October Update

Granite Installation

Got through the storm

We had an exciting day yesterday preparing for the hurricane Ike to pass through Honey Grove. We packed up necessary items in our pickup truck like: airbed, portable chairs, cookstove, radio, extra batteries, etc. And we parked the truck up by the house so that when it got too "hairy" with the storm, we could just jump into the Honda and drive up to the house. But it never got to that level. The highest winds were only about 20 mph and so we rode it out in the trailer.

And as far as progress on the house, here's what's done so far. Inside paint is finished for now, (they will return at the end to do "touch-ups"), including staining of all cabinetry, floorboards, window sills and doors. We love the butter color on the walls, very warm next to the stained wood. And the interior door paint is a good match for the future floor tile and the stained wood. The aerobic system is installed and the propane tank has been delivered.

Next week, starting Monday, the tile will be installed throughout the house. It will take them five days to complete - we're talking a lot of tile! The granite will be installed Wednesday. The electrician should show up to check for power and then we will start installing all electrical fixtures, chandelier, pendant lights, sconces, fans etc. The weather all week is supposed to be clear. Cannot wait!!

We did get some rain this week and we needed it. My garden is a weedy mess! But I did harvest some delicious brussel sprouts and the cantelopes continue to flourish - they are sooo sweet and we have so many that the chickens get some every once in a while - they love cantelope! Otherwise everything is pretty much finished for the year.

The blackberries and grapes are getting bigger just before they die off for the year. Hopefully as they get more years on they will produce more. And the peach trees are barely making it. I hope to have all survive and thrive next year. The grasshoppers were terrible this year.

I'm looking at a beautiful full moon in a clear night sky just before we start to see the dawn, through the trailer "picture window". I can't wait to see the moon out our bedroom window. . .

More later - love to all!

Cabinetry Installation

This was Thursday and Leonardo, our feisty rooster decided to have an adventure. His wings have not been clipped so he is able to fly - and fly he did! He escaped out of the roost when we were replacing their water.

Mona Lisa got out first and one of our labs grabbed her. Luckily, she is fine. But instead of staying inside the coop, Leo took off. He went to the highest place around, the new roof.

Later on, he came back to the coop. Wow!

Here is the current view of the south side of the house with all the brick applied. The white aperture on the left side of those windows is the tankless water heater for the kitchen side of the house. I will have to find a creative way to disguise it - I'm thinking large potted bush!

The masons left yesterday, in the rain, of course, with only a few feet of brick left to do to complete the house. They should finish today.

I am reminded again of the virtue of patience . . .hmmmmm deep breath. With all the moisture still in the air, it is taking longer for the interior "mudding" the walls to dry. (More patience, please). But yesterday was fun anyway. We traveled in to Dallas to select the granite for the kitchen countertops and the manufactured marble for the bathrooms. With vessel sinks, mexican sink, painted wall board, wood sample from the trim and copper bar sink in tow, we walked through granite for over an hour, narrowing our choices and trying to stay within our budget. Success!! We selected a color called "baltic brown" and we really like it! It will require three slabs to complete all the counters - whoa!

The best surprise when we returned was the completion of the hearth for the fireplace. The head of the masons, or Abuella (grandfather), as we call him did an amazing job. We left in the morning after drawing out on the cement floor in front of the fireplace the dimensions we needed in a half circle. And we pretty much gave him "carte blanche" for the design. He was amazing - did an abbreviated herringbone design on part of it and alternated long and short brick on the front facing. We were so pleased! (A few more donuts and pigs in a blanket that morning didn't hurt!)

More later - love to all!

Brick it Baby!!

You can see in this picture how they set up the brick along the porch in piles for the masons. The process has been going on for three days (counting yesterday when nothing got done because it rained all day). But we're not complaining, we needed the rain and these guys are like ants crawling all over the house making it happen. Stuff we like to see!

We brought them doughnuts day before yesterday and they were very happy.

We also hauled up the Spanish door for the pantry to make sure everything fits - well, not so fast, pardner - it seems the giant (and I mean giant) hinges are a bit too long, like 2 inches too long. It means we will probably hide the hinges inside instead of outside. But I've got to say - the door looks spectacular. Just what we envisioned.

