Home at Last

Well I don't know how many are still with us as it has been over a month since we update this blog. But we have had people ask us when we were going to add more pictures. So here we go.

The first picture is obviously of the master bedroom. With all of the windows it seems like you are sleeping out in the fir trees.

The second is of about half of the gallery bookcase wall. It has some sense of organization and a comfortable feeling about it thanks to the help of Bethany. She spent a considerable amount of time deciding what should go where and how it should flow together. Thank goodness she was here to direct me or it would have been a jumbled up mess.

The next picture is of the living room from the gallery. It has a real relaxed atmosphere with all of the furniture in place. As we have said all along, the windows allow the outdoors in and it has an expansive feel about it.

We love the kitchen. It is spacious, yet very useful. We had 15 for dinner on Sunday. Peg's aunts & uncles plus Ian & Bethany. Another 4 last night. Mick & Debbie Strahle and Bob & Andy Simonson. Just the first of many fun occasions with family and friends. The whole design criteria for the house.

The idea of downsizing was a great one until you have to try and fit everything into a house that is over a thousand square feet smaller than the last one. It truly points out that we have collected too much stuff over the years. However what memory do you part with. Not a easy decision for me to cope with. So we still have too much stuff.

You will notice that there are still no pictures of the quilt studio, den or entry way. All areas that are still projects in the works. So that leaves it open for a few more posts to this blog.

Sorry Vic, I'm still working on it.

Take care everyone and let us know what you think.

Well folks it's done. Hard to believe that after all this time we actually can say it is where we live. People are asking if we are moved in yet and the answer is always a question of "how do you define moved in."

I usually tell everyone that all of the boxes are on the property. That's about it.

We started almost 3 years ago to the day. Peg's folks first filed the Measure 37 paperwork on June 6th, 2006. We spent the first might there on June 10th. How could we ever properly thank Peg's folks for their land, our son for his design, and the Amersons for their craftsmanship. You will have to see it to truly understand how much we enjoy the finished product.

We go to bed each evening with no sound. No traffic, no neighbors, and no sirens. Maybe a coyote or a grouse making a little noise but that's about it. The deer come and go pretty quietly.

For now you will have to settle for pictures of the outside. Ian took these last weekend when he and Bethany were out. They helped start filling the gallery bookcases with all of our "stuff" that we have gathered. It looks real nice and after we have sufficient boxes out of the way we will post a few more pictures of the inside.

The great room is pretty much intact now. With the kitchen complete, the dining room in pretty good shape and the family room portion all taken care of. (aka...The big screen is in place.)

We are working on the bedroom and Peg has her furniture in place in her room. That basically leaves the den and the garage which are my responsibility. So guess what??? They are not ready.

The one big issue that we are dealing with is that at this point we do not have e-mail at the house yet. So for those of you who are wondering why we aren't answering your messages, it is because we are not getting them.

So give us a couple of days and we will get more on here.

Take care, Ron & Peggy

Almost home!

Here are just a few pictures. The Amerson's are making some final adjustments today and say we can move furniture tomorrow. I can't believe we're finally here.

You can see by the picture in my sewing room that we made a couple trips last night with cupboard stuff. There are also clothes hanging in our closet.

The chairs are located off the east end of the house near our bedroom. A nice quiet place for morning coffee or away from the sun for an evening glass of wine.

Thanks for looking. Will post more as the moving process gets underway.

There's lots of activity at the house and it's coming to a close. We'd hoped to move in on June 5th but it looks like we'll have to wait a few days. The contractor could use a little more time and as of yesterday there isn't enough rock on the road to please the fire department to please the county to get an occupancy permit. The floors are getting their final coat today and will be drying through Thursday so no rock can be delivered during that time so not to create too much dust. So hopefully within the next week.

We have baseboards in the house and the last of the doors will be hung today. With the help of my Dad we have been working on the outside moving rocks and dirt around and planting shrubs and plants.

It's time to put the champagne in the frig. Thanks for looking.

We're almost there!

We're getting very close to having a completed house. I downloaded the pictures hoping to have the last one at the top so you could see the entry pathway. They've created a nice winding pathway with the concrete to be poured tomorrow.

Back to the top is the guest room which faces west. We put a fan in there to help with the heat that room receives from the setting sun. That room is done...can't wait to have guests!

The next picture is of the outdoor shower. The contractor suggested some tile on the side of the house instead of soapy water on the siding. Can't wait for a nice summer morning shower outside.

We spent Sunday and Monday of the holiday weekend landscaping with the help of my Dad and an abundance of rock that we have. We have some nice planting areas and you can see near the front door some decorate landscaping rocks.

We have a tentative move in date of June 5th. We are very excited!! Thanks for looking.

More Pictures

Ok, I found Peg's latest pictures so I'll be real short. I hope.

First of all a picture of the Gelbrich family taken this last Sunday morning. First time to have everyone together in a very long time. We have such an amazing family. Kids and grandkids to be so very proud of.

