| Progress and News Continued |
Aug. 14th: Now, we were told that the concrete guy would start on
Monday or Tuesday. Today was Monday and, nope, he wasn't there,
so we're going to remain positive and say he'll be there tomorrow. I
was there, though. I worked all day clearing nature trails. I've got them
where I can run a Bushhog, well, my generic Bushhog, through 75% of
the trails. The remaining portion will need to be cut with a
Weedeater....okay, okay, it's a generic Weedeater, too! Yes, part of
the more challenging trail is a little steep for a tractor.
Feeling so sure the concrete guy will be there tomorrow to get the
lodge out of the ground, and then the septic system installer will be
there Wednesday to put the septic tank and lines for our house in the
ground, this is going to be great week! As soon as the home septic
system is in, Jerry will pour our basement walls.
Oh, you remember us having our underground power installed a
month or more ago? Well, Greystone still hasn't brought the power
lines across Capps Ferry to hook us up! And it's not Greystone's
fault, either....it's the cable company, so they say. The cable company
has to lower their cable a couple of feet in order to give Greystone the
room they need. Tina talked to the engineer with Greystone today,
and he said the cable has been lowered and they should be out any
day now to bring power to our side of the street.
Aug. 15th: Still no concrete guy. Can you say conniption? Yep, we're
just about to get upset here. Tina and I have been working on this
whole plan for over three years, soaking up the punches and being
patient. But each new one thrown at us shortens our fuse even more.
Tina talked to our bulder today and he said Chad, the concrete guy,
has been held up on his current job, which happens to be a Lowe's
store in North Carolina. You know, I don't care! If they keep messing
around we're going to miss Thanksgiving! This is the problem dealing
with an out of state builder. I want a builder who makes me believe
his world turns around MY job! Oh well....patience. Mark did say,
however, that Chad should be here Thursday or Friday. Thursday or
Friday? This week? This month?!! What'cha want to bet come
Friday they'll have a new date for us?
On the bright side, and, yes, there is a bright side, Greystone set our
very own power pole today and brought the wires across Capps
Ferry. That was done by the overhead crew, and now we're going to
wait a day or two....or three, on the underground crew to come bring
the power down the pole and attach it to our very lonely and almost
forgotten buried wire that leads all the way back to the lodge site.
And what's more, Jerry Slay, our home builder, had his septic tank
guy, Scott Massey, installing our septic tank today. Shoot, I was even
working on the home site today spreading gravel on the driveway.
We had our erosion guy, Tim Hallford, there yesterday finishing what
seems like endless miles of silt fencing. Because of that, and
because our gravel spreading guy, me, having everything set and
ready, Jerry can have our home site inspected for our erosion control
efforts tomorrow.
Aug. 16th: We got some promising news today from Mark Harding's
secretary! She said Chad and the plumber would be here Friday
morning to get started on digging the footings and laying the below
slab plumbing. I guess the plumber would run a line from the well at
that time....I guess. If that's so, things are going to start rolling. We
got a call from a truck driver today saying he wanted to schedule the
delivery of our sky lights.
Our home septic system was approved by Douglas County today, so
Scott was covering the tank and lines when we left an hour or so ago.
We met Jerry and the concrete wall man at the home site before we
left, and he - the wall guy - should begin digging the footings and
getting ready to form up for pouring the walls. I think Jerry is trying
hard to finish the house before the lodge is open! That isn't part of the
master plan, because we need a place to put our 13 kids while we're
moving into the new house.
13 may become 14, because we have a stray roaming the
"neighborhood" over the past day or two. He goes to my sister's
house, about a quarter of a mile away, they shoo him our way, then
he'll come up here and we'll shoo him their way. I think the only thing
Tina and I can do, knowing he needs to eat, is quietly take a bowl of
food down to my sister's house and feed him there. You know, to give
him the feeling of having a loving home and all. If I do that every day,
without Lynn and Jimmy catching me, within two or three days, he'll
feel right at home there. Of course, if they catch me, they might shoot
me! I'm only playing. I can say this, because I know Lynn reads what I
write here. Tomorrow we'll do something about treating the fleas and
ticks this pup obviously has. If we can get him to come to us, so we
can get him cleaned up, then maybe we can find him a good home.
