Weather Delay

There's no one to blame...just the weather gods who decreed that we needed more snow. Our contractor was here from Phoenix for two days and got the ridge line finished on the roof, as well as all the tie downs secured. When it came time to work indoors, the skies dumped on us. It is too cold to mix "mud" outside, too cold to paint, and too cold to do any electrical connections with bare hands, so Franco decided to go back to the valley and try again on Wednesday or Thursday.

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But, he needed to return here to get the tools he left behind. That was his first mistake. His second mistake was to try getting here this morning, in the snowstorm...in a two wheel drive Toyota truck. He got down the hill on 8235 (for you locals) but knew he was in trouble. So, he turned around and tried to go UP the hill. That was his third mistake. We had taken a trip to the mailbox and found him at the bottom of the hill. So, Ted turned us around and connected a tow strap to his truck, from Ted's 4X4 Grand Vitara. And UP we went. Sorta. We spun the tires, nearly went in the ditch twice, the Toyota was sideways for a while, but kept inching forward. Any progress is good. Ted moved over to the opposite side of the road because there were tracks there, but a car coming downhill was confused by what he saw. We were quite a sight. As we got closer to the car, Ted was waving his arm outside the car telling the other car to go around!!!

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Well, it all worked out and Franco has quite a story to tell back in Phoenix. But, I bet he needed a bathroom ASAP!

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Stay tuned, more adventures are on the horizon!

So Much To Do!

Our beautiful home is a mess! This is the living room and you can see the carpet is still pulled back and the vinyl transport covering is just there. Check out the transom windows. They really are neat. When the blinds are down, the night sky will be visible. The starry nights are amazing here and we will be able to see them from EVERY window.

This is the dining room. It will get a lot better when we are able to put furniture in here.

This is called the "marriage line" and it runs for 60 feet between the two halves of the house. That means the walls, floors and ceilings have to be joined., The contractor has a lot of work ahead of him to make this look good.

Again the marriage line, and the arch will be knocked out to become a double doorway. I hate the color, but that will disappear with the arch.

Also, there are cracks everywhere. Apparently, manufactured homes are designed to crack from the stress of moving them. If they didn't crack they would crumble, or so I'm told. But it is not pleasant to see. The contractor will fix every one!

OK, I need help on this one. This is the master bath and you can see the tub and window. What the heck did the designer have in mind for that huge open shelf? You have to get INTO the bath to access it and it is over 3 feet tall! I can put "prettys" on the top shelf and towels on the bottom shelf, but I am clueless about the middle shelf. Anyone out there have any ideas? (Yes, you have to get into the tub to open the window. No floorplan is perfect.)

Stay tuned!

Clearing the Trees

SEE THE TELEPHONE POLES...

SEE THE TREES UNDER THE TELEPHONE POLES...
SEE TED CUTTING THE TREES...

SEE NORM STACKING THE WOOD FROM THE TREES UNDER THE TELEPHONE POLES...

SEE OLGA AND TAYLOR GATHER THE WOOD THAT WAS CUT FROM UNDER THE TELEPHONE POLES...

SEE HOW BARE IT IS UNDER THE TELEPHONE POLES...BECAUSE THE ELECTRIC COMPANY DEMANDS THAT THE GROUND BE CLEARED BEFORE THEY WILL PUT THEIR POWER LINES ON TOP OF THE TELEPHONE POLES!!

It took 4 days of very hard work to clear these trees. We had 3 men with chain saws and 3 women clearing out and stacking what the men cut. I fell on the last morning and sprained my wrist. That took me out of the action and several days later it still hurts. I'm grateful that I didn't break my wrist. There is still so much to do.

And here it is! The all important GREEN TAG! This means power can now be brought into our property and in 3 weeks, we'll have ELECTRICITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, by the way, the trench is being dug between the septic tank and the house, and these are some of the boulders being dug up.

Stay tuned!

We Have a HOME!

Today was the BIG DAY! Our wonderful new home was scheduled to arrive. This was our first view as this 1/2 was slowing to make the turn.
Here is the second 1/2 also getting ready to make the turn. (Pictures courtesy of Olga!)

After 8 miles of gravel road, they made the turn on our lane.

Once they made the turn into our driveway, they had some maneuvering to do.

