It has been raining cats and dogs this year, but what a beautiful spring we are having. I think I will have to plant blue Lupines and California Poppies somewhere on the property like they do along our roadways. They are spectacular--whole hillsides of blue and gold! All this rain has been a good test, however, and we are pleased to report that our storm drain system is working as planned. Water is no longer collecting on the building site. Yeah!

You may have already heard that we decided not to begin construction on the house this spring (good thing too with all this rain), but will continue with the preliminary site preparations and land improvements.

We have contracted with Wipf Construction to extend the city sewer line to the end of the mini-subdivision. As the first to build, we are required to develop the sewer for all three parcels. (Who said life was fair?) We had the engineers draw up a plan, and as it turns out, we will have to open a trench 9 feet deep to get enough slope for the neighbors at the end of the road!

Also this year we will finish the retaining wall. Our wall will have three different finishes on it--pre-cast concrete caps, stucco and stone. We have contracted with Napa Valley Caststone to make the beautiful pre-cast concrete wall caps for us. Their representative has been up here twice already to take measurements for the molds and will pay us another visit in April to measure the meandering curves of the "Staircase to Nowhere" as we call it. We designed our wall with many graceful curves. We think it is the prettiest wall we have yet seen--but apparently it is a real bear to fit for wall caps.

Last month we met with Brack Zollo Plastering to discuss the stucco finish on the wall, and to inquire about the feasibility of applying a trim piece to the face of the wall to give the appearance of a fancier scrolled edge to the wall caps. We were happy to find that the look we are after can be accomplished quite simply.

Currently, we are looking for a mason to install the pre-cast caps and the Mariposa Slate that we chose as a veneer for the pilasters.

As for the rest of the project. . .

We will work with the other utility providers this year to get everything stubbed out to the building site. And we will spend this additional time carefully choosing windows and doors, hardware, appliances, light fixtures, floor coverings, paint colors, tile, plumbing fixtures, and all the things that will make our custom home a work of art. This means I get to go shopping!