October 2010

Preview of the Next Phase

other-house.jpgThe house under construction that we visited Tuesday is the exact same floor plan and exterior style as the one we’re having built. The only difference between the two is the orientation and size of the garage. Our garage door faces toward the driveway on the right and this one faces front.

Our house is at a stage where the inside and outside paint and textures along with the cabinet installation have yet to be completed. All of those are finished on the other house except for the exterior paint.

While I stood in front of the other house, I took a couple of images which I later stitched into this panoramic composite view. Click on the image to enlarge.

Kitchen Cabinet Selection

Yesterday, our contractor took us to another new build to show us the custom cabinets installed there. Without much deliberation, we decided to have him install this exact style and finish. Click on the image to enlarge.

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Arizona Home Progress Report

When we arrived in Wickenburg on Sunday afternoon, we checked on the progress of the new house. Another pleasant surprise – good progress has been made – the rough electric, water, gas and sewer are done, the insulation and dry wall are done, the exterior is wrapped and the patio has a roof over it. I climbed up the little hill on the back of the lot and took this image of where we are at this time. Click on the image to enlarge.

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Skipper on Lantana

We’re in Wickenburg this week doing chores for the new house, so blogging will be light.

Last week I photographed a Sachem Skipper Butterfly as it was gathering pollen from a lantana flower. Click on the image to enlarge.

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Devil’s Tongue Cactus Flower

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This nice flower opened up on my Devils Tongue Barrel cactus this morning. This cactus is one of the ones that we’re going to take to the new Arizona house and plant it in our cactus garden there. Click on the image to enlarge.

One Year and Counting

one-year.pngTime really does fly when you’re having fun. It’s hard for me to believe that it has been one year since I retired from the aerospace mill. Considering our accomplishments in the past year, I think we have made fairly good use of the time.

In California, we have cleaned out most of the junk from the closets and distributed it to relatives, charity, recycle or the rubbish bin. We still have more to do before we’re ready to sell the California house. It’s going to take some time but then we still have to wait for the depressed housing market to improve (assuming things change in congress for the better).

In Arizona, we’re almost finished with the project of building our retirement home and becoming Arizonans. In a week we will be another step closer as we will arrange for delivery of the new appliances. I think we might also get our range safety briefing and join the Wickenburg Sportsmen’s Club.