Brad and I have a lot of exciting progress to report from March!
Our beautiful master shower was completed in March by Owens Tile, Carpet & Corian. It’s a small business on West 9th Street in Owensboro that patiently stuck with three design changes on the shower until we (Sarah) finally found the perfect tile and design for this shower. The work went quickly and looks superb. The shop also supplied us with the luxury vinyl flooring that Brad now is working on installing in the upper level of the home.
Our electrician has been very busy hanging lights and getting our electrical outlets working, too. We now have in place ceiling fans, bathroom lights and fans, kitchen lighting, a kitchen vent hood, and outdoor lighting. A special request also was made to hang a red light for Sarah in the library. The light had been purchased long ago, but the general contractor (Brad) had forgotten to have the wiring done prior to drywall installation. Things happen. The electrician was able to work around this, however, and still install the light where Sarah wanted it. We had a backup plan for the light, but it just wouldn’t have been the same. A thousand thank you’s to our very patient electrician who I know thinks Sarah is crazy over this red light.
Brad also put up our John Deere mailbox on Owl Town Sand Cut Road in March. Sarah sent him a test letter, and we have mail service! So this is an exciting step. We feel official.
On March 21, Brad began installing bathroom flooring in the guest bath. He learned a few tricks in that bathroom. He moved on to the master bathroom where the process seemed easier for him, and he finished that project by March 23. By March 26, we had the toilet installed in our guest bathroom and working! My little nieces were happy to use the brand-new toilet when they visited on Easter Sunday to see the home’s progress with their parents and go on a small hike with Uncle Brad. Their mother warned me that the 3-year-old told her mom that she is moving in with us and bringing her sister with her. I seriously doubt this would last long, but I think we have a fan of Maisto Mountain!
In addition to a working toilet, we also have three of the home’s four bathroom sinks working, kitchen sinks running, and all of our showers running. The plumbing is coming along nicely! We also have been taking care of other details, such as ordering vent register covers, a doorbell and doorbell buttons, and making sure we know the proper size rugs we will need to pick up at IKEA during our next visit. We purchased a new sectional and a recliner (Brad’s request) for the new great room, too, from a nice outlet store in Evansville and will have those delivered once we are ready for them. Just this week, Brad painted the kids’ playroom (the Narnia room, as well call it) and installed flooring in there. He also is working on getting the basement concrete flooring super clean so that he can coat that floor tomorrow (April 9). We are expecting door and trim delivery soon as well, which is the next big project.
The day after Easter (March 28), Culberson Concrete, the same company that poured our foundation, started the concrete work for our front entry, back porch and retaining wall. It was completed the following weekend. The work looks wonderful, and having the steps into the home and the bottom-level porch really give the outside of the home a completed feel.
Our world stopped for a while on the Wednesday after Easter. We received a message that Sarah’s brother Eric had fallen 25 feet on a commercial job. The good news: He’s going to eventually be OK. The bad news: He’s cracked two vertebrae and broken one, leaving him in a back brace for a while. He also has a severely broken ankle and will have ankle surgery this Monday. Please keep Eric in your prayers as he recovers and goes through the rehabilitation process to get back to a sense of normal. Meanwhile, his daughter, Lexe, is actually now a junior and went to prom. (How do these kids grow up so fast?) We were blessed to be able to take some pictures of her and share them with Eric after he first returned home. She bought her own dress and looked beautiful. We had a very windy day for pictures but were able to get many that turned out well.
Brad and I both continue to enjoy the forest and the wildlife at Maisto Mountain. We have a blue heron living at the pond. You often can spot him as you drive in because he flies away momentarily when a vehicle startles him. He is absolutely beautiful. We have enjoyed the blooming trees this spring, and turtles and frogs abound on the property. Brad also came face-to-face with his first snake this week, which we were told is a midland water snake. Snakes are good from a distance. At least, I really like the fact that they eat mice!
Brad and I now are beginning the final countdown until we can be permanent residents of Maisto Mountain. Sarah has resigned her beloved job at Bartlett Chapel UMC, and her last day will be June 16, which also is the final day of Vacation Bible School. We both thought that Sarah might as well end her time at the church in the midst of some excitement and fun, and VBS is always just that. This could change, but we are scheduling a furniture move on June 17. (My husband never wastes time.) We plan to get small items out of the Avon house between now and then. In between then, we have Mother’s Day to celebrate and a nephew’s graduation to attend in Iowa.
