Banking on the bank

In order begin drawing from our loan, we had a certain amount of money that we had to spend out of pocket. We've been keeping every receipt and documenting each amount (with the corresponding date of payment and recipient) in an Excel spreadsheet, so we know exactly where we stand financially. Well, we have spent the proper out-of-pocket amount. We'll take that loan now, please. However, early last week we received the bill from our electrician and dropped it off at the bank so they could issue him a check. A day later we get a call from our electrician saying the bank is refusing to pay him until a state inspection is done, which could be up to four weeks. This poor kid hasn't had an job in three weeks and to wait four more weeks for a check to pay himself and his workers is completely unacceptable. After numerous phone calls, faxes, and emails, Noel was able to authorize full payment, and the bank cut the electrician a check without waiting on the state inspection. Moral of the story: Find one credible banker and stick with him/her (there were too many hands in the cookie jar -- hands that couldn't handle cookies). Now we have a happy electrician who has completed the electrical rough-in work.


The ice and snow are gone for now. It's a good thing because that ice caused Indy to run into our electrical wire that anchors our electrical pole and caused Jon, our electrician, to run off the driveway entirely. Noel and I had more sense than to try to drive up that icy hill. But an ice-free hill equals workers at the house site! On Monday, Noel ventured up there to see the progress. The plumber had just begun. Jon and his guys were finishing up speaker wiring (which has Noel all googly-eyed looking at TVs and speakers at Electronic Express), and the geothermal guys had just completed the upstairs duct work.


We should be getting close to exterior siding time! If it will ever stop raining, that is. We have chosen three colors to try for the exterior. And, hopefully, at some point we will get a metal roof (something that was suppose to occur before Jack Frost showed up).