NEW DRIVEWAY NEW HOUSE UPDATE

A few weeks ago, we had our driveway disaster.  Not something we planned for or anticipated, neither did the builder, but hey, things happen!

This is what it looked like shortly after.  A mess to say the least, ha.  No way that concrete trucks or anything else was getting down this driveway.

A couple of weekends ago I went out and this is what it looked like before they started.  It was dry but still a mess.  They started working a week ago.  We couldn't go out during the week to take pictures, but to quote "J" from 2nd Family, "they worked their butts off", ha.

 

This picture was sent by the builder as they were working on it.  First, they scraped it down and leveled it, then put a layer of lime, which dries and stabilizes the ground under the upper layers of the driveway.  Then it was sand/soil and then gravel.

We went out Saturday to see it.  No one can drive on it for about a week while it settles and hardens, so we parked at one end and walked to the other end.

They ended up raising it up about 6 inches or so.  It's hard to tell in this photo, but it's pretty neat seeing it higher up.  They raised it to keep it dry during rains and so that they could give us...

Culverts!

Above is what it looked like during the process...

Then, they filled it around them.

Originally, they said it would be a couple of culverts but in the end, we ended up with:

One...

two...

three...

Four!

One at each end and then two spaced in between.

It's to help rain flow under the driveway bed when needed and it will help water from 2nd Family's property flow under the driveway as well.

It's all to keep it lasting for years to come.

Here's a fun picture:

We were standing in the "garage" and looking out toward the driveway, so I edited in a simulated garage door opening.  And then...

I put in some walls, ha!  This will be my view getting into my car to go to work. 

Shortly before the house is finished, that dirt in front of the garage will partially go away because they will be putting in a concrete parking pad right in front of the garage.  The 22' width of the garage and about 20' long.  A place to park the cars to wash them or put two in the garage and park the truck in the driveway, etc.

When we left, we put up some caution tape to keep people from driving on it and the construction guys will take it down when they see fit.  In the end, we got more of a road than a simple driveway and it's awesome!  We are so happy with the end result.  They will maintain it throughout the build and then freshen it up at the end.  It's going to change my mowing habits for sure.  No more driveway to mow!  And with the gravel/rocks, I'll have to be very careful of the blades when I'm around the area.  I'll only have to mow each side but will still have to keep the culverts clear as well.  I'll be trying to figure out the best options.

I think I'm going to have to figure out some new kind of landscaping, certain plants to plant, etc.

GOOD FOOD AND HOBART SUNDAY

(Driveway update Tuesday) 

You may have seen yesterday's post.  We had a good day, fun trip to the farm and then went to have lunch in a nearby town.  Went to a great antiques place and a wonderful family owned grocery store that's been there for decades.   Later, we stopped a diner that's also been there for years and it was so good.  Had to take a picture of something we saw on the menu:

The menu had "fried chicken livers and gizzards"!  Haven't seen that on a menu in ages.  Growing up, my parents got them when available.  Funny story, when we lived in Rhode Island, my Dad asked at a fried chicken place if they had livers or gizzards (being from the South and all) and they said told him "on no, we throw those parts away".  I enjoyed them both, loved the chicken livers but the gizzards were always tougher to eat.  Speaking of liver, they also had beef liver and onions, another favorite. 2nd Man, not so much, ha!

Alas, we opted for healthy.

I had flame grilled chicken breast and veggies (SO good) with a jalapeño cornbread muffin.

2nd Man had a club sandwich.  He said it was delicious as well.  Sometimes simple is good!

We also found buttermilk pies for sale!  Haven't seen that in ages.  My Grandmother used to make an awesome buttermilk pie but I never got the recipe.

Gotta love small town food!

This is the shape of a cat, ha.  Hobart was on his afghan and chair and when we got back, he stared at us for leaving him alone all day.  Because...

#notspoiled

OFF TO THE FARM AND BONUS HOBART

 Today, 2nd Man and I are off to the farm and to go explore the nearby town.

The driveway has been worked on this week and we think it is finished.  We want to see it and then check out the foundation forms (day dream about what room is where, ha).  Then we're going to go on an adventure by exploring a nearby town.  After all, it will soon become our go to for small, non-chain grocery stores, a hardware store or two and all the little errand runs that we don't want to drive into the Houston suburbs for.  We want to explore it a bit and just start getting a feel for what is there.

