Remember how I said, about a year ago, that we were going to sell our house and build a new house? And then we sold our house, and were still planning on building a new house? Well, we’re still planning. It takes longer than I thought.

At this point we know roughly what the shape of the house will be, but we’re just starting to come bump into the next kind of decisions that will have to be made. Many, many, many decisions.

What kind of windows?

What kind of lights? Where?

What kind of faucets do we want? In what finish?

Regular oven or convection oven?

What kind of toilets?

What kind of toilet paper holders?

It’s overwhelming, to say the least. I’ve spend some time making tentative decisions about a few things, but every time I look at a site like this, I want to start all over again. I’m spinning, and it’s hard to imagine finalizing anything, ever.

I don’t think that I’m an overly materialistic person, but my home matters to me. I really want it to be just right, and I feel like this may be the only time in my life when I can try for something that is exactly right. All at one time. That’s the not the only point of building this house, but it’s a nice side benefit. I don’t want to totally blow it.

So, I’ve called in emergency help: a friend who has the most beautiful, comfortable, lovable home I know. It’s not just that she has good taste, it’s that she has created for her family a place just like the one I would like to live in myself. When she agreed to lend an eye, I  felt like a weight has been lifted.

There is a yawning gulf between where I’m sitting right now and where I’ll be a year from now. But with my friend’s help, and my excellent architect, and my genius builders, I think we can get there.