A Smashing Couple Of Days

Yesterday and today have been pretty awesome. I'm quite content with how they've been.

Yesterday started with my doctor visit for my 6 month check up, and all my labs were good, and I made a fool of myself trying to get "up" on the table. I DID manage to (with help), but getting down proved way more difficult, looking like some slapstick comedy skit as I twisted this way and that, foot hovering a few inches off the floor, even lying OVER the table to try to get back down. I felt bad for the nurse nad Dr Smith, I was in pain trying to do it but their faces were horrified. She asked me about why I was having so much trouble and I told her, my hips and knees just don't do stuff like that any more. So now she wants me to have a bone density test, so I have to schedule that (once I get everything sorted with the stuff going on at the property). I was more achy last night because of teh effort, but am doing ok today.

We were late going down to Belton, but "my men" had been getting on with it really well, and had started cladding the outside some more, and working on the porch (and yes, I'd figured out that what they ahd lain at the bottom actually needed to be at the top, so all is good on that score).

Mark had found a Bradford Pear down by the creek, and started to cut it down. He did some and got quite a pile of branches, but it's bigger than it looked, so today he went back with a long handled saw, but even that failed in making much progress so he's going to look for his chain saw and then attack it with that. They sterilized pear trees, and I lost some here when I planted when we first moved in, because I didn't know that. I'm not losing ones in my orchard over there.

We stopped by on my grandson, Dylan, on the way as he lives close by, and gave him the Easter eggs I'd got, from England, for him and Miss Lily. Today, we stopped by again as his birthday present was delivered today (a week after it was supposed to, but better late than never). He loved it, proving yet again that nanny gets it right. We also got to see our other great-granddaughter, Zayleigh, who was down for the weekend, from Tennessee, with her mum.

At the property today, I used my upright walker, and went inside the building. My builders had needed to go back to NC to pick up more supplies, and will be back tomorrow. The cement pad is a mess, because of all the rain, the guys have been having to trudge through mud a lot. I'll have to shop vac it after they do their final clean up. There's no way they'll get it all by sweeping up. 

I love the space inside. We'll have a lot to do with getting the inside how we want it, but that's fine, we'll take our time. 6 months ago I was not expecting to be doing this rush, rush, rush to get a building up. I'd said, "over the next couple of years" and then things just gathered speed and shot ahead of me. I'm ok with it, but the next few months are going to move MUCH SLOWER!

I love how it looks at dusk!

I took pictures, from where I sat, through different windows, and everything is perfect. All of the views are (or will be after tidying up/clearing) perfect. 

This is the view out of what will be the kitchen window, and it looks down over the creek/wetland (which we still have to clean up quite a bit). 

From the side window in what will be the kitchen, we have a view of the well (which will eventually have it's own pretty little house around it).

The view from the front door, where they are still working on the front porch. It looks down towards the orchard we have planted, the privacy trees and the main road.

As you can see from all of the pics, the surrounding area is still pretty muddy. It really is only just now starting to dry out after the 2 weekends of snow a few weeks back and rain every weekend since. 

I sat by the door at the creek end, and this is the inside, to the right from there.

And this is the view to the left. Yes, the mud is real!

Sitting inside, with the wind blowing outside, it didn't even sound like wind against metal, it was pretty gentle sounding which was quite surprising since, here, when the wind hits my metal awnings, they rattle quite a lot. 

The crew still have a lot to do to finish off everything, they still have the trim to do all around, the front porch and the garage door. I'm hoping it all gets done tomorrow but there's such a lot that I think it may possibly end up being Sunday. We shall see.

Hopefully Just A Minor Glitch

We were over on the property again today, and Mark planted 2 of my seedlings out ... unfortunately, the rain washed the print off of the label. I know these 2 are either watermelon, cucumber or honeydew but I guess I won't know which until they fruit! Which also means all my other labels will be blank as well, oh joy! 

I had an unwanted surprise with our build and am trying to sort it out. The front porch area ... they have a few girders creating like a mini wall, about a foot high, at the bottom, between the 2 front posts BUT that is not how my design was, so I'm waiting to hear back.

As you can see from my enlarged PDF prints of my plans, mine did NOT have anything blocking the front.

I spoke to Luis, the crew leader, and he said it had a low wall and a large window above, and I then messaged both the company (who haven't responded yet) and the lady who I ordered through (who said she's going to get a hold of them, as well).

It's just disheartening. I designed everything to be perfect, the way I wanted it, and I want to know why they changed it. Also, why they didn't tell me ahead of time rather than me finding out during the build. I'm hoping they will fix it, and I get my "perfect" porch.

Meantime, they have got a lot of the insulating done and a lot of the metal cladding. Silly me forgot to take a pic earlier so I'll have to do that tomorrow when I'm out there.

The Building Has Begun!

I was up at 5.30 and out the door by 6am, headed down to the property to meet the guys who were putting up the barn, but they were delayed by a wreck on I-85 on their way down from North Carolina, so they didn't get there until just after 9am.

They are a nice bunch of lads, and their trailer was loaded down with steel, insulation, rafters and who knows what else. They got to work as soon as they got there, and it's amazing really how much they've accomplished in a short time. Suffice to say, they know what they are doing, and they do it well.