The farm is surrounded (well, within 15 or 20 minutes) by a number of small towns and place to visit and we'll always still be only about 30 minutes away from whatever we need in Houston.  But still, we hope to adapt to a quieter way of life once we move out there.

It's a foggy morning, this is the view from the balcony a few minutes ago.  But it is supposed to burn off soon and then we'll head off on our adventure.

Driveway pictures Tuesday!

Here is a little extra Hobart for your Saturday viewing pleasure, ha. We'll be back later Hobart Honeybear!

WHATABURGER NUTCRACKER 2024

Yeah, this post is a bit late, ha, but several of you asked if we found a new one for this year.  We didn't decorate for Christmas this, there was a lot going on with the farmhouse packing, then moving, then demolition, land clearing, back and forth with the builder, etc and in the end, we realized we're going to just move the stuff as packed.  We figured, why unpack it for a couple of weeks only to have to repack it?  It's already organized, neatly packed and ready to be moved in a few months.

But we did make a new addition to our collection for next year's decorating extravaganza:

You all may remember our collection from the last few years of these nutcrackers.  This is what a few of you had asked about.  Whataburger (a hamburger chain) is an institution here in Texas and a few years ago they came out with their first one in 2019.  Then in 2020, they didn't have one due to pandemic and shipping issues.  In 2021, they had one and again in 2022 and last year 2023.  Almost missed that one due to my hospital trip but got I before it was sold out.

And this year, like clockwork, they came out with the 2024 version.  Sure, they are all variations of each other, holding something different, different color hair or reversed colors, but, as a Texas institution, we have to have our Whataburger nutcrackers in our Texas Christmas decorating!  Not sure how long they will keep it going but we're in it now, ha.

Anyway, just thought we'd share.  We can't wait to decorate our house this Christmas!

WE HAVE A NEW GATE

 With a new driveway under construction now, we figured it was a good time to a new gate.  Nothing fancy, but we needed a new one.  And by "we", it's for both 2nd Family and us since we share the front part of the driveway.

This is the old one.

It had settled and began scraping the ground becoming more and more difficult to close.  In fact, recently, "J" has just been leaving it open all the time because she said it was so hard to deal with.  For her security, and of course ours and the new construction, we thought it best to get the gate fixed so it can be closed again. 

We found a great company to come see if they could lift it on the pole and remount it by a foot, so that it could swig closed.  But, as with many older things on a rural property, it was rusted and if we started closing it nightly and the builders are opening it daily, it wouldn't last very much longer.

So, we ordered a new one and they installed it for us.

And here it is!

We didn't opt for anything fancy.  At this point, the driveway gate is just to keep out cars and discourage people from being where they shouldn't be.  Plus, when we have construction materials, etc on site, we sure don't want anyone to just be able to drive down the driveway when they aren't supposed to be there.

We also got a new chain and lock, to be set up in something called a "daisy chain padlock".

The builder will put their own lock attached to ours so they can open and close as needed (they don't want a key to our lock) and then we can open and close as needed as well.  The picture above is an example of how that works.  We can lock them together and it stays locked. They can go anytime and unlock theirs, go in and out and lock it back when they are done and we can do the same as we (or "J") need to do. 

Pretty cool solution!

Once we move in, we might look at something more substantial or even an automatic gate of some sort...for those rainy days when you have to get out of the car and unlock the chain, ha!  But for now, this will work just fine, "J" is thrilled and we are happy.

GOOD FOOD AND HOBART SUNDAY

 It's Sunday.  It's been a beautiful weekend.  Yesterday was a farm trip to deal with the driveway decisions and a couple other things.  It was a good day.

2nd Man made one of our new favorites, a pork stir fry with lots of veggies.  He uses a new super nonstick pan we got that doesn't need much oil, just a spritz of avocado oil, cooked the pork, then added ginger, garlic, onions, green beans, wax beans, carrots, mushrooms, and snow peas.  A little finish of some sesame oil and it was ready to serve...

...over brown rice noodles!  So delicious!!

We were in the kitchen and looked to the living room to see this.  Hobart was keeping an on us.  Or maybe he just wanted us to fluff up his blanket.   And we did.  Because...

#notspoiled