Breaking Ground

Normally on new construction you "break ground", but because the new house is already framed in, the ground is "broke" BUT.....this week marks the beginning of construction for us. We are starting our work in the garage now. We have our gravel delivered already, and are planning to have it spread by the end of this weekend. By next weekend we hope to have the concrete poured and the floor finished, then the doors delivered and installed.  I am hoping to be able to clear out all the materials from inside the house and have them neatly organized in the garage for our base of operations, and be better able to move about the house, when the time comes.
Now we are trying to line up and plan for the outside work with the backhoe and installing our geothermal HVAC system. I am very excited about going green in that respect, and hope it pays for itself over the years, as promised.  I really would love to be net zero someday, and this is our first step in that direction.  As soon as the garage is complete, we are renting the machines to dig trenches and holes for the geo, the septic, and the water lines and gas lines ....and installing the thousands of feet of pipe to make it all function properly. The plan is to get all this outside work complete before the weather shifts, usually in October, but sometimes earlier.
The Ozarks is very prone to flooding, as we have found out over the last few days! The highway coming in to our place is completely flooded and is an "at your own risk" situation coming in. I have found at least one road to the east that is on higher ground, but have yet to find the southern path in that is above the water table in times like these. I must cross 2-3 flooded roads to get my daughter to Pre-K, and I think I see a bus in her future! :)

As for the property itself, the water seems to really only collect a lot at the bottom of left field...which is GREAT! In comparison to our current house, that is literally underwater during flash floods, this will be a huge relief from that. We can hole up in our house, without much worry of being washed away or constantly worrying about the sump pump and if it is on or not. (speaking of, I better go start it!)

My garden here in town is still in full production. The kentucky wonder pole beans were so tough for eating green I have decided to let them go, and shell them.  My tomatoes are still producing, and ripening, but many have shown signs of blossom end rot, and I have to throw them in the compost.  I planted some more bush beans, not too long ago, and we will see if they make it....with the weather staying like it is, which means, changing everyday, it is hard to say if I will harvest anything from that sowing, but I figure it was worth the effort, since the seeds are still fresh, and it is yet another opportunity to see what works or why it doesn't. Funny how failures become so valuable...but let's hope that I get SOME harvest before the cold weather.

Trapping season will be starting soon, for my falconry. So keep a watch in October for my other blog, Dust of Snow, to see if I catch a Redtail, and if it catches any bunnies!

I have been hard at work both in Springfield and Rogersville, trying to keep up with 3 houses is a real chore. But with my split schedule, I am able to prioritize and use my time more wisely than before, and have been spending much less time being idle, and getting things done. It is so exciting for my daughter to have started school this year, and I am so proud of her for her efforts. My son, too, is excelling and becoming more responsible now that he is an upper level elementary student, I hope that he values the goal setting and uses his new skills to his advantage. I may be transerring him soon, if work continues to progress at a fast pace...and I truly hope that it does. I would love nothing more than to move by Christmas, but if not, I would love to be in before spring!  I can hope for it, but not bank on it, as there is so much to do!

We WILL do all we can as fast as we can and get this project going at a steady pace. Our first month's labor is fully planned I believe and can be accomplished in the time frame we are setting. I am very very very excited to be starting. It is funny how much hard labor can get you excited, and how all the little sacrifices, like skimping on the food budget and all extras can really pay in the end. how little I miss the extra channels on TV, and would be just as happy to be out of contract with "Dish" than to watch tv at all! I could care less about entertainment, because I can't wait to sit on my porch swing and watch the birds and listen to the cows moo...and boy do they!

In other news, the Hedgpeth's have put the roof back on their barn, and I am excited for them, even though I have ever met them! I had hoped that I would have a chance to stop in, and introduce myself as a new neighbor....They named my street, after all, and probably used to own my land, and everyone's around us.
We are also nearby neighbors to people that work for the  Rocking Z ranch, who often supplies fresh farm raised beef for the restaurant that my FIL works for. I think their ranch is located elsewhere, but I see their trailer, and think they must be in association with them. That is exciting, because I hope to someday be able to afford to buy a full cow's worth of beef and grind my own burgers, etc.  I love the idea of local foods, as we know from my previous posts, and I feel like the luckiest woman in the world to be moving right into the heart of farmland, and in the area of so many old time farmers that have been in the industry of raising food for generations. I only hope that some one will adopt me as their apprentice and mentor me in the ways of doing it the old fashioned way.
As most rural families will attest, the simple life is pretty complicated, but all that sweat of the brow pays dividends in character and the warm fuzzy feeling of taking care of yourself. I really am in love with my life today.  As I drive to the new place, my eyes fill with happy tears of gratitude and love. Appreciation and thankfulness...I am blessed. So very blessed. Thank you lord for allowing me the opportunity to live my dream. Thank you lord for the strength to make this happen for us, the chance to try, the gift that has been granted to us, to do this, the life that is ever changing because of it....I am in awe of life. And some days I tell myself, that I have never been so happy to be alive as I am now. Even on a bad day, I think to myself...you now have everything you have ever wanted, you are the luckiest person in the world...don't let anything change that. Don't let your attitude be the cause of your demise....instead, change your outlook about a drawback, learn what you can, and plan better in the future...and I promise, Lord, that is what I will try to do. Everyday for the rest of my life...I will make the best of each minute of each day, and try to appreciate all you have afforded me, and all that we have created for ourselves. I have to give us a little credit, too....as none of this would be possible while sitting idly by watching life happen.

Carpe Diem!