Carol and Jodie came over last Friday and we kicked some electrical butt!!! Dennis K joined us as the five of us pulled the main power wires all the way under the crawl space and up into the panel – in conduit all the way! As if that wasn’t enough – Carol balanced the breaker layout in the panel and set Jodie on the fast-track to installing receptacles! The two bedrooms are properly ‘receptacled’!!! As soon as we get power into the house – we’ll have electricity coming out of the walls – instead of the miles of extension cords running everywhere! And Tonia brought her smiles and good cheer to chip away at a lonely and cold task: caulking the exterior joints between the rafters and siding/soffits. It can be a thankless and miserable and messy job – Tonia made it look effortless and fun! I provided buckets of thanks and gratitude! all right – we’re on a roll now! After a few days of cutting the v-groove shiplap that Jeff brought over a few weeks ago – Sarah and Teagan began the installation process. And what a process it is!! There are several complicating factors hindering our flow ( the fact that the boards are different widths, the fact that the boards are recycled and some of them are QUITE splintery, the fact that none of us has ever installed beat-up material on walls before – etc) – but we think we’ve worked the kinks out in the kitchen – and we expect to find our stride as we make our way to the other rooms. However – we ARE running out of this v-groove shiplap that came off of a granary in Montana. And while we have another pile of shiplap sitting outside -it does NOT have the v-groove and will not be a GREAT match if we run out of material mid-wall. Oh well, we’ll cross that slippery slope when we come to it… for now – ONWARD and up ward!! We hope to have a painting party on Friday – as Tonia is planning on returning – with recruits! – and paintbrushes – and we’ll tackle the interesting issue of ” Will the paint stick to this old very weathered wood?” Stay tuned. Meanwhile, back to the cutting board…

We’ve been on a ‘push’ to get the wiring and everything else that will be hidden in the walls completed before the insualtion is installed. I”ve used this kind of insulation ( Icynene ) before – and it’s touted as one of the many varieties of ‘green’ ( ie environmentally friendly ) insulation – i like it because of the claims that the only by-product of installing it is carbon dioxide that’s released in the air ( not formaldehyde or urethane ) and that it does NOT wick moisture. And Carol, my dear electrician friend, bless her heart, spent her Sunday with me, trouble shooting the various receptacle and light switch boxes that Teagan and Sarah have been pulling wire into per my instructions. We wanted to make sure that once the walls were covered in foam, that each of the boxes had the correct configuration of power-in and power-out and that the lights and receptacles would work according to plan. Teagan and I ran the last-minute wire for some bright lights that will illuminate the beautiful ceiling…if we find the right fixtures for less than the $250 each that the lighting designer showed us… the next time we light up the wood stove – we’re gonna be cooking! I can hardly wait! see new pics!