He seems to want to trust us, but he's scared to come to us. That's
okay, cause if we turned Lita into one of the happiest girls around, this
guy will be a pushover.
Aug. 18th: Today's the day, folks! The concrete guy for the lodge
called at 8:00 sharp this morning and said they were at our gate,
ready to get us started! We told him where he key is, and that we'd
be there in just a few minutes. They will begin forming and pouring the
footings, then will pour the slab next week....hopefully. We are
underway!!!
The house project is moving right along, and they should be pouring
the footings there today. Jerry Slay is really looking after us, and I
would highly recommend him to anyone wanting to build a home. One
of the nicest guys we've ever met.
The dog I wrote about on Wednesday was caught, was fed a good
meal, and spent a quiet night in a secure run in our basement. He's a
real sweetheart, but just a little frightful right now. He's a pretty little
guy and is only about a year old. We named him Pete, just because
he looks like a Pete to us. We took him to the vet yesterday to get
him checked out and get him up to date on his shots. The problem is,
he has heartworms, along with nearly every type of intestinal worms
possible. We told the doc to go ahead and rid the little guy of all his
parasites, then we'll get him cleaned up, trained....somewhat, then find
him a good home. Of course, we'll have to keep him for one month
while he recovers from the heartworms, and by that time, who knows,
he'll likely become a member of this home. No, we don't need a 14th
dog, but, well, you know.
Aug.19th: We go to pick Pete up this morning, now that his
heartworm treatment is done, but he has to be kept calm, with no
running for one month while any heartworms in his vascular system
break down, to minimize complications. Poor little guy. That's alright,
we have a good place to keep him, and we'll be able to see him
through his troubles.
Chad and Jason, the concrete guys for the lodge, showed up at 8:00
yesterday morning to get started. They got the batter boards put up,
and are ready for the plumber to do his thing, BUT he didn't show up!
So Chad and Jason headed back home to North Carolina until the
plumber has come to do his part. Here we go again! He should
come next week, and when he has finished (which shouldn't take
long), Chad and Jason will come back in and pour the slab. Tina and I
are worried that a Thanksgiving opening may be wishful thinking.
Who knows, though, it may still happen.
Aug. 21st: We're where we've been so many times before: just
waiting. When the plumber comes and completes his work, then we'll
be ready for Chad and Jason to swoop in and pour our slab. I have
the nature trails looking great! I am having an absolute ball creating
them, knowing your pups will enjoy their time there. Jerry Slay has our
house moving forward, right on schedule. They poured the footings
today, and should begin setting the forms up for the basement walls
now. Once we've finished the basement walls, then the house will
leap out of the ground. Okay, I've saved the best for last! I believe
we've found the perfect mate for our Carolina Dog, Lita! Just in case
you haven't read Lita's story, and you haven't learned about America's
very own special breed, the Carolina Dog, click here, hear her
exciting story, and scroll to today's date and read about what we hope
to be the perfect couple, Lita and Rio. Lita wasn't raised in the
comfort of a home, but was born in the wild to wild parents. Rio has
lived the same story, but has done his in sunny Southern Florida,
beginning life in the swamps and wilderness along the Miami River.
No, Carolina Dogs aren't all from the Carolinas, but were indeed
discovered along the Savannah River near the U. S. Department of
Energy's Savannah River Site by our friend, Dr. I. Lehr Brisbin.
Carolina Dogs can be found wherever huge spaces of wilderness can
be found, where no other predator, such as coyotes, wolves or people
elbowing them out of their space, have cleared the area of them over
the past centuries, even thousands of years. So it isn't at all out of
reason to expect to find them in areas where Rio was found.
