Slow moving...

Things around the farmhouse have been slow moving lately. I have been busy trying to get permits to start everything and quotes to find out just how much it's all going to cost. I have definitely learned A LOT over the past month about building, HVAC, windows, doors, plumbing, electrical, lumber, roof pitch, building codes, and the likes. I like knowing a little bit about lots of things...so, this will be a great opportunity for some hands on learning. Monday and Tuesday of next week are the days set to take the house down, then Wednesday will be site prep for the new house. Thursday will be a just in case things run over day, and Friday will be the start of pouring the concrete walls for the crawlspace. It seems like once the ball gets rolling, it really gets moving. But, I'm sure there will be some stalls somewhere along the journey. It is all so exciting and we can't wait to live at the farm permanently. Have a wonderful spring day!!!!!

Springtime Fishing

It's been a few days, I'm happy to be able to get back to posting. Spring break was great. We took a short road trip, spent lots of time with family, and had one...or two....or three...good meals :) Back to the routine this week though. We are making progress at the house...albeit slow. We now have the final demo permit, we just have to finish salvaging everything we can. It seems like everything is waiting on the septic approval...something I had heard about, but didn't fully understand how difficult it is to get a septic permit on a property like this. Yesterday we went fishing in the creek with my brother and his two boys. We caught 4 crappie, 2 red eye bass, and 1 fish that we named the camouflage fish because we didn't know what it was. The kids all had a blast (me included). Little Miss had her first canned drink, a sierra mist, thanks to Uncle Nick . She wasn't quite sure what to do with it at first, but once she had a taste, she kept running away like she thought someone was going to take it from her. It was pretty funny. We love going to the Georgia Farmhouse which we have also started calling the creek house. We are just sooooo ready to be there permanently. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve...only we have about 5 more months to go...I hope those creeks have plenty of fish in them :)

Spring Break

There wasn't much going on around the farm this past weekend. We made a last minute trip to Pigeon Forge for the start of Spring Break. The kids were ecstatic with the surprise. We drove up Friday night, checked into our hotel, and went to bed. We woke up early Saturday morning, had breakfast and headed to Dollywood. We spent the entire day walking, riding, eating, walking some more, eating some more, and riding some more. All of the kids (and mom and dad) had a blast. Little Miss loved riding all of the kiddie rides. We were exhausted at the end of the day, but promised the kids we would take them to the indoor water park at our hotel. They swam and rode the water slides over and over :) Finally we cleaned up and went to bed....YAY!!!!! Sunday morning we had a lovely breakfast, did some gem mining, played laser tag and began our JOURNEY home. We went through the Nantahala National Forest and stopped numerous times to investigate scenery, old grist mills, old homesteads and the like. We knew we were heading home to some bad weather in North Georgia. Monday morning we awoke to SNOW and it was steady coming down. Did I mention it was 73 degrees in Tennessee. Don't you love spring weather?!?!?!

Some ducks decided to have lunch in the yard

My sweetheart and my sweet baby

One of my sweet sons at his Easter program,

isn't he the cutest bunny ever!

So much progress is being made inside the house. We have gotten some of the original lumber from the house that hopefully is enough to make my kitchen island and maybe a few cabinets. Someone told me this morning that we are suppose to have freezing temperatures again at the first of next week...brrrrrr. Sadly, that means that all of the peach blossoms will be doomed. With all of the rain, the creeks by the house sound more beautiful than ever. There is just something so tranquil about the sound of rushing water. We find out today if we can have a basement. There are so many hurdles to jump through when working with a site that is as old, and as close to two creeks as our Georgia Farmhouse is. Everyday there are new discoveries...some good, some bad. Have a great day!

Someone please buy the roof...

The demo phase continues at our Georgia Farmhouse. I have sold lots of goodies from the house that we can't use, or don't want. Craigslist is a marvelous thing. I can't believe the response we have gotten. It seems everyone is interested in a good bargain, and everyone mentions the economy. I'm glad we are able to make a little green and other people who are willing to come pick things up are getting a good deal. Most people are adding on or closing in porches to make more space in their homes. The one item I can't seem to find someone to take the entire thing is the metal roof. I have had several people want to buy a few pieces here or there, but no takers on the entire roof...I'll keep my fingers crossed. Have a great day!!!

The rain still hasn't gone away...

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days...things have been a bit hectic. I know we need this rain so bad, but it has slowed our demo. On a brighter note, we found some original bead-board on the ceiling upstairs. The demo guys started taking in down yesterday, but only some of it is coming down in whole pieces. Unfortunately, when the previous owner put sheet rock on the ceiling, they just put more nails into the bead-board. So, the bead-board is nailed all over the place :( We continue selling things out of the house that we don't need or want. So far it's gone pretty good...we are actually recovering some of the money lost for expenses we weren't expecting. Our plans arrived in the mail yesterday...they are really pretty. Now we have to take them to environmental health to get approval for the septic system. Once we have that permit, hopefully it will be smooth sailing. Before too long, we will have to start cutting the grass and trimming the hedges. It will be hard maintaining two places for a while, but definitely worth it. I still have my goals of painting the swing by the creek and securing an area for the chickens, but the weather has to cooperate first. Until then...have a great day!