Dolly, David and I went back to see the house and family for 2 weeks. We worked hard, but also had a lot of fun. We also saw a lot of family which was wonderful. We are now back in Lincoln and the trip is a bit of a blur. Good thing I took 900 photographs!
I'll post (not all) photos in chronological order with descriptions of what was going on, over several postings.
We woke up at 2:30am on June 26th to catch our flight out of Omaha (an hour's drive from Lincoln) at 6am. We changed planes in Chicago O'Hare and Toronto and arrived at Moncton Airport shortly after 4pm. Mom's sister Alva was there to greet us! and it was really great to see her. It was raining pretty hard and the next three hours driving to the house was at times in a torrential downpour, but we arrived safe and sound 9pm that night. Taking into consideration the time zone changes, the trip from door to door was 15 1/2 hours, which I think is a record for the shortest trip ever.
David and Dolly in Chicago having a liquid breakfast.
We arrived, hugged Mom and Dad, had some tea and took the tour. Even though I designed it, and was there a year ago when they moved in, and saw pictures along the way taken by Lois, Jim, Tom and others, it was still a surprising discovery to see how it has all come together. Mom and Dad have put their hearts and souls into the house and I don't know how to thank them.
We slept in the upstairs bedrooms. They have yet to be drywalled, but Dad nailed a piece of gyproc onto the studding between the bedrooms to provide a little privacy. No lights up there yet either, so we used a flashlight. Just like the old days!
I planned on sleeping in, but was up, had breakfast, had a bath and out taking pictures by 8:30am, which was 6:30am Lincoln time. Dad took me on the tour:
Notice the pile of sandstone from the foundation and bricks from the chimneys. They would soon change.
The new driveway
The new shed and the old outhouse. Next summer it will be restored. Dad uses it to store tools.
The stumps of the 6 trees that were removed. That would soon change too.
Dad on the trail
The stacked garden swing in pieces and a birdbath given to Mom by her cousin Neety in Springhill. We found a great place for the birdbath.
Dad showed me where he cleared old dead trees and cleaned up at the edge of the woods.
He burned brush in the spring
The stream at the edge of the property
The scarred yard where for some reason the foundation guy got his truck stuck. We have no idea why he drove down to the stream. Dad filled the holes and planted grass.
Poor old garage. We will take it down next year, if Mother Nature doesn't do it for us first
The River Maple is dying. More on that later
The west side of the house
From across the road. The only painting left to be done on the exterior is the peak trim. We contracted someone to do that over a month ago but it's still not done. Oh well, minor detail.
The well
Looking Down Moore Drive
The Lilac bushes along the road and our rental car, a Ford Flex. I called it The Tank. Too many buttons and gadgets if you ask me. It came in very handy though.
The front door, newly painted
Mom through the George Lowe window 
The rest of the day was spent in Montague, mostly at the hardware stores, buying stuff and lining up some work.
That's it for part 1. Lot's more to come so keep checking back. I love to hear comments.
Foundation guy went mudding by the stream. Hmm. I didn't realize how much work you guys did while you were there, good job to all!
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