| Progress and News Continued |
Sept. 20th: While Tina and I were running errands today, picking out
shingles, windows and a bunch of other things for the house, our
builder, Mark, drove down to check out the broken trench drain. So
we missed seeing him completely, but he saw the drain and decided
it will be easy to fix. He was apparently joined by someone else in a
separate vehicle, because when we finally made it back to the site,
we saw Mark's truck sitting there, but he was gone! The Garners
(well guys) were there getting our well going (!!!!!!) and said Mark
came, looked at the drain and left with some other guy. Tina called
Mark and he was well on his way back to South Carolina. He told
Tina he left his truck there, and will ride back down with his guys on
Sunday. He said he'll be here a while (!!!!!!) and just figured he'd
leave his truck here. So, we now have a well that works, and we
have Mark's pickup truck! Seriously, he said things are about to start
jumping, starting Sunday. Johnny (concrete guy) called me this
evening while I was walking Jingle (Singing Dog) for her daily walk,
and he said the inspector came this afternoon and approved us for
pouring the slab! And up on the other hill, our house really made
leaps today. It really looks like a house now, with walls, a roof, and
they're moving on with putting the porch and decks on it. So today
was a very good day. And of all the good things that happened, I
guess, to me, the best of which is getting our well fixed! The
Garners left it to run all night tonight to clear the water up. They said
this screen system they installed is a normal thing in South Georgia
and Florida, but is rarely needed here, in what they called "hard rock
region". In Florida, where they hit water shallow, drilling into sand
and sandstone, this screen system is needed on all wells for the
same reason our well needed it: to clear the sand and grit out of the
water. Can't wait to taste it!
Sept. 21st: Nothing happened at the lodge site today, well, except
for me working on our exercise yards. I worked from about 10:00
this morning until 3:30 this afternoon getting the area ready for
planting grass seed, now that we have WATER! I'm sure
Bermudagrass is the preferred grass for something like this, but our
play areas will be so nice and shady, even an excellent shade grass
like St. Augustine wouldn't cut it. We're going to have to go with a
shade grass like creeping red fescue to make it work. That will
require overseeding from time to time, but it will be very pretty. I
want to remind you to PLEASE come see us this Saturday at
Douglas County's September Saturday Celebration at the Douglas
County Courthouse starting at 1:00. Tina and I got to meet several
folks last Saturday who have red our site and decided to come meet
us! We are looking forward to having even more come this
Saturday! Oh, I almost forgot! We will likely have Pete (see our
Available Pets page) with us this Saturday. Last Saturday we had
Windy (greyhound) and Willow (whippet) with us. I don't know, we
may very well have Pete, as well as one of our other greyhounds, or
possibly Lita or Woody or.... I don't know, though, both Willow and
Windy did so well last Saturday, it'd be ashamed not to take them
again. Gee, so many dogs, so little time and so few hands for
holding leashes!
Sept. 23rd: Today is our second of three Saturdays at Douglas
County's September Saturdays Celebration. So please come meet
us between 1:00 and, oh, say, 5:00 or so. No one is supposed to
break their booths down until 6:30, but last week, as soon as 5:00
came, everyone started tearing their booths down like someone
rang a bell or something; a bell that I obviously didn't hear. We still
haven't decided which dogs we'll take. I guess it's whoever has the
saddest look on their face when it comes time to leave! Come visit
with us!!!
Sept. 25th: It rained so much yesterday, that when Mark and Johnny
got together at the site this morning, then came to me and told me it
was their opinion that it was way too wet to pour the slab today.
Trouble was, the pumper truck showed up this morning at 7:15 ready
to go! And anytime that truck shows up and sets up, it's going to
cost you in the neighborhood of $500 whether they pump any
concrete or not! Mark and Johnny told me it was up to me, and they
would pour if I wanted them to, but they said that we really shouldn't.
So we didn't. There was one truck on its way, though, so they let that
one pour and they just smeared it out thin, to be poured on top of
tomorrow morning when we try it once again. So we paid the
pumper and let him go once that one load of concrete was poured.
