Towering Heights

     I just got back from New York City. It was fabulous! While there, in addition to eating wonderful and expensive food, and seeing the Broadway hit Mama Mia, and visiting touristy sites like the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, I gained new perspective on the tallness of buildings. Ever since beginning my house project, I have a new respect for architecture and for the process of building. What a skill! I saw many beautiful buildings in NYC, all of them tall. As it turns out, NYC is on an island, so there really weren't many options, other than up, when they wanted to expand. Knowing there are so many buildings in the world that are taller than my house, comforts me as I adjust my conciousness to my future living space which is tall and big. My sister, Kathleen, and I had a good laugh over my green building project and the size of my house. Truth be told, I know large houses are not in line with green building principles. I will lose points on my "Build Green" check list for having a house that is greater than 2500 SF. Somehow, it looked smaller on paper! I can't tell you how many times I criticized McMansions, and now I have one! That being said, my builder is following Energy Star and Green Built certification in other ways in building this house. I love it all the same! Its beautiful!
     I also wish the local policemen here in Neenah, Wisconsin could see the taxidrivers in New York City. They drive really fast when given any open space at all (which, of course, is rare in the congested traffic of NYC). Talk about a high stress job--taxicab drivers in NYC have it. So I have another confession to make. I have achieved a record for my self in obtaining yet another verbal warning after being stopped for speeding for the 3rd time in 4 weeks. This occurred around 8 am. last Wednesday. I was taking a new route to work because they have closed the road I usually take due to construction. Unfortunately, I now have to pass through a school zone on my last couple of blocks before getting to work. Bingo! Flashing red and blue lights in my rear view window! This time, I did not know the policeman. At first I was ready to accept my fate for what I thought would certainly be a speeding ticket. I sat in my aura of doom as he went back to his police car to look up my record. I could see the imagined computer screen in my mind: "Verbal warning, 2 weeks ago, Cecil St., Neenah," and who knows what else! Then I changed tactics. I recently read a book, called The Secret. It basically talks about positive thinking. So I affirmed that I was a good driver, and that I loved God, and he loved me, and at the same time told God that I didn't intentionally speed, so please forgive me. It worked! The police officer came back with the verbal warning slip and I swore to him that I would reform.

     I had no idea that I would devote this much space to speeding tickets in my blog on green building. I do hope this is the last time I have to write about a run in with the local police. Interestingly, I recently agreed to a month trial to have ads on my blog (its monetary-- if you, the reader, merely clicks on an ad, I allegedly will earn some money. So far, after a few days, I have earned a penny, and no one has clicked on an ad. So DO click, no purchase necessary. I will let you know how it is working. If there are no more ads, it means its not working). The ads are supposed to be ones that would relate to your blog. I had to laugh when I  looked on the first day that they ran the ads and I saw an ad in bold print that read: CITATION DEFENSE, and linked to a law firm.

Two of the wonderful construction workers who work at towering heights to build my house



Caroline enjoyed NYC too

More towering buildings

Lady Liberty

  

OMG! Its Huge!

    

    Gallery homes is making fast progress now even as I am slowing down. It has felt great not to have a deadline for completion looming in the near future. The second floor walls are now up and it looks like a real house--a HUGE house. When the first floor walls were up, I blogged that it felt cozy, It still does, on the downstairs. With the addition of the second floor, and the large roof, it is feeling huge--not so much from the inside but from the outside on the lakeside. I met my sister and my niece and nephew out there this afternoon. They had come out there a little earlier and were out on the ice with the dog. I caught up with them. We then turned around and started heading towards the house. It was then that the full realization of the enormity of the house hit me. From the lakeside, its evident that there are  3 stories (with the partially exposed basement) to the house, creating more height than usual. Also, the roofs they use nowadays are a lot larger than the handframed roofs that were used in the past. As a result of all of these factors, my house  now towers over my neighbor's house. I will have no problem with getting sunlight for solar power when I decide to get that. I must admit, that I did not fully appreciate the fact that the house would be so much taller than my previous house. In the course of my interviewing 4 different builders and the architect, they all seemed to think that exposing the basement was a good idea, and in fact, suggested it, but no one mentioned how tall it would make my house. Its too late, obviously, to change it now, so I will have to adjust to the way it is (and pray my neighbors forgive me).  My neighbor from 2 doors down, Katie, came and visited me at the house on Saturday (this was before I had viewed the back of the house from the lake). She gave me lots of encouragement and is proud of me as single woman to handle the house building project on my own.  Thanks, Katie! I have had lots of helpers along the way!
    My middle school aged niece and nephew got me laughing to the point of tears as the joked about Aunt Kristin's huge house. Comments such as, "Wow, its like going from Baltic Place to Park Place in monopoly!" or "We'll have to change the story line in Little Red Riding Hood, to: My! What a Big House You Have!"   Alena is my greatest supporter. She loves large houses. I knew I had hit it big with her when she said, "Your house is bigger than any in Mahler Farms"(an upscale neighborhood of large houses that she has always wished her parents lived in).
     Other events of the week included a trip to Eco Friendly Flooring in Madison. They have bamboo, reclaimed, and FSC certified floors that they sell as well as recycled glass tiles, back splashes, etc. They have  large sections of their floor covered in the different styles of bamboo. There is natural, and stranded, and carbonized versions. The nice thing about bamboo is that it grows fast and in fact, requires cutting for the plant to continue to grow Its also very hard--about 2x harder than oak. This makes it an ecofriendly choice.  I have been planning on having a bamboo floor in my kitchen and dining room all along. However, after seeing a large expanse of it, I am not sure that I like it. Instead, I am considering a wide planked oak floor. Oak is a native species to our area, so it might be a good choice.  I also ended up going to the Feng Shui lady, Jackie Patricia in Madison. She helps me to think outside of the box, and charges me a lot for it! Here are some pictures to enjoy!
     P.S. Jamey says my house will be a lighthouse on the lake. That's a good thought! For all the future Rory's of the world who need to find their way home in the dark. (try finding your way on a boat in the dark. The bays all begin to look the same. Rory had a few stories to tell of being lost or stranded on the lake).

