished to match the front door; they grace the bonus room above the garage.

Getting things in high gear: This morning I stopped in to see what was going on in the finish production of our home. The painters were patching and sanding and prepping the interior trim molding prior to painting this week. The contractor was making the final decisions (with my help) on the design of the banister rail and newel post placement. Mr. Alarm guy was there finishing up the alarm system (and I thought he was done weeks ago). Mr. Cabinet guy was there inspecting the bead board interior of a kitchen cabinet that was replaced with the correct finish ... and adding the wooden shelves that have cutouts for future inset glass in said cabinet. I was informed that the granite people would be replacing the kitchen sink & counter top since it was a breach in their own policy that caused the wrong sink to be installed in the first place. DH was not pleased with the oversight nor was the contractor. It really was a pathetic sink as one side was not even big enough for more than a few cups and small saucers to rest inside of it. I have a similar sink in our rental and have had glass bowls and pots actually get quite stuck and this sink is even smaller. So I consented to having it replaced after saying I'd live with it. Hey, when you're paying this kind of money and someone else messes up like that, they should make it right, right?? Our master bathroom floor is installed and the shower is 3/4's tiled. With only three weeks until our agreed upon move-in date, things are happening fast.

Photos: Sink in question, tile in M/B shower, hickory floor, granite counter in M/bath

My builder will let me know officially tomorrow, but He thinks our move in date will be March 9th. He has to get the OK from the county planning office, which will be tomorrow sometime. Not too far off from the end of February; I can live with that. Today the granite counters were installed in the kitchen and two of the bathrooms. They came out bee-U-tee-ful ! I didn't have the heart to tell the builder that the granite people supplied the wrong kitchen sink ... there's nothing that could be done now ... and I'll just learn to love this one. Since it's an under mount and the sink holes are already in, nothing can be done . I'm not the type of person to have it all ripped out over something like that. Besides, the granite was hard to come by in this shade. Such a little woe when you consider much of what's going on the the world, and I AM getting a new house :) Wait til the cream color trim molding is in and the cream travertine back splash with a few bold iridescent glass accent pieces thrown in randomly are installed, then you'll see the connection of the wood and cream finishes and white modern appliances. (Trust me :)

Photos: Rock skirting under garage windows (front of house), Kitchen showing bead board at counter bar area (the bead board in the cabinet needs to be switched to a distressed cream color .. they put in white), rock fireplace surround with mantle.

Peeking in on the progress today, I found the front door installed. (The dark zig-zag lines are from a shadow). The windows have paper over them still, but I'm very pleased with the color. Down in the basement I found the fireplace ready for it's rock face and the split log mantel installed. It's got a fire going to help heat up the room until our furnace is officially turned on. Now I'll have to stain and varnish the log sometime next week. I'm becoming a regular "handy-woman".