House on Hillsboro

Progress, Whew.

On December 14, the builders came and pulled the strings for the foundation so that JD and I could decide on the exact placement of the house before he left for work (for a month overseas).  It was extremely exciting.

 

We had begun.  Things were happening. 

Then it began to rain.  Then it rained.  And after that it rained.  Then we had Christmas.  And a weekend. 

Then I had a dream that I came home from Christmas dinner with JD's parents and the house had been built in the eight or so hours since I had left.  And had six foot ceilings.  JD is 6'3".

So, I am a tad ready for some progress and today it came.  Alvin, the builder, and the guys were back to re pull the strings (we tweaked them a bit) and prepare to dig the footings. 

 

They also poured a chalk outline of the rooms.  You can barely see it here, but I could walk through the house to scale. 

Entergy also showed up to run the electricity underground 800 feet from the last box at the road to the pole that will sit behind the house.  In the end, we will have no exposed power lines, only one pole for the purpose of a light.  This light.

 

[Jd, you can see the pole and trench line in the middle picture.]

Power!  Monday the foundation will be poured and it's all downhill from there!

Ha Ha, not.  But it's progress.  And I am loving it.

On the Walls

This type of content intensive poster has fascinated me since childhood.  They are beautiful and interesting and useful and odd, a perfect combination for the type person who might have green Formica countertops.  When I decided I wanted to frame them to hang in the house, I began to search for what might be currently available and -oh my- it was better than I could have imagined.

I found two different sources, the first of which is Feenixx who is actually the publisher and does not sell directly to the public.  They list their retailers as natural history and science museums and school science suppliers.  Their posters are very text-bookish, which I love. 

Here are a few Ava has claimed (butterflies included).

 

And her personal favorite:

   

The next few come from art.com and they are less bookish and more arty. 

 

These are grainy.  Sad.  But that won't stop me!

For Jack:

 

(The one above is a Feenix again.)

or

 

For the bedroom your Grandma will stay in when she comes to visit.  Or me as I likely have similar taste:

 

That one drew Ava and me in for ages.

Then there are my personal favorites:

   

and

 

We need that one about four times a week.  And this one from time to time:

 

Then the ones I wish I needed:

 

And what about this beauty?

 

Who wouldn't love THAT?

There are many more (believe it or not) that I didn't mention here that I want.  Obviously I have some tough decisions to make.  I am not sure four of these in every room would be...normal.

The Plan

 

This is Hwepl13698  and according to www.eplans.com it is the ideal plan for the lake or mountains.  They write:

" Fieldstone, reverse board and batten create a rustic exterior that blends with its surroundings, making this plan ideal for mountains or lake. Inside, all social spaces work together. A central stone fireplace separates the entrance hall from the great room, where a bank of French doors frame a view of a wraparound rear porch that connects to the detached garage. The great room flows into a dramatic dining room space where a stone wall beneath a soaring vaulted ceiling frames a bay window seating area showcasing nature's beauty. A separate vestibule leads to a roomy downstairs master suite. Two additional bedrooms upstairs feature private baths and walk-in closets. "

It was the exterior that drew me to this plan initially and as in the case of all the plans I considered before it, I hoped to be able to bend the interior to suit our needs and nonnegotiables.  But miraculously and for the first time in years of home plan hunting, the interior was as appealing as the exterior and at last!, I had a plan that felt like the one and only. 

First Level:

  

Nonnegotiable:  Open floor plan, island, walk in pantry to fit a freezer, fireplace, master bedroom & laundry on first floor, laundry room (as opposed to closet) with door to outside, separate master shower, no separate living/family room, and only one eating area

Changes:  Mirror image (to better suit our lot), laundry room off of kitchen to become pantry with a flush, built in computer desk on outside wall at the end of island.  Half bath to extend back wall to meet the master bedroom and become laundry with door to porch

Level 2:

  

This is it!  I will have many homebuilding details to worry about in the coming months, but whether I've chosen the right house will not be one of them.  It feels really good to feel so sure.

I Will

     

We are in the middle of the first week of construction on our house.  It will sit in the clearing there across the pond. 

It is the most exciting thing ever and I WILL blog about it.

I will.  I will.  I will.

Turn 'em Out.

For the five months we have lived here, the horses have been able to stare at me at my kitchen sink through the big bay windows of the living room.  They would stand there in the muck of their small, temporary paddock and written all over their faces was "Fence too small", "Need more room", "We're bored", and the worst one of all "I think we'll walk out of this crappy fence tonight and take at stroll down the road right at the break of dawn when all the chicken trucks come through doing 70."   But then a few weeks ago they began to hear the unmistakable clank, clank, clank of a man driving fence posts and all day long they ignored me and my dishes and stood with their ears pricked to the East.  Hopeful.

JD fenced five acres ALONE in under three days during the most bitterly cold days of the winter.  (Normally, I'd have hung around to help where I could but these days Jack and I are a two for one special and it was too cold for the little dude.)  It all happened like magic, really.  In the early morning he bundled up and headed East and in the late afternoon he would return and this continued for several days (not weeks!) until one morning he said, "Today will be the day."  and I squealed.   

And sure enough that very (cold & gray) afternoon, we turned the horses out into the new pasture for the first time.

This way, boys.

Welcome.

Yes, Plank, seriously.  You may go.

Come see.

There's more this way!

JD is a fence building marvel.  And I can say for certain,

I'm not the only one who thinks so.

Polls are FUN and Thank You.

Oh my gosh, that poll was THE MOST FUN EVER. 

