"Go ahead and cover."

I am typing this post on Sunday morning at around 8am, while looking out one of the dining room windows in the house at Gull Lake Ranch...
That was the phrase, uttered by Wayne, the electrical safety officer, that removed tons of stress and worry and made me smile with a big, silly grin. We had met, as arranged and made our way to the house. As we chatted outside, while observing the solar modules mounted on the roof, he came across as amicable, interested and helpful. He gave me a couple of great tips as we went inside to check things out. He seemed generally pleased with everything he saw, making a few observations and recommendations before uttering those four simple words that made the day seem just a little sunnier.
That means we can go ahead with insulating and vapour barriers throughout the top two floors. The basement will have to wait for another inspection later on, but we expected that as most of the wiring still has to be done down there. As far as the SafetyBC people are concerned, we can drywall and finish up the main and second floors, however the TNRD have to come and inspect the insulation/vapour barrier prior to actually drywalling those floors. One step closer!
We had a motorcycling friend from Edmonton, Owen, come and camp at the Knutsford property for a few days. He wanted to see the new house before he left (he follows this blog!) so we arranged to ride up together on Saturday morning while Carol brought the car. He gave us a hand moving a couple of heavier items up from the basement (Alex, we miss you already!) before continuing on his way to Kelowna. Thanks, for the help, Owen. We hope you have a fun week and a safe ride home.
Carol and I had decided to stay at the house over Saturday night - our first night in the new place!With Dad and Beverley coming on Tuesday, it would be a good "practice run" for us as we were going to be staying up here during their visit.
Brian and Louise (the neighbours who sold us the property) had stopped by to enjoy the beautiful evening from our deck. We shared some drinks and good conversation before the air cooled enough to send them on their way and chase us inside to watch a movie on the computer. BTW, a quick shout-out to Darren, the Bell TV installer who had come up earlier in the day and installed the dish and wiring, ready for the receiver to be hooked up in a few weeks when we move in permanently. Thanks, Darren - great job!
The night went smoothly, with lots of new noises to keep us entertained if we happened to wake. The coyotes were in good voice and Brian and Louise's cattle (which are now grazing on our quarter) were the orchestra. Their low bellows were accented by the mooing and often high-pitched wailing of the bulls. It was quite the performance!
So, here we sit on Sunday morning, nestled in our couch, sipping our coffee - no milk :( - enjoying the sun rising over the valley with the mountains behind. It doesn't suck!