It will most likely turn out to be a monumental coordination effort to move into the new house. Yesterday was spent mostly trying to plan out the logistics for our move. We have the fifth wheel - loaded with most of our personal possessions - sitting on the site that expires on May 15. Our projected close on the house is May 15 and our expected arrival - should we decide to go - in Wyoming is the week after that. Whew! There are so many factors to consider - moving our stuff out of the storage unit in Surprise into the new home, figuring out what needs to stay in the fifth wheel for summers in Wyoming, do we pay to have the fifth wheel hauled to Wyoming and kept there for every summer or do we just put the fifth wheel in storage here and bag the Wyoming summer this year? We are hoping that it all gets sorted out as we get closer to the time we have to commit to Wyoming, which will be in a couple weeks.
The only other activity yesterday was a trip to Costco to return an item and pick up a few other sale items.
We have a busy weekend scheduled, starting with a meeting this morning at 10 AM with the first landscaper to provide a quote for the new home. We hope to use this as a comparison for several other quotes we expect to get from other landscapers for both the front and rear landscaping. The front needs to be completed within 90 days of move-in. It could mean having the landscaping done before we go to Wyoming (?). The rear can be done later.
Josie wants to get her hair done and we also have the big Home and Garden Show scheduled either today or tomorrow. We are looking forward to that show so that we can get information on other much needed items for the new house. We are entering an exciting, and perhaps tense period, so the next couple months should be very interesting...
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Friday, March 6, 2015
Construction Back on Track
We signed the change order early yesterday morning to "officially" add the Den #2 in-lieu-of the 3rd Bedroom on the house. Even though we thought that was the situation from the beginning, the Pulte paperwork showed the original #3 Bedroom to be in the plans. Josie and I met at the house after she got off work yesterday at around 5:30 PM and the fix was already made on the house. Not only that, they made more progress on the framing to where the trusses were in, and the framing is moving right along:
Our meeting to review the construction with the Field Manager is still on schedule for March 13.
On the way to meet Josie at the house, I passed these balloons that were preparing for take off. The one on the right was being inflated the fastest:
These balloons were not more than about 100 feet off the highway which is as close to the main road as I've ever seen them.
TGIF and today is Josie's final work day for the week. We have a few fun things planned, including a meeting with a landscaper at the house tomorrow and a visit to the Home and Garden Show at the Stadium either tomorrow or Sunday...
Our meeting to review the construction with the Field Manager is still on schedule for March 13.
On the way to meet Josie at the house, I passed these balloons that were preparing for take off. The one on the right was being inflated the fastest:
These balloons were not more than about 100 feet off the highway which is as close to the main road as I've ever seen them.
TGIF and today is Josie's final work day for the week. We have a few fun things planned, including a meeting with a landscaper at the house tomorrow and a visit to the Home and Garden Show at the Stadium either tomorrow or Sunday...
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Small Bump
The problem that we spotted on Tuesday when we visited the house to see the construction progress was a real problem. The wall that was in the front of the second den should not have been there and the contract had no language to make it a den in lieu of a bedroom. We were never asked the question and our sales person knew from the start that we wanted that room as a den to use as an exercise room. Anyway, the problem was discovered early enough in the construction so that we could add the den configuration with just a minor adjustment. I say minor, but the wall needs to be removed in the front and the closet removed that was framed out inside the bedroom. Whew! We will be watching all of the construction closely - especially from now on.
Our fifth wheel will not be refinanced through the new credit union because, as it turns out, they can only go back to the 2009 model year and ours is a 2008. Oh, well, it was a good try.
I worked the late shift again yesterday and Josie stopped by at work to fill the tank for the Escape following her work day. She did some shopping and we were able to walk around Sam's Club a little bit on my break.
As Josie was driving home at around 6:30 she captured this neat shot of the sunset - actually, the moon:
The desert sure makes for some nice photos.
I am all set now for my Colonoscopy as I received a message that everything was approved by the insurance company. That is scheduled for next Thursday and I'm not looking forward to the preparation the day before...
