Distractions

Although the bath counter tops had been installed, the tile was to be delivered Monday with installation beginning immediately, the kitchen sink delivered, smoke detectors and bath fans installed, kitchen and utility plugs raised, and some plugs and plates finished out, it was a rather lack luster week.  A meeting with the trim carpenter today to figure out mantle installation and placement height and how to balance the beams in the kitchen seemed anti climatic to me.  Our new blinds sit on the floor of our apartment waiting until every thing is completed before they can be installed.  As I walked around and took in all that had been done, I realized all that yet needed to be completed and what it would take to get some of the construction guys all the way back out to finish or touch up what they need to do.  The road is ever so long...

On an interesting note, our friend Tommy the Turtle made an appearance as he hiked across the pasture, headed toward some unseen goal known only to him.  He was moving "fast" and we lost track of him when we turned our attention to something else for a couple minutes.

At the tank, Peg saw this snake swimming.  Not sure what kind of snake it is.

Later, Peg's eagle eyes spotted this hawk roosting in a tree.  I'm guessing this is a Red-Shouldered hawk, but I could be wrong.

It was a very hot today but the breeze through the porch kept us comfortable.  As I recall, we really didn't visit the farm in August in past years as it was always too hot.  We will be going this year to meet with Ryan, etc.  Hopefully the breezes continue.

A Cool Day in July

A cool front hit Texas midweek resulting in record low temperatures (60s and 70s) for several days.  In addition, some areas of the state received lots of rain which is sorely needed.  Our time at the farm was lovely with a mix of clouds and a refreshing breeze.
The painters had finished up and the cabinets were installed.  The tile has been ordered for the floors and should arrive soon so that project can begin.  Ryan also ordered the counter-tops for the kitchen, bathes, and utility room.  We spent this week communicating the type of sink for the kitchen, fixture colors, and making a cook-top decision.  We decided against a gas cook-top because of our lack of flame awareness around an open fire.  We actually had a small blaze at Jennifer's house and think we have the potential to have something really tragic occur.

 Fireplace and media center.  The fireplace will be encased in the same stone as the exterior of the house soon.

 Looking toward the kitchen from the fireplace area of living room.

 Kitchen cabinets.

 Looking out of the kitchen toward living room.  When we were planning this house, being able to see the TV from the kitchen was an important factor.  The media center can even accommodate a 72 inch TV.  Geez, it's going to be like a movie theater!

 Mud room area with a coat of paint.  I am hopeful that we will keep the dirt and mud here.

 Looking into the utility room.  The dogs want you to note the Doggie Door.

 Looking out of the utility room.

 Cabinets in bathroom.

 
 Looking up the stairs.

 Upstairs bathroom.

 Looking down the stairs.

 View of high bar looking into the kitchen.  Some discussion about how much higher we should go as kitchen cabinets were raised 6 inches instead of 4 inches.  "We need to be able to hide the mess in the kitchen."  When Peg and I go "belly-up" a professional basketball player will find the kitchen very accommodating.  I hope that we do not shrink too much in our declining years or we are up a creek.  We will never have to worry about the dogs jumping up to snatch food off these counters!

The Grand kids arrived, ate lunch, dragged up all kinds of dirt, mud, and sand along with rocks and pieces of lumber to do some building of their own.  The grass hoppers were out in force and helped keep them from straying for long off the porch.  Sure does make for easy babysitting!

We Have Cabinets!

Yes, we have cabinets!  We think they look great.  Now we are on pins-and-needles to see if our floor, counter top, and back splash selections work.  A few pictures:

Ryan told us that when we raised the kitchen counters 4 inches, we neglected to raise the electrical plugs. So the electrician will be back out to fix that issue.

Mud Room

I didn't take pictures of cabinets in the baths or utility room as they are not as exciting as getting those in the kitchen, but know, they are installed.

Obviously the painters were working.  One asked me about when the AC was going to get hooked up.  At that moment, the inside of the house was very pleasant temperature wise, with the windows open.  I do know that as the day wears on and the Texas heat builds, it will become very unpleasant.  I felt for the guy, yet there was nothing I could do.

We met with Ryan and Grand Kids for a bit, but we all left by early afternoon to get out of heat.  Poor Rooster with his black coat was really really hot.  Usually on the way home he cools off in the air conditioned car in 15 to 20 minutes.  It took about an hour before he quit puffing and laid back for a snooze.  The Texas heat won a round...

Painting

Went by the farm to check out the progress.  Found out that the cabinets were not delivered.  I think it is too hard for anyone to do anything Fourth of July Week!  The painters were preparing to really get down and start spraying the inside.  A lot of the stained areas were covered except for the bookcase in the office.

Also the doors were hanging out from getting painted.   The painter said we had thirty-two doors.  Only a painter would count doors!

We ended up getting out of their way and took a hike down to the tank.  The dogs per usual swam and fooled around.

 

Rooster headed into the weeds and disappeared!  We knew he was there because the stalks would move.  Just goes to show that sometimes it's not about camouflage!

Finally we headed to Salado for Cinco's third birthday party.  A fun time was had by all!

The Road...

We continue down this long road as we move forward on the house...  The trim carpenter is finishing up some details and the painters were sanding, etc. in anticipation of painting.  We checked out a small painted patch upstairs and it looked fine.  We also picked out stain colors and gloss for the builtins.  News has it, the cabinets will be delivered Tuesday and installed on Wednesday.  Also, another floor company was out to make a bid for the flooring installation.
It was a very good day as there was lots of activity.

Bales and Bales

Today we got to watch Mike and crew continue to cut and bale the pasture.  It is a very interesting process.  Our thoughts were that when you have the right equipment, it is easy and efficient.

First they cut the grasses,

  

 Then the baler comes along and swallows up the cut grass,

 after it has a full load, it stops,

 lifts its back-end door,

and out rolls a bale.  They really do roll out.  Then as far as the eye can see, there are bales...  All this may seem kind of silly, but it is really cool to see our little patch of land produce a commodity.

Also met Emily to measure the windows for blinds with her Uncle Johns help.  Looks like the more economical way to go is to order what we need and install them ourselves.  The trim carpenter showed up and met with Ryan.  Discussed, etc. what is needed to finish and anticipate needs after the cabinets are installed.  The painter starts this next week.
A few pictures:

Obviously we have not moved into the house, but we are already enjoying our back porch area.  Again this week we were catching cool breezes until about 2:30 when they died a bit.  All the grandchildren arrived and played under our feet.  I hope this continues into the future! 

Cool Breeze

We headed to the farm early Saturday knowing that there was a huge complex of thunderstorms west of Austin that indicated movement toward our destination.  As we went through our routines, we kept that fact in mind.  Our luck held and the storms fell apart probably by early afternoon.  The result was a wonderful cool breeze all day with cloudy skies.  Sitting on the porch for lunch and babysitting was delightful!
The trim carpenter continues to work.  A few pictures:

 Looking into the kitchen from family room

Looking into the family room from kitchen

Peg worked on weed eating the grasses around the front gate to avoid the hour and a half nightmare she experienced when we waited too long a few weeks ago.  It only took her 20 minutes.  We are  becoming more efficient!  Note the corn across the road.

Picture from the cattle guard:

We also met a fence person to get a bid for the back dog fence.  Only one of the three people showed up.  That was discouraging...

Spent several hours after lunch babysitting.  At one point we had all four grand kids there.  They are still learning to interact and each seems to spend their time watching the other.  Throw in 2 Labs and a Hound, and "all was right with the world!"