We have been told construction has begun!I find if difficult to wait these days knowing that hundreds of miles from here our home is in construction phase and we don't get to watch it get built. That is the way with manufactured homes. From beginning to end, the home will be constructed indoors out of the elements - in 10 days or less!
We officially placed our order for our house August 19. We were told 30 days in process and then it would be shipped to Hot Springs. Next Thursday the 30 days is up and the house will be on it's way to us! Imagine a loud scream of excitement here!
As we wait, the land continues to undergo changes. For the last few weeks Jack and I have been spending a lot of time at the crystal mine. Each time we go, we fill the back of the truck with white quartz and beautiful crystal clusters. These are now lining the driveway on our land but eventually will be used to outline flower beds and make a labyrinth. We purchased a wood shredder at a yard sale and now have a way to make our own mulch from the trees and branches grown on our land.
I have been crazy about visiting our local Lowe's Store on a weekly basis. As their garden inventory dwindles, they put the remaining plants on sale for 75% off. I have purchased a variety of trees, shrubs, flowers, sedums and fruit plants from $3 to $1 each! I am very excited about the Angel Trumpets, elephant ear and the dinner plate hibiscus plants. Now, scattered around with all the quartz rocks are various sized potted plants, all waiting for their new home. Fortunately, Arkansas has had an unseasonably cool summer and I have not had to go to the land to water every day!
The shed/cabin/work shop work continues toward completion. We have made the structure our home away from home and love the time we are able to spend there. Jack worked hard to complete the deck and I worked on creating flowerbeds. We hope to spend next week shingling the roof and finishing the trim. Ok, I'll be honest here, Jack will do the shingling and trim - I will continue to play with and in the gardens. Inside insulation and sheetrock will wait perhaps until next spring. There is no hurry to finish that until the shed will actually be used as a workshop.
We believe we will be very busy out at the land next week so Jack has the week off from work. We expect to close on the house loan around Monday. The foundation for the house should be going in as well. Other projects include the installation of an electricity pole and digging trenches for the water, sewer, and electrical connections to the house. (This includes electricity to the workshop.) Once the house is "planted", we have ten days to build the front deck and the carport. I say "we" but I am including my contractor in this! He will be doing the majority of the work. Once the house is in place, I can begin planting the various perennials, shrubs and trees I have collected - at last count this was about 75 various plants. (That does not include the 100 iris plants a fellow master gardener gave me - those are all ready in a flower bed.) I also have about 2 dozen cannas to transplant from our rental house. And I was sad when I left all my plants in Minnesota!
Last week, we paid a security deposit for a tiny one bed room apartment in Bryant, AR. I wish we could move out to our land permanently when the house is done, but we have two more years till Jack retires. Trust me, we will be out there as often as possible until it we retire there! I should have the gardens done by then!
