Progress around the ranch and John gets too close to some PVC pipe…
Happy New Year to everybody! Not much happened around the property during the holidays as expected, but activity is now going strong and it is fun to see our plans come to fruition (it is however NOT fun to see the money leaving as we pay for all of this!)
The main activity has been the foundation work on the 50 foot by 50 foot metal building which will contain our motorhome and John’s shop. Thank goodness we had our own quarry on the property because due to the clay soil of where we wanted the building built, it was not stable enough for the slab. The concrete contractor said it would be less expensive to excavate caliche from our property than to have it trucked to the job site. That was a good call as over 300 cubic yards were dug and hauled to the building site! One of the requirements for the building was that the concrete slab needed to be strong enough not to crack under the weight of our 32,000 pound coach. So, it appears we are getting a very robust foundation which will be 5 inches thick and 3,000 psi test concrete with rebar on 16 inch centers. There is a lot of steel involved! The foundation will be poured next week and the steel for the building will be delivered on Wednesday.
We are still looking for a church home and we tried Kerrville Bible Church last Sunday. The pastor was on vacation so we didn’t get a chance to hear him preach but everybody was very friendly and we are anxious to return for Sunday School and to hear him on the pulpit. The associate pastor gave an excellent sermon on “Heaven”, however! This church is non-denominational and amazingly is debt-free – we don’t think we have ever been a member of a debt-free church before!
You are probably wondering what’s up with John and the pipe – John is doing the plumbing in the new shop to save some money and just for the fun of it (even though plumbing is not a well-liked activity.) He was rushed and needed more three and four inch PVC pipe for the building and drove to the nearby feed and supply store in Harper. (Fortunately they have a little bit of everything which avoided a 22 mile trip to Kerrville.) John paid for the pipe and drove around to the back of the store to get the pipe loaded. After most of the 10 foot sections of pipe were loaded into the bed of the pickup truck John dashed from the pipe-cutting work area to the cab of the truck to retrieve the receipt to hand the store employee. Unfortunately for John, several pipe ends were directly in his walking path and he hit his face on several of the killer pipes. Fortunately, teeth, lips and eyeglasses were avoided but there will probably be a nice scar as a reminder to always be aware of what is directly in your path.
We have many new pictures posted of the place and the new building in our picture gallery – check it out when you get a chance!