Happy New Year ... getting closer

I recently had lunch with a friend and mentioned that there is no cell phone coverage at our new home - and she asked if we really lived in "the sticks". Perhaps this answers the question: driving back from our house on Saturday, we encountered a stray cow out on the road. John couldn't get her to turn around and smile for the camera, but here she is - -

Progress is still being made on our house, although it sometimes seems that the closer we get to completion, the slower it goes. We do love the tilework, however - here is a close up of the tile in our walk-in shower:

The painters have held up work inside by taking a previously unannounced two week vacation. Upstairs is painted, however, and they have started downstairs, including staining some of the cabinets and stairs. Here is John behind the kitchen island (the countertops are still covered with paper):

And here in the dining area is the cabinet that is to resemble a piece of furniture:

Scott has cleaned out an area in the basement for us, and we brought the first small load of things from the storage unit - moved for the final time! This improved both of our frames of mind, just to feel like we were actually DOING something (even if just moving some garden tools):

So - - no move-in date yet.... stay tuned!!