When our 18 month old GE top-loading washing machine broke, and the parts and labor to fix it would have cost more than the washing machine itself, we went shopping…

We ended up getting a whirlpool duet front loader and I was skeptical – the cost jump from top loaders to front loaders is still a bit big and I was worried that it wouldn’t be worth it.

But it is! Most definitely worth it. Clothes that I thought stained and dingy beyond repair are now clean and fresh looking again, and after just one run through the new front loader. It’s also a lot quieter than the old top loader!

Photo by Editor B

36 quarts of grape juice concentrate.

28 pints of grape jelly.

And Russ still doesn’t hink we have enough – he’s planning on going to pick more grapes on Saturday morning.

As I sit here typing, there are bulldozers, skid steerers and a crew of men, well, dad, Russ and Uncle Denny, tearing up my nice yard. In just the few hours since it all began, over twenty trees have met their maker and are now lying in a pile in my front yard. My beautiful side yard now looks like a war zone, guess there’s no more frisbee with the kid and pups there anymore. And the back yard is the same.

Unfortunately for us, just about every square inch of the property we have cleared is going to be torn up. We’ll be lucky if we have a blade of grass left by the end of the day. A new lane, a road to the garage and the location for the new house foundation will leave no corner of the already cleared property untouched. Not to mention that we’re actually going to be clearing at least another acre or so of the land.

But at least it will be worth it in the end… I hope!

Update: I started this post this morning, then just happened to look out the window as the bulldozer backed up right over our water well, smashing the casing to pieces. Luckily, it didn’t hurt anything but the casing and for now, we still have water, although it’s quite dirty because of all the dirt that fell in while Russ was shoveling it out to cover it up. After that they laid logs and rocks around both water wells to avoid anymore damage.

I think they have most of the trees that are coming out down already. Boy, the place looks so different already! Check out our “Construction Gallery” to see what a big mess the place is. Russ wants me to keep taking pictures of it off and on as they work, so I’ll try to keep it updated on here too!

One waiting period over, another beginning…

If all goes as planned, according to the time line set up now, we should be perm closing in mid-September, and ready to move in…  Let’s keep our fingers crossed!