Things Are Happenin' Down at the Ranch!

So I'm going to steal some photos from our builder's FB page. I love them because some of them show the builders there working, and we don't have that because we go in the evenings. I think the first couple were made on the 23rd, and the last pics we took and posted were from the 19th. We were going to go yesterday, but the weather went from 102 degrees to major rainstorm, so we opted out. Yeah, I know...I said neither hell nor high water would keep me away, but I changed my mind yesterday!

I wanted to add this picture because the sky is so beautiful!

Pouring the footers--Brian says the footers took 45 yards of concrete. Sounds like a lot of concrete!

I really do feel honored that these guys are working so hard on my house--thank you! And I mean it. Also...looks like they are Clemson fans in their orange shirts! Go Tigers!

Moving backwards...I bet my granddaughters would love to be out there helping them dig! Especially Ava and Adalynn!

This is the foundation that will hold the house that Brian will build!

Yesterday evening Terry and I went back out to our next home to take a look-see. They are just moving right along! I don't know all the building language, but Terry said they are getting the basement ready to pour concrete very soon. Terry's not around right now for me to ask him correct terms, but it looks like they've got support concrete things for the main floor as well. (Did he say they were called "footers," or something like that? Oh well, the important thing is that it looks like our main floor will be well supported! I didn't realize our main floor would be so high up, but I think that's great, because the height will give us a better view of everything, especially the sunset and even mountains on the horizon on a clear day! Hurry up and build it please, because I want to live there!!! But take your time and do it right. Don't go too fast! Oh dear....Oh, and I love the Bible verse that one of the builders painted in our basement (see below). Yay!! That was a surprise :-)

Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Our basement will include a bedroom, kitchenette, storage room, rec area, couch area, fireplace, and a shower/changing bathroom that can be entered from outside or inside. Hmmm...it doesn't seem big enough for all that!

OK, going upstairs now...oops, no stairs yet! Hope I don't gain too much weight!

And now, at the top of the stairs, we walk into the great room, which is not so great yet -- just air!

Leggos

               

And now we enter our lovely mudroom--hey, I'm not kidding! This really is our mud room (underneath it).
 

          

 You can see breakfast room jutting out, with lovely bay windows, someday...

House Plans: Then & Now

Displayed below is the evolution of our house plans...I wish I had dated them. The first couple are from about 7 years ago.

The REAL McCoy!

Basement

Loft

Look what Ava found!!

I just remembered I am saving an old doorknob that my 8-year-old granddaughter (Ava) found back in April before construction began. Ava has always been VERY curious and adventurous. She loves to explore, and I hope she has many, many days and hours ahead of exploring on our farm to her heart's desire. But on this particular April day, Ava was poking around the house site with a stick. She started to dig with the stick...why? I do not know. But not too far down IN the dirt she poked something hard and dug up an old, porcelain doorknob. Poor thing...she wanted to keep it, and although I am usually a very giving person, I made her give it to me :-)  I was thrilled, to put it mildly! There was once an old farmhouse on our land. I have never seen it; it's been gone for decades. But now I have a part of it!!! I showed our builder, Brian, and he said he can easily put the doorknob wherever we want it. I think I want it on our kitchen walk-in pantry door, where I will use it every day!

The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock!

Last night before dark, Terry and I checked out our home site after a few days away. The foundation is moving right along. At least it looks better than it did. I'll put a "before" pic first!

BEFORE

AFTER

"THE Gate" Before & After...And the Land

Below are BEFORE, DURING, & CURRENT pics of our beloved gate. I hesitate to use the word "After" because we will eventually build a beautiful gate :-)

This is the gate that Terry and Ben built about 2 years ago.

And here I am jumping out of the truck to unlock and open it, as I did many, many times! Notice to the left is a mound of dirt and a lot of not-so-pretty trees and brush. Good-bye!

Not a great pic (from phone) but you can see the clearing is done and the little gate we used to drive through is still there. We (and builder) have decided to leave a pile of trees and brush there for the time being as a barricade to discourage the dishonest from driving on through. Unfortunately, it will probably only discourage the honest. The dishonest will find a way...

 The new gate is twice as wide. It separates the front 2 acres from the back 8+ acres and home site. By the way, Terry has lost a good bit of weight lately and is lookin' good!

This is the front acreage, taken before the driveway was put in. The gate would be to the far right, out of the picture. 

And, for the sake of posterity, this is the view looking on the back right of our property (before construction).

Again for posterity, this is back left--looking to the left of our home site.

And this is looking directly straight ahead to our future home site (before the mess of construction, of course).

They're building something!

OK, so I am actually a little nervous. I need to just not go out there for a couple more months. Actually, I didn't go out there for these pics -- Terry took them. I know they are building something, but I didn't picture the bottom part of my dream house looking like this! Oh dear. Let's see...my builder is VERY highly recommended and his references raved about him and this is not his first rodeo. He has built many log homes over the past 30 years. So all I need to do is trust. With all my heart. And lean not unto my own understanding (which, on a scale of 1-10, is a 1). Below are the photos that I trust will someday be a beautiful log home!

 

Beautiful logs...just waiting patiently