Look Up, Look Down, but Don't Look Through Please

 Two very different projects are getting worked on this week. The new roof is almost complete while the shower floor is being checked for leaks. Both of them are fascinating to watch in their own way and both have made for interesting conversations at my house.

You can see where the addition meets the old house
and you get a great view of the new roof

Last Wednesday, the roof salesman brought us a sample of about 10 different shingles and told us to pick the one we wanted. We chose a copper colored shingle that is Energy Star efficient. The next day, when Darryl told him what we had picked, he said, "You have expensive taste," and told Darryl it would be an extra $2000. What??!!?!? You told us to pick from the brochure? (Does this count as a bait-and-switch?) He didn't say anything about the Energy Star shingles costing more money. Still, we decided that the money we'd be saving in energy (plus the rebate we're getting) would offset the extra cost. Sigh. Something to add to the "miscellaneous" section of our budget - the section that seems to be growing on a daily basis.

The contractor added water to the shower basin on Friday -
so far it's holding up. Yay!

By the way - have I mentioned my beautiful new shower? 

Grace thought it was odd that we would use the shower to take a teeny tiny bath. I would have explained that it was filled with water to check for leaks, but it was more fun to let her think it was just one more crazy mom and dad thing. The shower has a small seat in the corner ("So you can sit and shave your legs," said our contractor) and two insets for shampoo and such. We have picked out a beautiful tile for the walls and another complementary one for the floor. I can't wait to show you all the photos of that.

Still not the right window over the tub

One other note from today. In case you were thinking that all the problems are now over (goodbye crazy plumbers!), I'm going to have to burst your bubble. Look at this photo and you'll see a lovely picture window right over the bathtub. Sure, it looks nice, but we don't really want a window over the tub that gives anyone in the yard a great view directly into the bathroom. When the windows were delivered FOUR weeks ago, Darryl looked at the two for the bathroom and realized they were not tempered (which is code) nor obscure (which was our choice). No problem said the window company, we'll bring you out new ones in a couple of weeks. Yesterday, FOUR weeks later, the new windows showed up. Tempered? Check. Obscure? Nope. Send them back and redo them please. At this point we are almost costing them more than we paid. They promised to do a rush order this time. I'll let you know . . .