End Of The Road? Moving In?

Sorry no pictures today... We are driving the U-Haul down Saturday, October 4th.  That will mark the beginning of moving in.  I say the beginning because of all the stuff located in the storage unit in Taylor which needs to be transported to the house.
The reason for no pictures is, there were really no changes to report.  Ryan is all over everything but things are still not done.  A few rather significant electrical issues remain, the grading, the drive, the masonry in spots, cleaning, etc.  Peg and I want out of this apartment with all of its issues so will sit in the truck in the drive until the house is ready rather than stay here.

NOTICE!!!!!!!!!!!!
This may be the last posting here for a while as internet service in the country is harder to come by than anticipated.  We had not thought this would be an issue as we are well into the 21st Century, but it is.  So calls and texts will be the only forms of communication beginning October 2 or 3.

What Did I Say About That Road?

It was discouraging to be at the house today.  Although a lot was done from last week, lots of things remain to be be completed.  I will admit that nearly four inches of rain fell due to a hurricane petering out in western Mexico, but that only affected the outside.  On a positive note, we have indoor plumbing.  The Port-O-Potty situation has become a worse and worse alternative to "nature" recently. There really are lots of other things that have been done, it is just that we are so close now, we want it to be finished.  We know we can't force the construction guys to show up but...

A few pictures:

 Looking into the kitchen

 Kitchen sink

 Bath (note mirror installed)

 Upstairs bath

 Peg's bedroom

 Family

 Side of house (note propane tank)

 Hot water on demand

 Side of house

Frontish side of house

After a rain we always have good luck locating nails, sharp pieces of metal from the roof install, screws, etc.  So we spent a bunch of time picking up those items.  Hiding in a mound of dirt, we spotted this little guy.  He was poised and ready to ambush any bug that happened by for a quick snack.  He will be looking for a new hideout when the yard is finally graded, but hopefully he'll stay close so we can watch him in the future.

The End Is Near?

Today I learned that we were waiting on only two more contractor types for bids: the carpet people and the gutter guys.  Now that is not to say all the other stuff is done, but there is a glimmer of light at the end of this very long tunnel (and road).

Most of the trash was removed this week around the outside so I took a few pictures.  This next week we are going to have delivered some topsoil and then get the yard graded, which should really help with the appearance.

We figured out where the propane tank was to go.  I decided to have it be above ground.  I have a fear of it leaking and no one knowing it (a problem many gas stations experience).  Also, I think I wanted a really exceptional landscaping challenge.
We met the road/driveway guy to get him lined up.  He is always an interesting fellow as he has many different things going on in the area and loves to talk about them.
Came home tonight and realized we better get cracking at our end.  We have Peg scheduled to move into her new apartment next weekend and two weeks after that the big move is planned for all our stuff to go to the house.  It is time to get with the packing!

Fireplace

I ended up going back down to the farm today for several reasons.  Originally I just needed to pay the storage bill on our furniture in Taylor.  But on the way down, the carpet guy called and asked where I was.  So went by the house first, then to Taylor.  The fireplace was finished late yesterday and looks great!

I was very disappointed to not see anyone out working!  I don't know what else to say...

A Focal Point

The mason worked this week on the putting the rock on the fireplace.  He's almost done and it looks great!

The fireplace definitely will be the focal point of the room.  We are looking forward to a cozy fire on a chilly evening in the not-to-distant-future!  Yes, summer is almost over!
The sheet rock guys were back to do their touch up but we were disappointed that the plumber and electrician didn't show.  The "lip" at the garage was finally poured, so in theory, the garage doors can be installed.
I didn't take any other pictures but know we did all of the usual activities: took a walk to the tank with the dogs, changed the cards in the game cams, hiked around, picked up trash, ate lunch on the porch,
etc.
One of our other projects for the last couple of weeks has been to go after the giant spiders, egg sacks, and wasps nests.  I have sprayed them all the last two weeks, going through several cans of various sprays.  I feel kind of bad about killing the spiders (not the wasps), but we can't support a population of them on the house (Peg is scared to death of bugs and she would never leave the house if she thought she might encounter one).  They are welcome to make their homes in nature and I will not bother them there.
I hate to speculate on what will happen (or not happen) this next week.  I do not want to be disappointed.  I will say, as I have often said, The Road Is Long!

Two Trips This Week

Drove down to the farm on Saturday and managed to borrow TJ's truck so drove back on Sunday with a load of window blinds, clothes racks, BBQ grill, and shelving.  We have a locked storage area now in the house so feel okay about leaving stuff.
Both days were hot and humid.  The dogs headed to the pond for swims.  On Saturday we looked around and both dogs were gone.  They got tired of waiting for us and took off for some swimming on their own.

"A roll in the grass beats a towel any day!"

"Ah... I feel great!"

Up at the house we encountered a rat snake.  When it finally slithered off, it went under the port-o-potty and three little mice ran out.  

The counter top guys had been back and installed the Utility room counter top and the kitchen sink.  Yeah!

Also the HT/AC guys had done a bunch of work, so we're closer to that being completed.  I even saw thermostats in the house!

Sunday we unloaded the stuff we brought down in the truck and put what we could together.  It will make moving in easier.  We are waiting until most of the touch up and clean up items are done before we install the blinds.  Wow... hard to believe we are this close.  We were especially excited to meet the new mason who will complete that job this next week.  We should see the fireplace completed this week!