Furnishings Arrive

Friday the truckload of boxes and furniture arrived from Seattle. Since the house is not finished, we stacked this in the bedroom and study, with a few things (like the fountain and lawn furniture — though I never had a lawn) on the front porch. The garage is still being used as a workshop for cabinet construction. On Thursday we struggled trying to install the range and refrigerator in the kitchen. Without these appliances, the kitchen colors appear in the photo at right. The American Walnut (Black Walnut, Juglans nigra) looks very nice.Friday we concentrated on building the mud room cabinet, so the appliance problem will wait for a few more days. Then there is the linen closet to build in the bathroom.

So I am not ready to move my body into the house, even though I will probably unpack some of the kitchen today (Saturday) after the community work day. I also want to repaint the doors and door-frames with semi-gloss paint (same color) because the eggshell shows dirty fingerprints and does not wipe off easily. I was always uncomfortable with the specified matte finish, and the color consultant has come around to my way of thinking.

However, on Friday a distinctly non-photogenic but very positive event occurred: we passed the plumbing inspection and can now get natural gas service. That will allow me to have heat. I also received the special gas meter, which I plan to use to monitor only the gas use for the furnace — separate from cooking and hot water. That is the true test of my unusual heating system design. I will also place a Kill A Watt electric meter on the furnace and ERV, as they form the base load for heating and ventilating the house. I have yet to install the tiny computer that will monitor temperatures all over (and under) the house.

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