Hurry up and wait has become our motto, but over the last two months we have made some significant progress. We had hoped to have us all living on the farm in October but of course there was a lot more waiting than progress in September. We did get more clean-up done around the property and got the barn and milk shed/tool shed ready for improvements It wasn’t until October that the progress finally started happening and leaves with the hope of all of us getting out to the farm will soon be a reality.
September 1st to 7th – We got our shipping container ordered and delivered to the farm. We purchased blocks to level the container and doors for our milk house/tool shed. Once everything was set up, Bill and Frank rented a car and headed to Houston. Once they got down there Frank closed out our post office box and the picked up a moving truck and loaded all of the stuff we had in storage to bring back to Tennessee. This will pretty much finish our move from Texas to Tennessee.
September 8th to 13th – The guys arrived back on a Sunday with the moving truck and with help from a few friends we unloaded everything either into our shipping container, if it was household items, or into the milk shed/tool shed. It is nice to have all of our things finally here.
We began working on the tool shed. We organized inside and replaced some rotten boards outside and added doors so we could lock up all the tools we now have stored there. The plan is to paint the building to match the other outbuildings on the farm so I picked out our colors. The grandchildren appreciated the tire swing that Uncle Bill put up for them.
September 14th– It was Frank and my 50th anniversary so we took the day off to relax and spend some time together. We had hoped to take a big anniversary trip, but working on the farm has become our anniversary gift to one another. We did have a nice dinner at 5 Chef’s restaurant in Portland, TN.
September 15th to 20th– We picked up our temporary power pole this week and got it installed. We had to cut down some trees and clean our land between the existing power lines and where our power lines will be. Clean up meant we had lots of cuttings to burn so we all enjoyed a big bonfire at the property.
Then it became another waiting game for the power company to put us on their schedule. That gave us some time to do exploring in the woods of our property and finally find our year-round spring. It is so beautiful on our land and as we explored we found evidence that others found our property beautiful and useful too. In the woods we found 3 deer stands and a trail camera.
September 21st – While working on the farm this morning Bill found what we think is a cistern. We worked at cleaning around it and made sure to cover it up so no children or animals would fall in it.
September 22nd to 30th– Our milk shed/tool shed had several broken windows so Frank replaced them. We got our building permit for our shop and were ready for the contractor to put in the pad. And once again we waited for the contractor to fit us into his schedule. Once he got us on his schedule and brought all his equipment out we were hit with the rain from Hurricane Helena. That meant more waiting but the grandkids who had now moved out to the property enjoy playing in the mud.
October 3rd– Finally the rain stopped and the land had dried up enough that they could start our land work. The plan was for them to dig a pond on our low land for the animals and bring that soil up to make the pad for our house and driveway. But as they were digging in the low area they hit a sinkhole so they couldn’t dig safely there anymore. So we had to come up with a new plan which involved bringing in lots of outside dirt.
They did an amazing job on our pad for our shop and the driveway onto the land. They put in our water line and ran the lines for the rest of our family’s properties so we wouldn’t have to dig up our driveway to run them later.
With all the work going on the electric company finally decided that we deserved power out on our land. We were so happy to see them show up and put in our pole and hook-up our temporary power.
October 4th– We moved our RV from Franklin, Kentucky to Lafayette so we are now just a few minutes from the farm. That will make it so much easier for us to run out and do work. We are staying in a small campground attached to a park in downtown. The park only allows people to stay a maximum of two weeks so we will kept our fingers crossed that we would get our septic permit and be able to get our septic dug before we move out to the farm. Sometimes our adventures lead to finding a few creatures along the way but Bill’s dog Lily was great at making sure ever snake was disposed of quickly and eaten.
October 5th to October 19th – With our ground work done it was time to wait once more for the shop to be built. Edwin’s father builds metal buildings all over Houston and he scheduled some time for him and his wife to come up to visit the grandchildren and put up the shop. While waiting we did some fun activities instead of just working all the time. We explored the shops in town. Did a field trip to Lost Cave’s scarecrow path and had a few days to relax before starting a new project.
October 20th- Sometimes it seems like all we do is work on the farm but we also play on the farm today. After having a family meal together we all enjoyed some time target shooting. It is nice that we can have land that we can do so many things on.
October 21st- Fall had arrived in Tennessee and we were able to enjoy another view of the beauty on our property.
October 22nd to 25th – Since all we could do was wait for the material for the shop and our builder to arrive we started another project which was to put siding on our barn. When we moved on the property we found there was a barn they kept their horses in. The barn was in fair shape but needed to have lots of rotten boards replaced. So the guys started working on it and got that done and then started to put metal siding on the building.
October 27th – Edwin’s father Simon arrived on Sunday and since the materials for the shop wouldn’t arrive until Monday he and his crew finished siding our barn and now all we have to do is put the trim on it. Daniel got to get a driving lesson in some of the equipment we rented to do the shop. We also able to gather for a meal and celebrate Edwin’s birthday a few days early.
October 28th to October 31st– The material was supposed to be delivered Monday but like everything else we have done out here, we had to wait once more. The material arrived bright and early Tuesday morning, although it was missing several important parts including 3 of the 4 beams for the ceiling. After talking to the company we bought our shop pieces from, they agreed it was their mistake and would ship the remaining items but they would not be here until Friday, November 1st. So another delay.
Slowly but surely things are coming together. We now have water that comes from a faucet not a hose, electric power and internet. On Saturday November 2nd Frank and I will be moving our RV out to the property and as soon as the shop is finished we will all be moving inside for the winter. Despite have so much done there is still so much to do, so the adventures will continue at home for the time being.
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