Changes Part II

Molly....I'm sorry you have to move before you had planned...BUT...if I visit my sister-in-law, and friends I left behind in Citrus County...we go up to Gainsville a lot...and I will be able to see you again!!

I love the Yurts...I have sent the links to my DD next door...they have a real Teepi, and it is comfy to sleep in in all weather...the Native Americans sure knew how to use their talents for building comfy, movable homes.

My DD plans to enclose the swimming pool and hot tub area...I think these would work really well.

Thanks all for the info.

Jo

Hi Molly,

Lots of people have come up with ideas for building/buying temporary storage and living space, but I've been thinking about your business. Do you have a website now? If not, you might think about putting one up because it can serve as inexpensive advertising for you no matter where you are based. It might be especially useful if you want to advertise yourself as a sort of "have paintbrush, will travel" service. I have two websites hosted by Yahoo and they only cost about $13.00 each a month. I bought a domain name through them for $5.00 for a year. They have very easy to use tools so that you can set up a site without any knowledge of coding, etc. I'm currently in the process of taking free online lessons to get my sites higher in the search engines and hope to start getting some income from at least one of them: however, even without actually selling things online, I've been getting feedback from customers that show up at my store or telephone because of my web presence. Other business people have told me that they are getting at least 50% of their new customers that way. Just thought it might be a way to get the word out before you actually move.

McCool, that is a great idea. I do need to start someplace. It's a new idea for me, but one that I need to consider. My business down here was started with 2 jobs and I worked on referrals ever since. Those referrals led me through 3 counties.

I do have a store site here through Dave's. I need to find out if I can use that in any way.

Liz, thanks for the photos of the 5th wheeler. That sure looks like a great deal and so tempting. Everything all set up. Just have to worry about the water coming in and the "water" going out. If I go with the travel trailer route, I would need a separate building, like maybe a pole barn to store my things and put my business equipment and extra car.

I'll tell you what, so many good ideas coming in here, I am really starting to get excited.

I still need to find a good site to look up used mobile home/travel trailers, like maybe an auto trader thing. Is there such a thing?

Molly

Molly, here's a site that defines the various trailer types.
http://www.woodalls.com/rvs/selectrv/

There's a huge place I pass on the way to Boone, just can't remember the name. But I'll pass it this Friday, and get the name for you. I'm sure they have a website for used units.

Thanks Darius.

I've been talking with someone who lives a couple miles from my place and getting some pretty good local info.

Let me know what you find out there.

Molly

Molly
i've checked monkeyads.com for used rv's. There must be other sites like that...we have bargain trader online too.
I'm glad to hear that some excitement is setting in!! I hope it can be at least some adventure for you!! Sometimes the unexpected turns out pretty good!!
Dorothy

Dorothy thank you for that.

Yes, finally, life is giving some new adventures instead of that other (bad attitude) stuff.

Bargain trader, rv trader and monkeyads? got it!

Molly
:^)))

I just got back from a week at the property. Spent the first 3 days looking for a mobile home and equipment rentals.

I needed to find a roof and some equipment to clear the land.

For starters, let me say this, looking for a used mobile home is like internet dating. The ads all paint a lovely picture, "excellent condition" "well maintained". The reality is, in both cases, they look older than they are, house keeping is extremely poor, leaks and such haven't been repaired and titles (marriage licences) are not free and clear. There's my chuckle for the day. For both, I moved my standards up a lot higher which means fewer choices, but less disappointments. :^))))

For the land, it's 5 acres, give or take, deeper than wide. I took this picture standing on a 6 foot ladder while holding on to a tall pine tree.

After looking for rental equipment, comparing the price of that and hiring someone to do the job, I decided to hire someone to do it. The man cleared 75-80% of the property on Saturday before the machine broke. So he owes me another hour and I added some extra trees in which will be an additional hour of work.

This machine pushes down trees, bushes, weeds, shrubs, everything except the 3 piece set of living room furniture someone has been using in the thickest part of the woods on the back. The gadget will take in most small trees, chip the wood and throw it back out as mulch. It also has a rake attachment which he'll use to smooth the ground on the "driveway" that they will use when pulling in the mobile home.

In this picture there is a large clearing just beyond this bunch of pines. That's where we will put the mobile home.

Clay took down a gazillion Black Jack Oaks, some laurel oaks, and a lot of what the locals call rosemary bushes. These are not to be confused with the herb we all know and love. These bushes can grow to 7 feet tall and just as wide.

