A day in the life

Two thirds of the walls are up! All of the rear, except for one dormer, is ready for the ceiling panels. Half of the front has also been installed. These shots show the french door opening for the guest bedroom, then a 180 shows the windows in the hallway that will connect the house to the mudroom. There will be a full bath attached to the guest bedroom to make it convenient for our guests. The last shot is of the kitchen window.

I say full bath for the guest bedroom, but it may very well be equipped with just a shower. Why? The very first, genuine disagreement between Ellen and I is at the heart of the matter. You see, we have this large antique jelly cupboard that Ellen bought at a benefit ball and auction for Pekin Hospital in 2004. She loves it, always has, but it's beauty is totally lost on me. I'm sorry, but it looks like a large, old, abused piece of kitchen furniture of questionable usefulness to almost everyone. Pekin Hospital was a customer of mine at the time, so we had to attend their black tie affair. My show of support was the purchase of a picnic basket for an amount that I thought appropriate, which had been donated by the IT department. Ellen got caught up in a bidding frenzy with another woman for this cupboard, who was no doubt a paid shill for the hospital. At one point during the silent auction, she told me what her bid was while I was in front of my customer contact. All I could do was wince a little bit in silence, since I didn't want to look like a cheapskate in front of someone who had just spent a lot of money with me. I lost track of her and that particular silent auction, because I had to deal with an ill-fitting rental tux that had experienced a wardrobe malfunction. One of the little straps on the sides of the trousers used to tighten the waistline flat out broke. I had no way to cinch them snug to the much narrower waist I had at the time. I could make no sudden movements, and when I walked, I had to do so with one hand discreetly gripping the side of my pants to keep them from finding their way to my ankles. Needless to say, I was self conscious and tried to stay seated as much as possible. Anyway, as we finally got to the point of the evening where we could escape with my dignity still intact, I learned that Ellen had won the cupboard but for more than double the last number she gave me. Oh, joy.

I must admit that it has been useful over the last few years, because we've lived in places where the extra storage has come in handy. Now though, I can see no useful purpose or place for it and suggested Ellen sell it, or try to sell it anyway. She initially agreed, but a day later, while sitting in her recliner, said in a very dramatic way, "something is coming to me." I didn't know whether to be happy for her or frightened out of my wits. The 'something' was an idea to put the jelly cupboard in the guest bathroom instead of building a small linen closet. The problem is its size, or rather, the size of that bathroom. I joined a conversation between her and our builder on how to fit it in while still in progress. It was tortuous to hear them try to figure out how to make it work. Being the remarkable husband I am (please don't take a poll on that), I suggested we lose the tub and just install a shower to make room. I went on to say that I also thought it was profoundly weird to put a piece of kitchen furniture that large in a bathroom and expressed my strong opposition to the whole concept.

So for our future guests who would like to bathe instead of shower, I'm accepting bids on a mighty fine antique jelly cupboard of uncertain origin and use.