Introduction
 Floor Plan
 Date
      March 23, 1999
      March 31, 1999
      April 5, 1999
      April 12, 1999
      April 14, 1999
      April 16, 1999
      April 21, 1999
      April 22, 1999
      May 13, 1999
      May 18, 1999
      May 23, 1999
      May 30, 1999
      June 1, 1999
      June 7, 1999
 
 

April 5, 1999 - GROUNDBREAKING!!!!!
 

Our schedules were all messed up from the time change on Saturday.  Joe got up late, and I was woken up by the phone ringing.  It was Ed, calling from the lot, to say that the crew was out to clear the lot!  (It was either today or last Saturday - yeah, like we expected it to be Saturday.)

By the time I got everyone out of the house, it was 9AM.  I started to get dressed at about 9:15 and the phone rang again.  It was Heather, calling to say that she saw the crew across the street at about 7AM, but waited since she knows I'm not a morning person.  She was off today and would be around the house.

Of course, my office hours on Monday start at 9AM, so I was already quite late.  I don't teach until 11AM, so I cancelled my office hours and headed out to the lot with camera in hand:
 
 

	You know it's official when the "Inspections" box appears on its post, complete with plans and permits.
	However, it's even more official when your builder puts his sign out!
	What's a ground breaking without friends?  Here's Heather and MaKenzie hangin' out while we watched trees being ripped out of the ground.
	At center is the "Bulldozer of Doom".  The house on the far left is the SW corner of the lot.  The house to the left of the 'dozer is a new place that is across the street from the lot behind our place.
	Tree.  Fall down.  Go "boom"!  The brute force method works.  Dig a hole in front of tree.  Move to other side of tree.  Push.  Tree falls.

Well, two trees got "taken out" while I was there.  I had to leave at around 10:30 to make it to class by 11.  (I just barely made it too!)  I talked to Heather around lunch time, and we arranged for us to have dinner at their place this evening.  So we headed back out.  According to Heather, the guys finished the clearing and clean-up at precisely 5 PM.  The seven of us had a nice dinner and then Heather and I headed across the street.  Luckily, with the time change, I could take the following photos of the now cleared (and mostly leveled) lot at about 6:30 PM.
 
 

	The group of trees in the center was where the stump was.  They represent the back edge of the house.
	Here is the instrument of tree death.  Well, one of them, anyway.  The other had a different scoop that they used to move the tree debris. LOOK!  A CLEARED AREA!

We should be going back out some time this week with the "real measuring tools" to do the official house siting.