Astrology, Amish and Port-o-potty Pancakes

This week will have us channeling our inner astrologer as we contemplate the nature of Mercury Retrograde. Now before you all go thinking that we are sitting here with our magical crystals and watching Shirley Maclaine channel a previous life there is some true science here.

During a Mercury Retrograde period things happen to force you to slow down. Often these things involve breakdowns in both cars and communications. For the past 10+ years as an IT professional I have seen normal functioning computers and applications go crazy during these astrological phases and I have come to believe that there is some truth here.


Scott, the skeptic of the family, usually sides with the logicical "it is what it is" mentality but my mad dash to get most of the important decisions made before September 7th so that I could think more rationally and not operate out of desperation should trouble arise has proven to help us through early issues in this adventure. (Please note there is no gratuitous patting on the back, I am merely stating what I have learned.)
Well Erma Bombeck stated years ago, "If Life is a Bowl of Cherries - What Am I Doing in the Pits?"

While the present day Bombecks state, "We know we are going to hit the pits so enjoy the cherries while you can!"

Yes, this is a pessimistic view but if you know that for every up there will be a down in the balance of life it is much easier to plan for the worse and be delighted in the "not-so-bad"

Take for example this week's construction nightmare where one item was misinterpreted on the plan causing our breakfast bump out to be 10 inches to the right which would cause us to not have the luxury of a dishwasher. Terry our construction supervisor presented us with the news and we were so surprised at how easily this was corrected (or at least he made it seem easy to us). Having the foundation being shifted 10 inches seemed catastrophic to me but knowing in my head that "Here is one of the downs, don't freak out" enabled me to not spiral downward into the grim future of dishpan hands and more frequent manicures. I was actually able to speak like an adult listening to the possibilities which made it much easier to make a logical choice instead of an emotional one. Yes Virginia, you will have a dishwasher.

In the picture above you see the top breakfast nook is where it should be and the foundation below is slightly off

This week also had us watching the amazing framing crew.

We were quite fascinated with the Amish and Mexican framing crew. OK. We were a bit perplexed as the Amish drove up and were using cell phones and power tools, but we were educated in that when work is being performed for the English (non-Amish folk) they are allowed to use these tools.

We were quite impressed by the easy going nature and how they were able to shift gears as plans were modified.

And I can't balance on a balance beam 4' off of the ground with mats below . . .

The team in action

Up goes one of the beams

Windows and roofing . . . It is really coming together

With the framing done and demo scheduled for the week of September 20th we kick it into high gear to pack push and cram every object (furniture, food, dogs into the areas of the house which are not being demo'ed). We packed the can opener and did not label the box so off to the store to purchase another so we could open dog food. The real humor this week came from Scott who Sunday morning delighted me with the prospect of having homemade chocolate chip pancakes given that we had both chips and pancake mix. The only problem . . . no stove  (as that was puchased by a Craigslister on Saturday) and only one pan remained which was some heart shaped monstrosity of cookware. Scott being the loving husband said no problem I will make you heart shapped chocolate chip pancakes . . . I can cook them on the grill.
 
Sure, ladies are thinking, how could I possibly refuse such a loving gesture from my husband . . .
 
Looking out the new kitchen window in what will soon become my wonderful kitchen I spy the gas grill long forgotten behind a pile of earth nestled gently next to the Ace Port-o-potty. When I mentioned how close the port o potty was to the food prep area my loving husband asked innocently "What's wrong with Port-o-potty Pancakes?" Somehow I don't think that recipe will be one we will be trying anytime soon.
 
Until next week . . .