First off, I apologize for taking so long to get another post up, but time has been flying by and since we are mostly working on finishing, sometimes it doesn’t feel like I have anything ‘big’ to share.
Quick update on what is going on with Aron and I. I’m still working 3 days a week in Nelson. I enjoy the job and have made some good friends and get to meet a lot of people in the community. And to be honest, 3 days of work is just the perfect amount. Aron took a contract in Calgary for 5 months, starting in July. It was a bit of an adjustment for both of us, having him away, but he flies home every weekend, so that makes it bearable. The flight is around an hour long, so we usually gets two full days at home on the weekend.
We have had a few guests since my last post. Our daughter Alexa came out in the spring, she was our first official guest. Then early in July our son Aaron and his wife Sonya and our granddaughter JJ came for a week. It was fun to see JJ enjoying the river and the beach and just loving the outdoors. Can’t wait for her to come again next year. August long weekend Alex and her boyfriend Mitch are coming as well as Jesse and his girlfriend Pei-Chi. that should be a fun visit and keep us busy!
JJ enjoying playing with her doll
Probably the best way to get you caught up with all the changes is to do a walk through of the house.
I won’t include an exterior photo as we it doesn’t look to different. We did get the gutters installed, which doesn’t really change the look much, but sure does help when it rains!
Well start with the front porch
We got our concrete (aggregate) power washed and sealed. It looks so much better now and is much nicer to keep clean. We’ve added a bench for some seating. I finally sealed the tongue and groove ceiling but we still need to finish all the rock and stain the front door, but it’s looking pretty good.
Come on in!
Not much has changed here. Still need to tile the floor. You can see one tile sitting there, it is basically stones sliced flat. We also have our fireplace mantle stored against the wall. We were testing stain samples on it, we are going with the dark stain in the middle.
Laundry room is next, no photo this time. Nothing much changed, but once we get the backsplace and the counter over the washer and dryer installed, I’ll post a new picture.
Powder Room
Pretty close to complete in this room. Just need to hang the mirror and finish the backsplash. We are pretty happy with how this room turned out.
Onto the kitchen
Not much changed here. Still have quite a bit to do: finish range hood installation, put up backsplach, get last cabinet installed, finish crown molding and under cabinet lighting. Can’t wait until Aron has time some day to make us a nice big wooden dining table.
I’m not bothering with a picture of the pantry yet. It has been painted, but the hardwood still needs to be installed. Once we get the floor down, we can put in our metal shelving and then unpack all our kitchen boxes. Can’t wait for that day!
Next, the Great Room! This has a big surprise in it now (we have been saving and waiting to purchase this item for many years, so excited to finally have it)
We finally got our new Suzuki electronic mini-grand piano. It is so fun to have and I know both Aron and I will enjoy it very much over the years. As for the rest of the great room, no major changes. Still need to finish the fireplace. Probably won’t happen for quite a while. It will look great to have it finished, but it isn’t high priority.
Heading for the Master Bedroom
No big changes here. Really enjoying the space, just need to get our barn door into the ensuite hung up.
Master Ensuite
Quite a few changes here. Floor installed (heated), toilet with bidet seat, vanity, counters, sinks and faucets installed. Still waiting for our big illuminated mirror, will probably arrive next month some time. I didn’t include the shower and tub area in the photo. They are still incomplete.
Next, Master closets
This is just a glimpse into my side of the closets. Alexa was a huge help in putting together all the closet storage, including these shoe shelves as well as drawer and shelving units. Still need to get the clothing rod and shelves installed. Then we can finally unpack all our clothing, that will be great!
Heading for the second main floor bedroom (or exercise room, as we call it)
We finally cleared out all the tools and clutter in the room, so we could use it for JJ’s visit. As you can see we still have our Master ensuite tub and some flooring stored here. Once the room is cleared out we can bring in our treadmill, Bowflex and sauna. We should still have room to keep this futon so we can use this room for guests.
Let’s head upstairs!
Aron worked really hard to get the newels and railing installed. I stained and sealed them. They turned out really good. Last weekend we started putting in the wrought iron balusters. We hope to finish them up this weekend.
On the second floor we finally have our glass panels installed. We love how it kept the upstairs space feeling open and didn’t impact the view out the great room windows.
Welcome to the second floor
The second-floor open space is a multi-purpose area. We have some seating (to relax and enjoy the view), a table for gaming or hanging out and our office area at the back. We finally got our desks and computers all set up. If we need extra space, we can also rearrange some of the furniture and easily put a blowup mattress in this space for guests.
Onto the second floor bathroom
We finally have all the tiling done around the tub and got the showerhead installed. This has been great, as we have been only able to use the tub before this. We still need to finish the backsplash, but this bathroom is just about completed. Aron did a great job on the tiling, it was a lot of work!
And finally the upstairs bedroom
Overall, not too much changed. We did get the TV installed and some black-out blinds. Ready for our next guests!
We are still very much enjoying our view. It has been quite a rainy summer so far, so everything is green and beautiful.
Can’t wait until next year when we get the grass down and finish our landscaping
We did plant our garden again and it is doing well. All the plants I started from seeds survived and are thriving. Even all my flowers have done well and I’m already enjoying having fresh flowers in the house.
It has been fun living here as we get to see the hummingbirds coming around almost daily.
Well that’s about it for now. You’ve basically had a full tour of the house! We are getting closer all the time, but still have a lot left to finish up. With Aron being away during the week, our pace has definitely slowed down. I’ll try to post an update at least every few weeks, but don’t expect too many changes!
