back siding

The house from the back, with siding!
Rob had the week off from his regular job, so he's been at the house putting up siding. We got a bid of over $6,000 for labor alone on this. Rob did all of it, except for the shake style Hardie siding that will go in the peaks.
I got the foundation exposed and one coat of sealant on. Tomorrow, if it's not raining, I'll put on the second coat, mix some cement to cover some ... oh, don't ask. Rob has started one of the sheds and will work on that.
I think we have a plumber who will do the rough-in and check the set-in before final inspection, (which Rob would be doing - putting in fixtures and the like), as long as we release him from future liability. Nice guy, went to school with our HVAC salesman, whose dad lives down the street from the house and drives for our supplier. Maybe one of them has a brother who does drywall...
Oh, the temporary electric got sorted out, and we have power! After 3 weeks of running a generator, I'm sure the neighbors were cursing our name. Two poles - one at driveway at the road, and one most of the way up the driveway toward the house. From there right now it goes to the t-pole, but at the end it will be buried to the back of the house.
We got an update from our material supplier, and it has given us some sticker shock. Our first monthly bill was under $6000, these invoices add up to over $12,000, and don't include the siding or the material for the sheds. whew. We were seriously talking about just painting the plywood flooring for now to save a few thou. Did you know a box of nails costs $100? How many nails does it take to build a house...?
So probably rough plumbing next week, HVAC week after, then rough electrical. In those weeks I hope to get a railing on the front porch, dig a lot of dirt up against the house (its really good exercise), Rob will finish the shed and maybe start thinking about the septic, and get the roof shingles on.
Overall, we're not stressing about much, not in a hurry, confident the right people are coming our way, and best of all we're in almost total agreement about each step and able to talk about all the issues so far. But don't let that stop you from sending Care packages... cookies, chocolate, pizzas...