Stressing a little bit...

Stressing a little bit about all this building stuff.  We have just about everything picked out - still need lights, outlet locations and paint colors.  The plumbing budget made me sad.  I couldn't get the faucet I wanted for the kitchen, but found one I can live with.  I am getting a really neat one for the master bathroom.  Looks like an old pitcher pump type.
We haven't decided on all the lighting yet, but need to get a move on so it's ready when the electrician does the rough in.  I found a really neat ceiling fan for the back porch that is actually cheaper than having two (like before)  We've decided that just about all the lighting can be pretty plain (cheaper) except for the living room ceiling fan and the lighting in the kitchen.  We also picked out 2 lights for the porch and side entry that are reasonably priced for the style.  As far as the ceiling fans go in the rest of the house, we can get plain ones now and later on pick up some prettier globes after we live in it for awhile.  You can't go wrong with black metal and darker wood tones.  To me, these are classic and don't go out of style like shiny brass or decorator colors.

Still mad, but token has been returned.

I guess my husband telling the job boss that he didn't want to tangle with me paid off.  The token has been returned, albeit in a different spot.  No questions were asked, but they were warned that if anything else was stolen, the law would be called and everyone of them would be accessories to theft, regardless of who took what.  Let's hope they have enough sense to leave our stuff alone.

FRANKLY, I'M PISSED OFF.....

Sorry if that offends, but someone has done the ultimate dirty deed.  Remember that token that was place in the concrete for my son?  SOME JACKASS STOLE IT!  My husband and son went up the farm to day to check things out.  The workers were placing the foundation blocks and Lliam was watching them.  Lliam walked over to the area where the token was and he noticed it was gone.  His rock is still there, but the token is GONE.  Lance called the guy who is in charge and point blank said "I want that token returned or there's going to be a huge problem."  As of this posting, we have not heard anything.  I cannot believe  someone would do this.  How would they like it if someone stole something that belonged to their child?  Honestly, I hope they choke on the damn thing.

Hard Labor

Hard Labor is good for you.  On Sunday evening after work, the hubs and I went up to the farm to continue moving limbs from the cut down trees.  He got the little tractor out of the barn and we piled up limbs, wrapped a strap around them and hauled them to a spot in the woods. We got one entire pile cleared in about 1 1/2 hours.  In the process, I knocked over my iced tea, got smacked in the side of the face and in the mouth by unruly limbs and found a hole with my right foot and ankle.  Good time, good times.  Lance had an episode with a limb that could have been a winner on America's Funniest Videos.  Let's just say it might have felt better if he had just done the splits.  He had to take a lengthy break afterwards.  I cleared off the patio area of huge chunks of wood and the saw dust.  We then moved the outfit to the north side and started in on that pile.  I received some scrapes on my arms and Lance tripped a couple of times.  We mostly just piled all the limbs up against the fence to be dealt with later.  We still have several branches to move and 4 HUGE logs, but mostly everything is out of the way for the contractors to get in there and do their thing.  They were supposed to put the concrete block in on Monday, but for some reason it didn't get done.  Hopefully they were out there today working.  

At the end of the evening, my severely arthritic knees were screaming!  My feet ached and the skin on my hands was practically raw.  I couldn't wait to get to the house to take a shower and go to bed.  I am still a little bit sore, but overall, in good shape.  And the yard looks pretty good too! Now if we can just get that house done.

Here forever....

This is a Star Wars token and a polished black rock that were found among the debris after the house was demolished.  The person who found the token is who poured the concrete.  He thought is would be neat to put it in the cement footer.  

The same day, Lliam found this polished black rock from his rock collection in the dirt and Buddy said he could put it in there too.  I think it is awesome for Lliam to be a part of the construction process on the new house.  I know he's been struggling with losing all of his possessions.  He's had a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact that 'things' can be replaced.  Take his 'Pooh Blanket', an item he's had since day one.  After the fire we couldn't find it and figured it was lost forever.  I got it in my head to try to find another blanket that looked just like it and I did.  I even found the binding I had used too.  I wrapped it up and gave it to Lliam for Christmas.  He nearly cried and so did I.  He loved it, but said it wasn't the same.  I told him I knew it wasn't the same, but at least he had something tangible to hold on to when he wanted to remember his blanket.  

