Friday, May 23, 2008

Why the blogging has been slow...

To make a place for my son and his family to build a new home at our farm (way more on this later), we decided to raze my parent's house, in which I had grown up. It was not an easy decision, but remodeling looked like one of those "where do we stop tearing things out?" nightmares. This is the house, smack in the middle of our farmstead.


A friend and neighbor who does excavation work and fixes my frequent tile holes was going to demolish the house. But he came to me shortly after we first talked and asked if he could move the house instead. His son and wife, also neighbors all of 2 miles away, were looking for a way to move up to a larger home.

Works for me.




So we've been moving (OK, mostly watching and interfering) a house.


There were a few glitches, like getting stuck. For future reference: the traction and hydraulic power of a excavator should not be underestimated.


Trees can also be an issue, especially late in the evening when everybody is worn out.


But we got it [approximately] above the new foundation.


Which is where we are as of this writing.


I will interview survivors for a future post.

[Note the unusual garments for May 23 in central IL]

Thanks for your patience. What is it about these types of activities that commands our full attention like few other events can?

5 comments:

threecollie said...

That is sweet.
That is wonderful.
I was shuddering when I read that you were going to tear down the old house. I understand your reasoning, but I could also imagine your discomfort at having to come to that decision.
This is better.
This is recycling at its best. Congratulations on having the move nearly finished.

Anonymous said...

It is indeed interesting how these types of "events" can be so captivating.....others that come to mind.....burning large piles of brush.....tearing down an old barn....

Ol James said...

I hope yall got some video and will share it. The equilivent here is putting axels and tires under someone's doublewide..

Anonymous said...

Great pics! Hope you post some of the new house when completed. Or maybe a few as it is being built.

Brian said...

I agree with threecollie! For some reason the videos won't load, but the stills do.