Rocky Horrors: Dammit, Granite! I Love You!!!

Tags

EPA, granite countertops, home building, radon

This post was originally intended for my other site, The Purpose Driven Mom, where I blog all about healthy living and such.  I decided to post it here too since it is all about Tha House. 😉

So, you all know we’re building a house, and we are just about ready to move in.  The floors are being laid, we have lights and heat, and it looks more and more like a home every day.  I am really pleased with all my countertops.  This island is my favorite part:

As the granite guys were finishing up the install and smoothing out my seams, my builder – honestly unaware of my commitment to healthy, chemical-free living – casually commented to me that granite emits a carcinogenic gas.

WHAAAAAAA???!!!!!!

I looked at all my beautiful granite, which comprises every single countertop in my entire home, and wondered how in the heck I could have missed that news.  Maybe because I never thought I’d be building a house and installing granite in the first place??

So, you KNOW I did some research, which included browsing through a 182-page document on foreign trade where I learned that Kazakhstan extended its ban on light oil imports until June of 2012 and Russia won’t allow pig imports because of some five-syllable disease potential.  But, back to my granite and that nasty radon scandal.   Turns out, most of this news came out in 2008, and there hasn’t been much ado about it since.  So what was all the hype, anyway?

Granite, being a naturally occurring material (stone) is going to naturally have some uranium, radon, etc in it.  As do sand, concrete, clay, bricks, and rocks.  As the radon is released, it can poison the air, and breathing it in excessive amounts could of course lead to cancer.

Do not think that I take this lightly. But I’m also not going to take one source’s word for it.  So I kept on digging, hoping to find anything written after 2008 that either proved or disproved all the accusations. Accusations, as it turns out, that can be traced back to people who have vested interest in companies that compete with granite countertop producers.  Go figure.  So where’s an honest mom to turn?

I found this guy who broke it down and linked to some non-partial parties and offered some mind easing solutions for those of us who have a tendency to go off the rails when faced with news like this, especially as it might affect our health and our children’s safety.  Basically, even though I have granite scattered throughout my home, I will face more danger from the radon in my brick and my foundation and my driveway than I will from my countertops.  The good news is that as the radon (which is minimal) is released from these earthy substances, it dissipates into the air around us, so if our overall air quality is good, then our worries are nil.  Granite that seems to produce the most radon and radiation comes from more exotic countries and usually is in the higher price ranges because of the cost of importing it. Additionally, the EPA suggests low-cost test kits for homeowners who are concerned about the radon exposure in granite countertops.

So while I will completely wig out about hormone replicators in beauty products and petroleum by-products in our foods, I’m not going to sweat my countertops so much.  My research and the lack of current arguments against granite pretty well convinces me that my bigger threats lie elsewhere, like that damn Halloween candy that just won’t go away.

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Locked and Loaded

Tags

book cases, built-ins, cabinets, construction locks, doorknobs, home building

On the afternoon that the cabinets and built-ins were delivered, I was so excited.  I ran through the house, snapping pictures of all the woodwork propped against walls and laying on the floors.  I beamed with pride as I identified my living room mantle and the utility room cabinetry.  I skipped through the unfinished pieces and tried to imagine where everything was going to fit.

The Builder and the Beasts

The next morning, I was showing the photos to my mother on my phone.  There was a photo of one of my living room bookcases propped on its side.  It was then that I first noticed a vertical support beam down the center of my bookcase.

“Hold on a minute!  That’s not supposed to be there!  It’s not that way on my plans!  That middle bar is going to disrupt the flow of my shelves!!!!”  I flung my massive sheets of house plans across mom’s kitchen table as I sought to prove myself right.  “See?!!!!  No center bar.  They messed up!  I gotta call Dominick!!”  In my panicky state of mind, and on my itty-bitty phone, it actually looked like I would have all of twelve inches on either side of the center bar to display my bookshelf items.  And twelve or so inches simply was not gonna do!!!

