Still working on it.

Well as you know the company called "Aftermath" came out and said the cost of cleaning the mobile home exceeds the value, or at least what the insurance company would be willing to pay for the restoration. The insurance company wouldn't even talk to me because the property was still listed in Rex's name. I sent the pay off as a certified check and it has been cashed, so the property is effectively mine. I'll get the deed the 26th.

I called the insurance company and started a claim. I forwarded the email from Aftermath to the adjuster, he said, "Well, these things are highly subjective. I'll send an inspector out to do an assessment." I explained that I withdrew money out of my 401k and if I get the pay off and put the money back in 60 days, there will be no penalties or taxes. In the interest of expediting the claim, I told him I would settle for less than the insured amount and just keep the mobile home and sell it. He said he would run that past his boss. If they think they are going to half ass clean it, I won't settle for that. I'll get one of those lights that shows minute traces of blood. there is microscopic spatter everywhere. The sofa, recliner, carpet and sheet rock on the ceiling need to be replaced. All walls need to be scrubbed and disinfected completely.

The new mobile home salesman needed proof of income which I got yesterday. I took out $15,000.00 for a down payment on the new mobile and the fence, it is over an acre. This morning, I'll deliver the proof of income and meet the fence people on the property. The fence man knew Rex as well, their son's played football together. Dalton is on his son's Facebook page.

While I'm up there, I'll look again at the sewer lines, water lines, electricity and AC. I'll disconnect the sewer, water and electrical. I'll have to have an ac man do the unit so I don't lose all of the freon. If they settle for say 10 or 12 thousand and tell me to keep the mobile, which I am hoping for, the movers will drop the new one, pull the old one where I tell them to, then set the new mobile home. I have a woman standing by to clean it, she has done this before. I can then run water, electricity and put in a new septic system. I have a friend with a backhoe who is also retired.

There is a hospital in Jasper nearby. Once I get it cleaned and set up, I'll go to the nurses station and put up a flier. It is still a nice, new mobile home with three bedrooms. On a quiet road right across the street from the river, large yard, pets and kids ok. Nurses make good money and have a steady job. Hopefully, we will get a single mom who needs a safe place to raise her kids. We can then pay the kid to keep the animals food and water filled like an extra allowance. That way, we can still get away from time to time.

Everything went through. The trailer is approved, I'll meet the fence and ac people up there tomorrow. I know two people, 6 dogs and five cats that are going to be very happy soon.

And yes, they are going to completely gut the living room and redo the mobile home so we have some future rental property.

Hey BF, congrats! How about make that an even number on the cats, too?? I have a stray I'm feeding at my new store, but I'm afraid it will get run over on the highway. It's a cute little silver/gray tabby. It is skittish and I haven't been able to pet it yet, but if/WHEN ya'll are ready for it, we could catch it in a live trap.

Whatcha say???

Too soon Andi, we just had to put our momma cat down Friday. I buried her under a shady tree on our new land.

Bought a septic tank yesterday and dropped it off. Measured for the water lines to attach the well and run water to the dogs, goats chickens and such. the ac man came and disconnected the ac on the old unit and moved it where the old mobile is going. The wooden fence posts are up and the runners and boards were going up yesterday. I finally got all of the paperwork done for the new one, it should go in Friday.

I have a friend with a backhoe, we will bury the septic tank and the lines for the leech field. Then I'll crawl under the old mobile and saw off the sewer and water lines getting ready for the new one to arrive. We'll make a small trench for electrical lines as well as water to where the deck is going to be, I want a bathroom out there.

Well, I packed the camera and can't find it yet, but I will. Went out and pounded T fence posts in the shady area for the dogs, the wood fence is up except for where it buts up against the mobile. They were hanging the driveway gates when I left yesterday.

I found it, it was in the travel trailer. Here's a view of the old mobile...



My new 14 foot gate, I'll add a remote opener to it...



Rex was a single man's man, he didn't care about how the yard looked. Here's the well house. I'll do a "after" picture later, it's way down on the project list....



I picked the shadiest spot for the dogs back in that corner. You can see the new wood fence. I pounded in T posts and planted the gate posts today, set them in concrete...



This is where the drive through gate will be....



I like the way the fence follows the contour of the land, they are doing a good job......



Here comes some more work. These T posts have to be driven down into the ground with a pipe that has a weighted cap and two handles on it, every 8 feet....



This is down the north side of the yard. As you can see, I have a way to go. But it's so humid that by 11:00 you are soaked with sweat. We are bringing the travel trailer up there so we can fish in the evening and spend the night. The new mobile should arrive Friday.....

Wow! Your place is as close to heaven as you can get this side of the pearly gates! Y'all are going to be so happy there! Hey, Are you going to have a housewarming party? (hint hint)

So sorry to hear about the Mama cat. At least she lived a great life with ya'll.

