So, there’s an American, an Irishman, a Russian woman and a Caveman … no this is not the beginning of a joke, this is the group of people that are actually working on my house. Okay, so the Caveman isn’t really a Caveman, it’s what I like to lovingly call my nephew who is currently sporting long locks and a beard (a mod hippie of sorts), while tearing apart my stairwell and upstairs hallway. It’s like “Under the Tuscan Sun” except the people working on my house are not Polish, I’m not renovating a house in Italy, and I am definitely no where near the caliber of Diane Lane. BUT it is a great group of people that are helping me make my house a home, I am renovating a house where something new is uncovered everyday (including buried electrical issues that make the guys shake their heads in total disapproval), and I am a woman,all on my own, taking on a house that is testing my patience, perseverance and faith (even if I don’t look like Diane Lane).

Every good home has character. My friends might say that there’s already a character living in my home – hee hee – which is very true. But I think that the people who help you transform your house play a part in shaping that character. They’re kind of like ingredients. Very important ingredients in the recipe for a happy home. Without the right people, the house would be like an ordinary cupcake without frosting … booooorrrriiiiinnngggg! A cupcake needs icing, and sprinkles and sometimes a yummy surprise in the middle! Character. It’s all about character.

A month ago I thought I’d never find the right people to make it all happen, and then poof, like magic the right people are sent into your life to set the gears in motion. Thankfully, somehow, these wonderful characters found me! It started with a conversation with a friend and the next thing you know work began to build the house’s character so that this character could have a happy home to live and entertain in (because I won’t be able to afford to leave it after its all done)!

It has been less than two weeks and they are already starting to put down the tile floor in the kitchen. After the first day on the job they had the kitchen pretty much gutted, and at that point there was no turning back. Moving quickly is good, not just because it’s getting done faster, but because it gives me less time to hem and haw over each little decision and less time for my agida to completely knock me out of commission sending me into in a corner of the dust-filled house curled up in a ball rocking back and forth and hiding from the world, in which case these guys and gal are also serving as my therapists … a whole ‘nother post!

There are days I wish I was in Italy, sitting in a piazza drinking wine and eating gelato with that hot hunk of a man Marcello that Diane Lane nabbed in the movie, but for now, I’m here, trying to enjoy and make the most of my journey Under the Not So Tuscan Sun.