UPDATED: Hallucinate, Desegregate, Mediate, Alleviate, Insulate

Insulation is proceeding slowly but surely.

Watching the spray-on insulation process is kinda like watching paint dry. Dull and slow.

But, on the plus side, we're likely to have a cozy house as a result.

UPDATE: We passed our insulation inspection. Who-hoo!!!

A shout out to my house-building peeps

Apparently our architect and builder didn't exactly know (or perhaps remember) that I've been blogging about the project. Well...now they know! Hello, guys. Welcome to my little sharing circle.

As a reminder to all of you readers out there:

• Our super fab architect is Paul McKean. His work can been seen here: http://www.pmckean.com/
• The calmest, coolest builder in PDX is Andrew Friedman of Prutting and Co. Their work can be seen here: http://www.prutting.com/

If you're looking to build a new house or do a major remodel/addition in PDX, look no farther than this rock-star team. Seriously.

And now for something meta

Holy moly, our blog has 833 hits since launch. Yowza. 777 from inside the US and the rest from outside. Apparently we're quite popular in Malaysia and Poland. Who knew?

Oh, also of interest: 19% of page hits are Mac, another 9% are iPhone and 1% are iPad. Apple customers love us!

Check it out:

Doors, siding & sun

We actually had some sun this weekend. Boy has that been a long time coming...

We have interior doors at the house; a few were hung late week. Siding is almost done. Here's a flickr album that shows some recent pics:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25768433@N02/sets/72157626571820434/

Exterior painting starts tomorrow, as does insulation inside.

Go, go, go!

Oh, I almost forgot...

On Monday, 6 inspections passed on the first try: plumbing, gas line, electric, low voltage, framing and HVAC. Holy moly! It's been a very good week.

Siding success

We now have siding on the FRONT OF THE HOUSE.

Who-hoo!!!!

Check it out:

Garthwick open house = smashing success!

Garthwick neighborhood, thank you for the wonderful welcome. Our open house was delightful. Many neighbors dropped by to see the space and meet our family. And the feedback was quite positive--many people seem to like the design and the space, and appreciate that we're making a positive change in the community.

Also, thanks to all of our friends who dropped by. I'm glad that y'all had a chance to see the house as well. Paul and Amy, it was great having you there. Many people were pleased to have a chance to meet the architect in person.

The event couldn't have gone better. I feel very happy. And very full of coffee.

Neighborhood open house today

We'll be at the house today 11-1 to host any curious neighbors who want to see the project. I hope we get decent show-up. I know there are curious neighbors out there...

UPDATED (more pics): Siding is on the house!

Actual siding is going up. Who-hoo! It looks very chic and grey...and definitely metallic. There will be no mistaking it for wood siding. We are capital M - Modern now.

Tres chic, no?

We are in over our heads...

Or at least we are craaaazy busy.

Stream-of-consciousness update: windows, siding prep, tile picking, carpet ordering, doorknob picking, electric, plumbing, sinks and bathtubs, hardwood bids, insulation decisions, exterior lighting, interior lighting.

Coming up next: rough-in inspections on electric and plumbing, neighbor open house,

drying out house, insulation, drywall, siding, exterior painting. Oh, we have to pick out exterior paint color(s). Holy moly.

Andrew/Paul/Ryan, thanks for all of your help. We have to be nearing the halfway point, right? ;-)

I've uploaded tons of pictures for you to see the progress. Check it out.

Jan/Feb photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25768433@N02/sets/72157626472772366/

Mar/Apr photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25768433@N02/sets/72157626472716488/

Here's the latest picture taken of the exterior.