I am told these are very desirable pines, Long Leaf. I wanted to keep as many of these as possible for privacy screening from the road. I also hope to use the needles as mulch in my flower beds.

This is what I found to live in. It's a 3 bedroom 2 full bath home, only 6 years old. The one on the right.

looks huge Molly yeah! I popped over from coffe to have a look!
Anne

Sorry, 16X80 singlewide. Over 1200 sq feet of living space.

The master bedroom and bath take up the back end. The bath has a huge corner tub with a separate shower. It connects to the large walkin closet, both of which open to the bedroom.

LOVE it !
Anne

Thanks Anne. Hang in there, more to come.

Here's the kitchen. It's a large "eat-in" with a hidden laundry room to the left across from the back door and that's a large walk-in pantry on the right. I am standing in the dining/eat-in section of the kitchen and you are looking off into the living room.

The vinyl flooring is the original and in good shape, the blue carpet is new.

Here's the dining room. Since I don't have a dining table, and I do have 3 parrots, they will love this spot by the window in an area that will see a lot of activity.

Here's the living room.

And from the living room, down the hall, is 2 bedrooms and a full bath.

There is vinyl panelling in the 2 bathrooms and the pantry, but the rest of the house has been painted white. Any guesses on what my first project will be?????

Molly!!! Welcome Back! I missed you in chat but thought you were on the road!

It looks beautiful out there on your land! And your new home must seem like a mansion compared to the one you have now. Is it a lot bigger? One of the local manufactured home places by us is having a sale and I love the entry way on some of them. I told hubby we oughta buy one and strap it to the front of the house. :) Hey, double the size of the house cheaper than building?!?!

Am I wrong or do I actually hear a bit of happiness and excitement for the future in your typing??? I am so happy things are working out for you. I really believe you are going to have so much fun with all that land! Just think how many more plants I can send you. hahahahaha

There are no appliances in here, but that's okay, I already have a fridge and washer and dryer. Heck, the stove can wait, everyone knows I don't cook.

I already have a microwave for re-heating take out.

Here's the room my son has chosen. Yep, he's a grown man, 32, and he can stay as long as he wants. He has plans to help put up fencing on the property and build a pole barn, decks and gardens. Sure, he can stay as long as he wants.

Chele, Yup, I am feeling pretty chipper these days. Things are looking much brighter. And thanks for coming to visit me here.

I got some great gardening ideas from Amaryllisgal and Juja's gardens this week. They both have 5 acres+ and have some wonderful pathways and gardens on their property. Can you say "Hostas in the Pines?"

Just one more of the house. This is from the living room looking back to the kitchen, dining and master bedroom. The 3rd bedroom is small and will do as an office. No pictures right now of the guest bath. The bath/shower surround is stained from well water minerals and doesn't look too pretty at the moment.

Looks GREAT! and I was looking at all the white walls and thinking....Molly's not gonna live with that! LOL! I'd come help paint if I was closer! Aren't you glad to have this decision done? See - things are gonna work out...just you wait and see.


BTW - does your son hire out? LOL!

M.

The house I am in right now has about 650 sq feet of living space. So yes, the mobile home is almost double the size.

The kitchen in this place in Ft Lauderdale is a very small walk through, no sitting except at the breakfast bar dividing the kitchen from the living room.

So yes, much more space in the new house. And although I said I don't cook, I still love that huge walk-in pantry. Mostly for pet supplies. I can get rid of 2 pantry cabinets now.

Chele, did you see that big toy sitting under the pines? I was thinking of you when I hired that to do the job. I have no guts, so Clay, the operator, gets the glory. I'm fine with that.

I met one of my neighbors yesterday. He's about 2 parcels down and across the street. He drives a big rig and parks it on his property when he's home. He tells me that the guy living next door is in jail/prison. He gets out and goes back in frequently. I wondered about his absense since his place looked abandoned.

The parcel on the other side of me is fenced in. The owner brings their horses out periodically, leaves them for a week to eat the growth then takes them home again. Can you say "Horse Manure? It's really easy to jump that fence with a shovel. Oh yeah, and although he hasn't a clue on the concept, my boy is going to make me a compost bin.

Jeremy found deer tracks on the property and he's looking forward to seeing them wander the property. I like the idea too, except for the damage they may do to the garden. People also tell me, that once my dogs scent is around the area, the deer may not come to visit. We'll see when we get there.

