For the past month we have been staying on Neil and Renee’s new home lot in Leander Texas. This is a six acre “Ranch” very near what is known as the Texas Hill Country in Austin Texas. Austin is in central Texas, just a bit east and south of dead center. Houston is a few hours east of us and San Antonio is a couple hours south of us. There is very little to the west except the Big Bend Country and El Paso.

The property was not inhabited for the last three or four years, and many of the systems have fallen into disrepair. A lot of our collective effort has been spent re-commissioning these systems. The house has an elaborate rainwater harvesting system with 5000 gallons storage. It has a filtration and UV purification system that was our first priority to get working. Next was to get the septic system inspected and certified, the propane system certified and filled and the heating system brought back on line.

Finally, this week a contractor carved out a clearing in the oak and cedar thicket and laid down three truck-loads of limestone gravel. Finally with a nice level pad we were ready to welcome BOB. This photo sequence shows the arrival of BOB and subsequent off loading of BOB, the “Big Orange Box.” Actually BOB is a 40 foot container filled with about half of the Tice’s worldly possessions from Oregon. Many of the tools and equipment we desperately needed to commission the house were in BOB.

Renee, Neil and the girls, Georgia and Matilda, are not living in the house yet. That will take a while and require completely remodeling the inside and painting the outside of the house. Instead they are living in a 31 foot fifth wheel trailer that they have leased. Most evenings we have supper together in our motor home. The girls have settled into their new schools in Liberty Hill, the next town over. One driver is able to deliver them in the morning, but it takes two trips to meet them at the afternoon buses. They are not allowed to walk the last half mile to the driveway along the highway.

We will do Christmas here with the Tice family, and then they will drive to Illinois for the Tice Clan get together in Petersburg. We plan to stay in Texas and visit some friends.