tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31957463425668343982024-03-19T15:43:53.528-07:00Four Moore Info.Following the Moore family happenings.Just Another Crafty Galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09485707204157764986noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195746342566834398.post-34571590076445504522011-02-28T08:07:00.000-08:002011-02-28T08:07:28.874-08:00Moving Along...<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-9TVXX1oCE0Y/TWu-xUG1L8I/AAAAAAAABUA/px0b6V5V4UQ/s1600/DSC07178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-9TVXX1oCE0Y/TWu-xUG1L8I/AAAAAAAABUA/px0b6V5V4UQ/s320/DSC07178.JPG" width="320" /></a>Well, I realize that I have been a big slacker when it comes to updating our progress, but a lot of progress has indeed been made. January saw the start of framing, and three days into framing, I began to call it a "house." Framing was completed in about a week and a half, and since then <em>most </em>days something has been happening. We are so excited whenever we see something new! The exterior of the home is just about complete. And the masonry crew did a GREAT job. We absolutely <em>love</em> the brick choice that Duke made, which with the rest of the family agreed, and the little bit of stone makes the outside look so much better than I even imagined it would. The interior, now complete with sheetrock, doors and some trimwork, defines our rooms. It really looks great! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-21WOPNClGvc/TWvAS8rvEAI/AAAAAAAABVg/0ooNrbO9cX8/s1600/DSC03810.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-21WOPNClGvc/TWvAS8rvEAI/AAAAAAAABVg/0ooNrbO9cX8/s200/DSC03810.JPG" width="200" /></a> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6jJNm7sm9fw/TWu_JUvcBZI/AAAAAAAABUU/cpNbbV92a9w/s1600/0217111718-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" l6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6jJNm7sm9fw/TWu_JUvcBZI/AAAAAAAABUU/cpNbbV92a9w/s200/0217111718-00.jpg" width="200" /></a>This week, interior and <em>maybe </em>exterior paint should be completed, and the cabinets are waiting to be installed. We've got some exciting stuff going on...</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">If you want to see more photos of the progress...</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mduke29/GoingVertical#">https://picasaweb.google.com/mduke29/GoingVertical#</a><img border="0" height="426" l6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k24Og7JD-vE/TWu_8to5XsI/AAAAAAAABWY/mvSv6ZGZVh0/s640/0228110751-01.jpg" width="640" /></div>Just Another Crafty Galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09485707204157764986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195746342566834398.post-32429433863612893592011-01-03T18:14:00.000-08:002011-01-03T18:14:08.945-08:00Going VerticalDuke and Jordan checking on the progress. Not bad for the first day...<a style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; CLEAR: right" href="http://goo.gl/photos/O7t1Udj7EN" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_RSiD_s63dOE/TSJ_FRicXuI/AAAAAAAABP4/dzoqZ-JspOs/s512/DSC07115.JPG" /></a>Just Another Crafty Galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09485707204157764986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195746342566834398.post-51548733576262165002011-01-03T18:11:00.000-08:002011-01-03T18:11:13.353-08:00Going VerticalWalking though what will be her new bedroom...<a style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; CLEAR: right" href="http://goo.gl/photos/NmwEu0yIxq" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_RSiD_s63dOE/TSJ-ts7HORI/AAAAAAAABPc/eiyB55arcQ0/s512/DSC07109.JPG" /></a>Just Another Crafty Galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09485707204157764986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195746342566834398.post-70192555764518764832011-01-03T18:10:00.000-08:002011-01-03T18:10:05.844-08:00Going VerticalStanding in the doorway of the children's retreat...<a style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; CLEAR: right" href="http://goo.gl/photos/zBk28sS1ye" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_RSiD_s63dOE/TSJ-yF4ptUI/AAAAAAAABPg/1VOtP5FinzE/s512/DSC07110.JPG" /></a>Just Another Crafty Galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09485707204157764986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195746342566834398.post-3703331021388045462011-01-03T18:07:00.000-08:002011-01-03T18:07:36.856-08:00Going VerticalLizza checking out the wall of her bathroom...