# 581 - House of Perpetual Construction

We live in the House of Perpetual Construction, established (somewhat) in 2016, but it has a potpourri of current-day unfinished sections.

Why?

Over ten years ago, in 2013, we left a comfortable life in the suburbs of Greater Houston to move onto raw acreage that we'd owned and held onto since our early thirties. The time had come to tackle building a custom home or spend a lot of time planning to build one.

We'd eventually did build our house, partly through our own efforts and partly through contractors.

In 2013, we sold our beloved house in the suburbs and over-stuffed our brand new RV with "essentials. The rest of our belongings were either sold, given away, or put in storage, to include my piano.

Stefie was a HUGE help for us to get moved.

The day we closed on our house and handed over the keys to the front door, we left for the country. Pappy pulled the new RV as I drove our other vehicle that towed a utility trailer loaded down with an assortment of items.

The guys bringing huge furniture
down the curved stairway.

We already had chickens. Yes, in the suburbs we owned livestock... hens. We'd gotten the blessings of our neighbors to jumpstart raising chickens, and everyone enjoyed regular fresh eggs and knew which door to knock on whenever an egg or herb was needed for a recipe.

There he goes with the RV as I follow with the coop.

Moving to the country meant transporting the chickens, so as Pappy towed the new RV, I hauled the tied-down chicken coop through Houston's highways. Ah yes, I did get a lot of good-hearted waving with huge smiles, honking, and thumbs-up. Thankfully I encountered good-humored drivers.

The chickens were inside a locked cage, partially protected from winds by a tarp. Not the normal sight going down a Houston highway.

Once we arrived "Home" to our acreage, Pappy got the RV into position, and we unloaded as much as we could. We were literally exhausted.

Our first hour living on our acreage.
We both had been working for
days to get ourselves moved and were drained.

We lived without electricity during those initial weeks, but we pulled enough power from a generator to get through the month of May and June in Texas. 

My dad drove the near two hours to visit,
and he noticed my fuel container and filled it for me.
It'd last about six hours before needing refilling.

Our temporary laundry facility.

We also didn't have internet/wifi. We cooked with propane and depended on water in holding tanks to take showers, wash dishes, and flush the toilet. With water already ran to the front of the acreage, we could haul it to the RV... a huge pain.

Every day, we had a LOT to do.

Our first day on the acreage as full-time residents.

Boy... it's a good thing significant hurdles didn't stop us from moving forward.

In those days and still today, I often think of our ancestors traveling across rugged landscapes without a Taco Bell, McDonalds, or Starbucks to rejuvenate their energy. No comfortable bed to sleep in. No bathroom. No dishwasher or stove/oven that didn't require starting a fire for every cooked meal or pot of coffee or cup of tea.

Granted, it's about a 25-mile round-trip for us to go to town, so we didn't go, unless desperate.

Pappy had not yet retired when we moved out here. He still worked in downtown Houston, meaning he had to drive 150-mile round-trips five days a week.

And the week before moving to our acreage, he got promoted and that meant going back to night-shift. Yep, we moved to a rural part of Texas to "camp" on our acreage, and I suddenly found myself alone in the woods every night. The nightshift lasted for about THREE YEARS.

My friends and family thought I was nuts, "Aren't you terrified to be out there all alone?"

No, I wasn't.

The only thing that terrified me were ominous Texas storms. Those unforgettable cracking sounds as lightning struck the tops of nearby pines got my attention. I always looked forward to the next morning's walk to search for the tree that had been struck. I would find them as close to the RV as the strike had sounded. Fun times. 

During those initial years on the land, living in the RV, I cooked the best country meals because we didn't have energy left to drive to Taco Bell. I must say, I often love my own cooking and would make enough to have ample leftovers to send with my husband for his lunch the next day and for me to have another meal. 

I won't lie... I did miss the spacious kitchen I enjoyed at our last house, but the RV kitchen wasn't too shabby. I felt a part of the "Small House" movement. Crazy people living crazy lives.

My former sizable yet cozy kitchen.

