Simple Home and Happiness

Today was a big day! We went from this... To this...   Seriously, just looking at this picture makes me want to cry.   It was incredibly overwhelming to see that beautiful piece of history rolling off the foundation.   The company that I hired was incredible and they did a phenomenal job, but just watching was hard for me.   I snapped a million photos with my camera and took a video when they rolled it off the old foundation. I will try to post those later, but for now, since it is late and I am exhausted, you get iPad photos!   This is a close up of when the beams were under it.   I don't know if I can truly express how intense it was to see the old house moving onto the equipment.   The moving company was great. They are a family run operation and I really enjoyed talking with the first generation of the company. He has been moving homes for nearly fifty-eight years and I felt a million times better knowing he...

Everything is changing by the minute around here, so it's hard to sit down and tell you what is happening, because I start to write and before I finish, something has changed! We are still waiting on concrete for the walls, which means that we will not be able to set the house down on the basement. Rather, we will move it and set it down till later when the concrete is set, then we will pick it up again and set in down for the LAST time on the basement. Yesterday we ripped down the porch and the poorly constructed addition that was attached to Lucky. Today the carpenters and I knocked out the fireplace that had to come out for the move. It was disappointing, because if I could have saved it, I would have! It was beautiful once it was exposed! I say the carpenters and I knocked it out, but that's not entirely true. Mostly they got really dirty and sweaty and I wrangled babied and watched and handed tools into the attic. It's been hard for me, because I am a hands-o...

Let's do a little photo recap shall we? Just over one week ago there was this.  Then this.   This.   Which became this. \ Unbelievably it now looks like this. And on Friday, it will hold this! I can't believe how quickly this is flying by. The next week will be complete craziness, but I am as prepared as possible (which doesn't feel nearly prepared enough).  We are moving the house starting Thursday and setting it on the basement foundation on Friday.  The wall forms are just about finished and concrete will be coming soon.  Worse case scenario, if the walls do not get poured in time, we will still move the house. It will just sit on beams until the end of October when the movers can come back and finish.  But right now we are planning and scheduling for concrete walls to be ready!  Thanks for checking in on the progress! I'll keep you all posted! 

My phone started ringing at 7:30 this morning. I was totally still asleep and so were the babes. I answered the phone, forcing that perky-I-wasn't-sleeping voice. It was my house mover. He wants to move the house next Thursday. As in, one week from today. Problem. The basement currently looks like this... Those are not walls my friends, those are only half of the wall forms that need to be up in order to pour the concrete for the walls. Can't really move the house in without those, now can we? The house mover needs to do it now, or he can't get back till the end of October. Our house has to be moved by the first week in October so the neighbors can move their new one in. I called all my subcontractors and they can get their work done in time, but it all hinges on the concrete. Funny, when we started this, it hinged on the house mover not being late and now he wants to go a week early. That's unheard of in construction. A week late, yes, a month l...

Last night I had a dream nightmare that the neighbors got tired of Lucky being in their way, so they moved the house and in the process destroyed the floors and just as I was figuring out how to salvage the mess, a tornado came and wiped the whole thing out. For real, that was the exact dream. I think it is safe to say I am beginning to stress a bit about the move. I can handle everything else; being my own general contractor , determining where septic tanks go and geothermal vs furnace and so much more, but the actual moving of the house has me freaked out. The company that is moving our house has been in the business a really long time, and they came highly recommended, but we are about to lift a ninety year old, two story home, that was most likely built by a layman, put it on a moving trailer, haul it two miles across roads and pasture and set it down on a foundation that we hope and pray is exact enough in dimension to hold it. Do you sense my fear? When people hear...

Concrete coming tomorrow. Things are moving fast. Wish me luck! P.S. This girl is in the middle of her own farmhouse renovation!   Posted with Blogsy

The past couple of days have a been a complete whirlwind. Ever since I posted this , I have been scheduling and checking and rechecking and lining up crews for everything from excavating, to pouring concrete, to carpentry work and so much more. Yesterday the excavation for the basement began. It was so sudden I still can't quite wrap my head around it. But here's proof! Today they finished digging, and the concrete guys will be starting next. I just wanted to say thank you to all the people who have come out to help me in the past few days. Without both family and friends this wouldn't be happening and we wouldn't be moving Lucky at all. I have been blessed by family that is willing to take my kiddos at less than a moments notice, and I am forever grateful for them. As for the many subcontractors who have been out here, it speaks volumes to their character that they have showed up to do the work much earlier than expected and on short notice. They wil...

In an absolutely unexpected twist I am now going to be my own general contractor. Long-depressing-story cut short, our contractor would not contact me, despite my best, and I mean, very best efforts to get ahold of him. So we decided to move forward on the Lucky house without him. Simple, right? Not quite. The neighbors that we bought Lucky from need us to move the house so they can bring in their pre-built home. Oh, did I mention this needs to be done by October 15th? Nothing like a little pressure to make a girl kick it in gear. I spent most of the day yesterday making phone calls and lining up subcontractors to get the house moved. Here's where I stand as of tonight; I have the electrician and the heating/cooling guys lined up to disconnect Lucky, so she'll be ready to move. I am working on getting the plumber lined up as well. The house movers are booked through September, but they are going to try to be here as early in October as possible, weather permi...

I woke up this morning and I swear I could smell banana bread, and family reunions, and fallen leaves and football. Hello September. My favorite season is upon us. I love how I can feel it in the air, the undercurrent that moves in this time of year. The quiet change of seasons, long before the calendar says its time. The air feels charged. It crackles with the hint of what is to come. If I could travel the world chasing Fall, I would. It is the reason I could never live anywhere that doesn't have the four seasons. I look forward to it every year. It is so beautiful, even before the leaves begin to change. It feels fresh and warm. It is delicious and inviting. It is the promise of cold mornings and warm blankets to snuggle under. This time of year draws me into my home to begin the work of preparing for the long winter . I crave slow cooked stews and chili. I want to bake breads and cakes and caramel rolls. Oh, how the Hubs hates hearing me utter the "W"...