Now that the floors are finished we started the window and door trim.

Colin and Katherine did the pre-cutting and staining of most of the window and door trim which saved a lot of time.  When Lyle and I were ready to start applying the trim all we had to do was cut the pieces to the exact lenght we needed and nail it into place. In some of these pictures you can see that the lighting is being installed as we work.  Yippee!  My old time gas stove had to be put off for a while but I was able to find a old looking wall mount exhaust fan to place above the gas range we did purchase.  I am actually happy with the way it turned out, until some day when we are able to buy the old gas stove.  I do hate having to be practical but find I am pretty good at it.  Arrrgh!

                            We then started making our interior doors.

These are my pantry room doors and also hide my washer and dryer.

I hope that you can see the door pull we made on this door.  All of our interior doors have this same look in door pulls.  This is one of the things along with the old looking rusty hinges that make me think of a much earlier time in our history.

Since we have no traditional door knobs with locks, these are the bathroom door hooks which give us the privacy of having the bathroom all to ourselves. 
I believe it was the 14th or 16th of January that the stove and refrigerator were delivered and then we were ready to move in.

Fresh Evergreen Boughs

     Decorating our home with evergreen boughs is one of the oldest winter holiday traditions and represents everlasting life and hope for the return of spring.  Used in festivals since ancient times this tradition was first introduced to the northern states in the 1800s and has become ever more popular. 
    I love the simplicity of using evergreen boughs or cuttings  from leaf bearing bushes, puting them in a container or just making a bundle and  adding a fabric bow.  Just a walk around your backyard might give you the things you need for these very simple decorations.
    Above all don't be afraid to try!  Nothing in nature is perfect and is not meant to be, so just play with the things you find and add this to one of the fun things you do for the holidays.

With most of the walls in place we were able to start the greatroom floor.

As areas were finished lighting was installed.



Perimeter lighting is added downstairs and the washer and dryer were delivered at the end of December.





We finished the cedar above the shower and the plumbers were then able to finish their work in the bathroom.



We started laying the greatroom floor in the Kitchen area and here Lyle is placing the last few boards by the front door.

When I had finished staining the floor we built the railing around the basement stairwell.  The builber then carried out this same look for the upstairs walkway railing.  The railings are all made out of very old 2x4's which I was able to find through a company in Michigan.



Basement stairwell railing.



And here the builder was finally able to return and start the upper railing.





I do love how these railings turned out.
Gosh!  It is fun going through these pictures and seeing again how things came together.



And now our work really began!

With the painting finished our two ceiling fans could be put up.  They are super energy efficient and have greater pitch to the blades which helps a great deal with air flow throughout the house.

Except for the pantry all of our walls up to the 8 foot level are either pine boards or hand hewn cedar with plaster in between the boards.  We first put up all of the walls and then started laying the floors which are also pine boards.  We are now in December and we moved in January 28th so we were out here working 7 days a week from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. But it was so worthwhile seeing each wall go up and then standing back to view our work.
And of course having to tell each other that we do great work.  LOL
Oh yes and that other saying?  Gosh I'm tired-but it's a good tired.

What can I say you use whatever you can to keep going.  This is the area leading to the pantry.

The downstairs bedroom and the wall next to the frond door.

The tile under the fireplace is in and our chimney is also in place but not completely hooked up yet.

Here is Hubby cutting boards for the kitchen walls.  We both measured, he did the cutting I stained and then we both screwed the boards in place.   It actually worked very well doing it this way.  When all the boards were screwed in place we were finished with the wall.  No going back to stain.

This is just so you all know I actually did work with Hubby on our new home.  And yes those actually are  flannel lined work pants-yup-Mens Carhartt-a bit of a change from the skirts I always wore in the store don't you think?