We expect to see painters next week. I say that with a little laugh. Nothing is EVER timed the way we think it is and so we try to remain positive - which isn't hard. It's wonderful to look out the trailer window and see an actual structure up there on the hill.

Today is the first high school football scrimmage for the new school year. Everyone in town is very excited. We plan on attending some home games this year and participating in the brouhaha that makes up a small town life. Can't wait!

In the meantime, our family is busy planning the holiday seasons of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Many menus to plan, airport pick-up trips to make and most of all, just waiting to sit down at a great meal and talk!

Love to all! Vaya Con Dios

Finally!! After several weeks of little activity, the wall board is up and the tapping and mudding begin. There's only one fella doing it but he is fast. Even so, it will take him almost a week to complete. Then, the painters will arrive to prep the walls, texture and paint.

Today, the masons showed up to start the bricks! Hallelujah! We will show more pictures later.

UPS and FEDEX continue to be our new best friends - they only have two more items to deliver. The bar sink and the mosaic that will go over the cooktop. (I tried to do one myself and it just didn't look right.) You can see the fireplace has been inserted - the first time he did it he had it flush with the ground - but we had asked for a hearth so they raised it up about 8 inches and it looks great. After the wallboard is completed - they will install the mantle and hearth. Can't wait!

I went down the storage containers and started putting together some of our fixtures. It made me feel like this is coming to a close someday soon :) I put together the lighting fixture that will go over the outer kitchen counter, and also the one that will go over the kitchen sink. I also put together all four kitchen stools that will go under the counter. Looking good!!

More later. Love to all!!

It's been a HOT WEEK :)

This has been the hottest weather we've had to endure since we moved into the trailer 14 months ago (has it really been that long!). Temperatures are right around 102 during the day, and the trailer usually gets up to about 95 by 4 pm. So the best purchase we have made recently is the 4' by 7' plastic blow-up pool. Absolute heaven! Nothing like slipping into that cool water with a cold Corona :)

Last week was a slow week for construction. Because of the delay on heating and air conditioning installation, everything stopped last week. Not fun, people! But this week we had the last of the framers punch list and the HVAC was installed - lots of silver tubing in our ceilings. By Thursday, it passed the next inspection and we were on to the next phase. The fireplace was delivered but not installed yet. And as you can see from the last post, the front door was installed.

Tomorrow (Monday), the wall board will start going up. We were told this will take as long as 10 days to complete. Also, the brick will start to go up tomorrow. We have been receiving many packages from FedEx and UPS because we have ordered a lot of our fixtures over the Internet ( good sales and no shipping costs) Saves on costly gas trips into Dallas, too. So much of our "stuff" is waiting in the storage containers to install. Can't wait!

I continue to go up to the house most mornings and sweep - it gives me the best feeling to keep the house "clean". And it sets the tone for the workers. Although we have had the most pleasant teams working on our house.

More pictures tomorrow when all the action starts up again. Love to all!

Bringing the front door up from the shed to the house

Here is our front door traveling the 600 ft. from the storage container to the house. Weeeeee!

July 17, 2008 Update from the Ranch

Today the exterior painters finished caulking and painting the exterior trim. Jose and his electrician team drug a 4 gauge copper wire 100+ feet through the attic to carry electricity from our garage circuit breaker panel to our circuit breaker panel in the electronics closet which will feed the north end of the house (jacuzzi, tankless water heater, north side AC/heating compressor). Yes, 4 gauge wire! The copper alone is 1.5 inch diameter. Did I mention this is a Fixed Price contract. The more I see of Donny Mack's Beaver Builders crews, the more I am impressed.

Peg and I brought up a little radio and told Jose to tune it to what ever he wanted. Next time I looked, he had supplemented the radio antenna with a two foot strand of copper creating a directional antenna! Cool. Why use a coat hanger when you've got load of copper strands around.

Speaking of Donny and Ricky Mack. Ricky showed up on Tuesday (against Drs orders for recovery) and starting lifting things like the new windows into position. I tried to help as best I could. Peggy followed us, sweeping away and bagging all debris in her path. We finally nagged him off the site and headed north to OK.

