A New Year, A New House...Eventually

By now, you're probably wondering when we'll finish this damn house already. So are we! As you know, we went to Colorado and Mexico, and were gone for a month. That didn't speed things up. So, about half of these pictures are from early December, and the other half are from early January. Still, nothing's really been done recently, but we're getting back into the swing of things, and we're hoping for a final push to finsh the house within a few weeks. We'll see! Until then, hope you enjoy these pictures:

Here I am putting some primer on the outside of the house in December. Unfortunately it rained later that day, and a good deal of the sealer below knee level was washed away. You know what's even more depressing than that? My hairline in this picture.
But now that we're finally entering into the dry season, that kind of crap should be a thing of the past, and now we'll get to focus on the matter at hand: upcoming droughts.
And hair replacement solutions.

My brother-in-law Arnoldo, painting the outside of the garage. We were surprised how fast, dedicated, and good Angela's brothers were at painting. We had tried to avoid contracting family members, in case there were any sort of disputes, but we caved and let them paint. And we're glad we did.

My other brother-in-law, Ronald.

November 29, 2008, amid painting.

Our bathroom nearing its completion, with a tub and everything. One of the two final, major steps before we move in (besides kitchen cabinets and counters) is getting shower doors.

Looking nicer: January 11, 2009

Angela in the garage.

The small bathroom. If you come visit us, you are more than welcome to use the facilities (again, once we get those shower doors).

The view into the living and dining room, from the entry hall. This time of year in Berlín almost makes you forget how crappy the weather is a good 8 or 9 months of the year.

This picture makes me just want to walk into the frame, lay down on the floor, and wrap some of that paint-covered newspaper around me for a wonderful little catnap.

Angela demonstrating one of the big-ass doors/panels in our house. This one is to separate the TV/guest room from the living room. It's gigantic--remember, Angela isn't short--and I love it!

The other big panel/door, this one separating our bedroom from our bathroom. It's not as cool, but we are pretty sure that we now have the biggest mirror in Berlín, by a factor of about 10.

Oh crack! We think that the recent earthquake caused this crack in a window outside the dining room. Or it could have just been shoddily done. Nice out, boys! Either way, though, if it was the earthquake, we were lucky, since that seems to be the brunt of the damage. Many people lost much, much more.

A nice view from behind (and also the back of the house--he he). Hopefully by the time I get the next post ready, we'll be living in this beast. Stay tuned to see...Until then, thanks for reading and looking!