Story of Norman Lane

We are officially done; adventure complete.
I wrote a short summary of our adventure, which is a bit too long for a blog, so it is attached here. I've been told it's a fairly enjoyable read, but you'll have to see for yourself.
It's 4 pages total. To print it out, click on the upper left where it says "more", then I had to put the scale down to 70% for it to fit properly. Enjoy.

Norman Home Transformation

Looks done to me

My child does not like having her picture taken.
Shame, really.

Keeping our feet off of the furniture

.

Good News

It seems some very nice people from the fine city of Chicago have decided that 85 Norman is the spot for them. And so, our fine house has entered the land called escrow. This is of course exciting and good. We are taking pictures and finishing up many little bits which had gotten away from us.
Meanwhile, Zaya has had a bit of a growth spurt. Don't give her any flack about her height, or the fact that she likes to wear her socks pulled up, as we just need to accept our loved ones for who they are...

now i've seen it all

Looks like good news on the horizon! Tides have mysteriously turned 

and multiple people seem to have fallen in love with our hard work 

as well as our good intentions.

More news as things solidify. For now, a small piece of entertainment,

as I just found this on the web -

Ken Burns must have stopped by and made this for us... 

without even letting me know!

what a good guy.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

So our house is still for sale! Which means it's not too late for you to check it out! And tomorrow Sean, Hope (our very fine realtor) & I will all be at the house ready to meet and greet and answer any questions anyone may have. Or, I suppose, just to listen to most anything you'd like to tell us... come take advantage of this amazing opportunity! It should be fun! What better thing could you do on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon? White wine & cookies & apple juice! 2 - 4:30 - see you there!

Official web site is posted

So much to say! So little time!

We have moved out. The house is officially on the market. People that we do not know walk though it and consider living there. 

no worries, we will catch up and include some strange and awkward details, but until then, here is the official listing for the house with photos (and cheesy music)....www.85norman.com 

Staged

So the house has been staged. Which means that we somehow managed to get all of our stuff out of the house. And then we got all of the filth and grime that comes from building a house out of the house. And then other folks came over and put their furniture (fancier furniture) into the house. And then, Sean sat down and put this basket on his head.

Jugology live at our house!!!

We had our almost finished party, and to my mind it was a great success. Many wonderful people came, they drank, they stayed and talked while children ran all around the house deflating fish and rolling over logs- what more can one ask for? Well it ends out that our friends are in this truly wonderful and heartfelt bluegrass band and they played for us till the wee hours and yes some folks were too busy talking to listen but for those of us who were listening they were so great and so perfectly charming- It was a beautiful and casual treat and one that I will always relish. So here is a lovely and mellow live recording, taken sometime around midnight, of my new favorite local band: Jugology - you should check them out on MySpace for more info, they are the best. 

Party?

Sorry, no photo. But confirmation. Yes. If you would like to come and see our house and have a bit of fun and listen to good music then come on over. Tonight!

The Stairs

The magical floating stairs had been a feature of the house that we'd discussed from the get-go. And yes, they have given us trouble, for as it turns out having pieces of wood which emanate out from the wall and can support the weight of a couple people at once is not so easy. Ultimately, a fine metal railing system was incorporated to hold it all together. But first, the stairs must be wrapped in the pretty wood (brazilian cherry) and then clear-coated for long-lasting protection. A late night for our stalwart mini-crew... I fed them pizza. 

Crew

It's time for a genuine shout-out to our very fine and somehow also slightly motley crew.

We didn't know that we were going to have a crew, because we thought that we would be like super-woman & wonder-man, building a house with one hand tied behind our backs... but low and behold, turns out we are human after all. 

Enter Memo, the smiley standing up one, who has been at our home most working days for many months now. A Columbian and a dancer, he will do most anything that needs doing, as long as you can explain in some version of spanish how to do it first. And Carlos, the one on the right, is really a framer, but now he is becoming a finish carpenter as we, well, get close to finishing. They are all good guys, and there is no way we could have made it through this without them. 

Where it's at

The master bathroom has been where a lot of the action is these days. 

Where once there was du-rock there is tile, and a tub that is not quite hooked up yet, and now Sean finagled it so that there is a countertop that seamlessly emerges from the wall, which is pretty darned cool, and will soon have sinks (with water!) on it. 

There are certainly some more finishing touches to go, but we are getting there.

Transformation almost complete

We are getting there!

The last bit is the fun part but it also takes forever! Especially when one is a perfectionist...

Pretty amazing to see the change-

Anyone want to buy a house?

Row your boat

Straighter! Faster! Better! 

No wait, maybe I changed my mind.

Someday we'll be taking a bath in here, honest.

Railing?

Seems a lot of my time is spent now running around to different stores and trying to figure out what to buy and how much, etc. 

This is for the wood railing that goes all along the house. 

Maybe. 

Mosaic?

We've been going to Heath Tile in Sausalito and buying their odds & ends- beautiful tile that is painfully expensive for the most part. Now all I've got to do is figure out what we are doing with it.

New swing

We passed by a bunch of garbage and I had to pull over because sean pulled out this tire and soon we had a tire swing that bounces, thanks to the spring from our previous garage door...

Dining Room Table

How Civilized we are... 

Creating newer from older

We have new front doors

and new side doors

new windows

a new roof.

But we had this big hole in the back of our house, where the big fancy opening of doors will someday go.

So sean set to work- harvesting the old windows and doors from the house and putting them to good use.

& then, he started talking on the phone.