There is No Place Like Home

I had a wonderful week here in Georgia.  Took advantage of every moment.  I had lunch with my former co-workers, brunch with my daughters, dinner with some dear ’78 friends, went antiquing with my sister, got my hair and nails done and my teeth cleaned! Whew!

I took this picture moments before heading back to Tennessee for a week.    Tag you’re it.  Yep, it was my turn to head north.  I look happy, right? You wouldn’t guess that less than 5 miles down the road my eyes began to fill with tears.  This continued to happened pretty much throughout my drive.  This tag team thing is so difficult for me.  I don’t like being away from my husband and my “other” dogs.  Not to mention, it’s not so easy living inside a 28 ft. RV with limited resources!  You have to watch your water and power usage carefully.  It’s a nice RV but, it is not home.  Normal sequence upon arrival – unpack, set up bed, and feed the dogs. I soon realized as I was unpacking and getting settled that I was missing my duffel bag, i.e. my clothes bag.  I called Al and he did not hesitate to bring me the missing bag.  He left around 5 pm and arrived at the farm around 9:30 pm.  He stayed for about two hours and rested up, then headed back to Georgia. My hero, as always.  Herc and Teenie slept the whole time, so they didn’t miss a thing.

I stayed inside most of the next day.  It was cold and sleeting. 

The painters were at the cabin for most of the day applying polyurethane to the main floor area.  The basement is all that is left to stain for the interior.

I did venture out on Sunday.  I moved our first piece of furniture in the cabin!   We purchased it from someone in Kingsport.  So, it made sense to leave it here at the farm.  I plan on storing my grandmothers handmade quilts in it. 🙂  Once I moved the cabinet over, I came back to the RV, and guess what?, the key lock had somehow gotten semi-turned, so when I shut the door, it locked.  And, yes, you guessed it, the keys were inside.  I had been talking to Al on my phone, so he was aware.  He was in the midst of telling me that there were some tools on the tractor and my phone went dead!  Really?  It was freezing! I had no phone and I had no clue how to break in the RV.  After about 15 minutes of trying, I managed to wiggle a latch on the biggest window and I used a pallet to climb into the RV.  And, yes, it left a bruise.  I suppose I could have just climbed in through the back and come up from under the bed but, all the solar array batteries and connectors, etc. are stored back there and I honestly didn’t even think about that avenue.

At this point I was thinking, to be safe, maybe I should just hibernate for the duration of my visit.  Of course, I didn’t.  I grabbed the keys and headed out to feed the birds and take a walk to the barn to check on and feed the cats.  Those little boogers were apparently hungry.  They actually came out to meet me!    This is Chip.   He is the friendliest and begs for your attention.  He actually lets you pick him up.  He also likes to try and follow you when you leave.  I usually have to run away.  He then loses interest.

For now, this is our little litter.  They look like two sets of twins.  Each a female and a male.  They are juvenile cats.  There are others but, they don’t approach or make themselves seen when we are around.  Would you believe that two days later I came back to check on them and all that food was gone?! That’s a huge bowl too! So, yeah, there have to be more cats around.

Honey and Bun are always so happy to see us and love when we hang outside with them.  Walks to the barn and to the mailbox not only give me a chance to stretch my legs and breathe in some fresh air, but they, and I, love the company. 

Currently, all the bathrooms are being prepared for tile.  

Tile is being laid in the master bathroom. 

The fireplace and the wood stove in the basement are being installed this coming week.  This fireplace y’all has been one for the books.  We’ve changed the style like 150 times. I’ve ranted over it until I thought I would have a stroke but, I think, we have finally figured out how we want it to look and where it will sit.

I spent one evening over at the cabin moving all our light fixtures, sinks and faucets from the basement to their corresponding rooms. Once those items had been removed I was able to sweep and straighten up the basement as well.  It felt good to be doing something in cabin.

Last day at the farm I took a hike up the far side of the property.  Took this amazing picture.  I also found these.  We believe they are from the millet family.  I think they will look great in a flower arrangement.  So, I picked a few.  🙂

Saw some deer, too.   13DogFarm is so full of life. I cannot wait to fully utilize all of the resources it has to offer (except the deer, of course).

Al is spending this week at the farm. A lot depends on the weather as to when he will return to Georgia.  He needs to take advantage of clear days so that he can grade the backyard.  We need to get our fence up for the dogs, and soon.

We are planning to spend Valentines Day at the farm TOGETHER for a few days.  Hallelujah!  The outbuilding is being installed the week of the 10th.  We will spend some time together installing shelves for storage.  This would be exciting as we would be able to eliminate some boxes around the house.  And, it would also mean that the initial move has begun.

To be honest, this journey Al and I are on right now is not easy.  I’m not sure what I thought it would be like. Maybe I envisioned it being less stressful, more fun, and exciting?  And, in the beginning, it was.  But, now, it’s just plain painful.  People say, ” It will be worth it when it’s done.”  Obviously I know this. But, when you are in the bowels of hell that concept is hard to imagine.  Extreme?  Hardly.  We thought we would be living in the cabin by now. Instead we’ve been living in a state of limbo for months and my OCD ass has not handled that very well.  So, where are we now?  Well, last week the General Contractor (whom I do not care for) fired the foreman.  So, we went from five framers to now three (his brother worked with him).  But, the three remaining, I believe, are the hardest workers.  I know they are doing their best to get things back on track.  Al and I have come to the realization that we will probably have to finish some things on our own.  And, I am fine with that.  It would mean that we could finally move. We would be in our cabin and we would be together.  After all, my home is not in Woodstock.  My home is not in Thorn Hill.  My home is with my husband and I’ve truly missed feeling at home.

Hopefully, the next time you hear from me we will have established a REAL move in date.

Thanks so much for reading and sharing this journey with us!

Elisa