Pulling it Together

As you can see by the photos, the house is truly starting to take shape on the outside - the stucco layers are being smeared and the backyard BBQ has been formed, too. I can almost hear those grilled veggies and lamb skewers sizzling on the grill, while Jay serves Negronis to me in the jacuzzi (and those of you who know what a Negroni is, you know that means ONLY 1 should be drunk, ever, in a sitting).

Step aside, Manolo, I've found something even better being worn by one of the guys hanging drywall in Durango. Couldn't you just see me strutting around with these babies strapped to my feet? I could actually reach stuff in the BACK of the top shelf of my kitchen cabinets!

The days are getting longer, the city has been seeing some much needed precipitation, and along with some very cool work stuff going on for me, I'm getting out on my bike, riding with pals Christine and some new friends each week. Jay and I have been hitting the business seminar circuit, and are planning a desert visit within the next couple of weeks for some hiking and to check out the wildflowers. Should be a GREAT bloom this year, given the rains.

Besides our planned visit back to Ohio in April, we are sitting tight, meeting weekly with our project manager at Durango, and growing more and more antsy living in our temp digs. We desparately miss having a bathtub, a dining area that is functional and comfortable, and a master closet that... well, you have to see this thing to believe it. Jay's just happy that I'm letting him have a corner in it.

Stay tuned for more exciting things to come.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

A HOUSE! With walls and rooms and everything. This week, drywall went up as the rain came down. The guys have been hard at it, and it's always exciting to see so much activity taking place each day.

This week I met with Vince, our landscape designer, and we started the selection process for tile, coping color, and the stone for our waterwall. As you can see in the photo, some of the coping work has been done; outlining spaces in the dirt where someday lounge chairs will rest (and me, too!). One of these days SOON I'll need to get a photo of David, Vince, and Francisco - the guys who are making things happen outside of the house (I hope David wears a nice shirt, though).

Jay and I have been enjoying the pool table in our temp house so much that, today, we began pacing off a location in Durango where we might plant one someday. Those of you who saw our Pittsburgh house know about the beautiful table we had there - my father-in-law bought it for us as a house-warming gift (it was a bitch to wrap). We hope that Rocky and gang enjoys it as much as we did. Speaking of Pittsburgh and Rocky... HOW ABOUT THAT SUPER BOWL!?! A heck of a game, which we greatly enjoyed watching at Jeanne and Dave's house in the OC.

Check out the pics of me standing near our deck fireplace, our great new great room, and the vestibules leading into the bedrooms downstairs. It's really gonna be something else.