<a style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; CLEAR: right" href="http://goo.gl/photos/1KzCOKvzV4" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_RSiD_s63dOE/TSJ-5rgLo1I/AAAAAAAABPo/CiiNYIpAg00/s512/DSC07112.JPG" /></a>Just Another Crafty Galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09485707204157764986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195746342566834398.post-73603440037951879552011-01-01T07:45:00.000-08:002011-01-01T07:52:43.548-08:00Update...<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">After the pad was<em> finally</em> built high enough, the form for the slab was put together rather quickly. But as much of this process has gone, we ran into another snag. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RSiD_s63dOE/TQjdRafh3zI/AAAAAAAABN8/DhtrNlvejV4/s1600/DSC03759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RSiD_s63dOE/TQjdRafh3zI/AAAAAAAABN8/DhtrNlvejV4/s400/DSC03759.JPG" width="400" /></a>Initially, we were hoping to have our foundation poured around the Thanksgiving holiday, however, this was definitely not the case. With permit slow-downs, we became delayed yet another month. Duke received <em>this</em> fantastic news while the family was out enjoying dinner to celebrate the girls' grades. The way the holiday fell, our project could not be scheduled to be approved for approximately another three weeks. Our contractor was hoping, through some contacts, to have that date moved to the next week, but was unsuccessful. So now into the third week of December, we had approval from the city and our county permits in place to move forward. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The week of anticipating appoval of all of the necessary permits, the prep-work for the foundation pour was done. Our biggest Christmas gift this year was the fact that we now have a foundation for our new home! Of course when something new happens, we cannot wait for the next step! Our contractor told us that they would begin framing about a week after the slab was poured, making framing begin just in time for Duke's birthday! But as things go, instead it was raining three days ago, so, no framing...</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Now, on New Year's Day, Duke's birthday, we are waiting for lumber to drop at the beginning of the next week so framing can begin. Of course, we are not excited for the weekend to pass so we can get back to work and school, but we can't wait for Monday to begin our next phase!</div>Just Another Crafty Galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09485707204157764986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195746342566834398.post-9038566104595180782010-11-20T09:55:00.000-08:002010-11-20T11:00:14.199-08:00Here We Go<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RSiD_s63dOE/TOgQZTyepWI/AAAAAAAABMs/BB8WbY7eRSM/s1600/DSC03707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" ox="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RSiD_s63dOE/TOgQZTyepWI/AAAAAAAABMs/BB8WbY7eRSM/s200/DSC03707.JPG" width="200" /></a> Okay, it's been a while since there has been any update on what is going on with the house. Finally, it begins! The last week of October, trees started coming down. But the way things have been going for this process, one week into clearing, it began to rain. I suppose it was bound to happen eventually. The area needed it after all, since there was a "burn ban" and everything.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RSiD_s63dOE/TOgRqXz33tI/AAAAAAAABMs/c6PWRJjOztU/s1600/DSC03728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RSiD_s63dOE/TOgRqXz33tI/AAAAAAAABMs/c6PWRJjOztU/s400/DSC03728.JPG" style="cursor: move;" unselectable="on" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">With the rain, the process continues to stall. After the rain, it is too wet to use the equipment without getting stuck, so the ground has to dry out before they can get back to work. Then after they get back to work, it rains again. The pack ratio is good, and then it's not. Now after meetings with engineers, our builder has a new plan to move forward with, and right now the weather is cooperating. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So ending our fourth week after clearing started, they are working on building up the "pad" for the foundation. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And we have the start of a pond. Well, we have a BIG hole in the middle of our lot. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The end of this phase looks closer everyday!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RSiD_s63dOE/TOgRBNegL3I/AAAAAAAABMs/1oEAtVADPBU/s1600/DSC03721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><div align="justify"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RSiD_s63dOE/TOgRVCzrAxI/AAAAAAAABMs/XD_yjqd53Uw/s1600/DSC03725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RSiD_s63dOE/TOgRVCzrAxI/AAAAAAAABMs/XD_yjqd53Uw/s400/DSC03725.