Caps Required

The work this weekend included capping the newel post, baseboard and trimming out the stairs.  Brent is fabricating all our trim work with a router which is time consuming but does save quite a bit on cost.  Now we will need to touch up the paint on the trim work and certain places on the wall which required 'modification'.  It turned cold on Friday and we had a light snow all day which continued into the night.  The high on Saturday and Sunday did not get out of the 30's and our lows were in the teens.  It sure was nice to have a fire going all day.

Jillian decided not to arrive this weekend so we are currently on pins and needles waiting on the call to head north to Evansville.

The cap on the newel post.

The stringer was capped.

Some modification to the wall where the stringer cap meets the bottom stair tread.

Ok, some caulking will be required.

It began lightly snowing on Friday morning and lasted all day.  If you ventured outside you needed to wear a cap.

Once the clouds broke on Saturday, you could see LeConte was covered in snow.

 

Door Trim Installed

This weekend Brent worked on the door trim for the two (2) bedroom doors downstairs.  He purchased two (2) 8 foot long 1"x 12" and fabricated the trim.  We decided on a craftsman style and hopefully we will get the based boards installed next weekend.  This is all dependent upon when Jillian decides to arrive as we are now in def con 5 and awaiting news from Evansville.  Once the labor begins, we drop everything and head north.

Need to install one (1) more coat to cover the nail holes.  Brent finished installing just before we left and the wood filler was not dry.

It will look a lot better once the crown molding and baseboards are installed.

The snow line is receding on Mt. LeConte.  The earliest estimate for the reopening of the US 441 to Cherokee is May 2013.

Interior Painting in the Cold

This weekend at The Ridge was all about painting.  The ceiling in the hall, the posts, the doors and the walls were all painted.  As he was painting the posts, Brent decided to paint the two (2) downstairs bedroom doors the same color.  The crown molding and baseboards will also be painted the same off-white color.

The green color from the upstairs wall and the stairwell was continued into the hall downstairs.  This upcoming weekend we plan to install the craftsman style door casing and maybe the crown molding.

We woke up to a surprise snow shower on Sunday.  The sun came out around 10:30 am which was about the time the snow plow made its round in our hollow.  The girls shoveled the driveway and we had no problems leaving in the late afternoon.

Painting the downstairs interior doors.

Applied about three (3) coats over the previous stain.

The finished product.  We still need to perform some cutting and touch up paint.

The new door trim needs to be installed along with the crown molding and baseboard.

Need to re-install a face plate.

The caps on the sides will be red oak and stained to match the stair treads.

We already have cut and fit the handrail and will install the same iron ballasters as up stairs.

The surprise on Sunday morning.

A view of our dogwood along with the driveway and road.

Cookie loves to play in the snow.

Baby Shower for Jillian

On Saturday, the temperature rose enough to melt the ice such that Jennifer and Jessica headed up to Evansville, IN in the VW Beetle.  The church Renee and Greg attend were holding a shower for Renee on Sunday at 2:00 pm and Jennifer and Jessica braved the weather with the motto of  "neither snow nor ice nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these two from attending the shower".

Not that it was rigged or anything but Jennifer won the door prize and Jessica won the game contest, so with Renee getting all the gifts, the Conley's took home all the loot.  In fact even Cookie sent a gift to the shower for Jillian.  Needless to say the girls had a great time at the shower and their time with Renee and Greg in Evansville.  They safely returned on Monday.

We are now down to less than one (1) month before the arrival of Jillian Grace and we become Gram and Pappy.

Opening gifts.

Ok I am ready to open the next gift.

"Winner Winner Chicken Dinner".

I really like the blanket that Cookie picked out.

Back from the shower and ready to go to Menards.

The grateful couple display their gifts from the shower.

Ice on The Ridge

We arrived last night (Thursday) at The Ridge just ahead of the winter storm warning.  Turns out it was not warning but we have been hit at The Ridge by ice.  It is sort of strange as it is falling as rain and then freezing on the ground.  The sun has not been seen today and the roads are glazed with ice which is not a good combination with the mountains.  Looks like Gatlinburg is not getting hit as hard as Knoxville.

Jennifer and Jessica were scheduled to leave today for Evansville, IN, but had to delay and hopefully will be able to leave tomorrow morning.  They are going to the baby shower for Renee on Sunday.

The top lamp has icicles.

The dogwood tree is coated in ice.

Rhododendron on the side yard.

Ice is everywhere.

This rhododendron is curling and prepared for the winter storm.

The dogwood tree.