Moving Continues

As predicted, last Saturday we set-up two travel trailers. All of the utilities are not yet hooked-up, but I hope to complete that task this Saturday.

My Dad proved to be a first-rate trailer parker. After trimming back some tree branches, he maneuvered the trailer right back into the tree line where it will be totally out of the way. It was like watching a virtuoso at work.

Then my Dad and sister worked on leveling the trailer (quite a job!) because one side was around 2 feet higher than the other. I will need a set of stairs to get into the trailer when I am wearing a dress. (We plan to take care-of that tomorrow too.)

Meanwhile, I worked on digging a ditch across the driveway so we can get data lines (phone, cable, and internet) to the trailers. Happily there was a guy there spreading gravel and as he was leaving, (per a suggestion from my wonderful Dad), he was kind enough to dig the ditch for me with his Bobcat. Much easier!!! Then I just had to finish off the ditch and bury the pipe.

The second trailer didn't arrive until after we had gone. But when I got back, it was there all set-up and leveled out.

I spent a couple of evenings this week moving gravel around. Boy I wish we had that Bobcat back for a couple of hours! Moving gravel by shovel (and wheelbarrow) is hard work! God was very good to me on Wednesday evening. When I went out to work on the driveway it stopped raining! And it barely rained the entire three hours I was out there. PTL!

Work was busy this week. "We" had a movie sneak peek for our new documentary Flunked on Tuesday evening. It went very well. We had around 700 people in attendance! This was our biggest event ever!

One of my good friends is getting married and I attended a bridal shower for her this week. It was nice to get to see so many friends and celebrate this special occasion. One of the games was new to me. Each attendee was handed a bingo-type card with empty spaces. In each space they were instructed to write-in a gift they thought the bride might receive at the party. As the bride opened her presents, they could mark-off their card if they had a match. The first one to get "bingo" would receive a small prize. This game brought a whole new dynamic to the gift-opening portion of the evening. The people watching were almost more excited and eager to see what was next than the bride! It made the usually semi-boring gift opening very interesting.

Site Plan Done

The site plan is done. It wasn't quite as hard as I thought. When I looked in the right spot I found the surveyor's stakes, so I was able to get accurate measurements for distance from the edge of the property. I found a description of the property which included dimensions--very helpful. Measuring the buildings was pretty easy. Of great help was the 200' measuring tape a neighbor let me use.

But my favorite find was the satellite photo with (drum roll please) elevation lines! Yea! All I had to do was copy them onto my version. Much easier than running all over trying to figure out when the ground goes up and down and by how many feet.

Every spare minute is spent packing boxes and moving things to the storage shed. Last night we got a bunch of stuff moved. The house is starting to feel empty. We're having an indoor "garage sale" March 28-29 to get rid of as much stuff that won't be used in the "new" house as possible. There is an amazing amount of good stuff we are getting rid of (linens, towels, household items, etc.). Makes me wish I had a house to furnish (not really).

This Saturday the travel trailers arrive. We will be running water, electricity, phone, cable, internet, and sewer lines. Boy are we spoiled in this day and age. We can hardly imagine getting along without most (if not all) of these things.

I Get Older (but stay young at heart)

I am blessed by God with an abundance of great family members, friends, and co-workers. And today they figured that, since it is my birthday, they would celebrate with me.

My house-mate started the day by decorating the kitchen and my place at the table. She gave me a wonderful book on tape that I'm really looking forward to reading.

Then my family called and sang to me; promptly followed by a call from a dear friend who did the same.

My co-workers really outdid themselves this year. My office was decorated to the hilt with signs and streamers. Two of them brought in doughnuts to celebrate. They ALL sang the "Happy Birthday" song to me (even those that abhor public singing). They gave me a very sweet card with lots of nice notes in it. And they gave me a gift card for Coldwater Creek. Then they told stories about me and asked me the traditional "what are you going to do in the next year" question. It was lots of fun!

Thank you everyone who made this day so special! Thank you God for making me!!!

I Learn To Survey

Or at least that's the plan. If we do the site plan ourselves, we will save $600-800. That is money better spent elsewhere.

I have directions for what the site plan needs to include. They are things like:
-The location of all existing and proposed structures and the height of all proposed structures.
-The boundaries, including dimensions, of the property.
-Setback distances from all property lines to all proposed buildings.
-The location of all existing and proposed public and on-site utility structures and lines (including those within 100 feet of the project site).
-All means, existing and proposed, of vehicular and pedestrian ingress and egress to and from the site.
-Topographic information for the entire subject parcel and a minimum of 50 feet onto adjacent parcels.
-Vicinity sketch, at a scale of not less than three (3) inches to the mile, indicating the boundary lines and names of adjacent developments, streets and boundary lines, and the relationship of the proposed development to major roads and highways.

I think I'm in for a learning experience.