Of course, they had to circle around so the right side was facing the street.

They got them lined up very quickly.

And this is what we look like from the road.

The contractor is coming up tomorrow from Phoenix to look us over. He will return on Monday to begin the whole tape and texture process. Of course, the two units have to be attached first. Believe me, we will be watching.

WE SOLD THE YUMA LOT!

Yep, we did sell it. But, for some reason, we're not cheering and celebrating. EVERYTHING has been happening so fast, we're exhausted both emotionally and physically. The whole sale process took 2 weeks, from the first call from the buyer...to closing. In the mean time, we're getting the Show Low lot ready to receive our new home. In one month, we've gotten several permits from the county, had the septic installed, got the pad prepared, set the meter pole, had the power company engineers out to price the line extension, cut down trees, moved boulders, negotiated with the manufactured home dealer and the contractor who will come up from Phoenix to do all the work once the home arrives. We went down to Yuma, for the second time, on Sunday, and returned yesterday, Monday. We closed at 9 am and were on the road by 9:30. The round trip is 764 miles and we've done it twice in the last 2 weeks.

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We are expecting delivery on our home on FRIDAY!! Tomorrow we're going to Navopache Electric Company to pay for our power installation. They estimate that the power will be in ...in about 3 weeks. The contractor also expects to be finished with everything...in 2-3 weeks. Ted will be busy preparing water lines, and electric subpanels, and I've been shopping! My bath rug and towels will match! (We all have our priorities.) We should be LIVING in our home in 3-4 weeks and I'm finally getting excited. I can't wait to have kitchen counters longer than the cover over my kitchen sink. Just wait and see what I can do in a decent kitchen! We won't be finished for years, but moving in will be a big deal!

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For those of you who know Arizona geography, follow this. The home is leaving Tucson Thursday and moving to Phoenix. On Friday, it will leave Phoenix before 7 am before rush hour traffic begins. The ADOT route has them going north on I 17 to Flagstaff, east on I 40 to Holbrook, south to Snowflake, east to Concho and southwest to our property. Seems like a lot of miles!!! Stay tuned for the first pictures!!

Setting the Meter Pole

First, the excavator digs down to the rock layer, approximately 2 feet down.
Then, the hammer starts to pound the rock into manageable pieces.

Sometimes, the power needed lifts the excavator off the ground.

Then, when the hole is 5 feet deep, the pole is lifted into place.

While the pole is held in place, the hole is filled in and the dirt is packed as well as possible.

Last, you write the check for $538. Add that to the cost of the pole, the electrical box and necessary parts the total was over $1000! Believe it or not, we were excited to get this done! Navopache Electric Company will have the power lines installed in 3+ weeks and we will be ON the grid!!

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Stay tuned...we're a long way from finished with this project.

Who says...

.......BEING BUSY ISN'T AN EXCUSE?????????????

Let me tell you how my days have been going. I'll JUST tell you about yesterday and today, but you'll get the drift. Yesterday, we went BACK to St. Johns to turn in the plot plan. Did I know what a plot plan was? Didn't matter, we needed one. So, Ted and I drove the 35 miles to St. Johns and said, "HI!" to the folks at Planning and Zoning... again. They know who we are, they see us so often! We learned that a plot plan was a drawing that showed where the manufactured home would sit on the lot. OK, got that. Once we turned that drawing in, we got our BUILDING PERMIT for our home. While we were there, Dan, the Chief Building Inspector, was behind the counter so we could ask at least a hundred questions. Important ones, like, "Can you put the water and gas lines in the same trench??" YES, but put the gas line 6 inches higher than the water line and 24 inches apart. (I never thought leach lines and trenches would occupy so much of my mind.)

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Then we went to the road commission office because even though they graded and cindered our road as requested, they didn't grade our neighbor's road. It was the second item on one order. Go figure. Then, we went to the Senior Center for a pretty good $2.00 Mexican lunch. Good buddy, Norm, played and sang for the enjoyment of all. I love the little ladies who come to the table telling us to "take good care of him!" I think we went home and crashed after that. OH, Norm and Olga stopped over to ask if we could go together on an Arizona lottery ticket. It is up to 3.2 million and maybe our string of good luck would transfer over to the lottery!

