Activity Log

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March 8: In spite of fog, grey skies and rain, this has been one of those days filled with good news. The fireplace mantel and display shelving are done and will be delivered tomorrow. Caulking and painting of interior trim was finished last Friday, and I'm overjoyed to have it done. Adam came out this morning and tweaked the basement-stairs threshold (which was loose and "snapping" when stepped on) and also put vent-covers outside on the three bathroom vent outlets, as well as on the exterior fireplace draft intake. These and all the other vent-covers will eventually be painted the same color as the siding. Adam called the delinquent siding sub-contractor's boss and convinced him to send the sub-contractor out here to finish my siding after he's completed whatever job he's doing now. Hurrah! Tomorrow the painter will be here early to put another coat of paint on the basement bathroom doors and paint more trim for the new doors in the basement, which Adam will then put in place, along with installing the fireplace mantle. The electrician was here this morning to put in light fixtures, outlets and switches in the basement bathroom. The cabinet-maker should start working soon on a vanity cabinet for the basement bathroom, and once that's in place, carpeting can proceed, then final plumbing of the bathroom, and everything will be done downstairs. My efforts at decorating the great-room walls are waiting on a couple more deliveries of items ordered. Everyone up here is anxious for spring to arrive, and so far it appears that temperatures will be above freezing for the next week. Rain is in the forecast every day for the next several days, and I've left my truck outside in the hope of having it "washed" of road-salt by the rain, as well as to give me room to organize the garage and clean up the motorcycles, which I probably won't ride until the driveway is black-topped, which leads me to mention that I called the recommended black-top company about the driveway, and should have an estimate from them by the end of this month. The week's rain will probably melt off the existing snow, but will leave a muddy mess around the house, which is still surrounded by the top-soil that was put down before this winter set in.

March 3: While the "mud" of the basement wall-board dries today, another employee of the same company is plowing ahead on day two of filling and caulking around trim throughout the house, wherever there's a gap between trim, window-frames, walls and floors -- a monumental job that I just couldn't see myself tackling alone (see the sample "Before and After" photos in the WI Photo Gallery). He will then paint (perhaps I should say, repaint) the trim, which was dotted everywhere with off-color filler putty in the nail holes. After lunch the two drywall workers arrived to do the final "mud" work downstairs, and will return tomorrow afternoon to texture the bathroom interior. I bought three doors for the basement (utility room, bathroom and linen-closet) and have them here waiting for Adam to install, hopefully before the final painting is done, because the doors are only primed (i.e., need painting). Measuring for a vanity cabinet will wait until painting is finished, after which I'll call "my cabinet maker" and have him build one. I hope he can get to it fairly soon, because the Corian contractor won't measure for a counter-top until the cabinetry is in place. I decided to go with Corian: (a) because I was always pleased with it in the VA condo, (b) because I'm not really happy with the quartz countertops in this kitchen and (c) the local home improvement store is not a Corian dealer. The items that are in stock at Menard's (the home improvement store) don't suit the space or my tastes. So, the vanity will be the thing that holds up completion, plumbing and carpeting. Just in time for spring, for which everyone here is chomping at the bit. It's still chilly at 40 degrees, but it seems warmer in the sun, which is plentiful today. The next two days are expected to be even warmer (or should I call it "less chilly"?),... good days for cleaning/organizing the garage, wiping down the motorcycles and maybe even washing the truck (?!?).

March 1: Yet another month gone by, and Mother Nature is teasing us with temperatures above 40, dangling spring in front of us. The plumbers are installing the shower-bath "unit" in the basement, which turned out to be quite an ordeal. Because the drain was originally placed for a shower-stall, they had to jack-hammer through the concrete floor to create enough space (approx. another square foot) for a tub drain. Around 11 a.m. they finally brought in the shower-bath unit through the large basement walk-out door, and are having no easy job getting it in place and plumbed. It's almost noon, and the boss's policy is to have everyone return to HQ for lunch, so this job will take up the entire day. I hope for dry-walling to begin tomorrow, after which I'll be able to get an exact measurement for the vanity cabinet. Indoor-outdoor carpet for the entire basement and stairs will be the last part of this endeavor. I'm guessing this whole thing won't be done until mid-March, and I need to decide what to do about the condo in Virginia. Ugh! I just don't want to deal with it right now, but must do something if it's to go on the market this spring. The builder and the siding contractor keep going back and forth about finishing outside the house, so that's going nowhere fast, and I need to determine the size and placement of outdoor window-shutters before ordering them. There are at least two places where a window is so close to a corner of the house that a shutter won't fit. A quandary. I spent the morning transplanting and potting in the basement. Yesterday I mounted the two "Middlehills" signs on the front gate fencing, and then strung wire between the thorn trees out back so that I could hang the bird feeders out of reach of the squirrels.

February 20: The floor heat is off in the great-room and master bedroom because apparently there's air in the tubing which is preventing the flow of fluid -- a bi-product of last week's work on the boiler. The HVAC/plumbing contractor will be back first thing Monday morning to fix the problem. Until then, it's a crisp 63 degrees or so in both rooms. Adam came out Thursday to make the top step and stair threshold conform to code, and I called the inspector Friday morning and left a message to tell him it was done. Since I haven't heard back from him, I expect to receive the occupancy permit soon. Adam said he'd frame the bathroom and utility room in the basement "early next week." All three tapestries have been hung on the West wall of the great-room. Of the six remaining tapestries, only one is suitable for the East wall. The other five will have to go elsewhere in the house, and it was necessary to order a couple more tapestries to fit the spaces on the East wall.

February 17: Ya learn somethin' new every day. Two workers from the HVAC/plumbing contractor came early this morning in response to my call about the air-to-air exchange ducts still collecting and holding water in the insulation. They installed flaps for the air-in and air-out vents (which go directly outside, and previously had only "critter-barriers," which meant that the ducts were always open to the outside air), replaced soaked insulation, and adjusted the frequency with which the air-to-air exchange system runs (humidity in the house was down to 24%, and it should be more like 35% to 40%). One of the workers heard the thumping sounds the boiler was making and told me it "shouldn't be doing that." They discovered that a flange had broken apart, got into the boiler, was chewed up by the circulation pump and was impeding the flow of water. At lunch-time they took the boiler away with them (I assume to show it to the boss), and at 2 p.m. one of them returned to reinstall it. I'm hoping that the seemingly high consumption of propane might have been a result of the boiler's problems. What a relief to learn that the thumping wasn't normal,... and also to learn that my hot water supply involves no electric coils. By way of a separate line, the boiler supplies a high temperature mixture of water and anti-freeze (as in the floor-heating pipes) to tubing coiled around the hot water storage tank. Cool! Well, OK,... hot! Adam came out in the afternoon with framing lumber for the basement bathroom and utility room (which he hopes to start tomorrow, and finish in a day's time), so I need to get busy with selecting fixtures and cabinetry and whatnot for that bathroom. The electrician, drywall contractor and a plumber also need to be lined up, finishing with the flooring contractor, who has already given me an estimate for carpeting the basement and stairs. Adam also took up the maple threshold and trim above the first step to the basement so that he could get a real look at what needs to be done to conform to code. Hopefully he'll perform the "fix" within a week, then I can finally get that occupancy permit (five months after actually occupying the house,... it's ridiculous). Finally, another two pairs of shutters were ordered today for the two front windows of the great-room (which are just under 82 inches tall, as are the windows in the front office/bedroom), and they'll basically be the same as I have in the office, but this time without shutter-frames: they'll be mounted directly to the window frame. Again, live and learn.

February 14: Valentines Day. Bah humbug! Four degrees Fahrenheit at sunrise, but it promises to be another lovely, sunny day. The two pairs of shutters for the office arrived Thursday, and I'm very impressed with their quality and appearance. Having dabbled a bit with installation on Saturday, I finished putting them up yesterday (see photo in WI Photo Gallery). While I'm pleased with them, and will definitely order another two pairs for the North windows of the great-room, the frames that come with them aren't really necessary because the existing window-frames are quite sturdy enough to have shutter-hinges mounted directly on them. As for the hanging of tapestries, it turned out that the 8-foot ladder wasn't tall enough, necessitating the purchase of a 10-footer. I'll try to tackle hanging the largest "center-piece" tapestry today. The grow-light stand in the basement is quickly filling up with seed-starts for basil, cilantro, catnip, ornamental grass, Colorado blue spruces and sugar maples. The basil, started first, is already sprouting. For now I'm only starting what will either stay indoors (the herbs) or grow slowly (the trees). As things fall into place, a great "void" emerged in the Southwest corner of the great-room,... labeled "breakfast area" in the original floor-plans. The solution is yet another order of furniture from the Hardwood Artisans: a bench-chest for under the window, a round table and two more side-chairs.

February 7: As you may have noticed on the home page, I've abandoned the "Arcadia Grove" and "Grove House" designations in favor of a simple name (and still very British) that best describes the property, which consists of two hills between the Withrow field on the South height and the valley of Pauls' Paddock (the horse paddock of the Pauls, from whom I bought the land) to my North. Hence, Middlehills. On other fronts, Adam neither showed up (as he said he would) or called yesterday to fix the code-violating top step to the basement. Yes, I'm unhappy about the whole thing,... tired of this "code" issue holding up the permit I've wanted since September. The shutters for the "office" bedroom are due to arrive this coming week, and hopefully by then I'll have hung tapestries on the West great-room wall. The East wall will be even more difficult, as I'll have to straddle the kitchen cabinetry to get at the wall. The main room of the basement is now clear of moving boxes and whatnot, so I took photos from various vantage points. You'll notice a 2-tier grow-light stand to the right of the walk-out door. I have an ambitious growing and planting campaign for spring, including corn, tomatoes and herbs to be planted near the West side of the house (my dairy-farmer neighbor told me to plant sweet corn close to the house because of raccoons, which are discouraged by human habitats), as well as deer repellant creeping/low-growing plants and flowers for the retaining walls. Believe it or not, that includes Thyme, Catnip, Creeping Myrtle, mosses and ferns (the last of which abound locally). An old companion of many years, "Nordy the Norfolk Pine," did not, after all, survive the extremely cold trailer-ride up from Indiana (it's a warm-weather and/or indoor plant only), so I'm trying to grow his successors from seeds purchased from Whatcom Seed Company (www.seedrack.com), a good source for hard to find and exotic plant-seeds. The Wal-Mart up here had LOTS of young potted Norfolk Pines (unfortunately sprayed with glitter) around Christmas-time, but I didn't buy any in the hope that "Nordy" would survive. Now the live trees are nowhere to be found at stores. So, yes, we're looking forward to spring up here in the wintry North. Seed starting materials and packets of seed abound at all the local stores, even though it's still too early to "start" most seeds for planting, seeing as the locals say mid-May is safe from the last frost (as I learned last year with the tomato plants: listen to the locals). Speaking of the locals, I took note along a highway here the other day of a technique for protecting seedlings and saplings from deer-browse. Sturdy circles of wire fence were secured to three and four stakes around each sapling, far enough from the tree to prevent deer from reaching new growth, yet close enough to the plant to prevent deer from jumping into the enclosure. Live and learn. And finally, while everyone else is watching the Super Bowl, I don't have television here, so I'm watching a BBC production of Martin Chuzzlewit on DVD while attempting to make an orange sauce for duck-leg comfit. Armed with a copy of Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," I leave you today with her signature phrase: Bon Appetit!

January 27: As I continue to focus on getting the interior of the house arranged, a number of other things have been happening. The inspector made his final visit yesterday and found only one thing to prevent granting the much-desired occupancy permit: the top step of the stairs to the basement is not "to code," and no variance or exception is allowed. I've spoken to Adam, and the solution seems very simple: nail a half-inch-thick board down over the top step to make it the same height as all the other steps. Since the stairs will be carpeted (eventually), no one will ever notice. The inspector told me he wouldn't need to come back again, but that an "it's fixed" call from Adam would result in granting of the permit. Adam has been unable to induce the siding contractor to come out and finish, so he and his helper are going to do it themselves when the FRIGID weather lets up a bit. Tile grout in the master- and guest-bathrooms had cracked and separated, probably due to settling of the Gypcrete sub-floor as it dried, so the flooring guys were out here yesterday re-grouting. While they were here, I asked for an estimate on carpeting the basement floor and stairs, which will have to wait until a bathroom and utility room are finished down there. The area under the kitchen was plumbed for a third full bath, and I'd like the floor-/water-heating system to be isolated and insulated because it makes noises that I can hear in the wee hours of the night (bumps in the night are still spooky, even if you're 52). Six of the nine tapestries I'd ordered to decorate the cathedral walls of the great-room have arrived, but I'm waiting for those last three (due to arrive this week) before I begin hanging them all. The back guestroom (South) is a no-man's land,... bed unmade, pictures un-hung, door closed and shade down because the tapestries are laid out on the bed until those last three tapestries arrive. The fabric covering the dining chairs and parlor chair is no longer available, so I'm in the process of eliminating alternatives. Four more swatches are on their way to me, but I suspect that a perfect match won't be possible, which nixes that idea. There was one swatch that came last week of which I'm very fond (a subdued rainbow stripe), and that not only means that the furniture-on-order may be covered with it, but that I'll have to re-upholster the other dining chairs with the same fabric. Next subject, heating. I pre-paid for 1,000 gallons of liquid propane at $1/gallon. My 500-gallon tank is probably 70% full right now, but there are only 60 more gallons undelivered on that contract. Good gawd! Probably two more months of cold weather, and 1,000 gallons aren't going to cover it! I've never had the floor-heat set above 68 degrees (it's at 64 degrees now since my conversation with the propane supplier yesterday, yet I'm still comfortable, generally). And the electric bill wasn't pretty either, but I've been doing a lot of laundry and cooking as I "settle in." Hopefully these costs won't be typical in the future. Well, let's call it "a learning experience." There's no doubt that this house is "tight," as evidenced by the fact that the air-to-air exchange system is STILL collecting moisture along its out-vents in the basement. The insulation and wrapping of those vents was re-done (and at least doubled) back in November, but it appears that a more permanent solution is called for. I'm going to "Google" it and see what I come up with. OK, that's it for now. I'm sure there are details I've omitted, but they'll crop up as time goes by.

January 17: "Details, details." Nothing to report regarding third-party activity on the house (such as finishing the siding), even though the weather has been far more moderate over the last few days (daytime highs around 32 degrees Fahrenheit). "Settling in and adapting" would be the best description of what consumes my days of late: adjusting to and expanding into the interior layout of the house. The timing of the move from Arlington (VA) was auspicious, as I'm not distracted by the "growing season" requirements of the land. Instead, I have the leisure to consider what is needed to make the interior "finished," including the decoration and furnishing of spaces that didn't exist in the Virginia condominium. A number of wall tapestries (mostly "contemporary") are on order to decorate the glaring "white spaces" above eye-level in the great-room. And I found (online, of course, after visiting oodles of sites) a front-door-knocker that harmonizes with the house (never mind no one will be knocking on it until the yard is seeded with grass and a foot-path is in place come summer). The cabinet-maker has been engaged to build the fireplace mantle and display shelving (for my "Doggie People" figurine collection from England). Everything from bedding to bookshelves is up for grabs. Even by this time next year, I wonder whether there won't be a long list of outstanding "things to do." Well, if one learns nothing else from being a literature major, it's that life is all about mutability. Nothing is ever really "finished," even in death.

January 11: What fun, going through all those boxes of books over the weekend. It's the first time in many years that all of my books have been readily accessible in one place. Half of them had been in storage for years at the condominium in Virginia, and I found myself coming across lots of old friends. In the house, the great-room and master bedroom are pretty much "done" as far as arranging, so I took photos of those rooms from all four directions. The office-bedroom (front guest bedroom) is almost done, but the back guestroom and basement are still works in progress. It's been a busy morning on the telephone. For one thing, the driveway needed plowing again, and it turns out to be more cost-effective to hire my local guy to plow (at $30 per visit) than for me to get bundled up, open the shed, fire up the tractor and spend a couple hours trying to clear a gravel driveway. Next winter will be another matter, by which time the driveway will be black-topped and MUCH easier to clear on my own. Then I called my cabinet-maker, because I've decided to go back to the original plan of having him put together a mantle for the fireplace from lengths of cherry that should match the entertainment center cabinetry. Otherwise there would be no mantle until spring, since I haven't heard a peep out of the guy I'd hoped would cut down and rough-saw a single mantle-piece from the big birch  that split in half during a storm a few months ago. At least this way the mantle will match my furniture. Then I needed to call The Hardwood Artisans in Virginia, who made-to-order most of my furniture over the years, simply because the space to be furnished in Virginia was smaller than the space available here in Wisconsin, and I find that I not only have room for another parlor chair, but that the dining table fits best here with both "leaves" in place (making it almost 100 inches long), which necessitates a couple more side chairs (increasing seating from 4 to 6 ), and allows for replacement of the sad little white "distressed" Pottery Barn buffet with a longer buffet in the same style as the dining table. An order with The Hardwood Artisans takes two months to complete, which would put the "delivery date" around the same time as my [hopefully last] trip to Arlington (to finalize getting the condo on the market). Sadly, the dimensions of all of the furniture on order exceeds the capacity of my truck-bed, but I won't have to pay any taxes on the order (since the destination is out of state), so the cost of having a "third party" carry the order to WI is about the same as if I'd rented a van in Virginia (plane ticket from WI to VA included) and drove it up here myself. And that's it for today. The driveway has been plowed,... I have a dental appointment tomorrow,... and a truck maintenance appointment early Wednesday in Dubuque (Iowa), the closest "major" city.

January 7: The insulation contractors are down in the basement right now (1 p.m. Central), spraying on the fire barrier in the vaults. They brought in their equipment and the barrier compound yesterday, but the compound had frozen and would not completely thaw until today. Nothing else is "a'doin'" at the house today except for more post-move unpacking and arranging, and I'm not even contemplating clearing the driveway (or maybe "having it cleared") until it stops snowing tomorrow. 3 p.m., and the insulation guys are gone after a little trouble getting their truck out (they'd parked in the "back yard," where the snow is much deeper than on the driveway, to get closer to the basement walk-out). Plowing would be fairly useless, since the wind has really picked up and is blowing around what's already fallen. Anyway, once the fire-barrier dries, I'll have no excuse to ignore getting the basement in order. In the meantime, back to work on organizing the first floor!

January 5: The night before the moving van was re-scheduled to attempt to delivery, of course it snowed, but I had the driveway thoroughly plowed and salted before the van arrived, and it had tire-chains, so there were no problems getting up to the house. The van was empty by about 2 p.m. on New Year's Eve. Fortunately nothing but a plant saucer was broken in the move, although a few pieces of furniture and a lamp have some "dings and dents." Nothing I can't live with or fix. It's been a full-time "voyage of rediscovery" unpacking everything and deciding where it should go. The great-room is almost done except for some area rugs that I ordered over a month ago, but everything else is still a muddle, and I have yet to unpack all the boxes of books that are in the basement. Two out of five shelving "units" are assembled, but I'm probably going to have to buy more. As for work on the house, well, it's pretty much done except for the siding (and it's way too cold for working on that), and the insulation contractor is coming out tomorrow to spray a 15-minute fire barrier over the insulating foam in the under-porch vaults. There's a myriad of details, like caulking, wall-patching and painting (which I'll do myself), outside shutters, the fireplace mantle and so on, but there's no hurry, and much of what will make the house officially finished will have to wait until spring. So that's it. Everything is finally in one place, save for some odds and ends in Indiana. And it certainly feels more like home with furniture!

