First Reader and I drove up to check the progress on the house yesterday. Our contractor buried the drainage on the north and east sides of the basement and was moving dirt when we arrived.

Two loads of squeegee were delivered Saturday morning, which was good, even though Mr. Contractor was out of state for the weekend. That meant he could continue laying the gravel on the drainage on Monday and then covering and backfilling the trench.

By the end of next week, the slab should be down. Weather and sub-contractors permitting, of course. One of our frustrations has been getting materials delivered to the property during construction. Mr. Contractor has been delivering many of his own materials or having to pay upfront for deliveries made to our site.

Unfortunately, the last couple of years has been brutal all the way around, with our state’s multiple wildfires. Construction crews can pick and choose because of the building happening, not only in the burn zones but in the local towns and cities. We’re competing with people who have way more money than we do, and in this economy, money speaks loudly.

We’re taking baby steps only because we’re forced to. We would much rather this process move along faster, but we don’t have the funds or the right connections to make that happen. And because we didn’t win PowerBall, we’ll have to keep taking one day at a time.