Home Sweet Georgia Home !!!

We were supposed to leave OH Monday night the 4th...But it didn't happen that way....Thanks to the first thing being the rental company was 3 hours late in getting the truck ready for me...and then progressive aggravations after that...

We made it home safe and sound finally a little after 8 am on Wednesday the 6th...thanks to the almost all day pouring rain Tuesday so we couldn't load the beds or other things that I didn't want soaked...The 2 man loading crew I had hired turned into 1 man well into the beer by the time I got home with the truck on Monday...By 9pm, there was very little more than the garage things and the furniture from the living room that I had to help load on the truck, so I called a halt to it...I stayed up all night, packing and loading what I could on the truck...

When I looked out the door Tues. morning at 7am, he was in the driveway, already guzzleing beer, so I told Jim to pay him for Monday and tell him to leave...We loaded what we could between the rains, and waited till they stopped long enough to get the beds on board...Not a Good Day...Finally left OH at 11pm that night...

I stopped to fuel up in Knoxville after running in rain through most of KY and the north of TN...It had just quit when I stopped...Apparently they had quite a deluge there, as I was wading in water to fuel up...I checked the load, tires, lights etc., being the old trucker I am, and all was well...Got back on the road and just south of Athens, I got a healthy dose of Blue lights on my rear... Apparently somewhere between there and Knox, I had lost my tail lights..
Trooper was going to write me a fix it ticket for $190, but I talked him out of it, since I had no way to prove a rental truck was fixed to avoid having to pay it...He agreed not to if I would stay there on the shoulder of the road at a closed rest area with my 4 ways on until daylight...It was already close to the end of his shift, and he was out of the post back up the road in Athens, so I sat for a bit, and then ran with my 4 ways on in to Chattanooga, and it was already starting first light...I stopped at the rest area in Ringgold at the GA line, and by the time we got back in the truck, it was light enough to not worry about the lights...I had hit some pretty rough road construction after Knox, and I think it jarred something loose, as when we got here, we couldn't get the door open on the box...Our neighbor came over with a prybar, and we finally got it up...The appliance dolly had shifted back and blocked it...
We walked the fenced yard checking for escape holes, and cut the dogs loose from their crates, grabbed the cat crate and came on in the house...I put the cat in the guest room walkin closet with water and a sand pan, and shut the bedroom door...
Finally got a look around at the house, decided who and what went where, and went back out and got the fish, then started on the plants since it was 94* here already and a metal roof on the truck...Jim tried to get me to grab a pillow and get a couple hours sleep since by that time I had been up 42 hours...and a 7 hour trip that took 9 hours behind the wheel thanks to the Trooper and the lights...
The mobile charger to the cell phone was damaged, so it didn't charge, and I couldn't get to my computer bag to get the house charger and address book...I was saving what charge I had to reach my son...Once I got hold of him, I called a DG friend in KY, whose number I put in my phone last minute because I had nowhere to write it down and let her know we had arrived safe...I guess she posted it somewhere and someone in AZ copied it to a couple other Forums...

Son, Grandson, and DIL came up from Kennesaw after work about 6pm and finally got the last of the unloading done at 1 am on Thursday, and after they left, I crashed and burned after 58 hours with no sleep...They sent a big rig tow truck to get the truck since I refused to drive it down to Kennesaw...Move from He!! is putting it mildly...We are just grateful to have it over with, finally be home and now mostly settled, and already working on projects...

We are removing the wheelchair ramp from the front of the house and moving it to the back where it can be lower and shorter rather than sprawling all over the front yard...It WAS a blessing for getting things moved into the house, as we had no steps to contend with...It is almost completely gone now...I only have 16 more feet of it to remove tomorrow, and then we can restore the walkway from the drive to the front steps...
The house is wonderful...everything I had hoped for and a bit more...We have a brand new HVAC system, the gas is gone, and we are completely electric, which I wanted...We have a new roof, and hot water heater...I got my 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths and a fireplace with a heatalator and .78 acre, completely fenced with 4 foot chain link...Beyond my back fence is a pasture full of Black Angus cattle, and we are the next to last house on a dead end road...20 miles to my son, and 20 miles to the Rome VA clinic...Couldn't be more perfect...Ahhh yessss it could...I have the most wonderful neighbors!!! Only one...nobody but us on this end of the road, and they are terrific!! In their 70's and good ole Down Home people...I am truly back home where I belong!!