Jeremy and I have now traveled most of the main paved county roads in the area east of Gainesville. We have a pretty good handle on getting to where we need to go for most things.

Tomorrow we go back to work to earn some more money so we can spend some more. :^))))
Molly

Oh Molly...Your home is great....and larger than mine!! Mine is 14X70...and DS, Keith built me a "Arizona Room" 11 X 16. Plenty big for me and Tessa.

I will be visiting in my old home of Homosassa sometime and you won't be but about ....hmmm 55 miles? away. Jo

Glad you found such a well kept manufactured home. Jo

This message was edited Oct 9, 2005 7:05 AM

Molly, I'm so happy for you, and much fun reading about your adventure. Wishing you good luck in all you do.

Marcia and Jo,

Thanks, and yup, gonna do some painting. I think I will take some of the colors I put here in this rental, I'm not tired of them yet.

Sorry Marcia, I need Jeremy to work for a while, but after that????? sure, he hires out.

Jo, when you come to Homosassa, you will HAVE to come and visit. You won't believe how many DG members are within spittin' distance of my place.
Molly :^)))

ROTFLOL Molly! I almost asked if you jumped on that machine or thought of me when you saw it. I didn't want to be *that* self serving. hahahaha I know I got all excited when I saw it!

Hey, there is a product called The Works or Works that is for cleaning hard water stains and minerals out of toilets. I have put some in a bowl and used a toothbrush to clean shower heads, faucets etc. Since it is meant for the toilet, I do make sure to rinse and clean very well before using the faucets. It is the only thing I have found that will take the deposits or corrosions off of some things.

You better be careful with that P word (pantry). Darius is a sucker for pantries! LOL

I am so happy to hear the smiling hope back in your tone! (((MOLLY)))

Molly it just looks wonderful! And yes once your dogs get there and their scent is around the deer will not be as noticeable and a fence will help too.
They love hostas here and eat them right to the ground. But our dogs and a fence has helped with that and the deer hang out on the other side so we can still enjoy seeing them in the woods!
Great place nice pictures
Anne

cool molly....

Anne, Thanks for the deer tips. I knew someone would tell me what they are partial to. I have been babying the hostas here from the heat, now I will have to protect them from the deer. (Other than knowing they have big beautiful brown eyes, I am a deer dummy)

Chele, even though it might have been fun to operate that thing, and Jeremy was chomping at the bit to do so, I know for a fact, we could never have cleared 3 1/2 acres in 7 hours. We went to Juja's round up yesterday and headed for the property after that. I was envisioning nothing being done on the land, no one showing up, and was mentally gearing up for the disappointment. (remember I live in a place where it is normal for people to fail to show up and or do the job right). Anyway, when I turned the corner on my road, I held my breath, until I saw the weeds on the swale were sheared short and as I got closer, could see up the stretch of land under the pines. Yipppeeeee!!!!!!
Molly :^))))

Oh yes the hostas do protect them to the deer here it is like CANDY they will walk right into your yard while you are there and just start eating them!! LOL
my Mother has a long driveway lined with hostas and all were gone in a matter of a week!

Oh boy, how tall does that fence have to be?

On this trip we spent time with 2 people who had electric gates at the front of the property. You know who has to have one now, don't you?

If we put the "Deer Crossing" sign down the road a little bit, do you think they (the deer) will abide by the rules?

:^)))

LOL they may be well behaved deer worth a shot LOL
Our fence is only 4 to 4 and a half feet I guess and we have a big shepard/akita mix and a small pup!
The deer can jump the fence but do not with all the other yards to get into and with the dogs they tend to stay out.
If they want to they will jump it but all those factors will deter them!
Anne

OH, MOLLY!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!
You have so much potential here!!!
You will have so, so, so, so much fun playing with this property.
The mobile home looks just great. I have lived in a 15' x 60' one for several years when I first got married and had my first kid in one. They are great to live in.
I do have one tip tho. Check very carefully in all closets, cupboards, etc. for any water leaks in the roof. They can just start and in mobile homes, they can do a lot of damage quickly. They aren't as sturdy as a real home because they are mobile and some cracks can show up with the movement. Just my 2 cents worth.
You have so much room now for everything. I am so glad that your son is looking foward to living and being there for you. Go for it! Enjoy him while you can. Having a strong body to help do the heavy work will be the best for you.
Ok, enough chatting from me. Really enjoying seeing your progress on this beautiful property. Guess you will need to change your address so people can send you some plants, hehe!
Later, Carol

Molly, this is sooo exciting!!! You've made so much progress in such a short time! Bet your landlord is kicking himself now since he hasn't had much interest in the place you're living in...and he will have a hard time getting a tenant when the place is listed for sale!

