providencelodge-Newsday

It is really hard to take a good picture of the little boys room because it is long and narrow. We divided the third floor into half lengthwise, placing the boys room to the left of the stairs, which run up the middle of the house, and the girls on the right. Both sets of bunk beds and matteresses were given to us. The boys have never had more than a matteress on the floor, so they are very pleased with thier log beds and bunks, with one for Gabe to grow into.

I awoke today to cloudy skies and a sloppy slush falling outside my bedroom window. We have had several days of clear and cold weather, which is perfect for our solar power, but today looked like a generator morning. We are teaching all the children 5 years and up how to start and shut down the generator, and how to tell if the batteries are charged, still charging, or in need of charging. We are still learning what we can have on in the lodge when running just off solar. Did you know that an old computer monitor pulls the same wattage as a hair dryer? Me neither, but after leaving the monitor on all night I figured it out. :-)

Finally, finally, finally, we are moving in! Just as the drywall mess(and I do mean MESS!!!) goes out the door, or window, as the case may be depending on what floor you are on, the boxes are coming in and going to appropraited rooms. At this point, the shop vac is indespensible! The sheetrock dust that is everywhere must get cleaned up, the log walls vacuumed and washed the floors damp mopped, and we are ready to go. Now, understand that the house is not done, but we are exhausted of building, smooshed in our current house, and longing for the job to be over, so we are moving in on unfinished floors, with no tape, texture, paint, trim, etc. We will, hopefully, have some bedroom doors in a few days before the whole house gets moved.
Sometime in the future, we will move out of the 2nd flloor and get it finished, then the third, but for the time being we are happy just to be there and have a life besides the seemingly eternal building project! It has been an incredible journey, we have learned so much, we have poured our lives for the last 5 years into this lodge, and now, we are ready to enjoy and rest!
This afternoon, Brian and I will make a run to town for doors, the hot water heater, shower curtain rod, hopefully a bathroom sink from Habitiat, and a few more odds and ends. When get home, the 2 nd clear coat will have to be applied to the first floor flooring, then we can't walk on it for 48 hours, but we have a busy weekend planned anyway. Monday we will hopefully tackle getting the bathrooms buttoned up, but that will be another post. So long for now, even the rain cannot "dampen" my excitement today!