But that's okay, because there was plenty more work to do today.
Tina and I had to go pick out a gas log fireplace for the house, we
had to talk to our house framer and builder, as well as the guy who
will be putting the siding on our house. It's fairly late as I type this,
and I just got home from the lodge site, where Mark and R.D. (Mark's
helper) were working on the trench drain, getting it ready for pouring
in the morning. Weather-wise it looks like tomorrow will be a perfect
day to pour the slab. I do believe we're going to take a huge step
tomorrow! I just want to mention our final Saturday of Douglas
County's September Saturdays Celebration will be this coming
weekend. This will be the car show version of September
Saturdays, and, who knows, Tina and I may even pull an old car out
of the mothballs for the show. We would really love for you to save a
few minutes to swing by and talk to us! I promise you will have a
good time!
Sept. 26th: We now have a poured slab!!! The guys got a very early
start this morning and had it knocked out by 2:00 or so. Tomorrow a
special color sealant will be applied to the terra-cotta colored
concrete to seal it and to bring the color out. Also, we'll be pouring
the outside covered runs tomorrow. This is what Tina and I have
been waiting for!
Sept. 27th: Today Mark and his guys mounted the anchor bolts in
the slab and I worked on the play yards. Have you ever raked an
acre field? One with about a zillion rocks? Well, it's giving me a
good chance to look for arrowheads. I found one item that looks
awfully suspect to me. I think it may be a piece of broken pottery,
because I just don't believe this could have formed naturally. I'll see if
I can find someone who knows a little about things such as this, just
to see if it is! I think they're calling for rain at some point tomorrow. I
really would like to finish sowing the grass seed and get the straw
spread before we have any heavy rains. This afternoon Tina and I
were spread a little thin, spending time at the lodge site and up on
the road where our home is being built. We had to meet with the
HVAC man (It makes me feel like a big shot to refer to the heating
and air guy that way!), as well as our framer's "punchout" guy, Luke.
Luke comes in behind the framing crew to correct any mistakes and
make any changes the owner wants to make. There was, to me, a
slight error made, that took a pretty good chunk out of the
kitchen....oh well, no big deal, you know? But to see Tina react to
this was like it had been something major wrong with the garage or
something! Good grief, it's just a kitchen! A microwave, a sink and
a refrigerator's all you need in this world! Everything else is just
fluff!
Sept. 29th: Alright, tomorrow is the final day of Douglas County's
September Saturdays celebration, so you really need to get out of
the house and come see us! This one will be the best of the three,
because this one has the car show that goes along with it. So all you
classic car buffs, all you muscle car and street rod freaks, drag the
family down to see the show....and while you're there, drop by and
meet us! This is held at the Douglas County Courthouse in
Douglasville. The kennel is going slowly but steadily, Mark and the
guys having put up some of the structural steel this week. Just as the
cold front came through yesterday evening, bringing a few showers
along with it, I finished working on the play areas. Now I just have to
keep it wet for the grass seed to sprout. The house is coming along
in great shape. Every day we meet someone else who seems as
excited as we are about Beechwood Trails Pet Lodge opening!
Please plan to come see us tomorrow between 1:00 and 6:00 at the
courthouse!
Oct. 1st: We had our last day of Douglas County's "September
Saturdays" yesterday at the courthouse. There must have been a
record breaking crowd there, because we stayed very busy all day
long. We had the pleasure of meeting a lot of people who are very
excited about Beechwood Trails Pet Lodge opening soon. Mark
Harding's men worked yesterday, putting a lot of the steel up before
we stopped back by the site on our way home from Douglasville just
before dark. I am posting three pictures I took of it yesterday.
Oct. 2nd: Steel was flying today! They pretty much have the
"skeleton" of the building up now, and will likely begin putting the wall
panels up next. Of course, I haven't asked them what they're going
to do next, but if I were in charge... Johnny's men came today to
mark the slab for cutting joints in the concrete, primarily to "suggest"
where cracks should form. But, as anyone with a basement floor
knows, concrete has a mind of its on and will crack pretty much
anywhere it pleases. I spent most of my day raking the rocks from
one area I'll be seeding tomorrow. I'm not sure what happened at
the house today. I heard a lot of banging around through the woods
as I was raking, but I was so tired when I finished, I neither had the
energy to go look, or to take any pictures of today's progress on the
lodge. I promise I will take pictures first tomorrow before I begin
working.
