It's Official!

The prospective buyers we met last week disappeared after coming to see the Lakehouse. I kept trying to give him an out, because the body language on his wife told me there is no way in hell she'd live here (it's a cottage that needs work), but he wouldn't take the out. I have to say here (because my friend, Mary Pat, convinced me that [spiritually] it doesn't help anyone to send a nasty email trying to force him to admit what an asshole he is) that we are very disappointed he didn't contact us in any form to let us know our property was not for them. I, personally, had much higher expectations of a Baptist preacher and his criminal court judge of a father to exhibit more consideration to people who have been up front and straight with them from day one of their insisting they wanted to come see the place. I asked him to let me know one way or another, but he didn't. Shame on him/them. Ok. That's enough venting. Thanks for listening. On to the plan.

I contacted our builder and left a message with his daughter that our project is "a go". We hope to talk with him or preferably meet with him on Monday to formulate a timeline. Our refinance package is in processing, but may take another month to complete. We've decided on a budget with contingencies factored, so here we go. Another build. Craziness is coming.

First, the entrance to our driveway has to be widened for big trucks and a dumpster to come in. The driveway itself needs stone and "sitepak" to support it for when the trucks come. We will have to cut back the Forsythia and other shrubs that have grown into the driveway and find/protect the sprinker heads that have since disappeared under those Forsythia before the stone gets layed. Opening the entrance means losing our chainlink, usually locked, gate. For now at least.

We hired a guy to lay "rip rap" on the shoreline for two hundred feet. We've lost a lot of shoreline this past year from storm-wave action. That should probably also be done before the build begins. And, we need to move the pontoon boat and trailer. Leave it moored against the dock while all this is going on? Haul it out of the water and pull it further into the yard? Have Larry's brother bring it back home until the work is done?

We will now need David and Mary Pat's pop-up camper to be parked next to the garage for electricity and to live in while we do the build. It gratefully has heat and air conditioning. That means moving a small log pile out of the way to make room and maybe cut some trees up and out of the way.

We think we should move out before the build starts. How much room can we make in the garage and will it all fit in there? We think so if we get rid of stuff in the soon-to-be-delivered dumpster. This will be a good time to weed stuff out from the past, and make room for new stuff once the build is done, like area rugs and ceiling fans.

This is becoming real very quickly. I am filled with just a little dread because of the increased debt and the huge inconvenience of getting ready. But, excitement is building in my heart too. It will be very nice to have a new-looking-and-feeling house here at the lake to live in for our five-to-seven-year plan. And, I will love having good water that won't stain everything orange, and not have to go to a laundromat or haul laundry to a friend's house.

I will express my greatest fear here, and this will be the last time I give it any energy. After this, I will let it go once and for all. Really. Here is my prayer:

Dear God,

     Since you have seen fit to let us keep the Lake House and make it new again, I trust that you will give us all the money we need to complete this project. Further, I pray that you will also continue to grant us all the money we will ever need to live the life we choose in the manner to which we have become accustomed. I will further trust that abundance will continue to fill our lives, and we will be given everything we need to live our lives well until our death. I know that giving means receiving, and we will continue to share our blessings to keep the energy of abundance healthy in our lives and in the Universe. I trust that I need never fear having to eat dog food to survive when I'm eighty or older, and will never have to become a greeter at WalMart to make ends meet.  Thank you, God. Amen.

Play ball!!!!