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><img height="72" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RSiD_s63dOE/TOgRqXz33tI/AAAAAAAABMs/c6PWRJjOztU/s400/DSC03728.JPG" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 270px; mozopacity: 0.3; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 562px; visibility: hidden;" width="96" /></div><div align="left"></div>Just Another Crafty Galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09485707204157764986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195746342566834398.post-67545467965994302182010-10-22T09:47:00.000-07:002010-10-22T09:47:46.452-07:00Apartment Living<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf7Qj5BbTweGLYM6hzmAS3fusYTYgkUK3N6jqIMx2lu91HfQpshIEcxKd7VUQF-vcRtLG7rg_hTbj9z6chMIReTGXghq2I86Z8bNBiF7bcRWjttMCujvcyuDRycnz2kCPaMvtA_68IbJc/s1600/DSC06358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf7Qj5BbTweGLYM6hzmAS3fusYTYgkUK3N6jqIMx2lu91HfQpshIEcxKd7VUQF-vcRtLG7rg_hTbj9z6chMIReTGXghq2I86Z8bNBiF7bcRWjttMCujvcyuDRycnz2kCPaMvtA_68IbJc/s320/DSC06358.JPG" width="320" /></a>We have decided that apartment living is not the life for us. And of course, if we could have seen into the future, we would have made different decisions about where our temporary home would be. We were hoping, probably unrealistically, to be in the new house in time for Christmas. But as things as turned out, we are now hoping for the spring. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We didn't imagine that we would be in this situation for a whole year, and unfortunately, that is what most homes for lease were asking. Duke even had a difficult time finding us an apartment since we have the three dogs. The girls were very generous in offering to share each other's space temporarily, although they are probably regretting it now. Evidently, sink space is <em>very</em> important. I don't think I have heard this much bickering ever in their lives. Perhaps it's because we didn't have such tight quarters before. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Apparently three bedrooms are also hard to come by, especially on short notice. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JVKVIT0FeFc5oaerZuRS4n1U7q9eBKtPQx84_E_lQWhAVyudVki1vflK6BFDNyLjECt0Jaem9ka4jNa-DWM4h1KZ2KQKRb0KeHNuvgpX-M_MLyUJsJdKp1eoD0QE0jfVt_vwTT16kj0/s1600/DSC06363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JVKVIT0FeFc5oaerZuRS4n1U7q9eBKtPQx84_E_lQWhAVyudVki1vflK6BFDNyLjECt0Jaem9ka4jNa-DWM4h1KZ2KQKRb0KeHNuvgpX-M_MLyUJsJdKp1eoD0QE0jfVt_vwTT16kj0/s400/DSC06363.JPG" width="266" /></a>We moved into the apartment and found out quickly that we have way more stuff than we thought. And that is with about three quarters of our things in storage. The unit itself it pretty nice, but it is small. The last time we lived in an apartment, we didn't have the girls nor the stuff! Our neighbors seem very nice, and we have met some really nice fellow dog owners in the little dog park here. Some things are all too familiar; like auto theft, which we have now experienced twice! Both in an apartment complex. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Every day is one day closer to getting started on the new house, at least that is what we tell ourselves. But the more time that passes, the harder it is to keep a positive attitude about our situation. Again, things always work out even if it is not the way we plan. We know that it will. We can't wait!</div>Just Another Crafty Galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09485707204157764986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195746342566834398.post-47099261637559515762010-10-21T22:50:00.000-07:002010-10-21T23:13:17.880-07:00Waiting...To say that these past four months have been an emotional roller coaster would be a great understatement. This process has been a series of ups and downs. At this point we are just waiting. We have run into complications with our lot and I am sure this happens more often than not. I am not sure that it is always a good thing to know about every worst case scenario, but at least our new contractor is always sharing new information as he comes across it. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipuzH7mYVdUzvPeCDfkiSyrc2H3rVI3wjytaD3KvMw4ZDCVOPKwCdI9nrl4z_jKgrFuGj35IRqWmz5WqfwfOIZs1zrXfKAoXqi9JzuRfuX7L_LILrmzqXYoL9pdSATpPMdmmXdyFmVe7Y/s1600/DSC06440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipuzH7mYVdUzvPeCDfkiSyrc2H3rVI3wjytaD3KvMw4ZDCVOPKwCdI9nrl4z_jKgrFuGj35IRqWmz5WqfwfOIZs1zrXfKAoXqi9JzuRfuX7L_LILrmzqXYoL9pdSATpPMdmmXdyFmVe7Y/s320/DSC06440.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Jordan</td></tr>
