ONE CAR IN AND ONE CAR OUT

We've been emptying boxes...

We have these that we are going to give away if someone in the area needs them for a move.  Wouldn't mind them getting a second use for sure.

We've emptied quite a few and there are two more stacks just like this on the front porch but filled with paper and bubble wrap, etc.  Will give those away as well, if we can.

Look!  Now, one car is outside...

...and the other one is in the garage!  The only items left are what will go in the barn for storage for now.  All the household items have been moved inside the house.  The goal is to get the other side emptied this upcoming weekend (I get home in the dark so it's not feasible to get the stuff to the barn with no electricity out there).  Once the other side is empty I can park my car in there and we'll be good for rain/sleet/hail/hot weather!

Progress!

BEEN BUSY BUT THE SUNSETS ARE WORTH IT

 Sorry for our absence.  It's been busy.  Still unpacking and moving stuff but making process.

Caught this sunset last night.  It was going down fast and it had been a long day but wow...

...sunsets like this we wouldn't trade for anything in the world now.  We are definitely in our element.  Now, we just need to get the house finished, ha.

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

WE HAVE A WELL SHED NEW HOUSE UPDATE

There was another concrete project we had done and it was for a special reason that we can now show you.

This was the way our well was installed.  They don't put anything big underneath, it was just a 3x3 concrete pad that came standard.

So, when the driveway was being worked on, we had them expand the area to hold an 84"x84"...

...slab!!  They poured concrete all around it.  This was the day of the pour...

...and this was after it had cured but before they removed the forms.  By the way, it was sprinkling this particular day, ha.

You may ask, why did you need to have a bigger slab poured?  Well (no pun intended, ha), we decided to get a well shed to protect our investment!

They installed it the other day...

And here it is!

It looks great!  It's exactly what we wanted.  We had the slab poured to be a little bigger than the building itself so that I can mow/edge around it without striking the building and damaging it. They also bolted it into the concrete so it's not going to blow over in a windstorm.

Best of all...

The shape matches the barn and mower shed!

It's built by a company called Polar Sheds.  They make sheds for this exact purpose.  It will protect our equipment from freezing temps (we can put a heater or light bulb out there if needed).

From their website:

"Our well houses are constructed with polystyrene between metal panels. The walls, roof and trim use an upcycled product commonly known as a sandwich panel.  The panels are 1.75" thick and consist of two sheets of 26-gauge primed steel with solid core polystyrene in between."

Here is the thickness, you can see it here on the door, the walls are the same way.  It has a latch so we can lock it if needed and even has a nice drip edge/drip cap above the door.

There is also an eye hook on the top and that way, if the well tank or pump ever need major servicing, it can be easily lifted off the slab.  A well service vehicle has the winch with crane to do this since they routinely pull pumps and tanks.

We should have no need to worry about freezing temps around the well equipment.  Also, it will all be out of our monsoon rains (and that has already been tested and the concrete stayed dry).  Lastly, it will be out of the blazing sun in the Summer.  Win/win/win!

Now, we just need it to match.  We're sensing some red and white painting in our future!

THANKSGIVING DINNER 2025

 Our first Thanksgiving in the new house is in the books.

It was quiet, just the two of us, but we got to use our new kitchen.  We considered it a dry run for next year's entertaining festivities.

We cracked open a bottle of wine...a Pinot Grigio that paired well with turkey.

2nd Man made some rolls, they were delicious!

I handled the snacks. Tried to go with as healthy as possible.  Mixed nuts (no salt), zero fat chips, a dip made with Beau Monde seasoning but using greek yogurt and the mayo we discovered that's so good, so it's virtually zero saturated fat, and then sausage balls, a holiday tradition, made with turkey sausage and 2% milk fat cheese.  We have to say, we didn't miss the regular versions, it was terrific!

I broke out our special "can-berry" dish (don't hate on those of us that like canned cranberry sauce!, ha).

I also made us a Caprese salad...fresh tomatoes (including those brown variety we found a few months back), basil, mozzarella and then drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

The turkey that 2nd Man roasted came out perfectly (more on that in a future post).

He also made the stuffing and giblet gravy (totally forgot to get a picture of those).

I roasted some Brussels sprouts with turkey bacon and balsamic vinegar.

I set the table, we had all the food on the island and we jumped in!

The salad first.  SO good!

And then the main event (took the skin off the turkey for serving of course).

We were full and happy...

We are indeed all of these...

We are home.

We are grateful.

We are blessed.

And we are thankful.

Hope you all had a wonderful long weekend.