Ann's Photos

As promised, here are some of the photos my friend Ann took when we visited the house on Tuesday afternoon. Notice how she managed to capture actual people in her shots. I guess the key is to bring someone along to distract the crew while the other person takes pictures. In this case, I was The Distractor...

That's Rob, our project supervisor, in the foreground and Paul peeking out behind him. They were in the process of moving a large tarp when we drove up.
Rob actually voluntarily posed for this photo. (And yes, we are both standing on level ground)
I love this one. Ann caught Rob in mid-gesture as he was explaining that they scrambled to get the roof up over the living room before it snowed. It looks like he has just burst into song...
Here's what's left of our kitchen. The gaping hole in the floor is the stairs down to the basement, which will be closed up when they build the new stairs on the other side of the house. Notice the cane hanging in the foreground? We bought that at a drugstore in California after Josh injured his knee hang-gliding while we were out there to attend his cousin's wedding, my high school reunion, and my parents' retirement party (all in the same week!) back in Oct 2007. We must have left it in the basement when we moved out.
Rob and I are standing in our family room here. He has thoughtfully emphasized the height difference by standing on a stack of lumber, so I'm basically chatting with his coffee cup.
I just got an email from one of the Steves letting me know that the framing should be completed today and the foundation on Monday. Things are speeding along! They just gave us a list of selection deadlines earlier this week, and it looks like we are going to be in intense decision-making mode for the next month or so. We need to have all our tile, cabinetry, and plumbing fixtures (sinks, toilets, tubs, faucets) picked out by the end of next week, and all our light fixtures, exterior finishes, and cabinet hardware by the 24th. Yikes! Fortunately, we have already made some headway in several of these areas, so hopefully it won't be as overwhelming as it sounds.

Yesterday we met with a representative from My Green Cottage to discuss a line of green kitchen cabinets that they sell. This is a relatively new company based in Northern Virginia that aims to make green building more mainstream and affordable. I'm all for that! I did have mixed feelings about the fact that actor Ed Begley, Jr.'s face is plastered all over their literature. I understand that he leads an extremely green lifestyle -- and even has his own reality TV show about it -- but a celebrity endorsement doesn't necessarily mean as much to me in this context as they seem to think it should. The rep kept telling us that all the products they carry have been fully vetted and approved by Ed. Well, that's great, but what credentials does he have? Still, I applaud their mission and am certainly willing to see what they have to offer.