Wednesday, Ricky showed up again and said Donny and the AC/Heating guy were meeting at the ranch. So we postponed our weekly laundry trip, raced down to Honey Grove, bought cookies from the bakery and donuts from the Hello Grocery store (yes, they actually answer their phone: "Hello, Hello" and seriously expect folks to answer back. Hello Grocery used to be Smith's Grocery. The Smith Brothers also own and operate the Smith's Honey Grove Hardware and Feed store in Honey Grove. It's the kind of hardware store that has many hallways, rooms, overhanging decks which used to be a second floor, but now have been opened up all the way to the tin ceiling. Did I mention the hallways and rooms have floors which are all sloped differently? Really. The only thing which seems to be level in Honey Grove are the people. The streets, sidewalks, and drives gently fluctuate with the ebbs and flows of our black clay, while the good folks keep their slow course steady through it all. And, changing things is not very much appreciated, Thankyouverymuch! Especially in 100 degree summer.

But, one of the Smith brothers took ill and they sold both the grocery and the Dairy Queen, which is now named Hello Burger, Yes ma'm. Hello Burger indeed. Right up the road from Fred's Peanut and Grain. Fred, and his wife Elaine, are great people and have had us over to their house for supper. All this in Honey Grove, Texas. The Sweetest Town in Texas. Which itself is right up the road from Bugtussle, Texas. (You can look it up on Google if you don't believe me.) Bugtussle has a recurring problem with their town sign which always seems to get carried off by thieves (probably from Dallas) and must be replaced.

Anyway back at the Ranch...the contractor meeting went off well. I met the AC guy briefly, then Donny stepped away with him saying, "Let's take a walk...". Fixed Price contract. Ricky and I got busy doing something and after a while Donny comes back muttering how he doesn't like being "messed with." Turns out the AC guy was telling him he could not get a dual compressor, two fuel unit (electricity and propane). Only problem was the AC guy was quoting this from a Dallas supplier which Donny has frequently used in the past. I guess the AC guy thought Donny was a local construction man. Donny normally builds Dallas homes in a very high price range. And he is the current International Builders Association Builder of the Year. Peg and I have visited his homes as we did our due diligence on Beaver Builders. Wow! Our little ranch house doesn't come close to his level. He seems excited about our unique house plan and we are grateful to have him.

Donny, Ricky and I installed the remainder of the exterior doors. Not the Front Door. That goes in last. The insulation guys were here while all this was going on. You can see their work from the pictures. We are thoroughly caulked, foamed, and insulated (except for the ceiling which will be blown in after the drywall...hopefully this week). But first some more framing has to be done.

Peggy got an email from the cabinet designer with his preliminary sketch. Holding back her tears, she walked with me over to Donny and Ricky. Donny consoled her saying, "That's why we do this using a drafting program. We expect to change this four times or more". Peggy then cheerfully discussed changes and Donny marked up the drawing and took it away.

Now the pictures:

First,

the view as you drive up the road to the ranch house:

Next, the view from the front

The view from the front door

The Great Room

Next, Peggy’s kitchen

Peggy, checking out her studio from her window.
Shot taken from the pantry door in the kitchen.

Skip’s closet…about which so much has already been inferred, disabused, or otherwise slung about:

And, Peggy’s closet. Which leads into the utility room through a pocket door (to be framed later).

The Garage and Shop

The evening view from the front porch

The evening view from Peggy’s kitchen window:

We moved our old Adirondack chairs to the back porch

And, this is what we see each evening during Happy Hour: (you have to imagine there are no piles of tile, shingles, or brick)

Peggy and Recon Posing by the trailer prison:

Peggy and Recon casually strolling away from the prison, trying to not arouse any attention

And, finally, the moon rising over the Honey Grove Cowboy Church and Rodeo Clubhouse, our Ranch, our Prison Cell, and suspicious looking barrels.

I know it's Tuesday and I haven't updated in days - let me just say - it's been a busy five days!

