And there was Light

I may not be spending as much time working on the house, but at least the contractors have been productive.  Tuesday, the mechanical guys installed the water heater that will serve the radiant floor, as well as the associated expansion tank, pressure relief valve, pump, etc.  Now I know I'll be warm this winter!  I don't dare turn it up very high until my second layer of adobe is good and dry or the place will turn into a crack den.

And today, the electricians battled a VERY reluctant bundle of cables to pull them from the sub panel outside into the house.  Lesson learned: two long sweep bends is a tough pull with 2" conduit.  Three bends (like my place) is a real chore!  It was reminiscent of raising the sails on a Maine Windjammer: one, two, three... PUULLLL!  One inch gained.  Sometimes two or three.  It was a nice payoff, though.  On a drizzly, dreary day outside, it was bright and cheery inside for the first time!

FINALLY! The shingling is done

I've been distracted with work, so the practice house has been languishing the past few weeks.  Guess I can't complain--after four months focused on the house, the inflow of cash had been dwindling.  But I've managed to get all the cedar shingles up:

I think every shingle in this little triangle needed to be trimmed in some way except for three.  Five hours later, it's looking good!

And now the shingling is all finished!

And one other small note, the electric company extended service to the new place and installed a meter.  This is the first one I've seen that read zero!