Can do...Chengdu

First morning in Chengdu--so far, so good. It's about 70 degrees out, smoggy but at least it's sunny and warm. I strolled around the neighborhood near the hotel and did some people- and sight-watching.

 
 

 

 

Here are some more pics for your perusal: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25768433@N02/sets/72157632960664564/

 

 

Cheers from Chengdu!

e. 

Feeling autumnal

Autumn has arrived in Garthwick. The leaves are taking over (and I mean that in a good way). So many deciduous trees—it boggles the mind. We're enjoying our new Linden thanks to Friend of Trees, and looking forward to seeing it grow.

Greg's friend Ian Mastenbrook was in the neighborhood a few weeks back and took some nice shots of the foliage. Check 'em out:

And now we need to find our rake. ;-)

That is one fine lookin' house

Paul had a photographer come over and take some nifty shots of the house. There are now posted on his website here: http://www.pmckean.com/residential/leedy/

The photographer is Dan Kvitka. Dan, thanks for making our house look so nice! Per his website, he's a top PDX photographer for artists, galleries, museums and product/graphic designers. Yeah, that sounds like the right guy for us. Check out his other stuff here: http://www.kvitkaphotography.com/

Rumor has it that a national magazine may be considering publishing a piece on our humble home. Oh please, god-of-yuppie-architecture, do your architecture god magic—we're really love to be published. And the rest of you, keep it under wraps. I don't want you to jinx it.

Picture pages, picture pages

House that's lived in

Here are a bunch of photos of the house with our belongings in it.

Dude, we live here!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25768433@N02/sets/72157627405103268/

Everything, everything, everything, everything

Check out this giant set of pics:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25768433@N02/sets/72157627133354703/

too much stuff to mention

It's out of hand. Moving, building, demolishing, reconfiguring. Nobody would build their own house if they knew about some of this stuff.

Positive things that stand out:

- The stair railing. It looks flippin' awesome.

- The shed. Again, awesome. Who knew a shed could be awesome?

- The stairs themselves. They make the house. Bravo Paul and team.

- The tile. Thank you, gruff Eastern European tile man of few words. You are making our house incredible.

- The white. Who-hoo! It's amazingly white in there. Just wait until we more in and dirty it up. ;-)

Here are some photos:

More photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25768433@N02/sets/72157626984176301/

Negative things that stand out:

- Packing

- Moving

- Being nomads

Oh well. It's only 3 more weeks.

Tile, trim, marmoleum...oh my

Tile is going up like gangbusters. Goooo tile guys!

Also, our powder room now has our Asian Tiger orange marmoleum from the other house. It's my one way to have a piece of the old house in the new house.

Oh, Greg wants you to know that it took an astonishing 100 gallons of interior paint to paint the house walls and ceilings. Yikes. And the trim isn't even painted yet. Remind me never to paint the interior again. I think it's possible that the paint subcontractor under-estimated a bit (seriously, that is a heck of a lot of white paint). And be assured, it looks WHITE. Delightfully so.

Greg and Drew worked on the shed this week; hopefully it'll be ready to receive garage cabinets and various goodies soon. Starting tomorrow, Greg starts to put up kitchen cabinets.

A few additional pics here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25768433@N02/sets/72157626987086512/

Facade photos - we're legit

Paul took a couple of nice shots of the exterior, now available on the PMa site.

Check them out here: http://www.pmckean.com/residential/leedy/

God, I am in love with the front balcony and railing.

Feeling kinda blue (the good kind)

The house is blue! An oh-so-subtle shade of blue. I have mentally dubbed it "air". Love, love, love it. Love.

Also, pieces of our stairway are going into the house.

And...we now have a railing on our balcony.

It's almost too much for words. Andrew, you are my hero of the week (well, at least so far).

More photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25768433@N02/sets/72157626686147642/

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.

Demo-riffic

Thought folks would like to see some photos from the recent demo.

My Christmas wish is for a quick re-building period.