December 22: Yes, of course. Bad news. The moving van couldn't make it up the driveway. The only thing that would have made it possible is plowing and salting. Lots of salting, which is something I couldn't do. Under the 4 or so inches of snow that fell overnight and this morning, the driveway is now frozen. So the van headed back to Dubuque, where its contents will be stored until another attempt at delivery can be made. The weather forecast is ugly through Christmas (snow, freezing rain, etc.), so it's not even worth trying to treat the driveway until we have a few days of clear weather. I've already lined up someone to plow and salt, hopefully next week, and spoken with the local moving company (where the van's contents will be stored). I knew there was a risk with a winter move, but I took my chances and lost. Dear Mother Nature. It's going to be kind of a sad Christmas after all. Bummer! Well, I've got the window treatments and any number of other things to keep me busy.

December 21: Today's top story, no moving van until tomorrow. It was held back a day by the big snow-storm in the East (word has it, 20 inches!), which I barely missed by leaving Arlington early Friday morning. I stayed in a hotel West of Columbus (London, Ohio actually -- so I spent a night in London -- hah hah) Friday night and started driving West again at 5 a.m. (Eastern) Saturday. Driving through very wet snow (the Western edge of the storm that hit the East) between Columbus and Indianapolis, the rest of the trip was uneventful and I arrived home (yes, HOME!) at noon Central time. Since I didn't have the cat with me, I drove directly to Arlington from Wisconsin,... and since the truck was full of stuff after the stay in Arlington, there was no chance of loading up "stuff" from Indiana, so I drove directly back again. Packing up my apartment went smoothly last Wednesday, as did loading the van on Thursday, even though the mover was almost three hours late due to traffic. The driver told me it was a 24 foot van, but end-to-end I think it's more like 40 feet, and the [remaining] contents of the apartment barely filled up half of it. Although the forecast calls for a bit of snow up here overnight and tomorrow, I'm hoping he can get the van to the garage door without my having to try and plow any more. As far as activity on the house, Adam has sprayed insulating foam in the basement around the dryer vent, cook-top downdraft vent and around the plumbing under the two bath-tubs. The electrician has the eight outdoor light fixtures installed, along with three outdoor outlets, so he's pretty much done except for figuring out what's wrong with the under-cabinet lights in the kitchen. The insulation in the under-porch vaults still hasn't been "fire-proofed," pending more input from the inspector. No progress has been made on the siding, and the "faux" attic vents and shutters are probably going to have to wait until spring. For now, I'm busy "assimilating" what I brought back from Virginia and preparing for the contents of the moving van. Sadly, Christmas is going to be a side-show this year.

December 12: Gearing up for the "final move" trip to Virginia, with yet more belongings to bring up from Indiana on the way back. An HVAC technician was here all day yesterday replacing the insulation around the air-exchange vent-tubes with something thicker and more dense. Let's hope that solves the water-collection problem. Use of the word "mold" seems to have motivated them to act fast. The day before yesterday I plowed the driveway, but the blade on the tractor isn't really the right tool for the job, and I either found myself gouging up gravel or not being able to get to the surface of the driveway. A couple people told me that the conditions were poor for plowing because the ground wasn't frozen under the snow. We'll see how the tractor-plow performs next time, but I'm pretty sure I'll have the driveway black-topped next spring, which should make clearing it a lot easier. While I was plowing, a representative of the propane company came out to check my tank, then told me it was down to 40%. He returned a few hours later and added 240 gallons. That's about 640 gallons delivered out of the 1,000 for which I prepaid at a fixed price per gallon. A fellow to whom I gave permission to hunt deer on the property came out around 8 this morning, but left empty handed at 10:30 a.m. He spotted a buck, but it was on an adjacent property, so he couldn't shoot it. He also found plenty of tracks and a couple places where the deer had laid down. Seeing as the Western fence is my responsibility, and it will soon need to be replaced, I asked the fencing contractor to give me an estimate for replacing it with an eight-foot deer-fence. I need to find out who's responsible for the Northern fence, which is also in terrible shape, because I might consider having deer-fence put along that side as well, which would certainly impede "deer traffic." The under-cabinet lights in the kitchen have stopped working and I can't discover why to save my life (after checking the fuse-box and GFI outlets, a couple of which need to be replaced), so now I have an excuse to call the electrician again and have him come out to wrap things up. The insulating contractor is expected to be out next week to spray a fire-retardant over the spray-in insulation in the two under-porch vaults (that and outside lights were two of the inspector's three concerns). Adam still has his loose-ends to do, and the siding still isn't finished. Who knows what I'll find when I get back.

December 9: Gee, I was really looking forward to watching "Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince" on DVD tonight (I didn't see it when it was in the theaters), but UPS has crapped out on the scheduled delivery today due to the snow. Yes, we got at least six more inches of it overnight, and it's higher where it's drifted, but this is nothing that 'sconsonians aren't used to dealing with. Maybe it's the whole "first storm of the season" thing. Another holiday. The township's plow has piled a good two feet of snow at the base of my driveway,... more than I can handle with a shovel,... so I'll have to detach the bush-hog from the tractor tomorrow (in negative-degree temperatures) and attach the plow-blade so that I can clear the snow from the driveway. I went back and forth a number of times this afternoon from the house to the mailbox with the Kawasaki "mule" (utility vehicle) without any problems on unplowed ground, so I don't see what the locals are so worked up about. By all accounts, they were repeatedly battered by 10-inch-plus snowfalls the last two winters, but managed to get on with their lives. Although I've never used the plow-blade with the tractor, I might look into getting a plow-blade for the "mule," which is more maneuverable than the tractor (I'd originally intended to use the tractor's "plow" blade only to spread gravel and top-soil,... not to move snow). Temperatures are expected to plummet tonight and remain Arctic over the next couple of days. More snow and blizzard-like winds are predicted for this evening (another reason to put off plowing until tomorrow). Although I had a conversation with Adam yesterday about a number of things, nothing has come of it, and the HVAC/plumbing contractor has not returned my call about the water collecting in the air-exchange vents. What else is new?

December 7: I returned last Friday with a 6-by-12 two-axle U-Haul trailer stuffed with things from Indiana (furniture and knick-knacks) and a truck-bed full of things from Virginia (cookware, dishes, area rugs, etc.). One step closer to being settled in one place for the first time in two years! It rained three of the four driving days, and my derriere was sore from sitting for 2,000 miles. I'll have to make the trip again this coming Saturday, because the mover is scheduled to pack up the Virginia condo on Dec. 16 and load the van the next day. A semi can't get up to the house, so I will have exclusive use of a smaller moving van -- and I didn't want the furniture to be handled more than twice. The van is scheduled to arrive here in Wisconsin on Dec. 21 or 22. Guess what I'll be doing for Christmas. As for "work" here at the house, I'm afraid there isn't much to report except that Adam got the cook-top downdraft vented and put quarter-round in for the hardwood floor. He has a few other odds and ends to complete as well. The last order of siding has arrived (but has not been delivered to the house), so I hope to see the siding contractor any day now, although there's more snow predicted for tomorrow, and the temperatures are expected to drop into the single digits at night. Brrr. The electrician blew me off last week, so there are still no outside lights and outlets. The insulated exhaust vent tubes of the air exchange system are collecting and holding water,... lots of it,... and I have a call into the HVAC/plumbing contractor for a solution. The window treatments for the back side of the house are in the garage waiting for me to put them up, but I'm still busy putting in place all the things I brought back from my trip.

November 27: This is the eve of my departure for Indiana and Virginia, from which I'll return with a truck-bed and U-Haul trailer full of "stuff" and hopefully a "move date" from Virginia. Nothing has been done out here (by contractors) since my last entry, but Adam said he'd be here Monday to do some work. I left a message for the electrician, asking him to "hard-wire" the air exchange unit (it's plugged in via an extension cord) when he comes out to finish up his other work. The overnight temperatures have become freezing or below, so today I need to move liquids out of the shed (unheated) and into the garage. The floor heat will have to be left on throughout the house, albeit at a low temperature, while I'm away. That's all until December 5th, when I return.

November 19: So much for going to Dubuque (which I did, yesterday) to avoid meeting the inspector. He came this morning while I was here, but he was very nice, especially about recognizing that I'm living here. I don't have an occupancy permit, though, because the exits are required to be lighted, and there are a few other [minor] details that need to be addressed before the house qualifies. Yesterday one of the HVAC contractors returned to add anti-freeze to the fluid circulating through the floor heating pipes. In other words, the plumbing and heating contractor is 100% FINISHED! I'm not expecting anyone else to come out today except perhaps the electrician. The inspector called him and Adam about the things that need to done. Adam told me earlier that he might be out tomorrow, and all of the little things he needs to do are interior jobs, which I want done before my trip. [Pause] My neighbor just dropped by with a bit of welcome Strudel, and I gave her a quick tour. She's off to work in town at the WalMart. I bought these 35 acres from her and her husband in June 2007. Very nice folks. Anyway,... I feel better about living here, seeing as the inspector didn't seem to mind.

November 17: Part 2. Going on 3 p.m., and two HVAC workers are back (that was a long lunch), putting the finishing touches on the air exchange system, which includes venting to the outside walls in two places. Except for adding anti-freeze to the floor heating system, the plumbing and HVAC is DONE!!! (A ticker-tape parade is called for!) As for "filling in" under the air-tub, I'll ask Adam to handle that, since there are other places where the inspector is going to want foam sealant applied. The weather has turned windy, but the rain seems to be staying South of us (otherwise I'd be dashing out to cover the bit of siding that's stacked near the West wall). This house is truly "tight" (weather-proof, as desired), and completion of the air exchange system will be very welcome, since it's already proven to be "close" in the house without it, although (there's that word again) the electrician will have to splice more power-supply wire to the air exchange unit to get it working (and until he can do that, I might hook it up with an extension cord). Adam called after lunch-time to say that the inspector would be out tomorrow to grant or deny an occupancy permit (which is something of a joke, seeing as I've lived here since Oct. 1), but I'm a bit nervous, since there's a possible "fine" involved, and I don't want to get on "the bad side" of township officials. Tomorrow might be a good day to drive to Dubuque (Iowa) to do some shopping at the nearest Target and Bed Bath & Beyond, so I won't have to answer any embarrassing questions from the inspector. I don't like to spend money in Iowa, not only because the sales tax is 1.5% higher than in Wisconsin, but it just seems "disloyal" to my new home-state. However, Madison is the nearest major city in Wisconsin, about an hour Northeast (with a Target and Bed Bath & Beyond), but I don't want to devote two hours of travel-time (and gas) to a simple shopping trip.

Part 1. Apparently Adam had a "come to Jesus" talk with Kelly Ingersoll (owner of Ingersoll Plumbing & Heating), because two men arrived at 9:30 yesterday morning and began work on the air exchange system (putting in duct-work and mounting the exchanger). Of course, they did their "return to base for lunch" thing (such a waste of time and gas), but one of them returned at 1:30 or so and worked on the floor heating system. That part's done as far as I can tell, although anti-freeze needs to be added to the water in the pipes. The air-tub in the master bath is finished also (control-pad mounted in the outside lip and the "skirt" put on), although (there's always a disclaimer, isn't there?) some kind of "spray in" filler needs to be applied under it, which would also seal the gaping hole in the basement ceiling where the tub's pipes come through. Well, it's remarkable enough that Ingersoll took a stab at FINALLY finishing up out here, and it would be downright amazing if they show up again today, which (I think) is all they'll need to put the Hemsworth job behind them. Although rain is forecast for today through Thursday, it's a clear and sunny morning, and the chance of rain is low, so... who knows when Adam will come out to finish the cook-top downdraft and floor trim. P.S. - It's almost 9 a.m., and Brian (HVAC worker from Ingersoll's) is here! Hurrah!

November 14: Saturday, and much to my surprise, two young men showed up this morning to install gutters and downspouts. One less thing on the "loose ends" list. The downspouts stick out like sore thumbs without landscaping, which will probably spur me to meet soon with the landscaper to discuss plans for next spring. Adam stopped by yesterday afternoon to measure for the cook-top downdraft venting, and together we cursed the HVAC/plumbing contractor. He called the owner of the company yesterday, who told him that finishing up out here will be put on the "front burner." Well, if I don't see one of his employees here on Monday, I'll visit their HQ and play the "squeaky wheel" routine, which is apparently what this contractor responds to best. Neither of us will use this company again. The building inspector was called Thursday to come out and either grant or deny an occupancy permit (I want things to be "square" with the township), but I don't know whether he did nor not. Apparently he has 48 hours to "respond," but I want the permit more than I want to hold him to "the rules." It's not easy to think of this as "home" after two years of being unsettled, especially without all of my possessions in one place. It feels "incomplete." More siding is on the way, but will it arrive before the end of the month? My trip to Indiana and Virginia is now postponed until the first week of December. Can you believe this has been going on since May?!? Ah, and the quarter-round (to trim the hardwood floor) has arrived. Adam and his helper, Craig, will put it in, although they'll start framing another house next week (they finished up with a small house last week, just up the road). Rain is predicted for Tuesday, so they might be here then. Adam also said that he would fix the East roof ridge-vent himself (it's not "continuous," and was badly done by the roofer). "Faux" attic vents still need to be put on three sides of the house, and I'm 90% sure now that I want white shutters on each side of the windows that have enough clearance for them. There are places where the sheer expanse of siding just glares at you! I'm also not really happy with the white aluminum "sheeting" along the soffits of the porches, because I can see the seems, and it's just too much "white space." I'm sure we can come up with a solution. The weather continues to be dry and moderate (highs near 60). The netting I bought to wrap around the sapling tree-trunks is a pain in the ass to handle, but I found rolls of a tough paper designed for the same purpose, and it's much easier to work with. Doing battle with the deer is something I'll just have to get used to. Deer hunting season, with a rifle, is Nov. 21-29 here in Wisconsin. Jeez! Only 9 days. Not much of a "season." We'll see if any of the guys I've invited to hunt on this land will show up, though obviously the deer will always be a problem. And the Japanese Lady Beetles! Why haven't we come up with a national campaign to eradicate them?!?

November 11: Who knows what today will bring. Probably nothing much, since it's Veterans Day. The fencing (and gate) contractor had no other work yesterday, so his crew put in the split-rail fence that I had called him about just the day before (I wanted to get it in before the ground freezes). They were finished by 1 p.m., after which the siding contractor came out for about an hour or so to put in the eight "boxes" (made from the siding material) on which the outside lights will be mounted. This means that the electrician can be 100% finished out here, although he may "observe" Veterans Day. Still no sign of the plumbing/HVAC contractor, even though I visited their HQ Monday morning and gave them a big "good faith" payment (they haven't billed me for anything except the septic system so far) and asked that they finish up so I can go out of town. The siding contractor's equipment is still set up near the West wall, so I'm actually expecting to see him today. The weather remains dry, but it's getting colder, especially overnight. It was 63 degrees in the house yesterday evening, so I broke down and turned on the floor heat in the great-room and master bedroom. Care has to be taken not to turn up the heating for the great-room too much at one time or it will damage the wooden floor. I found rolls of netting at the hardware store, specifically designed to protect the bark of young trees from deer, so putting that around the maples is on today's agenda, along with planting the rest of the daffodil bulbs.

November 8: Dennis (the siding contractor) worked Saturday and Sunday on the West side of the house. I'm hoping he'll continue this week until it's all finished (he left his equipment in place, and the siding uncovered, so I take it as a sign that he's coming back this morning). He has a number of details to tackle once all the siding is on, such as trim, making "boxes" for the outside light fixtures (8 of them), caulking, vent-covers, finishing the soffits, and touch-up painting. Over the weekend I planted about 50 of the 100 daffodil bulbs, 10 blue spruce seedlings and one lilac seedling. In the old field, the deer are chewing off the bark of the 25 sugar maples, so one of today's priorities is to find a way of protecting them. The other priority is to light fires under a long list of contractors, including Adam. I'm fed up with unfinished jobs and "dabbling."

November 7: The excavator spent all day yesterday (literally from dawn to dusk) putting into place the many loads of top-soil and gravel that were hauled in by one dump-truck after another after another after another... My truck spent its first night in the garage! This morning about 7:30 the excavator was back to finish putting the left-over boulders around the septic tank and well-cap, to hide them as best as possible. It's almost 9 a.m. now, and he's done and gone. Sadly, it's now too late to put down grass-seed, so I'll be looking at top-soil (and perhaps snow) until spring. The siding contractor is here at last (thank gawd), working on the West side of the house. Today and tomorrow are supposed to be sunny with temperatures in the upper 60s, making them ideal for siding and bulb-planting, and rain is expected on Monday (good timing, so I shouldn't have to water whatever I  plant this weekend). Of course a myriad of details are still outstanding, like gutters, the fireplace mantle, three decorative attic vents on the exterior, completion of the floor-heating and air exchange systems, hooking up the downdraft vent, putting down quarter-round for the hardwood floor, window treatments for the South windows,... not to mention moving from Virginia. Some sides of the house look a little "bare" around the windows, so I'm contemplating shutters, although there are places where they just won't fit, mainly the porch areas.

November 5: Yesterday is the day to talk about. The counter- and vanity-tops were finally installed, which allowed the plumber and electrician to get the kitchen and bathrooms fully operational. Needless to say, I'm overjoyed to have a working kitchen. The countertops are darker than the sample I was shown when ordering them, but I'm pleased nonetheless. The 5-element cook-top (with surface touch-controls) and downdraft system on the kitchen island make me feel like a character from the bridge of the Enterprise on Star Trek, but Adam has still to put in a vent for the downdraft. Well into month number seven of this "project," I'm still frustrated by loose ends. The West side of the house is still without siding, although the siding contractor swears he'll be out this weekend, and he needs to finish up before the electrician can install the exterior lights, which would complete his contract. The floor-heating and air-exchange systems are still not finished (although the house is comfortable to live in). The excavator needs to bring out more fill-dirt, then top-soil, and finish the driveway (until which I can't get the truck into the garage). The weather has been dry and warmer,... ideal for such activity, but... where is he? As for me, I'm suffering from the after-effects of a cold, but tomorrow and Saturday I should be well enough to take advantage of the predicted 60-degree weather to plant those 100 daffodil bulbs. What else? Well, without leaves on the trees, the Southern sun is shining ("glaring") enough into the house to convince me of the necessity for window treatments that I originally didn't want, so there's another hurdle to jump. And although I want to get to Indiana and Virginia starting the week of November 16th to begin moving my possessions from "there to here," I won't make the trip until I can close the gate and be sure there's no one else who needs to get onto the property.

