Goldenrod and Butterflies

We were so fortunate last week to live next to fields of goldenrod. Rhode Island is part of the fall southward migration of the Monarchs and the fields were full of them. Such a lovely sight to be driving towards the cottage and see hundreds of Monarchs fluttering everywhere.

One week later, the butterflies are gone and the goldenrod is fading - but it was so glorious while it lasted.

Wickford Harbour Fest

Wickford is a small town founded in 1637 by Richard Smith. The village grew slowly at first and was the subject of much real estate speculation, with as many as twenty homes constructed by the time of the Revolution, many of which still exist. More detailed information about Wickford can be found here.

Yesterday we attended the Wickford Harbour Fest. This festival had been held annually until sometime in the 1980's. They are now trying to revive it, and this was the first of what the organizers hope will become an annual event again.

This year's event was fairly small be seemed to be very well attended. And, yes, I was able to received instructions in how to shuck a quahog. Now, I think all it will take is the right knife and practice, practice, practice.

Scenes from Wickford Harbour Fest:

Our (Temporary) Home in Green Hill

We were able to rent a great "beach house" in Green Hill while the construction on our house is being completed. It is located in an area known as Ward's Pasture, so it is set away from all the other houses yet still a short walk from the beach. The property borders the Trustom Pond Wildlife Refuge, so we are able to enjoy the deer who visit almost every evening.

We are really enjoying our time here - it is so quiet and peaceful. We feel very fortunate to have such a lovely spot to await the completion of our home.

HOME AGAIN!

We have finally arrived in Rhode Island after our three day journey from Texas. We actually managed to get all our belongings into the garage at our new home. So, there they will sit until the house is finished.

Our first two weeks here have been so busy. It has been over twenty years since we last moved, and even then it was in the same state. You forget how much is involved when you move to another state!

We haven't had time to do much other than house stuff, but we hope to change that this weekend. We are going to attend the Wickford Harbour Fest. It seems as if there are so many different events all over the state every weekend! We are really looking forward to attending as many as we can.

Building, Selling, Moving and Lisa Update

Okay, I've been very bad yet again about keeping this blog up. I'm really going to try to do better.

The last two months have been totally crazy!

First, we spent almost a month getting our house ready to sell. We decluttered, freecycled and donated. We repaired and painted. Once we finally were ready to show it, we let several individuals who has expressed interest know. They came through to see it one weekend before we put out a sign (we were selling it ourselves). Within three days we had an offer. We are now set up for closing on August 30.

The move is scheduled with Paul Arpin. August 28 - pack. August 29 - load. We'll have two nights in a hotel and then we head out on our journey to Rhode Island with the two dogs and a trailer.

Our house won't be ready until December 1, so we are renting a "beach house" in Green Hill for three months. It is somewhat winterized, so hopefully it won't get too cold.

In the middle of all of this, daughter Lisa has been placed on modified bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy (four months). Granddaughter Riley is a very active 2 1/2 year old. We've been pitching in to help take care of her (along with Lisa's mother-in-law). All I can say is - I'M TOO OLD FOR THIS. Riley is a wonderful little girl, she just doesn't stop - ever! She hasn't been taking naps for over a year. And, after running around after her for hours, I need a nap! It is great to have the opportunity to spend some time with her prior to our move, though.

Four weeks and counting until the new phase in our life begins.

It's A Date

We finally have a date for them to start the next phase of construction - June 14.

Materials are being delivered on June 12-13 and the second crew from Vermont is scheduled to work starting June 25. We are anticipating our first walk-through the weekend of July 14 and 15, so we're heading to Rhode Island that weekend.

We'll be so relieved once we can actually see something happening after all these months of delays caused by the electric company.

Yesterday Was A Good Home Day

No, they haven’t started framing our Rhode Island home; and, no, we haven’t sold our Plano home. So, why was it a good home day??

For the last several years, Tom and I have volunteered for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Garland, which has been a very gratifying experience for us. We’ve been able to work on new homes side by side with the future owners’ families and then attend the dedication of their new home.

We’ve also served on the new homeowner selection committee. Part of the process includes an interview in their current home. More than once we’ve left these interviews distressed at a family’s current substandard living conditions but amazed at their positive attitude and willingness to do whatever necessary to secure a better and safer future.