This pic was taken last Sunday morning...Hubby Jim and neighbor Bob having coffee in the rockers on the front porch after Bob just finished mowing our yard for us...You can see part of the ramp in this pic...

Here is the beginning of the ramp demo on Thursday...

And here you can see the old walkway after I weed whacked it to unearth the stones...I pulled all of them out, and once the ramp is gone and the posts are pulled, I am going to till all of that up, re-lay the stones, and set the flower bed along the walk...I am going to do some refurbishing on the porch and get it ready to be painted next week...That is about all I will do until it cools down a bit more...I am going to get the Vets Garden tilled up this week and get it amended and ready for my daylilies...I brought alot of plants that are currently in buckets and tubs as well as pots that I need to get in the ground, and I need to get my pink Dogwood planted as well...
It seems to be happy to be in the south too... LOL It is doing very well in it's 5 gal bucket...I think I have finally decided where I want to put it...

Glad you finally made it. It sure sounds like one of my fiascoes.(sp)

Brenda

Welcome Home . digger

There's no place like home. Glad you made it back, although it was an adventure. It's always fun to have a new place to garden in: you can start over with what you've learned at your previous place.

And yes, it sounds like your location is ideal. Soon fall will be in the air and you'll REALLY be glad to be here.

Welcome to home! Glad you are here, and we soon will meet, at a RU, some day. Mike

Welcome to the South! Welcome home!!

Your moving "day" sounds like the day I had to move to the US, over the Canadian boarder - which I was almost denied my immigration because of a faulty Uhaul hookup to our vehicle.
The term for violent outburts of rare temper is now called "Going Uhaul" in our house!

Glad you made it, relatively intact!

3G - that's funny. I think we all have odd family sayings that make no sense when you use them "in public" without an explanation!

Dusty, Wow, what an experience. I'm so glad you survived and are here in GA. Welcome home. Becky

That is too funny, GGG, Going Uhaul.

Wow, it's great to see the progress you made so fast! And welcome to your NEW HOME! ^_^
~Susan

Thank you all for the Welcomes Home....It surely is good to be back here at last...

I have pretty much everything settled inside, so I have been concentrating on getting that wheelchair ramp taken down...As of tonight, I have less than 6 feet of it left to go...This pic was taken last night when I finally quit...We got about 2 hours of rain late this afternoon so, that and a wasp sting on my wrist put a halt to the demo for today...
I helped my neighbor plant 6 roses and 2 Gardenias this morning, so I had a late start...

That ramp was a large focal point.I hope you won't need it when you finish. Mike

Hi Dusty ...
So how are things going in your new place? Still here and still cheering you on!
~Susan

Greetings all...

Thank you Susan...LOL I'm sure glad to have the cheering gallery going...
All is going very well here...Yesterday was my payday, and my neighbor took me to the grocery and Lowes...I needed to get some more Phillips bits for my drill and the floor cleats for my new porch posts...
I am extending the porch out toward the front, and moving the steps...I am also installing the posts I need to get it ready for a roof...I want to get it covered by next summer...The walkway has to be redone anyway, so I will just move it to the front...Once the carport goes up it would have been in the wrong place....Besides...it gives me a wonderful planting bed and we all know that is a priority...LOL

Mike...The ramp is going to be rebuilt along the back of the house off of the lower deck...It legally has to be 1 foot long per inch of height from the door threshold to the ground...That is why it was so long out front...
The house is on a slope going up toward the back, and the lower deck is only 19 inches high, so it will only have to be 19 feet long now instead of 52 feet long...It certainly looks better with it gone from the front of the house...We will be rebuilding the back decks when we do the ramp in the spring...The previous owners had two huge dogs that dug all around that deck and have compromised the posts, so I told Hubby that I will just tear it down, and rebuild it...The lumber is fine and can be reused...They used nails on it and when I redo it, I will use deck screws which will be alot better and stronger...

