Sunday, December 16, 2007

Decking the Halls!

Shelves in the butler pantry


Boxes of Christmas stuff!
Santa's helpers, Darian, Danielle, and neighbor dog Pippi


















The hole in the butler's pantry ceiling is now covered
The first set of pocket doors will go here

















Damage from duplex wall repaired in entry way


















Christmas in November with Pat's mom and dad


















Lonnie helps Bo find bricks
Pat and Kathy on the home tour













Our friend Anne's family planned a special birthday celebration for her











Maddie is one!



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From November 23-December 16, 2007
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It's the blog before Christmas and things are a mess!
Restoring an old house can sure create stress.
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Frank, the floor man had scheduled an October date
When that changed to December we decided to wait.
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"The tree must be in place! I've been waiting all year!"
So OSHA Babe stubbornly moved into high gear.
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To the clutter of sanders, and paint cans, and tools
She added the boxes from storage marked "Yule".
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While Bo sanded and painted the dining room trim,
She set up the tree and adorned every limb.
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She recruited a great crew to help with the task
Fiesta elves Danielle and Darian were asked.
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Then Charlie the carpenter showed up to restore
The entry way's damage from the ex-duplex door.
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The bannister on the stairway now is complete-
Small touches like molding sure make it look neat.
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A once ugly hole in the butler pantry ceiling
Is now covered nicely with no tar paper peeling.
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Bo sanded and scraped the shelves in there too
When we get the doors fixed it will all look brand new.
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In spite of our list (seems the work never ends)
Several times we've packed up to visit family and friends.
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For Thanksgiving week we flew off to the west
Met Pat's mom and dad for a few days of rest.
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Selling jewelry in Dallas gave us reason to drive
To Salado, a quaint town, on I-35.
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While most girls would shop at some cute little store,
Our OSHA Babe found a great barn to explore!
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Lonnie's known in the town to have what you want
We found some bricks there for our sidewalk out front.
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In Dallas we managed to have fun and play
Pat and Kathy shopped famous flea market First Monday
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McKinney's old home tour-they enjoyed it a lot
It made Pat excited to realize what she's got!
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Golfing with David suited Bo just fine
Church with Uncle Don, Bonnah, and Laura rounded out our time.
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A trip to Austin was on the next weekend's plate.
Anne's family included us for her special birthday date.
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And tonight we've returned from one more birthday run,
Shanna is ?? and Maddie turned one!
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One more thing to report, we are greatly relieved
Historic designation was finally achieved!
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So you see why the blog's not received much attention.
Much more's going on than we can possibly mention!
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Thanks to our readers who don't mind when we're trite
And say that they miss us when we don't sit and write.
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Our progress is steady, though slow is the speed.
With persistence and patience we'll have what we need.
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Meanwhile we're thankful, our life's rich and great
It's the people that matter-this old house will wait.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Impeccable Timing - A/C Repair and Icemaker installed in November


Blog Debut for visitor Hazel and hubby, Dennis (not pictured) who were in SAT for business, Spurs game, and visit to Brockman's B&B
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OSHA Babe likes the new ice maker


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Bo's Door Refinishing Assembly Line
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Before Refinishing

During Refinishing
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After Refinishing



Ask OSHA Babe for her crock pot recipe for Door Knobs. Don't know how they taste, but they look great











Can you tell which door plate is the "before" one?
















FOR THE WEEK ENDING November 18. 2007

HIGHLIGHTS:



1. Who says we don't have this house restoration on a precise schedule? It's November and what else would be more timely than having the Air Conditioner repaired? Yep, that's right - about $1300 worth of coil replacement, 60 ft. of copper line replacement, new freon put in, and some cosmetic work to make the job look professional. Since moving in, we have had the upstairs unit serviced 3 times to replace freon that had leaked out. We decided to do it right this time and found a good contractor who had worked on our neighbor's house. He thoroughly isolated the leak to the coil and high pressure line and then replaced both. It's working great while the outside temperature is in the 70's. We'll see when it gets hot again.



2. Water Works is not only a property in the game of Monopoly but also a theme around here recently. A couple of weekends ago, I put on my plumber's hat and connected a water softener system. I did wait until we did not have overnight guests to take this project on because it does involve cutting into the main water supply line that feeds the entire house. If something were to have gone wrong, I wanted it to be only OSHA Babe and me who had to trek to the gas station to take care of business. (Have you been in a gas station restroom lately? Yuk!) Well, it went nearly flawlessly - PTL. If you plan to do some plumbing and haven't heard of "Shark Bite" connectors, call me.
.....OSHA Babe said, "And while you're at it, how about hooking up the ice maker? After all, it is November." Yep. We did that too. OSHA Babe is shown above getting a glass of crushed ice to cool things off.