The fireplace has turned out fantastic. The tile that we put around it was a huge splurge, but it so sets the theme of the house in relationship to the fir trees that surround it. We highly suggest not going into Pratt & Larson in Portland unless you have just robbed a bank, but they have the most beautiful hand made tile in every imaginable motif.

The copper sink turned out nice and with the view it should make doing the dishes a little easier.

The last shot is of the master bath sinks with more of Kurt's work.

That's enough for today. Take care and be careful this weekend. Ron & Peg

Getting Closer

It's been awhile since we have taken the time to update the blog. There is so much going on up at the house that it is hard to get a chance to take any pictures without everything in the way. So here are a few quick ones and then I will try to get some taken this weekend.

Peg's Dad was the very first person to start on this project and continues to support us whenever asked. Here he is cutting us a toe for the start of the first rock wall. (Have we mentioned we have a little rock stacked arround?) With the grading left to go, no doubt he will also be the last person on the job.

The second picture of the master shower shows more of Kurt's work. We are very impessed with his craftsmanship. Thanks to his knowledge each of the tile issues has been dealt with quickly and everything looks great. Wait 'til we get a chance to show you the trees around the fireplace.

The last picture is of the first coat of finish on the floors from the den. It has really made the floors "pop" with color. A-1 Hardwoods out of Newberg have been the sub on this part of the house and to what extent I know anything about it, they have done a very good job.

Things are coming together very quickly now. The electrician is hanging lights, Kurt is finishing the tile, we have one more pass with the plumber, and Ron & Eric are working on everything from siding to trim. They are trying to get us in by the end of the month. We are so ready to move in.

Peg's in Eugene teaching. Let us know what you think and have a great Memorial Day Weekend and thank a Vet for making sure we have holidays. Ron & Peg

Interior Rock

Just a quick note tonight for those who have been wondering about the granite. For the first time since we started on the project we now have some rock that we want.

The black honed granite around the sink and that entire side of the kitchen is really a little darker than it shows in the picture. The granite with the two sinks is from the master bath and the single sink is in the guest bath.

The kitchen has really come together. Some more trim and some appliances and it will be done. Take care. Ron (Peg's in Salt Lake.)

Trimming Away

Because the guys are spending most of their time trimming out all the windows and doors, visual change is not so evident this week. So we will show some of the photos of areas maybe we haven't shown lately.

There are two pictures of the kitchen. They show the beginning of the window trim in that area and the fact that the counters are prepared for the granite to be laid. We understand that the plan is for that to take place today. The island will be a 4' x 10' patterned granite, from Brazil I think, called Jacaranda Wood. It is black with swirls of brown tones. According to Peg it is a slab that has lots of definition to it. Which is what I like.

The remaining counter tops in the kitchen will be of a granite that is called "honed black." No pattern and muted surface. The bathroom counter tops are of granite that I don't know what you call them.

The closet doors are in the guest bedroom. They are a three panel design that matches all the interior doors of the house. The doors and interior trim were all supplied by a company out of Portland. The small world connection continues here, because their representative is Joe. It turns out Joe is married to the daughter of good friends of ours from Ketchikan, Dan & Marilyn Loitz. The connections on this project never seem to end. Lots of fun.

The last picture is of the cabinets on the living room end of the great room. They have been in for a week or more, but I don't think we have included them in the blog.

The guys have a lot of trimming to get done. With all of the window frames and the wood between the windows to go, it has to take some time. They hope to be ready for floor finishing on the 13th. Please help wishing them luck in getting there. We are so anxious to move in.

More visitors over the weekend. Brad and Kelsey Crawford, our nephew and his wife, came up for the frist time and brought along his folks, Ron & Terri. Always a treat to see them. Greg and Bobbie La Berreia came by on Sunday. Nice to see them.

Dave and Alana Jones also came by. Life long friends from the Y-C group and among our closest friends. Was great to get to show Alana the house for the frist time. (I've drug Dave up there a couple of times.)

And last but by no means least we had an inspection tour by the architects. Ian and Bethany came out and we so enjoyed their visit. (As always.) Isn't it great when you love to be around your kids. We will get to live in a house designed by our son for the rest of our lives. Don't get much better than that.

Hope you are all doing well. Get ready to come visit. Ron & Peg

Cabinets Everywhere

There is much to report after the last few days. The progress as always goes in spurts and this last week has been exceptionally productive.
The top picture is of the almost finished master bathroom shower. Kurt only has the grout yet to complete in there. We couldn't be happier with how all the tile turned out and Kurt's professionalism. The contrast between the color of the floor and the color of the shower seems to be exactly what Peggy was looking for.

Only the entry, the fireplace, and the backsplashes in the bathrooms and kitchen are left as far as tile work goes. They have to wait for the granite work to be and floor finishing to be finished.

