Work has officially begun on the house as of today. Back foundation poured, major site cleanup and HVAC and plumber tomorrow... The day I closed on my house was the 'elephant god' - Ganesh or Ganapati's birthday. He is an Hindi God, and is considered the Remover of Obstacles... here is a little blurb about him from a Google search (the dog to the left is my pup Ender):
"Ganesha is the god of Wisdom and Prosperity and is invoked before the beginning of any auspicious work by the Hindus. It is believed that for the fulfillment of one's desires, his blessing is absolutely necessary. According to the mythology, he is the son of Shiva and Parvati, brother of Kartikeya - the general of the gods, Lakshmi - the Goddess of Wealth and Saraswati-the Goddess of Learning. There are numerous stories in Hindu mythology, associated with the birth of this elephant-headed god, whose vehicle is the Mooshak or rat and who loves Modaks (droplet shaped Indian sweet).
Legend has it that Parvati created Ganesha out of the sandalwood dough that she used for her bath and breathed life into him. Letting him stand guard at the door she went to have her bath. When her husband, Shiva returned, the child who had never seen him stopped him. Shiva 
severed the head of the child and entered his house. Parvati, learning that her son was dead, was distraught and asked Shiva to revive him. Shiva cut off the head of an elephant and fixed it on the body of 
Ganesha."
