To Bee or Not to Bee

Some nagging bugs outside turned out to be a significant problem, and of course we waited until a long holiday weekend to do something about it!  Outside the laundry room door, some bees had been congregating under the eaves, but there was no visible nest or hive.  Russell sprayed foam in the most obvious openings in an effort to keep them out of the house, and a day later, the bees made a persistent and noisy entrance into the house through any available means: light fixtures, vents, outlets, etc.  Luckily the bees were limited mostly to the laundry room, which we closed up and temporarily did without.

Thankfully, some local exterminators were working on a lazy Saturday afternoon, and they came over within the hour.  With the help of our ladders and power tools, they cut into the crawl space above the laundry room and extracted 6 to 7 large honeycombs.  Too bad the combs were covered in insulation, or else they might have been a tasty treat.

Speaking of the birds and the bees, our almost-resident cat seems to be pregnant.  She suddenly puffed out last week, and the best explanation is the white male cat who lurks around the edge of the yard.  Darn those natural instincts!  Kitty will make a visit to the vet or the shelter next week... not yet sure which.

Kitty's new wide girth

One week later: Kitty took a trip to the vet to get fixed, and despite the trauma of being in a car and indoors for the first time in her life (not to mention in surgery), she has forgiven us and resumed hanging out in the driveway and stalking tennis balls.

Kitty post-surgery

Painting and Grading

We are making some slow progress on finishing the inside of the house, and now it's down to adding color to the walls and finishing the trim.  Since I am incredibly picky about cutting straight edges, I have lengthened the painting schedule by at least another week...

Russell and Frank and Keith pushed around some dirt outside, got rid of the pile of rubble in the backyard, graded the driveway, and filled in the southwest corner of the yard for a future use as a parking area or a workshop.

the Bobcat arrives

a new lineup of boulders in the corner of the yard

some emergency plumbing after the tractor ran over the water line

Everything and the Kitchen Sink

We finally got the counter tops installed, which allowed the sink and cooktop to go in as well.  Now the kitchen looks like a kitchen!  We might even start cooking again...

We've been adopted by a gray tabby kitten who comes into the garage to scrounge for food.  She is getting bolder by the day, and she has ventured into the kitchen doorway a few times.

After two weeks of skiddishness, Kitty is now letting us pet her...

...and play fetch with a tennis ball.

For Cinco de Mayo, Russell and I enjoyed margaritas on the porch

The kitchen with the trim, toe-kicks, and drawer pulls

The living room enjoys a breeze from the porch and deck

Russell finishes the railing from a precarious perch

The sunny deck!

The master bedroom

We're In

Now that we are living in the construction zone, we can work on the floors and outlets and lights at any time of day or night!  It's a blessing and a curse, but it's making these final stages move along quite quickly.

Russell shows off his plumber's pose in the master shower

the master shower with pink waterproofing

the laundry room floor with Durarock board

next came the tile...

...and the hardwood floor in the master bedroom

I tried my hand at some basic electrical work: installing outlets