Progress Report

Okay. I haven’t written about the progress being made on our log home in a couple of weeks so I’ll try to fill in some gaps with this. Back on the 18th of September, we met with the contractor, Don K., out in PA. He invited us out for Sunday dinner with his wife and then sat down to explain what he had done vis-à-vis getting bids on the various components of construction. We talked about some changes to be made in the foundation walls and the type of fireplaces we want for the family room and the basement. We also discussed the timeline. He assures me that the excavator can get his work done starting early April (April 1 is our hope) and that once they start, it should take about nine months or less to get everything done. If that turns out to be true and there are no delays, we could be in our new home around Christmas, 2006.

Now we need to go to Beaver Mountain and order the engineer’s drawings and contact the mortgage company to arrange for financing. The bulk of the money from the sale of our current home will go to pay for the construction of the home in PA, but we will still carry a mortgage so we can use some of the income to purchase appliances and furniture for our new home.

Meanwhile, back at our current home, I have contacted a tree service to trim the four large oak trees. (There are two 100-125 year-old red oaks and two 200-250 year-old white oaks.) I’ve also asked a landscaper to work up a plan for the front yard with some new sod and plantings and retaining wall to give the home a little more curb appeal. I can finally report some success in growing grass in the back yard despite the heavy shade. Now I’ll have to be careful when the leaves fall so I don’t rake up the new growth. And, of course, the grass just has to establish a decent root system before things freeze up! Indoors, we’ve been bundling up old magazines and books for recycling and throwing out all the “stuff” we have a been saving because we thought we would find a use for it some day. Some people have a “junk” drawer in their kitchen; we have junk rooms in the house. With al our cooking, canning, writing, reading, sewing, fishing, and hunting stuff—well, there’s not a lot of empty space.