Aug. 23rd: I have failed to mention in the past couple of days how our
newly found boy, Pete, is doing. He came through the heartworm
treatments in good shape, and has shown no signs of having any
complications from the dying heartworms or the treatment. He is the
sweetest guy and minds so well. He has about three and half weeks
of having to stay calm, quiet and still to go, to make sure the dying
heartworms cause him no problems. After that period, he'll have to be
retested, just to make sure he's clear, then he can go on normal
monthly preventative. At that time Pete will be ready to find his forever
home. When I get a spare moment, I will put together a "Adoptable
Pets" page to show off Pete and others that the Douglas County
Humane Society have available.
Aug. 26th: Seems like it's been a long week. We didn't get very
much done, either! The plumber finally came, but when he first drug a
tape measure around the place, in order to get his drains and under
slab pipes in the right position, he found out the outline of the building,
done by our concrete guy the prior Friday, was flat wrong! I
immediately called our builder, then he called the his concrete guy to
see what was going on. This started a series of finger pointing that
never got us to the bottom of the problem. If you ask me, I think the
surveyors failed to mark the building corners properly on the site. But,
anyway, to make sure it was finally done right, we had the surveyor to
come back out this morning, re-mark the corners, then Tina and I
stretched string to show the building outline. We know it's right this
time, because we did it. You know, sometimes I get the feeling I
should do everything on my own. Clearly, there's no one who cares as
much as we do. Anyway, the plumber will be back out early Monday
morning and do his job. Hopefully the slab can be poured by the end
of this coming week.
On the other hand, our house is marching smoothly along. Jerry has
his subs coming in, doing their jobs, then moving out for the next sub
to come in. We are badly needing the lodge to be finished before the
house, so we may have to let the air out of Jerry's tires once or twice a
day to slow him down. Just kidding! Things will work out.
Aug. 28th: This morning our plumber showed up for an early start;
even earlier than me! He got nearly done with the pre-slab plumbing,
and only has to return tomorrow morning to finish running drain lines
for the trench drains. We should get the inspection on his work
Wednesday, then we'll be ready for our concrete guy to come and
pour the slab. I called Harry Pierce today (Harry owns Pierce Paving)
and gave him an update on how the asphalt is holding up under the
heavy loads that have been delivered. The only places showing any
wear is up near Capps Ferry where trucks turning in have passed
over the same area time after time. That's not bad! It could have
been so much worse had we not hired someone who understood the
pressures our drive would be under during construction. Thanks,
Harry!
Aug. 29th: Got a call early this morning from our plumber....who was
supposed to be there to finish his work this morning. BUT, one has a
tough time showing up for work if a balljoint falls off one's vehicle. No
kidding! Fell slap out of it! He swears they will have it fixed and be
back on the job to finish early tomorrow morning. Yes, there's always
tomorrow. Well, then, IF he's true to his word and does finish early
tomorrow, I don't see why the plumbing can't be inspected tomorrow
afternoon. Funny, though, what makes slam dunk sense to me doesn't
always happen. We'll stay positive, though, and hope it will work out.
Douglas County Fire Department is requiring us to have a fire hydrant
installed...at our expense, beside the driveway. Now, this building is,
all except office desks and chairs, virtually fireproof. And because of
being required to do this, WSA is requiring us to have an engineer
draw how the hydrant will connect to their lines...at our expense. So
now we're having to go back to our surveyor to have that drawn for us.
Yep, our surveyor. Hope it doesn't take them three months THIS time.
This past Sunday at the most recent monthly Meet & Greet Tina and I
host for Southeastern Greyhound Adoption, we were so happy and
honored to be able to meet two couples who came to meet us after
reading about the event in this site! Sooooo, that means that next
month, September 24th, between 1:00 and 3:00, it's your turn to come
meet us at the Chapel Hill Road Petsmart! We really do have a great
time! And if you aren't careful, we'll have you filling out an application
to adopt your very own Greyhound!
