very busy inside and out

On Monday, Stucco Mike and his team pretty much finished up the repair and prep work. So I guess we won't see them til Spring. They did leave 2 choices of final color for us to mull over. Mike said that because of the weather, it'll probably take about 2 weeks for the stucco to dry completely and the real color to appear. I hope the colors don't change too much, because we really like the one on the left. (Neither one looks much like the color swatches we saw.)

Sal was also back on Monday and Tuesday to prepare the grade behind the driveway for the new trees. That included removing a bunch of evergreens along the driveway side, which now opens us up to Rebecca's yard. She is being very patient with us, and we appreciate that. The new trees will start coming in next week and will probably take about a week and a half to complete - I'm assuming no one is working on Thanksgiving. They have to tie up the trees, spade them out of the ground, come to the property and spade an exact replica hole, go back and get the tree, drop it in the hole, stake it, fill it in, and start with the next one. Or something like that. It'll probably be 1 tree a day, maybe 2.

Laura went over the final selection and placement of the trees with us. While we were discussing the placement, we decided one more maple had to go. I went in to the house for about 5 minutes and when I came out, it was gone. Sal loves playing with his machines.

And the Vinnies and their team are building a retaining wall at the end of the property to give the new trees a bit more height and stability and to keep any runoff going into the neighbor's yard.

Vinnie's guys also built the frame of a tent that will eventually allow them to build the wall at the side of the house even in inclement weather. Or we may just decide to use it as another addition. What do you think,Miriam?

Inside, Katelyn is the designated built-in maven for the 3rd floor. She got the 1st set of shelves in the big closet in Sarah's room. For the record, this is where baby/kid stuff will be stored. I love how meticulous she is: I guess she thought the wood was a bit wrinkled, so she ironed it before installation.

Then she moved on to the medicine cabinet in Emily's sink closet. When I saw the hole in the wall, I was concerned about the pipe running across the back. But apparently she knew about that, because the piece fits perfectly. The top will have shelves and a door, and the bottom will be left open to store an extra towel.

The rest of the carpenter team has kept on making and installing trim

Bob has just about got the 2nd floor 'sun deck' ready to tile. He put in the heating coils and the drains, and has made the whole thing very waterproof. He's hoping to get it tiled before Thanksgiving.

And Matt has started grouting the 2nd floor guest bath. Once the floor is dry, we are going to put the sink in so I can decide whether or not to have a wainscotting. I think I want to.

Yesterday I went to an antique lighting store my sister-in-law Kathy recommended. I saw a couple of fixtures that I'd like to see in the house. I have to say that choosing lighting fixtures is my most daunting task . I hope to have everything selected by early December...