Oct. 4th: They have continued adding steel to what I thought was a
finished structure. Once we have the slab poured for the outside
covered runs, they can put the steel canopy over it. I have all the
grass seed planting done that I want to do at this time, so I am just
making sure to keep it damp to make the seed sprout. It would be
nice to have a light, all night rain one night, but around here, it either
comes in floods or none at all. Oh well, our well is working fine, and,
today, I bought the coolest water sprinkler I've ever found! Yeah, it
reminds me of those they use on golf courses, and it the sound it
makes sends me back to the days I used to spend my extra time
playing golf. Some how, some way, dogs took the place of golf and
now all I can do is listen to my water sprinkler. Sad, isn't it? Anyway,
tomorrow should be a fairly busy day, hopefully seeing some
concrete being poured for the outside runs, the dumpster pad, and a
rain gutter to keep the driveway from washing away in heavy rains.
Oct. 6th: I don't believe there will be very much happening today or
this weekend on the lodge. I'm not absolutely sure, but I think Mark's
boys headed back home for the weekend yesterday around lunch.
Well, they deserve it. They've worked hard this week and got a lot
done. Next week will be a new week, and I expect there will be much
progress made. I am about to post a few new pictures of the
progress that was made this week, and I have a picture of Pete to
post on the 'Adoptable Pet' page.
Oct. 9th: I got to the lodge site bright and early this and found the
gate was still closed. That meant no one was working....yet. Tina,
driving separately, took Pete to Douglas Oaks Animal Hospital to
have his stitches taken out from having been neutered. While
watering newly sprouted grass in the play yard area, I called Johnny
Wells (concrete guy) to see if he was coming to pour our outdoor
runs and our rain gutter today. He said he would be coming after
lunch to begin prepping the areas with a Bobcat, getting them ready
to be formed and poured tomorrow morning. He said he talked to
Mark Harding (builder) and Mark is coming tomorrow with his men to
get things rolling on the building. I spent the rest of the day there
watering grass and working on our front yard up on the road at our
house-to-be. Say, why is backyard a word but front yard isn't?
Anyhow, they began installing our windows in the house today, and
they may begin putting the siding on our garage tomorrow. When
the lodge begins moving as quickly as the house is, Tina and I will
be two happy people, well, that should be, two happier people. It
will. Things are going to work out! They always do.
Oct. 10th: Well, still no builders. Tina called Bill Pelfrey, owner of
Houndquarters, and let him know we aren't very happy with the
speed in which his builders are working toward getting our job
done. Bill told Tina that Mark has promised him that he'd have us
open by Chirstmas. Hmmm, what happened to being open by
Thanksgiving? Johnny Wells couldn't get the concrete work done
today, but has it scheduled for first thing tomorrow morning. We're
having Johnny pour us some extras: some walkways and other
things just for us. Johnny's a good guy and we appreciate how hard
he works to help us out. I spent most of the day working up at the
house, moving boulders with my tiny tractor. You'd be surprised at
the size of rocks I was able to pick up with the bucket! It pretty much
ended with me seeing if I could pick up one that was just a little
larger than the last one I moved. It never let me down! So tomorrow
morning, we'll be at the lodge site for the pouring of sidewalks,
patios, outdoor runs and....stuff. We're sitting back, looking forward
to watching the fall colors at the lodge site. The numerous
sourwoods are finishing up their beautiful display, and we can't wait
to see the maples in their full fall color.
