Man about town.

Posted on by David Maxwell

It was an errand running kind of day. First I went to get a new copy of my septic permit for the installer. Then I got an oil change at Wal-Mart. That took a bit longer than expected. Next I drove over to Chapel Hill to check out a place selling beaded board. They are going to email me a price. I had lunch at a little BBQ joint right there in town. The brisket sandwich was pretty good. I will return to try their pulled pork. Back at the house I started organizing all of the tools and hardware I brought in yesterday. I tried to take a siesta during the afternoon, but even with my powerful fan it was just too hot to sleep. I went to Ace Hardware looking for foundation sealer. They didn’t have the one I wanted, but had a much cheaper option. I will research it a bit before deciding. I also stopped by Big Box Liquidation since it’s right next door. I wanted to eat dinner out and was desiring Mexican. There is a nice little place on the square, but unfortunately I learned that it closes at five. I found another place just up the road, and it was great. I had one each of four different types of tacos, and cheese sauce for my chips. They have a lunch buffet that I will definitely be returning to enjoy. After dinner I started to unload the siding off my trailer. That was a pain, mostly because of how pliable it is and because my tractor wouldn’t lift the whole bundle.

 

Inspection day.

Posted on by David Maxwell

The county’s framing inspection was yesterday, but the real inspection happened this morning. Liz’s. My dad and I drove down the back way from Monteagle – through Cowan, Fayetteville, and Lewisburg. Fortunately the trailer pulled okay. We arrived at the farm just a few minutes before Liz. She toured the house and seemed pleased with things. We went to Big Box Liquidation to look at flooring, and she took a couple of samples that she liked. For the rest of the day I wasn’t very motivated. I brought all the tools from the bunker into the house and consolidated the wood piles. I also made an action list. Tonight I am sleeping in the house. It is nice and cool with a fan going. There are lots of lightning bugs out. I hope to sleep long and well.

The Devil went down to Georgia.

Posted on by David Maxwell

I got to the farm around six this morning. I spent a bit of time cleaning up after the roofers and framers. I have a lot of lumber that I need to pull nails from. Unfortunately my hammer seems to have walked off, so I had to pick up another one at Lowe’s. The building inspector came late morning and pointed out a few things that need to be changed in order for us to pass the framing inspection. I’ll reach out to the framers in order to fix those issues. I went to Lowe’s in order to get the aforementioned hammer, some trim boards for the siding, and a few other odds and ends. Around one my dad came and then we hit the road. Our destination was Trenton, Georgia. That is where I had purchased the siding last Saturday. The whole load was too much for my trailer, but I got 60% of it. We drove up Monteagle Mountain to the cottage. My mother was staying here for a couple of nights, so we went out to dinner at the Mountain Goat Market with her. It was great to relax out on the terrace. The sun was pretty bright but it eventually set. I hope to get to sleep relatively early tonight. In the morning we’ll drive to the farm and get to work.

All good things come to an end.

Posted on by David Maxwell

We left the mountain about ten this morning and came back to reality. Fortunately it was a nice morning on the mountain before we left. The weather was glorious and we weren’t in a huge rush to get going. We had time for a two mile walk before leaving. The highlight of that was seeing a small fox on the greenway. We drove the interstate the whole way home, stopping only for gas in Manchester. I got out at the condo and Liz and Luke headed to East Nashville to hang out with some of her friends. I spent the afternoon catching up on paperwork related to the house. 

Another active day.

Posted on by David Maxwell

The mountain continues to be magical. And I continue to be lazy. I didn’t get up for sunrise again this morning. I did at least manage to take Luke for a 3.22 mile walk on the greenway so that Liz could have a chance to shower and relax a little. There were a number of people out. It was fairly humid but not too hot, and Luke slept for most of the time. I really enjoyed breathing the fresh air and seeing the beautiful scenery along the path.

We all took a little mid-morning nap and then drove down the mountain to Kimball. Our destination was Jesse’s Grill, because Liz wanted a hamburger. We both got burgers and sweet potato fries; mine was pretty good. This was our first time going out with Luke and he only fussed a little, then stopped once Liz held him. Fortunately there was only one other couple in the restaurant. After we ate Luke was hungry again, so Liz breastfed him in the car for about forty minutes before we took a new route back to the cottage. It sure was a lot cooler up on the mountain than down in the valley.

We went on another nice late-afternoon greenway walk. Two miles. Luke was pretty relaxed. Afterwards we drove around campus. The goats had gotten out of their pasture and were all over the road. Unfortunately I didn’t take a picture. Their keeper said the electric fence wasn’t working and they took advantage. It was quite the sight to see.

Dinner was sandwiches. I had hoped to take another walk after dark, but Liz was tired, Luke was fussy, and I was a bit sleepy too. It’s a shame since it felt wonderful outside and walking on the greenway after dark could be a fun adventure. Maybe next trip.