February Update

As we get closer to the end of the build, it seems that we have less and less "interesting" stuff to tell you about. It's not that we're not working or that we're slacking off, it's more that the big, exciting things are done and now we're doing the finishing stuff. For example, it was a big deal when we had all the electrical wiring installed. It does not seem so exciting that we recently installed the last breaker in the distribution panel. Or that we have finally installed and activated all the basement lights and plugs. Not sexy, but really helpful at 6am when you're trying to mix up the feed for our hungry horses! It's SO nice to open the door to the basement and just flip a switch to light the stairway instead of fumbling with my LED headlamp. Descending those stairs is no longer akin to a spelunking adventure!
On the subject of lighting, we've made progress on another front. We have installed and activated 2 of the 6 coach lamps that illuminate the deck and doorways on the outside of the house. See my previous comments about the headlamp to relate my feelings about grilling on the BBQ now! Flip a switch....voila....I can actually see the burgers now! We found a great motion-activated LED flood lamp fixture for the back of the house. It was always our plan to use a motion sensor light so we could minimize the impact on our electrical system from high wattage flood lamp bulbs. This little unit uses only 14 watts but throws more than 1,000 lumens onto the driveway illuminating the entire area around the car and driveway. It makes arriving home in the dark (about half the year) much less interesting. We spend much less time fumbling to find our bags and gathering our belongings. It's all very civilized!
At the head of the stairs to our loft bedroom, we had a spot for a light fixture. It was designed to light the landing, throw some light on the top few steps and provide some additional lighting for our bedroom, which has only a small 4 watt bulb on the fan for overhead lighting. We had been shopping for an appropriate fixture and had decided that we would put in a small track light. This would allow us to aim the bulbs to bathe the desired areas with light. Being that we will not install halogen or CFL lights meant that we would more than likely have to purchase the appropriate LED lamps to replace those that come with these type of fixtures - a considerable expense at around $30 per bulb. Long story short(er), we found what appeared to be a great little fixture at Costco. It had 4 lamps rather than the 3 we had been looking for, but came with LED bulbs installed from the factory, and best-of-all cost only $49! We picked one up, installed it, and now have to wear sunglasses when we flip the switch. OMG, this thing makes some light!! We will have to bring the ladder back in and re-aim the lamps so we don't blind the poor person who is still in bed when the other gets up to go downstairs.
We have been getting some much better weather in January and February. Now, with the days getting longer, we can actually make more power than we are using on sunny days. The occasions we have to run the generator to charge up the batteries have stretched to more than a week now, from the 3 day average we needed through November and December. Yay! We are very thankful for our solar charging system and for the most part don't miss being tied to the power grid. It still amazes me that we are able to live more or less the same as most of you reading this, but we have no power lines, tv cable or phone lines running to our house. Very cool!
We'll try and post up some photos in the next few days. Roll on spring!