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We contracted a second survey, and as our builder suspected, it varied from the first. Unfortunately, because certain lines were different, of the little over four acres, we now have <em>an</em> acre that we can put a house on. That in itself is really no big deal because we did not want to clear more than that out anyway. And although we knew that the site for our new home needed to be built up, we were surprised to find that it would need to be about five to six feet. Then came the soil tests to determine if we could use earth from the back of the property to build up the lot. When those results came back and it was found that we could, then we had to check with the county to make sure that we could actually put a "borrow pit" in the back two acres. After stressing over that issue, it was found that we could indeed do those things. Duke wanted a pond anyway. Of course this will end up changing the original estimate for "lot clearing," and we will have to change up some things in our budget. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">All along, we have been making preliminary decisions of what will be going into our new house. Finishes for fixtures and cabinets, choices for brick and lighting have been chosen. Bids for plumbing, electric, sheetrock, windows and such have been sent out and come back. Our engineering plan for the foundation is approved and good to go. So now, we continue to wait for a couple more bids to clear and then we can get started! </div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyg-4yvtuILI6gwVpOx55tWOlBuUWgsus8HdsehrRR-qV5YnQ3SGfvgkuDg0VZwknl5ItnF06G1vrc19aYec2JYxdmingkhBcWXn676H1dw8FLaZDSEhh2uzWSMeBDfE6-xUoS-BcIMmE/s1600/DSC06451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyg-4yvtuILI6gwVpOx55tWOlBuUWgsus8HdsehrRR-qV5YnQ3SGfvgkuDg0VZwknl5ItnF06G1vrc19aYec2JYxdmingkhBcWXn676H1dw8FLaZDSEhh2uzWSMeBDfE6-xUoS-BcIMmE/s320/DSC06451.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">After a whole month of fantastic weather with no rain, we will see what happens when we finally get our go ahead. We are getting into a "sloppy" time of year we are told, so we just keep hoping the weather will hold out so we can get moving. The optimist in me, and yes, believe it or not there still is one, keeps telling me that there will be trees coming down in the near future. Duke, the girls and I just tell each other how excited we are getting, and how nice it will be once it finally does happen! In the meantime, the family continues to keep up our daily routines and tries to stay positive overall. <br />
Some days are harder than others.</div>Just Another Crafty Galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09485707204157764986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195746342566834398.post-46757239572924771452010-09-24T09:55:00.000-07:002010-09-24T10:38:44.820-07:00Moving forward<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEovwWZnnP4yHpJ6kzgSKjoJWciMDhECJmcQOgNXibRh3ygpNuvbGZLCTm9gUlANdaH4nqyvMrp8ickz6w-goHjxotD3-pR4uSjBSoL0wcNZttsQLrHSKwR6OqW5RY_5XmoPacthkWOgs/s1600/scan0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; height: 169px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; width: 403px;"><img border="0" height="158" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEovwWZnnP4yHpJ6kzgSKjoJWciMDhECJmcQOgNXibRh3ygpNuvbGZLCTm9gUlANdaH4nqyvMrp8ickz6w-goHjxotD3-pR4uSjBSoL0wcNZttsQLrHSKwR6OqW5RY_5XmoPacthkWOgs/s400/scan0002.jpg" width="400" /></a>Since we've been in waiting mode, and with our builder's suggestions, we have tweaked things a bit. The elevation of our house has been changed, A LOT! Our builder suggested a little more "country" look. He added timber accents and a bit of siding. Honestly, I love this. I liked it before, but now there is more personality. The whole family agrees and we are SO excited! Jordan and I went to look at some model homes to get ideas for different finishes for fixtures, appliances, and color schemes. That was our homework from the builder for this week. Models are always so beautiful, so we have to keep our expectations realistic. Oh well....</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53FxRksQNy1sT-u9TuOeAovVPtkKAP2xRhLDpjjqXC9JoJRxXwvpBJIzxV_iJgWVs6JyM88eXaHi9KObZ0T2DHXlrhWV0zY5JS1TWISi1E251xMG9WjwOmcull_5o29yOP0P-EGuCumQ/s1600/DSC03620.