I just wanted to add my own welcome note this to kind of put out for anyone who may be reading why we're doing this blog, and more importantly why we're building a new house.
Patricia and I already have a house, and not a bad one at that. Of course, I bought our house out in Evans before Patricia and I were married. So I think in a lot of ways, while I very much think of it as Patricia's house as much as it is mine, it's hard for us to think of it as our house. And obviously my life circumstances were vastly different at the time when I bought it. I was single, and didn't really have any ideas that my status would change anytime in the near future. So I bought an older home, one that was clearly in need of some work (nothing structural really, mostly aesthetic). It was my fixer upper. My idea was I was a single guy, I need a place with a good amount of space but not expansive, and I would spend my weekends making the place really shine. But now that I'm married, spending that much time doing improvement projects is much less attractive. And again, we want something that is truly ours, that we picked out together. I want for us to have our dream home, and I think the one we're building is going to be pretty close to that. It'll be newer, have more space, and be far more energy efficient. We'll have more land for some homesteading (something a little more than gardening but a little less than farming, is the way I like to think of it), and we'll have the peace and quiet of being in the country.
So why the blog? In part, it's for us. Taking a raw piece of land and some blueprints, and crafting that into a residence is a big project. And an exciting one. I'd kind of like a record of that. I also like to think friends and family are excited for us too ("Shared joy is increased, shared pain is lessened, thus do we refute entropy"), and this is a way to share in an easy (and multimedia friendly) way (and that sharing can be a two way street...we very well may solicit input on some of the MANY decisions we'll have to make). And who knows, this might inspire someone who wants to do something similar. Also, houses/homes just fascinate me. I believe putting together a home is the largest creative project most people ever undertake.
Anyway, comments/questions are welcome (and encouraged), and I hope we see at least a few visitors! Even if we don't, I think recording this experience will have been well worth it.