One lad was whistling, and another singing to himself,

just getting on with what they had to do it and making themselves happy along the way. They got everything unloaded onto the concrete, and then the drilling started, as they started putting bits together.

I love how it's already looking now.

I came home, I was dead beat and wanting to nap, but the phone kept going off so that hasn't happened yet. I do keep watching on the trail cam, it's so neat watching it go up. It should be completed by Friday, but at the rate they are going, I think it may be before then!

Suffice to say, I'm loving seeing it go up, and look forward to moving some stuff over, once it's done and passed inspection.

Another "What A Day!'

What can I say? Yesterday began so well.  Third attempt to get my license renewed, and the lady that I had seen, the day before, called me over as she knew I'd just needed a DMV code from my optician and everything else was done.  So, having spent 2 hours waiting on the first 2 days, I was in and out in maybe 30 minutes yesterday, and that included having my picture took.

The asphalt millings for the dirt track were supposed to being delivered in the afternoon, so we went down to the property ... only to then get a text that the driver wasn't going to be there until after 4.30pm. I had to leave as I had a school run to do, so said I'd come back but that - after dropping Daniel off at home (usually about 4pm) it would take me 45-60 minutes, depending on traffic, to get back.

Driving off the school property just after 3.30pm, I got another text. The driver had finished early so would get there early, could I come earlier.  I explaiined I had just got out of the school line and still had to drop Daniel and his friend off, and wouldn't be able to get there any sooner than 5pm.  They gave my number to the driver so that he could contact me directly, and when he called I explained the same thing to him.  No worries, he said he'd meet us at the property around 5pm. I warned him not to drive wherwe I'd got stuck the other day, but said if he wanted to walk down by the creek, he was welcome to. He said that sounded great as he'd been driving all day. I gave him the easiest instructions to our property, he said he'd GPS it and I laughed, and said "good luck with that," as GPS has never given us an easy route and we've always just gone by a map.

We got there and no truck.  A few minutes later, I get a harried phone call, our driver is lost. GPS had taken him somewhere and he had no idea where he was. Thaknfully, he saw somebody local and they actually led him to ours. He apologised for getting lost and I laughed and told him, "I warned ya."

Unfortunately for us, he was supposed to drop the millings whilst moving, just gently, until his truck was empty.  He didn't know how to do that and we just ended up with it dumping in a pile while he was trying to figure out what he had to do. We then spent an hour starting to try to move it (Mark on the tractor) down the way we needed it, with me driving back and forth over it trying to pack it in. 

A lot of extra work that could have been avoided. What should have just been a drop supervision and go home to come back today to drive over it, turned into a bit of a fiasco. 

So we are back today, and  Mark is moving more of it, and I'm down attached to the power pole, on my computer.

Today was supposed to be hot and dry, but came up misty and then cloudy all day, with storms due later. We took recylces to the bins at Conestee, then went to Andy's for a sundae (I NEEDED IT!)

Then, lo! We had some sunshine, and the clouds seemed lighter, so Mark said we could just try coming down, and leave earlier than when the bad storms were expected. Since I just love being here, that's what we did, and for now the sunshine is holding. God is good1

What A Couple Of Days!

UGH! 2 different days at the DMV and STILL no license renewal, it's been so stressful.  Yesterday, we just ran out of time waiting for my number to get called. 2 hours of waiting and I had to leave to get back to Greenville to pick up Daniel from school. Today, almost 2 hours and then I couldn't see the first column in the eye test,  I could see the other numbers but the first column was just pure white light. I had to call my optician to get a code from them, but he was with a patient and his following patient was already there, and it takes time to do on the computer anyway, so his receptionist said it would be later afternoon before he could get to it. Again, I couldn't wait as I was supposed to pick up Daniel.

However, we are going to try again tomorrow morning early, and the lady said just to go straight to her and she will finish me off and get me over to the photo person, so that is the plan.

Then, my concrete man still ahd not tidied up and leveled the site around the concrete pad (which he's been "promising" different days over the last 2-3 weeks, and somehow never shown up for). Frustration this morning overcame niceness, and I messaged him and said if he didn't get it done and I had to pay the barn builders extra because of it not being ready for the build, then he'd be in breach of contract and he'd have to refund me whatever they charged me to cover the cost. I hate getting that way but, lo! This afternoon, he was over at the property and picked up teh framing and did a basic levelling around the pad. I didn't actually get to talk to him as I met two of my new neighbours, Steve and Judy, and we just got yapping like long lost friends. Mark was doing stuff with the tractor, but he said Chris just loaded up his stuff afterwards and drve off, without even looking at him. Hey, we still LIKE you as a person, just your work ethic is a bit off some of the time. I'm not mad at ya anymore now that you've done what we'd paid you for!

As of now, unless we get a definite for rain this weekend, the barn building will begin Monday and go through all next week. I so hope our rain chances lessen so that we can get this done because I am so ready to start moving stuff over there to make my visits more comfy rather than just sitting in the car all the while. I have a lounge bed that will allow me to lie down, and the camping potty until we have a loo plumbed in, plus I want to get my modelling stuff over there so's I can start working on my train layout again.

