If I Ever Start To "Brainstorm" With You...RUN! As Fast As You Can!!!

Brainstorming was an activity we, as education majors were required to do all of the time.  For those of us who possess vivid imaginations and are creative in nature...this can be a VERY DANGEROUS activity.  I think I have recently realized just how dangerous it can be, myself.

Several years ago, we bought a "Lake House" on the beautiful Cane River in Natchitoches, Louisiana.  You remember Natchitoches, don't you?  It is where the movie "Steel Magnolias" was filmed.  We had been looking for years for either land or a house of some sort to become available, because almost as soon as a property is listed on Cane River, it is sold.  When we found this particular house, it had just gone on the market and the owners had to move quickly, since they were being transferred due to their job.  Before the ink was even wet on the closing papers, we were in there cleaning and tearing carpet out.  We bought the house for a very reasonable price, so we decided to go the "Do It Yourself" route in giving this house a face lift.  All of the boys and even my in-laws and a couple of friends came to help.  We painted, changed out faucets, light fixtures and resurfaced the kitchen counter tops.  That first year, we jumped right into enjoying our frequent visits there.  Then, phase 2 came around.  This phase consisted of knocking the wall in the living room out and replacing it with huge pane windows...who wants to live on the water and not be able to clearly view it?  Looking out upon the water, we also decided that our boat dock should be replaced with a larger, covered one that had 2 boat slips.  Now, when we visited the "camp", I could walk down to the boat dock to read or paint or just enjoy the peacefulness of the River.  Phase 3, the phase we are currently in, was not truly planned...it just happened...after one of my infamous "Brainstorming Sessions".

Phase 3 of our "Lake House Remodel Project" (that's what I am calling it now), began at the beginning of May.  I really thought that it would be complete by the middle or end of summer...OK, I suppose I was in denial.  It started out as just adding a larger wrap around back porch on...with a new master bedroom and bathroom.  THAT'S when the "brainstorming" began.  Robby and I started discussing what else could "potentially" be done...you know, since we were already in the throws of construction anyway.  And this is what happened next.  You see, there was a room above the garage that was already framed in, but had never been finished out.  I thought...what a GREAT idea it would be if we knocked ANOTHER wall out, made a hallway and tied that room into the house with a staircase.  The side that overlooked the lake would be a sitting area and the other side would be a bedroom with a closet and bathroom as well. From there, I thought, how nice would it be if I could actually view the lake while cooking...however, there was a pesky wall in the way.  Perhaps we should also knock that wall out to open the entire room up...OH, and while we were at it, why not just put new cabinets in and a long bar.  THEN, if we opened that room up, we should REALLY add a fireplace too.  It didn't have to be a wood burning fireplace; one that burned gas logs would be just fine...AND I had the perfect design (hmmm...imagine that!)  You see, I wanted the fireplace built on the bottom and a space built into the top for a TV.  Well, from there, we went to changing out another toilet and putting siding on the house.  This had become the project that just went on and on...no wonder we are now 6 months down the road and STILL not finished (ugh).

I went to Natchitoches this week to check on the progress and things are actually looking like they might be about to wind up.  It is our hope that everything will be complete by the first weekend in December.  That is the weekend of Caitlin's birthday and The Festival of Lights.  I'm feeling pretty positive that this could happen...if I can just stay away, let the carpenters do their work and NOT brainstorm any more great ideas!