On the Verge of a Slab

After Doris and I finished the holiday celebrations with our sons and their families in California, we headed to Austin, Texas for a quick check on the status of our house construction. When we arrived in Austin, we discovered it was in the middle of a cold snap, with high temperatures in the upper 50s causing the locals to assure us that this was truly unusual. I admit to being a little skeptical, until it warmed back up to the mid-70s a couple of days later.

Most of the progress on our house to date has been of the invisible kind, with construction moving slowly through the final design and permit approval stages. When we left Austin on Sunday, Jan. 6, though, the slab for the house was on the verge of being poured.

Here are a couple of shots of the construction site, showing the foundation forms. In the first photo, taken from our street, that's Doris peering at the camera from the left, rear corner of the soon-to-be slab. And while you're at it, find Waldo...

This second shot is taken from the area that will be the back of the house:

Here's Doris inside the neighbor's house to the left of our lot, trying to visualize how our privacy wall will block the view to the pool we're planning to build in the back of the house:

And here's Doris walking at the rear of the house, in the area where the pool will be built:

The sales rep for the company building the house (Toll Brothers) estimates that the house itself could be finished as early as June, but more likely in August. Fortunately, our good friends Jerry and Carole Ducharme live nearby and have volunteered to keep a close eye on progress for us.