In the rather long interim since my last update we've come quite a long way. As you can see, the roof is now on and the vinyl siding is on. The back porch is now built, and not pictured we now have steps leading from the porch down toward the basement door. Drywall is in being applied to the walls at this time. The next step will be to pour the rest of the concrete in the back, including a peer under the end of the steps, and an area outside the basement door and under the porch. Heating and air will be in a couple of weeks, and I expect flooring to be under construction very soon as well. I still expect to be in sometime in late November, but if the current pace holds up it could be even earlier. Due to the slowdown in construction I've been able to get contractors to practically show up on demand. Keith Justice did the siding and he'd an old poker buddy so I'll be happy to give him a plug. His completed job was almost exactly what he estimated when I first asked him, and the work was timely and very high quality. Also Tim Snowden seems to have done an excellent job on my insulation and actually got it in a little under his bid, mostly because my dad was there to help him all the way. Speaking of my dad, I can't begin to estimate how much his labor and skill would have cost me if I'd had to hire someone to do what he's done. Also thanks to my uncle Dukie for taking care of a couple of things house-related, and thanks to Tina's grandfather, Roger Baker, who helped for two days in pulling all the electric wire through the walls.

In other news, I've ordered phone service for my new digs. I just kept the old phone service when I moved in where I am now so I had to change my number when ordering the new service. The new number will be 663-6024 and should be operational on October 22nd.