October 30: Adam and his helper came early this morning and put in the entertainment center cabinet, shelving and trim. It took about two hours, then they went off to another job. Adam said he'd be back tomorrow to caulk all over the place. The siding contractor should be out tomorrow and Sunday as well to work on the West side of the house. I called the countertop company and was told that they've set an installation date of next Tuesday (Nov. 3). I phoned the electrician to let him know, because he said he'd come out on countertop installation day and finish all of his work in the house. I need to let the plumber know as well. The new refrigerator is acting up again (not making ice or dispensing water), so I put in a service call for Monday afternoon. Today's weather is bizarre. It was 60 degrees this morning, but felt warmer. Then around 10 a.m. it became very windy, blowing in a cold front. It rained heavily last night, but there's no rain in the forecast for the next few days. Hopefully next week will be dry enough for the excavator to finish the driveway and ground around the house.

October 29: So much for planting those daffodil bulbs today. It's raining, and the temperature didn't get above 52 degrees. Yesterday the UPS truck didn't arrive until about 4 p.m., after which I closed the gate and called it a day. I called Adam this morning to let him know that the entertainment center cabinetry and shelves were here for installation (assuming he might want some indoor work on a rainy day). Nothing has been done today to finish the house.

October 28: Another relatively slow work-day, also overcast and chilly. A plumbing and heating worker was here for about three hours, put in the master shower-stall door and got the floor-heating working in all but the guest bedrooms. Apparently they're required to return to "home base" for lunch, after which they're re-dispatched,... in this case, NOT back to my house. It seems like a bad system. It would be better to finish a job and then move on, not "dabble" with numerous jobs. The cabinet maker delivered the maple headboard and cherry entertainment center cabinet and shelves,... all beautiful. I've been expecting UPS to deliver a teak shower-bench since 12:30 p.m., when they usually arrive, but it's almost 3:30 and he hasn't come. Me? I've been catching up on everything internet-related after a month out of touch.

October 27: Hurrah! High speed internet has been established at Grove House!!! The landscaper came out with two mature birch trees to plant: one near the house and one near the front gate. An appliance repairman came out at 3 p.m. or so and fixed the [new] refrigerator (one of the door-handles was chipped, and it needed a couple of replacement circuit-boards). Nothing else has being done and, since we're closing in on 4 p.m., I'm not expecting anything more to be done today (same as yesterday). Yes, I'm getting frustrated again. Still, as long as the countertops are installed this week, I'll be happy. The weather forecast is for dry and warmer conditions over the next few days (peaking at 60 on Thursday), so I hope to get those 100 daffodil bulbs in the ground before week's end. It's also favorable weather for getting in the last of the fill dirt, top soil and driveway gravel. We'll see. Adam is off on another job, and I haven't spoken with him since last Friday. There's still so much that needs to be addressed, and I'd like everyone to be done and gone by Halloween, so that I can enjoy the house in solitude before making a trip to Indiana and Virginia in mid-November.

October 23: "Down to details and loose ends." Still no high speed internet (over the phone line, which means it's not really broadband or DSL), so I asked the phone company yesterday if I could get a dial-up connection until they expand their server capacity (that's what's holding up my "broadband" service). Thus ends almost a month of silence here, and no access to the World Wide Web. What's NOT done, at this point, will be easier to describe than what IS done. The main obstacle to comfortable living inside the house is the absence of countertops for the kitchen and bathrooms. I'm hoping they'll be ready for installation by the end of next week (just before Halloween). Then the plumber and electrician can swing into action and get the sinks/faucets/dishwasher plumbed and the cook-top powered. The West side of the house has yet to be sided (we ran out of siding, oops), but another order of siding is on site. Gutters need to be installed, then more fill-dirt and top-soil. The driveway will probably finished next week, and until then I can't drive my truck into the garage (the door of which went in today). The floor heating and air exchange systems are still not finished, but the great-room floor-heat and HVAC are working. Carpeting, hardwood flooring and bathroom tiling is completed on the first floor. The huge master-bath shower-stall is completely functional (minus the absence of a shower-door), and I took my first shower in there yesterday, chuckling most of the time because of the Kohler "Rain Tile" in the center of the stall's ceiling, which delivers an absolute deluge: so much that I couldn't really use it in the absence of a shower door (there's a fixed and a hand-held shower-head in the stall as well, so I used those). My motto over the last six months has been "one day at a time," so I'm not sure about when I'll be able to make trips to Virginia (to meet with a mover) and Indiana (to remove my belongings from there). The onset of winter weather will probably make the move from Virginia impossible until spring 2010, but who knows (?). I have what I need to live here already, but it would be so much more comfortable with possessions from Virginia and Indiana. Between the dial-up internet and the absence of belongings from Virginia, I'm living a Spartan existence that reminds me of my condition when I graduated from college. This will be my second weekend of [blessed] solitude on the property.

September 27: (This will probably be my last entry until phone and internet service are established at the house.) How did I squeeze all this stuff into an efficiency apartment and still have room to move around?!? Adam arrived a little before 8 a.m. this morning and we made two trips up to the house with the bed, dresser and freezer chest. Both motorcycles are in the new garage, where I would like them to stay, and I hope to gawd a raccoon doesn't consider the seats to be good nesting material (as one did with the mower's seat), because the garage door won't go on until the end of the week. Dennis, the siding subcontractor, arrived at the house about 8:30 a.m. The home-page photo shows what he'd accomplished yesterday and today. Looks good, don't you think? Adam asked me to try and find out what Dennis's plans are for getting it done, but I didn't see Dennis again today. If Dennis doesn't keep up the pace, Adam and Craig will "fill in" to get it done. The great-room flooring is still a major issue, and Adam brought up (again) the subject of putting in the kitchen cabinetry before the hardwood floor goes down. I was opposed to this idea at first, mainly because any future changes to the kitchen would expose an unfinished floor (not that I envision any changes to the current layout in my lifetime). However, if this week's "moisture reading" indicates that we're still two or more weeks away from being able to put in flooring, I told Adam to proceed with installing the cabinetry. According to him, it's not an uncommon practice. Otherwise the occupancy permit would not be granted before mid-October. Back at the apartment, incredibly enough I still have at least one more truck-load of "stuff" to remove (tomorrow), not to mention cleaning. It looks as though Nigel and I will be spending the night here, sleeping on the floor.

September 26: Humidity in the great-room is at 40%, but Adam is being cautious about whether the flooring can be started next week. The moisture level in the floor will have to be measured again. Much to my surprise, the siding contractor was there, working around the power-box, so I should be able to arrange for phone/internet service on Monday. The basement drywall is painted, and the two workers from the drywall company were cutting down and cutting up (at my invitation) dead trees near the house. The fencing/gate contractor had arrived just before I left to replace a tire on his truck (which had been left on the land) and mentioned that the motor-box is indeed hooked up to electricity. He'll be back Monday with remotes, key-pad, etc. I'll take one more load of belongings up to the house this evening.

September 25: 8 p.m. I've just returned from taking a load of belongings up to the house and... damned if the A/C wasn't running in the house!!! Gimme attitude any day as long as you get the job done. Of course, this means that the moisture problem is behind us (I could hear the gurgle of condensation running into a drain-pipe in the basement), and sooner rather than later the great-room floor can be started. There are a total of three dehumidifiers running in the house now, and it appeared that the commercial dehumidifier was yielding some flow again. It means that there might be, after all, a working kitchen within two weeks and, with that, an occupancy permit before mid-October. As the siding issue has been dragging on and on, I've been hoping for some time now that Adam and his helper, Craig, would "take it on" if Dennis won't knuckle down. According to Adam, he was going to ask Dennis "yes or no." I don't know Dennis's answer yet, but I'll find out Sunday morning when Adam comes to help me move the three heavy items out of the apartment. Well, I've read the installation instructions for the siding, and it's not rocket science. Finally, I could see that some additional tiling had been done in the guest bathroom, but it's not finished. The basement is full of painted trim and shelving and, depending on the moisture level in the basement, one of the drywall contractors will spray-seal/prime the drywall in the basement tomorrow.

Part 1. When I left the property at 9:30 a.m., the only people doing any work on the house were the drywall contractors, in the basement. Adam just called, and the garage door is not coming until next Thursday, so I'm going to have to put the motorcycles in the basement. With rain today and tomorrow, the path to the basement walk-out door (which is wide enough for motorcycles) will be mud, mud, mud. Won't that be fun! I was expecting the flooring contractor to be there to at least tile in the guest bathroom. The siding contractor showed up while the three appliances were being brought in, and then left because it was raining. The commercial dehumidifier didn't seem to be pumping out any water, but the humidistat read 60% in the great-room. I called the plumbing company and asked what had happened with getting the HVAC system running, and he not only made excuses, but I could sense a bit of attitude on his end. Like I care. I'm not the one who bit off more than he could chew. The electrician had not put outlets in the vaults. Well, I have no choice but to throw up my hands in despair and concentrate on moving everything out of this apartment. My gawd, what's that dead thing in the bottom of Pandora's box?!?

September 24: Part 2. Back up on the land at 5:30 p.m. with four boxes of "stuff," I was glad to see the new front gate almost finished (but not actually "working"); a key-pad and electric eyes need to be installed. I took a number of photos, so avail yourself of a peek at the WI Photo Gallery. OK, so inside the house some lights had been left on, but none of the ventilators or ceiling fans were running, so I set them all in motion. The humidistat in the great-room read a promising 50% humidity; the basement is another matter, but the dehumidifier I'd bought earlier in the week had been put down there. I've rented the commercial dehumidifier for a week (until next Wednesday), so I'm pretty confident that the great-room flooring can be started by October 1, allowing kitchen cabinetry to be installed by October 5 at the latest,... thus allowing for counter-top measurements, manufacture and installation, plumbing hook-up and inspection by,... oh,... October 15 (hah!). The bathrooms should be tiled and the bedrooms carpeted by the middle of next week. No sign of the siding contractor again today, and I can't get phone/internet service established until he puts siding around the main power box. At this rate the house won't be sided until Christmas! Tomorrow I might suggest to Adam that we hire a qualified "someone" from [way] out-of-town to put up the siding. I'd be happy to pay his hotel bill if only he'd get the siding on before the cold weather comes.

Part 1: Well, the electric gate was done when I left at 11:45 a.m., although the electrician will have to come out and connect the wiring. The side-fencing has yet to go in, maybe this afternoon. The guest bath floor is tiled and grouted, as is the laundry room floor, so the washer and dryer will be delivered tomorrow morning along with the basement refrigerator, and a toilet might be plumbed tomorrow as well. Two plumbers were busy all morning in the basement, but the HVAC system hasn't been fired up, so moisture is still a big problem on both floors. I have no choice but to agree that the wood flooring should not go down until conditions are optimal. The flooring contractors will return tomorrow to continue work in the bathrooms, concentrating on the guest bath first, so that the plumber can get the shower working. As things stand, I hand over the keys of this apartment to the property manager next Tuesday morning. It's impossible for me to sleep past 6 a.m. now, as I wake up in a mild panic about what needs to be done before "checkout time." Anyway, I plan to go up again later today with another load of "stuff," so I'll try to take some photos if everyone's gone.

September 23: Today's top story is the moisture in the house and Gypcrete floor. The flooring contractor measured the moisture and said, "No way" (thereby setting things back another week). So Adam asked me to rent a commercial dehumidifier, which I did after noon, and it was busy removing gallons of moisture per hour when we left at 4:30. All of the ceiling fans and bathroom ventilation fixtures have been installed, so I set them in motion to help move and remove humidity. I don't know whether the moisture problem kept the flooring contractor from finishing the laundry room and guest bath floors, but they didn't show today. Neither did the siding contractor, who vowed to me Monday that he'd re-start the job today. The area around the electric-box needs to be sided before the phone company will connect the line. I suggested to Adam that he find another siding contractor and he almost laughed. Apparently it would be next to impossible to find one that isn't swamped with calls for hail-storm damage repair. That damned hail storm again!!! Anyway, back to the beginning, I drove up to the land at 6:30 this morning, expecting to be alone long enough to take some photos, but the electrician and plumber were already there (not that I'm complaining). Since it was too wet to work outside, and I didn't want to "hover" in the house, I drove back to town to stock up on light bulbs. I didn't go back up until Adam called and asked me to rent the dehumidifier, which is when I discovered that the HVAC system hadn't been finished (the condenser had been delivered but not hooked up, fiddle-dee-dee) and that the siding contractor was a no-show. While I was there, Adam and his assistant put up the laundry-room cabinetry (four feet tall and the length of the laundry room (about 8.5 feet), so there's plenty of space for me to empty the pantry closet in the apartment). The basement vaults are finished except for an outlet in each, which the electrician will do when he puts all the outlets in the basement, after the drywall is primed on Saturday.

September 22: Rain in moderation,... a good thing. Up on the land just before noon, I found the electrician, and the drywall and flooring contractors all going at it. The building site became such a bee-hive of activity that at one point there were 10 vehicles around the house. The plumber had done quite a lot of work in the basement, and returned after lunch to do more, which involved asking me where I wanted the hot water heater. I asked about the location of the whole-house water filter, and it's a good thing I did, because it hadn't been ordered. Fortunately, the plumbing wasn't yet hooked up where it's supposed to go. Adam and his helper arrived around 12:30. I then made a quick run into town to get more fluorescent light-bulbs and hard-wired smoke alarms for the electrician, who is really on a roll. A representative of the insulation company was there, calculating what they'd done for billing purposes. I heard Adam ask him to have the attic and eaves spaces treated with blow-in insulation before the end of the week. When I left at 2:30, the laundry room was tiled (but not grouted) and the guest-bath floor was almost completely tiled as well, and one fellow was preparing the great-room floor with some sort of filler. The basement was also completely dry-walled and lock-sets were on the vault doors. I then dropped by the plumber's offices to clear up an issue with the toilets I'd specified, but also took the opportunity to ask about the whole-house water filter and the condenser for the HVAC system. The water filter will be in before the end of the week, and the condenser unit was on their loading dock. If the soil is sufficiently settled where the condenser is to go (between the two Southwest retaining walls), the HVAC system might be ready for use tomorrow afternoon, which would be a great help in getting moisture out of the first floor. I'd brought a dehumidifier up from the back vault and set it to work in the great-room, and Adam said he'd bring out another one tomorrow. The great-room sub-floor needs to be dry before the maple plank flooring can be installed, and a number of things are "on hold" until that floor is down (namely kitchen cabinetry and interior doors and trim). All-in-all, I'm impressed by Adam's "mustering of the troops."

September 21: Part 2. The fencing contractor was leaving as I arrived at 4 p.m. They've removed the old horse-gate and have the front gate motor-pedestal and hinge-pole done (the hinge-pole is set in concrete four feet deep). No more hopping out of the truck to open or close the front gate!!! The insulator was still working in the basement with two walls left to spray. Adam's assistant had indeed put in the two steel vault-doors in the basement, but the insulator had covered the back vault door with plastic, so I couldn't get to the dehumidifier to put it upstairs. On the first floor, the flooring contractor had put down mortar (leveled) the floors of the laundry-room and guest bath and brought out boxes of tile. Adam returns to work tomorrow, and I hope the electrician will return as well to sink his teeth into the light fixtures, switches and outlets. Adam told me this morning that window and door trim would start going in tomorrow. I'd asked the siding contractor earlier in the day to begin siding (he said he'd be back Wednesday) near the outside power-box, because it needs to be done before the phone company can connect the phone lines, which I'd like to be done early next week. If only the plumbing/HVAC contractor would get the A/C and air exchange systems running, it wouldn't be necessary to worry about the moisture level inside the house. And finally, good news in the mail today: a check large enough to conclude my part in settling my parents' joint trust (of which family and friends are the beneficiaries).

Part 1. "When it rains it pours." Speaking of which, it did rain a bit up on the land, but not in town. There's more rain in the forecast for the next two days. Anyway, I spoke with the electrician at 8 o'clock this morning, and he was already out at the house working. Then I called Adam, who is driving back from Ohio today (I was wrong about which weekend he was taking his son to start classes at Ohio State). Among other things, he told me there's no way the basement could be "finished" by Friday, but that still gives me some wiggle-room. I thought he'd be out of town next Monday, and wouldn't be available to help me move the three heavy items in the apartment, which can just be covered with plastic sheeting when they spray-seal the basement drywall next week. When I drove up at 10 a.m., the insulators were preparing to do more spraying in the basement, which they hope to finish today. Soon after, the fencing contractor arrived, talked with the electrician, and began on installation of the new electric front gate. Then the siding contractor drove up and apologized for taking so long to do his work. He'd come up to cover the stacks of siding with a tarp because of the weather forecast, but I'd already done that Saturday when I saw rain in Sunday's forecast. While we were talking, up drove one of Adam's co-workers with the doors for the basement vaults, but he probably won't put them in today because the insulators are spraying down there (the insulators wear body-suits and full-face masks, so it's not safe to work down there today without protection). I suggested he work on shelving for the various closets instead. Over the weekend, I drove up to the land four times with loads of "stuff" from the apartment and put it all in the back vault, in which the humidity was about 90% (I'd put a humidistat in there Friday night),... so I purchased a dehumidifier Sunday morning and set it to work in the vault. This morning the humidity in the vault was down to 60% and the collection tub was full. When I go back up late this afternoon, I'll close up the first floor and run the dehumidifier up there. What else? I bought a full-sized refrigerator to go in the basement (with no freezer unit,... I already have a freezer chest for the basement), which will be delivered Friday. Since the kitchen won't be finished for up to two weeks after my move-in, I needed someplace to put all the items that are in the apartment's refrigerator, and an "auxiliary" refrigerator is something that lots of people have in their basement or garage.

September 18: Adam has earned himself a reprieve from being "talked to." I went up to the land after 1 p.m. and found the spray-insulators getting ready to insulate a couple of walls, and they agreed to also finish spraying in the back under-porch vault so that I could start moving things into it. And, whaddya know, the great-room and entries' floors had been leveled and sealed. The bedroom floors will need to be leveled as well, but there's no hurry (what am I saying!?). The bathroom and laundry-room floors (all to be tiled) will be dealt with by the flooring contract. I called the flooring contractor to be sure he knew the direction I want the planks to run (East to West), and to confirm that I need the guest bath finished first. He's still concerned about moisture in the floor, and will be out next Wednesday with a moisture-meter. Until then, and depending on the moisture level, the great-room floor won't be started. I was a little disappointed that the garage door isn't going in this week, because it would have spared me the necessity of covering the cabinetry with plastic before the predicted rains. It should go in no later than the end of next week, so I'll be able to store the motorcycles in the garage by the time my lease is up. All-in-all, I feel better about things than I did yesterday. Even the mail contained good news: the last signed form I need to do my part in settling my parents' joint trust. Anyway, depending on how things go in the basement next week, it's looking as though I'll be able to get out of the apartment without a "scramble."

September 17: I can sum up this morning in one sentence: I'm about ready to shed tears of frustration. The plumber was in the basement working on under-floor piping, and I should be overjoyed to be getting ANY attention from the plumber, but... there was no one else there, and the great-room floor hadn't all been leveled (much less none of the floors in other rooms). I was SO tempted to call Adam and ask "Where the _______ are you and your crew!?!" I just walked away in a fit of despair, did some watering (still no rain until, maybe, Monday) and left at 11:30. Every day the basement isn't insulated and dry-walled is another day pushing me "between a rock and a hard place." I have no choice but to assume that I must vacate this apartment, and I can't start doing that until the basement is finished. Less than two weeks now remain on this lease, and if that basement isn't ready by next Friday at the latest, I'm screwed. So, that's it for now. I'll probably go back up later this afternoon, when all the grassy areas are dry, to mow where I intend to plant the daffodils, and get the mail. -- pause -- I did indeed go back up at 4 p.m. to mow, and spent the entire time dreaming of a thousand ways to tell off Adam and his subcontractors, because the only change I could find in the house was that someone had "dabbled" at leveling the great-room floor. He's doing side jobs,... storm damage repairs, of course. If I don't see something to make me happy tomorrow, it will be Adam's turn to receive a "come to Jesus" talk. Eight weekdays remain until I surrender the apartment; twelve days until it will have taken five months to get how far on the house?