Our little, efficient kitchen,

It took about TWO YEARS to start building. We never thought we'd live in an RV for very long, but we did. I'm thankful we bought a spacious, new RV, but we obviously weren't in a hurry to move into another house. I think we needed a time-out to think about what we wanted in our next home.

And I admit, the process of designing and building a new home in the woods wasn't an easy task.

My sister, who is a school counselor, would call my procrastination, "Paralysis by analysis." 

Overthinking things.

Constant planning with mounting fear of actually beginning, so the planning continues, and on, and on.

Views from inside the RV were peaceful.

Mainly, we used to seasons to closely watch the patterns of changing weather and how it affected the acreage as we searched for the perfect spot to build. And then that became my excuse to not start the process of building. 

Deep down, I was terrified that I'd end up with a house qualifying first on the list of the "TOP TEN HOMELIEST OF HOMES" from my worst-imagination or some such nonsense.

The funny thing is... more than two years later, we finally picked the spot. Never mind the fact that it was the exact spot my husband had thought would work best before we moved to the acreage... I had to have the idea settled within me. Settled and mildewing. It took nearly three years to go full circle before confirming our house-site, but it's at a great elevation and not in a flood plain. We have a beautiful view and are tucked in deep enough in the forest to make life an adventure in nature, yet close enough to the road for emergency services.

I can't believe it's been over six years since we built the shell of our house. And I can't believe we still have SO MUCH to do. We went strong for a few years, and now we go through long stints of "burn-out," and then a we'll have stints where we work at least ten to fifteen hours per day on projects while still needing to find the time to tackle day-to-day regular chores.

But we plug away. Each project finished brings a great sense of accomplishment and pride in the home we created.

Dirt nightmare. Before grass.

And now I've got to think about our next project for the house of perpetual construction.

Sweeping and mopping the floors; weeding the garden; staining more interior doors; finish painting the exterior of the house; finish the master bathroom; complete the stairway that I maybe should've had carpeted; install bar tops; and the list is long, long... very long, my friend.

# 550 - Country House - Land Clearing Galore!

Closing on our house this week has been very exciting, draining, and a relief. Closing the business end of the transaction almost seemed unreal. The process took so long that I should have started it one year earlier. So now we are onto the next step of clearing the land, which for us feels like LAND CLEARING GALORE!

We arranged for our acreage clearing crew to show up early Saturday morning for their first day of land clearing at the home-site. After our closing, that afternoon we had a final meeting with our land clearing supervisor before the actual work was to commence, I tried to mentally and emotionally prepare myself for our acreage to be forever transformed. This is a bit difficult because even though we are building our dream home, I knew, as of Saturday, that area of our forest would be forever altered. That area has acres of gorgeous towering trees and it is one of my favorite places in the world to stroll through.

Since the excavation crew would be here Saturday morning, Sgt. Dave decided to hand-chop the Wild Cherry tree down so we could pull it aside for the long drying process so it can be used for some project down the road. Using an axe, he felled the Wild Cherry. Since dusk had arrived, we decided to head back to the RV and go back the next day to pull the tree aside.

However, the next morning, which was a day before the land crew was expected, we awoke to the sound of large machinery being operated nearby. We have a land-owner next door and they sometimes mow and then bale hay, but they were not baling hay. The only other possible way that such close work with large machinery would be possible was road work, and no such work was occurring.

Sgt. Dave launched himself out of bed, threw on something appropriate and ran outside with messy hair, a gun and wide eyes.

Within a few minutes, he returned with a few pictures taken on his iPhone...the pictures were of the crew clearing our acreage!

It turns out that our builder spoke with our excavator and told him that every hour counted and he wanted him out there within 24 hours!

 

But, nobody called to tell us of the change and since it was the very first work day of the entire construction process that will require months of work, it was definitely unexpected to get started earlier than planned.

You can see the bulldozer in the background with one of the crew
standing there in a denim shirt. That helps give perspective.

After the crew had worked a few hours, a strange thing happened...The dark forest floor beneath the dense canopy was giving way to light...lots of light!

The dogs didn't quite know what to expect. Their first moments out there were tense as they wanted to attack and growl and bark at the machinery and people on their territory. It was nerve-wracking for me as well to get it across to the dogs that this was okay. They seem to sense the excitement in the air.

