Crummy coupla weeks, made crummy by that we had to let our beloved cat Juneau die. (Above, last hours of quality time....) Sad sad sad. Who needs a house when you can't have your cat in it!
Well, having gotten this far, I've kept at it, albeit broken heartedly. Actually, I'm trying to hire some help now that I'm thoroughly exhausted. So although we (Jennifer, mostly on this) mixed and pigmented our own "paint" (lime wash really) for the plaster walls, we had a painter come and apply it. So it's been a pretty big mess for the past two weeks but the progress has been good: 
Most recently I've been working on the side of the staircase, which is made up of metal alternating with pieces of Oregon red oak from a tree that was dying when we bought the land, so we had it milled. Oak isn't normally my favorite wood, and I'm not so sure about it on the sides of the stair... but coming as it does from 50 feet away, it was just too perfect not to use.
Here are things beginning to get into place.
And here are some shots of it as it got finished. The metal is NOT stainless, so it will change considerably over time, and I think when the banister and balustrades go in the whole thing will hold together better....
COmbing metal with wood like this is very demanding.... they are not the most compatible of materials.... One moves and the other is unforgiving... I designed it to mimic life itself. =; -(
The paint job is nearly finished. Above is the study, which still needs a cabinet to divide it from the hall, but that's for a WAY later time.
It was a nice sunny morning on Saturday so I took a few pictures post clearing of a lot of the floor -- in preparation for sanding to start next week.
Bedroom above, living room below
SIgning off with an image of Juneau in far better health quite a while ago:
