April 30 and May 1 - Furniture Moving and Bit of Unpacking
On the last day of April, our furniture was upgraded from barn storage to house storage. That's not exactly the same as "moving in", but it's a sign of real progress.
Welcome to our mess. I suppose we should have waited until everything was neat and perfect, but that's still some time off. Meanwhile, here's what the place looked like with our own furniture.
The office was particularly full and this isn't even the desk end.
And, the wonderful, open-feeling kitchen just got closed in a bit. Since the cupboards were not finished, it would be awhile before we could use this room.
Upstairs,
the guest room was starting to looked "moved in", if not lived
in.
However, by May 1, the Master Bedroom looked positively inviting. This is proof that looks can be deceiving. The bed is supposed to have a set of box springs, but they could not make it up the stairway OR through the window. We ended up giving them to one of the guys that moved us.
The closet may not look like much to you, but it took several hours of IKEA shopping and assembling to get it finished and ready to receive clothes from two temporary homes and an unknown number of boxes.
Downstairs, the living room was also getting closer and closer.
Meanwhile, outside was not being neglected. The giant gas storage tank was covered in Cotoneaster and Pachysandra plants. There's also a few Vinca plants here, but they looked almost dead so I had scant hope for them.
ps:
A few days ago, our project became famous! A local newspaper had us on
one of their "front" pages. The picture and the story favored
our architect Axel, but he deserved (and wanted) all the publicity
May 6 - Real Moving
Moving is a messy process. This was another weekend of mess.
The office was cluttered.
The living room was bad too.
The kitchen was most chaotic!
But, in the evening, the lights made it look pretty nice.
May 7 - Going (Not Far) Away Party
For eight months the Hotel Gruener Baum has been my home. Leaving my comfortable nest was bittersweet.
My temporary home reverted to a hotel room once only suitcases remained.
We
stopped downstairs for a last lunch. The normally impeccable service was
unusually slow and it was only after the meal that we discovered why. The
Hofmanns had prepared a festive dessert. Rosie, Friedrich, Betti, and Albrecht
made the going as friendly as the staying had been. We look forward to
being neighbors with them.
May 14 - A Bit More Progress
Even though I'd moved in, there was still plenty of work to continue. Tiles needed to get placed at the back entrance and a thick gravel bed was started for the patio.
Inside, the office and kitchen were starting to be almost useable.
Upstairs, the guest room was ready. Any takers?
May 20 and 21 - Almost Done
Things are getting close.
Out back, we have a patio surface - mostly. The grout between the tiles isn't there, but who'll notice? Unfortunately, the weeds out back are growing so large THEY will be noticed. Oh well, they just are not on our priority list.
Inside, the living room is pretty close to finished.
The kitchen is even closer to DONE!
And the guest room is as good as it will get for the near future.
May 26 - "Final" Landscape
There's an open house tomorrow, so there's work to do today.
The
first thing we took on was the gravel bed that runs around the house. To
make it look like a real path, we set in our "left over" patio
tiles. We were not sure if this was a final solution, but it was good enough
for our party.
Meanwhile, out front, things look inviting.
May 27 - House Warming
We invited a few neighbors, a few folks from Marianne's "office" and
a few from mine. Some spoke English, some German, and a few a mixture.
(Marianne and I were in the mixed group, but perhaps more mixed-up than mixed.)
If you recognize yourself, you were there.
One of our most popular "guests" was this 1930 Citroen, driven over by Mr. Weikert. There's even older cars back in his garage, but our rainy weather was keeping them inside.
Everyone was generous with house warming gifts. Now, we have to fix the yard enough to find homes for our new plants.
That's it. We're done. This
is the last "house project diary". It's been 17 months since
we first stopped in front of the old house and now it is time to resume
a regular life - and regular diaries.
Welcome to our mess. I suppose we should have waited until everything was neat and perfect, but that's still some time off. Meanwhile, here's what the place looked like with our own furniture.
The office was particularly full and this isn't even the desk end. 
And, the wonderful, open-feeling kitchen just got closed in a bit. Since the cupboards were not finished, it would be awhile before we could use this room. 
Upstairs,
the guest room was starting to looked "moved in", if not lived
in.
However, by May 1, the Master Bedroom looked positively inviting. This is proof that looks can be deceiving. The bed is supposed to have a set of box springs, but they could not make it up the stairway OR through the window. We ended up giving them to one of the guys that moved us.
The closet may not look like much to you, but it took several hours of IKEA shopping and assembling to get it finished and ready to receive clothes from two temporary homes and an unknown number of boxes. 
Downstairs, the living room was also getting closer and closer. 
Meanwhile, outside was not being neglected. The giant gas storage tank was covered in Cotoneaster and Pachysandra plants. There's also a few Vinca plants here, but they looked almost dead so I had scant hope for them. 
ps:
A few days ago, our project became famous! A local newspaper had us on
one of their "front" pages. The picture and the story favored
our architect Axel, but he deserved (and wanted) all the publicity
