December @ WWL

Merry Christmas,








We have now lived in our lodge for almost 2 months. I'm still pinching myself daily; can't believe we live in such a beautiful home. Most of our time has been spent getting the outside prepared. We installed an irrigation system; 7000 sq. ft. of sod; 7 huge landscape rocks; trees, shrubs, and grasses; and 5 dump truck loads of gravel in preparation for a wedding.

Tonight we received our first blanket of snow. The landscaping was finished just in time. The full moon shining on white new lawn in spectacular.

On Dec. 20th, Todd is marrying Tina Mallorie in our home. This picture shows Tina helping me prepare Thanksgiving dinner. It was so enjoyable to work in my spacious kitchen with my future daughter-in-law.





Life is good.





I will be sending my Christmas cards after the wedding, so this is my pre-Christmas greetings.




Thanks to all of you for sharing our experience.



Gail

IT'S FINISHED!

It is now Sunday, October 19th; we are watching the Boston/Devil Rays final game in our NEW house!!!!! We moved some of our furniture in last Sunday with the help of Ben, Josh, Todd, and Tina. Then Thursday, Josh and Kyle Crafton (bless his heart) helped move most of the rest of the big furniture. With the bedroom setup, we spent our first night here. It's wonderful, beautiful, everything we hoped it would be and more.

Our patio is now finished. We installed about 900 square feet of cobblestone pavers. Hard work, but it is beautiful. We had some excellent help from Josh, Ben, Christyn, Mark, Ginger, good friends John and Michelle Crafton, and Josh's coaching buddy, Brian. Without these great people, we would be laying pavers in the snow. Thanks to each of you!

This next picture is taken from our patio. It shows why we chose this property to build our dream home.

I hope you have enjoyed sharing our journey. This has been an exciting adventure. We aren't finished yet: landscaping, building a shop, then a barn, and getting ready for 2 (TWO) weddings. Todd and Tina will get married Dec. 20th here, and Ben and Christyn plan for a late August or early September here, also. Wow! Yea! What fun and what an honor!

Hugs and kisses to each of you, Gail

WWL #9

Hello Family and Friends,


Our house is so close to being finished. I am ready to move now.



Last weekend Josh and I attended Neal's 50th birthday party. I was showing my blog to Loraine and Dennis Smith, friends from Australia. I realized that so much has changed and you don't have an update. We now have water, lights, and heat and air conditioning. The carpet is being installed next Mon. 9/22. Final cleaning and final inspection should be next Wed. Then the work begins...moving!

We moved the cows to their new home last week. Happy, happy cows aren't just in California.




As if this excitement isn't enough, we have awesome news: Todd and Tina Mallory became engaged in August. They plan on getting married this spring. and... Ben and Christyn became engaged Labor Day weekend. They are looking at a summer wedding. I am extremely happy with my future daughters. What a wonderful year we are having!!!!!

WWL #8

Hello friends and family,

I can't believe it has been over a month since my last posting. We have been very busy getting the new property ready to move the cattle to their new lush pastures. There is work to be done in Redmond: getting things ready to move, cleaning, and making trips to the Goodwill or the dump. I'm including some room contrast pictures to show you how things have changed over the last month.

Looking towards the kitchen. All the exposed wood will be laquered Monday. Knotty alder is beautiful when it is finished.

Mom and Dad came to check out our house in July. You can see from the picture taken today the ceiling is in, the fireplace is almost done, and the loft railing is getting close.

We moved our trailer to the new house and stay there about 3 nights a week. Our first night we watched a beautiful sunset. The mornings are easier since Mike gets up early and I like to sleep a little later. Fixing meals is much easier, too. The outside of the house is finished except the rock veneer where you see white Tyvek. We also need to put pavers on the front, north, west, and south porches. Tentative move in date is second week in September. ONE MONTH!!!!

WWL Journal #7

WWL Journal #7

Since our last journal entry, progress seemed slow. Then last week, everything started moving. It is beginning to look like a house. This picture shows the finished roof and the Tyvek wrap. This is the view as you drive up the driveway.

The same day I took this picture of Mike inside the great room in front of the future fireplace. You can see the stairway up to the loft. It also shows the blown in insulation. That was a fascinating process. The had the walls covered and insulation blown in two days. Impressive.

The door to the left is our entry and the door in the center leads to our suite.

The next two pictures were taken today (Wed. 7/2). The sheetrock is hung and the first mud coat is done. I am now in the process of picking inside wall colors...overwhelming! We just picked the outside stain color this weekend and they began spraying the pine siding today.

This is looking at the kitchen, loft, and entry door. Looking at our bedroom from the SW view.

Mike and I are headed to Whitney Valley to visit our friend Harold to ride and relax. Back to decision making on Monday.

We hope you all have a fun and safe 4th. Gail

WWL #6

Hello everyone,


I realized it's been 3 weeks since my last update. We have been busy making decisions and being with family. Neal, Brendan, Daniel, and Cameron spent Memorial Day weekend. Josh and I were able to see some good baseball games and cuddle with Cameron. Fun!


Now, an update on Keith: He is recovering; the doctor is pleased with his progress. Here is a picture of him last week here with Jadelynn and Jaylee.

Finally, our house. It is now 40% completed (whatever that means - it's still not ready to move in.) We met with the electrician last Monday. For 7 hours we walked through each room marking where lights will be, the switches to control them, and outlets ( I will have LOTS of them) The electricians are now wiring all the rooms. We are trying to pick light fixtures. Wow! So many choices.

This week the final pieces are being put on the outside timbers and porches. This final beam was put up last Friday over the west facing porch. It's awesome.

The roof is also almost finished. It's beautiful; if a roof can be beautiful. The owner of the roofing company is a friend of Mike's from UPS. I like that we're hiring people we know.

Good night all. I send more pictures soon. Gail and Mike

WWL Journal #5

The house is really taking shape. This picture is taken from the NW angle. You can see the two guest bedrooms with sliding glass doors that face the mountains. If you visit and stay here, you will walk out from the bedroom to the covered patio. The covered porch is under construction. The door on the north end leads to the mud room. I will have a room with a washer, dryer, and laundry sink. I won't have to slide a curtain to do laundry. Yeah!



I know we waited too long to build and move. I had to buy a 'new to us' washer and dryer. My old ones died, so I found some slightly used Whirlpool set for $100. It's nice to have working machines. I still refuse to get a new stove even though only one burner works. I'm holding out for my 5 burner gas stove.

This is a picture from the SW corner of the great room. You can see the front door in the right corner. This also shows my kitchen with a loft for the grandkids above it.

I find myself walking through the house placing furniture and hanging pictures. I would move in today if Chuck, our builder, would let me. It's hard to continue being patient.

We picked out our roofing, finalized the appliances, measured for the cabinets, and picked the stone for the fireplace. Fun week.

Thursday night we got a phone call from Keith. He had cut his wrist on a broken window, went to the emergency room in Prineville, and was being transferred to Bend. After a miserable night and morning, he had 4 hour surgery where they reattached 1 artery, 1 nerve, and 14 tendions. This will be a 6 - 8 week recovery. He is lucky!

It's 101 degrees here today, so we are sitting in front of a fan. Our new house has an actual heating and cooling system. Wow!

Everyone take care and have a great week. Gail