remodel: chapter II; shorty...

i heard dale's, 

big, old, red truck

as he pulled it into our driveway.

i was excited to get our

lane remodel started!

when john and i first met

with dale to discuss our plans,

dale indicated he would be

working alone.

however,

as i sat at my dining room

table sewing that first morning,

i heard dale talking to someone

as he made his way up to 

our house.

i walked out onto the front porch

and greeted them.

me: good morning!

dale: mornin'!

me: how are y'all?

dale: awe, we're good.

me: (looking past dale) who've 
you got with you?

dale: awe, this is...

shorty: shorty, they call me shorty.

(shorty talked so fast i only caught

part of what he said.)

me: your name is shorty?

shorty: well, everybody calls me shorty,

but i don't like it much.

(he laughed.)

me: what's your real name then?

shorty: it's terry.

dale: (under his breath) it's shorty;

just call him shorty.

i offered terry my hand 

to shake.

he reciprocated.

me: it's nice to meet you,

terry:)

shorty: uh, you can call me shorty.

me: okay, it's nice to meet you,

shorty.

(i giggled.)

~@~

there,

on my front porch...

 stood a skinny burt reynolds 
and a straight michael jeter.

think 

evening shade:

dale standing no less than 6"

weighing no more than 150 lbs.

and

shorty standing no more than 4"10'

weighing no more than 105 lbs...

"tall and lanky"

and

"shorty"

would quickly become 
my new best friends

for the summer;)

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

familiarity...

if you keep up with

my life on the lane,

you know meester berrong

and

i

have been contemplating 

leveling our house 

and rebuilding 

here on our lot.

after writing this post,

i began to dream

by way of my pinterest.

i found ideas, 

shared them with john, 

and began to plan what each room 

would look like...

high-pitched, exposed ceilings,

beautiful light fixtures,

bright paint,

colorful furnishings and decor,

the fireplace.

appliances,

cabinets,

counter tops,

sinks,

innovative showers 

and

tubs,

walk-in closets,

hidden outlets,

and tile flooring.

from ceiling to floor,

i was making plans 

with john,

and he liked them:)

~@~

then...

a few days later,

i awoke to an empty house.

half-asleep

i made my way 

from my bed 

to my bedroom door,

opened it,

and took one barefooted

step out

onto the cool, hardwood 

that is our living room
floor.

the floor creaked

(just like it always has/

just like it always does);

this time though...

the sound was deafening:

it may have even echoed.

i immediately experienced

the raw emotion of

familiarity.

~@~

that experience 

was apparently 

a pivotal point

in my plan-making

for i quickly found myself

looking at ways 

to.bloom.where.we're.planted

instead of pinning

large country chic

kitchen plans,

i began to look

at galley kitchen plans

and pin 

ways to renovate 

our kitchen.

instead of pinning 

exposed ceiling ideas,

i began to look at and pin

new metal roofing

to cover the 9' ceilings

we already have.

instead of pinning

furnishings for 

an open-concept den,

i began to look at and pin

den furniture 

for the den we already have,

which could be made

much larger by moving

our utility room

and knocking out

a couple of walls.

just.like.that

i began weighing 

our options.

meester berrong

was good with that too.

~@~

(a few photos of "before")

so,
tomorrow will mark
the first day of our
lane makeover:)

love and God's blessings,
dani xxx

remodel: chapter I; "phil"...

when we decided to 

remodel here on the lane,

meester berrong asked around 

about contractors.

a family friend told him

she and her husband

had been using the same contractor 

for over 15 years.

she said he was good

and would do a great job.

~@~

the meester came in smirking 

with confidence.

the meester: i found you

a contractor.

me: really, who is it?

the meester: here's his number.

me: what's his name?

the meester: janie said to just

call him.  he's finishing up

a project at her house now.

me: who is he?

the meester: his name is

phil something.

me: ok?

~@~

so, i gave phil a call.

phil: hello?

me: hi, phil, this is 

dani berrong. janie told

me you might be interested

in doing some 

remodeling work for 

my husband and me?

phil: well, sure...

i gave him our address

and directions to the lane 

and set up a time and date

to meet.

~@~

when phil arrived,

i showed him around the house 

pointing out what we wanted

done.

we have 10 rooms.

phil said, "WOW..."

no less than 15 times.

i was afraid

i was scaring him 

away from the job.

me: it's a lot, isn't it?

phil: wow...

(note to self: phil's favorite word is "wow...")

we have 10 rooms.

i addressed our prospective

contractor as "phil"

no less than 15 times.

after completing our

walkthrough,

i told "phil"

how i wanted to break down

the contract.

he gave me his credentials:

"dale's home improvement"

was printed across the top 

of the paperwork.

(note to self: "phil's" real name is dale! wow...)

~@~

all this storytelling

just to point out...

what meester berrong

meant to say when i asked

for the name of the contractor...

"something something?"

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx