Try Again

The paver crew was at it bright and early today and they brought a working concrete saw with them so they were able to finish up by early afternoon. The softscape crew was right behind them and they were able to finish grade the east side between the house and walkway along with the front yard. Another load of granite was delivered and they spread that in the front and the east side, after a little cleanup they were off to another job.

The job supervisor stopped to see the progress and to inform us that the formed curb around the dog grass area was going to be removed and the crew would redo that job. We had not talked to him about the curbing but he said that it turned out so badly that they didn’t want their company name associated with it. The picture we posted last night made it look much better than it was, the crew free handed it and the curve was very asymmetrical with the deepest portion of the grass offset way to the right of center. We were not going to argue his offer to remove it even though it will set the finish date back a day or two.

 

This slip form curb will be removed and they will try again. The pet grass was scheduled to be installed on Monday but this will delay that for a day or two or three…

 

No such problem with the paver crew, their work looks great. The walkway runs from the rear patio to the front.

 

The walkway and garbage can parking spot look great, they brought up the grade between the house and walkway and finished the drainage system for that area.

 

The walkway ties into the front patio.

 

They did a great job with the patio, and…

 

extending the paver theme down to the end of the driveway.

 

Pet Grass? Why do we need Pet Grass? I enjoy it when my limo takes me to the dog park three times each day!

Working on our list

We have been checking items off of our to do list while the landscaper has also made a lot of progress. We stopped at the RV storage lot here at the Ranch to get some information for this fall, at this time there are plenty of open spots so we will call them in September to reserve a spot for the mothership; covered storage is not available yet but the lot looks pretty secure.

The landscaping is moving along, we still hope they will be done by early next week. Yesterday the walls went up and the paver crew got started today, they also spread our first load of granite in the backyard. With any luck the pavers will be in tomorrow and they can do the final grading, spread granite in the front yard and paint the walls to match the house.

 

Yesterday started with the wall footings and...

 

concrete block dust.

 

That meant the walls were going up.

 

The wall in front is for the front patio, the small one on the side hides the garbage can and helps hide the satellite dish.

 

After the block was up the stucco went on.

 

This morning started with the formed cement border for KoKo’s pet grass being installed, it looks alright but it’s not done according to plan so we may have to discuss this with the supervisor.

 

The paver crew started working on the front patio.

 

The first load of granite arrived.

 

The granite covered the back and west side of the yard,…

 

it really makes a difference.

 

The paver crew was preparing the base for the walkway.

 

There will be pavers along the edge of the driveway.

 

By the end of the day the patio was looking good, they may have finished it but their concrete saw wouldn’t start after lunch.

 

They did get a good start on the walkway.

 

This side of the driveway is complete and the granite is in place.

Birthday #3

On Saturday we celebrated our little buddy’s 3rd birthday, KoKo had a pretty good day that included some extra play time and a few more treats than normal. KoKo is adjusting to the new home but she seems to be more territorial about the house than she is about the mothership. The crowd at the dog park is a little hard on her, she is not out-going with the other dogs but if they don’t crowd around her she relaxes a little and does her business. KoKo has been a part of our life for three years now and we pray for many more.

 

Hey people, this is KoKo’s day! Let’s play ball!

 

Cool, the treats start early! What’s with the “Wait” command?

 

Alright, Thank You!

 

 

We have been taking advantage of the facilities here at the ranch, we swim laps one day and work out on the machines in the fitness center the next. After our workout we shower in the locker room before heading back to the house, it’s a tuff life here but we seem to be adjusting; when we come back in fall the hot tub and steam rooms may seem more appealing. We are settling in very nice but we know we will be leaving in another week so we are talking about the other activities we will take part in when we return for the winter.

The landscaping is progressing a little slower than we thought it should so Sandy had a heart to heart with the supervisor about the time line we were promised, the plan is coming to life and we have been assured we will see the finished product next week. The plants were put in today and they look good; the City Inspector approved the wall footings this morning so they should go up this week.

 

You call that a footing? Nothing like they need up north.

 

Gravel, sand, pavers and block for the walls were delivered yesterday.

 

The crew was here today to put in our plants. This is the backyard, the centerpiece is a Palo Verde tree backed up by two Golden Barrel Cactus and two Mexican Orange Honeysuckle bushes.

 

After the plants were in they staked the Palo Verde and put the finishing touches on the irrigation system.

 

Also in the back is an Ocotillo flanked by two dwarf Red Oleander and two Trailing Lantanas (lavender), in front is a Gold Lantana.

 

The Mexican Fence Post.

 

Out front on the right side of the driveway there are two Texas Sage plants we hope will help hide the utility boxes, a Bunny Ears Cactus and an Orange Honeysuckle.

 

There will be a small walled patio in front of the house; the plants include another Ocotillo, Bunny Ears, Red Fairy Dusters (2), a Desert Spoon, two Gold Lantanas, another Orange Honeysuckle and a Parry’s Agave. Should have plenty of color here.

 

An overview of the backyard, there are three Texas Sage plants between the mound in the foreground and the Fence Post cactus.