Monday or Tuesday. Today was Monday and, nope, he wasn't there,
so we're going to remain positive and say he'll be there tomorrow. I
was there, though. I worked all day clearing nature trails. I've got them
where I can run a Bushhog, well, my generic Bushhog, through 75% of
the trails. The remaining portion will need to be cut with a
Weedeater....okay, okay, it's a generic Weedeater, too! Yes, part of
the more challenging trail is a little steep for a tractor.
Feeling so sure the concrete guy will be there tomorrow to get the
lodge out of the ground, and then the septic system installer will be
there Wednesday to put the septic tank and lines for our house in the
ground, this is going to be great week! As soon as the home septic
system is in, Jerry will pour our basement walls.
Oh, you remember us having our underground power installed a
month or more ago? Well, Greystone still hasn't brought the power
lines across Capps Ferry to hook us up! And it's not Greystone's
fault, either....it's the cable company, so they say. The cable company
has to lower their cable a couple of feet in order to give Greystone the
room they need. Tina talked to the engineer with Greystone today,
and he said the cable has been lowered and they should be out any
day now to bring power to our side of the street.
Aug. 15th: Still no concrete guy. Can you say conniption? Yep, we're
just about to get upset here. Tina and I have been working on this
whole plan for over three years, soaking up the punches and being
patient. But each new one thrown at us shortens our fuse even more.
Tina talked to our bulder today and he said Chad, the concrete guy,
has been held up on his current job, which happens to be a Lowe's
store in North Carolina. You know, I don't care! If they keep messing
around we're going to miss Thanksgiving! This is the problem dealing
with an out of state builder. I want a builder who makes me believe
his world turns around MY job! Oh well....patience. Mark did say,
however, that Chad should be here Thursday or Friday. Thursday or
Friday? This week? This month?!! What'cha want to bet come
Friday they'll have a new date for us?
On the bright side, and, yes, there is a bright side, Greystone set our
very own power pole today and brought the wires across Capps
Ferry. That was done by the overhead crew, and now we're going to
wait a day or two....or three, on the underground crew to come bring
the power down the pole and attach it to our very lonely and almost
forgotten buried wire that leads all the way back to the lodge site.
And what's more, Jerry Slay, our home builder, had his septic tank
guy, Scott Massey, installing our septic tank today. Shoot, I was even
working on the home site today spreading gravel on the driveway.
We had our erosion guy, Tim Hallford, there yesterday finishing what
seems like endless miles of silt fencing. Because of that, and
because our gravel spreading guy, me, having everything set and
ready, Jerry can have our home site inspected for our erosion control
efforts tomorrow.
Aug. 16th: We got some promising news today from Mark Harding's
secretary! She said Chad and the plumber would be here Friday
morning to get started on digging the footings and laying the below
slab plumbing. I guess the plumber would run a line from the well at
that time....I guess. If that's so, things are going to start rolling. We
got a call from a truck driver today saying he wanted to schedule the
delivery of our sky lights.
Our home septic system was approved by Douglas County today, so
Scott was covering the tank and lines when we left an hour or so ago.
We met Jerry and the concrete wall man at the home site before we
left, and he - the wall guy - should begin digging the footings and
getting ready to form up for pouring the walls. I think Jerry is trying
hard to finish the house before the lodge is open! That isn't part of the
master plan, because we need a place to put our 13 kids while we're
moving into the new house.
13 may become 14, because we have a stray roaming the
"neighborhood" over the past day or two. He goes to my sister's
house, about a quarter of a mile away, they shoo him our way, then
he'll come up here and we'll shoo him their way. I think the only thing
Tina and I can do, knowing he needs to eat, is quietly take a bowl of
food down to my sister's house and feed him there. You know, to give
him the feeling of having a loving home and all. If I do that every day,
without Lynn and Jimmy catching me, within two or three days, he'll
feel right at home there. Of course, if they catch me, they might shoot
me! I'm only playing. I can say this, because I know Lynn reads what I
write here. Tomorrow we'll do something about treating the fleas and
ticks this pup obviously has. If we can get him to come to us, so we
can get him cleaned up, then maybe we can find him a good home.