On Friday, it was like ants were crawling all over everything! We would no sooner walk back to the trailer when ANOTHER truck/vehicle would travel along our gravel road ( with a lot of hoopla from the dogs) and we would dash up to the house to meet new subcontractors.

On Friday, the following occurred:

- our builder was at the hospital getting his heart scoped for potential heart surgery
- the brick was delivered!
- the termite man "did his thing" around the house to protect us from future pests
- the plumbers showed up and started all the plumbing jobs
- the electricians arrived and we did a two-hour walk through with the head electrician to position all outlets and "drops"
- the outside doors were delivered


Update:
- Our builder, Ricky passed his test with flying colors (big sigh of relief from us who realllllly like him)
- the electricians are on their third day of positioning all outlets and we are able to change a few and make better decisions with their expertise
- plumbers finished everything they could until the fireplace box is installed
- painters showed up - nice crew! Two men and a wife who rocks! They have spent two days caulking the outside soffets on our big porches and are known to be "meticulous" - we are pleased! Meticulous we like!

The bottom line is - everything is moving verrry fast now - and our decisions are going to be locked in soon. The dry walling will take place next week so Skip and I are very busy putting in the wiring for internet and speakers for sound. Could make for stress, but every morning we bound out of bed and make lists for the day.

Our garden is producing lovely produce for our busy days. More tomatoes than we can eat, delicious cucumbers, succulent cantaloupes, green beans, and brussel sprouts that are almost ready. Good fresh produce and by the way, fresh eggs is the BEST! They make suppertime a lot of fun! I made a Tortilla Soup last night with our own tomatoes and chicken I had roasted on the grill the night before. Delish!

I spent the afternoon ordering some of the last of the fixtures off the internet. We are going to keep UPS and the USPS very busy in the next few weeks. The trick is getting up to the gate to take delivery - what an adventure!

Love to all - and we do mean LOVE

What a Fourth of July!!

At the end of this entry is a little photobucket of yesterday. We mowed all morning - and did a little food prep for our incoming guests. About two o'clock in the afternoon, the Fettkes arrived and we hugged all around and headed up to the house site to give the first "tour", even though we are still in the rough. We have framing, cedar posts along the porches, the roof and the green shingles and that's about it until Monday.

(The reason not more was accomplished this week is because the contractors blew out our transformer up at the house site and the electric company had to come shut it down until Monday, when they can get in here to replace it.)

We walked the Fettkes through the house a pointed out where various rooms would be, etc. But all they wanted to do is use the "nail picker-upper, rolled wheel thing" ( a magnetic device) and pick up stray nails - Lane. And all Luke wanted to do is ride his new birthday bike we gave him through the new house.

The next thing we know, the weather kicks up out of nowhere and we are in the middle of a very gusty, rainy storm. We all honkered down in the pantry - it was the most protected place in the shell of our house. Remember, we have no windows on yet and/or garage doors, so the wind and rain was everywhere. It was very exciting! After about 15 minutes, it had passed. And up drove the Thompsons! They had had to drive through it to get to Honey Grove. Things settled down and we had some cold beer and some cheese hors d'heuvres and I started to do some serious cooking. I had rubbed down a pork roast earlier and put it in the grill to slow cook about four hours. Unfortunately, during the storm, it knocked the propane off so I was behind schedule. Well, every once in a while, I have to ask our little stove in the trailer to work a miracle - and it did. About an hour later, we had a perfect pork roast, snap peas, grilled onions and a salad. Not bad! Then it was, off to the Rodeo.

Which is only a walk across the street! It just doesn't get much better than this. We all settled in to our little box seat (so the boys were right up front) and it was less than five minutes later when the procession of grandsons started to check out the restroom and the concession stand. There was the opening prayer, the national anthem and the "parade" of contestants through the arena. Then the excitement started. The first event was "Bronc Riding" and the first time a horse came out of the chute with a cowboy on its back, three little boys got big-eyed and serious about what was going on. The arena was very muddy from the downpour we had had earlier, so lots of mud would fly up on us when a cowboy would ride by. But little boys do not mind the mud! After broncs was cow roping and then mini steer riding - where boys under 12 ride miniature bulls. One little guy was stepped on and down for a bit but then jumped up (where they use the term "cowboy up") dusted himself off and was applauded by all.

