Today, I met with a roofing guy who irritated the heck out of me, and I met a nice, straight-forward contractor who looked me in the eye & gave me a firm handshake.

The roofing guy would answer every question with another question.  Things such as, "What is the difference between pro-panel and standing seam metal roofs?"  His answer would go into the fact that you need to screw in pro-panel, "And what happens when you screw something into your roof?"  Duh... gee, that's a tough one.  You certainly have to screw in a standing seam roof as well.  I'm just asking you what the difference is, you jerk!  He went on and on like this as though he was trying to back me into a corner.  Well, I don't like being backed into a corner... NEXT!

The nice guy with the good eye contact is a General Contractor.  Now I know that I told you that we were going to be our own GC, but I think it's important to have someone who can oversee what we're doing once in a while; someone who will be there when we have a question and someone who can re-direct us when we're starting to head down the wrong path. 

I also need someone who can help me compile all of these bids I've received so that they can be presented to the bank.  I meet with the bank guy tomorrow.  Basically just a face-to-face so that I can see who I've been dealing with all of this time.  That and to hand over a $300 check for an appraisal.  There's always an appraisal.  So... keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer that all of this goes well.

On the moving front, DJ gets his leave at 12:01 on Saturday morning.  He will drive down here from "The Springs" and we will take the drive back to California together.  Schultz will be coming with us, of course.

Schultz seems to still be feeling OK, but he also seems very anxious.  And I can't calm him.  I know he doesn't like thunder or the wind, and both seem to happen here every day.  But he still seems on edge.  And his back legs are still shaky sometimes.  He walks a lot slower and he hasn't smiled in a long time.  Poor baby.  But he's still hanging in there.  I have no idea how long it will be.

But he travels well.  He either sleeps or he looks out of the window.  So we'll be off toward California this weekend.  We should arrive sometime early afternoon on Sunday.  I can't wait to see Les.  And I wanted to have dinner with my mom on Sunday.  Monday we'll be picking up the 26' rental truck.  We'll pack it all up and hit the road by Tuesday.  We'll have DJ's Dodge diesel pickup towing my little trailer; Les's GMC diesel pickup towing his 16' utility trailer with the Polaris Side-by-side on it; and the rental truck.  3 drivers -- 3 vehicles. 

Andy intends to stay in California for the summer.  He's been working on getting into Musician's Institute in Hollywood so if all goes well, he'll be attending school in the fall and can follow his dream there.  He was also offered the opportunity to tour with a band who has heard him in the past.  Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to practice since we sold the house.  That's a long time for a professional drummer. 

I'm calling for prayers.  First & foremost -- that Andy finds a place to live during the summer and also a place to practice.  That Andy gets accepted into M.I. and also obtains the student loans he needs to attend.  And that we get all of the paperwork together within the next few days so that we can present to the bank.  And that the bank gives us a quick approval.

Not asking for much, huh?