We've been in our new home a little over a week now, and even with all the construction and very little furniture, and living out of boxes and making do, it is really starting to feel like home. I still marvel at all those little things...like space and hot water...that I used to take for granted. After living in such cramped quarters for the past two years, I think it very likely that I, like Claire, will never take those things for granted again.
The new stairs are progressing nicely, thanks to my amazing father-in-law. The treads and risers are done, but there is still no handrail up, and the closet that will be underneath has yet to be framed in. That is really going to change the look of the living room, I think...but we really, really need that closet space.
The space on the other side of the bedroom door, underneath the new upstairs landing (which Dipstick really seems to enjoy, as well as the rest of the loft), will be devoted to my new reading nook. I can't wait to be able to curl up with a hot cup and a good book (hmm....wonder which one I will choose?), and enjoy my astounding view. 
This pic is cheating a bit, as it's looking down my driveway from the bedroom window, but it's the same view I have from that wall of the living room.
As you can see in the pics above, the old bathroom door has been framed in, in preparation for new wallboard to close it off for good, and the new door in to the laundry area/bathroom has been cut out, but not yet finished. I like this on two levels: first, because I will now have more wall to display family pics and a better stairway, and second, because it offsets the bathroom door for more privacy. 
On a side note, yesterday was the first day of Spring...but someone apparently forgot to send Mother Nature a memo, because she dumped half an inch of snow on the Ridge last night. I wish I could have seen it in the daylight, because I'm sure that it was beautiful, but I did manage to get a pic of Luggie's tracks in the snow outside the door, by way of floodlight. It was better than nothing, I suppose, and at least I got a momento of our first snow in our new home.
Last weekend, I caught Keith outside playing with Luggie. It was so sweet to see the two of them together, and it was almost a perfect reflection of the baby pic I had of them together three years ago. But the funny part was that as soon as I clicked the picture, Keith saw me, and snuggled up closer to Luggie for a Kodak moment. So....of course, I accommodated him. 