The event the boys were waiting for was finally here. The Critter Scramble - where small animals including goats, rabbits and chickens are released in the arena and if a kid can catch one, it's his. Well, we lifted Lane over the rail from the box seats and he was off in the mud. Zach was just getting back from another visit to the facilities and we barely got him lowered in before the event started. Luke also went into the arena to try his hand. When the animals were released Lane was able to wrestle a baby rabbit and get it captured - only to have it wriggle away and get caught by another boy. Needless to say, the three grandsons are already plotting for a good catch next year! Our newest grandchild, little Lauren, our Rodeo Princess was charming to all and very interested in all the people watching. What a cutie!

During the Critter Scramble, Skip was called over to the Rodeo Clubhouse. It seems the little boy stepped on by the bull was not doing so well. They had the paramedics check him out and it was quickly decided to call in the CareFlight helicopter. They called Skip because they wanted to to open our gate so they could land in our pasture. As we crossed the street back to the ranch, they had stopped all traffic both ways on FM 100 to accomodate the chopper. We walked well inside the ranch to observe because there are many power lines overhead and it was a dangerous situation. Far off on the western horizon we could see the helicopter approaching, and soon it made a large circle right over our heads and made an incredible, careful, precision landing right on the highway outside our gate. Our grandkids were amazed, and so were we. It's good to know there are such incredible folks to help out here in the country.

After that excitement, we went back to the trailer porch for some homemade peach pie and some much anticipated fireworks. Because our property is so high and we have such a great view of the surrounding countryside, we were treated to no less than 10-15 different displays far off on the horizon. It was a great backdrop for sparklers and firecrackers provided by Uncle Brian.

At about10 pm, little sleepy ones crawled into family cars and rode home to Dallas. We can't wait until they can stay overnight. It was a great Fourth of July. God Bless the troops, the President and our great America! And special prayers for the little bull rider for a fast recovery.

Photobucket Album

construction day 9

Framing Day 5

The framers were hard at work all day today. We had a typical North Texas high pressure area centered over Dallas which means high heat, little wind. Most of their work today was interior, but first some shots of the roofline which was an issue yesterday. I think the results speak for themselves.
















































Next, some interior shots.

Peggy's kitchen with the window over the kitchen sink looking west. I have promised to remove/trim some trees this winter to widen her view.













The master bedroom with the big picture window (facing east) as our headboard.













The high ceiling in the great room/kitchen



















And, finally, some shots as our friends see them driving south on FM 100.

Taken from near the Stewart mother-in-law house about 1000 meters away.














Taken from our pasture fence along FM 100















Same location with zoom lens.

Framing Day 4

Day 4. We dodged the big storm moving in from Oklahoma early this morning. Pasture is still too wet to mow, the temperature is wonderful, so I mosey on down to the house site to take some early morning snapshots. This first shot shows the crew working on the porte cochere. Everything seems normal.



{screenwriters note: cue the music at low volume....shark music from Jaws}
ah...omp.......ah...omp






The Porte-cochere: a closer look.



{Gradual increase in shark music volume}
dah...Dump..............dah...Dump








The crew is working on the roofline to connect to the porte cochere.

No eye contact, but I didn't realize that until later.



Dah...DUMP..........Dah DUMP..........Dah...DUMP





I'm happily snapping photos. See how our rear porch with the cedar posts runs all the way across the back. Hey! I knew what to do. I'll take another picture which will really show off the rear porch.


Louder Jaws theme.







See! Rear porch all the way across. OK, it's hard to see, but it's there.

Hmmm. Wait a minute.

There's no one working.
No construction noise.
No one in the picture.

Except two people: Rick - our foreman,
and the framing crew leader.
And, Rick is on the cell phone.

Jaws music at full volume
DAH...DUMP...........DAH...DUMP


Seriously folks, can you see anything wrong with this picture?

The only clue I have is that Rick and the crew leader are staring at the top of the construction.

