OFF TO THE FARM

 Today, as this posts, it's off the farm for us.  I mowed last weekend (now that I think about it, I didn't post about that!).  Even if things grew more, it's too wet out there as we have had several days of rain.

We're really going to check on things since they are making more progress.  They are working on electrical rough in and today is, as our site manager said, our last and 'easiest' chance to make sure we have outlets everywhere that we want them.

We can't wait to walk around and see more progress, it's going to be so exciting.

 

Hope you all are off to the start of a great weekend!

ORGANIZING AND GETTING READY

We are starting to go through things at the apartment and get organized to make moving and getting settled in a little easier.  We know we want to have as much as possible stored neatly and together.  So, we stopped at Target and picked up these great plastic bins.  They are a perfect size, not too big to be unwieldy but big enough to hold the items we need to put in them.

For three boxes, we decided cookie cutters and cupcake liners.  We sorted through everything we have, scattered in various locations in the kitchen and pantry room, drawers and cabinets and put them together.

Specialty and larger cookie cutters are in here...

And here are the rest, various holidays and other specialty shapes are in this one.

Then, I sorted through all our cupcake holders and put them in this one.  What I've done over the last few years is after a holiday, I would try to find cupcake liners on clearance and they are almost always less than a dollar a package.

We have some for almost every holiday represented. Stripes, flowers, solid colors, stars, snowflakes, hearts, shamrocks, polka dots, pumpkins, skulls, you name it, we have it, ha!

Finally, I made labels for the boxes, put the lids on and we stored them away.  They will be ready to move, no packing necessary and when we get these containers to the new house, we can just put them as they are on a shelf in the new pantry, organized and ready to use!

HVAC SYSTEM INSTALLED NEW HOUSE UPDATE

 We got this picture from our builder the other day:

They were installing our HVAC system.  So we went out there when they were done to check things out.  Here are some pictures.

Lots of vents, including two in the kitchen and two in the living room.

The ductwork is well secured using special straps and reinforced ducts to prevent cutting into them over time.

It's like a giant octopus with tentacles reaching out everywhere, ha.

Here is the air handler box.  This has a blower inside to pull air from the returns and push it to the ducts in each room.  Hmm, we need to make sure we get those instructions lying there, ha.

They also put in the exhaust vents in both bathrooms and the laundry room.

And here is the vent for the vent hood that will go above the stove.

This is the main return in the hallway.  With this builder, each bedroom ALSO has a smaller return, which is nice and helps in several ways.  It reduces the strain on the system, it creates more even air pressure throughout the house and keeps air in the bedrooms recirculated and fresher.  We're ok with all that.

Our system will also include a dehumidifier (great for our humid climate and will keep the house at a comfortable humidity level, about 30-50%) and a whole home media filter that 

They also include float switches in the drain pans that will shut off the system if the drain pans fill up, in order to prevent ceiling damage.

We'll even have a smart thermostat.

It's a very good system and they fully test it at each phase by 3rd party inspectors to ensure the system is designed correctly for the space using duct blaster and blower door testing.

Now, they are working on the plumbing.

MEMORIAL DAY 2025

 We're on weather watch today.  We'll see how the day goes.  Either way, crazy hot or rain and storms, it's a good day to stay inside and relax.

No work is going on at the house.

Thanks to all that serve and of course, keeping those that have given the ultimate sacrifice in our thoughts always and are grateful to them and their families.

Hope you all have had a good weekend.  Yesterday we had our BBQ rib dinner on raceday!  Pics next Sunday.

We're both off today and are relaxing but also doing a little nesting?  Or de-nesting?  What do they call it when you are going through stuff and sorting organizing for a move in a few months, ha!

GOOD FOOD AND HOBART RACE DAY WEEKEND

It's been a good weekend so far.  More house updates next week.  Today it's time for our usual routine of some good food and some Hobart.

Now today, we are having our tradition of BBQ ribs and coleslaw but the ribs are in the oven now, ha.  Last week, we had some super healthy chili dogs.  Believe it or not, this is a virtually fat free meal.  The buns are whole wheat with 15 grains, the hot dogs are white meat turkey hot dogs with no saturated fat, we topped them with some Hormel no bean turkey chili.  Then some mustard potato salad. It was good!

Hobart wonders what all the fuss is about.  The TV might be a bit loud with the race car noise so we'll turn it down a bit.  Because...

#notspoiled

Regular readers know that we are racing fans.  Typically, it's just NASCAR but when this weekend rolls around, it's a trifecta of racing.

Formula One, Indy Car and NASCAR.

First up is the Monaco Grand Prix. 8am our time.  

Then comes the Indy 500, an American institution.