Oct. 11th: Nope, nothing happened today. Johnny let the threat of
rain delay him enough to where by the time I told him to go ahead
and pour, it was too late to get concrete ordered today. It should
have been done at dawn this morning and there would have been no
problem. Oh well, what's another day. Well, things became a little
clearer today. After Tina's conversation with Bill Pelfrey
(Houndquarters owner) yesterday, Bill contacted Mark Harding to
find out what the delay is. Bill called the house today while we were
at the lodge site and left a long message on our answering machine
explaining things. And the way it lays out, Mark has three different
jobs going, ours being one of them. Mark had made a commitment
to finish the one he's building in South Carolina by October 15th (this
weekend), and the other one, the one in Virginia, was finished
yesterday. Mark's man at the Virginia job is heading our way, after a
quick stop at his home in Ohio. And as soon as the job in South
Carolina is finished, he'll bring all those men down here to our place.
So, if all that happens, there should be so many workers on our
place next week, it'll look like a beehive. Bill said in his message
that Mark has promised him that he will have ours finished for the
Christmas Holidays. As far as the concrete goes, Johnny has
concrete ordered for tomorrow around noon, and since it has been
called in, that means it's a pretty sure thing. Tomorrow will be a
better day!
Oct. 13th: Yes, yesterday was a better day than the 11th. We got
the rest of our concrete poured and we're ready to go. We're
trusting what Houndquarters owner, Bill Pelfrey, is saying, and that
they will be here ready to work next week, and, that they'll have us
finished by Christmas!!! That's all we ask for. We're not ones to
cause a ruckus or anything, and we think the Christmas Holidays
would be the perfect time for us to open. As we get closer to the
time, we will let you know for sure when we can take reservations.
Now, the big question is: Do we work today, or do we go to the final
Lakewood Antique Show at the old Lakewood Fairgrounds? Yes,
this weekend is the last show at that location, after 20 years of its
being there. Man, I remember going to the Southeastern Fair there
at Lakewood when I was a kid....which was only a couple of years
ago! ANYway, did you know the Lakewood Fairgrounds was
created in 1916 to host the Southeastern Fair? And, did you know
that the roller coaster, seen in the movie "Smokey and the Bandit",
and destroyed in the second "Smokey and the Bandit" movie, was
called the Greyhound? It operated from 1915 to 1974. See, if you
hadn't come here to read this today, you wouldn't know that! Now
you can go amaze your friends.
shingles, windows and a bunch of other things for the house, our
builder, Mark, drove down to check out the broken trench drain. So
we missed seeing him completely, but he saw the drain and decided
it will be easy to fix. He was apparently joined by someone else in a
separate vehicle, because when we finally made it back to the site,
we saw Mark's truck sitting there, but he was gone! The Garners
(well guys) were there getting our well going (!!!!!!) and said Mark
came, looked at the drain and left with some other guy. Tina called
Mark and he was well on his way back to South Carolina. He told
Tina he left his truck there, and will ride back down with his guys on
Sunday. He said he'll be here a while (!!!!!!) and just figured he'd
leave his truck here. So, we now have a well that works, and we
have Mark's pickup truck! Seriously, he said things are about to start
jumping, starting Sunday. Johnny (concrete guy) called me this
evening while I was walking Jingle (Singing Dog) for her daily walk,
and he said the inspector came this afternoon and approved us for
pouring the slab! And up on the other hill, our house really made
leaps today. It really looks like a house now, with walls, a roof, and
they're moving on with putting the porch and decks on it. So today
was a very good day. And of all the good things that happened, I
guess, to me, the best of which is getting our well fixed! The
Garners left it to run all night tonight to clear the water up. They said
this screen system they installed is a normal thing in South Georgia
and Florida, but is rarely needed here, in what they called "hard rock
region". In Florida, where they hit water shallow, drilling into sand
and sandstone, this screen system is needed on all wells for the
same reason our well needed it: to clear the sand and grit out of the
water. Can't wait to taste it!