I decided it was best not to call Dominick and tell him my dilemma, since I was already determined to drive out to the site and size it all up again.  That way, I could show him exactly what I didn’t like about my bookshelves.  And, with a small moment of clarity, I also knew that my builder is too much like me.  Had I called him and said, “I’ll be there in 30 to talk about that center beam on the bookcase,” he would have stewed and worried until I arrived, at which point we would have both been so frazzled that we would have been absolutely no good to each other.  Instead, I dropped Vic off at school and headed south to my new home site unannounced.

When I walked in, Dominick was tied up with one of the trim carpenters, so I marched on over to the bookcases and proceeded to size them up.  Dominick later would tell me that he saw the look on my face and immediately said, “Oh, Jesus, help me through this one!”  My mom remarked that, “At least he knew who to go to!”

While sizing up my bookcases, I chastised myself for worrying.  I stood there, eyeball to wood beam, looking at the edge of one of my bookcases which easily stood five feet off the ground with the whole unit laying on its side.  On. Its. Side!!!! Each shelf on the sides of the center beam was about 2½ feet wide.  So much for my piddly little twelve inches theory.  In fact, the bookcases are so wide that they HAVE to have the center beam for support.  Once Dominick explained all that to me, I was okay, but I had unintentionally scared him well enough.  I believe we call that, “my bad.”  😉

My builder got me back the next week.  We were watching the stucco crew install my front porch columns when Dominick asked how I liked my doorknob.  I eagerly looked at the front door and thought I spied something [cough, sputter] gold.  He said, “Oh, come over here.  You can see it better on this door.” We walked into the house and he led me to the back door where my fears were confirmed as I laid eyes on yet another plain, round, brass doorknob.  I stared at it in disbelief, thinking that it was so unlike my builder to not let me pick something so prominently seen.  I tried to be genteel about it as I stammered my inquiry: “Ohhh.  Um…are they all going to be, you know, gold??”

He couldn’t hold it in any longer…he doubled over with laughter and staggered a few steps as he explained the concept of construction locks to me.  (For those of you who are clueless like me, construction locks are temporary doorknobs that are installed once any remotely-movable items of value are added to the home.  They are removed when the permanent, pretty knobs are ready to be installed.)  The best part was when he said, “I KNEW you would have that reaction!!!  I could have bet money on it!!!!”

And then I threw my head back and yelled, “Oh, thank GOD those are not my doorknobs!!!”

Here’s a little kitchen preview while we wait for the painters to come in and stain all these cabinets that I can’t reach.

The kitchen view from last week

Well-Versed

At the closing for our construction loan the attorney shared with us the fact that his mother-in-law had written Bible verses on the studs in his home as it was being built.  I fell smack IN LOVE with this idea!!  And then I proceeded to take it way beyond the borders of “controlled.”  I tend to do that sometimes.  Okay, okay…a lot of the time.

Upon hearing this idea, I was instantly smitten with the thought of literally building our home around God’s word.  My mission in this task was to select verses that had particular meaning for the building of our home.  I wanted verses on the foundation as well as within the walls.  I wanted to memorize the inked details of each verse and where it was written so that I could stare right through the flooring or drywall and see it in my mind.  I wanted my home to be a visible reminder to me of the words we try to live by.  I wanted God’s blessing on this home, and His word permanently inscribed in it.

I searched and searched for appropriate verses to put within our walls.  Verses that would be applicable to the idea of building a house.  That soon grew into me wanting verses that applied to raising a family, showing love to each other, growing in faith… it sorta snowballed on me.  I couldn’t find anything on the web that suggested verses according to typical rooms in a house.  So I asked co-workers for their favorite verses.  And I did much reading on my own.  I had already packed away my favorite Scripture reference book, Where to Find It In the Bible, so it was all left to me, my friends, and ScriptureText.com.  We didn’t do half bad, as it turns out.

I spent one whole weekend writing on my foundation and the studs with five brand new Sharpie markers.  (Those Sharpies aren’t so sharp anymore.)  I wanted four well-known, all-encompassing (foundational, if you will) verses for the four corners of our home.  Then I wanted a primary verse for each major room, followed by a different verse for each wall of every room.  The verses had to be particular to the room they would represent.

