Here is the current view of the south side of the house with all the brick applied. The white aperture on the left side of those windows is the tankless water heater for the kitchen side of the house. I will have to find a creative way to disguise it - I'm thinking large potted bush!

The masons left yesterday, in the rain, of course, with only a few feet of brick left to do to complete the house. They should finish today.

I am reminded again of the virtue of patience . . .hmmmmm deep breath. With all the moisture still in the air, it is taking longer for the interior "mudding" the walls to dry. (More patience, please). But yesterday was fun anyway. We traveled in to Dallas to select the granite for the kitchen countertops and the manufactured marble for the bathrooms. With vessel sinks, mexican sink, painted wall board, wood sample from the trim and copper bar sink in tow, we walked through granite for over an hour, narrowing our choices and trying to stay within our budget. Success!! We selected a color called "baltic brown" and we really like it! It will require three slabs to complete all the counters - whoa!

The best surprise when we returned was the completion of the hearth for the fireplace. The head of the masons, or Abuella (grandfather), as we call him did an amazing job. We left in the morning after drawing out on the cement floor in front of the fireplace the dimensions we needed in a half circle. And we pretty much gave him "carte blanche" for the design. He was amazing - did an abbreviated herringbone design on part of it and alternated long and short brick on the front facing. We were so pleased! (A few more donuts and pigs in a blanket that morning didn't hurt!)

More later - love to all!