Gracie is brindle and appears to be camouflaged right into the scenery as
Howdy sticks out like a Shepherd often does. Liyla is at my side.

Also, Sgt. Dave works most Saturdays and had planned to take off to be with the crew as they began clearing the acreage, but since they weren't supposed to be there on this day, he had to continue with our normal routine of him getting up and off to work.

 

 

As Sgt. Dave headed for work, I could hear the crew working and I suddenly remembered the dang wild cherry tree had not been pulled to the side before the crew got started. In the distance, I could hear large equipment running simultaneously with a chain saw as the bulldozer was a mean machine of positive and impressive destruction.

So, as of me sitting here writing, we have just finished Day 2 of land clearing with a huge pile of trees being burned, slowing but surely the pile is burning. But, the clearing is by no means finished, there is still much to do. However, the burning of the debris is critical...we cannot do anything until the pile is burned down because the debris is so massive that it is taking up space that is actually part of the home-site and we don't want to be burning massive debris next to the new construction taking place. That's a stupid kind of risk that I'm not willing to take.

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Even so, the vision I have held for our country home setting has been shifting around in my mind's eye for so long, but it is coming to life, bit by bit. I stood at the home-site as the bulldozer knocked another tree down and couldn't believe that the vision is emerging, the vision is appearing right next to me in real life! I stand there and can SEE what I have imagined and dreamed. It is pretty odd and I am one tremendously blessed woman. My husband has sought to give me a home that I can use as a nurturing tool; he trusts that I will make our home as good as any home can be for the two of us and that it will be a welcoming touchstone family home for gatherings with our children and grandchildren and so on.

I pray for continued good health for my husband and I throughout this process and into LONG old age so that we may enjoy the fruits of our labor. May God continue to shine his face upon us and may we continue to see the good in everything!
 

# 507 - Country Life in an RV - Nearing an End!

Ohhhh...Country life during this time of year is even better than I imagined. The weather has, for the most part, been delightful. We love being outdoors and savoring the beauty of our acreage.

Can you believe that we've been in the country, in "camping-mode" for almost one year? I cannot believe time has passed by so quickly!

Good thing is, we have met with our loan officer for our home to be built, but it will probably take until around June to get all the paperwork together for submission. We have to have the specs of the house finished and all the bids attached for every sub-contractor needed to construct our new home in the country. That is taking a LOT of work!

And, you blog buddies already know one of the reasons for the hold-up...my indecisiveness, which is now becoming more narrowed. I now realize we need a 1 1/2 story home with extra bedrooms upstairs and that's for another blog post, but it is important. Of course, I will be looking forward for your feedback!

Over the past few weeks though, we have had fun. I learned to load the .22 rifles.

 

Our oldest daughter and her husband had their huge fifth wheel pulled out here by a dear friend so that Heather and my first grand-daughter, Coraline, can be here whenever they want.

Grand-Daughter Coraline during her time with me, her Nana!

Heather is helping me in a HUGE WAY to finish the development of our architectural plans and to get prepared to build a house in a more organized fashion. Heather is EXTREMELY detailed oriented and no small matter will go unnoticed in her presence.

I have enjoyed having my oldest child and my grand-child out here in the country more than can be expressed.

 

 

At our local Feed Store with my daughter and grand-daughter.

Of course, Heather is like me, her mom...we step into the feed store, she hears the chicks and gets chick-struck. We end up adding three more chicks to our flock of twenty.

And these chicks have names...Penguin, Copper and Calico.
For Heather's daughter, of course, because Heather doesn't act like
an excited little kid when she sees sweet baby chicks. Oh Nooo!

Then, my youngest daughter, Stefie, calls me and says, "Hey! What about me? I want to get some chicks!"

Oh Lord, go ahead. Why not make our flock an even THIRTY!?

Since their own family are business-owners, lots of travel is always on their schedule, and we are so happy to be a lay-over station for whenever they want to soak up some more country life!

 

Heather, Coraline and me enjoying dinner in downtown Livingston.

