Cleaning the Grounds

This past weekend, Phil and I burned all the scrap lumber and cleaned the area around our house. It took two days and 4 different fires going full steam ahead for at least 6 hrs. each. The time spent was in picking up all the scrap lumber and piling it on the fires. It was hard work , but we enjoyed every minute. In between work, we had a wiener roast for our supper. We sat on a gravel pile and enjoyed it immensely. I am just so grateful to be able to work hard again. This kind of work helps me to get my strength back after being in a cast with a broken leg for so long(Feb15-August). Yes, it was a long,hard,slow healing process.

Phil loves to do manual labor and really enjoyed working. We miss having all the yard work that we had on Court Road. But if I know Phil, he will have this hillside looking fabulous by next year.


As most of you know, we are really cramped in this 1300 sq. ft. cabin. Christmas decor had to be at a minimum. I put up one tree this year instead of five or six. Of course, it is a woodland tree with hunting ornaments. Hope to see all of our friends and family at some point over the holidays.

GRAVEL, GRAVEL EVERYWHERE

Yes, we are in the process of bringing nearly 1000 ton of gravel to put around the foundation, under the garage floors and along the road. Somerset gravel pit is very thankful this Thanksgiving Season. Here is a couple of progress pics.


Phil and I are looking forward to having three of our four children and their families in for the holiday. We will miss Tiffany, Jordan and Titus very much but understand why they can't come. We hope Tiffany is feeling better and know that Titus will enjoy Vickie and all his friends at church for the holidays.
We are looking forward to two new grandbabies at the first of the new year. What a wonderful gift to look forward to.
God Bless and Be thankful for every day and everything.
Love, Moma and Phil

VERY NICE WEEKEND

We had a very nice weekend. The weather was absolutely beautiful. We gave a nice baby shower for John and Jessica, and Ashley came for a visit. We rose early on Saturday and took the boat to our new house site. Fog was still on the water, the air was crisp and sounds of the lake were everywhere.




I love this photo of Ashley. It was early in the morning, no makeup, just fresh for the day. It reminds me when she was about Lauren's age. Of course, she is now Dr. Tynan and has been practicing dentistry for nearly four years. Where do the years go!!

We enjoyed showing her the building site. So of course, here is a couple of progress pictures.

WE'RE 'MOVIN' ON UP

We're moving on up, in wood anyway. The basement floor is finished with all the wood and they are getting ready to 'put the lid on it' and move on up to the main level. I can really tell a lot about it now and I am loving what I see.

As you can see, Lauren has already picked out "Her Room" and laid stake to it.

FAILED BATTERY

Phil and I took a sunset cruise tonight to take pictures of the first floor. ALL THE WOOD IS UP. But, alas, my camera battery was dead. It's the first time since last Christmas that it has completed went down. We will try to take pictures tomorrow, but I could not help but let everyone know how excited we are. We have paid out a lot of money and just now is it beginning to take shape. The rooms are defined and all the studs are up. I can walk through rooms and visualize where my furniture will sit.

By the way, the sunset was magnificent from our property. I want everyone we love to witness this with us. Since I feel like I must post a picture.....Here is one of my most wonderful times while visiting New Mexico.

ROCK

This is an example of the rock we plan to use on about 1/2 of the house. The rest will be wood. This is not a great example in that the installation is not as we would expect but just look at the rock sample.

HERE COMES THE WOOD

Finally, the foundation is settled, all the concrete is poured and we are ready to build from a very very solid foundation. We are going up with the wood.