windows setting us back a little

waiting on pella windows that are tempered for near the floor level. this is a bummer. the boys are trying to work around it as best they can.

stuff

so, i have a front door!


but two of the windows aren't right and need to be ordered, hope that doesn't take long.
i have a few pics of copper piping and some other stuff i plan on making different stuff out of.
and down the hill...

i'm covered in raccoon fur

that's the name of this paint color that will be the roof trim and frieze board. love that name.

and a pic of da rooof.

before the rain today...

roof panels

it's the ceiling, not the roof

technically

4

i was standing in front of the house the other day, just after jimmy finished backfilling, with my friend rebecca. as rebecca and i chatted, i glanced down and poof, saw this and took it as a sign.


(jimmy, thank you for being there for me and thank you for not running it over with the machines... and by 'it' i mean the clover, not the house... but don't run that over either)

the day after yesterday

the view from the fortunato:

today

and one art shot:

more walls... excited, nervous, et al!

i love these windows

walls!

view from the end of my street

flash update...

arrrrrrgh matey!

don't make me walk the plank, i swear i will never poop the poop deck again!

fu*bleeeep* about time!!!!

and here we are ladies and germs. what we have all been waiting for... the magic LVL's

and ryan...working!

ps
the foundation has been sitting exposed for so long we need to have it cleaned out and waterproofed again, have fun weber!

a funny thing happened to me on the way to pick up the sink

which is that i didn't bring anyone to help me. i did think i had planned ahead enough, by bringing all sorts of heavy item moving stuff... dollies, handcarts, the big ramp things to put on the back so i could roll the sink up and into the truck. well... that sink is motherfuckin heavy. its cast iron with porcelain overlay, and it is 51" long.

and the guy's driveway was on a slope. but not toward the street, back in and toward his freshly painted garage doors. so once i got the thing on the dolly and say it had gotten away from me as i pushed it up toward the truck, it would have gone rolling and smashed through his garage. oh boy.

so i attached a rope to the sink, in case it did get away from me, it wouldn't go all the way down. i tried getting it in with the ramps, but no go, too much of a slope working against me. i tried propping it against the tailgate and either pushing it up and in or pulling it over the edge and in from the inside of the bed. nope. i tried each of these approaches at least twice, and oh yeah, it was also about 95 degrees. and there wasn't a soul around. except maybe the elderly neighbor across the street (but i didn't want to be responsible for any negative consequences with his help).

i tried to get that thing in there for an hour. sweat cascading into my eyes, ears, nether regions. i was just about to give up when i hear the beautiful chorus of bells broadcast over a crappy PA and low and behold.... it's the ice cream man. i ran into the street after him yelling "ice cream man, ice cream man, HELP!"

well, it was more along the lines of a scrawny goth ice cream teen. pale skin, jeans, dyed black hair, elvis costello glasses, a big black leather belt, and skinny as a rail. oh boy. so i say "um, ice cream dude... can you help me push my sink into the back of my pickup?". he looks at me and i swear to god he says "well, i'm kind of weak". i'm all "dude, right now you look like hercules, lets go". so i get in the truck and pull and he pushed from the back. and it went in. i thanked him profusely, and although i couldn't tip him or even buy myself a creamsicle or rocket pop because i had zero cash on me, i yelled to him and told him he had gotten his good karma points for the day. i drove home singing about how i was saved by the ice cream man, kid, goth, teen, dude.

and then i really hurt myself unloading the thing alone over at the bay. but, here it is.

studio sink

i just bought this 1930's farm sink for the studio on eBay... for $10!!! now i just have to find someone(s) to go to fall river to pick it up with me. it's supposed to weigh about 300lbs, yikes.

genu-INE I-talian sink

just picked myself up this sink i bought on eBay today, i drove very far to get it (because i am on a budget) the sink was very reasonable (read: cheap), but looks awesome and came straight from italy. and it must be italian, it says frah-gee-lay on the box. i also eBayed myself this nice little faucet for it that looks totally money (but wasn't). the whole shebang will look perfect-o with the fortunato (which isn't actually made in italy, but instead in china, oh well, who cares, it looks rockin').

hark...

what is that which i spy through the woods?....


why it's ryan and justin, and they are building things!!!!!

still waiting

in the meantime, i went over to the bay to try and find ryan and instead found a large box outside my door. i pushed it into the garage bay and started to open it. well, at first glance i thought i had indeed found ryan, and someone had encased him in a block of foam and shipped him to me in this box, so i was careful to cut the foam away....

but still no ryan, it's the fortunato though!

waiting

so i have been trying to do what i can around the lot. i brought a load of gravel up from the hole to the driveway. i am collecting smooth rocks and bringing them up by hand to the driveway to create a cobblestone type area. i am doing the same right in front of the house, t try and ward off erosion. i have raked a bunch of the hill and spread erosion control seed there. and tried to spread some wild flowers in front of the neighbors septic pipes to block my view. don't forget the 16 hours of troweling that went into the foundation exterior.