I've been spoiled by Heather...she's been cooking for us. I guess Heather and I spoil each other because I get to play with the baby and free the young mom's arms, which she then uses to spoil me with a delicious meal! It's a beautiful plan between a mother, daughter and grand-daughter!

Farm-raised pork from my son-in-law's family's farm, made into
meatballs with Parmesan and other great ingredients, browned
to perfection and served on toasted French bread with sesame seeds
and with freshly grated Parmesan. So delicious!

And Pappy is happier that a dog with a real bone as he holds his grandbaby.

And Gracie the puppy found in the forest has turned out to be such a wonderful dog. Getting through the puppy stages has been difficult, but she's a sweetheart and will also be a great guard dog. Already, she is almost six months old and has been killing gophers/moles on the property. It's disgusting.

She digs and digs, then traps them, kills them, and plays with their carcasses for a long time --- flinging them into the air to catch them and so on. Yuk. Gracie is my first country dog...it's a new experience, let me tell you.

Anyway, the past couple of weeks have been more excited than I can express. We are making strides toward building that makes me feel as if I am ALMOST breaking into a full run. Almost.

For now, I am enjoying our current living conditions because the hardships that have come with living in an RV for this year will soon be over. I would NEVER change this experience for anything.

Well, I might have bought the de-humidifier a LOT sooner, but other than that, I'm doing great and having the time of my life!

# 487 - Marking off Perimeter for Guest Cabin and Enjoying Visitors

This past week has been wonderful. Stefie and Brice, came to visit us in the country and they stayed several days. They've been working so hard at Texas State and are glad to be on Winter Break. Stefie made it through her first semester for her Master's Program and this coming semester is Brice's last semester, then he gets his Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice. He just went through the ring ceremony to get his Texas State ring...we are very proud of him.

Brice and his dad, "Mr. Jay."
Such a wonderful day to share with your son!

Perhaps a trip to the country was a good down-time trip for them. It was great getting to spend such high quality time with both of them. We were a tad cramped in our RV, but we made it work.

 

The four of us spent one afternoon laying out, measuring and marking the site for the guest cabin which will be a small two-bedroom cabin that will be the next phase of living on our acreage. This cabin will be about 600 square feet, giving us plenty of room to stretch out and enjoy ourselves.

 

It was exciting to see this first step in the construction process take place. In the future, Stefie will bring her own kids for a visit, and they'll stay in this cabin. She will be able to tell her kids that she helped Pappy and Nana lay out the groundwork for the cabin they are enjoying.

 

 

We used bright pink Contractor's spray to mark the cabin's perimeter. Next, I will mark off the rooms, mark the position of the doors and windows, etc., so we can get a feel for the layout.

 

The next thing that Stefie and I did together was plant two long rows of Sweet Yellow Onion seeds. It was the first time for Stefie to plant such things, even though she grew up with edible gardens. I was glad we were able to do work in the garden together.

 

Meanwhile, Gracie and Howdy are becoming much more acquainted. Gracie is a sweet dog. She has already learned to sit for her treats. She feels much better and has a lot of spunk!



 

 

Gracie knows how to gain Howdy's affection --- with a mix of sugar and spice!

 

And for my long time readers and for those catching up, the photo below is of a Yorkie who is ALSO a rescue dog that found her way to our last home. She was in BAD shape. At the time, my youngest daughter, Stefanie, had been asking for a Yorkie. Then, one day, my husband was in the driveway detailing his truck and this little gal covered in filth and coated with oil on her white coat came out of nowhere to launch herself INSIDE the truck with Sgt. Dave. After the initial shock subsided, he scooped her up, saw she was in bad shape, and our family banded together to help her heal.

 

 

Belle needed SERIOUS love and attention to get past her extremely aggressive behavior and lack of trust. Her flea problem went beyond a couple of rogue scavengers...she was COVERED in scores of fleas, and had become weak and sick due to anemia. We took care of her - giving her a bath within thirty minutes of her claiming our family as her own. I remember her patience while being terrified, shaking so violently. Yet, she sweetly let us bathe her while we baby-talked to her and hand-picked hundreds of fleas off her underweight body. She seemed to know we were trying to help her.

