Walkthrough and Paper Signing We have a few more items checked off of our list. We had our long walkthrough and paper signing yesterday. The paper signing was boring, but we gave our last certified check over and signed/initialled like 100 pages of stuff.

The walkthrough is your last chance to point out chips, nicks, cracks, crookedness, etc before you get the house. They put pieces of blue tape next to everything you point out and some guy comes in with various mud/tape/fillers/buffers/sanders/screws/paint and removes the pieces of tape as he "fixes" them. At the same time the Ryan Home crew tells you every last detail about what you are getting. They show you how to open your windows and pull out screens and check for blinking lights on your water heater and turn on your dishwasher and stove. A few hours later you know just about everything there is to know about your new house...and you find out some stupid details that you weren't expecting.

For example, I already knew that our driveway is only temporary (we have gravel). We will be getting a driveway and sidewalk during the summer. Our yard doesn't have it's "final grade", so some big vehicle will push dirt to a fairly even level.

What I didn't know is that they will not seal the driveway. So now I will have to get a pourous sealant so the driveway doesn't crack and/or get holes in it. I also didn't know that the garage comes unpainted. You can still see the drywall and tape (and it is not 100% flush with the wall). So, at some point I will have to paint the garage. A "quick fix" way (since it's just a garage) is to make a mix of drywall mud and paint and slop the whole mix on all at once in a single thick coat.

The other thing is that I made a list of restaurants I wanted to go to at least once before we moved. I went to the 2nd last item on the list: The Cheesecake Factory. It was my first time there...pretty good place. On the other hand, going to all of these restaurants has been extremely expensive.  ¶ 9:52 AM