September 16: Results of the blood test were fine. Actually, she thinks I may no longer have a blood-sugar problem (Type 2 Diabetes). I ran into the property manager this morning. Bad news. There's an application pending for this apartment for October 1st, and this is the only studio apartment scheduled to be available. Unless the application is rejected, I'll need to be out before the end of the month after all. So much for a "graceful entrance" into the house. Anyway, I drove up to The Grove at 10 a.m., and apparently passed Adam going back to town to get some floor-sanders, because the planer blades were no match for the Gypcrete. Without my noticing, two of his helpers returned at 1 p.m. and started in on the floor, and it was still proving to be slow and difficult work. Shortly thereafter, the cabinet-maker arrived with a BIG trailer full of cabinetry. It's beautiful, but it's all sitting in the garage for now, and that doesn't make for much of a photo. As for the siding, Dennis apparently came out at some point yesterday afternoon and removed it carefully enough to damage only a few pieces. According to Adam, he had a "come to Jesus" talk with Dennis. I told him to have the same talk with the plumber. Well, once the basement is insulated and dry-walled (middle of next week?), I can start moving out of here, and hopefully by October 1st there will be a working toilet and shower (though without counter-tops, there will be no sinks). Adam is pushing to have the great-room flooring started tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath.

September 15: Good doctor's appointment this morning, unless the blood work shows something unexpected. You may remember that Adam built her (the doctor's) house. We swapped stories, and she was surprised Adam was still using the same plumber. Apparently they were responsible for a three-to-five week set-back on her house. The painters were finished and cleaning up when I arrived on the land at 11 a.m. I stuck the siding installation instructions between a shingle-sheet and the outside wall. What Dennis has done so far will have to be removed and redone so as not to void the warranty. He's been nailing them on in a part of the siding the instructions specifically say not to. On leaving, I noticed an "OK to Dig" flag near the front gate, so there must be some progress on the new gate. It's too hot and sticky to work outside, and we're going on two-and-a-half weeks without rain, with none forecast for the rest of the week. Tomorrow's high is expected to be 10 degrees cooler than today. Of course, I spoke with Adam about the installation instructions, told him the painters were done, and asked that the drywall in the basement be "finished" up to (and including) the point of a primer-sealer coat. If the basement must be insulated and dry-walled, it might as well look finished. He said they'd be out tomorrow to plane down the floor-framing and would bring de-humidifiers to get the moisture out of the house and floor. No word from the apartment manager yet, but maybe she's decided to just mail me an addendum.

September 14: So, the house will not be ready for occupancy by the end of September, and I've decided on waiting until the occupancy permit is granted. Although flooring may start to go down by this Friday, I'm told that it may take a week-and-a-half to complete. Even if they focus on tiling the guest bath and putting down the great-room/kitchen floor, there's no way the cabinetry could be installed and measured for countertops,... countertops manufactured and installed,... plumbing hooked up and approved,... until, oh, I'd say, the second week of October. On the "progress" side of things, the plumber did some work in the basement early this morning, and primer went over the wall-texture. Tomorrow a final coat of paint will be applied, and Adam can plane down the floor framing Wednesday and Thursday, then apply a sealer. The Cabinetry will be delivered Wednesday, and the garage door might go in this Thursday or Friday. There's a chance the basement will be insulated this week, after which Adam can put in the basement vault doors, then I can finally empty the bed of my truck, which still holds most of what I brought back earlier this month from Indiana. Adam and I both had some concerns about the siding installation, and I assume he'll talk with Dennis about it (I've just downloaded the manufacturer's installation instructions, which I'll give to Adam tomorrow, and it appears that Dennis is not nailing it down in the right location of the shingle panel, which would void the warranty). I called the property manager for this apartment building and left a message about staying through October, but haven't heard back yet. UPS delivered an order of 100 daffodil bulbs and the driver, who owns a big parcel in the neighboring county, asked me if I was going to have the driveway black-topped. I said I wanted to keep "the country look," after which he listed all the disadvantages of gravel under winter conditions, especially given the slope of my driveway entrance. Let's just say that black-top is looking a lot more attractive to me now, but it wouldn't be done until next spring or summer, after the gravel has been packed down and been through a season of freeze and thaw.

September 13: (Sunday) It's almost 7 p.m. and I've just returned from closing the front and back doors of the house, as I did last night as well. Adam says there's still too much moisture from the Gypcrete. I'd gone out this morning to open the doors and found the soffit and siding contractor working on the back porch, and he'd obviously started on the siding after I left at 1:30. I'd also gone out to the property yesterday morning, and Adam drove up right after me. We had rather a long chat with lots of information and opinion exchanged, but it mostly boils down to his frustration with his subcontractors (plumber, garage door, roofing, Gypcrete). He feels they're making him look bad. The only news that I found troubling was that the Gypcrete had shrunk down as it dried, so it's no longer level with the two-by-fours (which run the full length of every room at 16-inch intervals). The floor will have to be leveled before flooring can be put down, and the Gypcrete contractor had washed his hands of the problem after recommending a layer of filler material. Adam felt, during our conversation, that it would be a more durable surface if he and his son would plane down the wood to Gypcrete level, but it would delay flooring by a couple days (which would delay cabinetry installation, which would delay countertop measuring and delivery, which would delay the plumbing fixtures installation, which would thus delay the occupancy permit into October). Primer will be sprayed over the wall texture tomorrow, and a final coat of paint will be applied Tuesday. So Adam wouldn't be able to plane down the wood (if that's what he still wants to do) until Wednesday. I never thought I'd get used to this kind of news, but I have. There are 12 full working days remaining before I'm supposed to surrender this apartment. It would break my heart to have to call the property manager and ask for another month in this apartment, but it might come to that. After all this time and money and angst, I'd rather move into a house that's completely ready for me. Oh, hell, now that I think on it, the best thing might just be to "take the pressure off" and announce that I'd settle for moving in just before Halloween. I'll call the property manager tomorrow and see what she says.

September 11: Still no rain, so after paying for the appliances I drove up to the land to do some watering. The drywall contractors were spot-patching in preparation for textured spray-painting. Around 11 a.m., the well-pump contractor drove up to take a sample of the well water for final approval. I left at noon and passed the soffit and siding contractor driving up. Later, after 6 p.m., I drove up again, to get the mail and, yes, check on progress. Texture-painting is done, although I suspect there may yet be a final coat of paint to go on the walls. All doors to the house were open, so that the walls would dry, and I closed them before leaving. Soffit and ceiling work had been done on the back porch. Dennis, the soffit and siding contractor, works on weekends, so it's possible he'll sink his teeth into it over the next two days. Frankly, there hasn't been enough progress to make me happy over the last two days, but next week should be busy, busy, busy. It's hard to believe that in 20 days (come hell or high water) I will have put this dismal little apartment behind me forever and Grove House will be my home. Somehow it won't be "real" until I've lived in it for a few days.

September 10: Sadly, nothing was done at the house today except for delivery of the siding. The day was hot and muggy, so I didn't go up to the land until about 5 p.m. About 6 p.m. a worker for the drywall company, Josh, drove up to drop off a spray-painting hose for tomorrow. We ended up talking about this and that for at least 30 minutes. A few days ago I'd invited him to deer-hunt on the land (bow and rifle) when the seasons arrive. Somehow we also got on to the subject of firewood, which he actually uses to heat some areas of his house, so I ended up telling him he was welcome to any of the smaller trees (his preference) that were standing dead,... and there are quite a few. I could certainly use some help clearing them out, and I already have plenty of firewood for this winter. I left at 7 p.m. as the sun was setting, beautifully. Anyway, I took my appliance order (nine items in all) to the retailer this morning so he could work up a price, which I'll go in and pay tomorrow. Unless something is back-ordered, they should all be "in" before the end of next week.

September 9: It's 09/09/09. And the Gypcrete floor was poured this morning. Hurrah! And WHEW! Apparently Adam kinda chewed out the plumber's representative, so they not only got the floor heating pipes down yesterday, but finished the in-wall work in the basement. That means the spray-in insulation can be done down there, and then dry-walling. The steel doors for the under-porch vaults arrived at ProBuild, and Adam will install them next week, after the vault ceilings are insulated. Texturing and painting of the first floor walls will be done tomorrow and/or Friday, then flooring will start going down. The cabinet-maker is finished with all the cabinetry and will bring it out early next week. The siding will also be delivered next week, and Adam will start on interior trim. Tomorrow or Friday I'll order the appliances, which should take no more than a week to arrive. I'll have to label next week: "Sprint to the finish-line." I arrived at 11:30 this morning to find the gate left open by the Gypcrete contractor, who had finished and left earlier. Most of the windows and doors were open to help the Gypcrete dry, and Adam will go up later today to close up the house. I could see that more work had been done on the front porch and that the electrician had put in a receptacle for the back-porch ceiling fan (but had forgotten to hook up the electricity for the front gate). I took some photos and walked back to the shed via the tomato patch, which should yield a number of ripe tomatoes over the weekend. Wanting to wait until the mail arrived, I walked through the Old Field to the Northwest corner where all the birches are, then over to the mulberry tree (which is in "full fruit" with thousands of sweet berries). It became very overcast and breezeless, warm and muggy, and there's a slight chance of rain in the forecast, but it hasn't rained since I left for Cincinnati on August 30th. Feast or famine. I learned yesterday from a local that Platteville had been declared a disaster area from the hail storm, which means the insurance companies will get all their exorbitant payout money back from the taxpayers. What a scam!

September 8: "Treasure Hunt." The house took a back seat to my teeth today. When I made the dental appointment, I didn't realize it would be the day after the Labor Day weekend. And at 8 a.m. no less! What was I thinking!?! Yes, I was suspicious when they told me it would be a two-hour appointment. It's the first time in my life that a semi-annual "cleaning and exam" amounted to two hours and $300. Oh, they're all as sweet as pie, especially the lovely young dentist, pregnant with her third daughter. But, as she put it, she was "surprised" that there was so much "wrong" in my mouth. She actually questioned whether I'd been receiving regular dental care. Well, I can't remember the last time I didn't see a dentist every six months OR LESS! Now I have a November 19 appointment for a "plan of treatment" meeting (at no charge, of course). I'm thinking I may have to miss that appointment and find another dentist. It's been at least 20 years since I parted company with the last dentist (in downtown D.C.) who had grandiose plans for my teeth, none of which proved necessary. As for the house, it's a "can't bear to watch" kind of day, but I did speak to the electrician about connecting the gate wiring to the main electric box, and about putting in a receptacle for the back-porch ceiling fan. If the plumber hasn't put down the floor-heating pipes, then the floor can't be poured tomorrow, and that would be an end to the hope of having the house ready for occupancy by the end of this month.

September 6 (Sunday): Wanting to take some photos inside the house, I drove up to the land about 11 a.m., also with the intention of watering the [sad] tomato patch and the five new spruces that were planted Friday in the old field (see WI Photo Gallery). Next spring I'll put the tomato patch close to the West side of the house and start the plants from seed. As for the house, all of the first floor walls have a coat of primer paint on them, and the final coat of paint will be applied after the Gypcrete floor is poured. That's scheduled (FIRMLY!) for Wednesday, so all of the sub-floor framing and heating pipes will need to be down by the end of Tuesday. What with tomorrow being Labor Day, I don't know how that's going to work, especially with "the damned plumber" involved. Aside from the primer on the walls, the only change I could find was that someone had "dabbled" in applying some exterior sheeting to the eaves of the front porch (see WI Photo Gallery), and there were five more boxes of the sheeting in the garage. As for the weather, the high today was 80 degrees and sunny but hazy. There's an air quality alert in effect through Tuesday because there isn't enough wind to clear the air of "particulate matter" that could affect people with respiratory problems. The "alert" states: "The general populace will not be affected." I love the jargon! The leaves of the elms and walnut trees are turning yellow and falling, probably because the overnight temperatures are in the low 50s. Autumn is just around the corner, and tomorrow is the unofficial end of summer. I'll be 52 years' old before the house is finished. What a thought!

September 4: "Dazzle Fizzled." Driving up to the land at 10 a.m. (and having forgotten to take the camera) after five days away from it, I was "crushed" (as Mom used to say) to find so little accomplished. The drywall contractors were finishing up the first floor, and the front and back porch columns had been installed, but none of the other things I was hoping for had been accomplished. Basement in-wall plumbing was not done, so the basement hadn't been insulated and dry-walled as I expected. The under-porch "vaults" still had no doors, so I couldn't unload most of the "stuff" I'd brought up from Indiana. No progress on the front gate was apparent, nor had the wiring been hooked up to the electric supply. Adam's "promise" to have the house ready for occupancy by October 1st is the only thing preventing me from screaming at someone (or just "screaming" for screaming's sake). Despondent, I returned to the apartment in town, but at noon received a call from the landscaper. Ahead of schedule, they had time this afternoon to plant another five 5-foot blue spruce trees that I'd ordered back when I picked up the two ornamental pear trees a month ago. So, I had to go back up to the land to show him where I wanted them planted. I mowed down a section of the Western ridge-top where I wanted the trees to go, and mowed down the cycle path as long as I had the mower out. It hadn't rained since I left last Sunday, but it's amazing how high the grass had grown. Anyway, the landscaper and I had a look at the one out of fifty two-foot spruces I'd planted in the spring and decided not to declare it dead until next spring. Although it isn't showing any new growth, he didn't seem to believe it was dead. I love a late-bloomer, being one myself.

August 29: It was actually chilly today, but not the autumnal kind of chilly. At noon the temperature was 60 degrees, windy, partly sunny and dry (as opposed to humid). Before driving up to the land at noon, I had stopped by Adam's house, to meet his wife and three sons, and possibly talk with Adam about a few things. They were holding their yard sale today, and Adam showed up about 15 minutes after I arrived. Beginning with asking Adam to remind the drywall contractor to chain the gate when leaving, we ended up chatting for quite a while. I learned that the HardieShingle siding had been in (but not delivered) for almost a week and a half, waiting on the soffit/siding contractor to set a date. When I arrived at the land, I could tell by the way the gate-chain was wrapped that someone had been up there since I'd left late yesterday afternoon, although I could find no evidence of change. That could mean that the inspector had checked on things, or that some "nosey-Parker" had trespassed. Lordy, let's get that electric gate installed, so that no one can just drive in without the access code! Anyway, now that there's room in the shed, I attached the seat to the riding mower and prepared to put it in the shed, but decided to try a little mowing first. Alas, the ground was still too wet to do much. I was surprised to discover from the rain-gauge that nearly another quarter-inch of rain had fallen on the land since yesterday evening, but not here in town. And that's it for the next five days or so. I'm off to Cincinnati tomorrow with Nigel and the motorcycle trailer in tow. I plan on bringing the 2000 Harley Sportster 1200 back with me, since Adam has expressed an interest in buying it.

August 28: Nothing much to report for today. I went up about 4:30 p.m. and the gate had been left open again. Taping and filling of drywall was well along. Adam had framed in a foot-wall for the air-tub in the master bath. There was no sign that the plumber had done anything in the basement today. Perfect weather: dry, breezy, mostly sunny and moderate temperatures.

August 27: More bloody rain, all day! It was still drizzling when I drove up to the land at 7 p.m., to get the mail, check on progress and take some photos. The rain-gauge registered more than half an inch. The gate was open, probably because a contractor forgot to close it up. No harm done. I look forward to having the electric gate installed, hopefully by the end of next week. The garage walls and ceiling were dry-walled, and the plumber had FINALLY finished work on the first floor (including delivery of the master-bath "air tub"), and was obviously starting on work in the basement. The captions in the WI Photo Gallery again tell much of the tale for today. I hope to be "dazzled" when I return from my trip to Cincinnati this Sunday (returning Wednesday, Sept. 2). It's been almost 5 months since Dad's funeral, and about 6 months since I rented this apartment. By the time I "vacate" this little apartment, seven months will have passed since I moved up here to oversee the building of my new home. Any wonder I'm a bit "impatient"?

August 26: The photos I took this evening tell most of the tale (on the home-page and in the WI Photo Gallery). In addition to the information in the photo-captions, a load of gravel was spread around in front of the shed, and I forgot to take a picture of the propane tank "cap," which doesn't look as I expected. It's black and larger than I was led to believe, but most of it will eventually be hidden by the final layer of top-soil. The supply line still needs to be "fed" through the concrete foundation, which I assume is the plumber's job (along with all the other things they need to do in the basement before it's insulated and dry-walled). Also, the electrical wiring for the front gate had been "run" and buried up to the main power box. I'll need to let the electrician know that it's ready to be connected, so that the new front gate can go in next week. That's it for now. "Fiddle-dee-dee, tomorrow is another day."

August 25: Adam wasn't able to drive me up to the land until 1 p.m., just in time to meet with the excavator about the propane tank location and a few other matters. We decided that a fourth boulder-retaining wall is called for at the Northwest corner of the house. Two guys were inside hanging drywall, which will continue all week. Finishing and painting the drywall will consume all of next week. The cathedral ceiling is all closed in and still spacious enough to please. The plumber had only one first-floor in-wall task remaining (tub/shower supply-lines in the guest bath), and the HVAC unit had been installed in attic space above the basement stairs. Plumbing, propane supply-line and air-exchange ducting in the basement are an entirely different story that needs to be completed before insulation and drywall can go in down there (next week). I asked Adam to insulate the interior walls between the great-room and guest-bedrooms as an added precaution against noise travelling between the three spaces, even though there will be a total of four sheets of drywall and solid-filled doors between them. After making sure the excavator and I were on the same page, I drove into town to meet with the front gate contractor and give him a deposit. We discussed safety issues that hadn't even crossed my mind, so the gate will now be set back 32 feet from its current location, with three "electric eyes" to ensure that the gate doesn't open if its path is obstructed by a vehicle or pedestrian. He estimates that he might have the gate installed by the end of next week. After that, I dropped off a check for the flooring contractor, then called it a day, having slept very badly last night. The weather is evenly overcast, warm and muggy, but there are lower temperatures and a chance of rain in the forecast for the next few days.

August 24: Having spent the morning on the motorcycle, I've decided to leave it in the garage in town (with the manager's permission) until I vacate the apartment. I called Adam to ask for a ride up to the land tomorrow morning (when he said he'd be going). He told me the dry-wall is being hung and the HVAC/plumber is there working. The plumber apparently wanted the dry-wall hanging to stop, but Adam said something like "You've known about this schedule for weeks. The dry-wall is going up." Go Adam! Anyway, this is going to be a blessedly short entry, since I'm just going to finish a movie and do some reading.

