April 1-7
 Spring is definitely here - the weather has been very warm and sunny since we returned from
Tucson. We wonder if we will see any more snow? The snow cap is very low and drought is a real probability this
summer.
Ironically, with this weather, we are working indoors. However, Jenny takes
time off from running our business most afternoons to spend an hour or two staining the siding and door/window
casing.
 Meanwhile
we are now into serious drywalling. We had 160 4x8 sheets delivered (they stood almost 8' tall before we
started putting them up). It's not a difficult job, but it's strenuous and nowhere close to being our favorite
work. We should be through in 2 weeks and we've decided to have Duane Sandridge tape and texture, as he did
upstairs - they work so much faster and more skillfully than we could, and we have plenty of staining and other
jobs to do during those 3-4 days.
The bath tubs, sink, toilet and faucets (taps) were ordered.
We brought several of our family heirlooms out of storage and hung them around
the house - stained glass/leaded lights (e.g. the "bluebirds" shown here) made by my grandfather
(William Sampson) almost 100 years ago.
The "Daly Crest" piece (shown in the photo album) was made by my
cousin, David Sampson, the third and last generation of the stained glass/leaded light family artists.
Our first living room furniture was also delivered - a sofa and armchair, so
finally we can sit in front of the fire (now that the weather is warm!)
Saturday we drove to Edwards for Jennifer's baby shower (we'll be Grandad and
Granny in mid May - God willing) - a very pleasant day off (the men lazed around all afternoon, enjoying doing nothing!
Sunday, after church, I paid for the rest by doing cleanup and adding more insulation downstairs.
April 8-14
  Another
week of drywalling (we'll be glad when it's over!), adding "nailers" (studs missed by the framers),
and completion of missing insulation saw this work almost finished.
We couldn't finish the bathrooms - still waiting for an error to be fixed that
was made last June! The plumbers worked from an old plan (or something?), so the waste pipes need to be moved,
and that requires the concrete slab to be dug up! Next Monday is the new "promise".
We're also awaiting the building permit to officially finish the
basement - all things come in time.
We have a bid for taping and texturing ($3600) - pretty reasonable: thanks
Duane! Duane Sandridge (Roaring Fork Interiors) did such a good job for us upstairs, he was first choice
when it came to finishing our drywall work downstairs, where we want a professional finish. We hope he can
finish before the end of April. Finally someone came from a gutter company - we should have gutters by the end
of April too.
 Our most interesting project this week was finding, buying, chain sawing and erecting some
very special beams for our bar/pub downstairs. These are very old beams from a barn, complete with the mortise
and tenon joint holes - very rustic. They'll give the area a perfect "olde english" look. Our source
was Greg Gimbel (Roaring Fork Log Homes) who will build our log snooker table later this year - he's a
lovely chap, with a workshop at the bottom of the CMC road (for you locals).
Kevin left on Thursday for Austin, Texas (he is a groomsman at a friend's
wedding next weekend) - we plan to follow him for a training weekend near Austin, leaving next
Thursday.
I spent most of Saturday and Sunday adding the drywall screws (10 lbs. of
them!) - about two thirds of the work is done - and Jenny stained more window and door frames.
April 15-18
A short week, as we drove to Balcones Springs, near
Austin Texas, on Thursday/Friday for a fabulous "bootcamp" (weekend training for our business).
Before we left, Ben and I finished all the drywall and wonderboard (for
bathroom tiles) that we could. Now we just need to get the drywall inspected, then Duane can tape and texture.
April 22-26
 While we were in Dallas, Texas
(following the bootcamp) Kevin was in sole charge (and lonely!) He spent the week, finishing some drywall,
staining the fascia (ready for gutters next week), and adding screws to the deck boards - a job that's long
overdue.
He also successfully obtained our building permit for completing the basement
(also overdue!), and arranged for Duane's guys to start taping and texturing - once again, Duane responded
quickly and professionally (we can really recommend Roaring Fork Interiors for drywall and painting).
On our return on Friday, it was good to see the progress they and Kevin had
made. Ben is working on a project for the Avon Fire Dept., so he kept busy too, in our absence.
The sunsets in spring are spectacular - here's the view from our deck with the
setting sun reflected on Mt. Sopris.
April 29-30
The drywallers worked all weekend and finished up on Monday morning - great!
Kevin and I spent Monday and Tuesday clearing all the rubble from the front of
the house (ready for the driveway to be made), and organizing all the extra lumber, ready to go back for a
refund (hopefully!) We have enough left to build another (small) house!
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Come back soon to check on our continuing progress, now that we are in.
God bless,
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