And then the evening wraps up with the longest race of the year, the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor speedway.  Yet again this year, one driver will attempt the rare doubleheader.  Kyle Larson, a NASCAR driver will drive in the Indy 500, then get on a jet at the end of the race and fly to NC to race in the Coke 600.

As someone described this day of racing:  You get up early to coffee and breakfast while watching one, then fire up the grill for mid afternoon racing and then have a couple of drinks to round out the night with the third!

NEW SUNSHINE JARS FROM BALL

You all know me by now, I never met a canning jar I didn't like, ha.  In the last few years, Ball has been coming out with limited editions jars in colors and shapes and even the embossed patterns on them.

Saw these recently at lunch:

The newest release from Ball.  They are called:

 Limited Edition Sunshine Jars...

Of course...

I had to get them!

They only make this size and since I never go overboard and buy multiple packs (though a couple of times I found some on clearance and had to get two for the price of one, ha), I threw a package in the basket.

 

Here is a closeup...it's just a happy embossed sun with rays of sunshine radiating out.  

The following picture are from the Ball website. I always like when they give recipes and/or ideas on how to use the special jars they make and what to put in them.

                                                                                                                  

This is a peach and orange blossom honey jam!  That's a nice "sunny" flavor combination.

These were some sweet and sour candied citrus.  Also would be really cool in the jar.

This is not lemonade but a citrus mint mocktail.  But hey, anything sunny and bright would be cute served in these, including lemonade!  I like I like the idea of a jam thought, I was thinking marmalade would be great!

I'm currently trying to figure out where to make my canning station, well, canning jars/supplies station.  We have a nice cabinet that is perfect but not sure where it will fit in the new house.  I might have to claim a cabinet or two in the kitchen.  

ANTS IN MY TRAILCAM

 How's that for a title?  Ha!

When I went out to check on things, my usual routine is to replace the memory card in the trail cam so it will be empty for the next week.  I went to replace it and reached down to undo the latch and...

...when I opened it, ants had made a nest IN it!  Eggs fell out and dirt and of course then they started swarming and I got them all over my hands.  I don't think they were fire ants because not all of them bit me and it didn't leave any spots from the bites.

I had to shake them off the camera after I got it off the fence post and when I opened it, there was dirt all inside the housing, the lenses, the sensors.  Sigh.

I salvaged the memory card but we had to throw the camera away.  It had a good multiyear run, time for something new.  I've been thinking of one of those that has a wireless connection so it can send pictures to us in the house or on a cell phones.  I could put a few around the property, that might be fun.

This was something we didn't expect, ha!

WE HAVE WATER NEW HOUSE UPDATE

Let's talk about a well...that's a pretty deep subject, ha! (couldn't resist)

Yes, we have a well, they came and drilled and completed it over a couple of days last week. 

Here is a picture of the process...they arrived Thursday morning and started digging and drilling.

And here's a short video (sent to us by our awesome building site manager) as it was nearing completion.

By the afternoon, they had finished drilling a really deep hole, ha.

They came back Friday and installed the equipment and this is what it looked like when they were done!  

Amazing how it was a mess of mud and water one day and back to perfectly normal the next.

Here is a picture to give you some perspective of it in relation to the house.  This is the outdoor kitchen porch, standing outside of the back garage door.

The site manager reminded us to be careful, they have a live wire running from the temporary power pole to the well to supply power.  This will only be until they get it hooked up to the house power and then they will run the permanent line to the well.  He said "don't mow over it".  Trust me, I will avoid that area like the plague.

This is the other direction looking back toward the house.  They ended up going down to 260' deep.  They hit potable water at about 175', but wanted to go deeper to get really good, clean water and of course, lessen the risk of issues with future low water levels during any drought periods.

We also want to get a well house or shed over the top and have reached out to a couple of places that can do this.  We have to wait until the power is permanent and they don't need regular access so we still have a bit of time for that.

A water test was done and it was good to go. We'll do another one in a couple of weeks but for now...

...we were able to fill up some buckets and watered the plants and trees.  Yeah, a hose would have been perfect, and we have several, but they were locked in the shed...and I left the keys at the apartment.  Oops!  We'll get that out next weekend for sure.

But hey, in the end, there's water.  It's crazy to think that on Thursday, it was just a yard, green grass and dirt.  Less than 48 hours later, a 260' deep hole with a faucet at the top was filling buckets with water.

We have our own water now!

GOOD FOOD AND HOBART SUNDAY

Here we are, another week has flown by.  Lots of house progress, more on that this week.  2nd Man and I were out there yesterday, I didn't have to mow but I did have to water and we had to meet a contractor out there.

We opted for easy, some 15 bean soup, a little sliced avocado, and some good cornbread.  It was very good, all made with very little fat and but very filling.