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53FxRksQNy1sT-u9TuOeAovVPtkKAP2xRhLDpjjqXC9JoJRxXwvpBJIzxV_iJgWVs6JyM88eXaHi9KObZ0T2DHXlrhWV0zY5JS1TWISi1E251xMG9WjwOmcull_5o29yOP0P-EGuCumQ/s320/DSC03620.JPG" width="320" /></a>Because they have not had a lot of access to a yard for the past few months, we have been taking the dogs out to the lot on the weekend to run around. We have come across some of the weirdest looking bugs and spiders. I wish I would remember to bring my camera! My dad and I were walking it earlier this week and spotted the most gorgeous owl. It was up in the trees by the creek along with about a million mosquitoes. It looked huge from the ground, so I am sure it was much larger. Cotton surprised some turtles, and although Jordan thought she saw a little snake slither away, I personally have not seen any ...yet! I do not like snakes. Duke does NOT like snakes, and Elizabeth will scream when she sees one, no matter how big. Jordie doesn't seem to mind them, but she hates pretty much all spiders and insects. We all get to face those things we are not too crazy about on a more regular basis when we finally do get into our new home. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Although we have had some other distractions since moving toward this new goal, and I will probably bring some of them up from time to time, this little summary is pretty much up to date. Hopefully, even though we are a couple of months behind our original schedule, and about a week behind our new one, the outcome will still be in the near future. At this point, we are waiting on soil test results and a finished preliminary detailed budget to complete the process of obtaining our construction loan. We have been at this point for about two weeks so you can imagine that we are starting to become impatient. But "it's going to be okay." After all we have waited this long already... I can't wait until tomorrow's meeting!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Just Another Crafty Galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09485707204157764986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195746342566834398.post-65272889656891156182010-09-24T08:20:00.000-07:002010-09-24T08:20:54.129-07:00More History<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpdCqfPqSl424gnRZ7IzT9bXeGClPXuBQu97iMHQ0JmQVt3TeHYKbhEndRPFqDKwHosa7GQ0i5XmaA4r3AwT53G6dJasBaknQgjJxJTiE8M_hMl2tzlx7xt7k6OZ9SsG-0tKzYrBi7Iyg/s1600/DSC03561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpdCqfPqSl424gnRZ7IzT9bXeGClPXuBQu97iMHQ0JmQVt3TeHYKbhEndRPFqDKwHosa7GQ0i5XmaA4r3AwT53G6dJasBaknQgjJxJTiE8M_hMl2tzlx7xt7k6OZ9SsG-0tKzYrBi7Iyg/s320/DSC03561.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>We moved out of the house a week before closing. It was the LONGEST day. Everyone worked so hard and we were fortunate to have some help from Will and Gordo. The girls stayed with my parents that evening, along with Sydney and Cotton. Duke and I finished cleaning out the house around one or two in the a.m. and barely remembered to leave room in the car for Cheyenne. She whined all the way to the apartment. The following Monday after closing, Duke went straight to our builder and gave down payment to get started on our new home. And of course you can only imagine how excited we became when when drove by the lot and saw a survey crew out the following weekend. Since we had a lot of rain in June, we didn't think too much of the fact that we hadn't seen much progress as we continued to drive by and check out the lot. By the first or second week of July, we began to wonder why we hadn't seen more. Duke attempted to contact the builder to see what was holding up the progress. Before he heard back from the builder, he was contacted by the architect, who was wondering if we had spoken with him recently. Anyway, to make a long story shorter, after many voice messages, e-mails, and such, we could not get any communication. After much persistence, we had found out that he had recently passed away. Over the next couple of weeks, we began to look for a new builder and try to get our money back. We decided on a new builder more quickly than we were able to get our down payment. Fast forward about two months, and thanks to my husband's tenacious nature, we did get the money back, less the cost of the survey. In the meantime, we did happen along a string of unfortunate events. Cheyenne had a vestibular attack, (those with older dogs know what this is and she is okay now,) the Mazda was vandalized, and my Durango was stolen. We repaired the Mazda's side mirror, the Durango was recovered, and found that is was going to be a total loss. But we are all still healthy, even with Elizabeth's back issue, and our new mantra is "it's going to be all right!" Just Another Crafty Galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09485707204157764986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3195746342566834398.post-13435511936735763882010-09-17T17:02:00.000-07:002010-09-24T10:24:13.965-07:00History<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Duke has always wanted to have more space. To be