January Progress...into February

January was a cold month for us in Miami.  On the eve of the new year, we found our last window for a bargain at a Habitat Restore in Denver, and with its installation in Janurary, we have a wonderful workspace with great light. 

January's inventory of housework may look a little light, but with our battles of the bugs (head cold, not infestation), windy weather, and other work to do, the list really isn't so bad.  Aside from installing our new window, Tom and Pop got the trim for the windows cut, and I gave them a quick coat of green paint to match our roof.  Pop and Andres came over on a Sunday afternoon to continue berming up dirt along the house where it has settled from snow melt off the roof.  We finished sheeting the walls of our cellar, and even affixed a handle on the door to pull it open from the inside.  The kitchen window - the little bay/garden window - now has a roof to keep the moisture out.  And we pulled up half the tarp over the floor and chalked in our first floor walls, not to mention all the sweeping and tidying to be able to pull the tarp and chalk the lines.

So it's already February, and to kick it all off, Tom and Pop hung window trim Saturday morning on six of our 25 windows.  Then, with great fanfare and whoop-whooping, we erected our first wall upstairs!!! 

This is the south wall of the master bathroom.

(The newest window is the one on the far right - it faces west.)

It was pretty awesome getting this wall up - one of few that doesn't have a door on it, so it was the easiest for me to start.  We have a lumber order in for delivery in the next week, plus the siding.  That means we will be able to work inside or outside, depending on the weather.  In the evenings we've been doing lots of strategizing about kitchens and closets and doodling different layouts of the bathrooms.  This part might make Tom crazy, though I am trying to tone it down.  We just keep chipping away at the to-do list, and I'll do my best to keep posting pictures of our progress.

Tom's other job, the ones that pays the bills - not the one that's putting a new roof over our head, has come to an end.  The last weeks were terribly stressful, as his colleagues fully realized all that they would have to do on their own.  It was mostly a seamless transition into a new job, still working for the county but up two flights of stairs from his old office.  He is now the Emergency Management Coordinator.  His fourth day on the job, he is busy and working longer hours as he gets settled.  There is a lot to sift through, and it has its own stresses, though he is a lot happier about what he is doing.