He seems to want to trust us, but he's scared to come to us. That's
okay, cause if we turned Lita into one of the happiest girls around, this
guy will be a pushover.
Aug. 18th: Today's the day, folks! The concrete guy for the lodge
called at 8:00 sharp this morning and said they were at our gate,
ready to get us started! We told him where he key is, and that we'd
be there in just a few minutes. They will begin forming and pouring the
footings, then will pour the slab next week....hopefully. We are
underway!!!
The house project is moving right along, and they should be pouring
the footings there today. Jerry Slay is really looking after us, and I
would highly recommend him to anyone wanting to build a home. One
of the nicest guys we've ever met.
The dog I wrote about on Wednesday was caught, was fed a good
meal, and spent a quiet night in a secure run in our basement. He's a
real sweetheart, but just a little frightful right now. He's a pretty little
guy and is only about a year old. We named him Pete, just because
he looks like a Pete to us. We took him to the vet yesterday to get
him checked out and get him up to date on his shots. The problem is,
he has heartworms, along with nearly every type of intestinal worms
possible. We told the doc to go ahead and rid the little guy of all his
parasites, then we'll get him cleaned up, trained....somewhat, then find
him a good home. Of course, we'll have to keep him for one month
while he recovers from the heartworms, and by that time, who knows,
he'll likely become a member of this home. No, we don't need a 14th
dog, but, well, you know.
Aug.19th: We go to pick Pete up this morning, now that his
heartworm treatment is done, but he has to be kept calm, with no
running for one month while any heartworms in his vascular system
break down, to minimize complications. Poor little guy. That's alright,
we have a good place to keep him, and we'll be able to see him
through his troubles.
Chad and Jason, the concrete guys for the lodge, showed up at 8:00
yesterday morning to get started. They got the batter boards put up,
and are ready for the plumber to do his thing, BUT he didn't show up!
So Chad and Jason headed back home to North Carolina until the
plumber has come to do his part. Here we go again! He should
come next week, and when he has finished (which shouldn't take
long), Chad and Jason will come back in and pour the slab. Tina and I
are worried that a Thanksgiving opening may be wishful thinking.
Who knows, though, it may still happen.
Aug. 21st: We're where we've been so many times before: just
waiting. When the plumber comes and completes his work, then we'll
be ready for Chad and Jason to swoop in and pour our slab. I have
the nature trails looking great! I am having an absolute ball creating
them, knowing your pups will enjoy their time there. Jerry Slay has our
house moving forward, right on schedule. They poured the footings
today, and should begin setting the forms up for the basement walls
now. Once we've finished the basement walls, then the house will
leap out of the ground. Okay, I've saved the best for last! I believe
we've found the perfect mate for our Carolina Dog, Lita! Just in case
you haven't read Lita's story, and you haven't learned about America's
very own special breed, the Carolina Dog, click here, hear her
exciting story, and scroll to today's date and read about what we hope
to be the perfect couple, Lita and Rio. Lita wasn't raised in the
comfort of a home, but was born in the wild to wild parents. Rio has
lived the same story, but has done his in sunny Southern Florida,
beginning life in the swamps and wilderness along the Miami River.
No, Carolina Dogs aren't all from the Carolinas, but were indeed
discovered along the Savannah River near the U. S. Department of
Energy's Savannah River Site by our friend, Dr. I. Lehr Brisbin.
Carolina Dogs can be found wherever huge spaces of wilderness can
be found, where no other predator, such as coyotes, wolves or people
elbowing them out of their space, have cleared the area of them over
the past centuries, even thousands of years. So it isn't at all out of
reason to expect to find them in areas where Rio was found.