My favorite story from this whole experience is of the plumber who was working in the utility room.  He called my builder over and said, “We can’t put the water heater where you want it.”  When my builder asked why not, the plumber said, “Well, see, there’s a verse of scripture right there on the board I need to cut to bring in this pipe.  I can’t cut that!”  My builder assured him that I would be willing to write the verse again, and the pipes went in as planned.  🙂

Long after I had written the verses and my personal prayers into the wood and cement, I decided to also line the perimeter of the family room with the Litany of the Saints.  I used the specific text from my favorite musical rendition of the litany, and I added the names of our deceased family members to the end of the list as well.  Specifically, I added the following stanzas:

Mary and Victor, pray for us.
Lula Mae and Al, pray for us.
Rex, Ann and Phoebe, pray for us.
Howard “Bud” and Samuel, pray for us.

Maxine and Patricia, pray for us.
Junie and Michael, pray for us.
Annie and Carmella, pray for us.
Paul, Ann and Eva, pray for us.

Margo and Josephine, pray for us.
Sue, Johny and Nell, pray for us.
Clinton and Curtis, pray for us.
Janie and Haynes, pray for us.

Randy, Joe and Alvin, pray for us.
Howard, Dolly and James, pray for us.
Earline, Chester and Irene, pray for us. 
Jess, Donald and LaVerne, pray for us.

John, Anna and Alfred, pray for us.
Frank, Frances and Catherine, pray for us.
Peter, Joseph and Albert, pray for us.
Pat, Anthony and Michael, pray for us.

(I went back as far as grandparents’ siblings.  Plus, I actually knew three of my great-grandparents, so they are listed too.  The litany runs almost the entire perimeter of my family room, which I thought was rather appropriate.)

So the rest of this post is the details of the verses and the rooms I assigned them to. I debated for a long time about writing this post because of how long I knew it would be.  Eventually I decided to post them here for two key reasons:  1) Even though this is shared with the World Wide Web, this blog is my personal scrapbook, and if the verses are that important to me (and they are) then they deserve to be here.  And 2) I hope that anyone else who wants to do this will find this post to be a good reference for verses in the rooms of his or her own house, since it represents about three weeks of reading, sorting and compiling.  My list of verses was eight pages long when I finished putting it together.  Yes, really.

—————

Written on Foundation in Entry and Family Room:
And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9

Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Psalm 127:1

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established. Proverbs 24:3

Written on the Four Corners of the Foundation:
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.”  John 11:25

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:5

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:7

Over the Front Door:
But as for me and my house we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15

Over the front door

Entry Hall Walls:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Office/Study
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.  Colossians 3:23

Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” John 6:29

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28-30

Living Room
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12

Matthew 22:37 Above the fireplace

For wherever two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.  Matthew 18:20

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me, says the Lord. Isaiah 49:16

For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.  Psalm 48:14

Romans 8:28

Bedroom Hall Walls:
Train up a child in the way he should go…even when he is old he will not depart from it.  Proverbs 22:6

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  Ephesians 2:10

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  Philippians 4:6

But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19

Aaron’s Room
Foundation:
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.  2 Timothy 1:7

Walls:
Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path.  Proverbs 23:19

It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes.  Psalms 133:2 

Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old.  Ecclesiastes 12:1 -3

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12

Closet:
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:14

Victoria’s Room
Foundation:
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.Jeremiah 29:11

Walls:
My daughter, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.  Proverbs 5:1-2

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day.  Psalm 91:5 (My sister-in-law painted this verse on a wall hanging at Vic’s request so that she can read it every day.)

