From a Cluttered Desk

I am Tammy Cardwell, she of the cluttered desk. (Hey, you think I'm kidding?!) I'm having a blast here in Blogland and invite to you to peruse my ramblings. Like a buffet, they offer variety - essentially whatever makes it to the top of the piles that sometimes clutter my brain. We'll eventually cover it all - homeschooling, God, our church, the Eclectic Homeschool Online, books I'm writing and publishing, conferences I speak at, the joys of grandmotherhood, and hopefully chocolate. Of course, this is only what's near the top now. Who knows what's in those piles?

Okay, so there are only two of them, but at least it’s something!

This first was taken before they actually got started on Saturday.

I was in the house getting some work of my own done when it dawned on me that the guys really deserved to be in one of the pictures instead of Jack just going back out to take pictures once they’d finished. As you can see, by the time they started Saturday morning they had managed to frame up much of the addition. Jack is the one standing on the ground, supervising. Fred, our contractor, is the one on the ladder. The big opening you see in front of him is double windows that will be on the front of my office. Obviously, that flat spot to the right is our porch.

Oh, the anticipation about that porch! It may seem silly to some, but one of my favorite things growing up was sitting on the porch when it was raining and I’ve not had a porch to sit on since we moved into this house 26 years ago. I’ll finally have a porch again! I can hang my windchimes on it and hear them ring from my office. I could hang a hammock if I liked. I could… Oh, yes, I mean WE could… Of course I’m including Jack in my plans. [wink]

This next picture was taken on Sunday, because it was too dark for pictures by the time they finished up on Saturday. As you can see, it had obviously been raining. In fact, if you could see the trenches that our foundation beams are in, you would see quite a bit of standing water. It’s been there since shortly after the foundations were poured, because every time it starts to dry up around here someone opens the tap again.

It doesn’t look like they got much done, does it? They assure me that, structurally speaking, they did. They reframed my office door (because of some decisions we made after they framed it the first time) and they framed the sleeping loft that will open up into my office. You can see it jutting out over the window header, and then of course it goes out over the porch. I’ll not be able to use all of that space, obviously, because of the roof slope, but I’ll have enough usable space to put a futon up there so that we can actually have sleepover guests without accommodating them on the living room floor. I also plan to draw, study my Bible, write, and read up there, and they’re going to put in a door that leads to the attic so I will have a convenient place to store all of my packing supplies. (You’d be amazed how much cardboard and bubble wrap I go through just as the editor of EHO’s product reviews department!)

You know, I watch shows like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and wish like crazy that I could have something like that happen to me - a whole crew of qualified and equipped carpenters rolling in and getting this job finished in next to no time. I mean… I want so much to be able to bake cookies for Christmas. That’s something I always loved doing and it’s something I’ve been denied for years. I want to be able to put up a tree. I want to be able to say, "Christmas morning’s at my house!"  It would take a miracle for it to happen, of course, but I’m still daring to dream, because I serve the One who specializes in the miraculous.

And if it doesn’t, I’ll be like the Apostle Paul, happy no matter what state I find myself in.

Have a blessed week!

Oh, and remember that everyone who comments on my blog this week will have a chance to win Samuel the Camel and the Lone Star. It’s from a young author you’ve probably never heard of before, but I can almost guarantee you’ll enjoy it.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C