Our last major decision to make for our home is the stucco colour.

While this may seem like a simple choice, it's anything but.

We were given a brochure to look at, but a half- inch strip of colour sample is not quite adequate in deciding what colour to cover a 1,624- sq.- ft. house with. We did go to the supplier to gain more insight, but that was of little help.

They had some antiquated samples on the wall, which looked to be somewhat helpful at first glance, but the answer to our first query proved prophetic:

Us: "This is what we'd be looking at if we went with Slate #802, right?"

Supplier: "Well yeah, except that in Winnipeg we use a different colour sand mix, so it's not really what you'd see..."

Us: "So, these samples are, in effect, use-less?"

Supplier: "Yeah, I guess so..."

Thankfully, Trevor was able to talk with his contractor so we could have a look at some houses that have finished stucco, for a real-life look. As it turns out, it was very illuminating.

The Slate #802 colour we had originally chosen turned out to be very beige when mixed with Winnipeg orange sand. To ensure we get an appropriate colour, Trev is working on getting a large sample board done up by the contractor so we know exactly what we¹ll see on our walls. Further muddying the situation is our desire for flattened, or knock- down stucco.

There are apparently even fewer samples around town in that finish. But, we're heartened to hear that we¹ll have a real sample to view before committing to a particular colour. (We're looking at French Grey at this point...) I met with the finish carpenter early in the week, and we talked in detail about the finishings we¹d like to see. We originally considered standard tapered baseboards, headers and casings.

But the finisher suggested we match the Craftsman feel of the exterior with square mouldings throughout the interior. Essentially, we¹ll have square one-inch by five-inch baseboards, one-inch by four-inch casings, and one-inch by five-inch headers. We also discussed the angular support brackets for under the soffits on the exterior. It will be a simple four-by-four inch beam and support construction.

We move in 19 days.

All of a sudden, this is going to be wrapped up in a few weeks. It's amazing how the culmination of a project that began almost a year ago can sneak up on us, but it has. To say we haven't been setting the world on fire with our packing prowess would be an understatement. While we did pare down our "stuff" to a great extent before our last move, we do still have enough to have to hire movers.

We've had family, friends and slight acquaintances over to check out our new house, and we don't even own it yet. We should see a lot of action over the next week. But, it's kind of like a talk show, as we¹re not sure when our scheduled guests will appear.

So, "scheduled to appear": The finish carpenter to do the trim work, the painters to apply the two finish coats and the stone contractor to apply the cultured stone to the columns.