The final countdown is on! We’re really getting excited now.
Our beautiful master shower was completed in March by Owens Tile, Carpet & Corian. It’s a small business on West 9th Street in Owensboro that patiently stuck with three design changes on the shower until we (Sarah) finally found the perfect tile and design for this shower. The work went quickly and looks superb. The shop also supplied us with the luxury vinyl flooring that Brad now is working on installing in the upper level of the home.
Our electrician has been very busy hanging lights and getting our electrical outlets working, too. We now have in place ceiling fans, bathroom lights and fans, kitchen lighting, a kitchen vent hood, and outdoor lighting. A special request also was made to hang a red light for Sarah in the library. The light had been purchased long ago, but the general contractor (Brad) had forgotten to have the wiring done prior to drywall installation. Things happen. The electrician was able to work around this, however, and still install the light where Sarah wanted it. We had a backup plan for the light, but it just wouldn’t have been the same. A thousand thank you’s to our very patient electrician who I know thinks Sarah is crazy over this red light.
Brad also put up our John Deere mailbox on Owl Town Sand Cut Road in March. Sarah sent him a test letter, and we have mail service! So this is an exciting step. We feel official.
On March 21, Brad began installing bathroom flooring in the guest bath. He learned a few tricks in that bathroom. He moved on to the master bathroom where the process seemed easier for him, and he finished that project by March 23. By March 26, we had the toilet installed in our guest bathroom and working! My little nieces were happy to use the brand-new toilet when they visited on Easter Sunday to see the home’s progress with their parents and go on a small hike with Uncle Brad. Their mother warned me that the 3-year-old told her mom that she is moving in with us and bringing her sister with her. I seriously doubt this would last long, but I think we have a fan of Maisto Mountain!
In addition to a working toilet, we also have three of the home’s four bathroom sinks working, kitchen sinks running, and all of our showers running. The plumbing is coming along nicely! We also have been taking care of other details, such as ordering vent register covers, a doorbell and doorbell buttons, and making sure we know the proper size rugs we will need to pick up at IKEA during our next visit. We purchased a new sectional and a recliner (Brad’s request) for the new great room, too, from a nice outlet store in Evansville and will have those delivered once we are ready for them. Just this week, Brad painted the kids’ playroom (the Narnia room, as well call it) and installed flooring in there. He also is working on getting the basement concrete flooring super clean so that he can coat that floor tomorrow (April 9). We are expecting door and trim delivery soon as well, which is the next big project.
The day after Easter (March 28), Culberson Concrete, the same company that poured our foundation, started the concrete work for our front entry, back porch and retaining wall. It was completed the following weekend. The work looks wonderful, and having the steps into the home and the bottom-level porch really give the outside of the home a completed feel.
Our world stopped for a while on the Wednesday after Easter. We received a message that Sarah’s brother Eric had fallen 25 feet on a commercial job. The good news: He’s going to eventually be OK. The bad news: He’s cracked two vertebrae and broken one, leaving him in a back brace for a while. He also has a severely broken ankle and will have ankle surgery this Monday. Please keep Eric in your prayers as he recovers and goes through the rehabilitation process to get back to a sense of normal. Meanwhile, his daughter, Lexe, is actually now a junior and went to prom. (How do these kids grow up so fast?) We were blessed to be able to take some pictures of her and share them with Eric after he first returned home. She bought her own dress and looked beautiful. We had a very windy day for pictures but were able to get many that turned out well.
Brad and I both continue to enjoy the forest and the wildlife at Maisto Mountain. We have a blue heron living at the pond. You often can spot him as you drive in because he flies away momentarily when a vehicle startles him. He is absolutely beautiful. We have enjoyed the blooming trees this spring, and turtles and frogs abound on the property. Brad also came face-to-face with his first snake this week, which we were told is a midland water snake. Snakes are good from a distance. At least, I really like the fact that they eat mice!
Brad and I now are beginning the final countdown until we can be permanent residents of Maisto Mountain. Sarah has resigned her beloved job at Bartlett Chapel UMC, and her last day will be June 16, which also is the final day of Vacation Bible School. We both thought that Sarah might as well end her time at the church in the midst of some excitement and fun, and VBS is always just that. This could change, but we are scheduling a furniture move on June 17. (My husband never wastes time.) We plan to get small items out of the Avon house between now and then. In between then, we have Mother’s Day to celebrate and a nephew’s graduation to attend in Iowa.
The final countdown is on! We’re really getting excited now.