Our fifth wheel will not be refinanced through the new credit union because, as it turns out, they can only go back to the 2009 model year and ours is a 2008. Oh, well, it was a good try.
I worked the late shift again yesterday and Josie stopped by at work to fill the tank for the Escape following her work day. She did some shopping and we were able to walk around Sam's Club a little bit on my break.
As Josie was driving home at around 6:30 she captured this neat shot of the sunset - actually, the moon:
The desert sure makes for some nice photos.
I am all set now for my Colonoscopy as I received a message that everything was approved by the insurance company. That is scheduled for next Thursday and I'm not looking forward to the preparation the day before...
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Taking Shape
Among the other chores I did yesterday was a drive by the new house to see if they started the framing. When I arrived there in the early afternoon, there were people working all around the house and there was some heavy equipment being used so I didn't stay to get a close look. Instead, I returned in the evening with Josie to check out the progress. We have the start of the framing and enough of it was done to see each room and visualize how it was going to look. Below are a couple shots of the status:
They did a lot in one day. Everything looked good to us except for one potential problem. The second den that we are planning to use as an exercise room had a wall constructed in the front of the room where it is suppose to be open to the hallway. I sent an email to the construction manager to ask if that was normal and if the wall was going to be removed later. Interesting.
I showed a photo yesterday of one of the burros that Josie spotted on her way to work. Well, coming home from our house visit we spotted the whole herd - or what appeared to be the whole herd - on the side of the road as we turned onto the road that fronts the resort. Another shot of the whole group is below:
We counted five in this group and that is what we remembered for this local family. Sometimes we go weeks and maybe months without seeing them and then we see them on consecutive days.
I have a work day scheduled today so we won't be home together until probably 9 PM tonight. In a way, I like the late schedule for my shift because it still gives me most of the day for other activities. On the other hand, it messes up the day for both of us. Oh well, it is what it is for now...
They did a lot in one day. Everything looked good to us except for one potential problem. The second den that we are planning to use as an exercise room had a wall constructed in the front of the room where it is suppose to be open to the hallway. I sent an email to the construction manager to ask if that was normal and if the wall was going to be removed later. Interesting.
I showed a photo yesterday of one of the burros that Josie spotted on her way to work. Well, coming home from our house visit we spotted the whole herd - or what appeared to be the whole herd - on the side of the road as we turned onto the road that fronts the resort. Another shot of the whole group is below:
We counted five in this group and that is what we remembered for this local family. Sometimes we go weeks and maybe months without seeing them and then we see them on consecutive days.
I have a work day scheduled today so we won't be home together until probably 9 PM tonight. In a way, I like the late schedule for my shift because it still gives me most of the day for other activities. On the other hand, it messes up the day for both of us. Oh well, it is what it is for now...
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Downpour
The big story yesterday was the storm that went through - all day - and was headed east to create more snow and treacherous travel for everybody on the east coast. It has been a really tough winter for most states from the Midwest all the way through the east.
I did the paperwork to send to my Gastroenterologist so that he could do my bi-annual Colonoscopy, scheduled for March 12. This time they will perform the Colonoscopy without an office visit, so the paperwork needed to be done and sent out today in order to get things rolling in time. I don't anticipate any problems with that, although I don't look forward to all the prep required for that procedure.
Josie spotted a couple burros on her way to work yesterday and they were the first ones she has seen this year. She was able to stop and get a couple photos, but by the time she snapped the photos, one of the burros had disappeared behind the bushes:
They still roam the area even though it seems like the local herd has shrunk.
The rain should be ending today and we expect to get back into the 80's with lots of sunshine by the weekend. That is good weather for home construction...
I did the paperwork to send to my Gastroenterologist so that he could do my bi-annual Colonoscopy, scheduled for March 12. This time they will perform the Colonoscopy without an office visit, so the paperwork needed to be done and sent out today in order to get things rolling in time. I don't anticipate any problems with that, although I don't look forward to all the prep required for that procedure.
