Well, it took a bit more than we had anticipated (I think that will be the title of our book when we're all done with this) but the house is finally painted ... almost.  Since we had rented the hydraulic lift our main focus was on the second story of the house and we can happily say that that is complete.  (A special thanks to our color guru, Colleen for guiding us around the color wheel!).  All we have left are the windows/doors on the first floor and installing the trim to the lower portion of the house.  As exhausted as we were, we actually enjoyed doing it - like Sheelagh said every day "we GET to do this"!!  The past 6 years have been a labor of love and even with the aches and pains and frustrations we know that we are SO fortunate to have this opportunity.  And we've had LOTS of help and support along the way  which is what keeps us going!  (A special thank you to our guardian angel and biggest supporter, Denise - we wouldn't be where we are today without you.) As we finish up the painting, our focus returns to plumbing, electricity and HVAC.    Stay tuned ..