Other than some missing windows, the house is now “wrapped” — the waterproofing membrane is installed on the walls and the roof. Good thing, as we had some unexpected rain recently! (We desperately need any rain we can get after another dry winter, but it took us all by surprise when it came in late April.)

Until the siding and metal roof go in, we’re serving as a billboard for Hardie and Tyvek —

(Notice the last of the meyer lemons on the little tree? Both of the transplanted citrus survived the winter and are flowering again!)

Storm clouds are brewing —

I learned some more builder slang — “boneyard.” This is the term for a stash of tile many suppliers keep in the back of their shop or warehouse, which is an assortment of overstock, mis-ordered, discontinued, or returned tile that they offer at a steep discount. Lev and I paid a visit to the boneyard at Galleria Tile, and came away with an absolutely stunning mosaic that we’re going to use in the master bath shower —

And coming from the boneyard, it’s well under budget! We’ll probably pair it with this large-format tile on the floor —

Also well under our budget price! So far the hunt for tile has been relatively painless. Let’s hope it stays that way.

The contractor gave us a heads up last week that he would “stock the rock” soon. I had no idea what that meant.Translation: sheet rock would be delivered and stacked around the house, ready for install.

And now we got rock —

Some friends of ours introduced us to the phrase “volunteer” in the garden — a plant that pops up unexpectedly, sprouting from some old seed buried in the dirt. At Scott Street, I discovered a remarkable volunteer, emerging from seemingly nothing but gravel and concrete —

The offspring of some sandwich tomato tossed onto the ground last fall? Can’t wait to make a sandwich out of him this summer!

Good gracious, choosing paint colors is hard. Who knew there were this many shades of “medium” and “dark” grey?

Yeah, yeah, I know – there are Fifty Shades of Grey. . . Anyway, the winning color for the exterior of the cottage (and the facia on the main house) is #1596 (“nightfall”). It’s dark and dramatic, but also a warm shade.

Speaking of the cottage, the old siding has been repaired and patched, and the new wall of siding is installed. Ready for paint!

For the exterior of the main house, my second choice turned out to be the winner once we painted a sample up on the house. “graystone” —

Sorry, you’ll have to wait a bit to see it on the house.

The first phase of insulation is installed–the closed-cell, spray foam insulation we’re using in the cottage and in the ceiling of the main house. It’s crazy-looking stuff —

It makes the cottage look like a gingerbread house —

And it makes for some cool patterns on the ceiling —

Hopefully this all makes for a warm n’ toasty house come winter!

Lev secretly wants to be a house painter. I’ve known this for a while, but the evidence is mounting. He was VERY excited to develop some custom stain for the cedar siding that will go on the tower and the soffits —

But I have to say, in the end it came out looking terrific! Here are some of the boards stained and ready for install —

And here’s the first batch of siding installed at the front soffit —

Kinda dark in this photo, but trust me — it looks great!

“Rough-in” is in full swing. Plumbing, HVAC, and electrical are all going in. It doesn’t make for very exciting photo ops, but it’s good progress! And we have to get the electrical in before insulation can be done. . . And insulation comes before sheet rock. . . So all the dominoes are starting to line up.

We’ve got a wall toilet for the master bath —

And four high-efficiency, zoned HVAC units, all suspended in the ceiling —

Here’s the electrical in the cottage that soon will be buried in insulation —

Plumbing in the cottage —

There’s lots more to do, but it’s good progress.

The first round of windows have arrived! Time for a window selfie —

Here they are staged and ready for install. . .

And here’s the first one to go in.

Excited to see the rest of them!