tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40027445164378377482012-02-18T12:47:15.344-05:002 Taking a 5thhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12523123004204256382noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-21941293026153271722012-01-11T08:50:00.000-05:002012-01-11T08:50:21.924-05:00

Fellow RVing friends of ours have recently purchased a house and are putting in a full hookup RV pad. I thought some of our followers might be interested in seeing what they've done so far, so here are the pertinent blog links. Sewer Power Driveway, act 1 Driveway, act 2 A lot of progress in a very short time! We plan to spend the summer on our property, arriving in TN in early June and staying

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-85218834716000456142011-11-09T21:21:00.000-05:002011-11-09T21:21:52.539-05:00

We've been back in TN for three weeks but have been "vacationing" elsewhere for two of those. We did stop one late afternoon to check out the property. Everything was in good shape. The main driveway had some leaves and pine needles but was in good shape. The rough cut driveway to the eventual pole barn only had one layer of gravel and needless to say, the weeds were a popping! LOL! We won't

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-67415011406305247252011-10-09T23:05:00.000-04:002011-10-09T23:05:28.924-04:00

Just a short note, we plan to be back in Tennessee around the 19th of October and stay till around Thanksgiving time. Not sure if we will get any work done on the property this time around. We have two full weeks already booked in timeshares over in the Smokies. We also have a few doctor appointments to take care of and friends to visit. Then factor in the weather...LOL! Regardless, we will post

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-81682949554933504152011-07-18T15:22:00.000-04:002011-07-18T15:22:25.536-04:00

I grew up in New England, loving Birch trees. Now that we are visiting in New England we are seeing them again and I am wondering if I'll be able to grow a couple on our property. I sure hope so... Still rolling, Stu and Donna

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-32013799309341215282011-05-28T22:48:00.000-04:002011-05-28T22:48:19.214-04:00

We kind of left you hanging last time with the gate half hung. Today we went back out and Stu put the other post in the ground. No more post hole digger in the ground support post....LOL! Here are a few photos I snapped, including some of the azaleas now popping out all over (still not rhododendron blossoms though). We still aren't sure when our contractor is going to get us in his

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-8495871727006982862011-05-22T21:53:00.000-04:002011-05-22T21:53:00.948-04:00

Stu headed out early this morning to work on getting the gate we bought yesterday at Tractor Supply put in place. He had already utilized an old utility pole for the supports. All he needed to do was dig the holes and mount the gate. Now keep in mind, he is doing this with a handheld post hole digger that we bought at a yard sale last fall. Looking from the road into our property....

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-26370423131254598122011-05-21T22:56:00.000-04:002011-05-21T22:56:15.729-04:00

The day started off at Tractor Supply.... Rake...check. Shovel...check. Lopper/Pruner....check. Hand saw....check. The final item was the gate for the driveway....16' should do it! Time to unload it all...oops, Sadie has to get out to visit Keta first! Time to work on leveling the spot for the 12x16 shed Stu plans to build...note the rocks flying in mid-air... Pretty level now...

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-47979111735800317082011-05-16T15:39:00.000-04:002011-05-16T15:39:01.684-04:00

Stu met with the electric company engineer and found out what was needed to get power to our RV site as well as the restrictions on putting water in the same ditch. The next step was meeting with our contractor to get an estimate on that work. We are currently waiting for him to get with an electrician and get back to us with a quote. Since it looks like it will be a couple more weeks before we

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-3751956371634629722011-04-29T00:11:00.000-04:002011-04-29T00:11:42.316-04:00

The severe weather moved through on Wednesday so the crush rock install for the driveway was delayed until today. Unfortunately Stu was in Cookeville getting his Harley serviced and missed the fun of watching. LOL! When he got home we loaded up Sadie and headed off to check it out. What a difference...it may not show in the photos but it looks so much better, more level. There were a lot of ruts

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-42848227004512481482011-04-26T18:55:00.002-04:002011-04-26T18:55:34.414-04:00

Yesterday we went out to the property to meet with our contractor and get pricing for finishing the gravel in the driveway. He was late so I spent time taking pictures of Sadie and Keta while Stu continued taking down some of the smaller trees. Keta took a rest while Sadie helped supervise the tree removal. Then it was time for a drink of water, before they sat and relaxed a bit. LOL!

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-15811200291839456712011-04-25T00:37:00.000-04:002011-04-25T00:37:55.547-04:00

When we started this blog it was to chronicle the process of development, mostly for ourselves. As interest has grown, we've come to realize that there are others out there thinking about taking a similar step and wondering how we got to where we are. So, without further delay...the story from the beginning! As most of you already know, Stu and I met later in life after losing our spouses. We

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-5394474799270964432011-04-19T23:21:00.001-04:002011-04-19T23:45:04.349-04:00

We arrived back in Tennessee, yesterday. Felt like home....spring is definitely in the air, everything is so much greener than Florida and as we moved north through Georgia, we could see the dogwoods blooming.Today we took a ride out to see how the property looked...and hoped we'd find a few dogwoods on our land. We lucked out...not as many as I would have liked and most were really tall, thanks

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-85916331384434720792011-03-22T18:27:00.000-04:002011-03-22T18:27:57.228-04:00

