March 29 Update

Good morning everyone,

The shingles are on! On Friday, Bob and I left to get our taxes done about 9:15 when we got back about 3:00 all the shingles were on. We counted 8 guys as we were leaving and they really worked hard, we have a big roof. It looks great! Windows and then siding and we have a weathered in home and the detail work will begin.

Someone asked how we went to the foundation when only the back of the house was really burned? Well it was a home that had been around for over 100 years. As we took down walls, we saw other walls that needed to come down. Bob wanted 2x6 studs put in versus what is called 2x4's but is really 1 & 3/4 by 3 & 3/4 on a good day. He knew we needed more strength than that for the size of our home. Bob has become known as the king of over building. It is his nature to build for strength and the long term, so we are building a home that one of the guys said, "if a tornado comes, the house is so strong it will go in one unit, it will not break apart." The contractors just laugh and say, 'Bob you don't need that, but it will make a really strong house."

We have settled on the layout of the bathrooms. The way we did it was to lay out on graph paper the size of the rooms and then cut out shapes for the things that needed to go in there and then we just kept moving them until they fit. When they fit and looked good we knew we had it figured out.

Not sure if I have mentioned this, we added a room. The house was one story over the kitchen and sun room, which is now our large kitchen, so we added a room on the second floor for Bob. It will be his space for his office and clothes and whatever he wants. It's a large room. We have 26 windows in the house. That is a lot of windows, but it is a large home. Having the roof on really speaks to that we will be back in there in a few months, the home is being rebuilt, bigger, better and even more beautiful than before. That is a joyous thing.

A couple of weeks ago, a lady with a very large truck with a large trailer hitch backed into me and tore up my driver side back fender. The damage was $3,098 worth (Her insurance sent the check). I went to CarMax to see what my car was worth and was told $3,000. I said wow, I will get it fixed. He said don't bother unless you intend to drive it a long time, because even after it is fixed it will only be worth $3,000 to $3,500. That threw me. I was fretting over what to do, and then thought, "I don't need to do this, I need to know that I am guided, guarded, directed and protected in all ways and in this specific instance to be drawn to my perfect car. I did some looking at a Lincoln or Cadillac or some other luxury car because that is what I thought I wanted. When I sold the house last year I had put aside some money for a car and now it seemed time to spend it. In the process of looking I remembered driving a Prius two years ago in California and just loving it. Long story short - I am now the proud owner of a 2008 Prius. I feel very green. It is fun to drive and averages 40 - 50 miles per gallon. I just never know where I am being led, but I know it is always for my benefit and fun.

If you are curious about details, please ask me questions. I sit down and can't think what people would really want to know.

Go out and have a wonderful day!

Rev. Carolyn