In my daily visit to the "rustic" villa today, I found the walls were mostly up and the work proceeding apace with my wishes. The villa is beginning to look like a place that one might like to live! My next project for this particular structure is to finalize the outline of the gardens, and the interior floor plan of the house. I have taken three pictures of the villa as it is now, and will place them in the blog as soon as they are set into the computer.
This villa is rather like a "get-away" cabin in the hills. It will not have all of the elements of the "townhouse" or "seaside" villas which are presently in the planning stages. The walls of the villa will be made of clay brick and the roof of cedar beams and clay tiles. The walls of the villa will be painted with a lime-wash which dries to a brilliant white and will then be trimmed in red.
Today I received word by messenger that a "corn ship" in which I have an interest has arrived at the seaport, and so tomorrow I will make my way down the Tiber once more to view the ship and her cargo, and to seek out any other opportunities which might be available with the arrival of such a vessel. While I am there it will also be prudent I believe to look in on the warship that is a-building once again. The builder has indicated a problem with getting the lumber that he has on order, and I want to see if that problem has been taken care of
This morning I met with some of my patrons and an agreement has been struck with a freedman of some length of acquaintance and his wife to stay with the "rustic" villa to keep a close eye on the construction from here on. He has a complete list of what I wish to have done at the villa, and to what kinds of wood I want to strengthen the building as well as to decorate it. I also will want a well and a cistern dug convienient to the house, A garden layout in accordance with my drawings, and stone work in the garden itself. I have requested a sculptor to draw up some plans for some stone statues to place in the garden as well as a variety of designs for stone benches. My patron will keep his eyes on all these things and notify me when I need to make some decisions. This will give me more time to follow my other tsks in the city and at the docks. I have indicated to him that if the villa turns out well then he is to have a position at the villa as the manager and his wife as one of the cooks. I have also selected a patron to stay in the vicinity of the warship and to visit the shipyard daily. He is an older man who has had a great deal of experience at sea, but who has fallen on hard times recently. He will accompany me tomorrow on the trip to the seaport and we will make arrangements for him to stay in the vicinity, and also to send me a message as he feels the need. I believe that he will be a great help to me in this effort and perhaps in similar efforts in the future.
Respectfully;
Marcus Audens
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