AUGUST 13, 1951 TO SEPTEMBER 13, 2003

Buddy was one of the finest men that I have ever known, but this isn't news to anybody. Anyone who's ever met Buddy could tell with in the first ten seconds of meeting him what kind of a man he was. Or more importantly, what kind of man he wasn't. He wasn't like anything I had ever known. He wasn't assuming; he wasn't judgmental; he wasn't ego-driven or violent. He was an absolute delight, a human sunset and sunrise all in one. He had an appreciation for everything that life had to offer. And his zest for life was only matched by his tenacity and patience, and his ability to love, as well as to dream. Whenever I was around Buddy I could not help but to feel loved. And whenever I shared my dreams with him he always helped to reinstall in me just how attainable they were, no matter how outlandish they may have seemed. And I will forever remember him and thank him for that. As Momma Oliver says we got him for an extra 30 more years than we were supposed to, and I can't help but think how blessed we are for that. Every Sunday I would call and catch up with buddy and my Mom and I would ask him, "How you doing Buddy?" and he'd say, "I'm keeping a good attitude about things." And he truly was. And in this time of our sorrow I know that Buddy would want us to follow his example - let's keep a good attitude about things. When we feel overwhelmed by the waves of sadness, just remember the immense love and joy that proceeded it. And how fortunate we are for having experienced him. (By Tyson Heder)

Sorry for the delay in posting, but we have been having a few family challenges over the last three weeks. I had been on a business trip to NYC the week of August 11th. Yes, I experienced the NYC Black Out. I shared the Black Out adventure with my daughter (Christy) and grandson (Aidan). You can read all about our adventures on my daughter's blog - www.loudjoy.com/weblog/blogger.html. Over the last 3 weeks the house has gone from the basic red steel framing to 90% enclosed. Here are a few pictures to get you up to date.
Framed House All the rooms and outer walls have been framed in.
Ceiling Framing This is the view from the North side looking into the Kitchen.
Dogs At Play This has become the favorite place for the dogs to hang out and play. This is right to left - Fawn, Lady, and Sam.
Welding Roof In order to tie the roof supports together, welder had to be perform a balancing act on a platform that was sitting on two fork lifts.
Greatroom Ceiling Here the crew is attaching the medal supports to the Greatroom ceiling.
South Side Framed If you look close you can see the frame of the windows and door.
Roof Material Arrives Here the truck arrives with the roofing metal.
Insulation Panels Start This is the south east corner of house with the first of the insulated panels. These are attached with adhesive on all metal surfaces and with screws. The screws also have a metal strip attached. This metal strip will be used by the masons as they apply the stone.
Start of the Roof It was a complete team effort to get the roof on.
Roofing Continues
Roofing Continues
More Roofing
How would you like to be the one on top?

South View With the roof on and insulation panels, the home is really taking shape.
In Greatroom looking toward Kitchen Here you can see where the kitchen will be. The pantry will be the concrete room on the right.
North East Corner Now the roof is on and for the first time, the home really looks BIG to me.
Last week the weather decided to give us what we have not had in almost 2 months - rain. Now it would have been nice to have several days of constant rain, but the gods decided to give it to us all at once - 3" in 5 hours and another inch the next day. The house was still missing the center section of the roof and some of the insulated panels. We have two low areas in the house. One is in the
Master Bedroom. This view is looking out the Southern windows.
Great Room Looking South Here the dogs are enjoying all the new smells and note our newest family member (Sam) is becoming all legs. God only knews what he will become.
As of today, September 3, 2003, the house looks like the following.
South Side
West Side
North Side
East Side
And a future jack-o-lantern.

Posted by Pam