Ok, here it goes... HUMANS: Male and female in our forties and thirties. BABIES: Two girls, 3 years and 20 months old. None of the fur kind. JOB TYPE: Hubby is a business consultant in a private firm, I am a music librarian at the state university in Athens. WHERE LOCATED: A few kilometers from the city center (walking distance, maybe less than an hour) in Athens, Greece. DWELLING TYPE: 2 bedroom 2nd floor apartment (750-800 sq ft). OTHER INFO THAT MAY TELL A STORY OF WHY: DH and I work about the same hours. When we are both home it is very difficult to get anything done as our 2 toddlers are always underfoot and DH may want me to talk or just listen to him (I love him dearly, but he is the kind of person who is always bugged by something. Also there are all those instances that he says something that makes me feel heavy and drained of energy...) I am much more productive when at home alone with the kids. Our relatively small space makes it necessary to keep on top of decluttering, and not having lots to spend makes it easier to not bring uneeded things in the house in the first place. I am a long time member here although I mostly lurk. Maria

Things not looking great again. Yesterday we discovered that 2 of our 3 new Totos arrived broken. I guess it's not that big a deal as they will be replaced, but now we have to wait again for new ones. We had a meeting with the GC on Tuesday night to discuss how things are going. It didn't go well. He says that I am nice to the whole crew, but not to him and that's why he barely comes to the house. He said the whole crew had noticed 'how I treat him' and that in 10 years of business he has never had this problem before. So now I feel uncomfortable in my own home. Now I'm wondering if it's me that's the problem. He called the following day to apologize for how he spoke to me, but I really don't much want to talk to him at all any more. He is asking us to eat a lot of extra expense (including most of the $940 Home Depot bill) because of all the 'extras' he has done including 'thousands' in additional plumbing work for free (?). He says we can go over the contract again but it will end up costing us thousands because he will charge for all the extras he's done. We appear to now be paying for wiring and other items I had no idea would be on the list. I thought he was paying for behind the walls stuff and we were paying for the 'pretty' stuff (including paint, but wiring??). My husband has stepped in to talk to him and yet I don't feel satisfied with that arrangement either. GC was meant to go to Home Depot for $80 worth of unidentified stuff (paid for by us) and when the Home Depot person called for our cc number (which GC no longer has) it was for $175. For 'wiring and boxes'. Huh? The problem is I just don't trust him and I guess the GC feels that and is (understandably) offended by it. But when we ask for receipts he flashes them at us and then says he needs them back. It's like the Hone Depot receipt debacle all over again. But we DO have extra issues that SHOULD be resulting in extra charges - the problem is getting numbers out of him for the extra issues is tough. So our sunroom leak issues and retiling (over the existing) bathroom floor are costing an additional $2400 on top of the $940 which he owed us from the Home Depot thing, but we didn't know that until he's ripped out carpeting and the place is a disgusting mess and we have no choice really but to do the work. I just wish he would tell us what this stuff would cost before starting it! I don't know what to do at this point. I feel like every time we question something he has a million explanations and excuses which never really tell you anything. He talks a mile a minute and you can't get a word in edgewise. I know we should be paying for the unexpected stuff, but the way it happens is so backwards and confusing to me and I end up wondering what is going on. Why for example have we paid $500 for insulation product as part of the contract as well as $814 in insulation as part of that Home Depot bill (that's NOT part of his $940 building materials which was all dry wall) and yet he says the remainder of the insulation in rolls downstairs isn't ours. It's his? He says we have to eat the $500 for insulation that was in the contract because he underbid the installation part of insulating and because we owe him so muc for the extra plumbing (which he hadn't mentioned before and we thought was included). Another example. He ran wiring for the baby's room high hats and ceiling fan. Told me the switch was slightly off center and not to straighten it or it might short. A couple of days later it stopped working. He says it's a coincidence and the wiring must have been 'chewed by rats or squirrels' and that it's an unforeseen issue. this seems like a remarkable coincidence to me. I thought if we contracted that he was installing 4 recessed lights and a fan, that meant they should work? The house has a newer panel with a ton of electric amps, but I guess that doesn't mean no problems. Maybe we're being unreasonable in our expectations. Apparently most people around here tell him to go ahead and fix unforeseen issues and just send them a bill. It's very possible as there's a lot of money around here. But we would like to know what things will cost in advance. He seems to take this as a personal insult. :( DH thinks he's on cocaine. I would not be surprised. I am exhausted and this has turned into a book. Sorry. Just needed to vent again.

Swinging a hammer yourself...doesn't get any better. You're not good at the creative part. OK. Are you sure? There are people who some things just come naturally. I've known some. Most creative people I've known got to be creative though hard work, risk taking and never saying they weren't good at it. I think it's more of choice. If you're more interested in having the details then for sure let someone else do the creation. But if you're interested in the creating part you should go for it. You'll likely surprise yourself and it opens up a whole new world. The last thing is home size, even room size. When I bought the house we're living in I made plans for expanding it to 2000 sq ft. Gutted it with that expectation. I don't remember why but at some point I asked myself why 2000 sq ft. Because that's how big a house is I thought. Only reason. When I gutted the kitchen I found that originally it had been tiny. The house was originally 900 sq ft and was big for the neighborhood. Pretty big families with kids were raised in these homes. Why did my wife and I need a home that was 2-3 times larger? Started searching the web and found all the tiny/small house stuff and I was hooked. The reason I bring this up is because building a small house well is easier and cheaper than building a big house. That may seem duh, but it's real easy to dismiss it. It's harder to dismiss when you've driven your 30,000 th nail. The time and money saved can be directed into things you really want. A few months ago I re-roofed the house. Think it was 21 squares. The whole time I'm up there I'm thinking how dumb this is. I don't even use 2/3 of the house. I seriously considered tearing down part of the house. Central air went out, on the roof deal. $8000 to replace so I got a split system that came pre-charged and could install myself. $2000 and the house is so much more comfortable and quiet. And best of all no ducts in the attic. There have been many more benefits. Smaller is worth a serious consideration.

They are indeed Hedgehogs, Signet. DIL chose the pattern...reason little one was all scrunched up in her ultrasounds every time...so they called her "Hedgie". Each of those squares was 30 individual pieces, so it was a bit of pressure to get it done in the two weeks before her shower. The book quilt was to honor my daughter's graduation with a BSN. She has been an RN for 10 years, and she is currently working full time and in school to become a nurse practitioner. I actually enjoyed designing that bookshelf quilt and kind of hated finishing it.. There is one column of blocks that doesn't show in this photo, and other details like a coffee cup with her name and a book showing collectible shoes since she collected the glass miniatures at one time. this kind of quilt should become a heirloom. I did the clock twice because the first time it didn't look right and spent a day doing the stethoscope block. Fun though...Mantis, DIL likes pink s and purples for the girls thus the colors. Glad y'all liked them. kay