A house of Seven

Big news, guys. Awesomely cool wonderful news. 

Katie moved in!!

Lets start at the beginning. A few months ago, Katie was informed that the home she was renting was going up for sale, so she began looking for a new place to live. Caleb and I began mulling over in our minds the possibility of her moving in with us, 'cause we like her. A week or so later, when she brought it up, we were ready to talk about it! 

We talked. We made lists. We mulled and pondered and thought. And, ultimately, all three of us gave it a green light. 

Papa arrived with our list of supplies, and we got to work building an apartment.

Let me get this out, on the record, so it's clear. Katie, financially, does not need to live with us. She could afford to go rent or buy another little house and continue on in that way... but guess what? I've said it before and I'll say it again; we like her.

We have this strange independence thing going on in America. Independence is awesome - especially from tyrrany and oppressive leaders (ahem) but from family? Do we need to be independent of family?
Don't get me wrong - I believe firmly in self reliance. I believe that we shouldn't have to rely on government to feed us and rescue us from disaster. But families should stick together! It's driving me crazy that my siblings are living all over the U.S. right now, for reals. But such is life, and I am SO loving skype.

Katie is self reliant. As are Caleb and I. But does that mean that we have to have separate homes? In Italy when a child marries, they add on to the house! They stick together.

So, afterall the pros-and-cons lists had been written and we'd discussed and pondered, we all decided that this was a good thing. I can't speak for Katie, but for us - three months later - things are going great!

 So... where was I... Oh! Construction. Katie donned a little tykes hard hat (because we are nothing if not safety conscious) and we got to work.

The great room was one giant open space with the stairs coming up in the center of the room. We used to stairs as the divider to turn half to her house, while the rest of the room will soldier on as school room/art studio.

 First things first, out with half of the stairway railing.

This really was the easiest way to get it out.
Promise.

 The safest? Questionable. But it all went perfectly.

 Then up with the wall!

 I must ad, that having her here feels right. When Katie marries and creates a new family, off she'll go! But for now, this feels good.

 I know this space looks tiny but now that it's all finished and decorated and fanciness it's pretty nice. If I do say so myself. But ask Katie, she's the one who lives there.

Then up went the drywall! This is from the school room, looking towards Katie's house. That's her doorway. That's the light coming in from her exterior door that leads to the 10inch deck. What else is obvious enough for me feel the need to explain to you?

 Back inside Katie's house, she had chosen this gorgeous orangey brown for her wall. I think it's called Graham Cracker or something like that. It's yummy.

 Then down went the floor! We had some left over from the downstairs, because we decided to go with tile in the dining room and kitchen, and we hadn't returned it yet. So we brought it on up here!

Then Caleb taught me how to use his saw, and my horizons got a million miles wider. I want to build stuff now, man. I LOVE using the saw. 

 And, uh, hello? Perfection? Thank you.

 Jonah took 47 photos of me installing baseboard.
I'll spare you.

So, the main room took about two weeks to complete.
The bathroom? We're going on three months now...

 It's almost nearly so close to being done! You're doing great, Papa!
Oh, and guess what else? Tiling. Caleb and I learned how to tile. Now I want to tile everything. It's super fun.

 There is SO MUCH that goes into building a bathroom. Sheesh.
But, as soon as Caleb installs that last pipe behind the toilet (which will happen today! Woo hoo!), the bathroom will be complete.
*whew*

Now her home is full of her things and her plants and her Kitty and her spirit, and I must confess that I love to hang out on her couch. I won't share photos, because that's her space, but just know that it's adorable.

Last week we gave Katie her "welcome to our home" gift. We wanted to do something to show her how much we really love having her here. It was Caleb's idea, it was a complete surprise to her, and guess what? She liked it.

Welcome home, Mrs. Sherlock.

(Now I need to get it in gear and finish my half of the wall/room...)