First Event

One of the special features of our street is its vantage for viewing the July 4 fireworks at Dogwood Dell just across the river. We could see them from our front yard, but the best viewing is 100 feet down the road where you have a wide view looking across and down the river. The city closes our block at 8:00 PM so people can put their chairs and blankets on the road. Last night, there may have been 500 people on this little stretch of road.

Because this is such a fun night for our street, we left my family reunion in Kansas City a bit early so we could be in town for the first Fourth in our new house. Most of our neighbors have friends and family over beforehand. We invited some church friends over for ice cream before the fireworks - and of course a tour of our house. The tour doesn't take real long as it's not that big of a house.

The list of things remaining grows shorter but there are a few important items. Anyone that has moved recently will remember how long it takes to put everything away and get those little details taken care of like the newspaper service. With all the things to do, we still go over to the rental house to pick up the paper each afternoon.

The biggest trouble we've had is with our communications provider Comcast. There have been 6 appointments made and have yet to get our internet or telephone service installed - or the wires buried in the back yard. They did manage to get the cable TV hooked up on the third try. Our general contractor warned us that this would be a frustrating task - despite having our entire house pre-wired. The technicians are friendly but the issue is one of communication with the people on the phone making the appointments. Ironic, isn't it?

The next things happening at our house will be the arrival of the dining room table, the installation of the cantilevered trellis over the front door, and the window treatments. On the design-front, I will be taking Preston's landscape plan and adjusting it into the new layout of the front yard. Because I shifted the entrance walk more to the center, some of the plant locations will need adjustment. This re-draw will be done sometime between now and mid-August so new plants can be placed this fall.