New House!

Our new house - can you see it? OK, I know I am asking for some imagination but eventually it will be beautiful! We have been talking about staking the house site and we did it. It overlooks the vineyard and eventually (Lord willing) will be surrounded by vineyard as we expand.  If you look carefully, you can see 4 white arrows pointing to the stakes at the 4 corners of what will be our new house. Think Italy, Tuscany, wine country with rolling hills - maybe forget the hills since there are none here - quaint, picturesque, you get the picture. If all goes according to plan (and they are always subject to change) the house will be one story with basement, stucco and have a metal roof which looks like terra-cotta tile. I think for landscaping we will use cactuses (since I won't have to water them!) surrounded by pebbles. For now, the plan for the house is to begin digging and building the basement. It will be a walk-out basement, meaning that three sides will be covered with dirt leaving only one side exposed. I never thought I would be so excited about living like a mole. When completed, the basement will be slightly bigger than the house we rent now. Once the house in Alabama sells, we will finish the upstairs. This will be the view from the front porch once the whole house is completed. Now, in winter the look is  so different than what it will be in the summer. Though the vines have no foliage and are bare-looking, they have their own beauty even now. Once we expand 10 more acres, the vineyard will be up to the house. Just to be on our own property, so close to the vineyard is exciting to plan towards. Even if it does mean living like a mole for now!!!!