Lunch break is over, so I better get back at it...I would love to see it finished by the weekend...LOL
Have a great day all....

This a pic of the back decks the day we moved in...Don't look at all my bins and boxes... LOL

Dusty, how great that by shifting the ramp's location you can so drastically reduce its "footprint" and impact.

You sound like quite a skilled and hard worker. Good luck!! And those of us with a few bins and boxes won't be casting any stones! :)

LOL Cedar....My Daddy wanted a boy the second time around, and got me instead...I can do carpentry, plumbing and electrical etc...and as many years as I spent as a single Mom, if I didn't do it, it didn't get done...

Dusty is telling the story of a lot of Real Women . Amen ,Gal , way to go . D

Sounds like my late mother.Hard to find "real women" these days.Fortunatly I married one. Mike

Ohhh Myyy... y'all are making me blush...and I'm far tooo OLD to be doing that...Thank you Digger... and Mike too...
I guess I just figure if I keep moving I'm not dead yet...so I just keep plugging along...LOL

We have had some wonderful rains here from late afternoon on until now...Still some showers going on and off...They said all night, so maybe we will be lucky enough to keep them going...All of Georgia surely needs the water...I just hope it is slow and easy wherever y'all are that it soaks in and not any flooding...

Mike....I gotta tell you.. I was looking really hard for a place in your town...
My Maiden last name is Daniel..no S on the end....That's okay...I think I could live in Pooville as long as it was back home here...LOL

Have I said how happy I am to be HOME???

You are indeed a smart man ,Mike D

Dusty, If the fairy rose did not make the move let me know. I have some new starts if you need them.
Geo

Geo!!! Bless your heart!!! So good to see you over here!!

I would love some more starts if you can spare them...Only 1 rose made it on the truck, and not one that I cared about...There was just no room for another thing...I would love to put them on the fence between my neighbor and I so we can both enjoy them...

What is the news on your new home?? Do you have a move date yet??
I found a huge rambler rose out back by the shed...It is all the way up and over the roof of it...There may actually be several plants back there, but I haven't cut the brush yet to be able to get in there and see...It just may be a Cherokee Rose...If it is, I will send you some if you want...

I'm off to the yard...Trying to clean up the mess from last nights storm...

Hugggs!!

No problem. They layer so well. I will get you a few started for ya.

We turn in all the paper work Monday. We were waiting for the life insurance policy, but that could be another week or so for it to get here. They said we could just turn it in then. They want this started so we can get the 8000.00 first time home credit. I need that to finish my glass/florida room completion. I plan to sit under banana trees drinking coffee looking at it snowing outside.

Bring on any rose starts that can live in my zone. There is a split rail fence around the front of the house and I plan to put only Austin and own root roses on it.
Glad you are home and happy!!
Geo

Geo...I think this rose will do just fine up there...It has the same characteristics as a Cecil Brunner or even a Fairy as far as I can see by the very large and sturdy canes...and I know it has not been touched in many years according to my neighbor Bob...He said it is not something either he or his daughter planted....He used to own this land, and gave it to his daughter and then they sold it to Brian...and he goes back over 50 years here...Today is their 52 Wedding anniversary....LOL

My yard used to be his garden, so according to him, it has been well ammended, which is a blessing for me...

Have a wonderful day!! I am working on the front porch extension today..

Hi, Dusty, sounds like you are settling in well! I'm really happy for you.

Hey Robin!!! Good to see you here too!!