When we got back, he was lying in his usual sunshine spot, stretched out and enjoying the warmth on his old bones.  We can relate Hobart, we can relate.  We let him sleep as long as he wanted and we just stepped around him.  Because...

#notspoiled

MORE EXTERIOR PICS NEW HOUSE UPDATE

 Yesterday, we posted some interior pics of what they have done, today it's some of the exterior.  They finished the outside and then cleaned up all around the house and it looks so good to see it like this.

The roof shingles will go on soon but the house is "dried in" as they say, meaning the interior of the house is now protected from the weather.  So HVAC, plumbing and electrical can begin.

Here is the front.  They have the porch support posts up, and all the board and batten siding is up and the corbel details at the roof peaks are done.  Also, the detail boards above the windows and garage door opening are installed.  

This is the garage wall with the transom windows.  The porch will have railing around it, but they do that toward the end so it doesn't get damaged with all the in and out of workers.

Here is the back corner, that porch will eventually be the place for outdoor cooking/prepping.  We are going to extend the space from the slab by adding a deck (after we get settled in) in order to make it more of an outdoor area.  Maybe some deck chairs, we can move the grills out there to use them, some planters since it will be a nice sunny open area (for those days when we want that, ha), it should be a fun usable space.

And speaking of, here's another one from behind Barnabas looking toward the house.  Glad we were able to keep him there.  He adds so much character and can be the focal point of some yard planning.

Here is the back while standing near the orchard.  The windows on the left side are the dining room and the windows on the right are the master bedroom.  The small window is the shower.

This is a better, closeup view of what will be the screened in porch.  It's hard to tell size from this picture but it's 10 feet deep and 20 feet long.  That's not a railing, that will be the solid lower wall and then built in screens above.  The opening on the end will be a screen door.  We will have 200 square feet of 'living' space.  It will hold our extra dining table (the one we had in the original farmhouse) and the yellow hutch that was in the old kitchen.  We're already getting some dishes and dinnerware to keep out there (think colorful).  We also have a marble top table that we are going to tuck into a corner to act as a landing place for food and drinks.  We can't wait to go out there when the weather is nice and have breakfast or dinner or just sit and relax and "listen" to nature.

A closeup of the front to see the details.  The house will be barn red and those corbels and details will be cotton white.  We thought they painted later but that will actually happen sooner.

Lastly, here's a view from standing over near the barn and mower shed looking back.

Oh the landscaping I can't wait to do!

MORE INTERIOR PICS NEW HOUSE UPDATE

Warning, picture heavy post, part one.

Here are some more photos.  Last weekend they finished up the exterior.  One (of the many) things we are impressed with is how well they keep the job site cleaned.  It looked great and was so much fun to walk around in, imagining where furniture will go, etc.  They pick up all the extra debris, nails, they even sweep and clean the concrete slab.

Without further ado, here are some interior pics with descriptions of what they are.  After the interior, tomorrow (Friday) we will post new exterior photos so we don't put too many in one post.

Here's an angle of the garage from the corner toward the two transom windows on the end (they do not open, they are only there to let light into the garage).  You can see the attic entrance and they have floored as much as they can.  This will be our holiday storage.  The door goes to the backyard/cooking porch, the doors are the temp ones so they can lock up the house soon, and in the back corner is the platform for the water heater.

And here is what it looks like from the back wall.  The driveway/road comes RIGHT into the garage, ha.  We will have a concrete parking pad out front, but they do that at the very end of the project so it's not driven on by trucks, etc.

This is the study/office, I took this picture because you can see the view of the barn from this window.  2nd Man can keep an eye on me while he's working, ha.

This is the master bathroom shower.  It's 6 feet wide and 9 feet high and will be tiled from top to bottom.  Another transom window to let in light, and in case you are wondering, it's 7 feet off the ground (from the outside with the slab thickness) so no one can see in (except maybe bigfoot).  There will be a bench seat along one side and a grab/support bar on the back wall.  Oh, and a showerhead with handheld attachment and a rain showerhead above.  2nd man said he might fall asleep in the shower.  

Here is a view the screened in porch looking into the living room.  They have put up the lower wall, the screens will be above that. 

And here it is stepping inside, seeing from one corner over to the kitchen and the front door.

And here is the other corner, from the hallway that will go to the master bedroom looking back at the porch, living room and the kitchen.

Middle of the living room looking where we will have the sliding doors that make it an indoor/outdoor room.

That darn pantry keeps making an appearance, LOL!  They added the bracing for the counter on the back wall and the supports for the floating shelves above it.  We told them we wanted it to support weight of mixing bowls for 2nd Man's baking center.

OK tomorrow...new exterior pics!