Actually, we don’t, but if it keeps raining we’re going to need a submarine or an ark. It is discouraging to see the water erosion. The mud has gone so beyond working my nerves.

Never cared for the drink “Mudslide” – after all this mud, I doubt my mind will change.

One of the greatest inventions of mankind is the gutter. We finally have gutters. I don’t think one ever becomes skilled in dodging the rain as it falls from a roof, especially those who aren’t, you guessed it, spring chickens. Never thought I could be so enamored with gutters, but I am. I had to go rounds with the installer to the point of calling the builder requesting that he send another company to provide a quote. The gutter installer wanted to attach gutter downspouts to the columns. What?! I could feel columns throughout the South cringe when I was told the downspouts had to be attached to the front porch columns and carport columns. That’s Southern column sacrilege. My design worked after all, much to the relief of Southern Living magazine, and no quote from a new company was required.

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head — not so much now that we have gutters!

We finally have cement to walk on in place of those ankle-twisting rocks. Actually rather than rocks it is crushed concrete. The front sidewalk and the cement connecting the front sidewalk, driveway, and the area leading to the brewery has been poured and are enjoying the pitter-patter of our footsteps and Sharon’s dog’s pawsteps.

Walkway Between Breezeway and Brewery

Front Sidewalk – some might say a crooked sidewalk to match a crooked house.

We also have a back patio and walking path connecting the patio to the cement at the side of the house. One can exit every door of the house these days without stepping into sloppy mud and without dodging raindrops! Such luxury I have never known!

Patio In The Making

Inside the house progress is being made, not as quickly as I’d like, but nonetheless being made. Since moving in, the challenges have been the constant barrage of deliveries, subcontractors, and deciding what from John’s and my old houses can be used in the new house. I hadn’t planned for how difficult the fitting of the old into the new would be – different layout and the layout dictates the style much more than I could have imagined. I also had so much more wall space for hanging art and pictures and more surface space for knick-knacks and family pictures. The finished rooms are the dining room, kitchen, master bathroom, and family room (except for hanging the duck plates). I am feverishly working on the guest room at present, as I am crossing everything I can cross in hope that Trevor will be visiting us for Mother’s Day.

Morning Sun In The Dining Room

Finally hung pictures in the master bathroom.

Finally hung pictures in the master bathroom.

Finally hung pictures in the master bathroom – including a favorite picture of Trevor and me.

Found a place for the horse figurines which greatly favor my siblings’ and my horses from our youth. (L-R, Tony, Happy, Kitty, Cee-Cee, and Spooky)

Also inside the house, John’s beautifully designed sound system is finally working as he intended it to work. In addition, I know how to work it – for the most part. It took long enough to get out all the kinks and boy, was it worth it. I love listening to music. John’s and my taste for music is quite diverse and being able to listen to Internet radio allows us to satisfy that diversity quite well. With thousand upon thousand of songs between us in our music libraries, we listen to music so often that we were listening to the same songs over and over. Radio helps to nicely combat that problem.

Sonos Speaker – John’s sound solution for the master bathroom. It sounds great!

We are so anxious for both the inside and outside of the house to be completed. We’re immensely enjoying living in Stella and have a notion that all will be so much more serene and enjoyable when all there is no contractor on any given day’s schedule. I sometimes chuckle to myself when I think of how tired the repeat contractors are of seeing me as I am of seeing them. Other times I silently growl.

Yellow Submarine (from rocksucker.co.uk)