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

WWL Journal #4

We left for our camping trip on the Imnaha River on Thur. 4/24, saw hundreds of white tail deer and several turkeys, but no bear skin rug. By the time we returned, our house was really taking shape. I'll just share some pictures which I took between Wed. 4/30 and Fri. 5/2.

Awesome changes in three days.

Trusses going up.

Looking from the NE towards the front. The front door is the large hole on the left.

This is the view of the outside looking into our great room. Just imagine being on the inside looking out at the beautiful Cascade Mountains. Incredible!!!

I took this picture from Hwy. 97. It's a look from the NE corner of our property. The roof isn't on the great room yet. Hopefully, next week it will be covered. Tyler York and Josh are putting in the sewer system this week. The power and water are close to being connected.

Enjoy your week. I know we will be having a good time. Gail & Mike

WWL #3

Dear family and friends,

This is really happening!!!

During the week of 4/14-19, the under floor plumbing and HAVC (heating and coolong system) was installed and passed inspection.

We also picked our tile for the kitchen and master bath. It was such beautiful travertene stone that we added it to the other two baths and the laundry room floor.

Our goal has been to clean the property around the house. These are before and after pictures of the busted corrals we cleaned out.

This week (4/21-25) the flooring is being laid and excavation begins on the sewer and power lines. Mike and I are going to eastern Oregon to bear hunt (?) with a friend. So the project must continue without us.

I'll report next week; love all of you, Gail