Lots has happened since my last post.  Needless to say for those of you that know us personally, December thru March were very involved with family matters and posting on the blog was the last thing on my mind.

Now, back to the house!  I last posted when the floor had just been put in and the kitchen appliances installed and granite rock trim was being put on the outside of the house.

The granite counter-tops were to be installed on 12/19/2013 but since they wanted to cut the granite piece for the island in half we had to delay. We had a meeting with the granite fabrication designers.  After the meeting, we were back on track with a one-piece island and the granite being cut as we had intended for the counters.  It was installed on 12/23/2013 and looks beautiful!

The granite is called ‘Blue Flower’ and has some beautiful movement and great colors.  To me, it looks like ‘real granite’ from the Sierras which is just what we wanted.

Back to the garage – the wallboard, tape and texture was completed in the workshop and wine room.  Then it was time to prime and paint and put in the finish electrical.  Later the doors and cabinetry will be installed.  Jim & Tricia came up for the weekend and helped us yet again.

Jim worked hard and ignored the cold temperatures; he put in the Pottery Barn sample sale chandelier in the wine room.  It works and looks beautiful!  Sometimes it pays to take a chance on a discount, ‘as is’ fixture!

We cooked our first dinner in the kitchen in January 2014 with Tricia and Jim and Bob & I.  What a wonderful evening!

Even with limited snow, the Foxagufer lift chair is now in operation for a relaxing swing to watch the birds fly by or snow come down!  Special thanks to Dave Carter of Precision Metal Tooling for the exceptional custom metal fabrication work!

At the end of January we had our first week long party at the house.  Friends came from as far away as Switzerland and Germany and as close as Glenshire (near Truckee).  Even with very limited snow our group got in 3 ski days, a fun day at Virginia City and had a great Fondue Party on Saturday, Feb 1st. (Seating 19 people, all within sight of each other!) The house isn’t done but enough was done for twelve good friends to find places to sleep,do lots of cooking and eating, and LOTS of good times.

During the week we visited many sites around Lake Tahoe, Truckee, and Reno along with the ski areas.  We also managed to go out and relax at many nice restaurants. Below Bob & I are at lunch with our friends, Maggi and Margrit, at the Bridge Tender, Tahoe City, CA.

We also enjoyed local restaurants that accommodated our large group in stride:

• Blue Coyote
• River Grill
• Bar of America
• Virginia City, NV the Palace Hotel

I think it is time for a couple of before and after photo’s of the kitchen dining room.  The first one is taken before we started the demo.  You can see the old solar atrium through the windows in the kitchen and dining room.  We took this load bearing wall out and now use all the space.

The following picture shows the view from the living room (fireplace) before and after, but after we began the demolition.

Bob has been working on finish trim on all the windows, the doors and floors.  This week he is working on the final deck railings so that he can order the deck mesh that will finish the deck railings.  We are on count down to get our final completion for this remodel by the end of July 2014!  More soon and thank you for all the sympathy and support during these past months.