 

I admit that Belle tried my patience beyond expression because she constantly wanted to attack our old gal, Liyla; however, Stefie played tag-team at a crucial time by taking Belle into her own home.  Brice and Stefie continued the process of rehabilitating this sweetheart. Now, she is a different dog. We love her; she is part of the family.

 

Our family is definitely a dog-loving bunch of people.

 

Brice is Stefie's boyfriend. He's been around for a long time, and I adore him. A mom is very blessed to love her daughter's boyfriends.

 

My oldest daughter, Heather, married an incredible man who I respect and adore.

 

My oldest daughter, Heather, and her
first baby, Coraline...on September 1st.
Henry is my son-in-law and as I told my
daughter, "Once you marry Henry, he
becomes family...the kind we fight
and die for...that means I will also might
take HIS side on issues."

 

Henry is a gem --- I can sit and watch him holding my grand-baby, his first child, and I know he has a heart of pure gold.

 

Then, I get to enjoy Brice. One thing is for sure, Brice knows I enjoy a good movie, so every time we get to spend time together, he tries to pick out a movie that I would not normally pick out on my own. EVERY TIME he picks a winner. If you don't know Tom Hardy, then I mourn for you --- Brice introduced me to the actor Tom Hardy, and my husband must accept that a part of my heart belongs to Tom.

 

 

Watch the Wutherford Heights that Tom Hardy is in --- stick with it --- it's incredible.

 

I need a piece of chocolate! Onward!

 

Brice has a mini-Aussie named "THOR!" Thor is awesome.

 

 

And Brice is brave enough to play hard-ball with Howdy. This kind of playing cannot be done by someone who is afraid of being hurt in the process. Howdy is obsessive and very serious with his games; his amazing athleticism makes him a powerful buddy.

 

 

Playing like this requires Brice be fast, strong, and ready for those powerful jaws to clamp down so HARD that you can hear them click from twenty feet away. I'm not kidding.



 

 

Then, we have Liyla...our old girl. Of course, Liyla is another dog we rescued about ten years ago. She is the best dog I've ever had, and I can't imagine life without her. She's sweet as can be, but she becomes a vicious bundle of power to protect her loved ones beyond anything I've ever seen. Every time my dad comes to the acreage, she sees him from a distance and goes into a low predatory run to CHARGE at the perceived threat while growling and barking.

 

Liyla playing with Gracie

 

Thankfully, she still recognizes my dad as she gets about 15 feet from him, which completely changes her demeanor. My dad LOVES that this dog has such strong protective instincts and that she runs TO the battle without fear. Liyla has always been this way. And she LOVES Stefie.

 L

Stefie and Liyla share a very special bond.

 

Liyla always seeks Stefie's affections and wants to be close to Stefie. This dog actually SMILES when she sees Stefie. There is a beautiful relationship between this daughter of mine and one of her dogs. Actually, in our family, we all love each other's dogs... as if they are a big part of the family.

 



 

So, this past week we enjoyed some great days on the acreage, especially with the dogs.

 

Sgt. Dave eagerly looks forward to the day when he can add more
farm and ranch equipment to his collection. A small tractor with
several attachments, such as a post-hole digger might be next.

 

Brice had fun being able to walk out the front door with a .22 rifle and go hunting in the family's own yard. Of course, he'd go off into the woods in search of game and would have fun being in guy-land.

 

Maybe that is the unofficial name of our acreage, "Guy-land."

 

In the below shot, you can see Brice whittling wood into a "Stabbing Walking Stick." He's using a machete. Yep, this is guy-land.

 

 

Later, Brice would be poking this whittled stick into the fire as he consumed nearly a dozen roasted marshmallows. Guy-Land.

 

 

It was in the 30's --- SO COLD, but we still had a ball!

 

Moving to the country has increased our freedoms and our level of peace. Additionally, there are always projects to be done and this is good for people with personalities like my own and like my husband's. If we aren't busy, there is likely to be trouble. Plus, we do share a love for the country and for nature...this is the place we were meant to be all along. 

 

 

And country life brings lots of laughs. In fact, in the picture below, Howdy expresses his own love for country life.

 

My favorite shot of the week!

 

 Sometimes, it's too good to be true!