Just a Little Catch Up

Yes, I'm back blogging. Life is happy, full, and very busy so I'm not sure how often I'll post, but when all is said and done this is the best way to record what is happening. And there is a lot happening.

In a blog post just before Christmas 2012 I wrote that I was looking forward to having lunch with an old friend that I hadn't seen in over a decade. That worked out well. On February 22, 2014 we got married.

New husband Jay lives in a townhouse that doesn't allow dogs, so I am still living in my wetlands home with Sunny and Pappy. We are resolving this situation by building a condo in Westport Village that will, Lord willing, be done in early autumn.

I'm hoping to record the progress of the condo here. So far it's a muddy bulldozed lot with stakes in it. We are hoping by the end of next week, it will be basement walls. The weather needs to cooperate for that to happen.

For readers who are familiar with the area, the road in the background is West H Avenue in Oshtemo Township.

Six Egger Bluebird Nest

This is a special spring for my bluebird trail since it is, Lord willing, my last spring living in this house.

First time in twenty years of nest box monitoring that I've found more than five eggs in a bluebird nest.

First Decisions

We met with Kelli today To start making decisions about Oak Haven.

We selected the siding, a light warm brown color, and were given a book of front door sidelight options to study before our next meeting. The shakes will be the light option to go with the darker siding. All the roofs in the community are the same, so no decision required.

Eventually we will get to pick the color of our front door out of the allowed colors. I'm leaning toward the red. Jay likes the blue. Neither of us cares enough to quibble over it. We may throw the die. Or wait and see what our neighbor picks to make sure we have something different.

Kelli walked us around the blueprint to make the final decision on the window types and locations so they could be ordered.

We briefly talked about the orientation of the condo on the lot and the driveway's relationship to the fire hydrant. The condo will be staked out in a few days and we'll be able to see how it's going to sit. We were assured the fire hydrant will not be a problem.

Then we got into the fun stuff. Picking out the cabinets and hardwood floor. We looked at samples of color and style until our heads were swimming. At least my head was swimming. Jay claimed to be fine.

We were sent away with a book of cabinet styles and colors. Enough information to keep us busy talking for two weeks until the next meeting on May 5.

SOLD Sign Up

No digging has started yet, but we were thrilled to find a SOLD sign in our future front yard today.

Little things mean a lot.

Lot is Bulldozed

Driving out to Westport today, we found our lot has been bulldozed smooth. A good start.

Closing Day at the Bank

Builder Jeff explained to us that the condo model we chose would fit better on the lot next to the one we originally selected without his guidance. We gratefully accepted his experienced advice and switched to Lot 12 before our contract and finance closing on April 9.

It's much easier to get a feel for the lots now that the snow has mostly melted.