honest, who doesn't? He wants a garden, a workshop/ tool garage, a big yard to take care of , and room for his dogs to run and play. So in our last backyard, he attempted to have a garden, put in a storage shed, and sometimes drove a riding mower to cut the grass around the pool. Even though we had a good size backyard, it didn't seem to be large enough. We began to look into buying acreage. So began the search. Many of the lots we found were either very costly or far away. Duke just happened on a lot in an established subdivision that was just right up the road. It was in the same school district so our girls wouldn't have to change schools, was something we could afford, and was a little over four acres! After a bit of the customary haggling that goes on when people are buying and selling, we began to pay for our new "land."</span><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After a couple of years of payments, Duke started getting antsy. Anyone who knows my husband is well aware that when he gets something in his head, it's going to happen. Unfortunately, his mother was soon to be diagnosed with oral cancer. Grammie started aggressive treatment with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy in the beginning of 2008. Although her prognosis was initially good, subsequent scans proved otherwise. We lost our Grammie in March of 2009. The process to sell Grammie's house and close out her estate took priority. After about six weeks of home repair, the house was on the market, and after one failed contract, the house was sold in January of 2010!</span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIs5-td1MHRWXJ22GIH55tv0cTF4y_09IvaJyVvO-kOB5fxe7WkrXVN86G68DrrdJvzcoO_kpiF9AeHDrWsHjhc5cV2JmzUTlerhNu_-wLGr2CnxYsBG65ZqXyMea7fETmO0Mtf5Q4V-A/s1600/hr2525802-4%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; height: 131px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; width: 201px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="132" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIs5-td1MHRWXJ22GIH55tv0cTF4y_09IvaJyVvO-kOB5fxe7WkrXVN86G68DrrdJvzcoO_kpiF9AeHDrWsHjhc5cV2JmzUTlerhNu_-wLGr2CnxYsBG65ZqXyMea7fETmO0Mtf5Q4V-A/s200/hr2525802-4%5B1%5D.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Soon after, we began to make the preparations to put our own home on the market. Now, to anyone who puts their home for sale, getting the house ready is well worth the effort. Mind you, even though you are still living there, the people looking need to see themselves there. Extra pieces of furniture went into storage, every family picture was taken away and put in storage, taste specific wall colors were painted neutral, (except for secondary bedrooms,) windows, tubs and showers were caulked, paint and trim was touched up, carpets cleaned and stretched, closets weeded out, and we tried to keep it clean, clean, clean! Totally worth every bit of work! Too bad it didn't look that nice while we lived there. Our realtor, Carol, came by, had us sign our paperwork, and put the sign in the lawn. Now, I sat on my front step, and looked at the sign for a while. We had lived here over eight years, and to be honest, I was sad to be selling our home, especially since it now looked so nice. Everybody is aware that the housing market is in a bit of a slump, so we really lucked out when we had a family that wanted to buy our house! VERY lucky, considering there was hardly any traffic. Again after a little countering, we closed on our house in June. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnFqtQd7mlfQnrgwnoNF-d1X-NG4YRRJ1ylUByk__rRtd030tmFOupuNSMffugB4LzMHu9f4SORN9rddybKFaim_hyjHv0d3BJSdcFocR6RSMwK16pHm6Ng8vSGaJ9xyYIh7YabUCMv20/s1600/hr2525802-17%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="133" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnFqtQd7mlfQnrgwnoNF-d1X-NG4YRRJ1ylUByk__rRtd030tmFOupuNSMffugB4LzMHu9f4SORN9rddybKFaim_hyjHv0d3BJSdcFocR6RSMwK16pHm6Ng8vSGaJ9xyYIh7YabUCMv20/s200/hr2525802-17%5B1%5D.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUPBBm8qXI6TJ2G-scj7EP0pYuFBME0NQLIQ-_-dQ2KypSJRX577dd1iMoLyWDxEHpVCh3dP3897w7WBGywk5z7wU7oO4VL0FeWFJqaEdPb2p93J3DgYBylT9Lhl7ib6l8Fv6vjeOtwc/s1600/hr2525802-15%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="133" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUPBBm8qXI6TJ2G-scj7EP0pYuFBME0NQLIQ-_-dQ2KypSJRX577dd1iMoLyWDxEHpVCh3dP3897w7WBGywk5z7wU7oO4VL0FeWFJqaEdPb2p93J3DgYBylT9Lhl7ib6l8Fv6vjeOtwc/s200/hr2525802-15%5B1%5D.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Coincidentally, the kids really liked the secondary bedrooms...so glad we didn't paint them!</span></div>Just Another Crafty Galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09485707204157764986noreply@blogger.com0