It is odd that your Blues are not yet building. I'm north of you and my Bluebirds eggs are due to hatch on Tuesday. My TRES have arrived, but they generally don't even think about nesting until early May. I feel for you with all that rain you've been having. We had a few springs like that, and they are so awful. It is a curiosity why the TRES so outnumber the EABL. The TRES seem to have a much harder life with their long migration. And they have very similar nesting requirements and predators. It makes you wonder why there aren't more EABL. Hang in there. I'm sure your Blues will nest there eventually.

Alisande, ha, yeah, its got the "big city bright lights" thing going. A bit overexposed, but, night photography has never been my forte', and big city pics sure aren't! As usual, great shots. Love how Carol caught Ketchican. Ron's "steet" in Venice all crowded in and narrow reminds me of some I took of the oldest "alley" in the country in Philadelphia. I'll try to dig a couple up from there and post'em.

The relationship is a bit complex. What is the reason for rising interest rates? Currently the US Federal Reserve will consider raising their fed funds rate if certain conditions are met - namely employment and growth metrics. So if interest rates rise because employee wages are heating up, and GDP growth is increasing, and inflation is a risk, then your build will cost more. Not necessarily because of interest rates, but because of the conditions that caused them to rise in the first place. Cost to build is more a function of wages, industry capacity, lumber and other building materials costs. Cost to you may or may not take into consideration rising interest rates. It will cost you more, of course, if you are borrowing. Good luck!

I'm enjoying everyone's feedback as well. And if I can't handle Sophie's criticism then I have no business building my own home. Yep. That alone should make you ready to take on some of the trades. LOL. I'm interested in feedback on the one GC we have spoken with, who seems like he could be a good fit for us... Charles comes highly recommended by a good friend who has has worked as a GC, and comes from a family of GCs. Charles built a detached garage for him recently. Charles is 25 years old and started in construction when he was 16, working for a builder that built homes from scratch and did large and medium sized remodel projects. When the GC he worked for retired, he told Charles that if he got his GC license, he'd give him all his client contacts, which Charles did. Charles has worked on home build projects from beginning to end, but he hasn't built an entire house as the lead. Our house design is 2-story, 2100 square feet, a simple box shape, with a simple roof line and one dormer. It's not a complicated house, and it would be a great resume builder for him. He has incentive to do a great job for us. Our supervisor is 33 years old and is probably one of the best people I have ever worked with. He's got a great head on his shoulders and knows his stuff. Being a former Mennonite doesn't hurt either since he, like Charles has been working construction sites since he was in his pre-teen years. The one thing that would concern me is that Charles being so young most likely doesn't have credit built up with any of the suppliers. Unless the suppliers are extending the credit to him because of his old boss. The thing is if you're working through a bank then the bank will not front money upfront. They pay when certain things have been done to their satisfaction. So when the slab is poured, they pay a certain percentage. When the rough framing is done they pay a bit more, etc. That could be a problem if Charles doesn't have the extended credit from suppliers. Also if you go with Charles or anyone, make sure you have an ironclad contract as to what gets done, when they get paid, what percentage, etc. Also make sure you have it vetted by a construction lawyer. I liked the ven diagram: cheap, fast, good, and being able to have 2 of the 3. We have time on our side - project delays won't kill us. Charles seems up for creative work arrangements, or at least talking about them. I'm not married to the idea of swinging a hammer - I've just done enough construction inspection that I figured there would be a way to contribute. Listen to Sophie as to ways to contribute. Honestly, being a good homeowner with a GC is still a full-time job for you. First there are all the things that need to be chosen in a timely manner. Flooring, paint, windows, trim, wall texture, plumbing fixtures, cabinets, trim details, exterior details, fencing, landscaping, pavers, type of garage texture, low voltage, electrical outlets, lighting fixtures, where the lighting fixtures need to go, what light goes with what switch and on and on and on. Then there are the daily things that need to be looked at and/or changed because even with the best architect, things come up. The framers put the staircase in the wrong way, or in my case they built it to the plans and it was too high a riser. What happens when you find out the second floor windows were ordered wrong because the roof gets in the way? Or they ordered the wrong window size? Or do you want the windows flush with the exterior of the house, interior of the house, or set in between? How will they be finished both inside and outside. How will you solve the myriad of daily problems that come up? My supervisor and I have a weekly meeting on Monday afternoons. At that meeting, I keep a notepad and write down EVERYTHING we discuss and who's going to do what, and how we're going to solve any issues. I then type it up and send him a copy for our records. That's a way you can be helping. I also do some above and beyond in checking out with the vendors to make sure my tile diagrams are correct, triple check that my builder is ordering things on time, etc. (They tend to wait till the last minute) As I said, a large part of my days, even with my house up and drywalled, and working through a builder, is still taken up with building stuff. Of course I tend to want things how I want them. We have our electrician and plumber lined up already - people we know who are extremely capable. We'll be getting mini splits for our heating and cooling system. Will they be available when your GC needs them? Who will pay them? Again this goes back to the bank issues and also as Sophie said, who's in charge. We've done a full kitchen remodel, so I'm comfortable with everything that entails. Before I started my build, I thought a bit like you. How hard could it be to supervise different trades, schedule them, etc? After all, I've done a full kitchen remodel myself with my ex. Tore down to the walls, hung cabinets, laid tile, installed new sink, hung wallpaper, painted, etc. Also did several other rooms in that house too. And scheduled trades in my second house to come in and complete a few rooms. And in my condo we just sold, hired a GC who charged a premium to tear our condo down to the studs and rebuild almost the whole place. However none of that makes me a GC or builder or able to handle the daily work needed to build a house. It is 1000x more involved. Trust me. While they are both fruits, one is an apple and the other is an grapefruit. We would sub out the trades that Charles isn't qualified to do as needed, and with vetting. And how will you find these people because as mentioned the best subs work for GC's who feed them continual work.