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Today, we went to town early and had the laundry done by 9:45 so I could attend the monthly board meeting of the Friends of the Show Low Library. While I was there, I received a call from the contractor in Tucson who will be responsible for all work on our home once it is delivered. So, the home is scheduled to be delivered next week. Do we wait to schedule the contractor until the power is installed? (about 3 weeks) do we try to schedule them at the same time? when will we get the meter pole set? Who will do THAT? While I was at the library, Ted bought a 1550 gallon fresh water tank. He also bought all the pipe fittings and all the electrical boxes, etc. we need to put the breaker box together, since we need to be able to use a generator when the power goes out. We met for lunch and discussed BUSINESS! I suggested a submersible pump for the new tank and we were off and running on another topic!

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I also bought 4 lottery tickets.

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Who says being busy doesn't count???

What's Next?

We've been busy again this week, and the septic tank and leach fields are finished. The connecting pipe will be put in once our home is delivered. We've turned in the final paperwork to the county, for this phase. More permits are required, but we're getting a break right now. We've organized our storage unit and so far, everything fits. We've found some real bargains and have no space for it all in the motorhomes!

The colors aren't very good in this next picture. The fabric really is very nice, but it doesn't show here. I found this chair and 1/2, or love seat, at our local consignment store. It is a tapestry fabric with cabins, plaids, maps and fishing themes. But the best part is...

...it opens out into a twin sleeper! Now I have a place for visitors, particularly, my oldest friend (of 60 years!) who lives in Traverse City, MI.

So, our storage unit is now full. Either we quit finding "good stuff" or we get another storage unit to handle the overflow...OR, we wait for the home to be delivered and set up! More later....

BUSY!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yes, we've been busy!

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Feb. 14 Saturday, Roger arrived with his backhoe to dig the test holes for our septic system.

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Feb. 15 Sunday, Robert, the engineer, arrived at 8:35 to design our proposed septic system.

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Feb. 18 Wednesday, we went to St. Johns for lunch at the senior center. Every two weeks or so, our friend, Norm, plays a mean guitar and sings for your dining pleasure. On our way into town, I spotted a cow who had just given birth. The rancher had arrived and went into the pasture to check on her. He tried to lift the calf by the tail, and she charged him! You can see the dust! He left!

While we were in town, we went through "the hoops" to tie all 4 of our lots together since the septic plan showed the lines would cross 3 of the 4 lots. We were told it would be "a while" to get the new lot number since they were working 4 day weeks. I begged. I explained that the septic application couldn't be filed until we had the new number...and the mobile home permit couldn't be issued without the septic permit...and the home was just sitting in Tucson waiting to be delivered...and I was told I could call the next day..after 3 pm and maybe the number would be ready.

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We also went to the road commission offices to request road grading and cinders on our road, since the weight of the mobile home required roads in better condition.

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Feb. 19 Thursday The grader was working on our road at 8:30 am. Sometime during the day, Robert the engineer, called the county and was able to get our new lot number for the septic application.

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Feb. 21 Saturday Robert delivered the septic application to our lot and he showed Ted where he had to sign.

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Feb. 23 Monday We went back to St. Johns to turn in the application. Jonathon thought he could work on it that day, and have it ready for pickup on Wednesday!

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Feb. 25 Wednesday We went to St. Johns again to hear Norm play and picked up the septic permit 11 days after the initial test digging began. This has to be some kind of record. Also, the cinders arrived for our road.

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Feb. 26 Thursday We left Concho for a flying trip to Yuma to pick up the appliances and furniture we left behind on our lot there. We didn't get to our motel in Yuma until 7:30 at night and we crashed!

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Feb. 27 Friday We were up at 5:45 and at the lot by 7:30 ready to pack up. Our good friend, Roy Wise, was there to help us and two hours later we were ready to go. Here is our neatly packed trailer, covered with a tarp and a cargo net, ready to hit the road.

Hours later, at a fuel stop, here is the same trailer, looking a little like the Clampetts, ready to hit the road again. We learned that our "tarp" wasn't strong enough, and a cargo net doesn't hold as well as planned. But, it didn't rain and all arrived in Concho at 8:30 at night. Again, we crashed.

Feb. 28 Saturday We unloaded the trailer at our storage unit. We traveled 785 total miles, used 69 gallons of gas, and arrived home safe and sound. Thank God!!