Moving Forward

We started out by removing our belongings, then watching the house flood. After that came demolition and our house seemed so strange, like it wasn't ours. We've been moving backwards for so long that it's finally good to see some actual progress. The guys have been working EXTREMELY hard to get the place ready for siding and windows.

We chose to take down all of the siding and buffalo board, even though not everyone in our neighborhood is doing so. To me, it's a fresh start. That buffalo board was stained with the Mouse River and we just don't want it there.

Here's the house stripped down to its 2x4s and its glorious, 1-year-old roof. And just a day or so later, the guys had put up all new OSB. It's looking like a house again!

The siding and windows go up this weekend--it will be a weekend FULL of labor! I can't wait to see how it all comes together. Who knows...maybe we WILL get in sooner than I had anticipated. :)

On the Move

Wow...a month can go by very quickly when you're busy, busy, busy! For the past four weeks, we've been staying at a home in Minot, thanks to an amazingly gracious family. They allowed us to use their house while they spent the month at their lake cabin. It was such a blessing to be together as the water receded. That month was the layover between the destruction of the flood and the start of rebuilding and it allowed us to be one big happy family!

Now, we are back in Sherwood and Perry will stay behind in Minot as the rebuilding phase begins. A busy week is ahead of us, but at the end of it--we head off for a week of VACATION! I'm so excited that the whole Olson/Moore family can get away for a week and relax...although we'll likely spend the whole week discussing the flood. Ugh. That's our lives these days! At least we'll be doing so on a boat or a beach. Perry and Jim (and the rest of us) need a little R&R.

After that, it's full speed ahead on the house! My wish is to be home for Christmas. There's a lot of work ahead, but I think we're ready for it.

More Demolition

It sometimes seems like things are moving very slowly at our house, but we know it will pick up soon. We finally heard back from the SBA and it looks like we will be able to finance the remodel through it. I was really worried that we would be denied!

This means work can proceed on the house and we can start ordering things and setting up dates for all of the work that needs to be done.

The first order of business was to take down some studs to prepare for the remodeling. This is looking into Natalie's room. It was small before, so now we will add about three feet to it and put the door at a 45 degree angle on the corner for easier access. Next up...the living room fireplace. It's nice having a fireplace in the living room, but taking it out will allow more space for a larger bathroom/laundry room that will be accessible for Natalie. Previous owners had also done some faux finishing of it, and left the area behind a mirror unfinished. This always annoyed me--and left me wondering how I could fix it. The answer is...DEMOLITION!! :)

Joe and Ryan (Perry's co-workers) came over to help.

But it looks like they just stood around while Perry's friend, Mark, did most of the work! :) Just kidding, guys!Perry is considering hiring the rest of the work out to a contractor...I don't blame him!

An interesting side note...the guys found these liquor bottles behind some bricks in the fireplace. They look really cool! I wonder why they were put there...there was no note with them.

Today, we go to pick out windows and we will hopefully start choosing kitchen cabinets. Yay!