Hi Ho, Hi Ho, we got our CO!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, we got our CO!!!!!!

On Thursday November 17th the inspector came by and signed off on our final building approval. We weren't here, we were in Franklin.

We finished these little platforms when it was dark so I didn't have photos of them. We needed them for the inspection but we made them so we could remove them after getting the CO. They are actually a little dangerous and awkward. We all have tripped over them since we put them in. They will make nice bases for our firewood.

Craig and a helper came by from Willow Creek to take a look at the chimney. It was a rainy day and Craig couldn't get any farther than where he is in this photo to measure the chimney height. They returned sometime in the week and added another pipe and bracing.

On Wednesday, November 16th, Jessie came by to do the final HOT check of the lights and outlets. It was so exciting to see everything light up. Everything checked out A-OK.

Jane doing her best "Vanna" - she was pretty thrilled about the lights as well.

Jim holds his enthusiasm in... can you tell!

Jane and I hung a towel bar, robe hook and a toilet roll holder in my healing room bath.

Jim started staining the divider wall between his office space and the living area. It is looking good.

We spent a few days at the cabin at Tom and Kathy's while Jane was visiting. Luna fell in love with Jane and we thought she might end up in Jane's suitcase. 

On Saturday, the day before Jane headed home, we went into Asheville to see the Ginger Bread House competition at the Grove Park Inn. It was amazing. If you have never seen it and happen to be in the area it is worth a stop. 

On Sunday, the day Jane headed home, we put her to work one more time. She helped me mop most of the main floor.

It was quite a task. You can tell from the photo above how dirty the floor was when you compare it to the floor in the door way in the left of the photo. It was a three bucket job. Constantly rinsing the mop with fresh water to get rid of all the dirt that has been tracked in. Makes you wonder how much of that stays when tile or carpet is added. Makes you go Hummmmmmm!

Jim was busy scraping the floors in each room before Jane and I arrived with the mop and buckets. Some areas of the floor had lots of over spray from ceiling insulation and mud from drywall.

We finally gave her a break. Times up! Back to work. 

Actually, Jim, Jane and I all flaked out on the sofa at the end of the afternoon and Jane and I fell asleep. The passive solar windows are working.

Monday, November 21st Jim called me from the house to let me know the power had been turned on. Exciting! 

I missed out on the big day because I had to stay in Franklin to do a pre-record session for my internet radio program I've been preparing for.

It is so great to have Electricity. All the bulbs we are using are either LED or Florescent. Both use a lot less electricity and you can get a larger selection of color temperatures now, compared to when they first came out. The LED are the most efficient and long lasting but they do cost a lot more. You can bulbs that you can dim in both LED and Florescent and electricity savings will pay for the bulbs.

Jim also started painting the living area walls but just hasn't finished yet. Everything will get done eventually.

Yet to come...

Sundance may be here on Monday to begin the final installation steps for our solar hot water so we can heat the house and take hot showers.

The shower doors should be arriving soon. We ordered one for our shower and one for the basement bathroom. The healing room bath needs a rod and curtain - need to go shopping for that. 

Our refrigerator, range and dishwasher are due next Thursday so I won't be cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving. We will be at Tom and Kathy's this year.

Today is 11/22/11

We are spending our first night in our house tonight. We don't actually have a bed yet, but we do have that huge sofa and some excellent space heaters. It was just too tempting to resist since we finally have lights and flushing toilets - I'm a bit over the port-o-john.

(Thanks Al for the use of the heater.)

We are feeling tons of gratitude for all we have so it is very fitting that this is the week we begin to officially move in to our new home. 

A big thanks to Jane for spending her vacation with us and helping us out with all our projects. There aren't many people in the world that would do that. We love you Jane!

We can't wait to share our new home with our friends and family.