Family Samuels (and mini-rant!)

On Sunday, when I got back from Boone with my parents, we met Brian over at Churchill and took Mom and Dad over to the lot and model home. I think they really liked it, which is good because they're going to be spending a lot of time there in the fall! When Appalachian football starts up, Mom, Dad, my sister Callison, and my future-brother-in-law Clayton will be staying with us on Friday and (probably Saturday) nights. Callison and Clay will be living in or near Wilmington and with Mom and Dad in Morehead, we're all going to rendons-nous chez LeBlanc on Fridays and then head to Boone Saturday mornings. If all continues on plan, we're probably going to come back to Raleigh on Saturday nights, so Brian and I will be able to use all our bedrooms two nights a week!!!!

Also, earlier last week, Brian and I went out to the neighborhood at night and saw a group of about 13 deer hanging out behind where our house will be. It's kinda sad that our neighborhood has taken out their homes, but it was very cool to see them all! Fortunately, we don't really care about gardening, so we don't have to worry about them eating our nonexistent flowers :-)

OK, now for my mini-rant. This is definitely a house blog and I don't want to make it a point to mention political stuff, but I think this is fitting, since it concerns building. If you didn't know, Raleigh is in its never-ending, perma drought. Granted, this drought is worse than any in recorded history, but the absolute mismanagement of growth and development in this area is abysmal. The actual definition of a drought has a lot more do with agriculture and farming (and loss thereof) as opposed to dwindling water supplies. However, if you live in Raleigh, you'd think that drought only refers to the lake level of Falls Lake. The lake is down like a bajillion feet and definitely looks bad, but it's isn't solely due to this drought. (Case in point, see Jordan Lake, which supplies the Town of Cary with its water. Jordan Lake is not nearly as empty as Raleigh [in fact, some people have reported that the lake is nearly full!] because Cary is much better at growth management.) So, since the beginning of recorded history, Raleigh has sucked at growth management. It's been so anxious for an increased tax base and its frustration with playing second fiddle to Charlotte that it's allowed uncontrolled growth for nearly 20 years with no regard for improving the city's infrastructure. (BTW, I so had a better term than "playing second fiddle," but Brian said I couldn't use it because it might be offensive.) So, instead of searching for alternate ways to provide additional water supplies for its exponential population growth, the city is instating tons of water restrictions for residents and businesses. It's going so far as to consider a moratorium of all new building permits (I'm still not positive on how this will affect Knightdale, which buys its water from Raleigh) to completely stop all new building. This phenomenon, for all you economics neophytes, would be a DISASTER for the Raleigh housing market that has so far been able to avoid the major housing crises that are affecting the rest of the country. However, our morons in city government refuse to acknowledge their mismanagement and all Mayor Moron can say is, "Well, the bottom line is--we're going to have to start looking at water differently." No, moron, the bottom line is that YOU're going to have to start looking at new water sources differently (see: Castle Hayne aquifer, desalination plants, and/or a new reservoir, etc.). Do I think this moratorium is really going to happen? No. But it's still complete bunk that the drought is the sole cause of Raleigh's water crisis. As I recently read, "Welcome to Raleigh. We have no water, but we have a soon-to-be new, super-duper convention center. Just don't flush."

Sorry for the political ranting--I'll try not to let it happen again. Hopefully, we'll get our building permit ASAP and we'll be good to go, regardless of this aqua-BS.