Entry Concrete

It's 5:30 a.m. and Adam is getting ready for the concrete truck.

He positions the chute and gets this project started.

He moves the chute from area to area........like pouring cake batter into a pan.

Sometimes he just needs a little bit more in one spot.

Adam and his father-in-law work fast to complete the pour.

The pour is complete.....now the creative work begins.

They groove and smooth and groove and smooth and groove and smooth until the concrete is hard enough, and smoothing doesn't make the grooves disappear.

We will be able to walk on it tomorrow and drive on it on Monday.

Concrete Walkways and Cedar for the Greenhouse

Matt got to the site at 5:30 this morning to help with the concrete walkways.

Matt dumped and Adam smoothed the concrete out, and put it in all the right places. This area is near the greenhouse and hooks on to the south deck.

Adam really likes working with concrete. When it's done right it sure does look nice! This is the front walkway.

The stone isn't finished on the pillars yet.

Adam worked on the forms for the Friday pour in front of the garage.

Leveling the area near the greenhouse.

All done! The concrete was hard by the end of the day but it is easily scratched.......it really needs 2 days to harden.

Another view....facing south.

Matt put cedar siding on the greenhouse walls and ceiling. The area to the left will be rock which will help the greenhouse retain solar heat in the winter months.

Matt called on his dad, Mark, to lend him a hand.

More Wildflowers

This is a Bluestem Pricklepoppy. I spied it on a hike with Cooper up in the hills above our rental house.

I am almost positive this is Goodding's Verbena.

This one still stumps me. It could be a kind of Butterweed or Senecio Quercetorum or Goldeneye???

This is a Strawberry Hedgehog cactus. I love these. They are almost done blooming.

I have to stop using my cell phone for photos as I can't get close enough without blurring the picture. I have to remember to take my camera with me on hikes and to the house site.

Garden Spot and Cooper/Cats

Painters' mess.......

Brian came by and leveled a 900 foot area for a future garden....can't you just picture some raised beds and some fruit trees?

We asked our Llama Farm neighbors if we could have some poop for compost......they said help yourself!

Every evening Cooper watches the cats eat their can of "wet" food. He is very patient because he knows when they are done he gets to lick the plate.

Sometimes Buster takes forever......"When will he be done!!! I can't wait any longer!"

Friday Update

The granite guys came with the marble for the bathroom countertops on Thursday and got them all installed. It is a beautiful black marble with white veins running through it. It matches the smaller tile squares in the shower and on the floor. It is just beautiful and the last slab that Arizona Tile could find anywhere.

They finished the kitchen backsplashes on Thursday as well. The coffee machine is there because we needed a hole cut in the granite for water for the machine. (Then we don't have to move it in and out to fill the top with water.)

We couldn't get a good picture of the backsplashes because the painter was masking stuff as soon as the granite guys finished it. The granite guys will have to come back to do the island as we don't have the stove yet and are not sure about the measurements...we didn't want to screw that up!

The painters were working on the doors.

Matt build some awnings for the guest bedrooms downstairs.

More painting will happen next week. Appliances are being delivered on Tuesday.

Granite

The granite for the kitchen and laundry room arrived from the Phoenix warehouse.

Unloading and setting up the work table.

Grinding away.....

The first counter placed and glued.

Some counters had the sink hole already cut out.

Laundry room counter.

Cutting the sink hole in the support board to match the hole in the granite.

Laundry counter done......love the rusty red streaks.

Kitchen counter.

We had a sink like the laundry room sink to go into this countertop (second sink in the kitchen) but it seemed too big for the counter. Luckily they hadn't cut this sink hole. We dashed to Home Depot to get another sink. They had none in stock...it was a special order deal. Randy begged them to sell us the display sink....they did. Whew! This one is a much better size.

Wildflowers

We bought two books on identifying plants and wildflowers in AZ. You would think it would be easy........NOT. All of these flowers are on our building site.

I think this flower is Queen Anne's Lace.

This could be Fireweed. It's gorgeous.

I haven't a clue what this one is.......it's driving me crazy. I have looked on web sites and in books and I can't figure it out. Anyone know?

This is Gooding's Verbena......maybe.

I am pretty sure this is Globemallow.

These cuties could be Fleabane or Desert Star.

Please write a comment if you know the names of any of these. My identification abilities are definitely lacking.

Skylights and Blooming Cactus

A view of the south facing deck with the skylights installed.

Roof view.....

Cooper patroling his new neighborhood.

Taking a break from chasing lizards....

View coming up the street.

Cactus are blooming here and there on the site.

Love this one....

Painting continues on the inside....a slow process.

We meet with the concrete guy on Monday to discuss a front walkway, side walkway, pad by the south deck and turn around in front of the garage. We will need to figure out where we will want irrigation so we can put down some pipe before the concrete is poured.