First floor walls up



Neighbor, Katie, and her dog, Grady, and me



Jamey, the  builder, looking out second floor window.

 

Cynthia, my sister, and her son, Daniel




The biggest fan of my large house, Alena




House viewed from the road



Now the tallest house in the neighborhood (trust me, it was not something I was striving for!)

More Progress and Almost Another Speeding Ticket

Lots of progress this week! I am so excited! I love it already! Colleen managed to come to Neenah this weekend. She had a slight lull between her exams at the Vet School @ UW Madison. She wanted to see the progress in the house building. I had gushed to her over the phone about how great it was. She couldn't stand it and came to visit. We hit the Winterland Parade of Homes in the Appleton/Neenah area. It reminded me of how many other decisions I need to make before this project is done; but I got some great ideas. By the time we were finished,  it was snowing hard, and we braved the snowstorm so that Colleen could see the house. In the picture, I am standing on the snow covered  second floor of the house. There is the opening for a large window behind me. It will be a window in the landing of the stairwell.
    After studying the house plans on paper for so long, its amazing to see it being built in 3D. I love the way it is turning out! So far, its not feeling too huge to me--despite the many remarks that I have heard after people have viewed my plans and tell me "Your house is so huge!". . I think it will have a cozy feeling to it, and it will be good for entertaining. I was really glad Colleen came home.. It was very nice to share the experience with someone who would call it home too. I had gone over to the house earlier in the week towards evening by myself. The first floor walls were partially up. I was equally excited then as well, but I had no one to share it with. Its an odd feeling for me at times when I ponder the fact that I am doing this huge project alone and I wistfully wish my husband was here to share it with.
     I am working extra hours for my employer  in order to help pay the expenses of the house. I worked a 12 hour shift at the Fast Care clinic which is in Appleton in Shopko. It was really busy and I was tired when I was driving home on Friday night. It was about 9 pm, and I suddenly saw those red and blue lights again in my rear view mirror! I inwardly groaned. I was thinking, "I blogged about it and now I am attracting it to myself!" I was driving down Cecil Ave. in Neenah. It was the same street I was talking about in the previous blog when my nieces called me a speed demon. When the policeman shined his flashlight in my face, I could see a surprised look of recognition in his face. He said "Oh, Hello!". I said, " Do I know you?" (With surprise in my voice. Except for social things, one doesn't exactly want to be recognized by the police). Then he asked, "Are you a twin?". "No", I replied, "I'm a triplet". It turned out that he knew my sister, Kathleen, one of my triplet sisters. She helped start a charter school in Neenah, and his children go there. We also established, in our short conversion, that he had seen me at the clinic in Neenah. This was going better than I expected. Two points in my favor! I still pleaded with heaven while he was in his car looking me up on his computer. (One of my husband's favorite sayings was "There are no atheists in the foxhole". I think that was originally said by General McArthur). Well, I was in my own foxhole, and once again grateful when the police officer came back to my car window and passed me a pink "verbal"warning ticket. I thanked him profusely. The other police officer from a couple of weeks ago had given me a true verbal warning, no pink ticket. This time I moved up to the pink slip. Obviously, I realize that I am moving closer to a real ticket if I am not careful. Any helpful hints from those of you who never get speeding tickets would be helpful. For the moment, however, I was saved once again!