The biggest transformation in the house at the moment is the cabinetry that has been installed. The first picture of them is of the gallery bookcases. If we don't have enough space to display all of our stuff, then we have way too much stuff. They are fantastic. The picture shows only a little over half of them. It does not show the doored cabinets that are at the kitchen end of gallery. Ian told his Mom early on that she would have more than enough storage in the house. Tonight she agreed that was definitely the case.
The second picture is of the wall in Peg's quilt studio. The cabinets are for storing her "fabric stash" and other things that she wants out of the light and sight. The cubby holes along the bottom were designed to fit some baskets she found that will hold her scraps by color. The bare wall in the middle will be a space to hang a wall hanging yet to be designed and the far right will hold all her quilt books. (Or at least some of them.)
The next shot is of the bookcases in my den. Besides the obvious that you can see, it is wired to hang a flat screen on the wall in the center of middle bookcase.
The last picture is of the kitchen with the island in place. It has turned out to be bigger than we had imagined with plenty of room and once again lots of storage. Once the granite is in it should all come together nicely.
The hardwoods are all down. They only have a half dozen heat registers to complete and then in a few weeks the sanding & finishing.
Lots of visitors over the weekend. Bob & Andy Simonson and Julie (Simonson) Loggains, life long friends from here at Y-C. Terry and Jan Amerson, my sister and her husband, brought their grandkids up for a visit. Scott Dumdi & his fiance, Lindsey, came by to check out the house. Scott is the son of long time friends from here as well.
Hope we can see all of you up there sometime soon. Ron & Peg

The Rewards of Patience

We have been trying to convince ourselves that if we would be a little more patient, and skip a day or two between visits to the house, we would be rewarded with bigger results each time. It always sounded like a good idea, but we have never found the strenght to do it. However last night we had an opportunity to meet some friends from Alaska, Bill & Jean Makie, for dinner in Portland. We had a great time with old friends while catching up with all that is happening in K-town. Plus the progress over the last two days has been very substantial.

On the outside Ron and Eric have been working on getting the siding completed around the house. The first picture is of the walkway from the front door to the side door of the garage. The windows here are into the den (1st two on the left) and then Peggy's quilt studio. We are very pleased with how the house looks from this angle. Now all we have to do is get the parking above arranged so that everyone comes in that door.

While the Amersons have been working outside there has been just as much if not more going on inside. The hardwood floor guys have completed the great room, the gallery and have framed in the tile area for the entry. That means they only have the entry plus Peg's room and the den to go. It looks so good already and will be even better after the sanding and finishing are done.

Then there are the cabinets. The laundry room is completed except for the top of the bench and the counter top. Plus all of the kitchen is done except for the island. We understand that it will go in tomorrow along with the bookcases around the fireplace.

We really like the color that the cabinets turned out. The design of them is exactly what we wanted. A simple craftsman style with a small bead on the inner lip. And I really like the idea that they are made of alder.

Peg has never had as much storage in a kitchen in any of our other houses. (We should be able to store most of the junk we have collected. ) Plus the amount of light continues to be something that is obviously going to be advantagous.

Can't wait to see what everything looks like after all the windows and doors are trimmed out in wood. It will certainly bring everything together.

Kurt has finnished the shower in the master bath with the exception of the grout and the short wall between the shower and the sink vanity. It couldn't look any better and we are very pleased with his work.

We hope that we will be in soon and everyone will come and visit. Until then everyone take care and drop us a line with your comments.

Thanks for checking in.

Ron & Peggy.

Wood floor, siding, cabinets and tile

Wow, I'm gone for a few days and what progress! The siding is going on. It's a cement board that looks like shakes. We wanted real shakes but the maintenance made us choose differently. It looks great.

Kurt has set the floor tile in both bathrooms and the pebbles on the floor of the shower. We were short on the shower wall tile so it had to be ordered out of Texas and just arrived. So far everything is matching. Whew!

The big news is that the floor finally dried out enough for the wood floor to be laid. Yesterday, half of the great room was completed. We're told when the kitchen area is completed the cabinets will arrive. As you can see some cabinets are in place, the bathrooms and most of the laundry room.

Ron and Charles Juenemann spent time up there over the weekend cleaning up, arranging rocks and planting shrubs. With the beautiful weather we're having the shrubs were calling for water.

We're excited about how it's looking. We're so ready to move in!

A big thanks to Ian, Bethany and Carlyle Construction.

Thanks for looking!

Wow, I was away for a few days and our contractor's have made great progress. Ron also does a great job at updating you while I'm away. He is a much better writer than I.....

The top pictures shows the exterior window trim. The windows are sort of a taupe/gray and the trim a grayed brown. The siding is stacked around the house and we can't wait to see it up. Of course we've held it up to check it out. Permanently attached would be great.

The next two pictures are of the bathrooms. Our nephew Kurt Crawford is doing a great job. His work is great and he successfully found a few extra shower tiles we needed in Texas...all sold out in Portland. Our master bath has a heating unit under the tile. A nice splurge that I think we will really enjoy.

Yesterday, Ron and I spent time clearing brush and burning. Our ultimate goal is to have a "parked out" setting. From the feel of our bodies last night we were getting good exercise without exercising.

The house is coming along and we couldn't be happier with our contractors, Ron and Eric Amerson of Carlyle Construction, our daughter-in-law, Bethany, for her support and color choices and especially our son Ian, the architect who designed our beautiful home. Thanks for looking.