Some landscaping pictures

These were taken before the moose completely munched the greenery. The plastic bags hanging from the Serviceberry tree don't do the trick, I'm going to have to build a full on cage for the poor thing.

A new swing for Bea and a fire pit!

At Bea's request (eh-hem, repeated request), I built her a swing this afternoon. As soon as it was finished, she hopped in and commenced swinging for a good two hours straight shouting and cheering gleefully "I'm flying!" and "I can touch the clouds!" Talk about easily pleased.
We also managed to put together a very respectable fire pit, as were our instructions from Nana and Grandpa...speaking of who are on the other end of the phone in the picture of Bea at the bottom. Also a picture of Herbie and Tubby to show that they've adjusted to their new home quite nicely.

Outdoors pictures

PP Throw and Bea build a shed.

Matt's dad, John (aka PP Throw) is building us a shed with some assistance from Bea.

Moving In!

We had a great swarm of friends descend and help to move us on Saturday and we're still unburying ourselves from the boxes. It's great to be home.

Pins and Needles!

We're just giddy waiting for the paperwork to make it's rounds so that we can close! Ack!

Cha-ching!

The results of our energy rating last week were very exciting. We've met the Five Star Plus certification (read more about this here) and are now eligible to receive the $7500 new home rebate. Plus the added bonus of having a very efficient and properly ventilated home that is cheaper to heat. With a cherry on top!

Bea models the finished product...

THE. HOUSE. IS. DONE.

Wow! It's done. Inspections, energy rating and appraisal are all complete...just one more additional inspection on Sunday (silly requirement for the HOP funds we're getting) and then onto closing. Tonight all you get is a before and after shot of the exterior, this weekend I'll update with pictures of the inside. G'night!

Nearly done....onto the piddly details

Well, the carpet is down in the master bedroom, the appliances are installed (check out that BEAUTIFUL refrigerator!), the kitchen counter is on, the stairs are trimmed out (dad put pretty little pedestals at the bottom step), the windows are caulked, and everything is picked up. It's really happening! Remember when it was just a big muddy hole in the ground? I do and it's so hard to believe that this is the house we get to live in now. What a huge gift. It will be weird for a while, sort of like living in a hotel, but I imagine we'll adjust.

Can't figure out how to turn the photos, but here they are. The Osmo finish is fantastic, I just hope that it performs how it claims to.
From the ecohaus website:

"Not to be confused with traditional oil finishes, OSMO Hardwax Oil is an engineered finish made with plant oils and waxes, plus just enough highly refined mineral spirits to allow easy application. This remarkable finish offers excellent durability and renewability with a unique lustrous finish. It will never crack, blister or flake off. Instead of forming a plastic film, like polyurethane does, OSMO Hardwax Oil has open pores that "breathe." This allows any moisture that does get through to get back out again without pushing off the finish.
Because it is microporous, Hardwax Oil works well in rooms with high humidity, such as kitchens. It meets German standards for resistance to stains from wine, cola, coffee, tea, fruit juice and, of course, beer."

It really brings out the grain of the spruce and makes it a rich golden color. Some of the stairs are so beautiful with big knots and multi-tonal patterns.

Applying the finish

Three coats so far of the Osmo-hardwax. It's labor intensive going down, but it's truly beautiful stuff.

bathroom tile and island lighting