The ceiling!

Today was not necessarily the smoothest of all days.  First of all, this is what we woke up to this morning. 

Yup, that's snow.  Just a little, but enough to make me feel bad for those poor builders, outside in the cold. 
And then, well no big suprise,  my car is in the shop again.  So, Joern had to drive me to work, which meant that he missed the arrival of the ceiling.  He also missed the first half hour of installation.  Fortunately though, Joern was able to see a good portion of the installation of the ceiling.
Here, the builders are lowering the portion above the back bedroom.

To help keep up the morale of the builders, Joern bought some food for break-time, and brought them some tea.  During break-time, Joern ran in and snapped a few pictures.  Here is the house at 9:30 this morning:

After the builders returned from their break, they got to work cutting out the hole for the attic stairs. 

By the afternoon, the entire ceiling was completed.  The house definitely looks more like a house now, and of course, we are thrilled!  We just have to keep our fingers crossed that the weather holds out until they can get the concrete poured.  Then, it looks like time to wait for the spring thaw. 

Moving ahead!

It was fairly warm here today, a little rain, a lot  of clouds, but no snow or ice.  The conditions were good for the builders to return to our house today!  Of course, they are not at the house at 7:00 am, when I leave for work, because it is still dark night right now at 7:00 am, and our building site may have a crane, but no lighting. 
So, coming home today was a bit of a surprise.  By the time I got to the house, it was around 5:00, which worked nicely because the builders had already left for the day.  I decided to brave the very unsafe looking staircase to the second floor that is supported by a bunch of metal beams underneath.  It turned out that the staircase felt indeed, quite stable, and it was so worth it to climb up to the top.  The builders were there today!

West side wall, master suite

The corner of the master bedroom

Front wall, master bedroom and bedroom #1, the space between the bricks is where the windows will be.

What I like to call our "house monster," the pipes for the air filtration system on the first floor that have been installed in the concrete.

East side,  the balcony, and you can see the east corner of the house.

The west side (master suite)wall as seen from the ground.

And there it is, after the miserable for building weather, we're back in business!  Now, if the weather will just hold out a little longer, we'll get there!  I'm looking  forward to tomorrow.

The SUN!!!

It really has warmed up here over the past few days.  Snow turned to rain, and the rain even dried up today.  It was so nice here today, about 50° (10°C) and sunny.  The rumor going around is that our neighbor-to-be, Markus, was talking to one of our builders, and the builders plan on returning to our house on MONDAY!  If it stays warm enough and dry enough, our second floor just may be finished quickly!  It is so frustrating because once the roof is on, the builders, plumbers, electricians, and everyone else can work in any weather.  Grr!  We are so close and yet so far to being to the point where people can work no matter the weather.  No complaints though from this girl.  I would much rather have the builders stop than push through and build when it is not good for the house or for the workers. 
So, fingers crossed, PUHLEEEEAASEEEE!  And in an open appeal to the weather gods, just hold out your fury for a few more weeks!

Our two year Blogiversary!

Hard to believe that two years ago today, I began this blog!  We've really come so far in the past two years.  From chosing our best option to actually building a home. 
After seven hundred and thirty days of pouring over countless decisions about our home, tonight the first floor of our home sits underneath a blanket of snow, and beneath that a blanket of insulation, that is protecting the concrete ceiling.
We've come so very far, to reach a slight snag in the timeline:

This is what it has looked like in our town for the past week and a half.  And while our builders are hardy and work in most any weather, snow and ice are not proper working conditions. 

The good news though is that the day before the big snow, the builders managed to pour the ceiling of the first floor.  They came on Friday morning to put a "blanket" over the house, which helps to keep the house dry and warmer, in order to help the concrete dry properly.  I am just happy for the house that it is all snuggled under a cuddly blanket. I'd love to leave a thermos of hot chocolate for the house to enjoy when it gets really cold. 

Of course, as it we are now two weeks out from Chirstmas, it looks like we won't see our builders again until January now.  I'm not upset.  As I was telling my friend Mandy today, I feel so guilty when the guys are working in cold weather.  I know its their job, but I don't want to be the reason our builders are out there freezing their butts off.  We'll get our house built, I don't mind.

As soon as we find the battery charger for our camera, I will post some new pictures.  In the past week, the house has looked really Christmassey all covered in snow.  Sadly, today, it is totally rainy.  But, the forecasters are predicting a white Christmas, so it looks like its time to get decorating!

What is very cool and very unplannable, is that on this two year Blogiversary, we met with the Notary Public this afternoon.  We signed the contract in which Joern's parents gifted us 100 sq. meters of their land.  We are now the owners of all of the land upon which our home sits!  Amazing!  Plus, this was the final step necessary before we were able to secure our mortgage.  So, pretty soon, we should be able to receive our money from the bank.  Scary, but also very necessary!

It is so much fun to look back on the journey that is long behind us.  It seems like another world ago when we were looking at existing homes and considering pre-fabs.  Somehow, through it all, we managed to find our best fit.  I cannot believe that so much has happened, and that we have two-thirds of the exterior now completed.  So much of our heart and souls have been poured into this home already.  It is a part of us.  It is also amazing to think that we will be living in our custom-build on our third blogiversary.  I can't wait to watch this upcoming year unfold!
Thank you to all the readers who have gone through this process with us.  Many of you have left fantastic comments which have helped us wade through all the decisions.  I look forward to one day welcoming many of you into our home!

An open letter to the weather

Dear Weather,
The builders have been working so very hard to prepare the foundation for the slab.  Because you were so indecisive today, raining a little, and then not, the builders didn't want to play games, so they did not pour the slab today.  PLEASE, PLEASE show your good side and let the builders pour our concrete slab tomorrow.  I'm getting a little antsy!

Despite the setbacks with the weather, there was quite a bit of preparation for the slab under the house  that was completed today.  See for yourself!



The end of the day on Tuesday

The middle of the day today.

 Sadly, we didn't take a picture from above of the scene at the end of the day today.  We have rebar covering the entire "H" shaped footing.  Also, on the  left side of the house, quite a bit of insulation was laid on top of the ballast stones and then covered with the plastic covering and stones. 

Hopefully, weather-wise, we'll be good to go tomorrow for the garages' concrete slab!