Building brick by brick

Today the main work on our new house shifted from the inside - where the finishing of the sheetrock is almost complete and will probably be all done by Thursday - to the outside, where the laying of brick

has begun. Here a mason is laying a row of brick outside my office. The bottom row rests on the same foundation on which the original brick was laid. Before this work began, however, there was a good bit of preparation, and the head mason planned out the whole project. After that, he said, it's just a matter of carrying out the plan. As the old saying goes, "Plan your work, and work your plan."

Back on the inside, after the  walls are completely smooth, they will all be spray painted with an initial coat. Then they will be painted with colors (variations of white) that Manita and I are now picking out. We are also choosing wallpaper for the bathrooms and laundry room, which will hopefully go well with floor coverings and other furnishings, which also have to be picked out. It seems there's never a dull moment in building a house - and no rest for the weary.

Bye now.  --oc