Then, last week, a minor miracle occurred.  During the demolition of the house, Lance and Lliam went up to watch.  During one swipe of the bucket on the backhoe, a flash of pastel color appeared.  Instantly Lliam knew what it was. He waved his arms wildly and yelled for the equipment to stop. Lance had to hold him back until the workers could get it shut down. Lliam sprinted up to the pile.  There among the rubble was his beloved 'Pooh Blanket'.  It was slightly burnt and had smoke damage, but it was intact.  He was so happy!  So am I.  

Constructions is underway!

The footers have been poured, the crawlspace dug out, and tomorrow they start laying the foundation.  Today the 3 selected trees are going to be removed.  It was supposed to be done Tuesday or Wednesday, but it was a bit too breezy!  Today is a perfectly calm day.  The sun is shining and the sky is a brilliant blue!  I hope to get up to the farm on Friday to see the progress.  I haven't been there since Sunday.  Lance will be up there today cutting up trees after they are on the ground.  Saving a bit of money that way.  Yay!
The saw dust will be scooped up as best we can to put in the compost pile.  The large limbs will be put in the beagle starting pen.  The logs will be cut up to use as fire wood and the teeny little sticks and branches are going to be used as kindling for bon fires and such.  Nothing will be wasted.  One good thing about cutting the trees down now is these 3 particular trees haven't leafed out as of yet.  At least we won't have that mess to clean up too.
As for the house, I wrote the second big check this morning and Lance is going to deliver it to the contractor today.  It was strange to write a check that big!  Kinda scary, too.  I will try to get some more pictures to post as construction progresses.  I want to get a picture of one of the footers as well.  Why?  Well, Buddy, the guy who tore the house down and poured the concrete for the footers, found one of Lliam's Star Wars tokens in the debris and stuck it in the top of a footer.  Then while Lliam and Lance were up there checking things out, Lliam found one of the rocks from his collection (that was lost) and stuck it in there too.  I thought it would be neat to have a photograph for Lliam to have later in life.
When I was up there on Sunday, I found one of my strappy sandals in the dirt - I wonder if they could put that in the concrete too - lol.

How do you depreciate the value of a pet's life?

When our house burned down, I never thought dealing with the insurance company could be so blood boiling.  I've mentioned how we have to write down everything we can remember that we lost and how much we paid for it.  Then the insurance company will depreciate it.  After that, they send us money to buy the item back, but things cost more these days.  If it costs more to replace than we paid, they supposedly will send the difference.  Ok so our sofa cost about $2,000 when it was new 5 years ago.  I don't know how to figure the depreciation, but say they will send us $1,000 for the sofa.  How are we supposed to repurchase the same sofa with only $1,000?  I don't understand.

Well, how in the hell do you put a price on the life of a pet?  Are they going to depreciate his value because he was 11 years old and a cat can live for more than 20 years? Is he less valuable because we adopted him? Because he was declawed? Because he was neutered? WTF?  I just don't get it.  He can't be replaced.  Zeke was Zeke.  Every pet is different their own special way.  His life was priceless.  

The house is no more!

Well, it's gone.  There's nothing left except the old foundation and some concrete steps that we didn't even know were under there!  We are also going to be removing 3 trees that were a little to close to the house.  The tree in the picture right above this paragraph with orange paint is one of them.  It was burned severely as it stood right outside our bedroom window.  I hate losing any trees, but sometimes its better that way.  Besides, we are going to be planting the entire 12 acres in trees and native grasses very soon, so I think that will more than make up for it.
Much of the wood from the trees being removed will be used in one way or another.  Since we are going to have a wood burning stove,  the larger chunks will be cut and cured to use as fire wood.  The other limbs and debris that is left will be put in the starting pen for the beagles as obstacles for rabbit hunting training. We want the starting pen to resemble actual forested areas where the dogs would be hunting.
I also lost a Red Bud tree in the process.  It's sad since they are so pretty!  They were able to save one of my favorite trees though.  It's also in the above picture, a little more to the right side.  I want to put a bench under it for a place to rest and reflect.