The Wall

It's been a couple weeks since I've provided an update. I had an extended business trip that took me to Wisconsin, Green Bay to be more specific and to Lincoln, NE. After my week in the nation's heartland we took a few days over the holiday weekend (Happy Birthday, Independence!) to travel to the Elk River nestled in the Cumberland Mountains near Winchester, TN. We spent a couple nights camping and a couple days floating down the Elk in a canoe. It was a beautiful part of our state that we had never seen. Really mesmerizing. We saw all sorts of wildlife including a mink who we followed along the bank of the river for several hundred yards. He was a little guy...made me a little sad to think about how many of those it would take to make a damn coat...a coat that looks way better on its original owner. But, I digress...We also got to see some friends and meet some really nice new folks. There was a lot of musical talent in the group so the campfire at night was an experience we won't soon forget.

After more than a week and a half away, I dropped by the home site yesterday afternoon. Amazing! The forms are in place for the foundation walls (house and garage) which will be poured this week. At the far end of the house (the left end if you're facing it) the wall must be 18 feet high! some of that will be underground, of course, but it's impressive how tall the final structure will be. The master bedroom will literally overlook treetops.

It's time to start making some decisions. Tomorrow it's bathtubs for the guest rooms! We have to pick them now so the drains can be roughed in before the basement floor is poured sometime later this week. Shouldn't be too tough, but I have this fear we'll get there and find that there are 75 options. Imagine how tough it will be once we get to the real detail...cabinet hardware, wall colors, faucets, light fixtures...

It's not too early to start praying for water. No, not rain...I know we've had enough this Spring and Summer to last us a while. The well diggers will be coming next week. Wouldn't it be most unfortunate at this late stage of the game to find that we have no water?

Watch for more photos soon! I have to get a new camera to replace the one that went swimming with me in the Elk River on Friday afternoon! Note to self....self: put electronics into sealed plastic bags when floating down ANY body of water.