Nov. 4… It has continued to rain all weekend. Even if it stops today, the ground will have to dry out for a few days before we can get the concrete trucks in to pour the hangar floor. I spent the morning in the local courthouse getting a default judgement against David Stratton for the money he took on the hangar job. We got the judgement, but now it is a matter of collecting. He has done this in the past and is pretty good at hiding his assets. I also talked to the owner of a local convenience store that has been cashing his payroll checks and she has taken a lien on Stratton's house for the $48,000 in bounced checks he wrote his employees. Next week, we hope to file criminal charges for fraud. If I can't get the money back, at least I will have the satisfaction of seeing Mr. Stratton go to jail.

The trim work is progressing at the house slowly. All of the baseboards are up in the upstairs area with the exception of the closets and of course the bathrooms which will have tile. The main level now has the arches trimmed out and the first of the three band boards that go around the entire first floor is starting to go in place. The painter is ready to start staining next Monday, however we will need at least another week before we are ready for him. We still need to trim out the stairs, band boards on the main level and the baseboards in the basement. Also still lacking are the drawers and cabinet doors that had to be replaced a couple of weeks ago.

Our latest estimate is that now all the work should be done and the house should be ready to move in (including the hangar) by mid January. Just before leaving on the 8th, I met another person who is interested in building the hangar door. He is going to look at the existing one in Cookson on Sunday and let me know if he can do it. We plan to go back to Oklahoma on the 13th. With any luck, by then the hangar floor will be down and the drawers will be in place in the cabinets. We'll see………………….