PROGRESS

Why in the world …Oh!!!

 

We were talking to our builder, Nick, yesterday and he said something interesting.  He said the first time any of the subcontractors work on our house their first reaction is "Why in the world would anyone build a house down here?" (The road to our house is narrow, steep, gravel, and muddy, with puddles when it rains.)  But when they get to where the house is their reaction changes to "Oh, it is really very _____ down here!"  Fill in the blank with pretty, nice, beautiful, peaceful, lovely etc.

 

I have had the second part of the conversation with virtually all the guys who have been working on the house as I have been checking progress in the last few weeks.  In fact, one variation I had with Boomer who drives the bull dozer.

 

"You know it is really very nice down here," Boomer said.

 

"I know, I am just going to sit in the hot tub and look at my waterfall," I replied enthusiastically, "what could be better than that?"  They had just delivered the hot tub which will go on our enclosed patio and I certainly do love hot tubs.

 

"Well," replied Boomer thoughtfully, "I can think of one thing." (!!)

 

I did not pursue the conversation further.

 

Dan went down with me and is really getting into the spirit of the thing.  We spent a lot of time discussing what furniture we would take and what we could discard.  We considered which pictures and pieces of our glass collection would fit in, and what we should do with everything else.  (We are losing about 500 sq. ft. ~ 47 sq. m. and lots of walls.  dt)  Unfortunately, Dan felt he could fit a lot of the items I thought we could discard into his office. He plans to put 1 large desk, 2 typing tables, one TV on a stand, 2 or 3 bookcases, one recliner, one  cabinet with glass doors, and of course a desk chair and a computer in a small bedroom.  (It has a nice closet.  dt)   I was put in mind of Dr. Who's expanding telephone booth.  (The TARDIS – dt)  Time will tell how it will all work out.

 

Yesterday we went to pick out the different flooring.  The girl who "helped" us would not tell us or did not know the prices on anything, so we went around picking out what we liked.  Unfortunately, we have very good taste!!  I (or we) will have to go back again now and try to figure out what we can actually afford.  Sigh!!  There are an incredible amount of different tiles, carpets, and wood flooring options.  Nick, the builder, promised either he would go with us or would find a better sales person for us.

 

The wiring is about done and the plumbing lines are laid.  The outside doors are in and the garage floor is poured.  As soon as they put up the dry wall in the next couple of weeks it will really look like a house on the inside.  Boomer will come back next week to work on the cistern and the leach bed.  He will also spread the topsoil  (many tons)  so I can start planting things!   YIPPEE!!

 

 

We have added just a few pictures; the inclement weather kept us inside.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157601749258506/

 

dan and rebecca

 

 

http://www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com/

 

 

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Way Out West

A WEDDING in IDAHO

 

The new house is coming along very nicely.  More about that below.

 

We recently returned from Idaho where we attended the wedding of Rita's (one of Rebecca's sisters) daughter Kate.  We can report that there are still cowboys – and cowgirls – out west.  Rita lives in Boise, Kate in Mountain Home.  The wedding was in the meadow near Kate's place and the reception (no pictures here) was in Bruneau, a speck of a town further south of Mountain Home.  We had a wonderful time and greatly appreciate the friendly hospitality.  Jeremy and Kate make a wonderful couple and we wish them a long, fruitful life together.

 

Here are some random pictures surrounding the event:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157602053565632/

 

We also had a nice time visiting Boise.  The annual Art Festival took place while we were there and we also visited the World Center for Birds of Prey  ( http://www.peregrinefund.org/default.asp ) among other sights.  Just a few miscellaneous pictures:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157602063643691/

 

And if you are a bit interested in cowboy culture and cattle, here are some sites about Jeremy and Kate:

 

http://www.american-journal.org/issue8/featurepage8.html

 

http://www.brokencirclecattle.com/index.php

 

 

Mrs. T provides excellent commentary on our construction:

 

Well building this house is a lot more involved than I ever imagined. I guess it would be easier if we were not so picky. The latest thing is the shower. We never take baths so I decided that I wanted a nice big shower like we have in Mexico. The thing is in Mexico Tile is cheap and so is labor. Also in Mexico Estella comes in twice a week to clean. (I hate cleaning between the tiles when it gets moldy!!) While doing research I found a thing called a shower cabin which would wash you at all different levels, dry you, and massage you while you watched TV or listened to you favorite music. I was really disappointed that it didn't brush your teeth and gargle for you but there you are. Forgoing this marvel which cost half as much as our whole house we are going with an, off the shelf (if it is a very tall shelf) acrylic one piece shower the size of a bath tub. It has a little seat which will be convenient when we get a little older and more decrepit, or I may use it now on those days when I find a shower just too exhausting.

The next thing is trying to reach accord on the colors to paint all the rooms. I asked my husband what color he wanted his office and he finally said puce. I asked him what color that was and he refused to answer (I don't think he actually knows but I am not absolutely certain). I looked it up and it is a deep reddish purple! While looking up puce I noticed that the definition of puddle duck is dabbler something I always wanted to know. Aren't dictionaries wonderful!

For our bedroom I thought purple might be nice but Dan wasn't buying it even when I told him purple was a passionate color. I mentioned aqua but that ship didn't float either. He said we better stick with blue and I suppose he is right. One complicating factor is that while I am picking out colors I am trying to keep in mind window treatments.

Yes I said window treatments, how high falutin' is that. But for the first time in our married life we do not need curtains for privacy. There is no other house within sight of ours. In our bedroom we will probably want blinds so that we can darken the room but other than that I think I will just drape fabric across the top of the windows and let it hang down the sides. I bought some really lovely kimono fabric that I think I will use in our bedroom.

The next question is what color to paint my office but I am still undecided. I think a trip to Andersons to look in their wallpaper books is in order.

On Sunday a friend of our son is coming to stand on top of our house and see where we should put the satellite dish. As I understand it he has a thingy he points at the sky to see where the signal is best. We have never had either cable or a satellite before (Actually we have cable at the condo – dt)so I hope Dan is not overwhelmed by all the possibilities.

 

We have added a few more photos in New House 3:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157601749258506/

 

We hope you look at the links, they have some interesting material.  Our Flickr pictures may be edited in the future.

 

Dan and Rebecca

 

http://casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com/

 

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