SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - If you've ever done a remodeling project on your home, you know that it can start and then get out of hand. No one knows that better than a Jamul couple who have been recognized by a national magazine for their "Never-Ending Project."
All home improvement projects start out the same way. The wife gets an idea.
"She had a vision that she wanted to sit here under a canopy and see three arches over there," Lou Adzima said.
So Deinna put her vision down on paper.
"I just sat here and I just penciled out the drawing," Deinna said.
This month, less than a year later, Lou and Deinna received a Moxie Award from This Old House magazine for their award-winning "Never-Ending Project."
"It evolves. Your first little vision and then you say oh, we could do this, oh, why don't we do this?" Deinna said.
For example, remember the simple three arches? There are 13 arches in the walls of their adobe hacienda now, and 23 arches altogether. The couple did the bulk of the remodel themselves.
"We worked on this every day. There was not a day goes by that we did not do something," Lou said.
Inspired by their love for the California missions, Lou built the table and carved out the chairs, while Deinna hit the deck.
"She tiled everything. She tiled every piece of this floor by herself," Lou said.
Deinna also did all the painting and stained glass, but she does draw the line on some jobs.
"We're too old to do stucco," Deinna said.
After completing a project of this magnitude, most couples would be no longer speaking to each other. Not these two.
"We're just entertaining ourselves, that's all," Lou said.
So next weekend, when the wife says "Honey, I've got an idea," just remember the three arches and go for it. It just might be the most fun you've ever had together.