We received the building permit to move forward with building a patio and storage shed adjacent to the back of the hangar.  Once built, it will give us afternoon and evening relief from the sun which beats right in the large hangar door heating things up.  It will also serve as a place to store tools and lawn equipment!

The lumber to set the footings was delivered yesterday and Steve (our wonderful and talented neighbor) started moving dirt!  Steve is so skilled with heavy equipment, we prefer he does this part and Jack assists.  Later in the day, Bob worked the auger.

The holes are dug for the support posts and gravel then concrete will come next.  Stay tuned for more sweet dirt stories!

I am still toiling over exterior colors for the house.  There are so many choices (siding, trim, accents) but the standard colors don’t match what I have imagined.  So the easiest thing is put that task aside and do something I can make progress with.

We arrived at our property this weekend in the dark of the night.  Why at night? It was time to move the bees.  Honeybees come into their hives after the sun goes down.  So, we blocked up their little bee entrance and loaded them on the truck.  I was so afraid one of the little girls would be left behind and be following the truck the whole way.  They are settled now and thirsty.  They found the water hose and the plants to quench their thirst. Little do they know there is a huge lake just over the hill.  Soon enough they will discover their new surroundings!

Today we reserved storage space; one space for most of our belongings and one climate controlled space for the RV-10 airplane engine, the piano, and a few select furniture items.  We will put our belongings into storage for a year while the house is built.  We applied for the building permit for the hangar porch and storage shed.  This shed will be a place to store outdoor lawn items as well as implements used to build the house.  But…the event Jack thinks is monumental is mounting a mailbox (See photo). 

We are hosting a fly-in this weekend and will be happy to show the spot where the house will be built. This shows the angle from the road looking toward the runway.  That’s the hangar in the background (see photo).

Anyone who can stop by between 11 am and 1 pm Saturday for the Fly-in and mentions this blog will get a FREE BBQ! Just coming looking for that girl in the photo (above)!

There is a component in the North Carolina real estate contracting process called Due Diligence. Once a contract is signed, the seller can walk away from the deal for any reason up until the due diligence date.  Our date is May 7th.  During this time, multiple inspections are made. This week, we have had Termite, Well and Septic inspections, as well as the Mechanicals inspections.

We have made it through the inspections with minimal things to repair but there are a few things the buyers want, like us to pump out the septic system.  Why do a number of things come to mind I could comment about on that?  At any rate, the pumpers are due today as is the exterminator for extra assurance.  An itemized quote will come in tonight for small repair items.  

I have 3 quotes thus far from movers and one left to come in.  Did you know that storing our furniture and boxes with a Moving and Storage Company for a year is estimated to cost $13,500?  Geez…so we will check out other avenues.  I want to be very careful about movers as my brother had a recent bad experience with a rolled truck with their belongings resulting in much breakage and heart break.  The company apparently brokered the work to another (less competent) company.  The contracted insurance coverage amount was not worth the paper it was printed on and no settlement has been reached yet…so I have quotes from lesser known as well as major companies (United and Mayflower.)

This week will be busy as we search for storage in Moneta for Jack’s airplane parts for the RV-10, locate local storage for our belongings, finalize the due diligence period requests, and plan a fly-in at the Smith Mountain Lake Airport for Saturday May 5th.

Until later…

What do you think?  Sweet Tea, White Sage, & Deep Forest Pine OR Cedar Grove, Cactus Hill and Nature Trail?  These either sound like names of sub-divisions, beverages on a menu or…PAINT colors!  Who thinks these names up?  

We want the exterior of our house to look unique and inviting as well as vacation-isk since it will be a Bed & Breakfast.  We want want it not to clash with the neighbor’s house, we want it to match the hangar, and we want it to feel a bit like nature…so I am thinking of the deep chestnut color with deep green accents and of white trim.  That is the Sweet Tea, White Sage and Deep Forest Green group.  

On pinterest,com I have been trying to find something in just the colors I have in my mind and only am getting close.  Here is one color (the sweet tea shade but not this green). http://pinterest.com/pin/229683649716091239/. And here is the inspiration for the shed which is why I am having to choose exterior colors now…we will build the shed first to store tools, etc. while we build.  http://pinterest.com/pin/229683649715948090/

Still working on it.

Our hangar is on the right. The neighbor’s hangar and house are on the left. This is the front door!