Edgy Mama

I’ve sucked at blogging lately. I have tons of excuses: it’s the last week of school; I’ve been writing a cover story for Mt. X that sucking all my brain power; home construction decisions are taking over my life and lots of my precious time, etc., etc. Not that you want to hear it.

In case you’re bored, here are a few more construction shots–from last week. We’re much further along this week. My builders, Rare Earth Builders, rock.

This made me nervous.

  Some of this rock will become a retaining wall around my addition.

I love rock yards.

  Roof trusses are cool.

This is called a smoke duct test. They tape up all your registers, hook up a duct to your intake system and blow smoke through it to see where your ducts are leaking. Even cooler than roof tresses.

Yesterday I spent $3 in gas driving down to South Asheville to visit a “bathroom” showroom. Yes, it’s a paradox. Because you don’t expect to walk into a huge warehouse space only to be confronted by the receptacles of your most private moments in life.

But I needed to buy a bathtub and a shower system.

I hate showrooms. I feel incredibly unhip in showrooms. And I felt even less hip because I wanted to buy a simple, white bathtub, even though there is no such item made anymore. There are like 50 options for a myriad of tubs in 40 different colors. Turns out the Lightening Gray tub is a popular color. I kid you not. Do they use the word “lightening” because it feels like there’s a storm in your bathtub? Or because bathtubs are already lightening rods and if yours is gray, you’re even more likely to be electrified while soaping your armpits?

Just give a white tub, please. I need a tub with one side, because the other three will be enclosed by walls, so then I had to decide on the side paneling. Since when do tubs have side paneling? What’s wrong with smooth, easy-to-wipe-down acrylic siding? Who needs panels on the side of the tub? But there are all shapes and sizes of decorative tub side paneling. I went with the simplest paneling possible on my white one-sided acrylic tub, which I had to search for in the catalog (there wasn’t anything so basic on the showroom floor–only copper cauldron type tubs which made me think of Roman gladiators for some reason. Or maybe they made me think of Roman orgies).

Then there’s jets. Everybody wants jets. I don’t. I don’t want to pay for the extra electrical work or electricity. Plus I hear jets are a cleaning nightmare and harbor all kind of nasty (fecal) bacteria in their housings. It turns out what I want is called a soaking tub. Simple, white, with a couple indentations on the edges so the soap’s not always sliding into the water. That’s it. Ordered. Finally.

But no, then we had to talk spouts and shower systems and valves and drains. OMG, who knew ordering a basic bathtub was so complex?

I wanted the lowest flow shower head available (yes, granola me). I want to conserve water, although it seems I was the only person in the showroom who did. While everyone else was buying humongous rainforest shower heads with multiple wall jets, all in polished bronze and matching shades of lightening gray, I was trying to find a 1.6 gallon per minute low-flow shower head. Which I did, and the only coating option is chrome, because well, polished bronze and low-flow just don’t mesh. Which is fine. Most people are happy with chrome fixtures. Hell, most people are happy with plumbing that works most of the time.

Finally, after an hour of catalogues and discussion of systems and shower trim (can I just tell you that the trim, i.e., the piece of metal that you use to turn the water on and off, costs almost as much as the entire bathtub), I was released from the intimidating showroom, and late for lunch.

Tomorrow my simple white no-jet soaking tub and my low-flow shower system and my very expensive trim pieces (not that kind of trim, you dirty-minded scum) will be delivered.

Next I need to pick out doors, tile, and rock for the retaining wall. I think I’ll like choosing rock. Surely that can’t be too complex. Or can it?

I know you’re all waiting for a construction update. Because while people are dying in China and Burma, we’re adding 600 square feet to our house.

I’m feeling a bit weary of world pain and suffering today.

Although in world happy news, I’m thrilled that my man John Edwards endorsed Obama. I had hoped for an Edwards/Obama race for the White House. Now I’m hoping for a reverse candidacy–same guys, different positions.

Pouring the concrete for the slab/flooring was rather intense. The guys were moving intently. I guess concrete requires both speed and focus. And now we have a floor!

This is what’s under the concrete. The tubing is the radiant heating system. I have no idea how the tubing doesn’t get smushed under the weight of the concrete, but it doesn’t (supposedly). We already have solar hot water and back-up heat, so this adds to our existing system. Although we must add two more solar panels, turning our roof into one huge sun collector. I’m shocked at how many folks look at our roof and say, “Wow, are those sky lights?”

This is my poor, tromped upon front flower bed, which despite the odds, is producing blooms. Luckily, what’s under the dirt pile are perennials, so I’m hoping they’ll return next year.

This week the guys are framing, so I’ll have actual wall shots soon!

I’m single Mom all week, and I’m finding balance difficult. I should be writing my biz profile for the newspaper right now. But I’m writing here instead. Because I’m feeling neglectful of you, my pretties.

We now own a pretty little fishie, whom my boy has named either Scratch or Electric. Or both. He’s a Betta fish, and mostly maroon, but with purplish-blue fins and sides.

About 24 hours after Scratch was ushered via plastic baggie to his lovely new home, I walked into the boy’s room to find Houdini sitting on the shelf next to the fish tank, gazing lovingly at our new pet. The cat had on his “isn’t this interesting?” look–his small head cocked sweetly to one side. Ever so gently, he placed a paw against the side of the tank.

Luckily, there’s a mesh top that fits on the tank, which I don’t think even Houdini can pry off. And we have, of course, overcompensated, and filled a medium-sized tank with enough water for several small fish as opposed to just one. So I don’t think the cat can push the tank off the shelf. Which is good, because it’s directly above the boy’s bed.

I tried to get a photo, but as soon as Houdini saw me with the camera, he scrammed. He clearly didn’t want me to have photographic evidence linking him to the fishie. Just in case.

Scratch ain’t a dog, but he’ll do for a while.

That’ll be all, pig.