cabinet-upper

FINALLY – THE CUSTOM KITCHEN IS UNDERWAY

by with No Comment Mountain Gaitway

It’s been a while since we posted, but that doesn’t mean we’ve been slacking off. Routine things like trimming the horses hooves, making trips to get hay, taking care of the ducks, etc. keep us pretty busy. We also try to make sure we take a little time off once in a while to eat out or take a road trip to enjoy this country that we live in. We’re also getting to know some of our neighbors more and are enjoying occasional meals with them and helping them out with some of their projects. Laurie has even found a Scrabble partner and gets together with her about once a week to “Scrabble around”.

After functioning quite well with our temporary kitchen, we’re finally getting around to making the custom kitchen that we have envisioned for so long. Before that could begin, however, I had to get my workshop in good working order. This included adding heat so I could work regardless of the weather, purchasing some vitally needed tools for making the cabinets (yes, they really were necessary) and spending some time implementing good dust collection. There is a lot of sawdust generated in woodworking and now is not the time to ignore good health and safety practices. So, now that the shop is in pretty good shape … let the cabinet making begin!

We spent hours and hours investigating and designing the cabinets in SketchUp. I spend a lot of time creating the exact cabinets with precise dimensions. That way I can take the design out to the wood shop (yes, I have a computer in my wood shop) and refer to it as I construct the cabinets.

Here is a shot of the kitchen after installing the upper cabinets. The rest is yet to come.

Here is a photo added after completing everything, including the backsplash tile.

We decided to make our cabinets with bypass doors instead of swing-out doors for most of the cabinets. Swing-out doors are such a nuisance! We believe this is a much more practical design and are really pleased with how they are working out.
Kitchen Complete: 11/28/2019

(This post was edited after the project was completed.)

 

goldie-doghouse

GOLDIE’S NEW YARD

by with No Comment CrittersMountain Gaitway

As winter looms in the not too distant future, we have been thinking about a yard for Goldie where she would have protection from the elements when we have to go away. We also had started thinking about another shed at the end of the driveway and near the house. We came up with the idea of making the yard extend from the end of the deck and attaching to the shed where Goldie would have a sheltered area and a warm dog house.

Here’s a pic showing Goldie heading out to her yard that extends off the left end of the deck to the shed:

She can run free from the yard onto the deck and around the house to the other end of the deck on the east side. She really gets her exercise and can watch over everything on all sides of the house. We placed her doggie house at the end of the shed, under the overhang.

Here Goldie is using her vantage point from the deck to watch while I’m out feeding the horses:

She’s a great watchdog, alerting us to killer bunnies, man-eating deer, etc.

north20-1

THE NORTH 20 FENCE

by with No Comment CrittersMountain Gaitway

Finally! After several weeks of really hard work, the north 20 acres are now fenced. We turned the horses out into their new pasture last Thursday and they are loving it.

Having this much pasture (about 35 acres for the 3 horses) is going to save us a bunch of money on hay. And, it is such a pleasure to see the horses out in the wide open spaces living more like they were created to live.

You can see some fall color in the Aspens.

 

072316-2Bcropped.jpg

TWO YEARS LATER

by with No Comment Mountain Gaitway

This photo, taken this morning, is what the property looks like now, just 2 years after we bought the property. We have really enjoyed our home and property, and are still amazed that we live HERE!

It’s been nice to “take it easy” a bit, and not feel so pressured to work on the house. We still have a lot of little things to do, but the major part of the work is behind us. We’ve had some visitors come enjoy the guest house (the RV), and feel like we know more people here in Guffey than we ever did in Wellington. We’ve enjoyed riding the horses with new friends as well as work with training, and yesterday we took time out to ride to the top of Black Mountain, which overlooks our house. It’s nice to be able to take off and ride, which we didn’t do much at all last year.

Last week Tim completed the first phase of fencing the property. The “South 20” is now fenced and the horses are enjoying much more area to roam and graze. Eventually we will get the north side fenced as well, and will be able to alternate pastures or let them roam the full 40, with the exception of the area around the house.

This photo looks south from the same hill I stood on to take the view in the previous photo. We only wish we could see through the hill to see the horses when they’re on the other side!

The inside of the house is mostly done, and entirely live-able. This panorama looks south, over the living area & tv room to the view out the big picture windows.

This panorama shows the back half of the house, including the kitchen and bedroom.

The kitchen is still in its temporary state, with a make-shift counter and temporary shelves & cabinet. Tim will be building cabinetry in the fall & winter, but until then it is completely functional. Our plans for the bedroom area include custom-made desks and a murphy bed that will become a sofa when not in use as a bed. The bathroom and utility room are behind the kitchen wall.

Goldie has been a great addition to the household. She enjoys being out on the deck, watches everything, and alerts us when anything strange enters the picture, like these deer. She’s learned to heel nicely, has learned to stay near us when off-leash on the property, and to come when called. It’s nice to see her run and play like a dog should! She loves to play ball, and has learned to get the ball out of the container where it’s kept. On hotter days she stays quietly in her shady pen below the deck and when we leave home she can stay there out of the rain.

