It looks as if all of the rain from Tropical Storm Lee has managed to miss my part (and most of the rest) of Texas. We were really hoping to have a couple of days of the wet, soggy stuff falling on our heads... It didn't happen that way so…
The number of people moving through the house this past week has higher than at any other time since we began. Stone work, texture, cabinets, trim carpenters, painters, electricians, plumbers, counter-top measurement techs, storage building delivery...It's been almost nonstop. We finished it off with a birthday party on Saturday afternoon...Whew. https://youtu.be/o5Ms6CSARg4 Happy…
This week the inside has begun to look as much like a house as the outside has for a couple of weeks now... Sometime in the next few days the rock will get put on the front. The mud guys will be finishing up on Monday. Then it's time for…
After watching a far off lightning show on Wednesday evening yesterday morning brought a wondrous sight...A rather large thunderous rainstorm blew through our immediate area. The winds blew, lightning blasted the ground over and over again setting car alarms off all over town and then it rained for a couple of hours at…
It's been another week of work on the house. The main projects have been plumbing fixes, septic install, and blowing in the wall insulation. Morning coffee on the back porch hasn't been very comfortable due to the heat...But checking out the progress each day has been fun... Today they delivered…
Here lately I've been taking my morning coffee out to the back porch of the new house most mornings. I noticed something this morning that had been kind of bothering me even as it hadn't processed yet...The birds are not singing the sun up these days. Don't get me wrong,…
Thats why the Nash Prairie matters so much. As Chronicle reporter Matthew Tresaugue reported Tuesday "Life abounds at states last surviving bit of coastal prairie," Page B1, July 26, the 400-plus acres of never-plowed land in Brazoria County remained pristine by historical accident: The Czech and German immigrants who first…
As the temperatures here in Texas hover around the century mark and the heat indexes are pushing 115 on a regular basis, I can understand the attraction of running for President in the NE. Reporting from Greenland, N.H.— All eyes were supposed to be on Iowas straw poll Saturday, but…
It has been hot, and most of this weeks work has been inside...Wiring, plumbing, HVAC. The exterior siding is now complete, with the exception of a little stone work. Between builders and workers and inspectors and grand-kids...Time is flying.
For the third day in a row, Texas power grid operators have declared a Level 1 energy emergency, calling on all available power generators, tapping power from neighboring grids and asking customers to conserve their usage. And the Weather Underground is reporting this: Temperature 96.1 °F Feels Like 112 °F via Fuel Fix » Here…
For most of the past week things seemed to be moving a bit slow, even as progress was made each day...Then suddenly it is really starting to look like a house. Today the roofers are putting on shingles and the cornice crew is doing siding. I really feel sorry for…
I know it's a mixed metaphor, but the GOP has really become a sad, sad representation of the old saying... You can lead a mule to water but you can't make him drink. “I am committed to not raising the debt ceiling,” Bachmann said at a National Press Club luncheon,…
Watching the house grow out my back door has been a sight this past week. We went from bare studs standing across the slab to something that only lacks a roof deck to look like a real house. But, after the initial mad dash of construction, it looks like visible…
The framing crew went home early after waiting a couple of hours for the rain to stop. They managed to get about three hours of work done before the rain stopped them though. Here is a quick video... I can only hope they can get more done today...
Want to know what it takes to make it rain in your neighborhood? Start a construction project. My corner of SE Texas has been in a drought for over a year... Longer than many of the surrounding areas. We had almost no measurable rainfall in the first half of 2011.…
There is a house growing in my backyard and I find my attention drawn to the activity for long periods each day. This is how it went in the last week and a half: So if I seem to turn up missing for longer than normal periods of time than…
(Rep. Eric A. “Rick”)Crawford, the freshman from Arkansas, was among 63 legislators who sent a letter to Obama on Thursday that imagined Aug. 3 arriving without a deal. In the letter, the legislators urged Obama to promise he would pay interest on existing debt, military salaries, and Medicare and Social…
I walked outside this morning to speak to our construction manager... It was early... It was HOT! After coming back inI started wondering why it felt so hot so I swung over to the Weather Underground and this is what I found... Do you see what it says? Feels Like…
That said, I must admit the best fireworks display I’ve ever experienced took place in isolation and nearly-total silence, accompanied only by the murmurings of a couple of friends, the sound of a car engine and the hum of tires on a deserted road. It’s Their Nation, Too « The Task…
Last week, there was a day I hesitate to call perfect only because I would hate it if the perfect day had already come and gone in my life. But when that perfect day comes at last it will probably resemble the one last week. Go...Read the rest. It'll help…
It has been a busy week in our back yard. On Tuesday they cleared the site... On Wednesday a crew started the forms... And this morning the trucks came rolling in...12 of them in all. So we are finally seeing some progress. It's been a long time coming. Sherry was…
Early last week I wandered around my back yard and the woods behind my house playing with the Flip Video camera...No fancy editing just the "magic" of the Flip Share software... Today we have had more small showers blowing around the area. That makes three days in a row we…
While it will never go down in the record books, yesterday brought us a gift of moisture from the sky and not a hose. This morning while we slept we had another gift. Our drought is far from over, but the trees and the grass are sure to appreciate the water that…
After months of planning. After months of negotiating. After weeks of waiting on the city's methodology. It finally happened today...We broke ground on the construction drive to the new house... And now we wait for the next step to become clear...Ya gotta love it.
Just for the record... Since fire season began Nov. 15, the Texas Forest Service and area fire departments have so far responded to 12,362 fires that have burned 3,080,013 acres, officials added. via Wildfires continue to burn through East Texas and beyond | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com -…
On this day in 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrived in Liberty Island. Formally known as "June 17, 2011 | The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor," she was a gift from France, and was funded by the City Room: The Statue of Liberty Is Being Cloned in France. Sculptor Frédéric…
Every day the news brings more drought news around here. Today it's about the trees... Houston's trees need help. It may not be obvious yet, but without substantial rain in the next few weeks the effects of this year's drought may greatly reduce the area's green canopy in five years,…
Going through my email this morning turned up the latest from farm policy. White House has laid out a graphic there that speaks loads about the disconnect between reality and what should be our Subsidy in this country... I was really inspired by the diversity and nutritiousness of the crops…
Reading note. As a responsible omnivore, I need to know where my food comes from and understand and respect the needs of the fellow creatures whose deaths make my life possible. The chickens that gave us eggs and went into the freezer were treated with care and concern; they had…
Sitting out with my coffee as the sun came up this morning I was hearing the distant rumble of thunder. Scanning the horizon line I could see nothing through the haze to explain it. Once I came in and turned on the computer I could see the fun. It is…
