Family Mellmann

 Saturday morning we enjoyed a full rainbow and a hint of a double rainbow.  By the afternoon, it was just clouds but somehow the clouds just look more spectacular over the mountains.   While the weather was giving us a show outside, Jörg was hanging out in the crawl space helping the geothermal system release air bubbles.  Upstairs, our builder came by to install the mounting bars for holding my knives and some other kitchen tools.  Now I can find whatever knife I need AND have paper towel close by in case I cut myself!  (only kidding...the worst cut I've had so far was from a cardboard box, not my knives)   And this morning, winter made a brief appearance in our neighborhood.  Fortunately, it didn't stick around because I don't get my snow tires until Wednesday!  Note to self; schedule snow tires in September next year.  

Progress continues here in Absarokee.  The changes are much less dramatic than they were when contractors were buzzing in and out all week but we're settling in and figuring things out. The tiler came to do the last bit of tiling; a "backsplash" in the kitchen and pantry.  She finished the grouting on Friday. The plumber had come back a couple weeks ago to put in a (guest) bathroom fixture piece that had been sent incorrectly (the one they sent didn't go with what we had).  With that last step complete, I was able to get in and scrub the guest bathrooms and get them set up. I have reached the phase of unpacking where I need to start organizing stuff that needs to be stored (seasonal decorations, canning supplies, memorabilia, etc.).  The first step was to build some shelves.  Fortunately, we brought many shelf units from the basement in Vermont so I have been assembling those.  I have several more but five are done so far. As I was driving out of the subdiv...

I thought I would introduce you to two of our neighbors.  These horses spend the summer in the field next to us.  As we were driving to breakfast one morning, they were standing there near the road as if to greet us.  

August was a bit of a whirlwind.  The last days of July saw a hard push toward getting us ready to move into the house.  It was nip-and-tuck (everything last minute) all the way, but we vacated our Livingston apartment and landed in our new Absarokee home one day before family arrived from Germany for a visit.  We moved the last of our belongings into the house on Sunday and didn't even have hot water yet.  On Monday, we received our company AND hot water.  The house went from a construction site to full of life literally over night. Our company went right to work helping us move furniture out onto the patio and assemble what needed assembling.  We played games on the porch, grilled burgers, and after a few days of testing out the house, we loaded up the cars and toured Yellowstone, Beartooth Highway and Chief Joseph Pass, and made a stop at the old ghost town of Bannock. On the last day, before our family left to go back to Germany, we were visited by a li...

My trip to the house was quiet.  Except for the excavator putting in the last loop of geothermal tubing, I was the only one there.  My first mission on this day was to put a first layer of clear coat on the mantle (so that it's smooth and dust-able).   With that done, I could wander around and see what happened on Monday.  A small wall, overlooked on the house plan, has been installed and will hopefully get primer and paint this weekend. Interior doors are starting to go in. And here's the master bed WITH mattresses.  Now all we need is the bedding (and toilets, sinks, and showers) The excavator is bedding down the last loop of geothermal tubes. It looks stormy so it's a good time to head back to Livingston.  

Work continues outside with the installation of the geothermal tubing.  Our "yard" is a disaster at the moment but in the next week of so we should see things start to wrap up level out. Inside, things are quiet for the moment while the stonework on the fireplace continues.  However, we took delivery on new furniture today.  Fortunately, both furniture stores chose the same day (and time window) to delivery so it was pretty quick.  We used that time to go through deliveries that had been made in the last week (curtains, etc.) and to prepare for the delivery and installation of the new master bedroom furniture. We really like the front door, and today had a chance to test out the "open wide" feature for the furniture deliveries. Master bedroom floor (part of it) mopped and ready for furniture).   Rug in place. And viola!  Now all we need is a mattress (that will be in the next delivery).