Thanksgiving morning I began laying flooring in one of the West bedrooms. We brought up a table & some chairs for the nook then I cleaned up my workshop refrigerator and set it up in the kitchen right where the big fridge will go when we move in. Jeremy had a big programming job over the holiday so he & June came late in the day Thursday with the grandkids & we had our first Thanksgiving meal in the new house. Friday and Saturday I made some progress on the West Wing and hope to at least finish the bedroom & possibly the West hallway before my Surgery on Tuesday. That only leaves the laundry room and the other West bedroom to finish when I feel up to working again.

Monday the electricians returned and installed all the rest of the light fixtures. The Plumber also came about 9:00 AM and although he still lacked the parts needed for his work in our kitchen, he plumbed two more bath rooms and the laundry room. We decided the pot filler needed to be moved 9" left from its current location and I had removed some of the wall board to allow this. The plumber removed & plugged the pot filler line before he left. I had a pre-op Dr. appointment Monday afternoon spent most of the morning interacting with the subs, so not much flooring was laid in the big hall, but I finished the job on Tuesday and Wednesday. Today we are having Thanksgiving dinner in the evening as Jeremy started a programming project at the university last night and won't be done until late afternoon.

I didn't put in many hours on the flooring Friday, but did fit in a bike ride. I rode downtown, got a haircut, then we went to Salem for shopping in the afternoon. I started my day Saturday by turning the water back on (since the plumber never returned) & going all around checking for leaks. There were no leaks, so I installed the Cherry toilet seat in the Master Bath, then I put in a full day on the Library flooring. I got it finished with time left to move some wood & tools to the wide hall where I will be working on Monday. The Electricians were to be finished working on a custom home on Mt. Hood Friday and return Monday to finish up their work here.

I talked to the plumber's boss Thursday & they were "possibly" going to return but didn't commit to a day since they are working a big job in Portland. These local contractors are all so busy, there must be quite a few custom homes being built around NW Oregon.

Neither the electricians or the plumber returned yesterday, so I spent most of the morning cleaning up after them. Next I removed all of the wood scraps from the Den/Library and vacuumed the floor so I could begin laying Maple. There was some cutting and fitting required around the hall doorway and the closet, so it was slow going. Today I made good progress and hope to finish tomorrow morning. Its really nice to have so many of the light fixtures in as it gets dark every afternoon before I am ready to quit.

Lynna has been checking the DEQ number daily and today they finally had a small burning window from 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM, so she was able to burn all the boxes from our light & plumbing fixtures.

When the electricians uncrated our oven, we found a small dent down low on the left side. Lynna called Kelly's and, co-incidentally, the Bosch rep was there. They were willing to refund us a few hundred $$ but we opted for a new door instead. It should arrive in a week or so. The small microwave above the oven was removed from our travel trailer. When we move in, it will be replaced with the larger microwave we are using in the rental.

Yesterday I sanded & oiled the flooring around the toilets before the plumber arrived. He came from 10:30 AM to about 2:00 PM and was able to set two toilets and hookup some of the sinks plus the shower in our master bath. The electricians were here all day Monday and part of today. They hung most of our fixtures & activated all 5 of our outside outlet boxes. Unfortunately they didn't get to my basement workshop so I will continue with just one 220 and one 110 plug. We had to run into Salem a couple of times to purchase parts and some light bulbs for the workers but I was able to do some flooring in the bathroom that opens onto the deck and finished it this afternoon.

Finished the Dining Room today.

Monday we made a run to the dump & then went to Salem for some shopping. Lynna planted the last of the street trees when we returned & I did some tractor work on our perimeter path to smooth out & put some rock back on the areas damaged by the concrete contractor & the cement truck.

Tuesday I was able to put down some more Maple flooring. I reached the entry tile & made a good transition from the tile to the wood, then moved into the dining room.

Today we have to do another Salem trip so I can get some lab tests & an EKG at Kaiser then we both have a dental appointment so there won't be much work done on the new house.

Tim's helper returned this morning & did the wash off to reveal the aggregate surface on our porches. They look great.

I left 2 messages for our plumber to schedule installation of fixtures & plumbing the sinks but he hasn't gotten back to me. Also left a message with one of the floor refinishers but same story there. Appears the contractors down here haven't experienced any slow down yet.

The rain let up for today & Tim was here first thing to do the pour. They got everything done front & back and I put down some more Maple flooring and Lynna planted the last Vine Maple and Japanese Maple.

Tim & his helper worked all day in the rain and got the forms done at the front & back of the house. Now we just need a day with 3 or 4 hours of no rain. We are doing an exposed aggregate finish which isn't as susceptible to damage from rain.

I worked on flooring again & almost have the Central Hallway finished. Tomorrow I will begin my day moving all the Maple that is stacked in the Dining Room, then I can continue right into that room when I finish the hall.

John McCain just conceded: If you say hope and change three times, then click your heels we’ll be back in the Carter years before you know it.

Meanwhile back at the building site:

Monday the cement contractor, Tim Lowrey, started on the porches. Turns out we needed a bit more rock fill on the area between the front door and the East wall, but the rains have been coming down and our clay has transformed from solid ground into brown goop. We can't get a truckload of rock down there until next year during the dry season. Tim thinks it will be OK & he can leave the forms on that side if needed. John & Ron framed up some extensions for two of our back porch footings so we can pour them when we have the concrete truck here.

I put some Danish oil on the front door sidelights, then spent quite a while measuring & cutting the openings for our hood vent in the cabinet. It was very tedious work but when I finished, everything fit perfectly and I was able to get back to laying more Maple flooring.

Eric from Stayton Heating came for a few hours & hooked up the gas lines for our boiler and cooktop. As soon as I get the upper cabinet hung & install the hood vent, he will hook up the final section of vent pipe.

We sold the travel trailer Sunday but there is a delay while the buyers await approval for a space rental.