My Rambling Fever, House Edition.

Ok yall are making it clear how badly I've been slacking at posting updates ....sometimes its just because I don't feel the week to week updates show a lot that pictures can explain, or by the time Sunday night rolls around my energy and "want" to be around a computer is at a all time low, and also that August and September were months full of good friends' wedding celebrations for both Chase and I, and well that put a little hault on things. 

Either way I finally am coming around to getting something up, after again a two month gap. Chase has seriously put in everything he has into this house. He has made new knotches, replaced logs, faced logs, blocked them, cut out new windows, secured those down, washed and scrubbed every inch of this house..and I'm sure many other things I don't even understand how he knows how to do. Everyday I'm blown away that his motivation doesn't waver. The house resembles the shell of a whole house now. I haven't been nearly the help I wish to be with work and school, but I try to be as helpful as I can on weekeneds. I've learned quick the difference of true strength Chase has compared to me when it came to digging ditches. Chase mapped out a whole new drainage system for the back of the house, which we got set just in time for the week long rain we got. We also get to try and combat mold growing on every single inch of the logs after that week long soak (which is still a sore subject if you ask either one of us...but it will get figured out one way or another....we always do)

My dad has been working on the last two cabinets, which him and Gina started to set in just the other weekend. We are getting so close to having the kitchen done for real, and Chase and I have been jokingly figuring out ways we could possibly make it a makeshift home if it wasn't for the problem of winter with no heat. We're currently blessed beyond compare to be allowed to live with Doodle and Sharon, which we can't begin to repay them for, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind if they got to have their home back to themselves though. This past weekend we found ourselves running a normal grocery store errand on Saturday, and Chase joked he forgot what it was like to do normal things on the weekends. It does seem like working on the house is the normal for us now, that we've forgotten what its like to do anything else. Everyone is busy though and it keeps us out of trouble. We also have amazing friends who understand if we don't make it out to visit, and are still there for us, even when don't see them nearly enough.

As the transformation of the house starts to become a real "house-looking" structure, it is starting to feel like it's somewhere we're actually going to live, not just work and clean up. I tell Chase to remind me to never complain about mopping or vacumming up normal amounts of dirt one day when we live there. I may just frame me a picture of the dump truck, full of one of the of 30+ tons of "stuff" we've carried out from the house. Have it there just to remind myself to be thankful I don't have to do that clean up again. Whenever I talk about all of this in one of these blog posts, I can look back and be thankful for this project, and really just for Chase. None of it would be where it is without him. I try to make sure he know's that day to day, but everyday-life never plays out that way and I know I don't do a good enough job at making sure he knows that. Which is why I probably don't shut up about it here when I reflect. Which leads me to a realization that at this point I'm just reminiscing and rambling, like I do so well, and right about now is when Chase would say (nicely), "oook Selene get to the point" so I should probably just say here is the pictures. They explain it better than I ever do.   

Summer Done Flew By

As always its been to long, its basically been all summer it looks like. It's been to long now that I don't even remember where I left off. There have been some major changes for sure. The main focus has been the log structure of the house and leveling out the logs, replacing just a few that needed it, and trimming out windows and doors. It's probably been the hardest part so far, and unfortunately for Chase it will the least noticed in the end project, but that's what I'm here for, to make sure 100s of pictures are taken so the differences can be noticed. 

There has also been a lot of historical, mysterious happenings this summer. First the signature found on a wall, next a tooth in a hole made into a log, then along with a love letter stating that Mary was the "finest girl in all of Shenandoah" and that they "must git married as soon as possible". We haven't had much time to dig in deeper to the history of the house, but when less physical work needs to be done, I can't wait to take the time to learn about each of our discoveries and more about the history of the house.

The summer has been flying by once again. Chase has been at it again relentlessly this summer. His motivation and resilience at the house never seems to waver. Some weeks he's there all 7 days and then just repeats it all come Monday. Him and his dad have done some serious work leveling out the logs and replacing the ones that have been needing it. My dad has been helping us tremendously on the kitchen addition with cabinets. We got rid of a lot of junk that had piled up in the yard and graded some of that out. We stained the deck and siding of the addition, thanks to help from Sharon and Doodle, and thanks to Tyler we have almost all the lights in the addition of the house. Our good friend Bob Myers came the day we discovered George's signature on the wall. Thanks to my Stepdad Charile and Odie for bringing us lunch too! We are fighting relentlessly to have the outside of the house chinked before winter so we can keep working inside once the cold temperatures hit. It's going to be hard to hit that goal, but I still haven't given up that its impossible, especially when Chase has anything to do with reaching it. 

We've had a great summer, we've had great people come lend a hand, visit, and help in so many ways. We may have been like ghosts again to many this summer and we apologize for

that again, and to all those who still endlessly support us, invite us, and lift our spirits...thank you. Thank you to Chase's parents for housing us and helping us, and being such good nany and popi to ellie mae.  We have so many blessing people in our life we can't begin to say it enough. Thank you. I still have plenty of days where I think we were crazy for taking on this commitment, but I still do have plenty of days where I can believe all the "it'll be worth it" comments. I'm personally so thankful for Chase, for his work ethic, for him putting up with me during it all, it truly is a miracle what that man puts up with from me some weeks.  I won't make any promises that will be updating more often, but I will try.

Not all the images are in order here, but here are some updated ones from over the last few months.