The place looks great! How's the other end looking? What's the word on the house in L-town?

I meant to take a picture of the river but forgot. I'll try to remember today. My daughter has a married couple friend who are about to be evicted, they have 2 kids. Zack got him hired, but the landlord is being a real asshole. I told her that if the insurance comes in this week, I can use the money to have it moved to a location of their choice and just add it to the total. Nothing down and not one penny of interest, $20,000.00. I'll make my money back on the mobile and the land will be free.

God has really blessed me and it's nice being able to pass that blessing on to a young couple who needs a hand right now. Besides, having someone live on your land could prove to be a real nightmare.

The house in Lumberton is just on hold for right now. As soon as I get the dog pens and fence complete, we can move up there. The new mobile should show up Friday or Monday and I'll hook up the utilities. I'll have to return the septic tank but I can buy more fence with that money. I'll post more pictures as it progresses.

Here's the river...



Obviously they had a drunken blast here this weekend on this huge slip n slide. I'll leave it till it gets torn up, them move it....



Other than that, it's a pretty place, real quiet...



A real pretty place...

In the last picture you can see the remains of the old Sheffield's Ferry. That's concrete, not natural rocks. Once we get moved in I'll take my metal detector and see if I can find anything there.

Hey, I thought you were nearing retirement age.... Reading about all the work you have accomplished in such a short time is exhausting.

Your property looks wonderful! Color me green...

Tell me about the work Mikey. Yesterday I strung almost 200 feet of fence and put solar lights on the fence posts and gate posts. I met the guy across the street, real nice guy. He said they were glad that we moved in, they were afraid they might get some trashy neighbors and that the place already looked better than it ever has. I plan on keeping it up as well as I can.

The young couple decided to move to another house where the rent is the same as what they can't pay now.We will put it on the side of the property Wednesday and put in the septic tank. My son is delivering the service in Church today, I'll be attending.

Well i wanted to reschedule for tomorrow when my buddy with the backhoe will be there but I can't. The new mobile is showing up today. I had a girl clean the entire place for $275.00 which isn't bad because I was going to pay her $200.00 just to do the area where the shooting was. Today, she will paint the ceiling and walls as well as rip up and dispose of the carpet.

I bought a grinder which will make cutting the sewer lines and electrical conduit a lot easier. I really wanted to detach and lift the front porch away from the mobile with the backhoe, but the mobile home place says the movers can detach and reattach the porch. I have to hustle to Home Depot to get some good paint, then come back and load the Harley up in the toy hauler. I'm dropping it off today.

Th last thing to go will be the pets. I'll build a large cage for the back of the truck to move them in. We can then use it to transport the goats. A girl was riding a horse by the property yesterday and I spoke with her. Vicki has always wanted a horse, this girl has a large pasture and she rescues abused horses. She says she will pasture, feed and water a horse for $200.00 a month. She has a nice paint Mustang that she can get for $400.00. Once the old mobile is rented out, this is doable. I'll take pictures today of the new one coming in. Busy day today.

Got the trench dug to run water and power to the dog pens. The huskies dig out so they need a hot wire. they only touch it once and it's a lot more humane than being run over...



Tapped into the electrical line so we can put our fountain here, it makes a nice sound and draws birds and butterflies...



Connected the well to the home with a cut off valve. I'm also running it to where the deck will be. We spend every evening on the deck, I'll screen it in, put in a bathroom and a fireplace..



Here's the electrical outlet for the hot wire, found out that I really needed to bring my glasses for the tiny screws. The water branches off to both pens, I'll insulate the lines so they aren't so ugly. The front yard fence will be done this week and the rottweilers will move up there as soon as I get the mobile skirted off. The pen will then be for chickens and goats.



It looks like hell now with the yard all dug up, but when I fill it all in and it rains, the dirt will soak back down and the grass will grow back in the spring.

The new mobile arrived Tuesday, I got the electricity hooked up yesterday and the water well is pumping. Everyone is real friendly there. The local hardware store that I'm buying everything from is having a knife show expo today. They have a huge selection of Case knives. There will be Dutch oven cooking, a quilting club will be there displaying their work, a wild west shoot out demonstration and other things. they said "Make sure your wife comes by, it'll be like her welcome to the country."

So I'll load some boxes on the trailer and we will stop by there. Then we will go unload the trailer and she can see all of the work that I have done. I met a nice girl named April riding a horse by our place. She and Vicki talked on the phone about the possibility of Vicki keeping a horse in her pasture. I'll drop Vicki off there and they can ride while I go back and drive in some more fence posts. The fence is almost done, thank God. We will be moving in this week.

It gets a little colder up by the lakes than it does here by the shore. It was 50 when I left yesterday, the humidity was low and it was nice weather to work in.