So, I leave. Obviously there is an issue and technical consultation is underway.







A little later when the construction noise resumes, I wander back and invite Rick to lunch.
At the Fina.

Skip: So is it solved?

Rick: Yep.

Skip: Was it the roofline?

Rick: Yep.

Skip: Is it fixed?

Rick: Yep.

Skip: OK.

I have to piece a few things together, but my take is the framers realized there was an error in the roof design, and pointed it out to Rick.

Roofs are like stairs.
They look simple in theory, but in practice are very tricky. I first learned this trying to build a basic two step staircase. I sure wasted a lot of lumber on that one, and it was never quite right.


It will look beautiful!

Here's shot from our Blackberry graveyard., which is not so beautiful right now.

We planted 25.
8 remain.
Not a great ratio..

Next year we are shooting for 25 out of 25!!!
AND, air conditioning, heat in the winter, room enough in the shower to turn around without opening the shower door, hot water, (and cold water in the summer), and lots of family visitors!

Framing Day 3

Great weather today. High was around 95 degrees. Framing crew arrived early (0800) and stayed until 1930 hrs. Looks to me like they have raised most of the interior walls, including the wall which will house Peg's two ovens. There was a question, how wide are the ovens? I opened the CONEX we leased for the contractors to have access to and read the labels. We read the specs, which were astouding. Rick got his measurements. I learned the ovens cook three (or more?) different ways: normal, convection(?), and [classified]. Just kidding. I'm typing this while there is a TV program EXPOSING Area 51. You never know. We just MIGHT have ALIEN cooking technology in this house. Just remember....if you are asked anything about these ovens...the correct answer is "I don't know":]

Anyway, on to the pictures. But first, in addition to framing, the inscrutable Fannin County electric co-op installed electricity to the pad site. Yes, overhead lines. Three new big ugly electric poles in our pristine pastures. I decided to ignore it all and go hack down grasses threatening our vegetables. (Did you know that Texas is the only US state in the universe to have NO weeds? Only Native Grasses) Thanks to Peggy I can pick ripe tomatoes each night for my salad, so I give no quarter to invading grasses.





The roof line appears over the garage















Pancho: "Hey Cisco. What is this on the drawing..a Porte cochere?"














Cisco: "They want us to build a carport in their front yard"

Pancho: "Gringo loco"












A work in progress














Our backyard. I can't wait to sit in the shade.

Framing Day 2

Day 2 of framing.
The garage door wall is erected.












Interior walls for the Den are erected and braced.












The entrance to the master bedroom...(and in the distance, the entrance to the laundry room)












To counter disparaging remarks overheard concerning Skip's closet...here's here's the entrance to Peg's Pantry.

















All was great until some dark clouds rolled in from the north. My phone beeped with a weather alert. The radio started broadcasting.."We interrupt this program..."
And we got strong gusts from the north with 1.5 inches of rain, then even stronger gusts from the south. Someone called me to see if the trailer was OK. It was rocking., The radio said gusts to 70 MPH. I hauled in the colors to protect the flagpole from being bent (again). The aluminum pericola over the back deck lifted up and broke some of the welded joints. (Wait a second....does aluminum weld? Anyway, it's broken).


Then at sunset, all is calm. Except for the rodeo club meeting, where all participants were castigated by Fred (owner of Honey Grove Peanut and Grain) for failing to follow through with their commitments to bring in ads. Fred is a great guy, talks straight and pulls no punches. He is also tall and broad shouldered enough to give authority to his opinions. We were OK, and took advantage of the situation to score the back page of the program for the Honey Grove Cowboy Church. (Heh, heh). Plus we are sponsoring a gate which means we hang our church banner across the gate which opens to let the bull out for a bull ride. (There are six gates on the north end of the arena...all of which have sponsor's banners). The six gates at the south end of the arena are used for calf roping, etc. so no sponsors will spend money for those gates.

We may have to do concessions again...it all depends on the situation with the man who has done them previously. He is in the hospital with a leg amputated, two other family members in his crew have died, his black man (who ran the popcorn operation out of small adjacent building) has died, and he wants his son to run the concession now that his son is out of jail.