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD. Psalm 127:3

In Victoria’s window seat

Closet:
She is clothed with strength and dignity…  Proverbs 31:25

Kids’ Bath
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.  1 Corinthians 6:19

Love one another deeply, from the heart. 1 Peter 1:22

Over the tub:
Cleanse me … and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7

Master Bedroom
Foundation:
I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.  Psalm 4:8

Walls:

May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 22

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2

However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. Ephesians 5:33

The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life. Proverbs 31:11-12

When I found him whom my soul loves; I held on to him and would not let him go. Song of Solomon 3:4

“’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22:37-40

Master Bath
Foundation:
The Lord is my shepherd; nothing shall I want.  Psalm 23:1

Walls:
By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:35

Cleanse me … and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7

Dom’s Mirror
A cheerful look brings joy to the heart.  Proverbs 15:30

Lori’s Mirror
The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.  1 Samuel 16:7

Lori’s Closet
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Colossians 3:12

Dom’s Closet
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? …But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:25-33

Dom’s Storage (Hunting Gear)
Foundation:
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Genesis 1:26

Over the door:
A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal.  Proverbs 12:10

Pantry
“It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”  Matthew 4:4

Kitchen
Foundation:
Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.” John 4:13

I also put this verse on the foundation of the well house.

Walls:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…Galatians 5:22

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17

In the kitchen window sill

Dining/Breakfast Area
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Matthew 6:11

Utility
Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future. She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.  Proverbs 31: 25-27

John 16:33

Side Entry
Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:10

Back Door
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Stairway
Great peace have they who love God’s law, and nothing can make them stumble. Psalm 119:165

Upstairs Room
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

Every good and perfect gift is from above.  James 1:17

Closet:
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another. 1 Peter 5:5

Attic Entry
So store up your treasures in Heaven; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21

On the steps in the attic.

Upstairs Bath
God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8

For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end. Psalm 48:14 

Half Bath
In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death. Proverbs 12:28 

Exit Hall
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Psalm 139:3   

The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.  Psalm 121:6-8 

 Garage
In front of the two cars:
Do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land.  I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you.  Genesis 28:15

Joshua 1:9 In the garage in front of our cars

Walls:
Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.  The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.  Psalm 16:5-6

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Psalm 37:4

The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Psalm 126:3

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. Galatians 2:20

Over the main garage door:
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Loggia (Patio)
Be still and know that I am God…Psalm 46:10

I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. Philippians 4:11

Outdoor Kitchen:
So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad.  Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.  Ecclesiastes 8:15

Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  Mark 11:24

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.  John 15:7

————

Interspersed throughout the home are my own prayers written on door frames and in other particular places, like this one under the main fireplace.

Prayer under the main fireplace

And of course, no venture of mine would be complete without a hidden love note for the man I share my dreams with:

Behind Dom’s sink area in the Master Bath. 😉

Excuse Me While I Bare My Ceilings

Tags

ceilings, home building, lighting hardware, rafters, roof shingles, roofing

It’s been a little while since I gave a full-fledged update on the new house.  I don’t think there has yet been a single development that hasn’t thrilled me to my very core.  As the frame went up and the rafters were positioned, the home started taking incredible shape right before our eyes.  Some insulated boards, a little home wrap and a bit of tar paper gave the structure some Little-Engine-That-Could character.

In the midst of the raftering and the structuring, I loved walking through the house and memorizing its bones.  I know it will look completely different when the sheetrock goes in, but for now I love looking up through my ceiling area and seeing the intricacies of the rafters.  (Hey – it’s intricate to me.  I can’t manage to fasten two popsicle sticks together on my own.)  My favorite part of the bones is this portion of the roof’s underbelly as seen over the entry hall from my living room.  It reminds me of a cathedral, and when the evening sun peeks in and reflects off of the insulated boards it looks downright ethereal to me.

Electricians came in and did their thing, giving my rooms and ceilings a little more character with the lighting hardware.

And finally this week the framing crew returned to install the ceiling boards I had selected for the porch and patio ceilings.  I got really excited when I saw this above the front porch:

Tropical Storm/Hurricane Isaac threatened Louisiana right as we were preparing for shingles to go up.  Given that my home sits on good ol’ down-home Louisiana red clay, my builder was very cautious about letting anyone up on my roof with mud on their shoes.  The threat of bad weather meant we waited a few extra days before the shingles were added.  If you ask me, it was totally worth the wait.

So you see, things are definitely “looking up.”  We’ll be plugging along until the next update.