Sorry I haven't called you yet!!! I have been going full steam trying to get that ramp demo done, and now the front porch is in the process of being rebuilt and extended...I have all of the railings down and the old floor boards pulled up as of tonight...Today was a long day, but a very productive one...
The new extension gets framed tomorrow and hopefully most, if not all, of the new flooring will get done...I would like to have the new posts and rails and pickets done by the weekend so it will be ready for paint...

When are you and Al leaving again, or did he get lucky and get close to home??

Jim and the neighbor, Bob, went to the dump today to get rid of the roofing debris from his new roof installation...I was going to send the cardboard boxes I broke down from the move, but I decided to put them in the shed and save them for lasagna beds...No point in wasting them so I need to do a little research on them...
The walkway and the planting beds are all that is left to do out front now...
I think that will be all I am going to do for awhile...I have a couple indoor projects I can do this winter when it is too nasty out to do anything, but I am done outside till Spring with any other big projects...

Getting my Daylilies taken care of before winter is my prime concern, so I really want to get busy on those beds...I want the plants in the ground no later than mid September so they can get a good start...They are all potted up, so they won't be disturbed much at all...My Enola Gay bloomed again last Wednesday...I am so proud of the ones I have for the Vets Garden especially...They are all so beautiful, and I can't wait to get them in thier new and very permanent home...

This is one of my most favorites....Pearl Harbor with American Revolution just visible behind it and my tub full of dark blue Siberian Iris..
All packed up and ready to go home to Georgia...LOL

Dusty, one thing I have figured out about you is that you are always going full steam! Sure wish I had your stamina to keep going. You are definitely an inspiration with your building projects. I'll think of you often when I start mine.

The timing of your move was perfect for allowing enough time this fall to get your plants in the ground so they can settle in. Anxious to see pictures next summer!

We have been having absolutely beautiful weather in the 70's, so I am getting lots done. Finally got our garden tractor back from being in the shop for a full month. Broke an axle on it, but thankfully, we had an extended warranty on it. Trying to get the yard and front field looking decent again. Al built the big shed last summer and when we left, we just threw everything in there and my little shed and locked 'em up. During the break between jobs, he worked on organizing the big one better and I set up a "potting shed" area behind the garden. A lot of our stuff doesn't need to be locked up, just "contained" in some way, so it doesn't blow around.

Al is still up north of Louisville. Been there a few weeks already and will probably stay another 5 or 6 weeks before he moves on. I get to stay home and he comes home Saturday evenings and goes back Sunday afternoon.

Glad you are enjoying your new home!

Whoa, I haven't logged on in awhile ;) Where the heck is Sugar Valley? I am glad you finally made it to Ga. Is it hot enough for you? lol I'm going back to look at all your pics and progress.

Welcome!!!!
Susan

Hi Susan and Thank you !!! Sugar Valley is 6.6 miles due west of downtown Cartersville...I absolutely love it here...Couldn't be more perfect...This heat doesn't faze me...LOL

Robin...here is the beginning of the porch floor reusing the decking from the ramp...We have had a ton of rain the last 2 days, so I am at a halt for using electrical power tools for the moment...That's okay, because it gave me an oportunity to get caught up on the inside again...LOL
As I said on another thread, I am afraid to slow down at my age for fear I will die...Maybe not physically, but mentally for sure...LOL

I am sure glad you are getting to stay home this summer so you could play in your yard...I know it has been alot of hard work, but you would have never been able to find your house if you hadn't been able to get it all mowed down again...LOL
Hopefully it won't be much longer and you will be able to stay home permanently...

Dusty, LOL! 6 years, 10 months and counting. Know what you mean about slowing down. Personally, I'm just trying to get everything done now, so when Al does retire we can spend more time together doing what we want to do and enjoying all of the hard work we've put in this place..

You're moving right along on the porch! It will look so good when you're done.

Rain? What's that? Second time now in the last week we've been in the middle of two bands of rain and not a single drop here. Bummer....