August 23: Beautiful weather again today, with very little wind, making it a good day to light the burn-pile. When I arrived at the land, I could tell someone had been there since I left yesterday, because the gate was chained differently. The fire was just getting started when Adam drove up. His family was getting ready for a yard sale for next weekend, and he thought he'd come up and check out the house. Actually we talked longer than it took him to check. Every conversation with him is an education in home building, like what goes where and why, etc. As for what he's planning to happen and when, it seems that the delay of Gypcrete isn't really an obstacle to the occupancy date. The next two weeks will be consumed by the hanging of drywall and (keep those fingers crossed) finishing up "in-wall" work by the HVAC/plumber. The week of August 7, Adam and the plumber will then need to get the first floor ready for Gypcrete on the 9th, after which the great-room's wooden floor will go down, followed by cabinetry on the 11th (Friday) or 14th (Monday). Measuring for the counter-tops will follow installation of the cabinetry, giving the contractor plenty of time to get them installed so that the plumber can put in sinks and faucets. With that done, the house should technically be ready for occupancy. I gather that "finished working kitchen and lavatory facilities" is the key. The inspector (who probably has less building experience and less clout in this area than Adam), never did get in touch with Adam on Friday. He'd better get his ass out there tomorrow, before dry-wall starts going up. I was on the land today for about five hours and kept myself busy with the fire and other things, then left at 2 p.m. on the motorcycle (via the main driveway, which is a lot more "outbound" user-friendly with gravel down; although I have my doubts about "inbound"), leaving "Blue" (my truck) parked near the shed. I'm ashamed to admit that it's the first time I've ridden the motorcycle since I picked it up from winter storage in early April. It's just that the terrain between the shed and the county road is so hostile to such a heavy and powerful (6-speed, 1800 cc's) motorcycle. The path to the cycle-gate is as bumpy "as all get-out" and, when returning, an uphill gravel driveway isn't all that welcoming either. But in those seven miles from the property to the apartment building, I remembered what got me "hooked."

August 22: Remarkable. No rain today. And none in the forecast for days. It's a beautiful day; sunny, dry and breezy. I drove up to The Grove about 9 a.m. The rain gauge read a quarter-inch from yesterday's rain. I spent some time in the house, noticing little things I hadn't caught yesterday. The electrician had been out and done the three things I mentioned in yesterday's entry. Expecting a parcel with the mail today, I spent the entire time picking up storm debris and taking it to the burn-pile, which is big enough now to be lit. It's too windy today for burning, and still too wet for anything else, so I left after the mail arrived at 1 p.m. Putting it mildly, next week should be interesting. I'm hoping the siding will arrive, among other things.

August 21: Rain AGAIN, and bad news. The Gypcrete floor will not be poured until September 9 (two weeks off schedule) because of... yes,... the HVAC/plumber, who apparently "dropped the ball" on getting things ordered (too distracted by grasping for that insurance money, eh?). The master-bath tub, for one thing, needs to be "in" before Gypcrete is poured, and the HVAC unit needs to be in before drywall is finished. The cabinetry needs to be installed and the kitchen sink and faucet fixtures need to be "on site" before the counter-top company will come and measure. I drove up in the rain to The Grove a little after 11 a.m. and found the gate closed. At the house, drywall had been delivered and the electrician was finished in the basement except for a few details (the need for another wire-box for a second outdoor wall-sconce at the walk-out door and an outlet in each of the under-porch vaults). Adam also informed me that hanging drywall will not begin until next Monday. The flooring/tiling contractor called with his estimate, large enough to require moving money around, so he won't be paid until next Tuesday. I spoke with the excavator (who will be out next Tuesday afternoon to dig for the propane tank) about the fact that I think the tank would be better located in front of the house. I learned yesterday that the "cap" for the tank is very unobtrusive, and putting the tank near the front of the house would eliminate the need to run the supply line through ceiling space in the basement. The [floor-heating system] boiler and water heater will be under the kitchen space in the basement, which is the North-central (front) area of the house, so the supply line will have a shorter and more direct path of travel than if the tank was near the back of the house. While he's there on Tuesday, the excavator will also dig a trench for the wiring that connects the front gate to the house (at this point, the wires are "loose" in the woods, about 30 feet from the garage). At that time, we'll also talk about a location for any boulders that aren't needed to finish the West retaining walls. My vote is to use them to somehow hide the three caps of the septic tank. After learning from Adam about the Gypcrete delay, I called the cabinet maker, flooring contractor and electrician to let them know. In spite of this delay, it may still be possible that the house will be approved for occupancy by October 1st. The inspector is supposed to come out today and give an opinion as to whether everything "in the walls" is ready for first-floor dry-walling. I informed Adam that the insulator hadn't sprayed the outside walls of the garage, so that will have to be corrected soon. The basement will not be insulated and dry-walled until the plumber is finished and the propane supply line is connected. Only the ceilings of the "vault" spaces will be insulated, after which the electrician can install the large fluorescent fixtures I purchased for those areas.

August 20: A worker for the excavator was just leaving as I arrived at 1:30 p.m., having finished graveling the driveway from front gate to shed. He'll be back tomorrow with 10 yard of sand for around the propane tank (installation scheduled for next Tuesday) and 10 tons of gravel to spread in front of the shed. I called the gate contractor to let him know the gravel is down, as necessary before he could begin work. In the morning I drove out to the cabinet maker's shop to get the contract and estimate for the counter-tops, and he showed me my cabinetry (it should be delivered to the house next Friday, and Adam will put it in). The cabinet doors and drawers were already stained, and they look just as I'd hoped in color: honey-maple. I'm very pleased with his work, and was a bit surprised when he said he'd never made cabinets in maple before. I chose maple because it's very durable, light in color and less "grainy" than other woods. We also discussed the mantle-piece, which I'd prefer be one big piece of rough-cut wood, and he suggested we drive up to the mill together after he finishes his other two jobs. I had originally asked for cherry (because my living-/dining-room furniture is cherry), but cherry trees aren't really big enough around to allow for such a large, single piece of wood (the mantle will be 10 feet long, 12 inches deep, and 4 inches thick). He would have had to "build" the mantle out of cherry, but I hope we can find a suitable, single piece of wood in any other species that will fit the bill. The counter-top issue was resolved by the fact that the cabinet maker had been confused about the target occupancy date. He'd got it into his head that it was September 1st instead of October 1st. Back at The Grove it had rained another quarter-inch overnight, and I could see in the house that the first floor insulation is complete (except for the garage),... the HVAC duct-work is "in," and everything seems ready for the dry-wall contractor to start tomorrow. The electrician will be out tomorrow to work in the basement, which can then be insulated and dry-walled in good time. I suspect that the garage and stairwell walls weren't insulated because they're holding off until the HVAC unit (which will sit on a platform in the attic space above the stairwell) is lifted into place via the garage. Tomorrow I expect an estimate from the flooring/tiling contractor, which I'll have to go out and pay. There are more storms in the forecast for this afternoon and evening. Even the locals are beginning to grumble about this season's rains, although it's good for the crops.

August 19: Arriving at The Grove at 10 a.m., I was met with the pleasant surprise of finding the HVAC/plumbing contractor busy with duct-work for the high-velocity A/C system, which means that things MIGHT remain on schedule for a pre-October occupancy. The spray-in insulation contractor was finishing up with all first-floor insulation. The basement insulation will have to wait until after the electrician visits tomorrow or Friday, but that isn't an obstacle to the occupancy date. Oddly enough, a simple matter of kitchen and bathroom counter-tops may be the cause of a delay for the occupancy permit, but I'm working with the cabinet-maker to get that resolved. Installation of the propane tank, gravel driveway and electric gate are immediately pending as well, but it looks as though dry-wall will start going up on schedule (this Friday). Information on installation of the steel doors for the two "vault rooms" in the basement is delayed by the fact that Adam's father (employed by ProBuild, the building materials supplier) is on vacation this week. The morning's weather was lovely, but it rained all afternoon, and more storms (according to the radar) will visit us overnight.

August 18: No one was there when I arrived at noon after meeting with the cabinet maker to choose a wood-stain and countertop material. I could see that the basement framing was finished and a platform built in the attic space for the high-velocity HVAC unit. I called Adam, mainly to describe where I wanted the propane tank to go, in case I'm not there when they dig. He's angry with the plumbing/HVAC contractor for possibly causing a delay in the pouring of the Gypcrete floor (scheduled for next Wednesday). Adam will have to put two-by-fours every 16 inches over the existing floor-boards of the first floor and then floor-heating pipes will have to go in (also the plumber's job) AFTER dry-walling and BEFORE Gypcrete can be poured (you can imagine how hard it would be to work anywhere inside the house with two-by-fours and pipes on the floor). As I see it, the timing of all these things is being screwed up by the hail storm of three weeks ago. The plumber, along with many other contractors native to Platteville, have bitten off more than they can chew because they'll make an unusually high profit on storm-damage repair from insurance payouts. There you have the REAL villain in all of this: the insurance companies, which are paying out TWICE or more of what it would normally cost to fix the storm damage. Wonder where you're premiums are going? And the insurance money HAS to be spent or the difference returned: a system designed to corrupt even the most honest of people. Anyway, the cabinet maker said something this morning that made me re-think my "push" for the occupancy permit to be granted before Oct. 1st. He said that he could try ordering the counter-top material before having exact measurements (which would be after the drywall, Gypcrete and cabinets are all installed), and I told him not to do that. In my conversation with Adam, I told him that it was more important that things be done right, rather than "rushed" to accommodate my need to vacate the apartment by the end of September. I told him what I wrote here yesterday: I can always move everything out of here and in to the basement of the house, then fend for myself on the land (a working toilet and shower would be helpful).

August 17: Part 2. Sure enough, the second storm changed course at the Mississippi. I drove up to the The Grove after 6 p.m. to get the mail and take photos. Most of the first floor walls have been insulated, and the basement framing is almost done. Earlier in the day I had phone conversations with the propane company representative and the excavator. The propane tank is ready for delivery, but the excavator (who will also gravel the driveway) may not be available this week. They know each other, so I've stepped out as middle-man. Unlike UPS, FedEx doesn't have a key to the apartment building, so tomorrow morning I'll be stuck here waiting for a delivery.

Part 1. Rain, rain, rain. More in town than at The Grove, where the rain gauge read only a quarter inch since I emptied it yesterday. When it stopped raining, I drove up just to check on progress with the house. Adam and helpers were framing in the basement. The spray-in insulation contractors were just getting started in the front guest bedroom, but they won't have enough material to finish the whole house today, so they'll return Wednesday. By then the basement framing and wiring will be done, so the basement can be insulated then as well. The HVAC contractor came out to assess what needs to be done before dry-walling. Adam is sticking to the schedule of having the drywall started this Friday. A number of people have told me that once the drywall is up, "You're in the home stretch." Uh-huh. I have to be out of this apartment by the end of September, that's all I know. Push comes to shove, I suppose I could move everything into the basement of the house and "camp" on the land until the occupancy permit is granted. Imagine needing permission to occupy your own house. Anyway, it looks as though this will be another day trapped in the apartment. The NWS radar shows another large storm-front coming up from the Southwest. Unless it changes course at the Mississippi in the next hour, it's headed right for us.

August 16: Expecting to see the basement framed in, I drove up in the rain at 10:30 a.m., but only found evidence that "a little of this and a little of that" had been done since I left on Friday. No evidence of work on the HVAC system. The rain gauge registered just under half an inch, and there's more on the way. Although it stopped raining while I was there, it's very muggy and overcast, so I left after about 30 minutes, with yesterday's mail and a gallon of well-water for the potted plants at the apartment.

August 14: As of 1 p.m., the only activity on the house was the electrician coming out to put in a second recessed light fixture over the stairs to the basement, at my request. I wouldn't have asked, but I thought he had to come out anyway and address the inspector's concerns. Turns out he had "talked it out" over the phone with the inspector, who had failed to notice at least one outlet along the West wall of the great-room. I learned from the electrician the distinction between "blow-in" and "spray-in" insulation. What I've been calling blow-in insulation on the walls is actually spray-in. Blow-in goes in the attic. Although it's only 82 degrees, the humidity makes it feel as though I were back in Virginia. I was soaked after only an hour of mild exertion, so I really only "puttered" for a while, then decided to go on a photo safari around the property. There were 68 shots when I transferred the photos to the PC, but I often take 2 shots of subjects "just to be sure," so the "keepers" will be a smaller number. As for the house, I'm giving up on worrying over the fact that there was no sign of the plumber. I think the "spray-in" insulation can be done Monday with things as they are. The blow-in insulation, however, would make HVAC installation much more difficult. Adam said yesterday that he "might" come out today, but would definitely be out Saturday (tomorrow) with a friend to help him. I presume they'll do the basement wall framing so that spray-in insulation can go in down there on Monday as well.

August 13: Although I wasn't "pleasantly surprised" by what I found at the house this morning (the plumber and electrician were not there), it wasn't really a bad day. After a satisfactory hour in town with the flooring contractor, selecting wood flooring, tile and carpet, I arrived on the land at 10 a.m. to find Adam and his son sealing holes in the framing and caulking everywhere that the blow-in insulation won't cover. Adam has scheduled the blow-in insulation for next Monday, and the dry-wall should be done by the end of next week (on the first floor, at least). Adam also told me that Gypcrete for the first floor is scheduled to go in the first of September, after which the flooring contractor will install the ("caramel" maple) plank flooring for the great-room, and I'll be able to order the kitchen and laundry appliances. Basement framing lumber was delivered this afternoon, and I believe Adam hopes to have it done in time for the blow-in insulation contractor on Monday. As I left at 3 p.m., Adam was installing the door from the garage into the house, which means that no animals will now be able to wander in or out of the house. Having decided that mowing wasn't "urgent," I spent most of my 5 hours on the land picking up storm debris and tending to new plantings and isolated seedlings. From what I can tell, and with Adam's "promise" that the house will be ready for occupancy by the end of September, I'm trying not to get "stressed" about progress on the house.

August 12: The inspector had been there yesterday afternoon, and closed the pad-lock for the front gate, so my cell phone rang at 6:50 a.m. because the masons were locked out. Not wanting them to bother my neighbor for a key at that hour, I drove out to open the gate. After thanking the masons and settling up on the bill, I drove back to town for coffee, got cleaned up and picked up what I hope will be the last of the light fixtures I'll have to buy. With the fixtures in tow, I went back to the Grove and found Adam and his son working on framing the porches. Apparently the inspector did not give the "thumbs up" for insulation and drywall. He insisted on a couple more outlets for the West wall of the great-room and foam-filling for a number of holes drilled through the framing. Although Adam told me the plumber was done with all pre-insulation work, apparently he really isn't: the HVAC portion of the job (vents, the A/C unit, etc.) still has to be done before insulation and drywall. It's a set-back, in other words. I doubt the insulation or the dry-walling will start this week. The contractor who is going to gravel the driveway between the front gate and the shed can't get to it until early next week. Another set-back, which delays progress on the in-ground propane tank and an electric front gate, which is moving to the top of my "wants" list, because Adam's next customer has "dropped by" twice now, unannounced (and neither time was Adam there). I mean, how many times does he have to "visit" before recognizing that Adam is doing a good job? The wood flooring issue is settled, because the engineered wood, which can be glued down, is acceptable to me; it's a hefty layer of natural wood veneer over a few other layers of wood composite. I hope to meet with the flooring contractor tomorrow to select the color of wood flooring, as well as carpeting and tiles for the laundry room, bedrooms and bathrooms. I left the Grove before noon, having a one o'clock appointment in town, after which I decided to go back to the apartment and hope that tomorrow I'll be pleasantly surprised by signs of progress. There's no rain in the forecast for the next few days, so the conditions should be ripe for the mowing I need to do in the old field.

August 11: Except for the fact that I'm extremely pleased with the now-completed fireplace, as of 1 p.m. it's been an almost depressingly slow and quiet day compared to yesterday, which was filled with activity and numerous phone calls. My morning was taken up with estate settlement business, and I didn't get to Arcadia Grove until 11:30 a.m., just as the masons had finished with the fireplace and were packing up to leave. I'll meet them at the house tomorrow morning after they've finished washing down the stone face to remove excess mortar and other debris,... to say thank you and goodbye and, of course, settle up on the final bill. Although I could see that the plumber had been very busy after I left yesterday, and the guest bathroom tub had been delivered, I'm not sure everything is ready for pre-insulation inspection (but I'm no expert on these matters). After taking some pictures (including my "exciting" encounter with the hawk near the front gate), I "inspected" new plantings and isolated seedlings, waiting for the mail to arrive (which included the most detailed bill I've ever seen, from the well-pump contractor, and it was about 30% higher than I expected,... but I take comfort in the fact that I will never again in my lifetime receive another bill related to the actual "supply" of water). After yesterday's frenzy of phone calls with Adam and subcontractors, I need to step back and simply hope that in the next few days there will be some resolution to such things as the gravel driveway, the new front gate, the propane tank installation, pre-insulation inspection, pine-plank flooring,... oh, the list seems endless,... and now there's no doubt in my mind that this is something a person should only go through ONCE in their life, especially with this level of involvement and detail. On the one hand I feel fortunate in having the resources (thank you, Dad) to accomplish this project, but let's hope I live long enough to enjoy and do justice to the labors and expense involved!

August 10: The plumber was already pretty far along in his work when I arrived at 1 p.m. (hurrah!!!) We exchanged questions and answers. If he doesn't finish today, he'll certainly finish tomorrow, then the inspector has to come in and give the thumbs up before insulation and dry-wall go in. The electrician had been out and finished everything he needed to do before inspection. The masons had the lintel-stone in and a "plug" (temporary filler piece) for where the mantle will go. At the rate they were going, it looks as though they might even be finished with the fireplace today. Sorry, no photos today. I had to get back to town for a repair appointment in the apartment. It stormed again yesterday, and it's too warm and muggy anyway. I spoke with Adam, and he had forgotten about the gravel for the driveway. No problem. The propane supplier called and we've decided that a 500-gallon in-ground tank will suffice, with a fixed-price pre-paid purchase of 1,000 gallons of LP. Adam will arrange for the excavation and a supply of sand to go around the tank (the ground is very rocky and could damage the tank by direct contact).

August 8: More rain early this morning, and lots of it. I bought replacement light fixtures and took them up to the house, called the electrician to let him know, grabbed the box of little lights to be returned, then checked the rain-gauge in the tomato patch. It read two inches from the last two days. And lord is it muggy! Definitely a day I'd have the A/C on in the house. I made haste back to the air conditioned apartment, although I AM getting sick of being cooped up in here. Anyway, it's not a "work day" for the house, but the soffit and siding contractor works weekends, so he may be out today or tomorrow to finish the soffits.