All in all, a busy day that ended much better than it began, so feeling much less stressed and very thankful.

Tomorrow - hopefully get my license renewed without issue and we have millings being delivered at the property to make the dirt track more stable (than muddy and slick).

Then, if all goes well next week, we can begin resting a bit more. It's been a hectic few months, so far.

Busy Weekend

Yesterday started out well but then, as we were getting ready to leave the property, we had a glitch. 

Mark had planted some poppy and wildflower seeds, for me, on a small island in the creek, and then set to digging up some of the cattails that have overgrown a good portion of the marsh. I was sat in my car, in my usual creek-watching spot, when I heard a clatter and suddenly couldn't see him any more, where he had been. I kept trying to see where he might be, and then called out, and he had actually ended up about forty feet farther down, going towards the front of the property. I drove across to be level with where he was at, but still on what is usually hard ground. He started coming out to pack everything up ready for us to come home, and I started driving back up to the main dirt road-y bit that's our driveway. THAT was when everything went wrong. 

I got almost level with the concrete pad for the barn, and my wheels started spinning. I wasn't going anywhere! I didn't want to churn it up more and get stuck even worse, so I turned off the engine and yelled at Mark that I was stuck. He went and got the tractor and we expected to resolve my situation in minutes ... nope, that didn't happen!

Mark went under my car to hook up a tie to tow me with ... and my underside was all plastic, nothing metal he could hook anything to. He pfaffed about, trying this and that (and getting more frustrated by the second) for about 30 minutes. I'd already given up and messaged my grandson, Dylan, who lives a couple of miles from the property. He came out, and then, they pushed me while I had my wheels turned another way, and was in reverse. When the car started to move, I reversed all the way back, around the other side of the barn slab, around the other side of the well, and up to where the sheds are. I was VERY THANKFUL to be out of the mud. Poor Serendipity is a good farm car but that was a surprise I hadn't needed. I expect mud closer to the swamp, so I avoid driving down there, I just had not expected it where it was!

So, today, our first venture was to the car wash, where we got her all spiffy clean. I even remembered to take my good paper towels and white vinegar to do the windows, because the rags there never clean properly and leave smears that are awful when sunlight or headlights hit them. I needed properly clean windows!

Then, after coming home, Mark set to work putting in Serendipity's automatic start, and I started planting seeds and bulbs. 

I've hit on a plan that works for me. I have pots with lids that the round Jiffy pots fit in (3" and 5" ones) so I'm planting in those and then, when ready to transplant, the Jiffy pot comes out and makes that part easy. The lid on the regular pot helps keep them moist and protected from draughts and such as they start out. And those are reusable!

I have so many seeds to start, ready to then transplant into a veggie garden, as we get that prepped over there. I'd like, eventually, to have plenty of fruits and veggies for us and family/friends.

Today I've planted rose seeds, watermelon, cucumber, and tulip bulbs. 

Jel gave me 2 nice bunches of bananas, so I sliced them and popped them in the freezer, and made banana peel tea with the peels for my plants.

So, I'm quite content and it's been a satisfying day.

 

We Have A Well

One more small step forward in the transformation of the property into what will eventually be home. It's going to be a work in progress for a couple of years, methinks, but every "must do" checked off on our list, is one step closer to the ultimate. 

Today's small step was the completion of the well. From the beginning of drilling on Sunday, to trickling water yesterday

to everything finished, today.

Unfortunately, our flow is basic, even after drilling an additional 100 feet, so we had to put in a bigger tank so that we'll have good water pressure for showering and such. It meant that the fake rock cover wouldn't fit over it, so we're going to prob put a little fake shed over it, like a little house. That'll have to wait awhile though until I get our money settled again. The concrete pad cost ran over, this ran over due to needing to dig deeper and the bigger tank, so some other things will have to be put on hold until I get us re-balanced.

We still have plenty of stuff to be getting on with, so we won't be coming to a stop, but - after the barn is erected - just that things that require paid labour will be moving a lot slower.

One of the things I'm excited about is to get back to my train modelling. I can keep the dogs out of one area and set up my table and supplies again, and get back to building and setting up the layout. I had to put things away because Brunel would jump up on the table, and he broke some of my creations and I had to put everything away. I am so looking forward to getting it all set up, and my "Flying Scotsman" chuffing around it. 

My end will be my English High Street

with the picture house

and Station,

and hubby's end will be the American derelict looking industrial area,

roundtable and engine sheds, and then the highway with the gas station,

motel and diner

I just love to look at these pics and imagine how I'm going to be placing them in a 10' x 16' space. I can't wait to see it all come together, after being put away for 3 years!

Tomorrow, I have the school run in the morning, and afternoon, so I won't be heading down to Belton but am thinking of doing some plantings ... I have decided to use some larger Jiffy pots (3" and 5" round pots) to start some seed in that can then just simply be put in the ground once the weather gets nice. I need to take more cuttings off the gardenia and honeysuckle.

The strawberry plants are really doing well. They are leafing out and starting to look like strawberry plants.

I guess today has been another good day.