This week felt like progress.

With all the loan officer shuffling we’ve experienced the past few months regarding our loan, we’ve practically lost track of where we are in the process. It’s a good thing we have a local case manager to help us navigate the administrative labyrinth. To start with, we don’t know what we don’t know. Which, of course, makes it hard to ask the right questions. Case Manager Dan knows what questions to ask and even translates the admin-speak into English for us.

We finally made it up to the property to move our camper. Now our contractor can finally get the holes dug to test the ground to ensure it will support the structure’s weight. We still have bricks and rocks to move, but they aren’t in his way at the moment. And we got more bits of paperwork out for our loan to crawl forward. We also found out that our building plans are in the hands of the state housing authority. We can pass them along to our contractor and get the basement designed when the plans are approved. Then the real fun begins.

We’re getting closer to breaking ground on our new home, and (with luck) by this time next week, we’ll have the first part of the process started—the soils test. It’s beginning to feel real, folks.

Of course, a new home isn’t all that’s going on in our lives. I still get dragged out for a walk every day, regardless of the weather. I can hardly wait until the first real snowfall or when it’s icy (insert eye-roll here). Yesterday, we raked the yard with the help of a passel of grandkids and neighborhood kids. In less than three hours, we filled the bed of a standard pickup truck and a 4’x8’ utility trailer with leaves. And, yeah, more apples.