Moving Right Along...

Well, as you can see in the pics below, we are just moving right along!! SO excited!! We brought granddaughters out with us day before yesterday at midday, and they were getting ready to start the logs! The REAL logs -- whoop whoop! Some logs were stacked on the main floor, ready to go. I pointed and said, "Oh look at the logs ready to go!" And Ava said, "Those aren't logs!" I think she was expecting round logs with bark. I told her we're not building a beaver dam, we're building a

people house! We did decide on logs that are straight on both sides, although I love the round logs as well. I just love all logs. I love wood. I love the smell of wood. I guess that's a good thing, right? We drove out again this afternoon, and wow! They must have been working hard the last couple days! It was after 2:00 and the builders had left for the day...hmmm...I wonder if it had something to do with the fact that it was 100 degrees outside and high humidity...and the fact that they had obviously been working their heads off all week! I only hope that they all have the BEST week-end ever, because they certainly do deserve it! Well, I have rambled enough, so now I will let the pictures tell the story. By the way, have I mentioned how excited I am???!!

Terry is looking out the library/piano room window.

windows of 2 guest bedrooms

There I am standing below the master bathtub!

Behind me is part of the 2nd guest room and master bath. Smaller window is one of 2 windows that size in master bedroom.

This is the sun room that extends from master bedroom. You can enter it from bedroom or from covered front porch. The floor of the front porch is not there yet, so you really cannot enter it from the porch YET!

Great room is straight ahead!

Terry wanted me to take a pic of the rubber between the logs...men!

Terry wanted me to get a pic of the dove-tail corners...men!

left - basement bedroom, center- storage area; Terry and girls are standing where the ping pong table will be!

Bella in basement bedroom

left - pool changing/shower room; center - kitchenette; right corner - bedroom; far right - storage

Ava

Terry mowing!!

Grits, Gravel, and Grandkids!

If you haven't discovered the creamy grits at Harbor Inn, you are missing out on one of life's soul-warming, savory, soothing pleasures! That was our first stop with granddaughters Bella and Ava. It was shrimp for the 2 redheads, Granddad and Ava, and mmm...mmm creamy grits for Bella and her hungry Grandma (with some kind of meat for a side dish, but that's not important). Next stop: Granddaddy's farm! We found ourselves hopping over puddles and up treacherous steps with no railings. There were gravel piles,rusty nails and easy-to-fall-through spaces everywhere, and we giggled with glee as we jumped and hopped around and made forever mud sole prints on the subfloors! This playground could make Disney World look boring! We had so much fun that we brought grandkids Ashton and Adalynn out later in the day for more muddy play!

Basement / Basement stairway below

Grandma, where's our loft bedroom gonna be? "Right up there in the air, honey."

The first little piggie built his house of sticks!

It's late, we hafta go now. No, Grandma! Please let us stay longer. But I didn't bring the flashlight and it's dangerous out here! No it's not! It's FUN!!!! OK then, we'll stay 5 more minutes!

Hooray for subfloors!! And sisters!

It was such a beautiful Sunday afternoon! After sweltering, painful heat this past week, the eighties temp was more awesome than the decade! Perfect day for a trip to the farm, and to make it even better, my sister and her husband were with us from Durham, NC. We had a blast playing on the wood and taking pictures. And for the first time, I was able to walk around "inside" my new home (inside on the outside). So far, it is BEAUTIFUL!

View of our beautiful backyard pool

It's not even a perfectly clear day, but we can still see the NC mountains from our great room!

My sister, Cheryl, and her husband, Pastor David

What a lovely driveway--minus the brush pile!

My favorite picture of all, for obvious reasons!! Hard to tell, but he has quite a sheepish expression!

Our first picture of us standing inside our new home!!

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...