October 13, 2010:  Hey again, hope you are enjoying your fall so far.  Things are moving forward for us, nothing exciting to report though.  The house has a roof with shingles again and is about to get siding and new paint, pictures are updated on the left like usual.  We've made a few more decisions than the last time we spoke but for every one we take off the list it feels like 10 more appear that need to be sorted out.  We rented a storage room near the house and have started to pile up stuff for the rebuild.  The cork flooring is there, all the cable for the low voltage installation, all my tools that were saved are there and some that I've replaced are starting to trickle in.  My air compressor is the only electric tool that was saved, all drills, saws, sanders, etc were scrapped, a total bummer.  Gregg and I are starting to make more specific plans for the flooring install, things like stair risers, sideboards and trim pieces are being researched and decided on.  The next big task on my plate is replacing all the tools we'll need to do the floor, basically everything that was lost.  In the next week big choices have to be finalized so orders can be placed, things like cabinets, vanities, exterior doors, garage door and anything else that has a long lead time.  We also chose most of the tile we need for the new shower, just waiting for the framing changes to be completed so we can get accurate square footage numbers to get quotes on tile installation.  Other than all that nothing is really going on, the dogs are having a great time on the farm and we're trying to get on the road bikes when we have a few free minutes.  We found out that the mountain bikes we've ordered for replacements won't be in for at least another month, one will actually be two months, total bummer.  Anyway, hope everyone is well, we'll talk again soon. 

October 1, 2010:  Welcome to October, the time sure has flown by.  We have been out of the house for almost 10 weeks now, sometimes it feels like two weeks and sometimes like two years, depends on the day.  They have officially been working on the house for about three weeks now including the big demolition work and I am happy to report that the roofers are showing up Monday to do their work.  The siding and exterior paint will be a few days after that, and then comes the huge rush to get the interior knocked out.  I have updated the pictures in the House Projects - Fire Rebuild section and will keep doing so every few days as this continues.  A bit more progress has been made on the addition as well, windows, door and the wall to the house has been opened up, find those pictures on the House Projects - Addition page.  We have made lots of decisions over the last few weeks when it comes to the house, I can try to sum them up in one run-on sentence for you.  New kitchen cabinets, granite, under mounted sink, cork floors, bamboo floors in rest of house, new gas fireplace, whole house music system, delete master bathroom tub, 4 x 6 double walk in tile shower with no doors, 16 foot garage door instead of two 7 foot doors, 95% efficient furnace, brushed nickel hardware everywhere, phone, cable and network wiring throughout, skylight in master bathroom, same roofing as before the fire, paint colors for every room.  I think that's it so far, we have quite a few more to make in the next couple weeks, things sure are moving fast, which is awesome, don't get me wrong, just stressful.  I'll try to update this more but I can't promise I'll deliver on that, hopefully you all understand.  Keep watching the rebuild page as I'm more likely to update the pictures there than update this, sorry but pictures are easier than words, they don't require thinking.