The Final Week...

The house was a-buzz with activity today and we are thrilled!

I know, I know...you can't tell that much from the front...

But...we passed the final electrical inspection today!

...and in the backyard...

...one of the sprinkler leaks has been fixed.

...but sadly, not the other. A storm came through and the sprinkler guy had to leave.  Hopefully, he'll be able to find and fix this leak tomorrow.

...and perhaps he will be able to fix this mess in the side yard, as well.

Around back, the outdoor kitchen guys were hard at work today.

The grill will be installed on the left side, with two stainless steel access doors underneath.  The sink will be on the right side, with one stainless steel access door underneath.  Tomorrow (hopefully), the granite guy will come re-fabricate the island granite to be the counter-top out here, and then the guys who built this frame will come back to stucco the front and sides to match the house.

Doesn't the space underneath the cabinets look like a wonderful place to store gardening gloves, a hand trowel & some Miracle Grow?  I thought so, but someone thinks gardening tools should be stored elsewhere, and the grill area should be left alone.  That's fine...I suppose as long as the grill keeps providing yummy steaks and such for us, we can store the gardening tools elsewhere. ;-)

Speaking of gardening...the veggies seem to be doing well.

You won't believe how well things are growing in the front flower beds...

Oh, wait...I think all of those tiny green sprigs are weeds.  There are a gazillion of them-I guess new flower beds don't come weed-free, as I once thought.  At least I don't have many things on my to do list for the nest few days.  I should have plenty of time to weed the gardens. (ha-ha) Actually, I am getting it cleaned up by pulling a few weeds at a time-everytime we are over there.

The iron guy has taken measurements to correct this part of the banister-we think it is supposed to turn around the corner.  By Friday, it should be re-installed so we can receive our Certificate to Occupy.

On the front of the house, the forms for the cast stone trim have been installed.  Except it needs a little tweaking.  Imagine it looking like this, only about three inches longer on each side.  We want the bottom of the band to line up with the edge of the dark garage trim, instead of the top of the band lining up with it.  Shane thinks the crew measured it this way to allow for the expansion joints in the stucco, but it looks silly so they will come and lengthen it a bit before applying the stucco.

We think the house looks much more balanced with the light color bands above the garage doors.

We only have four more nights in the rent house.  I can't believe it is almost time to unpack our boxes and put things where they belong in the new house. 

I guess I better get back to packing...