Fires were burning across the lake last week – some 500 hectacres went up in smoke. Not much over there in terms of housing so no buildings were burned. But it reminded everyone of 2003 and the fires on the south east side of Kelowna in Mission where some 200 houses were burned. The gov has learned and now hits new fires fast and hard. Been really dry here but we had some rain last weekend which really helped. Forcast for mid-30s this week however, and no more rain in sight.

We had an undetermined smell in the house. I thought it may have been a dead mouse, but it turned out that the drain pipe for the eventual kitchen in the lower level had never been capped and some scents of the septic had been wafting up. Now fixed.

Was in Saskatchewan last week for 5 days to attend a funeral so progress on the house has been delayed. Will be working on backfilling, upper cabinets, drawers and window trim this week.

This is a view from the front entry. I placed 20′ of 4″ sewer pipe to run the water from the downspout away from the house and towards some trees and an eventual garden. The orange pipe is to run the hose underground from the spiget over to where it will be more useful.  The two propane tanks can be seen peeking above the  rocks (but will be eventually hidden by a japanese exterior screen) and the gas pipe can be seen on the left (now connected).

Same view but with a bit of dirt placed.  This area will be leveled out, filled with dirt and then some green stuff.

View of view wall.  Learned on Wednesday the compressor is an A/C compressor not a heat pump?!  Am rather amazed at the mistake. They will put in the correct one next week. This is also the area where I need to make a grade change of about 6′.

Same area with the addition of a few large rocks moved and placed by BobCat. A bit of a thrill pulling the large rocks out the pile, taking them down the drive and back up around the house, and then placing them with the BC on a slope.  The larger rocks lift the back wheels of the BC off the ground. So far so good.  Am going for the natural look.

Our new induction stove, that did not fit into the opening. I asked them to cut the right hand side countertop back 1/16″ but they cut the LH side instead. They had to grind/polish it back 1/16″ so the stove could slide in. After a quite arduous experience over several weeks, the entire countertop is now in, and all the appliances (save the hood vent) are installed and working.

Just after we had our first supper in the new kitchen, there was this double rainbow. I like these kind of symbols – very auspicious I believe.  Am taking a few days off to attend my nephew’s engagement party, and then back to work on Monday with landscaping, cabinets and maybe even some trim.

Some landscaping started. Placed a bunch of large rocks with the BobCat to establish two levels. Need to put some dirt on the upper level, and level out the lower level. Upper level, however, is my BobCat route to the front side of the house which needs lots of fill and three rock walls.

Got the mirrors for 2 of the bathrooms installed today, and the shower doors.  This is the ensuite, with a cedar gable.  Now working on some shelves and posts underneath the countertop.  Theme is a blend of gendai teki (modern) and traditional japanese for this bath.

Shower door installed today. It is about 5′ high to keep it all more open.

This is your bathroom. Fir gable and large mirror.

And this is your shower. Hope you like it.  The photo is a bit dark but the room is very light with the fir and white countertop.

Two large propane tanks delivered yesterday. They hold 400 lbs each, but only one is full. Should last a long time. We will use this for the propane fireplace and the BBQ (which we hope to get in the next few days). The hook up will happen on Monday!  I intend to place some exterior japanese screens/doors around them in the weeks ahead  which I got about 20 years ago and have been looking for the opportunity to use them.

Caliper. $14 on sale at KMS Tools, my new favorite store. It is a great tool for checking dimensions. I love it.

Earlier this week I took a pickup full of garbage bags of construction debris to the dump. $10 for the load. Really nice dump. I also cleaned up the pile of offcuts and stacked them up. These will be kindling for the wood stove for the next 20 years. Most of the pieces are under 12″ in length.  The pile in the foreground will be picked up by an neighbour to use in projects and as firewood.

Built a couple of drawers and 2 shelves today.  Mid-30’s again – unseasonably hot and dry.  House remains cool for the most part but we put on the air con today for 4 hours.

First week in the new house!  Really pleased with it. Love the design and the views. Our countertop was to be reinstalled today but they just said it will now be done next Monday. Sigh. Eating microwaveable food and lots of salads. Washing dishes in the laundry room. Unpacking boxes.

Trying out different options for the window trim in the shop. First one is traditional with a 3/8″ reveal.

This one has the trim around the window extend past the trim on the walls by 1/2″. Makes a deeper window. Not really happy with either. Have realized that it is rather challenging to use non-painted trim around the windows as neither the windows or the drywall is dead plumb or square. Am now thinking of doing paint grade trim on three sides and a nice fir sill and under piece on the bottom. Will try this later this week.

These are the pieces for the gable on the tall cabinet for the ensuite. Lots of fun building it out of old growth cedar. B in Law Steve replaced their 50 year old cedar deck and keep all the wood that still looked good. It planes and cuts really well and the fine clear grain looks great. Will give it some sanding and 3 coats of tung oil.

This is what it looks like after sanding and oiling.

Lots of boxes still to unpack. The basement is our warehouse and will be for another few months.

Propane tanks are supposed to come tomorrow but final hook up won’t happen until next Monday.  Am now shopping for a BBQ.  Shower doors and mirrors will be installed on Wednesday this week.  Continuing to work on bathroom gables and shelves, and will turn to kitchen uppers tomorrow.