Aug. 23rd: I have failed to mention in the past couple of days how our
newly found boy, Pete, is doing. He came through the heartworm
treatments in good shape, and has shown no signs of having any
complications from the dying heartworms or the treatment. He is the
sweetest guy and minds so well. He has about three and half weeks
of having to stay calm, quiet and still to go, to make sure the dying
heartworms cause him no problems. After that period, he'll have to be
retested, just to make sure he's clear, then he can go on normal
monthly preventative. At that time Pete will be ready to find his forever
home. When I get a spare moment, I will put together a "Adoptable
Pets" page to show off Pete and others that the Douglas County
Humane Society have available.
Aug. 26th: Seems like it's been a long week. We didn't get very
much done, either! The plumber finally came, but when he first drug a
tape measure around the place, in order to get his drains and under
slab pipes in the right position, he found out the outline of the building,
done by our concrete guy the prior Friday, was flat wrong! I
immediately called our builder, then he called the his concrete guy to
see what was going on. This started a series of finger pointing that
never got us to the bottom of the problem. If you ask me, I think the
surveyors failed to mark the building corners properly on the site. But,
anyway, to make sure it was finally done right, we had the surveyor to
come back out this morning, re-mark the corners, then Tina and I
stretched string to show the building outline. We know it's right this
time, because we did it. You know, sometimes I get the feeling I
should do everything on my own. Clearly, there's no one who cares as
much as we do. Anyway, the plumber will be back out early Monday
morning and do his job. Hopefully the slab can be poured by the end
of this coming week.
On the other hand, our house is marching smoothly along. Jerry has
his subs coming in, doing their jobs, then moving out for the next sub
to come in. We are badly needing the lodge to be finished before the
house, so we may have to let the air out of Jerry's tires once or twice a
day to slow him down. Just kidding! Things will work out.
Aug. 28th: This morning our plumber showed up for an early start;
even earlier than me! He got nearly done with the pre-slab plumbing,
and only has to return tomorrow morning to finish running drain lines
for the trench drains. We should get the inspection on his work
Wednesday, then we'll be ready for our concrete guy to come and
pour the slab. I called Harry Pierce today (Harry owns Pierce Paving)
and gave him an update on how the asphalt is holding up under the
heavy loads that have been delivered. The only places showing any
wear is up near Capps Ferry where trucks turning in have passed
over the same area time after time. That's not bad! It could have
been so much worse had we not hired someone who understood the
pressures our drive would be under during construction. Thanks,
Harry!
Aug. 29th: Got a call early this morning from our plumber....who was
supposed to be there to finish his work this morning. BUT, one has a
tough time showing up for work if a balljoint falls off one's vehicle. No
kidding! Fell slap out of it! He swears they will have it fixed and be
back on the job to finish early tomorrow morning. Yes, there's always
tomorrow. Well, then, IF he's true to his word and does finish early
tomorrow, I don't see why the plumbing can't be inspected tomorrow
afternoon. Funny, though, what makes slam dunk sense to me doesn't
always happen. We'll stay positive, though, and hope it will work out.
Douglas County Fire Department is requiring us to have a fire hydrant
installed...at our expense, beside the driveway. Now, this building is,
all except office desks and chairs, virtually fireproof. And because of
being required to do this, WSA is requiring us to have an engineer
draw how the hydrant will connect to their lines...at our expense. So
now we're having to go back to our surveyor to have that drawn for us.
Yep, our surveyor. Hope it doesn't take them three months THIS time.
This past Sunday at the most recent monthly Meet & Greet Tina and I
host for Southeastern Greyhound Adoption, we were so happy and
honored to be able to meet two couples who came to meet us after
reading about the event in this site! Sooooo, that means that next
month, September 24th, between 1:00 and 3:00, it's your turn to come
meet us at the Chapel Hill Road Petsmart! We really do have a great
time! And if you aren't careful, we'll have you filling out an application
to adopt your very own Greyhound!