We raised the counters and put in a new countertop. Dave Dove and my father, Ken Hall were instrumental in this.

While Dave and I were busy with the new countertop, my dad replaced all of the galvanized steel plumbing with copper. He also hooked up our new kitchen and bathroom sinks. This was a bigger job than he was anticipating. Thanks Dad!

Sarah and I pulled up the old pink carpet in the living room and dining room. I've decided that wall-to-wall carpets cover over too many sins. The sand and dirt that was underneath couldn't have been good for anyone. We found lovely hardwood floors underneath. After a fair amount of scrubbing and a wipe down with Howard's, the floors are looking great.

Our painter, Jerry, has been scraping and patching the walls before putting two coats on the whole place. It turns out that it is half oil and half latex, so the job has been taking Jerry longer than he'd hoped. We're crossing our fingers that he'll be done in time for the movers on Tuesday.

We've both been busy cleaning everything. There was a fair amount of built-up grime in the places that one wouldn't tend to look. Of course, the construction and painting is also making a mess.

We've really been enjoying having a full-sized washer and dryer. However, I think we'll be buying a new fridge fairly soon. The one that came with the house is 20 years old and runs almost all the time.

I think we've now passed the unpleasant part of getting the house ready. We're doing finishing things now. I put up a few window coverings yesterday. Dad helped me put up the new ceiling fan in the kitchen, it looks great. He's also been helping me with the wiring. I'll have grounded outlets throughout before long.

Mom and Dad brought the dining room set, stereo and foosball over on Friday night. We're also planning to pick up our new futon for the office today.

It's starting to feel like home now. Boy, do we ever love the place. We're hoping to sleep there tonight, but we may just wait until the 10th.

We've been taking pictures as we go. They're here if you're interested.