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4220. thoughtful - 6/7/2008 9:55:07 PM Those trees were huge. A woman stopped by the place back in the 1960s. She said she was born there and had just turned 100. She said the trees were huge even when she was a little girl.
But everything has a lifespan. I notice a number of very old maples in our neighborhood that have also been taken down recently...looked to be about the same vintage...mostly dead. 4222. thoughtful - 6/7/2008 10:00:57 PM Once the trees were gone, it was back to backfilling around the foundation. As the entire space under the garage had to be filled back in and as we had an abundance of dirt that came out of the hole, but included an abundance of rock (thanks to the old wisconsin ice sheet!) the solution was to get a rock crusher going to use what we had, but make it smaller and more compactable to fill in the hole and around the foundation.
Quite a scene...one big machine filling the crusher...the other backfilling with the output. The crusher itself is operated remotely, like a kid's toy. A very large kid's toy! 4223. thoughtful - 6/7/2008 10:02:39 PM Look closely and you'll see Joel, one of the excavators standing by the rock crusher...just to try to get a sense of scale. All such big equipment for such a little house!
 4224. thoughtful - 6/7/2008 10:06:06 PM Nice big garage, just like hubby wanted...big enough to park the excavator in!
Note too that we can finally walk up to the foundation. Starting to look more like a house! 4225. thoughtful - 6/7/2008 10:08:44 PM Piping gets laid in case of radon. Don't know if we have it and won't until the house is sealed, but if we have it, this is the easiest, fastest way to take care of it.
 4226. thoughtful - 6/7/2008 10:11:37 PM Latest pic from today:
Crushed rock has been added to the foundation floor and the pumped septic to handle the downstairs bath is sitting in the far corner. Curtain draining is complete, rough grading is done. Next step is to pour the basement floor and the framers should be starting soon. 4227. wonkers2 - 6/9/2008 2:57:53 PM Quite an impressive project! Keep us posted. 4228. arkymalarky - 6/9/2008 5:08:02 PM The most exciting part of building my house was coming home and finding the first floor frame up. Better than the foundation or the floor, was actually walking around the "walls." Unfortunately it was also the most traumatic part, because I found that 1) the contractor hadn't made the changes in the plan I told him to, and 2) he doubled the per-foot price on me. So Bob and I had a 3 day fight right after that (it was, thankfully, a weekend) over who was going to call the guy and tell him he was fired, then had a desperate scramble against the bank loan clock to find new builders.
You won't have that, though, so all you'll feel is the excitement, and that's the part that still stands out for me twelve years later. It's just too cool the first time you walk through your house.
4229. wonkers2 - 6/9/2008 5:22:43 PM The interior--wiring, plumbing, etc., is the slow part. 4230. arkymalarky - 6/9/2008 6:36:30 PM Yep, but the final stuff is the slowest--all the trimwork and stuff. But it's where you do all the fun shopping, too. 4231. thoughtful - 6/9/2008 7:26:42 PM god willing we have the $$ left by that time to do the fun shopping! 4232. jexster - 6/24/2008 10:07:43 PM This is a first. Just got chased off the pot by the cat! His kidney's aren't in the best shape so he couldn't wait until I left. I had to explain that I had my bidniss and he his...didn't cut it 4233. jexster - 6/28/2008 3:22:23 AM Welcome to the Hayes Valley Senior Assisted Kitty Living and Hospice!
Senior assisted living at its finest. Sonny's CRF has taken another southward turn which is bad enough - he can hardly walk - without the separate and apparently unrelated development - urinary incontinence.
Puddles of piddle in the bed.
 4234. thoughtful - 6/28/2008 6:38:34 PM Oh the poor thing, Jex...maybe it's time.... 4235. jexster - 6/29/2008 12:12:25 AM Oh it's time alright. Sonny's taken to the closet and I've been playing phone tag with the vet...went to bed at 12 woke at 2..haven't slept all day...Thanks T'ful...soldiering on
4236. jexster - 6/29/2008 2:14:08 AM Son of Thunder (Sonny)
October 1988
June 28, 2008 4237. jexster - 6/29/2008 6:39:03 PM Guess I am going through a second childhood or something but whatever, Julia Child recipies which stand the test of time as my copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking will attest - a stained ragged ass mess from my teenage years
Note especially her ratatouille...a bit complex as most of her's are but it is the season and if you've tasted better... 4238. robertjayb - 6/29/2008 6:53:39 PM Sorry, jexster. 4239. alistairConnor - 6/29/2008 8:16:10 PM Yep yep the essence of a good ratatouille is to cook everything separately. My mother laughed at me, but couldn't argue with the result.
Son of Thunder, rest in peace. Our old thing will be only 15 this summer, but she's had a tough life, and I don't know how long she will last. I think she had a stroke or something about a year ago, one side of her face is all droopy.
Still a formidable hunter though. 4240. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 6/29/2008 9:43:06 PM
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