Trees!! And a show-up-on-time guy to do the bushwhacking and grading! This is looking better and better! Fencing should deter the deer, they look for easy paths, and the dogs will help. We have plenty of deer in our area, and they haven't done any damage to the hosta, but those #^$% rabbits sure have! We think one was sleeping in the tall artemesia last fall, probably the same one that took a big bite out of several yellow tomatos. Had lunch. Took a nap. Hasn't been back this year as far as I can tell. Heard that if you hang bars of Irish Spring soap around, they avoid the area. This is not my experience, just something I heard. Never tried it.

The mobile looks to be in great condition, what generous space you'll have...double! I told my DIL and DS when they move, they will have to put their furniture in a tight grouping until they get accustomed to having SPACE! She's all excited because she will have windows!! Their little house has only two! And it's under 500 sq.ft.

Keep us posted, this is such a wonderful journey to share with us.

Liz and Pebble, thank you for your good thoughts and wishes. It warms my heart.

Carol, of course there was a little bit of water damage in the master bathroom. The carpet was removed in there, new plywood put down and the plumbing attended to. That leak was from the shower.

I did take a close look at the ceilings walls and floors for signs of leakage. The dealer is the one making the minor repairs and put in the carpet and new ceiling light fixtures. Now once the unit is moved again to my place, I will go through and look again. Whenever a unit is moved, there is a little risk of "shifting".

I DO have an address there, but no mailbox and no one to take in the packages, so we will have to wait until I get up there. My neighbor up there is a big rig driver. He doesn't look like he would understand a dahlia from a zinnia. But he could learn..............................

:^)))

M5???? Did you say rabbits? Wow, I have been out of the real world too long.

Our critters down here at the bottom of Fla have been raccoons, possums and herons. None of these are much of a bother as long as the dog scent is around to protect the goldfish in the pond.

Now you are going to tell me I need to worry about rabbits, moles, voles, buzzards, deer, oh my!

Over on the northwest side of the county, there are lions and tigers and bears, oh my!!!!! But they are caged. We saw them Friday out on one of the county roads we traveled.

This is a whole new world for us. So exciting!
:^)))

Molly, SO great to see the excitement in your posts! And, what a woman... to have accomplished so much in such a short time. You and Chele must be sisters under the skin! : )

Molly - your plans really seem to be falling into place for you. One additional bonus is that after you get your house built, the mobile home can make a really neat guest house, plus serve as storage for you. I don't know what I would do without the place "up the hill" which is the mobile home DH lived in while he built the cabin. When he moved into the cabin, he left the mobile intact and all our guests stay there. Its only about 60 feet away but gives privacy to us and them. I hope all the future plans fall together for you.

I was so happy to see this thread pop up on my watched threads. I was hoping that something good and fruitful had transpired in your search for living quarters.

The mobile home looks great and you might just find yourself living in it for a long time if your enjoying it. lol At least the walls were white and not a bunch of mixed colors or wallpaper to take down. I love a clean pallet to work with myself.

The picture of the cleared area looks so peaceful and inviting. Your new home will look wonderful set into that space.

Regarding the deer problem you might have. Have you ever seen Deer Fencing? They have shown this product on many of the Garden Shows on TV and it really works great. Here is a site for example. http://www.bennersgardens.com/?OVRAW=deer%20netting&OVKEY=deer%20netting&OVMTC=standard
There are many sites on Google, if you put in deer fence.

I also thought of Chele when I saw that machine....I thought that if she lived closer to you, she would have volunteered to clear your land for "Free" just so she could use it. hehe

Keep up your postive attitude, things are looking up for sure. And tell your son that we are so proud of him to take such good care of his mom. :-)

Donna

Yeaaaah Molly!!

I'm so glad things are looking up. That MH is gorgeous! It seems to have the same floor plan as my friend Bobbie's and she really likes hers. You have enough seperate areas to not be tripping over your son when he is there. (Did you by any chance find that dealer from one of my lists? I am hoping was able to help in some way.)

Hosta Haven huh? Hmmmm.....Bet I can help a bit with that, lol. Are we going to have a "Name Molly's Place" contest? We all know how much I like that, rofl eh Michele?

Ahhh to have acres.....

mg