We recently conducted an interview with a single mom and her two young children. Although the neighborhood they live in is fairly safe, the house they rent is no larger than an efficiency apartment. We were so impressed by her attitude. Not once during the interview did she complain or moan about her current conditions and what she didn’t have; instead she had a bright and sunny attitude and expressed appreciation for what she did have. Her determination to better herself and, thus, assure a brighter future for her children was so admirable. She made the cut and has been accepted into the Habitat program. The best part was, for the first time, I was asked to make the phone call letting her know. I cannot even begin to describe the excitement and joy (and probably a few tears) I was hearing on the other end of the phone. And, I have to admit, making that phone call was certainly a rush for me.

If you’re not familiar with the Habitat program, I’ve added a link in the sidebar. Tom and I have found our experience volunteering for Habitat wonderful. So, if you have some extra time and want to help a worthwhile organization, click on the link and find your local affiliate. I’m sure they’d love to have you!

Our Wood Pile - All Nicely Cut and Stacked!

Logjam

With nothing much going on building-wise, I'll use the next couple of weeks to catch up on some of our other happenings over the last few months.

While plotting out our driveway location, we were able to have it wander through the trees; thus, saving many of them from death by chainsaw. Unfortunately, as much as we hated it, we did have to clear out the building site for the house. Since this land had never been built on, at least in the last 100 years, many trees had to come down. As you can see in the photo, it created quite a pile - that's my mom standing in front of it.

Tom had the bright idea that he would take a trip to Rhode Island for a couple of days, borrow my dad's chainsaw, rent a log splitter then chop and stack all the logs. Fortunately, I talked him out of it. For the reasonable price of $600, our builder found someone to do all the work for us.

We are now the proud owners of approximately 10 cords of wood! Even with a wood-burning stove and sauna, we should be set for at least a couple of winters.

It Has Been A While - Now For An Update

I started out with good intentions to at least post every few weeks. As you can see that didn't happen! So, first I'll begin with an update to our house-building project.

October
Land was cleared.

November
Septic, well and foundation go in. This timing was based on information given to us by the electic company (National Grid). When the electric lines were installed in this area 50 years ago, they didn't run the poles/lines along the road. They just cut across everyone's property. Fifty years later with wetlands restrictions, the lines run right over where we needed to build. So, the electric company came out, said they could move the poles and lines, marked the new locations and said they could probably have the work done by February. Wonderful - yeah, right. Getting the actual work done proved to be more than challenging. In the meantime, we go to France!

December
Final pole placement determined by National Grid. Progress - or, so we think!

January
Radiant heat tubing installed for the basement. Easements signed by us and our neighbors. And, we send in our check to National Grid. February is right around the corner.

February
Nothing happens due to various excuses from National Grid. Now they are giving us a March date.

March
It's now warm enough to pour our basement floor. National Grid - They do actually get the new poles in place in early March! On March 30 the new lines are run, and we are told the the transfer of power to them will happen in two weeks.

April
Two weeks comes and goes. Now National Grid tells us definitely end of April. End of April - nothing! Now they say first week of May - for sure!

May
First week of May - nothing. Of course, their excuse now is that they really meant the first "full" week of May since May 1st fell on a Tuesday and that week couldn't really be counted as a full week. On May 9, we get a call telling us it will be another two weeks due to another project delaying ours. I'm finally at my wit's end and ask "when is our project going to be the one that delays some other project????" I explain that they have now delayed our building by more than three months, costing both us and our builder money. I end the conversation by asking if we need to fly up there to get this straightened out! We get a promise of calls being made to see what can be done. Miracle of miracles - the transfer takes place on May 10!!!!

Now, our builder is getting materials ordered and crews lined up to get started. Because of the numerous delays by National Grid and the manner that they kept putting us off, he was hesitant to schedule anything prior to the power actually being moved to the new lines. I don't blame him!! So, in the next week or two we'll finally see our house getting framed.

In the meantime, we are busy getting our house here in Plano ready to sell. Doing all those touch-up type things, decluttering, etc. sure eats up a lot of time. Hopefully, we'll be ready to show it at the beginning of June. We already have three couples who want to see it before we put up a sign! Wish us luck!