Lots of Prep

 Mike did a wonderful job on the drawings for our new garage and brought them out this morning. Here is one of the views.

We are enclosing the existing car port and lean-to to have room for two cars and our small travel trailer.

Bob spent the morning getting the old building ready as the builders are starting on Monday. He had already removed all of the old trellis work and he then cleaned under the roof and along all of the edges. He found raccoon poop, turkey feathers and a turkey leg. All kinds of debris fell on him with the heat and humidity helping it stick to his skin. He found a huge pile of dead Box-elder bugs that exploded all over him and a nest of live large black ants. The final straw was the nest of tiny red ants that rained on him and bit. He was home and in the shower in record time!

Here is a picture of the little pine we are trying to save. If you look closely at the base, you can see the metal post the tree is propped up against. It looks a little wilted, but it is hanging in there. I was afraid it might not have made it through the storm and wind we had last night. We also saved a Peony plant that would now have been under a pile of dirt.

It might be fairly quiet for the next few days and then Monday we are ready to roll! Meanwhile, our concentration will be on an awesome garage sale we are having here next weekend. We're busy!

  

Record Setting Heat

The heat continued through Memorial Day weekend into Tuesday, setting records and as breezes died, the thermometer climbed into the 90s. It robbed us of energy as we just aren't used to it yet. After all, we were still in coats two weeks ago. It gave us a good excuse to relax in the shade on our deck.

We had a good laugh Sunday when we heard our new neighbor at the building site was sick and tired of the traffic ("Looky Loos") driving up little Finch Road to see how the construction was going.  She put her garbage bin and a chair in the middle of the drive to slow people down. We loved it! Thank you Angie!

Monday morning we heard the band warming up for the Clarklake Memorial Day Parade. We decided to kayak over to our new lake frontage and watch the parade from there. We met up with our current neighbor, Chuck who was driving his raft over to watch. The whole thing was quaint and sweet, especially when they play echoing taps in the cemetery!  The Junior High Band does an awesome job. Small town America at it's best!

It was a perfect spot to watch as the whole parade went right past us. Jean Shuberg was walking by and joined us. Angie came across the road and brought us each little Mini Bloody Marys in cute tiny red Solo cups. This is going to be one great neighborhood!

Tuesday morning as we were starting to plan projects for the day, Bob happened to look across the lake and could see a big truck pulling in Finch Rd. He ran to change and grab shoes and headed over. The truck was one of four loads of pea stone which goes around the footings for drainage. I drove over later. It was fun to watch it spray out evenly around the footings. The very nice driver that brought the stone enjoyed talking with Bob and ended up telling him about blowing out his knee. Bob could tell he was in pain and the hot, humid weather wasn't helping. Bob sent him on his way and took over the job of smoothing out the stone. Barney supervised.

Meanwhile, I happened to see on the Clarklake Neighborhood site that a lady had some old dock for sale. We were able to pick up six 3' x 10' sections very reasonably. So we now have a dock to put in and a place to put our raft (pontoon). It will be a while as other things take priority, but we are set for now!

We also spent some time hooking up a stake to our little smashed pine tree. At closer examination, it was bent and cracked but not broken. The new shoots were still looking healthy. So we propped it up and hauled water up from the lake to give it a good drink. We have to try.

Things are feeling homier and we were smiling at the end of the day.

Cement and Heat

Bob was off to work a little after 7:00 to the site as Mike called and said Cook Concrete was on the way to pour footings. It was hot and getting hotter, which has been a rough adjustment after our long cold winter. Our bodies haven't adjusted yet, especially doing physical labor. Bob said he wasn't used to doing a full day of work any more, but if this keeps up, he will either be in fabulous shape or in the "home!"

They put the forms in and moved dirt around to get ready for the cement trucks. I was home working on our purging goals before we have to pack. Bob called and asked me to bring a cooler of ice and water as they were all drinking a lot trying to stay hydrated in the heat.

I picked up Blake and Eva from their half day of school and we took their lunch over to watch the cement trucks arrive. Meanwhile, Mike bought Subway sandwiches for all of the workers which were greatly appreciated.

The trucks are huge and amazing. I couldn't believe the way the driver could maneuver around the hills and sand. It looked to me like it could topple into the hole any minute.

Blake, Eva, and I walked down the bike trail to the store for ice cream just to take a break. I had trouble leaving as it was fascinating to watch and I was at all times ready to throw myself in front of our shade tree and apple tree to protect them from harm. We worked too hard to save those trees. However, all was well and the work moved right along.

Now the cement sits for the long weekend and the next step will be pea stone for drainage around the forms. Our neighbors have been great and even invited us to lunch on their porch if we needed a break from the heat and dust. We sure appreciate it and hope they don't all get sick of us before it's over. 

At this point, I stand and gaze into our canyon and just can't really make myself believe this is actually happening. Until next week......

A Little Slower

Today was warm, sunny and a little slower pace. We needed that! Mike came out and he and Bob put in the silt fence. Swinging the sledge hammer wasn't as easy as it once was but they took turns and got the job done.

Our neighbor Scott came over to inspect.

Meanwhile, Barney and I walked around to the neighbors that border our property and took them a peace (kiss up) treat.