Sept. 21st: Nothing happened at the lodge site today, well, except
for me working on our exercise yards. I worked from about 10:00
this morning until 3:30 this afternoon getting the area ready for
planting grass seed, now that we have WATER! I'm sure
Bermudagrass is the preferred grass for something like this, but our
play areas will be so nice and shady, even an excellent shade grass
like St. Augustine wouldn't cut it. We're going to have to go with a
shade grass like creeping red fescue to make it work. That will
require overseeding from time to time, but it will be very pretty. I
want to remind you to PLEASE come see us this Saturday at
Douglas County's September Saturday Celebration at the Douglas
County Courthouse starting at 1:00. Tina and I got to meet several
folks last Saturday who have red our site and decided to come meet
us! We are looking forward to having even more come this
Saturday! Oh, I almost forgot! We will likely have Pete (see our
Available Pets page) with us this Saturday. Last Saturday we had
Windy (greyhound) and Willow (whippet) with us. I don't know, we
may very well have Pete, as well as one of our other greyhounds, or
possibly Lita or Woody or.... I don't know, though, both Willow and
Windy did so well last Saturday, it'd be ashamed not to take them
again. Gee, so many dogs, so little time and so few hands for
holding leashes!
Sept. 23rd: Today is our second of three Saturdays at Douglas
County's September Saturdays Celebration. So please come meet
us between 1:00 and, oh, say, 5:00 or so. No one is supposed to
break their booths down until 6:30, but last week, as soon as 5:00
came, everyone started tearing their booths down like someone
rang a bell or something; a bell that I obviously didn't hear. We still
haven't decided which dogs we'll take. I guess it's whoever has the
saddest look on their face when it comes time to leave! Come visit
with us!!!
Sept. 25th: It rained so much yesterday, that when Mark and Johnny
got together at the site this morning, then came to me and told me it
was their opinion that it was way too wet to pour the slab today.
Trouble was, the pumper truck showed up this morning at 7:15 ready
to go! And anytime that truck shows up and sets up, it's going to
cost you in the neighborhood of $500 whether they pump any
concrete or not! Mark and Johnny told me it was up to me, and they
would pour if I wanted them to, but they said that we really shouldn't.
So we didn't. There was one truck on its way, though, so they let that
one pour and they just smeared it out thin, to be poured on top of
tomorrow morning when we try it once again. So we paid the
pumper and let him go once that one load of concrete was poured.
But that's okay, because there was plenty more work to do today.
Tina and I had to go pick out a gas log fireplace for the house, we
had to talk to our house framer and builder, as well as the guy who
will be putting the siding on our house. It's fairly late as I type this,
and I just got home from the lodge site, where Mark and R.D. (Mark's
helper) were working on the trench drain, getting it ready for pouring
in the morning. Weather-wise it looks like tomorrow will be a perfect
day to pour the slab. I do believe we're going to take a huge step
tomorrow! I just want to mention our final Saturday of Douglas
County's September Saturdays Celebration will be this coming
weekend. This will be the car show version of September
Saturdays, and, who knows, Tina and I may even pull an old car out
of the mothballs for the show. We would really love for you to save a
few minutes to swing by and talk to us! I promise you will have a
good time!
Sept. 26th: We now have a poured slab!!! The guys got a very early
start this morning and had it knocked out by 2:00 or so. Tomorrow a
special color sealant will be applied to the terra-cotta colored
concrete to seal it and to bring the color out. Also, we'll be pouring
the outside covered runs tomorrow. This is what Tina and I have
been waiting for!
Sept. 27th: Today Mark and his guys mounted the anchor bolts in
the slab and I worked on the play yards. Have you ever raked an
acre field? One with about a zillion rocks? Well, it's giving me a
good chance to look for arrowheads. I found one item that looks
awfully suspect to me. I think it may be a piece of broken pottery,
because I just don't believe this could have formed naturally. I'll see if
I can find someone who knows a little about things such as this, just
to see if it is! I think they're calling for rain at some point tomorrow. I
really would like to finish sowing the grass seed and get the straw
spread before we have any heavy rains. This afternoon Tina and I
were spread a little thin, spending time at the lodge site and up on
the road where our home is being built. We had to meet with the
HVAC man (It makes me feel like a big shot to refer to the heating
and air guy that way!), as well as our framer's "punchout" guy, Luke.
