Getting Ready for Winter

I managed to get my icicle lights up. It's kind of a grainy picture, but it was pretty dark when I took this on Wed night.

House Update

Here is a quick update. I've been doing a lot of unpacking and putting stuff away. In fact I got the file cabinets installed under my counter/desk and spent an entire day sorting paperwork, setting up files and filling up the file cabinets. I also took several boxes of old paperwork to the dump :-).

And this is a milestone. Paul got the block wall at the end of the guest shower put together yesterday. It still needs to be caulked, but I'll do that when I'm home next R&R. This has been a real pain, I started ordering the parts back in April. But the glass place in Anchorage I ordered the supplies through, didn't talk with the manufacturer and after 3 more orders, and getting the wrong materials, the manufacturer finally told me they would not sell me the right boarder to use the blocks in a wet environment. They only installed that themselves, and not in AK. So Paul took all the wrong parts we'd recieved over the past few months and modified some of them to make it work. Thanks Paul!

Penny & Carol came over for dinner.

And I found some of my Halloween decorations.

Another Arctic Sunrise

As winter settles in, we're starting to get really colorful sunrises. They are one of my favorite things about working this far north. Everyday is a new sunrise, and they're all different. I wish my little camera could capture the colors, but it really doesn't. The dark pink along the horizon was really a fluorescent magenta. It almost hurt to look at.

Then a little later, as the sun move around the horizon a little farther, the oranges were amazing. Look at the how they light up the bottom of the clouds.

And the moon through the clouds was pretty too. I started taking these about 8 am, and the sun finally came up over the horizon a few min after 9 am.

Internet Shopping - www.donfamily.com

As most you probably know, I do a lot of shopping on line. It's much easier than wandering around in a store.

So last month I found this duvet cover on e-bay. I really liked it but thought the shipping charges were high, so I looked around a little more and actually found a web site for the company who makes them. And they also sell silk stuff duvets. I've been wanting one (since I'm allergic to down), so decided to splurge a bit and buy a duvet and the new cover.

http://www.donfamily.com/products/Product_97.html
(The web site has a few problems, so you have to scroll down a couple of pages to actually see the items being sold.)

I e-mailed Christina (though the address link on their web site has a typo in it so it doesn't work, the real address is christina9876@hotmail.com) and got a quote, including a couple of pillow shams that she said they'd make for me, that aren't part of the package. Then I got her invoice and paid through PayPal.

Then I got to wondering if I'd ever actually get my items. Sometimes buying from another country through the internet, can be a bit iffy. However, about 10 days after I ordered it, my duvet, duvet cover and extra pillow shams showed up in the mail. Great service and a reasonable price. Thanks Christina!

I really like the material. I may have to order another cover in the spring for variety. They have some great options.

A definite sign of winter....

Yes, Chuck had to de-ice the jet a few minutes ago, before it could depart. That's a definite sign of winter.

Moving In

Well, I finally got to move into my new house. There are a lot of small things to finish and I expect they'll take most of the winter. But that's OK, it's very livable. I'm really loving the view. Now that it's dark a night, the stars are amazing.

This is the entry hallway, just in front of the main doors. The 2 guest rooms and the hall full of closets are to the right. And the kitchen, living room and master bedroom are to the left.














This is the back hallway, it will eventually be all closets. But I need to decide what 'insides' I want for each closet, and then figure out the doors. I'd like to put a bypass door system on and then make the doors with aluminum frames and frosted glass, which would match what I'm going to do in the kitchen. But I'm not sure I can afford to buy them this way. Paul and I are talking about a way to buy kits and build them. When they finally get installed, I'll post some pictures.






















This is the 'middle' guest room. Currently no furniture and full of boxes & other stuff. Most of this 'stuff' will migrate to the crawl space or basement next time I'm home.

















I got the duvets ironed, and laid them out over the packages of sheets, pillows, etc. But didn't actually get around to making the beds. Penny & Louie are coming down for a few days in Oct, so I'll get the beds made before they show up.
















I did get my computer moved and hooked up to the internet. That was big step. I 'needed' to be on line to feel moved :-)





















Here is the kitchen island, part's 1 & 2. The upper kitchen cabinet doors still need to be ordered and then installed. But that should happen before Christmas. They'll have aluminum rims and frosted glass inserts.






















Eventually I'll get a flat screen TV to hang on this wall at the back of the living room.

















And here is the living room. Pretty fancy camp chairs :-). It works for now but I really have to buy some chairs and then get the cushions on the window seat. I've want a couple of pedistal style swival chairs, I'm just having trouble finding the right items. I can find them in black or brown leather, but I prefer something upholstered, and with some color to it.
















Here are a couple of brief looks at the basement. I still need to get the file cabinet drawers upstairs and installed. And there is a lot of cleaning to do, but the basement is pretty much done. That's Patty's elliptical machine, I had it covered up when I was spray painting the file cabinets. How do you like that bright blue paint? I post some more pics once I get the file cabinets installed upstairs.





















And there is some left over construction material in the cistern room. I'm going to need this stuff in the spring, so it just might sit there all winter.