Here is a bit of an update on the porch project...I still have another 2 feet to extend to the front before I can put up the steps...My landlord came yesterday and brought 3 new risers and the boards to make new 8 foot wide Plantation steps, and the 4 new posts for the front of the roof support....He also brought new chain link and installed it to divide my yard for me front to back, so if I have the driveway gates open, the dogs can still go out in the back yard...
I have a new stove and a new stainless side by side fridge coming toward the end of next week, and he will be buying the new kitchen cabinets for me as well...Since we are going to be buying this place, he said he wants it done the way I want it, before we sign over...I couldn't be more pleased or more spoiled... LOL The kitchen will be my indoor winter project...It is going to be completely gutted down to the bare walls...LOL ....I can't wait to tear into that!!!

Another DG friend is sending a box full of Iris Rhizomes the middle of this month to add to my walkway beds...and the pics of them are just gorgeous...

My Son and his family are on their way up here, so I am going to take advantage of the *slave labor* LOL....
I hope you all are having a wonderful and safe Holiday....

You are one lucky duck! You are blessed to have found a landlord like that! There are so many out there that are only looking out for themselves and the almighty dollar.
The porch is looking good and the steps sound like they will be nice too.
If I lived closer, I would come and help you plant and anything else! I love seeing kitchen re-do's, sounds like fun! You will be cooking up some mean dishes in that new kitchen!!

I think so too, Dusty, and may I ask, is this your prodject, or are both of you involved?
I really won't be surprised at the answer, cause I'm married to a "yankee", and she never stops. Mike

I would love to have the company for planting or whatever, even if it is just sitting on the new porch drinking sweet tea...LOL....
I will get plenty of before, during and after pics for you...This kitchen as it is, is abysmal...LOL

It is mostly my project Mike...Hubby helps when I need an extra pair of hands...He loves doing woodworking, but he is also a sextuple bypass heart patient, so I have to limit him...I can man a saw or just about anything else by myself, so I tend to do most everything alone...He has been a big help on the porch framing, but I have done all of the flooring... We don't get out in the heat of the day unless that side of the house is still in the shade...I have my patio umbrella up on the porch to help somewhat, but it is slower going than I would like for it to be...LOL...

Dusty ...
I've been watching your progress and admiring you as you go along. I like your spunk, and think that house is lucky to have you. :-) Good luck as you continue with your remodeling.
~Susan

It is coming along Susan...Had to take time off the porch to build a gate for the cross fence...The guy we are buying the house from called me frantic... He has another house, and the neighbor next door to it called him and said the tennant had not been there in 2 weeks, and left 2 dogs there with no food or water...One was a male Shepherd in the yard, and the other was a tiny Min Pin in the house...Brian has 2 Rottweilers and he could not take them there, so he asked if I could foster them...
My son is going to take the Shep, but he has fence repair to do from last winters storm before he would be secure...He is a wonderful dog and very well behaved...Such a shame, but the Animal control told Brian he would be put down immediately, and Brian didn't want that, so he is safe for now thanks to the new cross fence...
Got the gate built, but still have to get the hinges on it, and get it hung on the post...I was almost there till we got that deluge of rain last night...

I have been changing around some of the light fixtures and ceiling fans, and a few more things inside when it is too hot to go out, or raining...
I am hoping to finish up outside this weekend, so I can get the leftover lumber moved around back and stacked and stored for the winter...
Then on to the tilling for the new beds, and getting that old ramp area seeded...sigh...I need more of me...LOL

Dusty, I need some of your spunk and energy - think you could send some my way?

ROFLLL... I have been digging in my stash to see if I could find a bit more for myself...I think my engine is about to run out of steam...
It will be nice to take a break from the heavy stuff and just play in the dirt for a bit...

Either tonight or tomorrow, I have to get my laundry room walls done, as the machines will be here sometime this weekend...and there is a possibility I will have to take down the cabinet over the fridge as Brian thinks the new one is taller than this one...Fine with me, as I can't reach it anyway without a stool, and I put my big cuisinart, and mixer up there since I won't be baking anytime soon...