My Own Private Island

 So I made the happy mistake of checking the local Habitat ReStore Facebook page, and of course I saw something I couldn't resist.  

What's a Habitat ReStore?  It's a home thrifter's dream come true, that's what it is!  When people renovate their homes, they donate usable materials, furniture, appliances, decor, and whatnot to Habitat for Humanity.  HFH then sells these items at an amazing discount to the public, and they in turn use the proceeds to fund their projects.  It's a win-win deal!  ReStores are all over the place, so if you love bargain hunting, I highly recommend checking one out.

The treasure I found was this kitchen island:

I want butcher block countertops in my kitchen, so this will fit in perfectly.  I'll paint the base white, of course, and there are a few other details I need to address.  It seems this was a display counter in a retail store originally, and it's not even attached anywhere.  The legs are actually a fraction of an inch short and the countertop doesn't even touch them.  One side of the base was meant to attach to a wall, so it's not finished.  The top is actually upside down in this photo; the other side has a company name and logo carved into it.  I plan to put a small section of beadboard on the unfinished side of the base, and I'll need to give the bottom of the countertop a light sanding then hit it with a few coats of polyurethane so I can use it as the top.  One of the edges also needs to be slightly beveled to match the rest.  Having it in 3 pieces is actually going to make refinishing it that much easier, and it's a perfect size, so I'm incredibly happy to have stumbled across it. 

As far as the house goes, Day 15 was more framing and driveway work.  Apparently there's a discrepancy in the septic plans with the leach field, so they're waiting for the septic designer to come out and go over it before they actually start installing that part.  

Another materials delivery...

I also have an update on the solar light I put in the barn.  It came on automatically at 4:51pm last night.  I think the solar panel has a sensor that kicks on at a certain level of darkness, because it doesn't have a timer and it's dark inside the stall all day, but the light didn't come on at any other time.  Unfortunately when it comes on, it doesn't remember the level of brightness it was set to previously - it just goes straight to the brightest setting.  So long as I'm in the barn to adjust it, that isn't a huge deal.

Here it is from the alley looking into the stalls.

That's a pretty bright light for something so small!  

Here it is on the brightest setting, then the most dim setting.

I'm really pleased with it.  I think I'll move it to the other side of the stall, though, so it shines more into the first stall to give me a little extra light in there.  It didn't look like the mules spent any more time or actually bed down in that back stall with the light on, but they did walk around in it during the night.  That's encouraging.