I'm not sure about my access for the summer..

We are just starting a construction project, and the phone line to my internet access is right in the way of it. Tomorrow is the target date for them to take it away, so I may not have internet from home all summer, and maybe not until Christmas. I'm hoping that it doesn't cost too much for them to just re-direct it, so I can still connect, but I'm afraid every available waking moment is going to be devoted to getting our family into the new house by snowfall in the fall. I will be able to get onto DG from my office periodically though, and I can retrieve my email from there too. Plus, I WILL NOT give up on the plants and gardens that I have going. I will tend to them with a flashlight if needed. We know we will have to live in the new house unfinished while we finish the inside, but we have all agreed to do this, even if it means sleeping on a bare wood floor in sleeping bags, since it's the only way we can afford to get out of this mobile home. We are building a home from scratch, ourselves! We can get enough of a loan for the building materials, but not the labor, which is way more than the materials. DH's brother used to be a carpenter, so we are going to build it ourselves with his guidance, plus keep working at our jobs.

Maybe we are out of our minds, but this is already in progress, so there's no going back now! Please keep me in your thoughts and don't forget me. I'll check in from my office, unless we can figure a way to redirect the internet line so it's usable during the summer.

Hugs and blessings to all of you!
Joan

Joan,
congrats on your new home. I hope you get the possibility to redirect somehow...

You must be so excieted!!!!! :-)

We are building a new home right now, and we do everything ourself to. belive me when I say it's really hard work. somedays my back is killing me!!!

as for the internet, I'm so glad that I still have it as we build.I can get some information on construction when we are stuck with something.
And it's also a way to relax.

Oh, this sounds great, Joan! Not that we'll (almost) lose you for 8 months, but that you are getting a house! Kenny and I are remodeling our house slowly but surely and I can tell you it is pure-D hell, but when you're done it will be SO worth it!!! Keep your chin up by thinking of all the wonderful memories your family will make in your new home! Awesome!

Thank you both for your well wishes.

You both sound like you are in somewhat the same boat as the one we are just starting to launch!

I will tell you right now, that I am very scared. This is a major undertaking for us, and we need to be in this house by the time snow flies in the fall, which may be in Sept or Oct here. We've already been slowed down by late snows and inclimate weather. We are hoping to have the outside done and the water, sewer and electricity working so we can live in it undone while we finish the inside. We both have full time jobs too, so it's going to be long weekends and long nights.

Before we even started planning this, we talked with the kids and told them this would definitely be the summer from H###, and it would take all of us working together to get it done. They agreed that it was worth it to have a house in the end. No more worrying about pipes freezing in the winter or finding a place to go during the summer storms. I just hope and pray that all of us remembers that until we are done.

hey joan ,,,,,you go girl and if i can figure out how to make you rolls i will send you.......some ,[[[lov nana]]]

Nana, just you keeping me in your thoughts will be enough for me. And, keep one of them scarecrows marked with my name on it, 'kay? I'll be ready to dress him up later on this year.
Love ya girlfriend, take care!
Joan

Joan-I will miss you! My sis n her hubby built a 3000sq ft home-by them selves-They had lived in a mobile home for 14yrs with 4 kids!
I wish you all the luck in the world! I hope you have no problems while your building-no wind,rain,snow or hail-just sunshine!
I hope you can post and let us know how you are this summer!!!!! missin you already!!!

JoanJ, I'll miss you too. Hope all goes well and easy and you're finished early!!

Wow, Joan! Kudos to you and your family on this exciting adventure! Be sure to take lots of photos- I'm sure that this summer will be moments you'll never forget!

Hopefully you won't have to be DG deprived at your house, but I'm happy to hear you won't have total withdrawl :)

I'm very excited for you!
Trish

I hope you are able to keep your access, but don't lose touch all together! what you're doing is wonderful, glad those kids are on board, that will help on a really long day!
best of luck, can't wait to see it!

Goodness gracious, what an undertaking! You'll certainly have your hands full in so many areas! Congratulations on getting the house started.
I think ya'll should consider having a phone line tho. Not just for Inet but just think if there is an accident during the construction. If somebody gets hurt you'll need a way to contact help.
My phone line ran thru the woods, tree branch to tree branch for over two yrs. I bet the phone company where you are could at least stick some T-posts in the ground and route the line around the house site (that phone line costs pennies to them). You really oughta ask them about it.

Horseshoe's got the right idea (Where ya' been, 'Shoe? :-). If they won't do all that, they can atleast put the connecting box somewhere near and phone line is just pennies for you, too, Joan! We bought 50 feet of it last fall for about 9 bucks. Just connect it using the red and green wires ~ and use gloves in case someone calls while you're working on it! ZAP! LOLOL!

One more little tip to having a bearable time in that boat, Joan ~ if you can, finish the kitchen first, then the living room. You spend more time in them than the bedrooms (especially awake time). And having those two rooms as nice finished places to escape the un-finished mess will help you keep your sanity this fall/winter! ;-)

Thanks for all the tips and encouragement you guys.

The telephone man is supposed to come this afternoon, and I'm going to beg and plead if I have to. LOL! The reason I'm the only one worried about the phone lines is we also have cell phones, so we do have phone access without the landline phone. No internet though. I don't think the kids have thought about the internet not working once the phone lines go away! LOL! I'm going to see if I can get them to figure out some sort of temporary fix for us without charging us an arm and a leg to do it. We've found that the phone company isn't very cooperative. I've convinced DH that it would be very helpful to have internet access so we can research how to do various things along the way. He agreed.

Wingnut, I've already thought about the kitchen needing to be the first room finished so we can feed outselves. LOL! Then one of the bathrooms and the living room.