Repaired and Ready

We are cooking (on our own stove), again and ready to start enjoying the community. We have been up early the last couple mornings so workers could solve our electrical problem, the good news is the electrician found the problem and corrected it. The issue turned out to be an errant screw that pierced the electrical cable for the range, the bad news was that he had to cut several holes in the wall to replace the bad section of wire. It didn’t take long for the drywall to be repaired and the painter was here this morning to make it all look new again.

 

The electrician had good current to the point where the wire ran down behind the kitchen wall so he cut some holes to remove the bad section and replace it with new cable.

 

We wound up with three good sized holes.

 

This is where the range should be, the problem was that one of the screws used on the wooden support strip for the granite countertop behind the range pierced the electric cable.

 

The cable and offending screw, you can see the hole through the red wire and the broken ground wire in front of it.

 

The drywall was being repaired before the electrician had made the final connection in the attic.

 

This morning the painter put a couple coats on the patch and we are good as new.

 

 

The landscapers have made good progress during the past few days. We thought we may get plants today but they apparently will be here next week as we hadn’t finalized the plantings until Wednesday. We did change a few plants because one of the bushes that was in our plan has become a favorite meal for the local rabbit population; we took a ride with the supervisor and picked out some substitutions and added a Mexican Fence Post cactus to the list. There are two walls in the plan that require footings, the prep for the footings must be inspected and approved by the city so they will work on that next week as the city inspector doesn't work on Friday.

 

This is the east side of the house, they are installing drain pipe that will carry water from the back of the home and from the downspouts.

 

They had to use a jackhammer to dig the holes for the plants.

 

Marking the location for dirt mounds and plants.

 

Dirt mounds in the backyard, holes have been dug for plants.

 

Dirt mound in the front yard, water tubes for the irrigation system are also visible; John’s brother Jim calls them “irritation systems” as they can be troublesome.

 

 

For the most part John has caught up on his “Honey Do List” so we met with the Home Owners Association person this morning to take care of that requirement; we received windshield decals for the car and motor home as well as some valuable information. While we were in the area we stopped at the recreation building and took care of some required business there and received our homeowner bracelets that we will wear when using the facility. After lunch we went back to the recreation building and spent some time on the machines in the fitness center and then swam some laps in the indoor lap pool; the workout sure showed John he has a way to go if he wants to get back into shape.

We have been enjoying the house and now some of the facilities available to us here in the community, during our golf car ride home we both had to admit that it will be hard to leave here in a couple of weeks!

 

John is done with the lights and fans.

 

The weather has been hot with some humidity (but nothing like the humidity in Wisconsin), we have adapted by staying out of the sun as much as possible, staying in the shade when there is a slight breeze makes it livable and almost comfortable. The afternoon wind brought a little dust on a few days.

Unpacking

We continue to make progress turning our house into a home. Sandy unpacked her last box of goods today and she continues to organize rooms and closets which makes it feel much more homey here. John has been hanging lights and fans while he has made a little progress organizing the garage; the big problem out there is that we have an abundance of cardboard and rubbish from storage and items that we purchased for the house, we are awaiting delivery of a garbage can from the city of Eloy so we can start cleaning some of that out.

 

This hutch and many of the items inside are a remembrance of Sandy’s mother, it all survived two years of storage and the ride down here.

 

John has been working on fans and lights.

 

This one is in the great room, not easy working with the high ceiling.

 

Last night the light above the table went up.

 

 

Today we added lights above the kitchen island and some organizers in the island cabinet.

 

 

The weather (heat), has been bearable so far, this is the monsoon season which means humidity and rain  along with dust storms, we had both yesterday. The wind kicked up in the early afternoon which carried some dust in, it blew a few loose items around but nothing serious. The rain came later, it poured for a short time and then it was done.

 

The rain flooded the empty lots behind us.

 

  The downspouts had all they could handle.

 

The water drained to the street.

 

 

The GE repairman visited us today and after a short period of testing declared that the range is fine but the proper voltage isn’t coming from the outlet. This is what we told our warranty person yesterday but he was sure it was in the range because they tested the wiring. We couldn’t reach the warranty person today so we called our construction superintendent and an electrician was at the door within ten minutes, the warranty person was going to send one yesterday to verify that the wiring was OK but that didn’t happen either. Well the electrician started at the kitchen outlet and was testing inside and outside for a while before he started making phone calls, as time went by we assumed this was not going to be an easy fix. Eventually the electrician informed us that there is a problem with the wire from the service box to the range, he tested the breakers and the plug which were fine. Within the next few days they will try to locate the bad spot in the wire but this may involve “removing” some sections of drywall to run a new piece of cable.

Well we have confidence that if holes appear in our new house they will repair it as good as new, so far the only disappointment has been that an electrician could have verified this problem 24 hours earlier but it wasn’t done because the warranty person was sure the problem was in the range, not in the house.

The landscaper showed up today and told us his crew would start tomorrow but they also showed up this afternoon and got in a couple of hours of work. We will document the plan as it takes shape over the next week or two.

 

The yard is pretty basic right now, we will follow the landscaping progress.

 

The crew used a jack hammer to break up the ground, hey, where were they when we dug the 2 foot deep hole for the satellite dish mount.

 

They got started on the drainage system that will run down this side of the house.

 

Several people wanted to see a picture of the golf car so we dusted it off and backed it out of the garage for a quick photo. Actually it has been making regular trips to the dog park for KoKo, we thought it would be a nice, handy item and so far it has been.