We didn’t get much in the way of snow this week. Yay? The weather has been downright pleasant this week, for March. Which is good, because we had a framily (you know, a friend that’s become family) member (Hi, ML) fly in for a visit. We took a day and drove up to Estes Park for lunch and touristy stuff while she was here.

We brought ML with us to look at some of the manufactured home builders in the area just so she wasn’t sitting around twiddling her thumbs and toes while everyone else was at work. She helped by asking questions we hadn’t thought of. This week we looked at a bunch of modular homes to give us an idea of not only what we can afford but how something that small will feel.

Losing our home couldn’t have come at a worse time. Because of the horrendous wildfires that have devastated our forests, the cost of building materials has spiked. What would have cost $150K a few short years ago would now run us more than twice that amount. So, we have to think smaller.

With warmer weather on the way, we’ll be able to finish getting the last of the debris out and look forward to building. A veteran’s group is working with us to get a shed on our property, so we have something in which to lock up our tools and such. Once the snow melts and we can get into the driveway, we can finish clearing out the rest of the ash and such.

Things are starting to move. We’ve started an application for a federal disaster relief loan, our 2020 taxes have been submitted, and we should have our first new building on the property by the end of April. We still have a bunch of stuff to do before we’re anywhere close to even laying the new foundation, but I’m beginning to feel like we’re making progress. Slowly, but progress, nonetheless.