Luke comes in behind the framing crew to correct any mistakes and
make any changes the owner wants to make. There was, to me, a
slight error made, that took a pretty good chunk out of the
kitchen....oh well, no big deal, you know? But to see Tina react to
this was like it had been something major wrong with the garage or
something! Good grief, it's just a kitchen! A microwave, a sink and
a refrigerator's all you need in this world! Everything else is just
fluff!
Sept. 29th: Alright, tomorrow is the final day of Douglas County's
September Saturdays celebration, so you really need to get out of
the house and come see us! This one will be the best of the three,
because this one has the car show that goes along with it. So all you
classic car buffs, all you muscle car and street rod freaks, drag the
family down to see the show....and while you're there, drop by and
meet us! This is held at the Douglas County Courthouse in
Douglasville. The kennel is going slowly but steadily, Mark and the
guys having put up some of the structural steel this week. Just as the
cold front came through yesterday evening, bringing a few showers
along with it, I finished working on the play areas. Now I just have to
keep it wet for the grass seed to sprout. The house is coming along
in great shape. Every day we meet someone else who seems as
excited as we are about Beechwood Trails Pet Lodge opening!
Please plan to come see us tomorrow between 1:00 and 6:00 at the
courthouse!
Oct. 1st: We had our last day of Douglas County's "September
Saturdays" yesterday at the courthouse. There must have been a
record breaking crowd there, because we stayed very busy all day
long. We had the pleasure of meeting a lot of people who are very
excited about Beechwood Trails Pet Lodge opening soon. Mark
Harding's men worked yesterday, putting a lot of the steel up before
we stopped back by the site on our way home from Douglasville just
before dark. I am posting three pictures I took of it yesterday.
Oct. 2nd: Steel was flying today! They pretty much have the
"skeleton" of the building up now, and will likely begin putting the wall
panels up next. Of course, I haven't asked them what they're going
to do next, but if I were in charge... Johnny's men came today to
mark the slab for cutting joints in the concrete, primarily to "suggest"
where cracks should form. But, as anyone with a basement floor
knows, concrete has a mind of its on and will crack pretty much
anywhere it pleases. I spent most of my day raking the rocks from
one area I'll be seeding tomorrow. I'm not sure what happened at
the house today. I heard a lot of banging around through the woods
as I was raking, but I was so tired when I finished, I neither had the
energy to go look, or to take any pictures of today's progress on the
lodge. I promise I will take pictures first tomorrow before I begin
working.
Oct. 4th: They have continued adding steel to what I thought was a
finished structure. Once we have the slab poured for the outside
covered runs, they can put the steel canopy over it. I have all the
grass seed planting done that I want to do at this time, so I am just
making sure to keep it damp to make the seed sprout. It would be
nice to have a light, all night rain one night, but around here, it either
comes in floods or none at all. Oh well, our well is working fine, and,
today, I bought the coolest water sprinkler I've ever found! Yeah, it
reminds me of those they use on golf courses, and it the sound it
makes sends me back to the days I used to spend my extra time
playing golf. Some how, some way, dogs took the place of golf and
now all I can do is listen to my water sprinkler. Sad, isn't it? Anyway,
tomorrow should be a fairly busy day, hopefully seeing some
concrete being poured for the outside runs, the dumpster pad, and a
rain gutter to keep the driveway from washing away in heavy rains.
Oct. 6th: I don't believe there will be very much happening today or
this weekend on the lodge. I'm not absolutely sure, but I think Mark's
boys headed back home for the weekend yesterday around lunch.
Well, they deserve it. They've worked hard this week and got a lot
done. Next week will be a new week, and I expect there will be much
progress made. I am about to post a few new pictures of the
progress that was made this week, and I have a picture of Pete to
post on the 'Adoptable Pet' page.
Oct. 9th: I got to the lodge site bright and early this and found the
gate was still closed. That meant no one was working....yet. Tina,
driving separately, took Pete to Douglas Oaks Animal Hospital to
have his stitches taken out from having been neutered. While
watering newly sprouted grass in the play yard area, I called Johnny
Wells (concrete guy) to see if he was coming to pour our outdoor
runs and our rain gutter today. He said he would be coming after
lunch to begin prepping the areas with a Bobcat, getting them ready
to be formed and poured tomorrow morning. He said he talked to
Mark Harding (builder) and Mark is coming tomorrow with his men to
get things rolling on the building. I spent the rest of the day there
watering grass and working on our front yard up on the road at our
house-to-be. Say, why is backyard a word but front yard isn't?
