It’s about six weeks overdue, but last weekend at the gun show, I bought Verna her anniversary present. It’s a hand carved native American style necklace. Other than the kachina figurine, the stones are all carved into the shapes of animals. She has been looking for something like this for a while. We’re both glad we found the necklace. Click on the image to enlarge.
I don’t often get her to sit still enough to pose for a picture, but this afternoon, she laid on the floor after taking a walk with us. I snapped this one when she wasn’t quite the blur she normally is . . .
Click on the image to enlarge.
We dropped the dogs off at the groomer for baths and a trim for bear. We attended the gun show in town and then went out to the new house to bask in the afterglow of a very satisfying week. The kitchen and bathrooms cabinets are all installed and they look great! Interior paint looks complete and we have seen and approved the exterior paint color.
We spent a bit of time wandering around the lot, looking at the layout and discussed where we wanted to put rock gardens, foliage, walls and dog run. It was a lot of fun to anticipate how we will be personalizing the new place.
In the photo above, we’re standing on the front porch with the great room window behind us and our master bedroom to the left of the front door. Click on the image to enlarge.
We went out to the property today to view the paint samples they applied to the exterior. There were two samples; one on the shady side of the house and one on the sunny side. Here is a composite photo that Bob made of both, shade and sunny side, respectively.
When Kevin, our contractor asked us what color to use, I gave him a small vial of red dirt I collected from a roadside not too far from Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. “Match this,” I said. I think he did a pretty good job!
I walked up the hill behind our new house this morning on a cloudy Wickenburg day and snapped this two-image composite of it as seen from my elevated vantage point. Click on the image to enlarge.
We’re back in Arizona this evening. We left California this morning and arrived late afternoon. We stopped at the new build to take care of some business with our contractor. As usual, when we’re away for a couple of weeks, we find that a lot of progress has been made on the new house.
Image: exterior progress as of 10/20/2010. Click to enlarge.
As of late Wednesday evening, the exterior stucco coat is complete and the interior paint primer will be dry tomorrow. On Friday, they will begin painting the exterior while the interior final coat is applied. Next week, the custom cabinets will be installed in the kitchen and both bathrooms.
We will be busying ourselves with shopping for electrical and plumbing fixtures for the rest of this trip. The granite counter tops should be installed in the next couple of weeks. We can’t wait to post photos of some of the completed rooms.