Sticks and Starbucks

Tags

home building, paint colors, Starbucks, stucco

This week the official framing of the house began.  Now we can start to see slight room definition.  While placement of the rooms is now clear, relational size of them still eludes us.  But that’s okay – we got us some sticks!!

One afternoon I drove out to the site via a different access road.  As I drove over the interstate overpass I glanced in the general direction of my house.  All I could see were trees and studs.  I mean, I could really see my not-even-half-constructed house through all those trees!!  My hand flew to my mouth and I think I actually said, “Holy crap!  That’s my house!” Out loud.  It just looked so…big.

Someone please remind me of that if I ever whine about how small it is.  Or better yet, just give me a good ol’ Gibbs head slap.  I’ll totally deserve it.

It all feels so very real now.  The dream is starting to take some actual physical shape.  We even have stairs already!!

As the frame started to come together and I began to actually envision the outside of the home in slightly more concrete pictures (haha – get it? Concrete? Oh, nevermind…) I chastised myself for not yet settling on a stucco color for the front of the house.  I already chucked the whole idea of picking my own interior color, and just uploaded a pic of paint samples to my Facebook timeline and let my friends pick the wall color.  (It was a rough day and I was taxed!)

Anyhoo, I was happily riding along in the passenger seat of my Dad’s car when we pulled into a Starbucks location that I had all but forgotten.  While sitting in the drive-thru it finally hit me: I LOVE the color of the building.  It’s a dark latte color, or maybe a…mocha frap?

I’m here all week, folks. 

I emailed Starbucks’ corporate offices to ask them if they could possibly research their files and tell me what color was used on that particular building because I wanted to duplicate it on my house.  They kindly replied that they could NOT tell me the color because it would violate the confidentiality agreements they have with their contractors.

Okaaaaayyy…

I assured them that I am not above standing outside the coffee-house with a stack of Sherwin Williams paint swatches – which I have already done (twice).  But thanks to a Starbucks-loving Sherwin Williams employee and another who thought the confidentiality excuse was a load of bull, I was able to learn that the exact color is SW7695, Mesa Tan.

So the next time you have a latte, remember the crazy chick in Louisiana who wants her house to look like your coffee.  🙂

I Saw My House

I have planned. I have imagined. I have dreamed of what my new house will look like. I see the paper plans and I know where the walls will go. I have tile samples and paint swatches and pictures of my faucets. I can imagine all the details, but it’s all rather like a dream – everything floats freely, void of those pesky constraints of reality. Whenever I imagine my kitchen and I suddenly realize I have not imagined where the coffee pot will go, the scenery stretches like a vision from Harry Potter’s world and suddenly makes room for whatever I forgot to imagine. Real walls don’t do that, I know. My mind is just a playground.

When our builder first drew our house (actually the second drawing) he used the basis of a home he had already built in order to accommodate everything I said I wanted in the house. The layout was already done, and then he tweaked rooms and elongated walls to make me happy. Since then, he has been saying, “I have to take you to see [Joe’s*] house! It’s so similar to yours!” (*Names have been changed to protect the unknowing.)

Two weeks ago, we finally went to see Joe’s house. We turned into the subdivision, wound down some back streets and parked. Wow. The house really looked nice. And vaguely familiar. As we headed up the front steps, our builder pointed out Joe’s four steps as compared to my three steps (or two, if I desire to save a little cash). We walked inside and he pointed out the small differences between our kitchen and Joe’s. We stood on the back patio, the “loggia” as our house plans refer to it. (That’s what happens when an Italian builds a house for another Italian: you learn all kinds of new words!) Dominick, our builder, would say, “This is what yours will look like, except yours does this…” and he would brilliantly explain the difference so that my head started to nod as I caught my own “aha” moment.

We walked into the master bath where I decided I really liked the fixtures above the mirrors, and I took pictures with my phone to make sure that I get the same look, ‘cause I’m not too sure that what I picked is as pretty. Dom recalls what we already picked and what we were looking at in this home to be exactly the same. Joe and the Mrs. have some good taste, at any rate.

