Movin' on

Well, it's lookin' good. We got the relocating accomplished, i.e., moving the dirt base for the carport and shop to the opposite side of the drive; and we created a berm that covers the existing water line. Plumbing lines have been put in prior to the pad being poured.
I really won't make you look at all the pics of plumbing - we photo'd all of it in case of a future break or problem.

We also had a great Thanksgiving with my daughter Monica visiting from North Carolina and Scottie's daughter Sarah and her boyfriend Bobby visiting from San Diego. They are all the first of family to see the place.

Monica and Mom,
aka me

Bobby, Sarah,
and Scott





And, as a little time out from the building obsession Monica and I headed up for Sequoia Park today. WE GOT TO SEE BEARS!! A mama and twin cubs!!!!


So, life is good. I've had a fun week, a wonderful visit with my daughter, a great improvement to the looks of things at the lot, all topped off by bears!! Love it.

A change in the plot plan

When Scottie and I went up to the lot yesterday evening we decided we didn't like the way it laid out. After moving the house back several feet due to the water line, the garage ended up right in front of the house. We would have been forever looking out the window at the side of the garage. Yuk. Sometime in the middle of the night the visionary fairies visited my brain and said, "silly girl, just flip the garage and shop to the opposite side of the drive." So, we did. It's only money. Mark and the rest of the crew from Mountain Valley had been ready to load up and leave the site, but we greeted them with our change plan then approved Donny's change in cost plan (there is always that), and they went to work.
And, drum roll, please, I got to drive the dozer! I had said I wanted a ride before they were done, thinking ride, not drive. But Mark put me in the driver's seat. You can't say "behind the wheel" since there isn't one.
So, this is yours truly before the guys got to the site, sitting in the dozer, looking cool, calm & collected. Trust me, that is NOT how the pictures of the actual driving look!


Then, I got Mark to pose for a picture with a promise of lots of female attention once his picture hits the net:

Lupe and the new guy - oops, didn't get his name - prepared the section of pipe that was repaired to be buried. They greased the nuts on the connection thingies (a technical term) and wrapped them in plastic prior to being buried. The new plan has a berm over the portion of the water pipe that is a problem, fully protecting it and adding a landscape element.

Then, Mark got down to some serious driving of the bulldozer! It was back up the steep bank or tilt yourself at an unbelievable angle. I was really glad we got to watch this part. I didn't get the option of riding, let alone driving, for this part!



After things got a lot more level, I got my chance.



First instructions. . . . . . . . . . . . . Followed by backing up. . . . Then actual moving of dirt!!

Not only did I have great fun (and THANKS to Scottie for taking pictures), but we are both much happier with the new layout. So, repeat after me: It's only money.

Water, stuck truck, water, bulldozer, water & digging

Got a phone message from Mark the dozer driver yesterday that they had hit the 6" water main with 160 pounds of pressure. So the day got really interesting.
We had a map of the old 1960's water line - but it wasn't shown in the correct place. So, everyone from the architect to the dirt guys had been relying on incorrect info. Oops. Lots of fun photos though. We had water running off the hillside in a stream while we waited for the only guy with the key to the well house for the small community water system to drive up from Visalia and turn off the water. I called Scottie, who was also in Visalia, and suggested he might want to join the fun and games.


Meanwhile, the guys continued working - and Lupe got the big ole water truck stuck. Mark flattened out an area around the truck to work and managed to pull him out forward after first breaking a chain trying to get him out backwards. Oops again. Watching Mark work is a dream. He was driving the dozer with the blade inches away from the truck's wheels, calm as could be, seeming totally unbothered by anything. I asked how long he's been doing this, and he tells me he started at TWELVE years of age helping his grandpa. It shows.


Scottie arrived. Ray Murry from the water Co still wasn't with us and water was still running. There was a fear that the line could be hit yet again so Lupe and Scottie started digging in the suspected location. No luck.




Mark also kept working, grading the cut in front of the oak trees. He's promised me a ride but wouldn't let me in the cab when the dozer was on tilt. Darn. Ray finally arrived and we learned that parts to repair the main were available in Visalia. Scottie volunteered to go get them and Mark knows how to do repairs. So off we went to Visalia where the first pipe place had the fittings, but not the pipe despite having said that they did have it. Luckily the second place had pipe and we headed back up the hill.

Light was fading as the guys reassembled the line (which, by the way, had caused a total lack of water to quite a few households in the interim). It held. Water ran. Back in business.

The plan now is to get a bid (quickly) to move the line out around the house site. Water company would split the costs with us, and I plan to ask the original real estate company to chip in also. One way or another, work goes on. Worst case: We move the house back five or 10 feet and risk losing one of the old oaks. Best case: we move the line and keep on keepin' on.

Today I work at the Gallery, cell phone in hand, well pocket, the whole time, hoping I don't get an emergency call.

Dirt is moving!

Well, it's finally happening. Mark, the dozer driver, and Lupe, the driver of both the big truck and the water truck, arrived this morning. They chose to unload at the bottom of the lot on Mineral King Road. That's Lupe climbing out of the truck. He says he wants to be the cover photo of whatever I'm writing.






So far they have an access created, not yet really a driveway, but you can get in and out; and they are started on the pad for the house and the pad for the carport/shop. I'm holding my breath hoping it doesn't damage the oak trees. Seems we are coming closer to their bases than I had hoped. Don, who owns the excavation company, is also a native plant guy and assures me we are fine. I just hope he knows what he's talking about.

This is what we have for driveway so far.


Followed by a view of the beginnings of the pad for the house.







And, here's my good buddy George. Of his bright yellow truck George says he'll get one you can see next time he trades.

On the way!

God, this has been slow! The bank messed up just about everything they could. Minor little details like "forgetting" to order the appraisal. Anyway, nothing could start until they were finished and that seemed to take forever.
So, we've met with George, the builder, and Don, the dirt guy, to lay out the driveway and house pad. That's Don on the left, George in the center, and Scott, aka husband, on the right. Deep in thought, all of them. You can see the path we've worn walking the site over and over. LOVE the big ole oak trees!


To the left you see where the house will eventually sit. What you can't tell from this is that we'll have a wonderful up-canyon view toward Alta Peak and Moro Rock.










And, to the right you see where we'll come in with the driveway.
A part of me hates to disturb the landscape. Every time we are up there I find something new. On one visit I saw the most beautiful spider I've ever seen. We have the kind that build little traps with cones of dirt and webs at the bottom. Birds are out in force now too with all the migratory ones moving through. Ah, well, I know that we'll take better care than most would, and this lot is in a place that will be built on SOON whether by us or another. So, we'll build a relatively small house that will do as little damage as possible. We'll plant natives, feed birds, create a back yard habitat, all of the above. And - it's FINALLY getting started.
It's Saturday, and the dirt moving starts Monday or Tuesday. Stay tuned!