oregano

Day i

The Champagne Groundbreaking

What a wonderful evening -- our family, my mom and dad, many of our friends, and our new neighbors (to the north) gathered in the open expanse of our property on Oregano Ct. on Friday night. 

Earlier that day, at 4 p.m. we closed on the property.  It seems like it's been months and months and months of paperwork and phone calls, but finally the day came to sit at the table at the title company and produce my signature on the line.  Seven thousand, eight hundred times I wrote my name... or so it seemed.  But alas it was worth the hand cramps -- the property is ours.

Around food and champagne we gathered.  After turning the first shovels of soil we raised our glasses of bubbly, toasting to our family, our friends, and the new chapter of our family history that was beginning that night.  Cheers!

We're excited that the process is beginning and look forward to daily visits to the construction site until such a time that we hold the keys in our hand and walk into our new HOME.

Day xiii

Still Waiting

While the paperwork has been signed for nearly two weeks, we're still in a holding pattern.  The grass is growing, the neighborhood cat prowls by, and the neighbors are trying to figure out who in the world is in that little red car and why do they keep driving into the cul de sac.   

The church from whom the property is being purchased has a 'committee' overseeing the sale of the property and a board of trustees who must sign paperwork in order for the sale to be complete.  One of the four trustees lives over an hour away from the church and wasn't in worship on Sunday morning. 

Thank God patience is a virtue --

Day xiv

Water Tap

- Brian (the builder) dropped off the building permit for me to take to the City Building today to apply for public water service.  I signed the paperwork and expected to write a check for $50.  Huh!  When the subdivision was developed the final step of the water service was not finished and so I also had to pay the 'water tap fee.' 

- The first (of 3) survey has been ordered.

- I faxed Mario (the architect) with a few minor changes for the kitchen layout.  I would like to have the sink closer to the breakfast nook in order to be able to see into both the nook and the living room while working on food prep or dishes.  Likewise, I switched the refrigerator to the other end, the wine cooler across from the refrigerator, slid the dishwasher down to stay near the sink, and centered the stove.  The kitchen triangle is set and the flow is a little better this way.   I also asked Brian and then faxed to Mario a change to pull the wall back at least 12" to reveal a bit more kitchen.  While we're not planning on the tradition Great Room style, I'm still looking for openness and natural flow of living from into nook and kitchen.

Later: Diane (the realtor) called.  Mortgage funded today! 
The clock is ticking.