HOUSE PLANS

It was Saturday evening about 11 o'clock. The kids had been sleeping for hours, and Darren had already gone to bed; a couple more clicks of that mouse and I'd be off to the same. Up until this point I had been through dozens of websites and hundreds of plans left with only a handful we tried to convince ourselves we liked. 

When you know that you're moving and that it may very well be the last time and quite possibly your only shot at building your dream house, it's pretty serious stuff. But late that night, just when I was about to give up, I found it! Wide awake, I then lay in bed for the next three hours, dreaming of our new home.

 

There are a couple of very small changes we will be making, but over all, it is so perfectly us. I still feel like I'm playing house. I can't believe that this will not always be black lines on white paper, but an actual house of windows and wood.

DIG DEEP

When I first saw our lot, it reminded me of an enchanted forest. It was mid-summer; trees, moss and other wild plants carpeted the ground, birds were chirping and sun filtered on down through the pines needles and maple leaves. Pure perfection. Of course, we would have to take down many of those trees to allow room for a house, but not so many that it lost its character. So we walked through the lot and began tagging trees.

Darren and I took down as many as we could ourselves. At which point I learned to use a chainsaw! Me! I was terrified of it kicking back and ripping apart my face. I got over it pretty fast though after realizing that it would take twice as long with only one of us chopping. (I kinda like to get things done!) So, if you need something cut with a chainsaw, I am now fully qualified and I'd be happy to help! 

But we knew we needed to leave the big ones to the professionals. That day I sat in the safety of the vehicle with Violet while the kids were in school and watched in wonder as they did their work. At the end of it all you could not see the forest floor! This was the first time I remember feeling some concern. I did not anticipate the wake that would be left behind. Logs wider than my arm span lay everywhere, as we waded through slash waist deep. How would we ever clean this mess up?