Merry Christmas

Well I'm a day late but Merry Christmas anyway. I've posted a few pictures of the house, both from the front and the back. Also a look at all the family gathered for the holidays. The kids leave tomorrow for a few days in California so we will get back to moving in and finishing off a few more things.

One of 3 coyotes playing in a dirt pile at the end of the road on Christmas morning. 

Not the best photo but...l to r..mother, brother, daughter Anna, son Nick, son Jon, me, dad. 

Christmas Eve at a local Mexican restraunt. Left to right, son Jon, me, Dave, my dad, my mother, my brother. 

Straight on shot of back of the house. A bit too dark to see. 

Front door is in the alcove. Still have a pile of pavers to finish the entryway. 

As requested, a straight on shot of front (street side) of our house. 

Our new mailbox, styled to match the chimney. Currently accepting mail!!! 

Even the garage has a great view. 

The last truckload of cement. 

Tamping down the AB to make a firm surface for the driveway. 

News From the Neighborhood

We have a new driveway. (Photos will come later, they have to be loaded on Dave's computer which is not here yet.) We have 'real' phone sevice. Our number is: 520-760-0210. We have cable, which means TV (my early Christmas present is a kitchen TV) and Internet, so I'm back on line.
The local animal population has been coming to call. One of the cement truck drivers yesterday said he saw a mountain lion right at the base of our development. Our next door neighbor said they had had 3 bobcats in their yard. As we drove out in the afternoon we saw several animals going into the brush and as we drove by I clearly saw one young bobcat. When we returned after dark last night we saw 3 racoons in the drainage ditch out front. Later, a coyote ran across the yard and back and forth on the driveway. No footprints on it this morning though. In the middle of the night I saw a small animal come up and look in a couple of the doors and run around the house. Looked like a fox but it was too dark to be sure. What a great place!!

Moving In

We have spent the weekend moving boxes from our storage unit to the house. I unpacked and put away the first few loads but now we are just trying to get most of it to the house. They are supposed to start forming up the driveway tomorrow and we may not be able to drive up to the house for several days. A few larger furniture items will have to wait until late in the week. Enjoy these shots of our latest messes. We will be sleeping at our new house starting Sunday night(tonight!!).

Boxes, boxes,everywhere!! 

A great counter for unpacking on. 

I sure hope I really have room for it all. 

Here are a selection of photos my husband found funny. The moving in has begun!! 

The End

We waited all day in great expectation...not for Santa but for an inspector. Then as we were about to give up she arrived. It was 4 pm and her day was almost over so she whipped through our house like a whirlwind and to our great relief she found nothing wrong. So we have passed our final inspection(s) and are free to begin moving in. That is certainly not to say we are done--the driveway should be poured next week. We have a mailbox pillar to build, the entryway to complete, half a slope to finish rip rapping, another slope to finish shoveling small stone on, windows to wash, still more grout to seal, and within the next 6 months landscaping to complete. BUT we are the proud owners, builders, and soon to be residents of 5468 N. Sabino Highlands Place, Tucson, AZ 85749. As soon as our mailbox is up we can receive mail and though we have a full house for the holidays we will be delighted to have visitors in the near future. Pictures will continue (the title is a bit misleading), comments are always welcome. I will add a comment that the people who have been in the house the last few days have been very complimentary about the house and the colors. It isn't quite as extreme as these photos indicate.

One of two local fauna that were checking out the house today. Got to meet the new neighbors! 

My super kitchen. Maybe I'll figure out how to use everything in time to bake Christmas cookies!! 

A different angle. 

Our "accessable" entrance. It is supposed to be even with the driveway, but as you can see there is no driveway for it to meet yet. 

This is why we love Arizona. With views like this we'll stay a while. 

In the background is the slope we have been rip rapping, as well as our neighbor's much longer one. 

More bath shots. 

The master bath. This is where those expensive tiles went. And, no, we did not use the REALLY expensive ones. 

Don't you like our tiled fireplace? 

Another shot of laundry/craft room. 

My purple laundry room.