Punxsutawney Phil was right
You may remember that last week, the groundhog turned meteorologist called Punxsutawney Phil predicted further bad winter weather before Spring arrives. Well, he was right, the snow came back to Georgia this week. More than just snow, there was an ice storm, caused when sleet and snow fall onto extremely cold ground (and trees and power lines) resulting in a thick layer of ice forming. Not good for driving, not good for electricity supplies. It gets worse if the snow keeps on falling, then there is a layer of ice hidden below the picturesque snow blanket, making things really slippery. The snow started falling on Tuesday morning, and stopped by Wednesday morning. But there was enough to leave a half inch of ice coating the ground. And that means no escape from the house on Choctaw Ridge for several days. Schools, government and businesses closed for several days. Lisa’s Master Gardner course was cancelled for the week (which was a bit of a relief for her, as she was feeling absolutely terrible with a really bad cold). We hunkered down and just didn’t even try to get out. It was Friday morning before the roads in Waggon Creek subdivision round here were safe to drive on. I made some enquiries with the neighbours about why the entry road into the subdivision had been heavily gritted and salted, but nothing extended to our road. Apparently, the county authorities felt that there was a serious risk of the gritting lorry getting stuck on our little bit of road and so they left us to our fate!
On the Building Site
Work on framing the house stopped on Tuesday until Friday because of the icy weather, but Milan and the crew are busy over the weekend trying to make up some of the backlog. The deadline to be ready for the decorative trusses holding up the central part of the building was delayed a week. The ice storm didn’t just affect Georgia, but stretched up into the Carolinas, so there was no way a truck full of massive beams was going to get to the build site. They are now scheduled to arrive on Tuesday 19th February.
Background work on details of the house fittings continues. We spent almost all of Friday with the cabinet maker, designing the kitchen, library, my wine room and other shelving and storage.
The stained glass window to be fitted into the bespoke made front door is complete. Rob Steele sent us a photo of it which he is now on display in the window of Steele Stained Glass in Dahlonega. Rob is now working on a bigger window which will go into the dining room. They are both in the same style, a slightly abstract view of mountains. It may seem a bit of a luxury having a handmade solid mahogany front door, but actually the cost is comparable to standard factory made doors. Quality and craftsmanship doesn’t usually come cheap. Maybe this is the exception to prove the rule!
Overall, we are still on schedule, mainly due to the efforts of Lisa. Budgets are not quite such a happy subject. We are slightly over 10% above budget at this stage, mainly due to the costs of landcarving to create a site for building and a lengthy access road. We are also prepared to spend a little extra to ensure minimal maintenance costs in the future. But there is an adequate contingency fund which should see us OK for a happy completion in the summer.
Click here to see more new pictures of the house framework taking shape.
Since Lisa’s cold had abated a little and the roads were now clear, we went out for dinner on Friday evening to a favourite local restaurant (for Valentine’s Day in case you hadn’t twigged that). The place was very busy, which I am sure was a great relief to the owners as it has been almost empty most of the winter. Sitting on the adjacent table was a couple – she in full bridal white including a veil, he in very crisp US Army full dress uniform (with the shiniest shoes I have seen in a very long time). Apparently they had got married that morning in a surprise wedding (no surprise to them, but it was to all their guests, as the ceremony had been pencilled in for April). The groom had a very colourful chestful of medal ribbons. I counted up to 20. Coming from the UK where military personnel are lucky to get more than a couple of medals in a career, I am a bit amazed at the medal inflation that seems to be endemic across this side of the Atlantic.
On Saturday, we went to one of the local wineries, Three Sisters Vineyards for a wine tasting with a focus on chocolate accompaniments. Mostly red wines, though their chardonnay went surprisingly well with a caramel truffle. Afterwards, I had a chat with the owner including floating the idea of participating in some of their events. Maybe something will come of it – let’s wait and see. The snow and ice we have been suffering from over the last few weeks is very welcome to the local vineyards. A good cold snap is ideal for killing some of the insects which can be a real problem. Hopefully it will knock off a lot of glassy winged sharpshooters (a little fruit fly which carried a really serious vine disease called Pierce’s disease).
Come back next week and find out if we FINALLY manage to get the trusses delivered (and maybe even installed) so that the roof of the house can be completed.