Mr. Building Inspector (who reminds me of the actor William Daniels right down to the glasses), came yesterday morning and passed our construction.  He did tell us we had to add something called "collar ties" (they hold the rafters together in the A frame part of the roof) and hurricane clips.  We promised to make them happen and he gave us the coveted white sticker.

Then he told us he will be back to inspect the insulation but not until the 19th since he will be on vacation.  (this was right after he told us we had to get R30 insulation which is 45 dollars a bundle.  We had R19 which was about 11 dollars a bundle.  Quite a price difference there). 

What this means is that we will not get our sheetrock up before the holiday since I need more than a day or two to put the living area back together before Christmas Eve.  We'll have insulation (covered by a plastic vapor barrier) so it will not be drafty and cold but it will look like a construction zone.  With garland and lights.

And a tree!  We went out yesterday and bought a Christmas tree.  Pk found it as soon as we walked onto the lot.  It's about 10 feet tall.  And then he walked a few steps and found a 14 foot tall tree. Now, mind you, we have 9 foot ceilings (or we will once we put the sheet rock up) so a tree that tall would be out of the question.  Except that this year, we have no ceiling and for once, Pk could get the tall tree he has always wanted.  I said "go ahead.  get it".  He hemmed and hawed and finally came to his senses and we got the 10 foot tree.  It's beautiful and with our new "open plan" we can put it anywhere so it's going right next to what we've taken to calling the totem pole.

This week, Pk will put the wiring in for the fixtures/outlets and then put in the insulation.  The roofer will put in the collar ties on Saturday and we'll attach the hurricane clips one night.  They're not hard, there are just a lot of them.  Then on Sunday, I'll clean the windows and walls and sweep the floors and we'll put down a carpet remnant and begin to move the furniture back in. 

Since we have a new space, we're trying to imagine things in different places.  It wouldn't do to put everything back where it used to be.  That would not use the space well.  It's exciting and will be nice to have the insulation in so the room is warm and we can come out of the bedrooms for a while and not have to be doing construction work.

It's hard for me to believe that there is only 2 weeks until Christmas.  It's plenty of time to get things done and I'm not feeling panicky or anything.  My mind has been so focused on getting a roof over our heads that I haven't had the brain cells to pay attention to much else.  That will change after the weekend when we reclaim some of our living space.  I have moved back partially into the kitchen.  It's so much bigger feeling without the walls.  I think I love it.

And I understand that not everyone knows what a pollyanna is, at least where it pertains to gift giving.  Everyone puts their name in a hat and you choose one person to buy a gift for.  It makes it easier if funds are short or there are just too many people in a family/group to get everyone an individual gift.  What it means in reality is that I only have to shop for my "pollyanna" and for Pk instead of all three girls and their SOs.  I made sure Pk and I didn't get each other so we can shop together.  There's a set limit for spending which is agreed upon ahead of time so it keeps things fair. 

I have done a small bit of knitting.  I finished Bigger on the Inside for Elanor.  There is no lovely outdoors modeled shot as it has been grey and raining for days here.  She loves it.  It's just a small shoulder shawl with sparkley bits.  It takes the place of the last four pairs of socks for this year.  When I finish the foot of the purple pair I'm making for her, I will be done and I can make some socks for me (or Pk, he's been waiting and waiting).  The woman at work who was trying to make the shawl is ready to try again after Christmas. I have a good start on the other one I was making so I can work with her on getting hers underway.

 I showed El how to block a handknit so she can block the Feb Lady Sweater I made her a few years ago.  She threw it in the washer.  Not a terrible tragedy since it's superwash wool.  But then she put it in the dryer.  I'm not sure how well it will block out if she wets it and we try to block it but it's worth a try.

I am waiting for the roving for my sweater to come in the mail.  Joan said she finished dying some roving in heathery colors to match my swatch and was going to put them in the mail this week.  It means I'll have to find time to spin some yarn so I can go back to knitting my sweater.  Probably after Christmas before we start the rest of the construction work.

So, what do you think of this fan?  The one with only two blades that looks like a propeller?  I like it a lot and think I want to put it in the dining room.  Having a fan in there really makes a difference in the summer.  It creates enough breeze so we don't feel stiflingly hot.

The fan we had stopped working and I missed it and knew I wanted to replace it and now I have an excuse to get a new one.  I really like the clean lines of this one.  Em told me it looks like an alien robot that is going to feed our brains to it's evil brain-eating overlords.

I think she watches too much television.

I'll post an update when we get the furniture back in place over the weekend.  I find I am really excited about this even though it'll be our old furniture for now (and for probably some time to come unless one of Pk's lottery tickets comes up a winner). 

Christmas is coming!