Midnight Memorial Day 2010: a huge thunderstorm rolls into Tulsa. I wake up because I always wake up when it storms. I turn on the TV, make sure we aren't going to blow away and then try to go back to sleep. I can sense Danny tossing and turning and the next thing I know he is tapping me on the shoulder. He is fully dressed and tells me "I'm headed out to the lot. I'll be back." Yes, its midnight. Yes, it is storming like crazy. And, yes my husband is headed out to stand watch on our lot with nothing but an umbrella and a shovel. Makes perfect sense to me because I know him so well. So, I rolled back over and went to sleep thinking "no freaking way I'm going to sit in the car during a thunderstorm and watch the dirt turn to mud, but knock yourself out honey". Danny stayed "on watch" until 2 a.m. He promised me he spent most of the time in the car, but got out occassionally to dig a trench and to make sure the duct work wasn't floating. Is that service or what? I can guarantee you we wouldn't get that service if we'd hired someone to build our house!
Well, Danny's vigilance paid off and the slab was poured last Wednesday. We went out that night and girls had a ball running around barefoot on it. Did you know that concrete feels really warm while it is curing? The girls were fascinated by that. I was much more fascinated by how small the slab looked. I'm not very good at visualizing so I was wandering around thinking, "is this thing really to scale?". Danny assurred me it was and even got the measuring tape out when we got home to show me the size of the living room and master bedroom. Again, visualization is not my strong suit, so I just have faith in Danny and I know he knows what he is doing.
On Friday, they delivered all the lumber to start framing on Saturday. Danny had met with the framers out there and had gone over everything with them. They had chalk marks on the slab to show where the walls went and I'm pleased to report that it looked much bigger. Amazing what a little chalk can do. Sophia loves chalk and thinks it can do amazing things. I, however, was not a believer in the power of chalk until I saw the chalk lines on our slab.
We went out there Friday night to see the lumber and chalk marks, but the first thing Danny showed the girls was a tarp over a piece of plywood on sawhorses. He said it was our first kitchen appliance. The girls lifted the tarp and underneath it was two micrwaves the framers brought. The girls were fascinated by this and took many pictures of the microwaves. See above for proof. At least, we know the framers are eating well and don't need to leave for lunch.
Let me just say...I'm blown (no tornado pun intended) away by our framers. They showed up on Saturday at 6 a.m. (sorry neighbors) and worked their butts off and got the entire first floor framed. Unbelieveable. We went out Saturday night and the change was incredible. Walls were up, windows were cut out and you could see the definition of the rooms. Very cool. And, everything looked the right size.
Danny and George also worked out there on Saturday clearing brush and breaking our lawnmower in the process. Oh well. Let's just say Danny thought I was "Wife of the Year" when I sweet talked some lawn mowing dude who was parked across the street from our rent house to do our yard Saturday so it would be ready for Sophia's family birthday party.
And, in case you are wondering, according to Danny and George, the framers ate really well and put the microwaves to good use. They had chicken, cheese, rice, beans and tortillas. It was probably a better lunch than what Danny and George ate. And, the framers didn't offer to share.
Of course, Mother Nature was mad we made such good progress, so it stormed like crazy this morning, which kept the framers and their microwaves away. But, today was not a total loss in the progress department...our safe room was delivered today. It will be under the stairs and hidden by the coat closet. Danny really doesn't think we need a safe room, but he caved and added it to the budget (everything has to have a line item in the budget) just to appease me and the girls. Danny feels the same way about the touch faucet in the kitchen. But, he added it to the budget for me. I'm sure he'll remind me of all this when he starts designing his man cave and he wants really cool man cave stuff.
So, what's next? Well the second floor needs to be framed. Hopefully, that will be done this week. Once the framing is done, the plumbing, electrical and alarm wiring will go in the walls. Then, it will really start to look like a house and I'm sure Sophia will start asking on a daily basis when we are going to move in.
So, right now, we are making progress. And, progress is good. We are still planning to spend our Thanksgiving being thankful at Dolce Vita. Let's hope Mother Nature gets out of the way and lets us get the work done.
P.S. Just a warning, if you come out to Dolce Vita to see our fabulous framing....be warned that we don't have any bathroom facilities. Use the potty before you come...or you could be like our 3-year old niece Becca who was so proud of herself on Saturday when she came running up to me and squealed, " Aunt Tracy, I went pee pee on your lot." Obviously, this is more of an issue for the girls rather than the guys, but just consider yourself warned. I'll let you know as soon as the facilities are up and running.
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