feel the burn

so much activity, so little time, and no internet connection make for short and late updates. my legs hurt all the time from having stairs for the first time since childhood, and lugging crap up and down them. so, to save time, i'll use bullets:

• closed april 30 - yay!


• began moving in may 2nd - yay!


• got hot water and moved animals in may 3rd- yay!


• first cooked meal at home in ages may 10th - yay!


• nadja gets her go dog go! ball launcher back from storage may 11th - yay!


• beautiful sunsets, fabulous vecinos, chairs galore, new space, new stuff - big yay!


• big storm that ripped up our roof may may 14th... totalled by insurance co. may 21st - wah!


• ginormous punch list - wah!

ok, pictures:

just another sh*tty day in paradise
house is now protected by foo!

desperately seeking color

new sunroof

vecinos nuevos

ok folks, this post is for the new neighbors. i've been getting pressure from everyone i see to update the blog. but as everyone knows, the closer you get to the end, the further you are from ready, so free time is rare! based on other agaveites' activity, this blog will be most likely neglected for a while after we move in.

funny thing is i've been looking at agave blogs for a long time and often wondered some of the folks looked like.

so, first things first, this is me (alex) on the left and him (jed) on the right. a bit decieveing since neither of us cleans up much. we never look this tan, nor clean shaven. imagine more carnie-versions of this clean look... that's us.

alex and jed

the casa is getting closer and closer. don't wanna jinx it, but april 30 is *hopefully* the most expensive day jed and i will have for a long time. the minimal landscaping is in, and the yard has tripled in size after getting sod. hopefully, nadja can stand the wait until the yard is secure enough to become her frisbee track.

front of house (before final painting)

view from back deck (even in bad weather, it looks great!)

and finally! we see some color, the unveiling of "Young Green". ironic name since the house has aged us tremendously.

young green

camino de entrada

right, so the house is moving faster and faster by the day. i wish i could see the progress, but i'm stuck in the motherland eating pretzels for an extra day because of snowstorms expected in chicago (pity me now). that's why i've got time to update the blog (while i continue to not sleep).

alex trying to look as teutonic as possible - notice the absence of a smile and arms at the sides

the casa is looking very fabulosa and we are going mad with anticipation about seeing the house colors. will the bright green look good? will it look horrendous? dunno.

one thing i've noticed recently is that links to our blog are all over the place. agave blogs from people we've never even met have a little of our stink on them. i think that's sweet, and a little strange; which brings me to the real reason for this post. i've been catching up on future neighbor's blogs, and many of the effects that i've mentally pre-purchased for the casa are already residing in other agaveites (sp.?) homes.

it just clicked... THAT'S why everyone's putting photos of their anticipated decor online! it's protection so no one else will get the same stuff! i'm just sick to my stomach that i didn't catch on earlier and post notices so people would know what jed and i have or plan to buy for the house.

so, a warning to the vecinos; if i go to your house and accidentally break something... don't replace it. all things happen for a reason. just accept it and move on. i'm sure there's some kind of zen about the whole thing, so just let it go. and i swear, if ENN. EE. ONE gets a white ceramic horse lamp i'm going to lose it completely. for your reference, i have included a picture of what to avoid at all costs:

no go zone

in the meantime, while i depend on the kindness of strangers to understand my german and not poke fun, jed tells me that the cabinetry is getting installed and the trim is almost complete. no pictures recently, so here's a couple of the only images i have of the casa.

driveway - you can smell the fresh new concrete

now that the drywall is up and i can see the spaces that the FAB team concieved and perspectives they intended. i'm coming to really appreciate the design on a purely aesthetic level and i love the long, uninterrupted views through different parts of the house.

shot from the driveway to the front entry porch

looking back the other way

don't know why i think this is a great perspective, maybe i'm just really excited about not having to park in the rain or the blazing sun when at home. and being able to see lots and lots of concrete is always pleasing to me. i think it's in my blood, even the front desk at the office i'm working in now in frankfurt is clad with huge concrete tiles.

seen and not heard

always looking for efficiencies, i took this photo because i realized that i can see if jed's in the kitchen from my office. but i won't hear his music; that means i won't have to walk over into loud music (which i hate) and instinctively turn the volume down (which he hates). this is a very good thing.

muito obrigado

i know the title's not spanish, but my thanks for these past few weeks of progress on the house are extra special. we had our framing walkthough and were thrilled at the accomodations made by both parties. we had to give a little to get a little, but everyone is happy... it's a Brave New World.

plus, i had to get a new background color on the blog. brown is just too accessible these days; it has been embraced by the massess so i've got to abandon it (for now). the casa is moving along and some of the more exciting elements are beginning to take shape, like framing for the kitchen island and fireplace; and the decking.

this is a well-worn path that jed and i are on, and unfortunately (for our pocketbooks... or rather for our online financial numbers since checks and paper money are just silly) we have graduated from the starry-eyed, dreamy, can't wait to see something in the ground phase to the blowout consumer leg of the race. all i can say is we're looking at things and my "favorite things" list is way better than oprah's. no photos this time since most of the things i've been looking at in the house are orange spray paint spots and sharpie marks.

edificio

oh wait, we have a house now, or at least a structure. it looks amazing and is now moving so fast we can hardly keep up with the changes. i was trying to get a series of photos from the same vantage point, but i know i'm not going to make a cool animation with the progress of the house. besides, everyone drops off the blog planet once they move in! plus, there's always vans and trucks parked in front of the house, and i DON'T want them to go anywhere! here's what it looks like as shot from the only working toilet on the property:



the casa looks small from the front, but it's got alot more going on in the back, which is one of the reasons we picked this design. the main color is well hinted with the primer, but we can't wait to see the green secondary touches!

fundación

oh my gosh, we have cement in the ground. i know there are other folks with blogs who are all starry eyed and optimistic once they see this on their lots, but what can i say? we're at that point now, and it's great!

the house will have a carport at the front of the property that will be painted a vivid green color. hopefully we will be able to keep the landscaping in front of it the same. jed is enjoying the camera on his new phone so here's a sample of one of my favorite photo subjects - people taking photos.

shot of the carport pad where jed is admiring adam and wendy's fabulous front patio


shot down to the mater suite area


next step is hopefully the rest of the foundation. i make my own pieces with concrete, so i know every project is different. it's a complete toss up as far as the finished look of the aggregate once they grind the surface down (fingers crossed).

surfaces, change list, and rain

after i left to singapore and back to india for work, jed got to handle the details for our change list in my absence. he did a great job of handling things that don't bother him, but normally keep me up at night, and so we picked out a couple modifications that will make a HUGE difference for us. they cost us dearly, but will be well worth it once jed grills under his added "grillin' light" and we have the entry EXACTLY as i want it. note: capitalization means my needs were subtle, yet expionsive.

we could have bought a hyundai or gotten instantly rich according to some nigerian bank loophole, but we opted to tweak a few things that make all the difference in the world to me. did i mention this is about me? well in case you forget, jed will be happy to clarify.

we chose white cabinetry in the kitchen and bathrooms and for the kitchen counertops, we got the color that's closest to coffe spills, which is very practical for us (see second image):

and for the bathrooms, we got a color closest to what we like:

the house is green, and the master bathroom tile is too:


as far as the house construction goes, there are foundation forms, and there is rain. the two don't mix. so we're in a holding pattern until the weather cooperates. another house of the same design is making real progress and we're very very excited about the finished product. in regard to timelines and closing dates they're something that people talk about, but i dont' really believe in, so until i actually see ours, this is what i think it looks like: