Here are some current photos of the house and barn — all of these were taken yesterday, 6/27/07.

This first photo is of the front of the house - I wanted a photo of the steps.  I like the way they curve out.  Also notice the “capitols” at the top of the posts on the porch.  I was worried that they might be too ornate, but I really like them, and when all the trim is painted white, they will blend right in with the posts.

This photo is taken from the dining room looking toward the front door.  You can see the bottom of the stairs.  Notice in the top corner of the dining room there is a soffit.  We have that in all four corners.  I’ve got plans for how to decorate under those.  We’ll have a small light in the top of each one.  You can also see the American cherry hardwood floor, too.  They’re still working on installing that today. 

This photo shows the balcony that overlooks the great room.  Nothing painted or stained yet - but it still looks good.  The trim guy did some gorgeous trim around that balcony.  Everything is coming together so well.  We got the call from the cabinet guy that the cabinets are ready.  So they will be installed soon.

And here is the barn.  We put a porch on it, and it has plenty of room inside for RT to have a workshop and to work on the car or truck or whatever he wants to do.  I think all the mounted deer heads will look lovely in there (as opposed to in the house!)  We have plans to do some woodworking together.  It’s going to look lovely once the landscaping is done in a couple weeks.

This last photo shows the fireplace.  RT built it himself with “country ledgestone.”  I think it is beautiful.  I love the way he put the keystone over the fireplace with the “soldiers” showing off the curve at the top.  The fireplace is actually a wood-burning stove.  It is supposed to produce enough heat to heat the entire house.  We’ll see how it works when winter gets here.

Last night we had a grilled pork tenderloin and brown rice for dinner.  I wanted a quick salad to go with it.  So I made one with what I had on hand - and it was great.  Here’s what I did:

 Tomato-Balsamic Salad

2-3 fresh tomatoes, cut into bite-size pieces

1 green onion, thinly sliced

1 carrot, shredded or cut into thin slices

1/4 cup, cheddar cheese, shredded

2 Tablespoons Balsamic vinegar (more or less, depending on your taste)

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (more or less, depending on your taste)

salt and pepper to taste

Toss ingredients in a bowl and serve. 

The other evening RT and I got home from a long day of working at the new house.  RT was finishing up the stone work on the fireplace, and I had helped with selecting the stones, preparing the mortar and cleaning up.  We were both exhausted.  Although RT had done the vast majority of the work, he insisted that I sit down and relax and let him prepare dinner for us.  I was easy to convince. 

“How about BLT’s?” I suggested.  But then I remembered.  “We’re out of mayonaise, and the lettuce doesn’t look very good.”

“Do we have ranch dressing?” asked RT.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Then I’ll improvise,” he said. 

RT prepared the absolute BEST BLT’s I’ve ever tasted.  Actually, I guess we should call them BCRT’s because we left out the lettuce and added cheese and ranch dressing.

As soon as the bacon was cooked, RT laid the cheese on top of the bacon so that the warmth from the bacon would start to soften the cheese.  That was an important step because although the cheese didn’t fully melt, it had softened to the point that it was really creamy and smooth.  He spread ranch dressing on the bread, placed the sliced bacon with cheese on top.  Then he sliced the tomatoes and laid the slices on a paper towel so they wouldn’t be so drippy.  After the paper towel had absorbed some of the moisture from the tomatoes, he added them to the sandwich.  A sprinkle of salt and pepper, a little cantaloupe on the side, a glass of chardonnay - and we had a fantastic and quick dinner.

A new sandwich was created - the BCRT.

RT and I were talking with a flooring contractor today, and the topic of conversation got around to some of the huge houses in our area of Tennessee.  We’re talking about a couple (no children) living in a 10-15 bedroom house with 10,000 or more square feet.  Every city has those - the couple that feel the need to build a monument of a house.

The contractor commented:

“I drive past one of those big houses on a Thursday night, and no one is home.  They’re both still at work.  I go past a trailer, and the whole family is in the yard grilling out, playing games and having fun.  What use is a big house if you have to work all the time to afford it?  I want to live in a trailer.”

I haven’t written about how our house-building is coming along lately. Yes, I know - I haven’t written about ANYTHING much lately.  I’ll just say that it has been hectic around here.  You’d think since I’m a teacher and I’m out of school for the summer that I’d have lots of leisure time.  You would be wrong.

Anyway, the house is coming along wonderfully. This is a photo I took today. They finished up the columns on the front and back porches - except for the half-columns that will go against the brick. They’ll finish those tomorrow.

I’m sorry this photo doesn’t show the front or back steps because they’re gorgeous - they’re made of brick and they curve out on each side.  I’ll get a photo of them up soon.

Ron has been working on putting in the stone fireplace yesterday and today. He hopes to finish it this weekend. The flooring folks started on the hardwood floors today - will be back the first of next week to finish that.

We figure we will move in the house sometime in August.  We still have to find a painter, and that has been a problem.  Next Wednesday I’m going with a decorating person to select light fixtures, granite and tile.

It’s definitely a fun time - but a very tiring and busy time.

The house plan is called “Hickory Ridge” and it’s by Donald A. Gardner Architects, Inc.  I think our house will be more beautiful than the drawing on the Gardner website.  We made a few changes - especially inside that make it outstanding.  I’ll try to get some inside photos posted soon, too.

Even though Fred Thompson hasn’t officially declared his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election, he has pulled ahead of Rudy Guiliani in the latest poll.

Poll Trends
Posted Jun 19th 2007 6:52AM by NixGuy

Rasmussen’s latest is out today and shows that Fred Thompson is the new frontrunner at 28% to Rudy Giuliani’s 27% with Mitt Romney and John McCain crashing back down to 10%. It is the first time that Giuliani has relinquished the lead since January. Just think what will happen when Fred actually announces.

Yesterday, Gallup and the big board at pollster.com showed the same trends, Giuliani and McCain sinking, Fred rising, and the other contenders becoming irrelevant. While things are relatively static on the Democratic side, Fred’s impending entry is generating a lot of excitement among the press corp about the GOP primary race.

My prediction is that this will rapidly become a two-person race centered around two issues, electability and ideology. Giuliani is electable, but will he be conservative enough? Bush’s current warpath for immigration reform comes at an unlucky time for Giuliani. It’s reminding conservative voters of what happens when they vote for a non-conservative for the highest office. All things considered, they’d rather have a candidate who is a conservative at heart rather than someone they made a deal with.

With Fred Thompson it’s the opposite problem. Most Republicans believe that he is a conservative at heart, based on past voting history and ACU Rating. But his current meteoric rise in the polls is only partially based on that. The other large part is the perception that he is a great communicator who would be an excellent foil against Hillary Clinton or whoever it is that the Democrats nominate. The perception is also that he will be able to reach out to swing voters as well and pull them back from the Democrats. I happen to believe this myself, but whether you believe it or not, understand that this perception among Republicans is what is moving Fred Thompson to the top.

McCain is out. Has been for awhile. It just happened to be immigration that was the final straw. Romney still has a chance but he’s currently functioning as the first alternate in a two person race. If either Giuliani or Thompson stumble or fall short, Romney will be there waiting. Short of that, he remains on the sidelines.

In 1999, George W. Bush took the lead in money, polling and never relinquished it. This cycle will be much more interesting and overall good for Republicans.

I admit - I really like everything I’ve read and heard so far about Fred Thompson. I think he just might be the person who can unite the Republican party and defeat Hillary.

In reading blogs this morning, I came across one that declared that “educated” voters would, of course, vote Democrat.  That particular blogger wanted clubs in schools to “educate” children and youth in civics. 

You know - if we poor uneducated Republicans could only know as much as the supremely wiser Democrats, we would feel the same as they feel and would give up our ignorant beliefs and become enlightened and “progressive” as God intended us to be.

I still marvel that such arrogance and such a wide-spread condescending attitude can be so widely accepted.  To many Democrats, people are too ignorant and/or stupid to make their own decisions and manage their own lives.  They need the government to do their thinking for them and to provide for them.

This Father’s Day I’m thankful for the fathers in my life:

(1) For my own father whose life was an example of how to live

(2) For my husband, the father of our two children, for being such a strong and loving father

(3) For my son-in-law - for being such a loving father for my two grandgirls and a good husband to my daughter

(4) For my father-in-law, who has been gone even longer than my father, but whose last words (that I heard) were sweet ones to my children as we left his bedside: “Bye, bye, sugar-pie.”

(5) For my two brothers who are wonderful fathers.  My youngest brother visited me on Friday, and it was so pleasant to be able to take a walk with him and then sit and talk with him for awhile before he continued his business trip.

(6) My grandfather - Daddy Shaw - my father’s father who owned a barbershop where we always hurried whenever we  visited.

(7) My mother’s father - who I never knew since he died when my mother was 9 years old - but who influenced me through my mother.

It has been more than twenty years since my father died.  Sometimes it seems unreal that he isn’t here.  I often look at my two grandgirls and think of how much Daddy would have loved and enjoyed them.  I would love for him to see my own children as adults now - how proud he would have been of them!

Here is a poem I wrote a few years after my father’s death.  I’ve posted it here before, but it is so personally meaningful that I wanted to post it again.  So bear with me.

I’m a teacher which means I’m not home when “The View” in on, and I don’t like it enough to TiVo it.  However, this morning I just happen to be home, and “The View” just happens to be on - and it’s a pretty good talk show.  It doesn’t seem that Rosie is missed too much.  I have to say, though, that Kathy Griffin is NOT a good addition to the show.  Her humor is too contrived.