On this first really warm day, it makes us realize how much we will miss the lovely shade and breeze here on the north side. However, there are valuable trade offs and we happily push on!

Tomorrow they pour the footings.

A Little Humor

Thank goodness our new neighbors have a sense of humor! Here is the sign that greeted us on one of our sand hills this morning.

Bob wrapped yellow safety tape around the huge hole. Kristi finished digging and Mike, Bob and Butch used orange paint to set the lines for the house. Cement people are booked to come Friday to put in the footings.

Mike taking pictures.

The house staked out.

Meanwhile, Barney spent the morning sliding down the walls spread eagle and then running back to the top. He was so tired when I got home from town he could hardly greet me and sure didn't want to play. I think he'll sleep tonight.

And finally, the sweet little tree that Kristi so kindly saved, got broken off at the base. It was just too little to see from the large equipment. Casualty number one! We will replace it.

Clarklake's Grand Canyon

Today we had grandbabies for the day which kept me home, but Bob was back and forth over to the site and giving me reports. Thankfully most of today's rain missed us. Bob tried to prepare me but I was speechless as we drove in to check things out after dinner.

This is what I saw driving in Finch. Once we parked on the other side of the hills, I felt like we had just created our own Clarklake Grand Canyon! Notice how well Kristi protected our shade tree which has it's own little island of grass.

It looks like we are building a mansion instead of a little retirement house. Because of the rain and sand and caving, the hole had to be bigger. I can't wait for the basement walls to be in and the dirt filled back in. Tell me this is going to be ok and by next year at this time we'll be listening to the birds sing!

However, Barney is in Puppy Heaven with hills to run and so much room to dig! He makes us smile!

Closing and Breaking Ground

We closed with Kathi from CP Credit Union at 10:00 at American Title Company in Jackson. She has been so helpful and so much fun at the same time. All businesses should be like that and could surely take a lesson from her.

 At 10:08, I texted Kristi one word - Go!!!  She was expecting my text and was ready to go. She knows her stuff and is fun to watch and she loves trees!

She did a good job saving the little pine tree that was right in the middle of where our new living room would be. It is a healthy, nice little tree and I was happy to keep it.
Barney loves our yard and finds plenty to chew on and dig and is just a happy puppy.

We stopped at the European Bakery on our way home from the closing to have a treat for everyone. Uncle Butch thought that was a good idea .

Our new neighbor Scott was out trimming a huge tree that was leaning over our drive. It needed to be trimmed back because of the trucks that will be coming and going. He also walked down at the mention of donuts but actually declined for the time being as he knew it would make him need a nap.
Bob and Mike inspected the beginning work and made plans for the days ahead.

Hard to believe this is actually happening, but so exciting. All seemed smooth and then about 1:30 in the afternoon is started to rain.

And then, oh man did it rain! In fact I don't know when I've seen it rain like that. The walls caved a bit and a river of mud ran down the road. Mike had been exactly worried about that. Oh well, tomorrow's another day. Wait, more rain is forecast! I guess I'll just stick to cleaning closets and drawers and hope for the best!

And so it begins...

After over a year and a half and lots of research and changed plans, we are actually about to break ground. We have learned SO much and made so many mistakes. This will continue to be an adventure and I just pray it has a happy ending.

To make a long story as short as possible, in December of 2016, we bought a cute little yellow house on a half an acre back off the lake but with land on the lake for a dock and boat. We were drawn to the peace and lovely big yard. There is a garage that Bob is converting to a roomy woodworking shop and a big carport that can be enclosed to become our two car garage with side storage room for our travel trailer. The house was a real fixer upper, but we could see the possibilities.

 

However, when our builder friend took a good look at the house, nothing was up to code and the foundation was crumbling. We were told it would be cheaper to tear it down and rebuild than to try to fix it. So we worked with a builder who did panalized homes (he builds the walls in a factory and assembles the house on site) and after several months, came up with a plan. We booked Kristi Bellfy and had the house torn down to prepare to build. She confirmed what our friend had told us and said it was a wonder the floor hadn't caved long ago.

We struggled and struggled coming up with a plan we were happy with, as we were determined to save the one shade tree in the middle of the lot. It forced us to have an L Shaped plan. Because of that, we turned down plan after plan getting our builder to understand how serious we were about our tree.  Then as we finally settled on a plan and prepared to build we found out our builder did not have the necessary credentials to fill out the papers for our bank for a construction loan. We were sick, but it was good we found out when we did. 

We then started paperwork for Bob to be his own contractor. We had lots of good contacts with estimates we had already gathered from trades people and good advice from our sons and nephew. About that time our good friend Mike Whitney who had also built our present house became available. He expressed interest in taking on our project and because we know and trust him and have the utmost confidence in his ability, we gladly welcomed him aboard. He had his own ideas of how it should all go and evaluated every angle. He too had trouble with the necessary shape of the house to save the tree and it took a long time again to decide on a plan that made us all happy. The clock ticked on. 

Finally, unbelievably, everything is in place. We are thrilled with the plans, we saved the tree and good people are lined up for the work. We close at the bank tomorrow, May 21, 2018,  and Kristi has her equipment onsite and will be waiting for our text as soon as the papers are signed and she will begin digging the foundation. Here we go! Stay tuned for updates and pictures.