The first thing to do while we wait for the ground to dry out from recent rains, is build a retaining wall around the culverts.
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| All suited up to play in the mud..... |
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| Plumb line and everything....... |
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| First side done....... |
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| Retaining wall done.....Not too shabby! |
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| Need to extend the culvert 6 feet..... |
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| All dug out, ready for the extension.... |
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| Culvert extension in...... |
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| Second wall completed..... |
Well, it's now March 26th, and the ground in front of our site dried out enough to allow for heavy machinery. The steel trusses and supports are going up.....finally:
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Front roof section done........
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Welding the steel support beams.......
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Windows, and even a front door!
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Exterior insulation and siding.....
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Garage, Loft bedroom above.....
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Insulation and steel siding in....
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Steel roof sheets on......
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Lumber for framing apartment...
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Scaffolding for 19 foot ceiling......
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Garage door and Texas star......
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| American and Texas Flags up....... |
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Here we go! Cabinets and appliances
will fill our garage! |
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| This is only for the kitchen and bathroom! |
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| Studs for the back wall and ceiling..... |
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| Bathroom studded...... |
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Stairs to bedroom loft,
and catwalk to storage area: |
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| 12 X 18 Bedroom...... |
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| Electrical, plumbing and shower enclosure in.... |
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| Insulation and brace for the moose ready...... |
We headed back to CT for 5 weeks, then we'll return to the site, and hopefully it will be completed. Our neighbors will take some photos that I'll post when we return to Texas in mid-June.
Since we're in a rural area, at night, the sky is black and the stars blanket the sky. I saw a shooting star and a GPS satellite on the same night! I use the following link to see where the satellites are in the sky. If you have a clear night try it - just insert your zip code:
http://www.spaceweather.com/flybys/flybys.php?zip=85623
We also were able to see the International Space Station one night.
How's this color for a pick up truck:
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| Cowgirls Rule! |
Stay tuned in June for the rest of the story........
Here are some photos of the sheetrock going up, emailed to us by our neighbors:
And taping:
Cabinets starting to go up:
Painting scheduled for this week , then floors, appliances and bedroom rug go in. Have been packing all the animal heads and western artifacts for shipping to Texas. Lots of work to do when we get there on June 12th.
Update.....it's now June 4th, and Tony has taken all the animal heads down from our walls in CT, and mounted them in crates to be shipped to Texas.
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Packed every which way....don't know how
they all fit into just 2 large crates! |
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Shipping 2 crates and 3 pallets full of heads,
artwork and western artifacts |
Off they go! Loading the ABF truck and sending our "stuff" to Texas:
Our contractor in TX has been doing trim work - the windowsills are deep because of the steel supports and extra insulation:
This is the back wall of the great room:
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| Can you just see the heads, with Bullwinkle in the middle? |
Update: We flew in to Memphis and rented a car to drive to Alabama, to pick up the motorhome which had some warranty work done at the manufacturer. Ariel and Nickie joined us.
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I don't know if they'll be 'all smiles'
after all the work we have to do!! |
Here's TZ on the plane:
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| Mouth open, even a little drool..... |
We brought the motorhome to its new home in Texas, but on the way, in Texarkana, while driving about 50 mph, the patio awning extended!!!!! Holy cow, we heard a noise from the passenger side, and I looked in the side mirror, and I see the arms of the awning extending out! We pulled over, and thank God for Ariel, because she climbed up onto the roof and tied it down for the rest of the trip.
Got to our place in Holiday Villages in Quitman, on June 11th, and the next day we began setting up the house - everything was already purchased during our last trip there, so we went to work putting everything away.
And Now......June 15th....."The shipment" from Brookfield, CT has arrived:
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| Think he'll fit through the door?? |
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Tried every which way, but he wouldn't fit.....
took him to the taxidermist to have antlers removed.
Then, after he's inside, the antlers go back on. |
And now......here it is, 'Home, Sweet Home' :
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| Living Room |
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| The moose made it to the wall ! |
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| Stairway to bedroom loft |
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Kitchen...and Thank You Janice
for making all of our curtains!! |
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| Spare Bed |
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| Another spare bed, and some former animals |
It's June 19th, and we leave tomorrow. Looks great here - and thanks to our great neighbors, Joanne and Robert, for all your help whether we're here or in CT.
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| That's their home across the street. |
And a big thanks to Ariel and Nickie, for helping us set up the place.
......Update - we're back in Texas for a few weeks and there's still no end to finding jobs to do! Here are some of the upgrades that were done:
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Our neighbor, Robert, made us a door
for the storage area under the steps |
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Tony made a workbench in the garage, and now
that everything is neat, he can't find anything !!! |
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Robert installing a handrail,
and TZ supervising...... |
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| Tony planted crepe myrtles along the house. |
We had the moose hung, after a taxidermist removed the antlers, hung the moose, then re-installed the antlers. The next morning, we noticed it looked a little distressed.....
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OOPS !!! The antler slipped in the dowel.
Looks like he's swimming! |
We had a floor installed, and finally, they got it right. Thanks Robert & Joanne for sending us photos:
Additions in 2014:
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| Before camouflage.... |
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| After camouflage |
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| Grading for a patio |
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| Ribar in |
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| Cement mixer delivers concrete |
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| Smoothing the concrete |
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| TZ the Tile Guy |
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| All done |
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| Our cacti are blooming |
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| So many buds |
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| Knockout roses survived the winter |
UPDATE: March / April 2015:
Converting the garage into a first floor bedroom. Had to extend the front entrance to accommodate a doorway into the new bedroom. Also extending the driveway.
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| Extending the front doorway |
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| Sign over our front door |
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| New front |
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| New pocket door into bedroom |
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| Bedroom |
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| Sheetrock |
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| Accent wall in bedroom |
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| All done ! New bedroom. |
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| Closet |
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| New closet with pocket door |
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Meanwhile, gravel is dumped off
to widen the driveway |
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| Leveled, and wet down |
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| Gravel settled, needed second load |
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| Success ! |