We left our property last November....cold and wet with snow arriving soon. It's now spring and for the first time we will be able to see our land in full color. We are excited and hope to catch some of the rhododendrons and possibly azaleas in bloom. We are currently in Florida and plan to be in Tennessee around mid-April. We'll stay two months or so, hopefully getting the RV site completely

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-18544961687481433122010-11-26T22:49:00.001-05:002010-11-27T00:50:59.959-05:00

Well, other than hauling some trash away, we are done with the property for this season. We still have to meet with the excavator to get and pay the final bill, suspect that will be done this weekend. We hope to head to Florida as early as Wednesday but no later than Friday.Today Stu put up the chains/wires across the two driveways. He spray painted them neon orange and put warning streamers on

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-21519323263115063782010-11-24T22:23:00.000-05:002010-11-24T22:23:05.187-05:00

We went out to the property today to inspect the work on the driveways. We no sooner got out of the car and Keta came to play with Sadie. Everything looks great! The main driveway into what will be our RV site is perfect! We have a small pull-out for the motorcycles as well. The driveway up to the pole barn area is also in although it's only graveled at the road where we had culvert pipe

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-36630949843765638442010-11-22T22:25:00.000-05:002010-11-22T22:25:49.825-05:00

We are working our way back to Jamestown...we left Campobello, SC yesterday morning headed to stay with friends in Greeneville, TN. The trip there was interesting...Rested, recouped and recovered... We got a phone call from our excavator today...the trash has been burned and today they were doing the final grading and spreading the gravel. We'll check it out on Wednesday and hopefully all will

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-82057672228106626342010-11-20T21:43:00.002-05:002010-11-21T09:20:00.260-05:00

Today was the day we got to take the factory tour at Blue Ridge Log Cabins. We had arrived after dark last night and settled in. We first discovered Blue Ridge at the Log and Timber Home Show in Chantilly, VA.Matt Phillips, our sales rep, came down to where we were parked and picked us up so we wouldn't be late. He escorted us to the break room in the factory where the presentation had just

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-21591923944145232242010-11-12T20:53:00.000-05:002010-11-12T20:53:10.015-05:00

Well, the basic clearing has been done. Next step is to burn the trash, then grade and get ready for the gravel. The burn permit will probably be issued next week. Just hoping it all gets done before the end of the month or we'll be here into December...brrrrr. LOL! Stu backed our Freightliner, Freddie, down to where he plans to back the RV...note him between the two tall trees...the front door

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-15864924996100191802010-11-11T23:30:00.001-05:002010-11-11T23:31:20.585-05:00

Today the excavation for the driveway started. We arrived about half an hour after they started work. We were a bit surprised at the equipment we saw there..a little New Holland Bobcat run by Dave's brother Jackie. But he had already made great headway into clearing out the driveway. Soon the big boy showed up...and he took over the heavy duties, knocking down a big pine tree was easy play.

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-63004938083773261562010-11-09T20:33:00.001-05:002010-11-09T20:49:46.307-05:00

Stu made it out to the property yesterday and got the outline of the driveway finished (marking with paint). He also laid out the outline of the required clearing for our rig....approx 25'x70'. In addition he marked a side spot off the driveway that will be a parking spot for the motorcycles. We plan to put up an inexpensive metal carport there to protect them a bit. Today we got our street

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-9971024478515410362010-11-06T23:24:00.001-04:002010-11-07T12:14:04.176-05:00

We had a good day today, even with a late start. After picking up new (seconds/irregulars) Carhartt jackets, we stopped for a quick lunch at the Sunnyside Cafe which is a couple of miles from the house. Good food, great prices and excellent service.As soon as we hit the property we started hauling out trash. The previous owner was selling the land to a young couple who wanted to put a small

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-21842613215816119862010-11-05T22:37:00.000-04:002010-11-05T22:37:32.281-04:00

We woke to temps in the upper 30's....brrrr! Our appointment with the Dave's Excavating was at 8am and we were running a little late. That was okay, he was running late, too. LOL! While we waited we started walking the property lines to see if the surveyors got any further than the other day. On the more open side of the property we could see that they hadn't progressed any further. On the creek

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-89703387387998005802010-11-04T23:27:00.000-04:002010-11-04T23:27:34.231-04:00

Stu called a couple of excavation contractors....talked to one and we will meet him at the land at 8:00 Friday morning. He left a message at another and one was out of business. It will be interesting to see what he comes up with for numbers. Tomorrow is going to be cold with more light showers so I don't expect we will get much done on the land...maybe pull some junk out. LOL! So a little

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-9082717700833547652010-11-03T21:08:00.001-04:002010-11-03T21:09:38.011-04:00

We woke up to a dreary, drizzly, cool day that was forecast to remain all day. We decided that this would be a good day to head to neighboring Cookeville and visit Sam's Club for a few things we needed as well as visit Lowe's to compare chain saw prices. End result of the day...we got a Poulan but an 18" with a two year warranty rather than a one year. For twenty dollars difference we felt it

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002744516437837748.post-14680088100575471442010-11-02T22:36:00.001-04:002010-11-02T23:16:56.754-04:00

We arrived in Jamestown, TN yesterday, ready to get some work done on the land. As we said earlier, we have several things we'd like to accomplish. Today we got started on that list.Our first stop was the surveying office that did the original survey when the property was subdivided. We got there about 11:30 and they were closed for lunch. No matter, we had parked in front of a True Value store

Donna McNicolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13232288000758900407noreply@blogger.com2