First Night

If I was only allowed one word to describe the first night at Harbor Farm I'd have to say 'spooky!' That probably sounds terrible considering how truly spooky it was before the reno started, but I've watched so many people wander in and out of the house over the past 9 weeks, that being there alone felt like trespassing. I kept imaging some random subcontractor walking in looking for the toilet!  

There are no immediate plans to unpack all the boxes since there is still a lot of dusty work remaining, like tile cutting, grouting, and drilling to install various doors, mirrors and hardware. There are actually no mirrors in the house---my Jewish funeral motif. Last night I got ready for a Superbowl party by putting makeup on in front of the wine fridge, this morning I did it in the truck. Steve Hughes, owner of Harbor Glass and Mirror, is coming over tomorrow to measure for the shower glass, buffet top, and all the mirrors. Steve and his wife Elaine have owned the shop and cut glass in their 9th Ave. workshop for over 20 years, and I am so lucky that Gus discovered them.

Here are some in-progress shots of the guest bath and Moving Day (Phase II).

Tub Deck with a View

Marble over the Tub Deck

...and even a tub.

Phase II Moving Day:

Habitation

Who needs rugs when there's brown paper?!

Phase I Complete

Well regardless of whether or not I was ready, moving day was Tuesday. Because the polyurethane was not yet dry on the floors, this is called Phase I of moving. In Phase I the movers took all the furniture and boxes from the little rental house in Ozona to the barn at Harbor Farm. There was so much going on the previous week (including uncertainty about whether I would actually have to vacate the rental on the 31st, if the crew would actually be working until that day, and a sick poodle) that I completely forgot to pack for the 4 days in between stuff going into the barn and me into a condo!  So far the washing machine in the condo has been getting a lot of use. 

Thanks Rocks Moving Co.!

I heart storage!

The floors will soon be dry so the movers will return on Saturday for Phase II. I'm so excited to spend the first night at the Farm! There is a laundry list of finishing work, including the guest bathroom (still no toilet in there), but I can't wait. The last few posts have been nothing more than pictures, for reasons of sheer exhaustion, but here are some B&As of the floors and new red roof. The neighbors love the color by the way---good thing!

Old Shingles

New Red Metal Roof

How to re-finish hardwood floors:

1. Enlist slave labor

2. Add cherry stain

3. Shine!

Cherry Cherry!

Cherry Stain on Red Oak

First Coat of Polyurethene

Lookin' Good

Coat No. 3

Shiny!

Bathroom Break

Guest Bath

Marble Tile Close-up

Red Roof On

8 Long Weeks

The guys were still working when I arrived to prep the floors tonight. The had spent the day tiling the guest bath and scraping off the roof shingles. They were exhausted but still tidying and loading material onto their truck. I peeled off the brown paper and cardboard from the bare floors, swept, and began vacuuming between the planks. It still gets dark early despite the warm weather and by the time they were ready to leave it was already dark. The guys came inside to say good-bye and I turned on the living room lights. For the first time in eight weeks the three of us stood in the house and just stared. Hammering, drilling, scraping, sawing, and blaring rock music finally ceased and we all just took a collective breath. This is really a beautiful house and it's going to be a beautiful home.

Raze the Roof!

It was a rainy morning and overcast day, which explained Casey's blurry cell phone picture. It didn't matter though because I knew the old roof was coming down! 

Good-bye shingles.

The new roof was delivered last night and stored in the barn. I didn't have time to check it out then, but was pleasantly surprised to open the doors this afternoon and see this waiting to summit... 

Hello Scarlett!

Just a reminder of the "inspiration" house...