Carpets!
The house is almost, almost finished at this point. Read on for all the latest!
The front porch has appeared, missing only the brickwork underneath, stairs and railings. The railings are on order (they're just pressure-treated wood, like the porch itself), and should be here shortly.
(The boys aren't allowed to traipse around on the front porch without a parent there; see the "railings" above.)
Hey, look! Carpets! The official color is "moss": it's a very, very light green. The camera's initial shots turned out a little yellowish; I've done some lame color correction to try to get the right shade here, but you'll just have to come visit to see it for real.
The boys clearly like the bookshelves in the schoolroom. All the shelving is in place now.
The carpet runner up the stairs turned out nicely. (The door you see on the left is actually just leaning there; it's the study door, temporarily off its hinges.)
The entire upstairs is carpeted, including the hallways, closets and bedrooms. It *really* looks finished up there now!
And the new countertop has arrived in the kitchen. The overhang is more than a foot: plenty of space for either sitting behind there to eat or setting out spices and cooking supplies.