Thursday, August 21, 2008

The Tower

My neighbor said to me the other day (thanks for reminding me, Amanda), "I can't wait to see what you're going to do with that tower."

What is that supposed to mean?

Monday, August 18, 2008

Funny things my architect has said

This is kind of like those Christmas letters that couples with young children send. (Note to those couples: only the childrens' grandmothers like those. Sometimes those grandmothers even post them on the frig and require others to read them--or listen while they are read aloud. Even though the people who are being forced to listen already received one of their own.)

My architect is very good at what he does. He is also good at saying everything that crosses his mind. I mentioned in the previous post that his response to the pictures of the light fixtures I was considering was disgust. He said things like, "Eww" and "What is THAT?" before finding one about which he could say, "Well, that's not horrible." What redeems him is that he was right. Like I said before, I was thinking I would show some individuality and put in something 'different'. I don't know why I got that idea because I am really a bland, conforming sort of person.

Here are some of the more extreme rejects:




This one got the "not horrible":


See? He saved me from attempting to be artistic. That's harder than it looks

At one of our early meetings Carlisle asked about diagonal wood. Robert told him we couldn't do that and when Carlisle asked why, Robert said, "Because it isn't the seventies and we don't have a time machine." I agree with the sentiment, but sheesh. A few minutes later Robert asked Carlisle a question and Carlisle said, "I'm still stinging from that last comment."

I was standing in the master bathroom with Robert, my builder and the electrician discussing having heated floors in there. Robert asked me why I wanted these (we live in southern California so his question had some merit), and I said it was because I am always cold. He looked me up and down and said, "That's because you have no body fat. You don't need heated floors, you need a pork chop."

A woman came into his office and introduced him to his daughter. Robert said, "If you were my daughter you'd be wearing more clothes." Even HE was embarrassed about that one. Said it just came out of his mouth. What a card.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Chandeliers

I've been looking for a chandelier for my dining room. I thought maybe I should try to put a little zest into my house so I was choosing some that were a little unusual. My architect (and designer) looked at every one of them and I think I caught him shuddering. He finally found one that he said was 'not horrible.' You have to have high self-esteem to work with him and I'm not sure I do.

What I'm finding is that most chandeliers are weird. I really just want something simple. So how about these?






Okay, that last one was a joke.

But if we ever add a dungeon, this one is going in it.



And I really want to put this in my front porch.


We have a sort of tower-type thing that could look really gothic with the right accessories.

Friday, August 8, 2008

My monthly post.

Okay. I skipped July.

The house is completely framed. The rough electric is done. The windows are in. There are piles of tiles sitting in little rows on my roof. (That last sentence was sort of poetic, don't you think?)

We have paid about $1000 to have our sprinklers moved around while we build so that the lawn could stay green (because the city says so). Now we have mountains of junk piled up all over the lawn so that the grass is dead. I am assuming the piles are getting watered regularly.




In the back yard where there are no piles they moved the trampoline into the middle of the yard so that they could kill the most grass with the least effort. On the dirt area where the trampoline used to be they have parked a miniscule tractor-type thing. I can certainly see why it was necessary to move the trampoline for that nice parking place. I wonder what they were supposed to be doing while they played with the trampoline and the little tractor.


This is the latest picture of the front of the house. You will notice that right now the lumber company (Roadside) is getting top billing. That is probably best because there is certainly a lot of lumber.



Here are some living room shots.




Next month maybe the big pile of plumbing fixtures that have made themselves at home in my bedroom will have been installed. Probably not.