I want to sincerely thank everyone who voted, especially the folks from CI. (Porterhouse, you sneak.  I owe you one.)  I can't believe you all dropped by.  I was mortified that I hadn't spruced things up around here.  Thank goodness I had the fudge and Pecan Butter Balls to offer you!

It looks like The Bradley House is the official winner, which is funny because it happens to be my favorite of the floor plans.  Soon, I will detail what I like about the plan and what I may change.  And if any of you happen to take a look at Bradley and find any major red flags, please enlighten me!  In fact, I would love any home building advice, period. 

This is just the very beginning of what I am sure will be a long, exciting, stressful, over-thought, super fun journey.  And I can not wait.

The House. Part 1

Friday before last, JD and I signed the papers to officially sell our old home in Louisiana.  DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS? 

When JD returns in January, I am supposed to have presented the builder with our house plan of choice and obtained an estimate to bring to the bank.  I have come close several times to convincing myself I am sure, but I am NOT sure.  At all.  And will I ever be?  How do you pick a house from A PIECE OF PAPER? 

Here are the top contenders.

1.  The Bradley House

2.  n622

3.  COBSHO8844

4.  Davenport

5.  Merrick House

6.  Mathes Springs

I would love, love your opinion.  Please vote, readers - all four of you.  It's easy and fun and free and anonymous.  And I need your help - before JD decides I am 'overthinking' again, takes over, and you have to come visit me in this.

more at twiigs.com...

11.27.07

On August 12, 1969, two Murrays entered the El Dorado Courthouse.  One left a bit more benevolent and one a bit more grateful.

Yesterday, we did it again. 

Four generations and counting.

6.14.07, Water Part 3, Final Chapter.

Let's see.  Where were we?  Aaahhh, yes - Jack, a pair of post-hole diggers, and a mailbox. 

                                                                                                                                                     Well, we had made the trip from Louisiana to Arkansas one to many times, and the worst part was that once there it was all hard work in the hot sun, packed sandwiches, and ticks.  And no baths.  But on this particular morning in June I was more than happy to be rolling into Hillsboro.

And sure enough, just as promised, sitting there on the hill - my heart skipped a beat and I may have shed a tear.

The well drillers had beat us there by several hours and were already 75 feet deep in the Earth, looking for the 'green sand' in the return.  Apparently, and this is so interesting to me, being a self taught, amateur, unemployed geologist, this green hued sand is an indicator of a particularly good aquifer in the area of Hillsboro, known for pure and plentiful water.  This green sand aquifer, while an excellent location for your well pipe, is a bit elusive, with fingers running underneath several thousand acres making tapping into it in any specific location a game of ...chance.  According to the drillers, one could hit pay dirt (water) at 90 feet deep on one side of his barn and run dry for 600 on the other.  Hmmm. 

Now for the last piece of the puzzle.  From any location in South Arkansas or North Louisiana one can drill six to seven hundred feet and tap the lovely Sparta Aquifer with it's billions of gallons of high quality ground water that is currently the source of many county, parish, municipal, and industrial water systems. 

The good news was that we would get water.  The bad news was that the current rate for drilling in our area went as follows: 

$3500.00   for 1st 100 feet drilled

$16.00      for every foot after, no cap

This really makes for one risky game of chance.  If we were extremely lucky they would drill 75 feet and we would owe the drillers $3500.00.  Orrrrrrrr, they could drill and drill and drill all the way to the Sparta and we would owe them $14,000.00ish, or possibly more because, "You just never know."  Well drillers use this term a lot.  Are you thinking what I am thinking?  We can clone cows but not determine where a pocket of water is?  Apparently they can't.  Or don't. 

So, we approached the drillers that sunny morning, heart in throat.  75 ft, no green sand.  To pass the time and because I couldn't seem to help myself, I ask the drillers several questions about the process.

Then JD kept going up there and apologizing for me and they would all shake their head and roll their eyes.

 

150 ft, no green sand.  So I busy myself with asking more questions.

300 ft.  The driller reaches into the muddy flow of the return and hauls out a handful of mud?, splats it on the ground, and smiles at me.

Green, gorgeous green.  I wondered how he knew that we were there at that very moment, so um, I asked.  "The drill pipe starts to move different, easier, and you hear it in the gurgle of the return."  Ah, two generations of experience - music to my ears.

Of course, these pictures do not do justice to the color of the sand.  Compared to every other dirt or sand or mud you have ever seen, it is truly green.  Why?  Surely something fascinating about what this part of the world was like thousands of years ago. Some deposit in the sand?  I asked, but they must not have heard me over the hum of the drilling?

So, our magic number is 300 feet.  Doesn't the not knowing how deep your own hypothetical well would be under your piece of Earth just kill you.  I am so glad to finally know. 

The next day began the process of running the drill pipe back out, installing the submersible pump, and sinking the 300 feet of 4" pvc casing in the hole.  A holding tank and ta-da.  Water.  Finally.  The next day we plumbed it over to the house.  And all had a bath.  I am happy to report that we have all the water we could ever use, clear, cold, clean and pure. 

I have heard stories of people being in underground caves and seeing someones well water pipe run down from the cave roof and into the clear water below.  Why does this interest me so? 

For now, I'll just keep checking the Classifieds for drilling rigs.

Hello,

from Hillsboro.

Where the wildflowers look like this,

the moths are carnation pink and lemon yellow,

the hummingbirds are especially friendly,

and the sun shines even when it rains.

Oh, how nice to be back.  I have so much to tell!