New House Update

As you can see the house is coming along. We had some problems getting the green shingles that we wanted. Most places don't even carry green shingles and 30 year shingles blew off the old house, so we wanted something heavier. We ordered 50 year shingles but received a call the next week that they no longer make that shingle in green. We ended up with lifetime emerald green slate shingles. We're waiting for the ridge line shingles to come to finish the roof. The rock along the bottom should be finished this week.

Inside the pipes and wiring are in the walls and ceilings, and the insulation is almost finished. We decided to get the foam insulation even though it's more expensive. In the long run it should save money. After it's all blown into the studs and ceiling, the shaved pieces will be added to the insulation in the ceiling. The house will be well insulated so our energy bills should be low. The sheetrock will go up this week.

I ordered 24 small fast growing dragon trees (Paulownia). By ordering them this time of year, I was able to get them for half price. They're small 6-8" and I put them in pots for the winter. This way I can move them inside if we have a hard freeze. I'll set them out next spring. Dragon trees are fast growing trees, about 30 feet in 3 years. A dozen are Kawakamii which only grow to be around 30 feet, and a dozen are Elongata which are supposed to grow to be 80 feet. We should have some nice trees in a few years. I never would have known about the dragon tree if my cousin hadn't told me about her tree. Thanks for the tip, Sabra. We definitely lost the big pine tree that was close to the old house. The fire just did too much damage and the branches died one after the other. Now it'll have to be brought down.