    The speeding ticket event caused me to ponder: What is the meaning of it all? I learned this from my friend, Lauri Lumby, who sees metaphors for the overall Big Picture of Life in its small, everyday happenings. Check out her blog at http://yourspiritualtruth.com/. Did this have any metaphorical  meaning for my life? Why was I sudddenly getting speeding tickets again? Was I going too fast in my life? Well, in going to the parade of homes and talking with a couple of people, I came to the realization that maybe I was going too fast. The attempt to get the house completed in the next 8 weeks for the parade of homes at the end of April is very stressful for me. So I talked with Jamey about it. I asked if I could possibly opt for being in the fall parade of homes. I let him know my fears and concerns. "Its a house! We need to build it slowly, steadily and not rush it.I don't want all the contractors rushing to complete it by a certain deadline and then cut corners and make mistakes. I don't want to feel pressured to make decisions in a couple of days when maybe I will need a week or two, all because of a deadline." Jamey, who could have a second career as a psychologist in my book, was very understanding and echoed my feelings. He understands my point of view and sees some merit in it. So, he is going ponder it as well. He will reassess the progress in a couple of weeks and make a decision then as to whether he should withdraw it as an entry to the Parade of Homes in April. He's the builder, so I will leave it up to him. For the uninitiated, it seems like an enormous task to complete in such a short amount of time.
    2/28/11 update: Its official. Jamey talked with his wife Billie Jo. They agree that the pressure would be too much and get the best of them. Plus, they want me to be able to make decisions calmly. Colleen was in an uproar this morning over this and gave me a phone call. She wants a house! She doesn't want me to wait. Well, I asked Jamey an important question. "Can we use the toilet when the house is completed and we are waiting for the parade of homes?" He was confused by the question, but said "Uh, Yes." This was good news.  This means we can  hang out at the lake on Sunday afternoons in the summer! We can still have cook outs on the grill! We can live outside, just not inside. We can  put up a tent and look at the house with fondness!

Colleen in the future sunroom

Myself in the future Living Room

The front of the house

Side window in the office

The lakeside of the house

Part of the sunroom doorway

Slow Progress

Lumber that will be used in building the house is FSC  (Forest Stewardship Council) certified:  meaning that the lumber is obtained from a responsibly managed forest. FSC certified forests are grown and managed in a way that protects water quality and wildlife habitat. Once the trees are cut, they are promptly replanted. 

Not all lumber companies carry this type of lumber, so have your builder check. Ours was obtained from Torborg's Lumber in Waupaca, WI.  

    With projects like a house, I prefer a slow and steady kind of pace. I can tell, however, that with this house project there will be a mad dash to the finish in the next couple of months. The foundation was laid at the end of December, and there was a long pause between then and now; appoximately 2 months. OK...so there was a lot of snow and subzero temperatures and Jamey was finishing another house. As more than one person has said to me, "Is this going to a be an extreme home makeover project (they do those in a week)"? I am beginning to think so. The goal is a house that is ready for the Spring parade of homes during the last week of April. I am trying to avoid an ulcer by affirming that I am not in control, and surrundering the project to a Higher Power. Jamey is cool, calm and collected and does not seem concerned that we have only 2 months to build a large, and what looks to me to be, a rather complicated house. As they say in my yoga class, "BREATHE". Progress has been made over the last few days, however, as you will see from the pictures. There is hope in my heart that the walls will be up soon.
     My preference for slowness in house building contrasts with my speed on the road. My neices were in the car behind me the other day. They gleefully told me when they got home (I live with them) that I was "speed demon". Their dad, Jeff, was happy that I was providing entertainment for them during the drive, as they made commentary about my speed while I went ahead of them and beat them home. The other day, too, I was driving to a conference in LaCrosse. I was on a lonely stretch of road on Hwy. 21 and was absentmindedly listening to NPR and driving along until I saw those somewhat familiar red and blue flashing lights in my rear view mirror. Its the only time in my life that I feel like a criminal. I am an otherwise model citizen. 2 weeks prior to this, I had just purchased new car insurance. I had been proud of myself, when I signed up for it, that it had been over a year since I had gotten a speeding ticket (probably because I only have to drive a few miles to go to work now). "Is there a reason you were speeding today?" he said. "No," I said sheepishly. In the past, when I was a midwife, I occasionally had a legitimate reason for going fast, such as getting to a delivery. "Do you know how fast you were going?" "Ummm, no. Unfortunately, I was not paying attention." (I usually try the honest route.) "Well, it was 68 miles per hour. You are supposed to be going 55 miles per hour."  So I handed over my license and insurance card to the state police officer.  My heart sank at the thought of getting an expensive speeding ticket when I have all these other expenses to pay for in building my new house, and, so soon after starting with a new insurance company. I sent a fervent prayer heavenward that I would be spared and forgiven. He came back, handed back the license, and said "I am just going to give you a verbal warning this time." I replied with overwhelming gratitude in my voice, "Thank you, officer, I will put on my cruise control now." Whew! It felt so good to be spared. I am betting we'll need to be over the speed limit to finish up on this house project though!