Quantum leaps

The siding installation is finished. Paint will be applied this week.

Here is the trench in which the utilities run.
They are in the ground and will be hooked up later today.

Today felt like we made quantum leaps with the house. The drywall was textured today, so it is ready for interior finishing. In addition, the house passed inspection for connecting the utilities, so by the end of the day, we should have power and water and gas and telephone service into the house.

Alberto has begun moving the dirt that was excavated for the foundation and spreading it around the yard. Monday the gutters will be installed. The back patio will be poured next week along with a pad for a garden shed. Wednesday or Thursday next week the garage doors will be installed. And the most exciting change will be exterior paint. We are having fine weather, so Duane wants to get the painting done before the weather goes south.

Monday or Tuesday, the hardwood for the floors should be delivered. The tile floors in the bathrooms and laundry will be installed. So, things are poppin'!

Stay tuned for more photos as the decorating progresses. As Duane says, "Now we have the blank canvas, and we can start decorating it!"

Whatever you want to do in life, do it before retirement. You won't have time after!

Here's a long overdue post. We have been busy, busy, busy.

Last week, we moved Mom out of her home of 47 years into a retirement center. It was emotional trauma for all concerned, but in the long run, I think Mom will be happier. Her new apartment has two bedrooms and two baths and a full kitchen. It is close to the main elevator to the lobby and the one to the dining room. It is next door to the laundry room.

Mom has weekly housekeeping; she can call maintenance for anything from changing light bulbs to fixing a sticky door...and more. The best thing is that there are people with whom she can interact. She is already showing interest in some of the activities. In the meantime, we need to list her house and have an estate sale.

At the same time that all of this has been going on, our house continues to move toward completion. Today the drywall installers arrived and began sheeting the walls. The day before yesterday, the insulation crew came in. Duane and his crew are putting siding on the house. Jill and I have spent the week building a fence around the backyard, so Pogo will have a place to play and do her business. Of course, we are hoping against hope that the fence will keep the deer out of the yard, too.

But of course, a picture is worth a thousand words, so below you will find several photos taken by Jill.

The truck carrying the sheetrock arrived this morning.

The driver strategically located the truck for offloading the sheetrock.

The mechanical arm on the truck offloaded the material, which the crew put on a dolly and wheeled into the various rooms.

Here's one of the drywall dudes, looking over a pile of sheetrock.

The vaulted ceiling in the great room gets some drywall.

The front of the house is getting housewrap and will be covered with siding next week.

Here's a look at the insulation in the garage. No more winterizing the motor home!!

And now for the piece de resistance. Jill and I have assembled a panel fence in the backyard. We rented a power auger and erected 17 panels of fencing in a week! Tomorrow we will finish putting concrete in the post holes, and the fence construction phase will be complete, except for the gates, which I will build shortly before move-in. Jill wants to put sealer on the fence right away, and I think that is a great idea.

Here's the old guy altering one of the panels by cutting it in half to fit a shorter section.

And the north end of the backyard. Now that the fence is installed, the backyard looks much bigger and more inviting.