Anyhow, they began installing our windows in the house today, and
they may begin putting the siding on our garage tomorrow. When
the lodge begins moving as quickly as the house is, Tina and I will
be two happy people, well, that should be, two happier people. It
will. Things are going to work out! They always do.
Oct. 10th: Well, still no builders. Tina called Bill Pelfrey, owner of
Houndquarters, and let him know we aren't very happy with the
speed in which his builders are working toward getting our job
done. Bill told Tina that Mark has promised him that he'd have us
open by Chirstmas. Hmmm, what happened to being open by
Thanksgiving? Johnny Wells couldn't get the concrete work done
today, but has it scheduled for first thing tomorrow morning. We're
having Johnny pour us some extras: some walkways and other
things just for us. Johnny's a good guy and we appreciate how hard
he works to help us out. I spent most of the day working up at the
house, moving boulders with my tiny tractor. You'd be surprised at
the size of rocks I was able to pick up with the bucket! It pretty much
ended with me seeing if I could pick up one that was just a little
larger than the last one I moved. It never let me down! So tomorrow
morning, we'll be at the lodge site for the pouring of sidewalks,
patios, outdoor runs and....stuff. We're sitting back, looking forward
to watching the fall colors at the lodge site. The numerous
sourwoods are finishing up their beautiful display, and we can't wait
to see the maples in their full fall color.
Oct. 11th: Nope, nothing happened today. Johnny let the threat of
rain delay him enough to where by the time I told him to go ahead
and pour, it was too late to get concrete ordered today. It should
have been done at dawn this morning and there would have been no
problem. Oh well, what's another day. Well, things became a little
clearer today. After Tina's conversation with Bill Pelfrey
(Houndquarters owner) yesterday, Bill contacted Mark Harding to
find out what the delay is. Bill called the house today while we were
at the lodge site and left a long message on our answering machine
explaining things. And the way it lays out, Mark has three different
jobs going, ours being one of them. Mark had made a commitment
to finish the one he's building in South Carolina by October 15th (this
weekend), and the other one, the one in Virginia, was finished
yesterday. Mark's man at the Virginia job is heading our way, after a
quick stop at his home in Ohio. And as soon as the job in South
Carolina is finished, he'll bring all those men down here to our place.
So, if all that happens, there should be so many workers on our
place next week, it'll look like a beehive. Bill said in his message
that Mark has promised him that he will have ours finished for the
Christmas Holidays. As far as the concrete goes, Johnny has
concrete ordered for tomorrow around noon, and since it has been
called in, that means it's a pretty sure thing. Tomorrow will be a
better day!
Oct. 13th: Yes, yesterday was a better day than the 11th. We got
the rest of our concrete poured and we're ready to go. We're
trusting what Houndquarters owner, Bill Pelfrey, is saying, and that
they will be here ready to work next week, and, that they'll have us
finished by Christmas!!! That's all we ask for. We're not ones to
cause a ruckus or anything, and we think the Christmas Holidays
would be the perfect time for us to open. As we get closer to the
time, we will let you know for sure when we can take reservations.
Now, the big question is: Do we work today, or do we go to the final
Lakewood Antique Show at the old Lakewood Fairgrounds? Yes,
this weekend is the last show at that location, after 20 years of its
being there. Man, I remember going to the Southeastern Fair there
at Lakewood when I was a kid....which was only a couple of years
ago! ANYway, did you know the Lakewood Fairgrounds was
created in 1916 to host the Southeastern Fair? And, did you know
that the roller coaster, seen in the movie "Smokey and the Bandit",
and destroyed in the second "Smokey and the Bandit" movie, was
called the Greyhound? It operated from 1915 to 1974. See, if you
hadn't come here to read this today, you wouldn't know that! Now
you can go amaze your friends.