My Christmas Present

This is not the greatest picture, because I took it at a weird hour and the lighting was difficult. But I wanted to use this one so that you could not only get a picture of my porch swing, but you could also take a look at some of the craftsmanship of the work that's been done on this porch. I wish I had taken some more detail pictures of what was there before, because you wouldn't believe the difference in quality!

Needless to say, I'm thrilled to have the swing up. And the porch supports will be in on Thursday, which means by the end of the week, I'll have a completely functional porch. I'm not going to tell you which type of supports won out between the columns and the cast iron. You'll know when I post a picture on Friday, so be on the lookout.

Also, take a look at the brickmasonry on this porch. Isn't it beautiful?? The color of the concrete looks splotchy still. They say it takes about 10 days in the winter to dry and even out in tone. Also, we will be staining the swing in the not too distant future.

As you have seen from my other posts, we have taken on some big home projects lately indoors, so who knows when we'll be done (and I've updated the attic slideshow, so take another look for more photos). All I can say about having a "starter" home is that they're right - you definitely start the home, it's the stopping that's a problem. It seems we're always working on one thing or another.

I'm really happy about all of the choices that we've made, though. Our home is not only a great investment of our time and money, it's a real home for both of us, full of all the things that make having a home worth all the blood, sweat and tears that go into working on a house. :)