Timeline – Purgatory Auto Works and Dinosaur Farm

The big milestones since we bought this place, year by year, with links to the posts that tell the stories.

2015

June: Closed escrow and got the keys (Buying a “House”, Key in hand)
July: New foam roofs over the great room, foyer and studio building, plus 15 new solar panels to heat the pool (Roofs and Solar)
August: Moved in full-time, boys and all (So we moved and so did the boys), with new floors going in (New Floors…almost)
September: New septic tank (Septic Day!)
October: The old horse shelter and dog kennel come down (Dog House Down)
December: Our First Christmas at Purgatory

March: The hot tub goes in (And now we have a hot tub!) and the purple room becomes the blue room (Final Blue Room Pics)
Spring: Sorting out the well, the water softener and drinking water (Water, Water Everywhere, Part 1: The Well and the rest of the series)
December: Tony arrives (Tony Arrived This Week)

February: All fenced in!
March–June: The Great Wall of Purgatory (The Wall Saga: Excavation and Trees through The Wall Saga: Finishing Touches)
May: Bambi arrives (Bambi’s Arrival)
June: The driveway is repaved (The Tale of the Driveway Repaving, Part 1 of 3)
July: Pool revamp (Pool Revamp: Drain and Strip)
Summer: Chompy Jack and Dumpy McDumpface join the fleet (Meet Chompy Jack and Dumpy McDumpface)
November: New flooring in the studio (Studio With New Flooring)
Late 2017: Studio windows in and stucco done (Studio Windows In and Stucco Done!)
December: First tree work with a certified arborist (Tree Removal)
Winter 2017–18: The North Garden Takes Shape

May: The diesel furnaces come out (Getting Off the Diesel, Part 1 through Getting Off the Diesel, Part 7 (Dénouement))
Summer: The Pit saga begins (The Deal with the Devil, Part 1–The Dirt; the whole saga is in the Pit video)
September: A grass fire comes within about 500 feet of the property (Yesterday)

February: Gutters, finally (And On the 15th Day, There Were Gutters)
March: Tesla Powerwall battery backup installed (Battery Backup: The Install)
May: Cha Cha Mucha arrives (ChaCha Mucha)
Summer: Making the great room great begins (Making the Great Room Great, Step One: Deciding on Paint and the rest of the series, wrapping up in early 2021)
August: The County declares the Pit a public nuisance
Fall: The Lesser Wall of Purgatory (The Lesser Wall of Purgatory: Part 1)

Early 2020: Guest room makeover (Guest Room Makeover)
February: Midge joins the fleet (Midge and the SCU Lightning Complex)
March: We retain a civil engineer for the Pit
June: The teak floors are refinished (Flooring all done. Time for before and after.)

June: Wine room redo (Wine Room Redo)
July: Midge is stolen (Midge Was Stolen)
Late 2021: A shed of my own (A Girl Needs a Shed through Final Shed Bits: All Moved In)

February: Midge V2.0 arrives (Midge V2.0)
A second story (the mezzanine) in the garage (Second Story in the Garage)
November 5: The full Pit grading abatement permit package goes to the County
November 9: The County finally sends a draft compliance agreement, three years after we first asked for one
December: Stage one landscaping, the courtyard (Stage One Landscaping Completed)

Early 2023: Retrenched the water and power line from the well head to the tank (In the Trench, Part 1 through Part 3)
The Steiner mower joins the fleet
September: New front doors (New Doors Acquired)
November: The County finally issues the Pit abatement permit

May: A new no-climb fence along the eastern border (Re-Fencing) and six new trees (New Trees, and then New, New Trees)
May: The first trucks bring fill to the Pit
June 3: The Pit abatement permit is finaled by the county engineer
June 10: A week later, the neighbors set themselves on fire (Monday’s Fire)
July: New roofs over the north and south wings (New Roofs, No Pavers Required)

Winter–spring: The foam roofs get some TLC after ten years
March: Married at the County Recorder’s office, and an offer accepted on Little Purgatory, our house on Little Cayman (Little Purgatory, Part 1: How It Happened, Little Purgatory, Part 2: Offer and Escrow and a Wedding, Oh My!)
April: A new water softener
July: Work starts around the pool