August 7: Part 2. Afternoon thunderstorms did not materialize, but there was plenty of rain today, and I went up to the land at 4:30 for some "alone time" with my new home. As you can see in the WI Photo Gallery, the hearth is finished, and somehow it finally felt like a home. The last order of lighting and bathroom ventilation fixtures had obviously arrived, because I could see that the electrician had all three of the (lighted) bathroom ventilation fans installed (two for the large master-bath and shower-stall, and one in the guest-bath). In the basement I found the box containing the three light fixtures originally intended for the shower ceilings of both bathrooms, but appreciated the fact that the electrician opted not to install them. I must not have been paying attention when I ordered them, because they were all 50-watt low-voltage halogens about three inches in diameter. Hardly adequate or appropriate for those spaces. So I'll have to find something more suitable at the local home improvement store before Monday. There isn't time for any more on-line ordering, because everything "in the walls" has to be finished before insulation and dry-walling late next week. There was no indication that the plumber had been there, but I could see that Adam had done some framing under the roof of the front porch. As Adam told me a couple days ago, most of his work is done for now (except for framing in the basement). The next few weeks are mostly up to sub-contractors.

Part 1. More rain, "cats and dogs" as I type, with afternoon storms in the forecast. I picked up a ventilation fan for the guest bathroom and took it out to the house for the electrician, who was already at work when I arrived at 8 a.m. The masons were there, too, choosing stones for the fireplace. The roof is indeed finished, and the front door is in. No sign of the plumber, swamped with jobs from post-hail-storm damage. I spoke with Adam on the phone about getting a mantle for the fireplace, since the masons may need it Monday. The cabinet maker will probably get one, a thick piece of cherry (my living-room and dining furniture is all natural cherry). He's obviously well connected with the local mills. Adam said he was on his way out, but I left after we spoke. There's framing to be done in the basement before it can be insulated. The siding should arrive week after next. Much depends now on the plumbing and heating contractor, and ain't that bill gonna be a whopper! I'm still waiting for the bill from the well-pump contractor, who is also required to return after a few weeks for another test-sample of the water. That's it for today (so far), which makes up for yesterday's long entry.

August 6: Yesterday was a day off from the drama of being a "new home owner." So this morning it was nice to arrive and find the electrician, masons and roofers all going at it with zest. I had to leave before the roofers, at three o'clock, for a dental appointment in town, but the roof should be finished today. I met with the fencing/gate contractor again to finalize plans for the front gate, which will be 16 feet further up the driveway than it is now so that the motor box won't be on easement,... but before that really gets going the gravel (first thing next week) will have to go down over the breaker (base) of the driveway. After the meeting about the gate, the masons and I went to a quarry in Mineral Point, a 15 mile drive North, to pick out a hearthstone and three tons of stone for the face of the fireplace. Mineral Point was truly a charming little town with lots of handsome stone buildings and other interesting sites, so I'll have to take a day-trip up there sometime. One of the masons told me that the face of the fireplace is 81 square feet. As the "home page" photo shows, the chimney is done, and tomorrow they will begin on the face. Returning from Mineral Point, the flooring contractor was leaving the property, but we spoke a bit through truck windows. He'd left some wood plank samples with Adam, but the usual practice is to nail the planks down at every six inches, and the two-by-fours into which those nails would go are actually going to be 16-inches apart in my floor (remember, the floor heating system goes in two inches of space between the sub-floor and the final Gypcrete floor surface). More samples and information are on the way to help solve the dilemma. I really don't want an "engineered" product that can be glued down. Adam arrived around 1:30 p.m. or so and put in the basement walk-out door, and was working on framing for the front door when I left. The electrician was still there as well, and he should be finished with his pre-dry-walling work tomorrow morning. With any luck, the plumber will start work tomorrow. Anyway, my six hours of land-related activity were taken up with meetings, conversations, the trip to Mineral Point and a trip in to Platteville for more light fixtures. I didn't want to get dirty and sweaty anyway, so that I wouldn't have to change clothes for the dental appointment.

August 4: A lovely summer day. The electrician (thank gawd!) was hard at work when I arrived, as were Adam and the masons. Stairs to the basement were already done when I got there around 10 a.m. The plumber should be in later this week or early next week, because Adam wants all the blow-in insulation and dry-wall started by the end of next week. I talked with the electrician about "what goes where," and with Adam about ordering the garage door and the doors for the two vault-rooms in the basement. I also confessed to Adam my concerns about the house being ready for occupancy by the end of September, and he assured me that it would be. The front door "assembly" arrived while we were talking, and I like it, all painted steel and glass. A roofer is lined up to begin shingling, possibly tomorrow, starting as far from the unfinished chimney as possible. After taking some pictures, I left at 3 p.m., and Adam was getting ready to put in the basement walk-out door, the electrician was still going at it, and the masons had just left after cutting a hole in the roof-board for the chimney. The original design of the house included a "faux" fireplace (non-wood-burning), and no provision was made for where a chimney would come up through the roof, so there was some concern that it might be in the middle of "valley" of roof-lines. Turns out it comes up right along the edge of a valley, which is good. Since there was merely a light breeze all day, I burned the two piles of storm debris and then planted the second pear tree.

August 3: The storm that ripped through my land early this morning missed the town of Platteville entirely. Wide awake at 4 a.m., I decided to go up to the land for some solitary communing with nature when it got light, especially as there was no sign in town of rain or storms. However, not only could I see that a storm had preceded my 6:30 a.m. arrival, but the fireplace masons arrived about 10 minutes after me. So much for a solitary communion. As they were setting up, I noticed that the storm had "taken out" a couple of trees: a walnut tree broken in half along the driveway near the house, and a birch in the Northeast woods (photos in the WI Photo Gallery). "Makes ya wanna cry." I spoke with one of the two masons (they're brothers, and they look a lot alike) about going to the quarry to select a hearth-stone, and he suggested doing it later in the week. Not a word about the "appointment" to do so last Friday. Not only was it too wet for outdoor work, but I was in one of those moods when you "can't bear to watch." Worrying and wondering about whether the electrician or plumber will show up,... whether the basement stairs will be done or the exterior doors be put in,... when the shingles will go on the roof or if the siding arrives,... it's gonna drive me nuts! So I decided to retreat to The Cave (the studio apartment in town) and hope to be surprised by what I see tomorrow. If they (the electrician, plumber or builder) need me, they can call me.

August 2: (Sunday) The gate was again open when I arrived at 11 a.m., and the soffit (and, it turns out, siding) sub-contractor was working. When I left at 3 p.m., he had about two-thirds of the soffits and eaves done. The West side is going to be a real challenge, because it's three stories high. I spoke with him briefly before planting one of the pear trees and the last 16 gladiola bulbs in the Northeast glade, and he said he'd be helping Adam and Lonnie put on the HardieShingle siding. He's familiar with it, and has worked with it before. The weather today is much like yesterday, minus the clouds. I managed to take several photos, most of which have been added to the galleries.

August 1: (Saturday) The gate was open when I arrived at 9 a.m., but there was no one there, although I could see that the soffit contractor had set up equipment and materials in the garage. It looked as though he was ready to work, but perhaps had gone to town for something. I took a couple photos, but will wait to post them tomorrow with photos of the soffit work (he did return an hour after I arrived and was still working when I left at noon). After a little rain overnight, it's a lovely day, 70 degrees, windy, partly cloudy and dry. I cleared the rest of the motorcycle path of branches, better organized the things I regularly carry in the Mule, then planted the other clematis near the front gate. Just enough to make me feel that I hadn't been cooped up in the apartment all day.

July 31: The gate was closed when I arrived at 10 a.m. (a.k.a., no one there working), and it took an hour of working in the pleasant weather to get over my disappointment. The mason and I were supposed to go look at hearth-stones, but apparently it'll have to wait until Monday. The only change I could see from yesterday morning was the blow-in insulation in the two bathrooms and drywall up (with insulation behind it) where the fireplace will go. I can excuse Adam, because he's "ahead" of the sub-contractors, and he told me that today he'd be going to the big air show up in Oshkosh (two hours Northeast of here), going on today through Sunday. You could tell there was something up, because small planes kept flying over, which isn't typical. Adam's a licensed pilot, by the way, and loves flying. An older couple drove up onto the land at one point, and we had a nice chat (but you can see why I want an electric gate to prevent people from just driving in). They were looking for Adam, because he's "scheduled" to build a new house on their property South of town. I was also expecting a UPS delivery (the outdoor fan for the back porch), but the driver must have slipped in and out without my noticing while I was picking up branches from the motorcycle path, because the package was sitting on the garage floor when I left at 1 p.m. Paperwork from the propane company was in yesterday's mail, and the cost of a 1,000-gallon tank is less than I expected. In-ground installation will be extra, and I'll have to sign a one-year contract to get the $1/gallon price. The floor-heating system and hot water for the house will be propane-fueled. The ovens and stove will, however, be electric. Ah, and I talked with the fencing/gate contractor, and he had a solution for placement of the motor-box for an electric gate that I hadn't considered. Replacing the current "horse-gate" with an electric gate that opens out toward the road would require a motor-box on township/county easement, so he suggested having the gate further up my driveway with fencing up to it on both sides of the driveway. That way the motor-box would be solidly on my property. Why didn't I think of that?!? The camera battery ran out of juice after I took a couple photos of the blow-in insulation, so there's only one new photo in the gallery to give you an idea of what it's like, in case you don't already know. Anyway, at the bottom of Pandora's Box was HOPE. May next week be less disappointing!

July 30: More rain starting overnight, but just rain (so far), not "storms." I took the plumbing fixtures list to the plumber's HQ and put a bug in the office manager's ear about getting to work on "roughing in" the house plumbing. Then I drove out to the land, passing Adam on his way back into town. Considering the weather, I went mainly to receive a UPS delivery (another light fixture), and picked up downed branches as I waited. A panel-truck was parked near the garage, and it was the "blow-in insulation" company, getting ready to insulate areas that would have no wiring, outlets or plumbing. Being wet and muggy, I took a few pictures (three in the WI Photo Gallery for today) after UPS arrived (11:45 a.m.), then left. I haven't called the electrician yet, but I did leave a message for the fencing contractor for a progress report on the front gate. Tomorrow is the last day of July. Hard to believe, but it's been three months since excavation for the house. You understand my impatience with recent delays. Nature has turned a corner for the season as the corn begins to turn brown and local garden centers carry only plants for fall planting. Most of the brush and weeds on the land have stopped flourishing. Not that you can feel it in the air, but autumn is already around the corner. It's my favorite season, although it'll be a very busy one for me this year, getting settled in the new house.

July 29: The aftermath of the July 24 hail storm and July 27 flooding "typhoon" has thrown a wrench in the progress at Grove House, as the electrician and plumber (along with almost all other local contractors) are rushing around to answer "emergency," "urgent" and other such calls. I'm going to call them both tomorrow and see if I can't "guilt" them into remembering that, unless it's an emergency, they have a "prior commitment" to do at least the initial wiring and plumbing in my house, so that the drywall can go in. If not, construction will be delayed another week. The only thing moving forward without a hitch is the fireplace, and Adam is determined to remain focused on the house. I learned something entirely new from him today when he asked if I wanted the under-fireplace masonry (in the basement) boarded and dry-walled. It turns out that "up here," code requires the basement walls to be insulated either from the outside or the inside, and there's no chance of insulating them from the outside now. So, the basement walls will be framed, insulated and dry-walled (whether I like it or not,... but I do). An interesting twist. As for the fireplace, further work will have to wait until Friday, after the concrete "foundation" on the first floor is completely dry. I'm "scheduled" to visit the quarry Friday morning with the mason to look at hearth-stones. My time on the land was interrupted at noon by the need to pick up the two ornamental pear trees from the landscaping company and get some other things from town. When I returned with the trees, more light bulbs, garden hose and spray nozzle at 3 p.m. or so, the gate was open but no one was there, so I started taking a bunch of photos (all in the WI Photo Gallery, link above), during which time Adam returned and we chatted about all sorts of things until 4 p.m., after which I left him to do some work (as I drove away, I heard a table-saw being fired up). Wish me luck with the electrician and plumber, because I want that house ready for occupancy by September 15th. At least I have some ammunition, because I've "nailed down" all of the plumbing and lighting fixtures (which gives me an excuse to call them). And the cabinet-maker told me this morning he was already working on my "order," so there should be some (hand-drawn; he doesn't use a computer AT ALL, and I don't blame him) diagrams for me to post on the web in a few days. Adam told me during our chat that the cabinet maker basically "builds your kitchen in his shop," then breaks it down and brings it to the home site. That's so cool!!

July 28: RUNNING WATER!! And the fireplace is underway. Sorry, no pictures today. There's really no visible change from outside the house (except for lots of materials for the fireplace). Tomorrow Adam, his son and Lonnie will be finished with all the inside first-floor work, which leaves them free to put in the exterior doors, finish the porches and put in stairs to the basement. Plumbing, electric and HVAC installation begin this week. I arrived at 9:00 a.m. after a trip to Menard's (home improvement store) to pick up light fixtures and bulbs, two yellow forsythia bushes, another clematis and some plain potting soil. On the land, there were hundreds of branches down (mostly small) from last night's storm (gale-force winds and rain, 1.5 inches according to my rain gauge), including one BIG walnut branch blocking most of the driveway. It was very humid again, and I worked up a thorough sweat cutting up the branch and its multitude of sub-branches to get it off the driveway. I felt I was being punished for having escaped the hail-storm. I visited the home site a couple times to see what the well-pump contractor and mason were up to, and at one point my local insurance agent arrived to "see and photo." When the water was finally running at noon, I planted the two forsythia on either side of the front gate (inside; the outside, apparently 32-feet from the center of the roadway to my fence, is all easement). After I gave each of the plants a few gallons of MY OWN WELL WATER, I had to leave for my 1:30 p.m. appointment with the HVAC/plumbing contractor to select the two bathtubs, because they have to be put in before drywall can go up in those rooms.

July 27: I arrived on the land about 9 a.m. and left at 3 p.m. positively dizzy with details after meeting with the plumbing/HVAC contractor. Everything from faucets, fixtures and filtration to high velocity HVAC and air exchange systems, and I STILL have to meet him at his shop tomorrow to select faucet fixtures (and gawd knows what else). Adam and his son were working on more framing when I got there, and the well-pump contractor was putting the pump and supply line down the well (I thought it was already in, but...). He also put in the faucet at the shed, but the water won't flow until they get another pump hooked up in the basement. The water should be running no later than the end of Wednesday, after which I'll pick up the two ornamental pear trees "on hold" at the landscapers, and begin my transplant and herbicide campaign. Lonnie arrived after about an hour and pitched in with framing. After lunch a load of materials arrived from ProBuild: two steel doors (one for the basement walk-out and one for the garage into the house), soffit covers, foam boards, etc. Now we're just waiting for the front door and surrounding window-panels. A sub-contractor will put in the soffits. The masonry contractor arrived at 2 p.m. with a load of materials for work on the fireplace starting tomorrow. Although I worked up a sweat (summer mornings here are usually very humid) moving firewood and whatnot, I spent more time than usual at the home site. Adam and I picked out columns and railings for the porches (simple and clean), door-knobs/handles (satin nickel finish) and three purely decorative "attic vent" embellishments (attic ventilation these days is actually provided by the roof vents along the peaks, which in my limited experience is definitely an improvement in roofing technology). By the way, it WAS hail-storm damage that kept Adam from working on my house this weekend, and the aftermath will be fueling the local economy for weeks to come. Everyone I've talked with today (builder, HVAC/plumber, electrician and insurance agent) had a story related to Friday's hail-storm. According to my insurance agent, it's been 13 years since the last such storm. And Adam said that the North-facing side(s) of practically any home in Platteville with aluminum or vinyl siding (I had no idea that vinyl (plastic?) could be dented that way) would need replacement. Once again, I'm glad I chose to go with the impervious concrete fiber-board siding.

July 26: I was on the land for about 5 hours (so tired of being cooped up in this little apartment), inspecting and tending new plantings and seedlings, mowing (with tractor+bush-hog), and adding more/bigger rocks where the raccoon had tried digging last night. Before I left, I took some video of the house's interior, but was having trouble with the camera, and decided that the surviving footage isn't worth putting up. There was no sign that anyone but me had been there yesterday, and no one else had come by the time I left at 2 p.m. Not that I need to make excuses for Adam, but perhaps he was unexpectedly busy as a result of storm damage.

July 25: I had a question for the appliance people and a short shopping list, so I left the apartment about 8:20 a.m. and found a remarkable amount of hail and wind damage around town. Trees and branches down, shredded leaves covering the streets, etc. Apparently they clocked winds of 80 miles per hour South of town. And that hail! Imagine millions of gumballs propelled hard enough to be blown almost horizontally. The appliance guy said that the aluminum siding on the North side of his house would all have to be replaced (I hope with something other than aluminum!). Seeing how much destruction there was around town, of course I had to go up and check the land and house. The fields of corn and soy beans have been ripped to shreds within an area about three miles North of town, and I hear it's even worse to the South. The hail storm, however, stayed at least four miles South of my land. I could find no evidence of any kind of damage, but the rain-gauge registered an inch of rain. Whew! After first seeing the bean fields beaten down, I was afraid of what I'd find. So the building site is muddy, but obviously it could have been worse. Adam said he and Lonnie would be out to do some inside framing work this afternoon, but I didn't stick around because it was so wet and humid. Oh, and the raccoon was up to his usual tricks, but there was no harm done; just some mulch scattered over one of the boysenberry bushes. Back at the apartment, Nigel is slowly familiarizing himself with a "cat tunnel" that I bought this morning; a three-foot-long collapsible tube made of a fabric that "crackles" on contact. Cats can't resist cubby-holes like that, and things that make a crackling noise have always attracted Nigel. But I'll have to put that and his "fluffy-thing-hanging-on-an-elastic-string" away before bed every night, because lately he's developed a schedule of frenzied playing at 4 a.m., which keeps me awake. Oh how happy I'll be when we have more room in which to co-exist! By the way, the after-storm sunset last night was spectacular, and I yearned to be seeing it from Arcadia Grove. Soon,... soon.

July 24: A "stand still and sweat" day (VERY humid), with severe storms passing through the area after 2 p.m. All the windows and the back door are in and taped. The other exterior doors did not arrive. The cabinet-maker and I met for about an hour, then he worked up a price for everything and I gave him a deposit. Let's just say the total was a couple thousand less than the well. Not bad, really, for hand-made custom cabinetry and installation. The concrete contractor arrived and cut drainage channels in the concrete, and that's the last of all concrete work. The mason came out, did a little mapping for the fireplace, and announced that he needs water to do his work, which Adam said he'd try to have done Monday. So the mason will start Tuesday. (5 p.m.) Oh my gawd, it's literally snowing gumball-sized hail at a 45-degree angle, along with heavy rain, mist, thunder and lightning! I've never seen anything like it! Now THAT'S a storm. Of course, the power went out for a few seconds and interrupted my narrative. Aw, hell,... now the building site is going to be a muddy mess again, unless by some freak of nature it missed the land (which it sometimes does). Now it's just raining heavily. Anyway, where was I? The ceiling fans (5) arrived today via UPS, but two other fixtures were addressed incorrectly and put on another truck, which didn't come until 4 p.m., after which I left. I'm glad my truck is in the parking garage, away from the possibility of hail damage. What else? The raccoon. I'll never use MiracleGro potting soil outdoors again. He loves the stuff, because he managed to dislodge some rocks from around the lavender and dig up some soil. My response? Bigger rocks and a dose of the liquid deer/rabbit repellant. The granulated raccoon repellant didn't deter him. Yup, here comes more of the storm (5:45 p.m.), heavy rain and thunder. How I wish I were comfortably installed in my house, watching this storm from one of my porches, with the truck safely tucked away in the garage! I discovered a couple weeks ago that the locals rely on the NOAA/NWS radar site to track what's coming our way. Here's the link (for this area; you can select your area from the site's navigation features): http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/uppermissvly_loop.php. Oh Lord (6:15 p.m.), Platteville's tornado siren just started up. Signing out (before the power flickers again).

