Etc.

This is going to be a catch-all blog for all the little things that have been going on around here over the past few weeks while I haven't been regularly blogging. Stuff is going to come fast, so stay ready for it.

Wired
We may not have heat, we may not have electricity, but by God we have the internet! Jeremy came over last weekend and helped me do a little wiring before the drywall was put in. We put up some cable for surround speakers and ran some Cat-5 cable from the study (where the hub will be) to the back wall of the living room (where the TV will be). This gets us ready for HD cable and convenient video game networking. Our new appliances (still in their boxes) are in the foreground of the picture below.

This Stinks
Those of you not in the greater Loudoun County area may not be aware of the stink bug infestation that is going on all along East Coast right now, but let me assure you, it is on (http://loudountimes.com/news/2009/sep/29/stinkbugs-invade-loudoun/). These guys are little gray/brown shield shaped insects that tend to hang out on sunny windows during the day and then invade the house at night when it cools down. The worst part is, if you squash them, or even scare them sufficiently, they let off a pretty foul smell. My favorite killing method right now is to flick them into a tub of water mixed with bug spray. I've killed no less than 4 dozen in the addition so far, but only a few of them have made it into the main house. Hopefully with the drywall going up soon we'll be a bit more impervious to them.

Tanks, You're Welcome

Our new super-sized gas tank was put in the ground last week (see below, right). They did exactly what they were supposed to do when they said they were going to do it and got out fast. If there was anything to complain about, it was that they dug a trench for a 1 inch pipe with a 2 foot backhoe shovel (below, left). But the yard is mostly a lost cause at this point anyway, so oh well.

A Bargain at Twice the Price
After three months of construction noise, strange people in an out of our house, living at times without heat, water, and/or electricity, we finally have something to show for it! New lights were installed in our kitchen a few weeks ago which brightens up the room very nicely, but it is most remarkable as the first item of the addition that we can actually enjoy. Based on the payments we've already made to construction company, these lights are worth about $17,000 a piece (lightbulbs were not included for that price).

I'm Out of Pithy Titles

We had no less than three inspectors come through the house this week. Though we haven't actually heard from our PM (not a surprise), we are under the impression that we passed all our inspections. Woohoo! That means we should be on to insulation and then drywall. Also, the retaining wall got started this weekend. I'm waiting until it's all done to give the wall its own blog, but so far it is looking good! You can see just a bit of the back of it from this week's update picture.