Our visit to the house Wednesday night was an electrifying event.

OK, perhaps I overstate.

We met the electrician to go through and plan out where all of our plugs and switches would go.

Although it did take a lot of energy to decide where everything should go, the real energy came from the framers who were doing there last-minute projects, and the roofers, who were finishing off the shingles.

The resulting cacophony made it difficult to hear the electrician, and difficult to concentrate in general.

A sampling:

Derrick (of Complete Electrical Services): "How do you feel about a BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG..."

Us: Uhh, sorry, what was that again?"

Derrick: "You need to decide where to put your BANG, BANG, BANG..."

Us: "Ah, right, of course, our BANG, BANG, BANG."

Derrick: "It's imperative that you BANG, BANG where you are going to BANG, BANG..."

Us: "We've heard that."

Derrick: "The key is to be able to turn on your BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, especially when you BANG, BANG."

I'm hoping, through the Phil Spector-esque wall of sound, Derrick was able to understand our wants and needs.

A construction recap:

• The framers wrapped up Wednesday night. They were busy. In all, they: put in the stairs to the basement, finished framing the basement subfloor, and added the wood on the front support columns in preparation for the stone work.
• They also built the frames for the bulkhead in the kitchen and eating areas, to create the visual separation from the living room.
• Because we changed the pantry from the alcove to the right of the fridge, we had to change the flooring to reflect that. We added an angle to the bulkhead to match the flooring change, and it looks awesome.
• In fact, I'm thinking they should be named the Midas Framers, as everything they touched turned to gold. OK, not gold, per se, but their work looks magnificent.
• The windows arrived as scheduled on Wednesday, and were all in place by the time we arrived at 5 p.m. That really makes the skeleton shell look more like a home.
• The grilles inside the windows add a subtle touch of Arts and Crafts, without taking away from the sightlines.
• The piles of mud have been backfilled, allowing for an unobstructed view from the street.
• Openings were cut in the subfloor and the framing to allow for the heating-cooling systems to be installed.
• The tub-shower for the main bath was installed and the shower for the en suite was also put in its place.
• We also were kept busy with our final collection of supplier appointments.
• Matt at Gateway Kitchen and Bath met with us on Tuesday to go over our final plan, sign off on the agreement, and make the order. That went smoothly, and we're off to the races.
• We talked with Mical at Total Lighting -- our winning light package bidder -- made the last-minute changes, and processed our order.
• We went to Woodland Supply to look at the choices for the trim around the doors and windows. Although they had some impressive options, we talked with Trevor (see note below) and he said he could have his finish carpenter make Craftsman-style trim on the spot.
• A return visit to Gail at Curtis Carpets to confirm and sign our selection sheet, and we called it a week.

Bit by bit, the pieces are being assembled, and we can see our dream slowly emerging from the chaos.