July 23: As I arrived at 8:30 a.m. a concrete truck was leaving. So, the garage floor was poured this morning, but guess who will be the last to leave today? A guy from the concrete contracting company, tending to the floor as it "cures." There's more to it than I thought. Adam was already there, too,... waiting for the windows and exterior doors to be delivered. I left just after he did, at one o'clock (he had a 2 o'clock appointment in town), by which time most of the first floor windows were in place. I say "in place," as opposed to "finished," because they still need to be caulked, sealed, insulated, etc. Just before leaving, Adam told me they'd be working on the house not only tomorrow, but Saturday and part of Sunday as well. While we were talking, near the shed, a little brown animal appeared, hopping along in the brush. Adam thought it was a prairie dog. I had sprayed some deer/rabbit repellant at the top of the field just 10 minutes earlier (the stuff really stinks!). The wind was blowing toward the shed from that direction, so I wonder if that's what drove him out into the open like that? Tomorrow the cabinet-maker will come out so we can talk about the kitchen, bathroom and "entertainment center" cabinetry. I talked with Adam about getting well-water running (please!), and it's the well-pump contractor, not the plumber, who takes care of that. On a whim, I asked Adam, "If this were your house and you could have any exterior/siding you wanted, what would you choose?" Apparently I chose wisely. He would use what I'm using, in a different pattern and texture. When not talking with Adam or watching the windows go in, I did some tending of the tomato patch (there are a few sizeable green tomatoes on all four plants at this point) and repaired yet more damage done by the raccoon(s). There must be something in the MiracleGro potting soil that he likes, because in the other two places I'd used it (for the three boysenberry bushes and the clematis at the front gate), he'd dug it out from around the root-balls. In the case of the Boysenberry patch, the root-ball of one of the three bushes was completely above ground. I hope I caught it in time. Now they're all surrounded by rocks large enough to prevent him from digging. "Learn as you go." And finally, I received a bill today from the county, informing me that I owe a $285 "land conversion charge" for converting one acre to non-agricultural use (which I assume to be the acre on which the house is being built). What won't governments come up with to get revenue?!? I'll leave it up to the assessor to eventually "classify" all 35 acres as non-agricultural (although I may get a break for reforesting).

July 22: What's with this freakin' raccoon!! He tore open a bag of potting soil and a bag of mulch and scattered the contents around (see photo in WI Photo Gallery). He also tore a hole in the plastic covering the zero-turn mower. He did NOT, however, try again to dig out the dirt from around the root-balls of the two lavender plants; so the rocks I put around them yesterday were a sufficient deterrent. A few nights ago he had even dug up the rain-gauge I put in the garden (which registered 1.3" of rain when I emptied it this morning). I bought two kinds of animal repellant yesterday, but the instructions say to apply them in dry, sunny weather (huh?). Oh, and he (why I say "he," I don't know) also left a dirty paw-print on the shed's siding: definitely a raccoon (you can barely see it in the picture). Anyway, I arrived about 8:30 a.m. and left an hour later because it's just too wet to do outdoor work. Lonnie and Adam's son were already thick into more interior detail work, and the plumber was just leaving after putting the floor-heat pipes in the garage. As I left, I passed two of the concrete contractors, who both turned up my driveway (I waved, of course, like a good country boy). So, tomorrow I'll probably find that the garage floor has been poured. I spoke with Lonnie about the "style" of interior doors (all of them, including double-door closets, are going to be the same solid-filled 6-panel "colonial" style, pre-painted "frost" white, with brushed-nickel hardware) so that he could finish the openings accordingly. I also had a brief phone conversation with Adam's father about the color of the HardieShingle siding, because apparently he wants to get it ordered. If ONLY we could get to the point of having running water at the shed, I might press on with my seedling transplants and new plantings (there are two 10-foot ornamental pear trees on hold for me at the nursery, and I'd like to put a couple forsythia near the front gate), not to mention going after the multi-flora rose bushes with herbicide. The chance of rain has been removed from today's forecast, so things may dry out a bit by tomorrow.

July 21: Rain, rain, rain. The roof is weather-sealed, and the basement floor is poured, so the house itself won't be much bothered by rain. I arrived about 8:20 a.m. and took some pictures. Lonnie and Adam's eldest son worked inside all day on "details." The concrete contractor came out and prepared the garage floor for in-floor heat plumbing, which I hope was done this afternoon, so that the garage floor can be poured tomorrow. Since there was very little wind and everything was moist, I lit the "burn-pile," then went around with the mule to pick up other collections of debris to add to the fire. A light rain began around 11 a.m., and by noon it was a downpour, so I waited for UPS to deliver the first shipment of light fixtures and then headed into town to talk with Adam's father (at the hardware store) about interior doors. The windows should be delivered Thursday.

July 20: Taking a break from life-changing reality. It's just one of those days when you can't face checking on the progress of something you wish was already done. Adam left a message on my cell phone to say he's going to Columbus (Ohio) and will be back to work Thursday. His son Zachary will be going to Ohio State in the fall, and Adam's sister, Heather (who died of cancer late last year), was a weather-person for a local network station in Columbus. Fiddle-dee-dee, tomorrow is another day.

July 18, Chapter 2. Boy, am I glad I decided to go out for the fireworks! Would you believe it's the first time I've been on the land at night?! I got there a little after 7 p.m., and when it became too dark to work, I parked the Mule up on the South ridge (the highest spot on the land) and waited for the fireworks to begin. It was a magical premonition of what I hope will be many such nights to come, once the house is done. In the company of bats and thousands of fireflies, I listened to the distant sound of tires on pavement and the roar of Harleys,... definitely an unusual amount of human activity as thousands of people headed to sad little Rewey for the 20th annual fireworks festival (Rewey has ONE four-way stop-sign intersection, a little post office and, apparently, a fire department, which benefits from the annual fireworks festival). When I heard the first "boom" of pyrotechnics at 9:30, I could tell I was in the wrong place. They were going off North of where I expected, so I hoofed it (thank gawd the Mule has headlights) down to the glade just North of the main driveway, from which I was able to see about 90% of the fireworks over the tree-line. Not only was it an excellent display, but I was SO CONTENT to be witnessing this from my own little piece of heaven. The fireworks ended about 9:55, after which headlights starting popping up along County Line Road just South of my front gate, at the highest hill-point on the road, revealing that a number of locals had parked up there to watch the show. Considering how much "event traffic" I've been part of in my life, I was gladdened by the fact that only me and a dozen other vehicles (that I could see) were headed back to Platteville at the same time. I can't wait until I don't have to make that drive to be "home."

July 18, Chapter 1. Saturday. I arrived at the land just before 9 a.m. to find the gate open. "Oh goodie," I thought, expecting to find someone working. Alas, no one else was there. "Did I leave it open?" I walked over to the building site and discovered that more boulders had been put in place for the two Southwest retaining walls, and fill-dirt and top-soil had been put between them (photo in the WI Photo Gallery). It must have been done yesterday after I'd gone, which means they didn't close the gate when they left. No harm done, this time (well, he did roll over one of my plant-stakes with his equipment, but the seedling survived). I "posted" the Arcadia Grove sign near the main gate in a temporary way, but took it down as I left at noon, because I didn't really like the where or how of its placement. I worked a little more than two hours in the Northeast glade and old field, clearing from around new seedling isolations and marking them, again exhausting my supply of 24-inch plant-stakes. As I pull out the parasitic vines growing up (and eventually choking) many of the trees, I'm finally learning to distinguish between the multi-flora rose bushes and the other two prominent thorny bushes, only to discover that it's mostly the gooseberry and black raspberry bushes (with similar leaf structures, but different stalk-colors) that are growing around the trees, probably because it wasn't really possible for the previous owner to mow them down. They have to be removed by hand or killed with herbicide (neither of which the previous owner was inclined to do). Wanting the property to eventually be like a "park," I give priority to the health of the trees, which is threatened by the parasitic vines and plants growing around the base of their trunks. It pains me to kill off any of the gooseberry and black raspberry bushes around the trees (although gooseberries are SO bitter), but it would probably still leave hundreds of fruit-bearing bushes on the property. On a mere 35 acres, every day is a voyage of discovery. The weather today is much like yesterday, minus the high winds and sprinkles of rain. I ordered a number of light fixtures for the house yesterday and have most of the kitchen layout on paper.

July 17: [Insert your favorite cuss-word] No activity except for a couple guys from the concrete contractor draining water from the basement in anticipation of pouring the basement floor on Monday (on the bare soil, there's a layer of gravel covered with plastic sheeting, then the Styrofoam panels and pipes). No sign of or word from Adam. I puttered around for a couple of hours, waiting for UPS (my property and house signs arrived -- there's a photo in WI Photo Gallery) and the mail. The weather is cool (61 degrees), very overcast and windy with sprinkles of light rain off and on (more off than on). Ah well, I have to get the kitchen layouts on paper, and apparently I'm responsible for buying all but the recessed-lighting fixtures, so there's plenty to do back at the apartment. Tomorrow night is the "Rockin' Rewey Fireworks" extravaganza (Rewey is a little town about a mile Northeast of my land), and it's a big to-do around here. I should be able to see the fireworks (and hear the local hullabaloo) from the glade near the house.

July 16: A beautiful day. Breezy, mostly sunny, dry. Adam said, "Would you believe me if I said this is normal?" There's no rain in the forecast now for days. I left the land at 3:30, and Adam was finishing up the last of the roof boarding over the back porch. Tomorrow he'll begin "papering" the roof with two different kinds of fabric-like protection (I don't know what else to call it, but they don't use tar-paper any more, apparently). Lonnie (Adam's regular co-worker) is finishing up everything inside the house in preparation for work to be done by the plumber, HVAC contractor, electrician and drywall contractor (in that order, I think). I met with the owner of the fencing/gate company before noon. A single roll-aside gate would be an expensive hassle, requiring excavation and land-grading. Since it turns out that a single 16-foot swing-out gate (made of black anodized aluminum) is entirely "do-able," that's the plan. It will require a motor-box on the outside of my fence line (on the township's easement), so he needs to find out from the town chairman (who lives next door to him) whether it would be allowed. Around 2 p.m. or so, the electrician arrived and hooked up power to the shed. Hurrah! (photo in the WI Photo Gallery). Now I have a place to work on rainy days. For those of you who are curious, the exterior (siding) of the house will be HardieShingle Straight Edge Notched Panels (made of cement fiberboard) in the Heathered Moss color (here's a link to the manufacturer's product page: http://www.jameshardie.com/homeowner/products_siding_hardieshingleSiding.py, but you're going to have to enter my zip code (53818) to see the particulars). I've included a small image of it, in the chosen color, in the WI Photo Gallery. It's certainly not the cheapest way to go, but it's warranted for 30 years, the color is poured in during manufacturing (no painting), it's bug- and critter-proof, highly resistant to weather conditions,... well, you get the picture. I'm serious about making this house as invulnerable and energy-efficient as possible, and this seems to be the right way to go. I mowed down a large part of the glade just Northeast of the home site, careful to preserve seedlings and saplings, primarily to have a "full-sun" location for planting the three boysenberry bushes (which I did after mowing) that arrived yesterday. Oh, and what I've been calling a "thorn-rose bush" is actually called (according to the electrician) a multi-flora rose. And I'm frustrated by the fact that these rose bushes, especially around trees, are "mixed up" with black raspberry and gooseberry bushes, which I'd like to preserve.

July 15: Thunderstorms and drenching rain began around 1 a.m. ("overnight"). The building site was again muddy and the first floor covered with water, but the day turned out sunny, breezy and dry. Not as much roofing as I expected was completed yesterday. The good news is that part of the retaining walls are in place, and I'm VERY pleased with them. There's a farm on County Road "A" that I've passed a few times, and it has a huge retaining wall made of just such material, which I've greatly admired. Quite unexpectedly (I thought my retaining walls would be poured concrete), I now have modest renditions of the wall I've so admired (see the Photo Gallery). Two other bits of good news: the electricity was hooked up today by the utility company (Adam no longer needs a generator for power-tools, although the shed is still not patched in), and the basement floor-heating pipes were put in yesterday afternoon (again, see the Photo Gallery). As I left at 1:30 this afternoon, a representative of the concrete contractor was arriving, hopefully to prepare for pouring the basement floor, after which a water-pump can be installed and powered, then a hydrant installed on the water line at the back of the shed. I might FINALLY have a water supply one day next week. Adam was getting ready to put in the East-to-West roof-peak trusses as I left (they're separate from the main trusses), and hopefully by the end of tomorrow ALL the roof boards will be up. There's a 30% chance of "isolated thunderstorms" for tomorrow afternoon. In my experience (so far), that means it won't rain. Hopefully the next time it rains, the roof will at least be "papered," and the first floor will never be "flooded" again. I spent a little more than 3 hours on the land, marking birch seedlings in the Northwest quarter (until I exhausted the 24 stakes I'd bought for that purpose) and waiting for UPS to deliver three boysenberry bushes that I'd ordered.

July 14: Adam and his crew are busy getting more roof boards and eaves installed. The eaves were part of the mystery lumber delivered yesterday. As I left at 11:30 a.m., I passed a dump-truck with a load of huge (local) boulders, and in my rear view mirror I saw him turn up my driveway. They're for the retaining walls at the West side of the house, though lord knows how they're going to get them in place. I remember Adam telling me yesterday that someone nearby wanted to get rid of them and would only charge for trucking. After planting some lavender in the old field and a clematis near the front gate, I lost my motivation. There were a few drops of rain from time to time,... nothing serious,... but showers and storms are still in this afternoon's forecast.

July 13: Help! I'm drowning in raspberries! I snarfed down several dozen from a huge patch near the driveway, and didn't really make a dent. I found some gooseberries bushes, too, but the fruit is still green. Anyway, I didn't bother with photos today, and left before Adam and his crew, who worked all day getting roof board up. And another load of lumber (for what I don't know) was delivered. As I was leaving, Adam was putting the last board on the top of the T (the house is laid out more like a T than the floor plan shows -- if you "erase" the porches, you'll see what I mean), so the garage and master bedroom area (East side) is all covered. Adam says the roof of the house will all be boarded and tar-papered by the end of the week. Alas, there's a 60% chance of storms tomorrow afternoon. Around here you have your choice between "a 30% chance" (a.k.a., no rain) and "a 60% chance" (definitely rain). Adam also told me that he'd come out Saturday morning and drilled some holes in the floor to drain off the standing water and put up some roof board over the West side of the garage and master bedroom area. As Adam put it today, referring to a water supply, "Some water would be nice." Meaning that it gets pretty hot at the building site, even in a dry 80 degrees. Nice to have SOMEONE ELSE interested in getting the water running. I'm holding off a lot of things (transplants, new plantings, herbicide applications, reducing the burn-pile) until water is available. Well, the electricity should be "up" by the end of the week, and the rest depends on the plumber.

July 11: What a difference a day makes. The building site and first floor of the house are pretty much dry, and someone had put up some roof boards (over the West side of the garage and master bedroom roof areas) since I left yesterday. That means that the electric meter- and circuit-boxes are protected from "the elements," which is a requirement before the inspector will give the electric company a green light to connect the house to the transformer. The concrete contractor had also removed the supports that were under the porches for when they were poured. The greatroom ceiling isn't going to be as high as I expected, but I'm satisfied that it will still feel spacious. I took the camera with me this time, and there are three new photos in the gallery (in addition to the home page photo for today). Removal of the raccoon-damaged seat from the mower was easier than I expected,... by unplugging the seat sensor and removing four bolts. This means I can put the seat on quickly whenever I want to use the mower, and remove it again when finished,... until there's room for the mower in the shed. I found black-tipped grey hairs in the damaged seat, so I'm 90% sure it was a raccoon, and it had chewed or scratched a few holes in the bags of dirt and mulch that I put on the seat after I first discovered the damage. I also decided that it would be less inviting to critters if I covered only the machinery with a clear plastic sheet, instead of having a big blue tarp over the whole thing. Although the weather is much more pleasant and breezy than yesterday, it's warm enough to work up a thorough sweat-soaking, and I just wasn't up to it. I'm hoping that tomorrow's forecast of a 30% "possibility of an isolated thunderstorm" will fizz out, and that the next time it rains the house will be completely covered with roof board (if not actually shingled). Next week should be exciting.

July 10: What a gawd-awful muddy, soaking mess, and unbearably humid to boot (it rained and stormed heavily overnight). There's standing water all over the first floor, dripping slowly into the basement. Forgot to bring the camera with me. I stayed about 30 minutes and beat a hasty retreat to the air-conditioned apartment. They did indeed get all the roof-trusses up, and roofing materials have been delivered, but there's no work being done today, probably because it's just too muddy around three sides of the house. The Moving Wall Vietnam Memorial is in town, and Adam has something to do with it, so that may also be the reason. Although isolated thunderstorms are still in the forecast, the radar shows them missing us here. The sun is shining, and is predicted to shine through Monday (fingers crossed), so the building site should be dry by Monday. For every good day, it seems, there's a correspondingly bad day. The replacement seat for the zero-turn mower arrived today (I only ordered it two days ago!), so I picked that up and took it out to the land with me. The management of this apartment building sent me a letter, asking if I intend to renew my lease (ends Sept. 30). No way! Certainly the house will be done before then. Anglophile that I am, I had to give the property a name: Arcadia Grove (Google "Arcadia"); and the house will simply be "Grove House." I ordered antiqued wooden painted signs (plaques) to that effect: one for the gate and one for the house. And I'm still being wishy-washy about a new gate or gates at the main driveway. Having paid so much to run electricity down there, it would be a shame not to do something with it. The opening is 16 feet wide, so I'll need to consult with a fencing contractor about whether a single roll-aside gate is possible. Details, details.

July 9: Arrived on the land at 6:15 a.m., and saw a stray cat running away from the shed area. Is the cat, rather than a raccoon, responsible for the damage to the mower-seat? Weather cool and less humid. At 6:20 a.m., much to my [happy] surprise, the septic installation crew arrived and started digging. Meanwhile, I stupidly walked through the old field with my regular boots (instead of changing into the gum-boots I have in the shed), checking on plantings, and emerged soaked to the skin with dew. All but one of the 50 spruce plantings are showing new growth. At 8 a.m., Adam and helpers arrived, started framing the back porch. About 9 a.m. a crane-loader arrived with the enormous pre-cast concrete septic tank. At 10 a.m., while I was planting English ivy in The Triangle (where the main driveway splits toward the shed and house), another crane arrived for lifting the trusses, which should all be in place by the end of the day (there's more rain in the forecast for tomorrow). Seeing the first batch in place, the roof-line appears much taller than I expected, and tomorrow I'll take a photo to show how tall the West wall is (three-plus stories). There should be some prodigious attic space over the guest rooms and master bedroom/garage (not that I expect to use it), and the great-room will truly have a "cathedral" ceiling. As for the "septic field," who knew there was so much involved?!? It was fascinating to watch, and the length of the three "leaching" tanks is simply incredible. And they were done and gone by noon. Next week, with roofing material in place to cover the house's interior, the electric company should receive a "green light" to connect power to the circuit box from the transformer. After that, the basement floor-heating pipes should go in, followed by pouring of the basement floor, installation of a water pump and then, FINALLY, running water and electricity for the shed!