Even if I lose the internet connection at home, I can still access it from my office. I plan to keep working full time until the basement and framework is finished. We have hired someone to dig the basement and do the cement work, and DH and his brother will be doing the framing, and the kids will be helping by doing whatever they are told to do. Once that's done, I think I will be able to help more and will be taking my vacation time. DH will be taking part of his vacation time right away, and the rest later on.

I have started a new journal, and will be updating it as often as I can. I couldn't think of a better way to document the progress, and you all will be able to see it too.

I'll let you know what the telephone guy says. If we figure something out, I'll be on later tonight. If we don't, I'll post when I get back to the office on Thurs. I'm not coming into the office tomorrow, because I have a doctor's appointment. I will be checking in every chance I get though, and keeping the journal updated.

Be back soon I hope!
Joan

Oh, wonderful, Joan! I hope they can get it hooked up for you. Yes, the internet will be a valuable resource in this project, mainly for looking up info when you get stuck on something, but also for a pressure-letoff. You can ALWAYS come here and vent and we'll comiserate with you! I'll keep an eye on your journal entry ~ I'll bet it'll be neat watching you all build your house!

Joan, I have every confidence that you and your family will be in your house before the weather gets too bad. When things get to be too much, just get a quiet spot ( if you can find one) and make a list of the new plants that you might like to trade for next season. I find a bit of quiet per day, a must. Good luck to you all and congratulations!!

Okay Joan, first things first! I am thrilled that you will finally get your house!!! Now, hide the cell phones and tell the phone guy you have to have phone lines in case of emergency! You will also need computer lines so you can email 911, in the event you cannot speak. LOL Send me plane tickets or a gas voucher once you get the studs up and the subfloor in. I can hang shingles, lay tile, hang and finish drywall, etc. I don't do plumbing or electricity, but my hubby has two paid weeks off coming to him! LOL I am sure he would love to help. Giggle Now, before you lose your internet access, let me know if you need more plant markers. I'll get them in the mail. :) We want you to know what all your plants are because there is ALWAYS time for trading. LOL
Really, I hope you can keep your puter up and running!! I am serious about the plant markers too. :)
Hugs,
Michele

Weeeeellllllllll, I didn't know you were that talented, Michele! I used to be a painting contractor and DH knows about electricity, so between us we've got a complete house-building crew!

Joan, I like Michele's advice to hide the cell phones around the land-line phone guy! *grin*

GOOD NEWS! The phone company guy that does the line moving never showed up today. The one-call guy from the phone company that finds and marks where the lines are came yesterday though. So they are all marked so we know where they are.

Now for the good news! The guy who is going to dig the basement and do the cement work did come tonight, and he said as long as the lines are marked, and we have a verification number from one-call, he will just cut the lines, add more phone wire, and splice them back together, and we can just move them out of the way and lay them on top of the ground for a few months until we are ready to have the phone company come out and re-do them properly to the new house. Or, we can just trench them in a few inches so nothing gets caught on them too. This way, we only have to pay the phone company once, instead of twice. So, if all goes as planned, I will still be online this summer. Yippee!! Here the phone company was trying to get us to pay for moving the lines twice if we wanted service, and it wasn't necessary at all.

We visited with the guy who's doing the basement for hours, and he was so helpful. He looked over the blueprints with us, gave us money saving ideas and tons of helpful information. He builds houses, and seemed more than willing to share his knowledge with us. I really think he will also offer advice along the way if we run into a jam. I'm feeling much better about all this tonight. I know I will have internet service, and the basement guy was so helpful and answered lots of questions for us. He explained about laying different types of flooring and everything! I like this guy! LOL!

Anyhoo! It appears that I will still be able to check in during the summer. We are now bypassing the phone company until we are ready to move the phone lines permanently to the new house, and saving the expense of paying them twice. Too Cool! That saves some money for other hidden expenses we run into along the way.

This guy said he's going to be finishing up another basement this week if the weather holds out, and he has another one scheduled for mid June. He should be able to do ours within the next week or so.

Michele - I wish you and your hubby lived closer. I could really use some friends to help out once we get to doing the inside. That's many months off I think, but I will be so lost. I better start researching and learning now, huh? I'll let you know if I need more plant markers. I need to move lots of things within the next few days, so I might. It's going to be a hurried dig and plop sort of situation and I might forget what I'm putting where. LOL! I'll let you know if I run out. Half of the veggie garden is being turned into a temporary bed for the plants I need to move. Next year they will get put back by the house, provided they survive being uprooted and replanted so many times.

Thank you all so much for being here with me. It's a very exciting adventure, but also a very scary one. I may need to vent or cry a time or two during the summer.

I was so impressed with our 14 year old son, Jaden, tonight. He sat right there and listened very closely to every word that was said. He asked some good questions too, and Royd, the basement guy, answered all of them very completely. I think he is going to be a lot of help in this project. He started practicing a couple of days ago. LOL! He's building "Butch" the rabbit a new home. It's turning out very nice too, with lots of room for him to run around and an attached hutch.

Okay, I'm rambling. I just wanted to let you know the good news.

Have a great evening!
Joan

Joan...that is great news! Not many of us in our time zone to chat with at night on MSN!!Me, You, and MaryE...and Iris...although she is an East Coaster...she stays up late. So...Chatting is still in our future!! Jo

Joan, you will be fine. You know what they say about necessity being the mother of invention. Start watching HGTV and DIY and sign up for the how to clinics at Home Depot and Lowes. You'd be amazed what you can learn to do when you really want something done! I have all the faith in the world in you. :)