All in all, we’re happy and healthy and glad to be here.

Goldie

THE RESULTS ARE IN!

by with No Comment CrittersMountain Gaitway

Goldie’s DNA results are in! She is……..drumroll…………
50% German Shepherd (to Tim’s delight)
25% Boxer
12.5% American Staffordshire Terrier
12.5% American Bulldog (but “iffy” on this one, may be a mix)
Now that we know, we can see the German Shepherd  in her, and also the Boxer (her face and ears). Tim is delighted about the GSD, as he has always loved his German Shepherds. She sure is a cutie!

She has been a delight to have around. She has very few discipline problems and it has been fun to begin training her. She is amazingly calm for a puppy of 8 months, and overall is a pretty good girl. She sits nicely, “shakes” and is learning “down”. She “stays” for short periods of time and at short distances. She has never had an “accident” in the house. We are working on teaching her to heal, but that is a challenge. We’ve been searching out different training methods, and trying to pick the right one (or combination) for us and for Goldie. Every dog and every situation is different, and I don’t think there is a “one method fits all” approach.

In the evenings she has begun to entertain and exercise herself. Tim has put a gate across the open end of the deck so she can enjoy being outdoors and watch us when we are around the house. She entertains herself quite nicely with a couple of toys out there. She occasionally runs back and forth, back and forth, sometimes carrying a toy, sometimes not. It’s quite entertaining for us as well. This evening she appeared to be trying to catch snowflakes as they came down.

We’ve been calling her the “wonder dog”. Prior to receiving the DNA results, it was “I wonder what you are?” And of course, there’s “I wonder where you’ve been all your life. I wonder why you were in the shelter. I wonder why no one else took you before we showed up.” Whatever the answers, she certainly is a “wonder dog” for us and we’re glad to have found her.

 

goldie-on-deck-square

ALL THAT GLITTERS…IS GOLDIE!

by with No Comment CrittersMountain Gaitway
“Chantilly” at the shelter

For a while, we’ve been wanting to fill out our menagerie with a dog. I (Tim) have always had dogs around, while Laurie’s family was a cat family. We’ve been watching “Craigslist” as well as checking out animal shelters. Laurie spotted a 7-month old puppy at the Humane Society that peaked our interest. We went to see her and it was a perfect match! “Chantilly” had just come into the shelter and they don’t let them out until they are spayed. So, we had to go back the next evening after her surgery to pick her up. That worked out well, as we had to make some preparations at home before we were ready for her. Of course, one of the vital preparations was to pick out a name. We decided on “Goldie”.

I made a crate for her to stay in the house to aid in housebreaking (if necessary). As you can see, the crate didn’t phase her. She was too “pooped out” from the surgery.

When we picked her up, she was still under the influence of the anesthesia. She tried her best to look around while driving home, but most of the way she just laid down and snoozed. She has to wear a cone most of the time for about a week, to keep her from licking on her stitches. When Goldie got more alert, we let her roam the house and get used to her new home.

It turns out we didn’t need the crate at all, as Goldie is very good at “holding it” and hasn’t had a single accident in the house (yet).

We got a nice, soft pad for her to lay on. Of course, we also got her a few “chew toy” selections. She really likes the rope (a whopping $2 investment). Here, she took her rope to bed with her.

We’re taking her on walks, introducing her to the horses and ducks, etc. She has been a great addition to the family and we look forward to many years of companionship.

 

We were told that she is a German Shepherd/Lab mix. However, we’re not convinced of that. We’re splurging ($70) for a DNA test to see what she really is. We’ll let you know when the results are in.

CO-CO

CO’D IN CO!

by with No Comment Mountain Gaitway

WE DID IT!!!!

We got our final inspection and received our CO (Certificate of Occupancy)! There is still lots of inside finish work to do, but we will be sleeping in our new Happy House from now on.

Here’s a pic with our friendly neighborhood Park County Inspector (Kim Hall) handing us our final inspection approval:

We moved the bed in: 
and we have a functioning kitchen: 
We have a functioning bathroom (with a real shower, as opposed to the dribbler in the RV!) (no photo)
OK, so it’s not ready for Better Homes and Gardens, yet. But, it will be one day! For the CO, we needed hot & cold running water, a bathroom, and a cooking appliance. It’ll do.

This weekend we start putting down the hardwood floor. But, there’s a real sense of accomplishment and relief to hit this milestone.

WORKING ON THE BATHROOM

by with No Comment Mountain Gaitway
We’re working on finishing the bathroom now. Actually, Laurie is doing most of the work at this point. She textured the walls and is now painting them. She looks like she’s having WAY too much fun!
(Can’t find the photos for this post.)
Laurie will be adding the grout to the tile next. At the same time, I’ll be putting down the floor and installing the vanity/sink and toilet. If all goes well, we’ll have a fully functional bathroom in a few days!
We’re getting really close to getting our final inspection and CO (Certificate of Occupancy)! We’re shooting for CO on Feb 29 (leap year day). Keeping our fingers crossed.
After that, we will be done with inspections and can move in whenever we decide to!