The Fry Ranch

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Happy Holidays 2017 Belated Holiday Greetings & Happy New Year! We apologize for being absent in 2016 (and almost doing the same in 2017)...
Happy Holidays 2015 Another year has passed. (How is it going by so quickly these days?) Nonetheless, we loved every moment and hope...
Happy Holidays 2014 We hope our electronic newsletter finds you happy and healthy as we close out another year in the desert we...
Merry Christmas 2013 Happy holidays family and friends! We know, we know… it’s been awhile – too long, in fact, since we’ve sent...
Staining, Flooring, Furring Valentine’s Day brought a great gift to the Fry Ranch (well, specifically to Melissa and her mom): a helper to...
Back in the Saddle Trenching from new house to pole 5/13 View at Picasa   I couldn’t resist the cowboy turn of phrase (or...
Merry Christmas 2010 Happy holidays to our family and friends! This year, we’ve taken the time to slow down and enjoy the important...
Critters Galore Even though we have put house-building projects on hold as the heat continues to soar, the Fry Ranch has been...
Steve’s 40th B-Day Bash It’s not every day you turn 40, so we celebrated Steve’s birthday in style (well … not sure if beer...
Rain-Ready & Reaching Out The summer heat is here, but with the unexpected “cool front” over the weekend (93 degrees) – Steve was able...
The Desert in Bloom II Though the bright colors of the desert are fading fast, May brought another rush of pigmentation. Along with the yellow...
The Desert in Bloom Who says nothing grows in the desert? I’ve got proof to the contrary, as you’ll see from the photos taken...
Whooo goes there? I love this time of year! Not only is the Sonoran Desert teeming with wildflowers, but also a host of...
Disappearing Downspouts Mother Nature was not cooperating with us on March 27, when we tried to tape off the downspouts for painting…...
We’re Seeing Spots! It was a happy Valentine’s Day for us, as we drove the four-plus hours to Cottonwood, Ariz., on Feb. 13...
Water, Water … Nowhere On Feb. 5, it looked like the Tasmanian Devil had whirled around the new house, given the freshly dug three-to...
Rain Drain, the Alaskan Pipeline and U.S. Customs If any of you folks outside of Arizona have been watching the news, you’ve seen that we were bombarded with...
Happy Holidays It’s hard to believe another year has flown by, but when we look back through our photos, it becomes a...
Rattlesnakes and Rainbows Even though we’re taking a short hiatus from construction now that stucco is complete, a lot has happened at the...
“S’mores” Applied to House The Dunn Edwards version of the color we chose is called s’mores (and perhaps why I was drawn to it),...
Stucco and Stain – Part II Sixty-five windows. Two gallons of stain. Two gallons of Danish oil. Six sanding pads. A box of 100 rubber gloves....
Stucco and Stain – Part I Our first coat of stucco – the scratch coat – was completed Oct. 28, and for the next three days,...
Lath Complete Our house now has some color! Lath (tar paper and chicken-wire) was completed on Oct. 20, and the next step...
Porch Overhangs Ready! Next Step, Stucco. Our apologies for the temporary website unavailability. Unfortunately, though, we lost the entire Fry Ranch website, my brand new work...
Hello and Goodbye It was with great anticipation that we awaited the arrival of the baby roadrunners that were soon to fledge from...
Welcome to Roadie-Cam With 110-degree and higher temperatures, our building progress has been on hold while we plan for concrete, porches/patios and stucco...
Ummm…. White Castle Anyone who knows Steve knows that he is in love with White Castle sliders (mini-burgers popular on the East Coast)....
Mad Dash to Beat the Monsoons As we inch closer and closer to Arizona’s official rainy “monsoon” season (mid-June), we have come to realize that trying...
Framing, Cranes & Muscle Pains Here we are into May already, with April’s whirlwind of activity behind us. Amid splinters and sore muscles, we worked...
Back in Business – Interior Framing Begins Although it may not look like we’ve made much progress since our impressive six-day wall raising in February, the past...
Six days. 97 Panels. One guy. Two gals = Walls are up! Feb. 22-27 was a good time for our three-“man” crew (consisting of Steve, Melissa and Shannon) to establish some solid...
Precip, Punctures & Panels Thanks to the help of our Colorado buddy, Kory, sheathing was completed Feb. 6 – just in time for Mother...
Water, Floors and More We survived January’s precipitation and have moved on to sheathing! Thanks to 4,000 sq. ft. of black plastic (applied in...
Almost a White Christmas & Happy 2009 With 2009 here, weíre making progress toward a February/March wall-raising. After final touches, including finishing all the LVL (laminated veneer...
Giddy-up! Take a look at the seven helpers who showed up to assist with the house-building. Although they weren’t much help,...
It’s Our Turn Now Now that the foundation, stem walls and backfill are complete, it’s time for us to begin our official role in...
Most Recent Blogs
  • Happy Holidays 201710December 29, 2017

    Happy Holidays 2017

    Belated Holiday Greetings & Happy New Year! We apologize for being absent in 2016 (and almost doing the same in 2017) – but wanted to get a note out before we enter 2018 to let you know what we’ve been up to. Steve continues to enjoy working with Motorola Solutions, where he has recently been promoted […]
  • Happy Holidays 20155December 22, 2015

    Happy Holidays 2015

    Another year has passed. (How is it going by so quickly these days?) Nonetheless, we loved every moment and hope our electronic newsletter finds you happy and healthy. Steve is still enjoying his job at Motorola Solutions and spent a lot of time traveling as a result of his new position/promotion. Among his worksites and […]
  • Happy Holidays 20148December 22, 2014

    Happy Holidays 2014

    We hope our electronic newsletter finds you happy and healthy as we close out another year in the desert we love so much (camping and quad rides included). Steve is enjoying his job at Motorola Solutions and took advantage of various training opportunities (mostly at the company’s headquarters near Chicago, where I joined him in October […]
  • Recent Photos
    Hallway to Melissa's Office - and built-in shelf.
    Hallway to Melissa's Office - and built-in shelf.
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    View from entryway to great room.
    View from entryway to great room.
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    Preview of artwork, light pendants & cabinets in kitchen.
    Preview of artwork, light pendants & cabinets in kitchen.
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    Guest room - view through to Jack N Jill bath. toward library.
    Guest room - view through to Jack N Jill bath. toward library.
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    Guest room facing back rock wall.
    Guest room facing back rock wall.
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