Footings were poured

Today - a very windy but warm November day in Kansas - Brent, Jeremy, and I decided to take advantage of the weather and see the progress on the house.

And we now have footings with lots of rebar.

Footings viewed from East near Summer Kitchen

Here's a link to more pictures from several angles: Footings

Excavation

Well, on October 9-ish, 2013, we finally began building our home (with the help of our builder, Rick Robson). We learned from a text that the excavation had happened.

So, of course, we had to drive out to the farm and take a look. Here's what we saw.

Brent standing at the corner where the garage will meet the house.

In case you'd like to see more photos and views of the excavation, here's a link to the Picasa Web Album: Initial Excavation photos

That weekend we left for a trip to south Missouri. When we returned, there were trenches dug for the footings:

This is the trench for the footing of the South wall of the house.
That is Jeremy, our youngest. He's really a lot taller than that. The trench is only 4' deep.

And last week, forms were built for the footings. After the trenches were dug our area received A LOT of rain and then more rain. But, eventually things dried out. On my birthday, we took the day off work to see how things were going and meet Steve Mann to get some idea about the garden space. Here's how the forms were shaping up.

Forms for footings - not finished.

Still not much to look at, but we're starting to get a good idea how big rooms will be downstairs and can image a little better how well we've captured the views. We are loving it!

Our little piece of heaven - in the beginning

In October 2011 Brent and I embarked on a journey that began with the spotting of a little "For Sale by Owner" sign on a hill. You couldn't see the property from the road - just the hill. But once you drive over the hill...well, that's when you see the possibility.

So here is a little tour of what we saw:

A little cinder block house

A beautiful view East, South, and West

A ton of grass (aka a pasture)

An old cinder block garage 

...And trash

There was a lot of trash (less now, but still a lot). And, yet, we thought, "You know, that could work!"

The hill slopes off to the South and East, perfect for the home we wanted to build. There is a small well. It's only a few miles from 3 towns, only 5 more miles from our work and the same commute time. Hmmm.

So Brent did some figuring and thinking and made a big decision. He chose to convert his cash into this solid as earth investment. And we gained a little piece of heaven to care for and love.

Then we really started to dream...and plan... :-)