This was ready to post last week and I got kicked off Facebook somehow and couldn’t post. So adapting and adding. It might be a little scattered.
Some Things We Could Do Without
Poison Ivy
This was written last week – it is slowly improving today. . . Noel’s poison ivy continues to torture him. He has already had 2 steroid shots, the last being a double-dose. He has had 3 prescriptions and tried countless remedies. If you are wondering about what the best is —- Gold Bond specifically for poison ivy & Tecnu soap and spray. But nothing is perfect. His face is doing better. I got a kiss! It took a week, but the kiss is back. We have bought out all the Gold Bond within a hundred miles it seems; yes, a bit of an exaggeration, but I have been in 7 stores from here to Memphis, looking for it. Even on Amazon, it costs $56 because you can only buy in a pack of 12 – which might not be a bad plan. He will most likely have scars on his arms when it is healed.
Rain
Rain. Yes, I know it is April. But just stop already. It’s time for concrete, so we really need those trenches to not fill with water. . . This was also written last week. However, the same complaint is true today. Not really a complaint – it is spring. Thank you God for rain and green and growth! But Noel wanted to be pouring a section of the floor this week, but we are getting 1-2 inches of rain tomorrow.
Snakes & Spiders
Snakes and spiders. Noel found 7 snakes this week. (last week now) And one VERY BIG tarantula (about the width of his boot at the ball of his foot). The “best” part is how camouflaged it was. Can you see it?
The snakes though are mostly ringnecks, harmless little guys, even to our dogs. Noel was second-guessing about my plan of large rocks around the inside of the driveway. They will be snake condos. But we are still going forward. It’s not like the snakes are going to leave if they are not arranged in a c-shape semi-circle. At least we will know where they are residing this way. Not really true as we have thousands of rocks – everywhere!
Craters
We are still riddled with craters as Noel continues to dig out trees. They can’t be filled back in with clay because they will become a sinkhole as it compresses. Our big hole pictured last week is mostly filled with lots of rocks and the left-over concrete from yesterday’s pour. But since then, we have gotten 2 more craters. It will be nice to have a level yard eventually but that is not going to happen any time in the near future.
Right now it is hard to get through with a tractor. With about 5 driveways at the moment, I still had to make a new pathway in yesterday. We temporarily can’t get to our garbage hole Noel dug down the hill a ways. But it all just means a lot of work has been done this week. We are making great progress.
PROGRESS!
Noel is officially retired. We went out for Sonic ice cream to celebrate, and no, much to Noel’s dismay, they do not have banana splits.
Our house has an accepted offer. It’s not a done deal yet though because of the appraisal question. When doing an appraisal, they compare the house to recently sold houses that are like the house. There is not a house like our house – few garages and no shops. The appraiser came today, so praying he finds some good comps since our last appraisal. The possible sale has Noel a bit stressed because it makes us homeless May 31, so he needs to have the shop ready to move in to by then. He seems to be making great progress though.
We continue to have help from friends, for which we are grateful. Noel’s friend from church, Damon, has been coming once a week. Elvis, a local friend comes often; I “let him” drive my tractor. Jimmy continues to come over and brought his son, Blake from Colorado, to help, and Gloria made yummy burritos for lunch. My mom is baking goodies for them this week to keep them going. I am a bit stranded as my truck is at the body shop, so I haven’t been out since Sunday. I can easily stay busy packing!
The footings and the foundation walls are poured. It was hoped to get the floor started this week, but the upcoming rain will keep that from happening.
Truckload after truckload of gravel rock have been brought in for fill. It’s appalling to pay for rock when we grow rock on this land! Sunday I added broken bricks & concrete blocks, tiles, rocks. . . for fill. Noel has brought over large rocks that we don’t need for landscaping. I am sad to know they are buried, but I know we have so many more.
The puppies are fully allowed at the property now. When they go for a few hours, it gives us a very quiet evening. Sunday evening they walked into the house and right into their kennel. Fuzz dramatically threw himself on his pillow and did not move for awhile. They wear collars that have trained them to stay off the road. They love the woods. Sunday afternoon, I was sitting on a rock texting someone. I saw them trotting towards me side-by-side, but didn’t think much about it. They came out of the woods, a direct path straight to me and laid a dead squirrel across my feet. Tails were wagging; they were so proud. They had not killed it; it stunk so had been dead for awhile. Thank you Boys! They could have a little more fear of the tractor in my opinion but seem to totally trust us that we would never run them over. I worry that they will run through poison ivy and then Noel will pet them.
Next week should be the floor pours; it will be done in 4 pours. After that, Noel thinks he can have it all framed in 2 days, and then we pray that his siding/truss team can squeeze him in between other jobs. We really are on a good schedule to be able to move in May 31.
Now that the trees are filled out, the property has changed so much. We knew we were in the woods, but now so much more! “No House in the Big Woods.” That’s us.
Reading your blog was a breath of fresh air. I could taste the dust in my mouth and felt like I was back at home helping my dad build a barn. I look forward to reading many more posts about your wonderfully exciting adventure called building a home.