As we toured the house, I would comment on things that I liked that I could have never imagined on my own. Like the pattern markings in the concrete porch that made it look like two-foot diagonal tiles. And the lovely woodwork that framed the bathroom mirrors and fixtures with its inward facing shelves. To each of my comments, Dominick would say, “You like that? We can do that in yours,” followed by a story of how the idea or process came to be. Or, in some cases, why a certain idea didn’t work. Dominick’s stories can involve humor or life lessons, but usually have a healthy dose of both.

We walked upstairs to see what our bonus room will look like. Sweet. And then I wanted to see the hallway leading to the garage. There was the “locker” in all its dark-wood glory. Just like what we are putting in our back hallway, a place for the kids to store their backpacks and lunchboxes and probably more than a few odd shoes. This was the by-product of my once grandly-envisioned mud room, scaled down to a more affordable and less wasteful use of space. And it was, in a word, perfect.

That’s when I turned back into the kitchen, stood with my back to what will be my fridge, and gazed at what would be my living room. I could see here our builder’s lines of symmetry that he had shown me on my own plans. Tall ceilings and perfectly placed doorways. Golden walls. I love the color Joe’s wife chose for the walls. Hey, Dominick, can you get me the name of this paint???

“Absolutely,” he beamed. “I’ll get you the whole darn list!”

Primo!!!!

The Day that Mabel Ate the Bar

I’m a nerd. I’m blogging about my home building, so you probably already had me pegged as a nerd. If you follow this process for long, you will soon be rolling your eyes and wondering how in the world I hold a steady job. Just like Dom rolled his eyes at me the other day when I made little model drawings of my furniture and placed them all over my floor plan to make sure we had enough room for the individual pieces.

“What in the…? Oh my God, you’re not really doing that, are you?” he asked me in disbelief.

“Does it look like I’m really doing this?”

“You’re…you’re drawing and cutting out our furniture?”

“Each piece is drawn to scale, too. Cool, huh?”

“Whatever makes you happy, I guess. Geez!”

“Say what you will. I don’t want to get into our brand new house and find out I don’t have room for the ottoman that goes with that chair.”

“The ottoman you just measured while my feet were propped up on it?”

“Yes, that would be the one. See how nicely it fits in front of the fireplace? Your tootsies can stay warm.” I smiled sweetly and pointed to the newly-furnished floor plan.

“Jeeesus,” he sighed.

It never takes too long for Mabel, our rambunctious black Lab, to become interested in whatever I’m doing. Even if I can’t hold her interest, she is at least going to investigate until she is satisfied that my life is more boring than hers before she returns to her nap on the good sofa.

So there she was, sniffing around the coffee table where I had the new home rolled out in all its glory, complete with my little color-coded furniture cut outs neatly arranged in the appropriate rooms. She huffed once and the furniture moved. Her eyebrow raised and she huffed again. At the same time, I flew toward the floor plan to keep the tiny paper pieces from blowing all over the place. Note to self: Mabel’s huffing and my flying do not a calm atmosphere make.

Almost in slow motion, the paper bar, representing the actual bar full of the liquor I would soon consume in exasperation, skittered upward like a confused snowflake and tumbled gently down within Mabel’s gaze. Her mouth opened slightly, and faster than a Louisiana alligator she gobbled the bar – right out of thin air.

“Mabel, dammit!!!! You ate the bar!!”

I heard a snigger from the Hubster, who kept his gaze focused on the television. “Why don’t you just draw another one?” he asked, without looking my direction.

I glared at them both, called him a name, called Mabel worse, and rolled up my floor plan.

Fast forward six weeks. We were at our builder’s house talking about the plans in their present stage when I asked about putting electrical outlets in the floor of the family room.

“Sure, but our placement has to be precise,” he said. “I need you to mark exactly where you want them, considering where your furniture will be. I suggest you measure all your furniture and…”

I beamed with excitement while Dom groaned. “I have all my pieces already drawn to scale and color coded. Dom thought I was crazy for it. But, it’s a good idea, right?!!”

“It really is! You have to do that – everyone does. It’s the only way to really know where everything is going to fit, and we need that in order to make sure the plugs are in the right place.”

So now I do have to draw another bar. Such sweet justification.