July 8: Rain, rain, rain. No activity.

July 7: Paid a brief visit to the land around noon to find Adam and two helpers working with the roof trusses, in preparation for putting them in place on Thursday. Nothing worth photographing. The weather was extremely humid with periods of rain, so I didn't stay long. According to Adam, weather permitting (rain is in the forecast for tomorrow), they will get the two porches framed in before arrival of a crane to lift the trusses. Adam also informed me that the septic system will probably be started tomorrow. I don't expect that the basement floor-heating system and concrete pouring will be done until next week, after which electricity and running water will be possible. "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps at this petty pace from day to day,..." (Macbeth). I must curb my impatience and hope that the house is done by September.

July 6: Must confess to being a bit disappointed upon arriving at the property just before dusk to find so little accomplished. A circuit-box and a couple of outlets had been installed, some additional framing had been done, and the trusses had been delivered, but the porches had not been framed in, nor had the septic system been installed. No crane on site for lifting the trusses in place. Blame it on the hangover of a three-day weekend. I walked around for about an hour, took a few photos, enjoyed the sunset, picked some black raspberries. Everywhere I turned I seemed to discover yet another raspberry bush. There must be hundreds of them on the property. Can't wait until next summer, to be able to just walk out of the house and go berry-picking, then come back to a full kitchen where I can make preserves, syrup, pies and such from "the fruit of the land." There's barely enough room in the kitchen of this studio apartment to wash a dish. Well, come autumn, I should be fully "installed" in the new house, just in time to harvest fruit from the three apple trees and perhaps from the multitude of crab-apple trees (I'm told that crab-apple jelly can be a fine thing). Never mind what I could do with all the black walnuts if I put my mind to it. The vast majority of trees on the land are walnuts, followed by maples, oaks, birches and [doomed] elms. There are also three or four old cedar trees but, except for the 55 new spruces, no other evergreens. I'll have to work on that. Pines and maples are my favorite trees.

July 3: Apparently the day before July 4th is also a holiday, if you get my drift. A load of gravel was delivered to the basement walk-out area, and a dozer pushed down 4 elms and 2 dead oaks for me near the front of the house and driveway. No other construction activity took place. I invested in $17 worth of plastic sheeting and covered three stacks of lumber, since it looks like rain tomorrow, and I hate the thought of the crew working with wet lumber; and I can always re-use the sheeting. In anticipation of doing some close mowing, I took the tarp off the zero-turn mower and discovered that a raccoon had destroyed the seat-cushion (see photo in the WI PhotoGallery), but it was still usable, so I did about an hour or so of mowing. I'll order replacement cushions Monday. Until the house is finished and I can make room for the mower in the shed, I'll have to cover the seat with "stuff" (as I did today, with a bag of soil, a bag of mulch, and a galvanized pail weighed down with a concrete block) to keep the critters from getting at it.

July 2: As Adam put it today, "the hard part's done." All wall framing is complete, and the porches will be framed Monday. Trusses will arrive Monday, along with a crane to lift them in place. Adam predicts that the roof will be "on" by the end of next week. The plumber dropped off materials for the septic system to be put in next week, and I met the drywall contractor, who expects to be called into action in three weeks. In the meantime, hopefully the plumber and electrician will be busy (now that the framing is completed) with their parts of the job which need to be done before drywall goes up. Everyone, including myself, was gone by 3 p.m. After we get this holiday weekend behind us, things should move along nicely. Adam finally has prospects for jobs after mine, so there's a little "pressure" to finish my house before fall. The bill for the water-well came today. Ouch. $12k. The weather continues to be dry and moderate through Saturday, when isolated storms are predicted. We could use some rain, and as long as no work is being done, it would be welcome. There are new pictures in WI PhotoGallery.

July 1: Inside framing work continues at a healthy pace, and it was both interesting and satisfying to see the defined spaces that will make up the interior of the house,... to imagine where furniture will go and what it will be like to live there. The guest bedrooms and guest bath, as well as the laundry room, are pretty small, but certainly adequate for their purposes. In comparison to my original plan for a simple stone cottage with one bedroom, great-room and garage on concrete slab, this house will be a palace. From what I can see so far, my final decision on this house-plan provides a perfect balance between "right for me" and "future resale value." I'm just a little daunted by the emerging "reality" of something I'd never dreamed of until two years ago. In some ways it's not so much "a dream come true" as "a pleasant surprise." Did I really know what to expect when these things were set in motion? It almost seems like a happy mistake. And on a comparatively mundane note, the weather is again overcast, cool and dry, but for some reason I just couldn't muster the motivation for working on the land today, so I returned to the apartment to do laundry, paperwork, etc.

June 30: Wow. The last day of June already! The weather was cloudy, windy and cool. Adam and his crew worked on interior wall framing all day, and a lot more lumber was delivered this morning. Adam informed me that they hope to have everything done this week in preparation for putting up the trusses next week. After noon, more fill-dirt began to arrive and be spread around the foundation (it's going to take a few days to get it all in). The electrician didn't show today. Bummer. No electricity until next week. I worked about five hours on seedling isolation in non-field areas in preparation for more mowing, and left at 3 p.m., before everyone else had gone, so there are no photos for today.

June 29: A beautiful day for working outdoors! No rain, after all, yesterday or today. All but two (garage exterior) wall-frames were up when I left at 4 p.m., and work was still going on, including the delivery and spreading of an estimated 70 loads of fill-dirt. Adam informs me that the dirt is almost free; the cost will be mostly for trucking/delivery (whew!). Hopefully the electrician will be out tomorrow to get power from the transformer to a panel in the garage. It's a step closer to having electricity and running water at the shed, but the plumber needs to show up, too. I spent 6-plus hours on the land, mostly tree-tending and mowing down the last of the field. See today's photos in the WI Photo Gallery for some really good shots of what I'm up to in the way of reforestation of the old field. In addition to planting the 50 spruces and 25 maples, I've already isolated at least 100 tree seedlings in the old field alone. And today I discovered that there are hundreds of berry-bushes in "the gully" running down between the two hills to my neighbor's low-land. They look like raspberries, but the mature fruit is purple. If I ever get "in to" making preserves, I'll have plenty of sources -- there are also dozens of crab-apple trees, a mature berry-tree, and several mature apple trees. Unfortunately, I also discovered a deposit of fence/gate/telephone-pole "refuse" at the base of the gully that will need to be cleared out.

June 27: Well, the home-page photo tells it all. Quite a lot of framing went up yesterday. A nice breeze and less humidity today, although still too warm for my taste, so I spent only a couple hours hunting out and staking tree seedlings in open areas before leaving at 1:30 p.m. Except for the prediction of storms this afternoon, the weather looks clear and cooler for tomorrow through Wednesday, so I hope to see more progress on the house, and get most of the mowing done. This afternoon I changed the Wisconsin Photo Gallery so that the most recent photos are at the top of the page, and frequent visitors won't have to scroll down to see the latest entries.

June 26: A bit cooler and much less humid, but still hot. When I arrived on the land at 11 a.m., two walls were up and Adam and crew were framing another two (the first floor West wall and front kitchen-area wall). I was determined to give myself a holiday from sweat and dirt, so I waited for the mail delivery and left at 1 p.m. It promises to be a bit cooler, and possibly raining tomorrow afternoon, so I'll go out then and take some photos and do some work.

June 25: Another day of heat and humidity. Adam and his crew worked from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on framing and wall-board for the front and back of the "main" part of the house (excludes the garage and master-bedroom). They'll be lifted and put in place tomorrow. Photos wouldn't do much good, since the walls were lying flat on the sub-floor when I left at 4 p.m. I spent most of my six-plus hours mowing, and left exhausted by the heat.

June 24: After waiting for a delivery at the apartment, I arrived on the land at noon to find the concrete contractors finishing up the front and back porches with a coat of sealer. The building site was given over entirely to them yesterday and today because any other workers would be in the way, and the sealant needed the rest of today to dry. It was hot and humid again today, although not as bad as yesterday, and the field was finally dry enough for me to do some mowing. Still, the sun got the better of me after about 3 hours, so I closed up and left after taking a few photos. There are more storms in the forecast for overnight and morning, but let's hope they pass us by. All but three of the 50 spruces I planted are showing signs of new growth, and those three don't look dry or dying. Whew!

June 22: It rained A LOT last night, so the building site is again a muddy mess, wet building materials, etc. I arrived at 7:45 a.m. and left at noon, soaked through from the heat and humidity. However, Adam and his team were doing everything they could to prepare for wall framing without obstructing the concrete crew, which is preparing to pour the two porches. I decided on a textured, colored concrete surface (to look like natural stone) for the porches. I also met the masons who will build the fireplace from basement-to-chimney; they seem very competent, and knew exactly what I was aiming for (having finally decided to use local stone for the face, instead of creek- and/or field-rock or veneer). It should be very handsome in the Southwest corner (back) of the great-room, with a big cherry mantle and full-width hearth. One thing I didn't notice until yesterday (I was out there for a few hours) is that plumbing and wiring were run (Thursday) into the basement from the water-well and shed-supply. What else? I think I've "nailed down" all the major appliances, and it looks as though they're all going to be from GE. Wouldn't Dad be pleased! It's not only about selection and features, but also about service. The biggest and probably best independent appliance dealer/servicer in town has a good relationship with GE Appliances (although they carry other brands), and they stand behind everything they sell. Sorry, no photos today; it would be difficult for a photo to show what differs from the photo taken Saturday.

June 20: A sunny day, but very humid and warm. I was drenched with sweat after less than an hour of just walking around the land, and the forecast for next week includes temperatures around 90 degrees (ugh!). However (aside from the building site being a wet, muddy mess), I found that a great deal more work had been done (probably on June 18, before and after the two hours of rain) than I'd expected to find. The water-well is finished (see the WI Photo Gallery): the pump is in, the casing has been cut down closer to the ground, and the water- and electric-lines have been connected to it. Base for the branch-driveway to the shed was put down (also shown in the photo gallery), and preparations have been made to pour the front and back porches (concrete forms and foam-boards are in place). A quantity of foam-board is in the basement, in preparation for installation of floor-heat plumbing, which should be followed by pouring of the basement floor. There was standing water on the ground floor's sub-flooring, but hopefully it won't cause problems. I also checked on the young spruces in the field, but didn't find any of them in death-throes; indeed, several of them of are going gangbusters! Anyway, the next few days' forecasts are spotted with scattered and isolated thunderstorms, which often don't materialize, so let's hope the building site dries up by Monday and that next week's weather doesn't interfere with "human activity" (although we'll all be sweating fiercely in 90-degree weather). Fortunately, hot weather is not the "norm" up here.

June 19: Rain, rain, rain. I doubt there's any activity on the house today.

June 18: Didn't get out to the land today. This morning was truly muggy, and it rained heavily between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The weather forecast still calls for thunderstorms, possible hail and tornados. There was a "brown-out" here in the apartment at 1 p.m., although the sun is now trying to shine. I suppose at least a few hours of work might have been done on the house today, but I won't know until I get out there next.

June 17: After waiting for a UPS delivery at the apartment, I got to the land shortly before noon, just as wall-framing materials were being delivered. As the home-page photo shows, they've got the ground floor down (four new photos are shown in the WI Photo Gallery). I spoke with Adam briefly, and he's found a mason from Lancaster (the seat of Grant County, the Southwestern-most county of Wisconsin, in which I live) to build the fireplace. The electrician must have been out this morning, because the light fixtures were installed in the shed. I then spent a couple hours mowing with the tractor, by which time the building crew had gone, probably because Adam needed to get into town to talk with his father (at ProBuild) about the windows/doors order of last week and how it affects the framing of the first floor.

June 16: I arrived at the doctor's office at 8 a.m. today to fill out "new patient" paperwork (of course), but it was a breeze. Actually, it was the most pleasant and uncomplicated medical appointment, from start to finish, that I can remember since I was a little boy and Mom was "holding my hand." Wendy Molaska, M.D., had just pulled a busy "on-call" all-nighter, but she was SO nice and attentive and SENSIBLE! My builder, Adam, built her new house last spring, and gave me her name and number. Anyway, I also gave blood for a "blood-panel" (didn't feel a thing), and I don't think I've ever walked away from a medical experience with a smile like I was wearing this morning! So, after getting the MUCH cheaper prescriptions filled, I headed out to the land to see what Adam and company were up to (and to thank Adam for hooking me up with the doctor). They were eating lunch, but had already got all the floor joists in place, and Adam told me that more framing materials would be delivered tomorrow. Another friend of Adam's has joined the crew for now, so there are four men working on the house. The only "fly in the ointment" that I can discern for now has to do with the fireplace in the great-room, apparently because it's hard to find someone who can build the kind of old-fashioned masonry fireplace I want.

June 15: Once again, I had to leave before Adam and co-workers finished for the day, so I didn't get a chance to take any pictures. The home page shows the progress as of Friday, June 12 (taken June 14 while waiting for cousin Holly and family). When I left today, about two-thirds of the floor joists were in place, and the electrician had put a circuit-box in the shed and wired about 6 outlets and four junctions for overhead fluorescent lights. There's rain in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow (welcome for the tree plantings, unwelcome for home building). Keep in mind it's been a relatively dry spring, so I'm "torn." I fired up the tractor with "bush-hog" for the first time this year and did a couple hours of mowing, just to cut down the highest and thickest areas of the old field, trying to avoid areas where seedlings/saplings are emerging (particularly in the Northwest quarter, where hundreds of birch seedlings are evident).

June 12: Another lovely day, although muggy and breezeless in the morning, with an 80% chance of rain this evening. It was a bee-hive of activity on the land today (framing, joists and beams delivery and installation, trenching, outdoor wiring and water-line installation, etc.) but I left before 1 p.m. on some errands in town, including almost two hours at ProBuild (hardware supply) selecting windows and doors, specifications and colors, etc. Turns out a a single large picture window isn't possible in the basement's West wall, because of the location of (I think Adam called it) a "king beam." Double casement (crank-out) windows to left and right of the beam's location will instead be put in, with an extra-wide door (more than 3 feet) to their left (as viewed from inside the basement). Anyway, I was gone before the building crew and electricians finished for the day, therefore I have no photos or video to share again today -- sorry (I don't like to take photos or video while others are on the land). If it doesn't rain tomorrow, I'll go out and take some photos and/or video, and maybe do a bit of work. Cousin Holly with husband and daughter will be passing through on Sunday afternoon for a brief "tour" of the property as they're aiming to reach Chicago about 4 hours East) by nightfall.

June 11: Sorry, I didn't take any pictures or video today, even though when I arrived on the land at 9:30 a.m., Adam, his eldest son, and some building materials were already there. Adam's frequent building partner arrived soon thereafter, and they set to work at various tasks (even though Adam seems to have "come down with something") until about 3 p.m. The electrician came out around 2 p.m. with many lengths of flexible plastic conduit (which will be buried in trenches to be dug tomorrow) to hold electrical wiring (to the front gate and shed) and water-pipes (to the shed). The floor joists will apparently be delivered tomorrow. The threat of rain did not "materialize," and it was sunny and breezy - although a bit "warm" for physical labor - all day. Adam and I talked about the windows for the house, and decided on what I believe will be some favorable changes, including a large picture window and wider walk-out door for the West-wall of the basement. I'm greatly encouraged by the progress, and Adam's comfortable grasp of what he's doing (even when feeling "under the weather"). As Holmes would say, "the game's afoot."

June 10: Nice weather, though a bit warm and muggy in the morning. 30% chance of rain in the forecast today and tomorrow. Spent 5 hours on the land, mostly clearing/mowing a path through the woods (at the electrician's request) from the home-site to the front gate (for the trench that will hold electrical wiring to the gate, presumably to be dug 6/12). There's already a path cleared between the home-site and the shed. Left the land at 3 p.m., by which time no building materials had been delivered. Tomorrow is another day.

June 9: Beautiful weather after 3 days of actual and threatened rain and thunderstorms (a.k.a., me cooped up in the little studio apartment in town), with at least an inch of rain received, so I'm not going to worry about the spruce plantings ANY MORE - either they all survive or not (only about 5 out of 50 appear sickly). More concrete arrived about 10:30 a.m., and the well-driller finished and left by 2 p.m. (there's a photo of his "exodus" in the photo gallery, a true example of efficiency as 4 pieces of equipment/vehicles return home "in caravan" with two drivers). The well-water tested SAFE and is apparently plentiful. Hurrah! Tomorrow, rain or shine, the first load of building materials will be delivered to the site, after which Adam happily informed me today that he would be devoting 100% of his energies to my house. This Friday, a trench is expected to be dug for electricity and plumbing to the shed, and another trench for electricity to the front gate (about 900 feet from the house IF you follow the driveway, probably less if you go through the woods). It's gonna cost me, but I need water and electricity for the shed, and electricity at the front gate (I don't want to leave the property "open," and the current horse-gate has to be opened and closed manually). Well-drilling activity aside, I got a lot done around the property between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

June 5: The well is all but finished, 260-some feet deep (200 feet of casing, 60-some feet of limestone). The concrete poured down around the casings [of the pipe well] today will be allowed to dry/harden over the weekend, and more will be poured down on Monday. The water will need to be tested by a state laboratory, and then a pump put down, plumbed and electrified, etc. I'd say it'll be a couple of weeks before water "service" will be available near the shed. Until then, the well-driller has left me a truck with an 1800-gallon water tank. Also, Adam informed me today that he will start working on the first floor before the basement floor is heat-plumbed and poured. Joists and other materials should arrive Tuesday at the site.

June 4: Turns out some "footers" were poured after I left yesterday to provide extra support beneath the basement floor for the support columns and joists of the ground floor. But perhaps the best news is that the well-driller finally arrived and began work today (expected to continue at least through tomorrow). I gather the water-well may be anywhere from 200 to 300 feet deep. The drilling appears to be a fascinating but messy process, requiring a temporary drainage ditch cut through some roots of my precious trees. Well, what's that old saying? "You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs"? For the umpteenth time I again lugged out about 20 gallons of "city water" to give to any of the "needy" 50 little spruces I finished planting in the old field a couple of weeks ago. I'm afraid a few of them might not make it, which is why I've been pushing to have the well put in, although it will probably be a week or more before it can "dispense" water. There's rain in the forecast for this weekend, so let's hope the new plantings will get more help to survive.

June 3: No activity at site as of noon. Bummer! Never mind this would have been my Dad's 91st birthday: another cause for sadness.

June 2: 5 or 6 truck-loads of gravel delivered to fill garage foundation.
Now comes floor-heat plumbing and pouring of concrete floors (basement, garage, porches).
Floor joists will be delivered June 8, so "framing" should begin that week, weather permitting.

June 1: Foundation backfilled (but will require an estimated minimum of 30 more loads of fill-dirt from an outside source).

May 23: Foundation finished.

Groundbreaking: May 1, 2009.

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