Monday, May 25, 2009

House Update 5-29-09

The house continues to progress! The latest update is as follows:
  • Almost everything is done on the outside of the house. The only major things left to do are shingling the roof on the porch, add the column/pillars on the porch, and install the garage door. The rest of the outside stuff is minor (fixtures, outlets, etc.)
  • The garage door should be installed by late next week or early the following week.
  • The ceilings are basically done and it looks like the dry wall is done as well (they may have a bit of touch up work left to do on the walls).
  • They should start installing the linoleum floors in the bathrooms late next week.
  • They should also start doing the trim work inside the house next week.

We did not set a closing date yet, but they told me it would most likely be July 27th. We should set that date this week. Below are some pictures of the progress.


Almost everything is done except roofing and installing the pillars on the porch on the front of the house. All the trim work has been done.

The back of the house is mostly done. The only things left to do include adding outlets, a light, and the air conditioner unit on the concrete pad.

The living room last Sunday (5-24-09) right after they started the dry wall.
Robin scrutinizing the craftsmanship in the kitchen!

The master bedroom and entry way into the master bath.

The guest bathroom.

The game room last Sunday.
The game room on Friday. Notice the difference in the ceilings which are now done.

At the front door. If you look closely you can see the texture in the finished ceiling.

The kitchen on Friday.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Vacation Trip

We took our "pre-summer" vacation last weekend and it definitely turned out to be a "pre-summer" vacation. Our destination was Kitty Hawk beach in North Carolina, which normally would have been in the 70's to 80's this time of the year. Not this past weekend, they had overnight lows in the high 40's and highs in the 60's! But we still managed to have a good time.




We left early last Saturday morning and drove about half way to Kitty Hawk. Along the way we went through Pigeon Forge and ate at Johnny Carino's Italian restaurant (one of our favorites) and drove through parts of the Smokey Mountains. We completed the trip to Kitty Hawk, NC by about 3:00 PM Sunday afternoon. We had plenty of rain and wind for the drive on Sunday. The weather was so bad on Sunday evening that we just went out to eat and rested for the evening. We did find an excellent BBQ restaurant that specialized in NC style BBQ (the vinegar based stuff) which is one of my favorites. However, Robin did not like it as much as I do, but I have to admit that I did not like it the 1st time I ate it (it is an acquired taste).




We woke up Monday morning to temperatures in the 50's, winds from 20-35 MPH, and down pours of rain. We did not let that stop us though!! After our Holiday Inn Express breakfast, we started our adventurous day. First on our list of things to do was to go to the light house on Hatteras Island . This was about a 60 mile drive on the barrier islands. We went through Rodanthe (from the movie "Nights in Rodanthe") along the way. Upon arrival at the lighthouse we discovered that they were not allowing anyone to climb the lighthouse due to high winds. We took a few snapshots and started heading back towards Kitty Hawk.




On the way back we stopped at a Civil War monument site and visited another lighthouse (but did not climb it either). We then went to one of the NC aquariums on Roanoke Island. It was not the best aquarium I have ever been to, but the large crowds at the aquarium (due to weather) may have contributed to the downgrade. Roanoke Island was the location of the first English speaking child in the new world (Virginia Dare) and subsequently "The Lost Colony" for all of you history buffs.



After the aquarium, the weather was clearing up a bit (still windy and cloudy, but no rain), so we decided to go see the Wright Brothers Monument and Museum. We watched a 40 minute video on the Wright Brothers then went and saw the monument, a set-up recreation of the first flight, and also saw the markers that located where the 1st four flights occurred.




We then proceeded to play a game of miniature golf. This was the 1 thing we had to do before we left. It was very cool in that you go on a train ride to the top of the course and then play the course as you come down the little mini-mountain golf trail. Robin, being the miniature golf expert got a hole-in-one on the first hole and led the first 7-8 holes, but I began to catch fire with my putter and ended up winning the game.


We then went to have dinner at a buffet seafood restaurant. The seafood was ok, but the service was terrible. It took forever for our waitress to get us anything and the ice cream machine ran out right as Robin was wanting to put some on her apple crisp. After dinner we decided to take the obligatory walk down the beach even though it was cold and windy. It was a good walk though after a large buffet meal. After a good nights rest that night, we got up and ate our Holiday Inn Express breakfast and headed for home. We got back around 9:45 on Tuesday night.


Below are some of the pictures we took while on vacation.


This was on Saturday as we were entering North Carolina



Ok, I never thought I would see a snow/sand plow on the beaches of North Carolina. It is a good thing that they have these as the wind blown sand and rain were covering the road.



As you can see the roads look very similar to snow covered roads up north! They drive that way as well (maybe not quite as bad).


It looks like we were driving through the ocean!


Cape Hatteras Light House (on Hatteras Island)


Robin and I bundled up in front of the lighthouse!


The Bodie Island Light House


Riding the turtle....slow and steady wins the race!!


It looked like fun so I tried it as well.


The re-enactment mock-up of the first flight.


Robin at the top of Kill Devils Hill (where the Wright Brothers monument is located). You can see the Atlantic Ocean in the background.


The markers for the 1st flour flights.


A view of the markers from the starting point.


The Wright Brothers Monument



Robin after her hole-in-one!!!


Neal showing off that sweet mini-golf swing.


Robin's perfect form, look at the concentration and follow through!


Neal doing a little surfing in the cold weather. It is hard to surf with all your clothes on.


Robin had to try surfing too. She looks a little shaky on the imaginary surf board.

Us thinking about the warmer weather in Tennessee and wanting to head back home!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

House Update 5-21-09

Here is the latest on the home front. I received a call from the contractor yesterday and he gave me the following update:


  • The brick is finished, they will be working on finishing trim work on the outside and should have that done by next week.

  • The electrical, frame, plumbing have all been inspected and approved.

  • Insulation is to be delivered today and installation is to begin immediately.

  • Dry wall is being delivered on Friday and they should start installing dry wall on Tuesday.

  • They indicated that we should be able to set the walk through and closing dates next week!!

We are very excited, it looks like everything is going to hit for a July closing date. We went over to the house late yesterday afternoon to take some pictures and write some Bible verses on the wall before they installed the insulation. Below are some pictures of the verses and a few on the progress of the house.


Master Bedroom

Guest Bedroom 1


Guest Bedroom 2




Game room




Living Room


Kitchen



Main Room



Robin working on being hospitable already!


Neal checking out the view from the kitchen window.



Front view of the House.

Friday, May 15, 2009

House Update 5-14-09

Below are some pictures we have taken this week of the house. Key things accomplished as of Thursday afternoon:


  • The plumbing, heating and cooling stuff, and wiring is installed.

  • Once the state electrical inspector checks the wiring, they can start the dry wall installation (1 to 1.5 weeks depending on when inspector is available)

  • They started bricking on Wednesday afternoon (I would expect them to finish bricking today or tomorrow).

It is hard to see, but the AC/Heating Unit is up in the rafters.

Some of the wiring along the living room/garage wall.


The breaker box all ready for inspection and breakers.



Brick work along the back of the house.


One side of the house completed!!!


We will be heading out for vacation tomorrow and get back on Tuesday, so it should look like a true "house" when we get back!!


Sunday, May 10, 2009

Hiking Trip

Robin and I took the opportunity to take a hike last Sunday afternoon. It turned out to be a wonderful day of hiking and we really enjoyed the scenery. Below are some pictures we took:

Looks like we are ready to conquer Mt. Everest!


I love this photo!!!


Some of the trail was washed out a bit from the rain last week.




The trail has some steep climbs in places.


We saw between 20 and 30 deer (close-up) while on our hike.






Just to prove how close the deer were.


Look closely and you can see the deer lying down.