Josie spotted a couple burros on her way to work yesterday and they were the first ones she has seen this year. She was able to stop and get a couple photos, but by the time she snapped the photos, one of the burros had disappeared behind the bushes:
They still roam the area even though it seems like the local herd has shrunk.
The rain should be ending today and we expect to get back into the 80's with lots of sunshine by the weekend. That is good weather for home construction...
Monday, March 2, 2015
Furniture Search
As it was another rare day off together, we took advantage of the day to do some more searching for furniture. Before heading out to a furniture store on the west side of town, Josie did some laundry to be ready for the coming week at work.
The store we went to visit is named Furniture Ranch, and is a custom furniture store that specializes in Western and Southwestern decor. That is what we want to use as a decorating theme for our new house, but we know it is very expensive because it is all custom built stuff. If we do any major decorating using this theme, it will have to be a piece at a time and would take a long time to furnish the home. So, we most likely will do a partial western decor until we win the lottery and do the whole house with that theme.
Since we were already near Cave Creek and Carefree, we decided to take a look at the many shops in downtown Carefree. By the time we got there at around 2 PM, it was raining so we took some time to eat at one of our favorite restaurants that is in Cave Creek - the El Encanto Mexican Restaurant. It was very crowded (although we saw lots of empty tables) and we had to wait to be seated, but it did not disappoint. Josie and I enjoyed delicious Mexican food and, of course, a couple margarita's:
The rain continued so we headed home for the rest of the afternoon.
Another week kicks off today and we expect to see some major changes in the home construction. Of course, we'll also throw in some working days...
The store we went to visit is named Furniture Ranch, and is a custom furniture store that specializes in Western and Southwestern decor. That is what we want to use as a decorating theme for our new house, but we know it is very expensive because it is all custom built stuff. If we do any major decorating using this theme, it will have to be a piece at a time and would take a long time to furnish the home. So, we most likely will do a partial western decor until we win the lottery and do the whole house with that theme.
Since we were already near Cave Creek and Carefree, we decided to take a look at the many shops in downtown Carefree. By the time we got there at around 2 PM, it was raining so we took some time to eat at one of our favorite restaurants that is in Cave Creek - the El Encanto Mexican Restaurant. It was very crowded (although we saw lots of empty tables) and we had to wait to be seated, but it did not disappoint. Josie and I enjoyed delicious Mexican food and, of course, a couple margarita's:
The rain continued so we headed home for the rest of the afternoon.
Another week kicks off today and we expect to see some major changes in the home construction. Of course, we'll also throw in some working days...
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Signed Up
We had an early morning appointment at the Credit Union to sign the paperwork for our Jeep refinance. It was located just off the freeway near Mesa and took us about 45 minutes to drive there. The Credit Union has about a dozen offices, but the closest branch to us was this one off Roosevelt Street near 52 ST. They - TruWest - are one of the largest in the Phoenix area but have not expanded into the West Valley because of federal mandates that limit their areas of business. Anyway, we are very impressed with the company and they have the best vehicle financing rates in the Phoenix area. We are going to try to move our fifth wheel financing over to this credit union so that all of our vehicles will be handled by them.
We left the credit union and decided to stop at a few furniture stores on the way home to begin getting ideas - both design and costs - of items we need for the new house. We stopped at Ashley Furniture, Thomasville and Drexel Heritage. There are some super buys, but we are not in a position to buy anything until our house closes. We also stopped at a lighting store to see about pendant lights for our kitchen and fans for the house. Following that, we stopped at Home Depot to get paint samples and look at their appliances and fans. It is going to be fun - and expensive - to furnish our house with the things we need, but it will be fun...
We left the credit union and decided to stop at a few furniture stores on the way home to begin getting ideas - both design and costs - of items we need for the new house. We stopped at Ashley Furniture, Thomasville and Drexel Heritage. There are some super buys, but we are not in a position to buy anything until our house closes. We also stopped at a lighting store to see about pendant lights for our kitchen and fans for the house. Following that, we stopped at Home Depot to get paint samples and look at their appliances and fans. It is going to be fun - and expensive - to furnish our house with the things we need, but it will be fun...
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