3. We keep progressing on refinishing the doors. You can see "Before", "During", and "After" pictures of both doors and door hardware and see why we're excited about how this is working out. After getting one of the interior doors done for about $300, I came home and did a door inventory. We have nearly 30 doors in the house. Do the math (30 x $300) and that would be a lot of money to have all the doors done by someone else. So, I put on my door refinisher hat and began the process. From the pictures, I hope that you can tell that we're doing a very good job. A young man is helping and learning along with me. Right now, there are 5 doors in the Brockman Door Co. assembly line. Do the math.
.....The front door is still being worked on at Acme Lumber. They are turning the 100+ year old door into a showpiece. In addition to refinishing the door, we're paying to have them build a new frame, buy and install a new lockset, and install the entire assembly when it is all finished. Although I can refinish a door, I did not want to take on the other parts of getting this done.


4. The floors continue to be a dilemma. The floor guy, Frank, is taking care of some important family business and has not been able to get this job done. We really like Frank and the great job that he and wife, Lynn, did on the upstairs floors. Hopefully, things will be settled so that he can begin after Thanksgiving.


5. The Historic Designation process for our neighborhood (Tobin Hill) took another step forward recently. The San Antonio Zoning Commission voted unanimously in favor of the proposal to rezone Tobin Hill as "historic." The next, and hopefully final, step is a vote by the City Council. Our council person has indicated her support so we are anticipating passage of the proposal. However, I haven't heard the Fat Lady singing so, it ain't over yet.


6. We did have visitors. The first picture in this entry is our friend Hazel from Dallas. She and hubby, Dennis, are work and church friends from Houston, St. Louis, and San Antonio. (Guys, it's getting close to 30 years worth of friendship.) We were in their home in the Chicago area on September 11, 2001. They have visited us in Mexico City and San Jose, CA. Dennis is on my "Short List" of work heroes. He was instrumental in our getting the opportunity to work in Mexico City. Also, he positively affected my repatriation 7 years later when we moved from San Juan, PR back to San Antonio. Not only has Dennis been an inspiration to folks who have worked with him at AT&T/SBC, he is the human who inspired the Energizer Bunny. To this day, I don't know of anyone who keeps going and going and going like Dennis. When he dropped Hazel off for her Blog Debut, he was moving so fast that the camera shutter couldn't even catch him.
.....We did also have other friends and family come through town. Friend Mary Dean from New Braunfels came by and offered encouraging words about the progress that is being made. Uncle Joe and Cousin Nettie were in San Antonio for a doctor's visit and stopped by. While OB and Nettie went shopping, Uncle Joe and I played a round of golf at the Brackenridge Golf Course. I finally found someone who I can out drive on the golf course. Never mind that he is in his early 80's. We enjoyed the time together. Aunt Gene and hubby, Bill, were in town recently. She called when OB was out running around and the A/C repair guy was here. She suggested taking a rain check for their next trip to San Antonio. We will look forward to that.



NEXT STEPS:
1. We have lots of doors to refinish. All it takes is time or money. We will even try to get the door on the bathroom before your next visit.


2. Stay tuned on the floor refinishing. OB wants to have it done so the 9 ft. tall Christmas tree she bought last season will look good in the entry way.


3. There is always painting waiting. (That nearly rhymes, doesn't it?) Work on windows and trim is always lurking.

Sunday, November 04, 2007

The Doors are Back - C'mon OSHA Babe Light My Fire

Bethany and Andy with friends Lindsey, Kenny and Neta
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Rob supervising Dad and Uncle hanging light fixture in Entry Way
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Interior Door refinished!
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Pocket Doors that actually work! An amazing feat!
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Pocket Door Rollers that still work after 100+ years
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Son Andy participating in the "Guest Worker" program










FOR THE WEEK ENDING November 4, 2007


HIGHLIGHTS:



1. Visitors keep coming and we love it. During son Andy and daughter-in-law Bethany's visit, we had friends from their elementary school era over for diner and reminiscing. Pictured above with Andy and Bethany are Lindsey and hubby, Kenny, along with Lindsey's Mom, Neta. Andy and Lindsey were in the same grade and did eight years of church activities together during our life in St. Louis. Nita and OSHA Babe caught up on some of the events of the past decade or so. It is amazing how good friendships last.

2. In the previous entry, you saw Brother Robert from Washington state under the watchful supervision of Nephew Rob hanging the light fixture in the entry way. It sure looks good. While Andy was here, we hung the companion fixture in the adjacent room. With the addition of a little furniture, the Parlor will be ready for sparking, just like in the old days.

3. The biggest progress this past week is with the DOORS. (No, Jim is not back from the dead.)

- The Front Door is at ACME Lumber being refinished. A new frame (that is actually square and plumb) will be made. After the refinished door is hung in the new frame, it will be installed and a new lockset will enable us to no longer have to use a pry bar to open the door. We'll be uptown.

- The Side Panels of the front door have been refinished. They look great. We still need to have the leaded glass panels mounted in the Panels. You faithful blog followers will surely be disappointed that the current blue louvered side panels are not in the long term picture.

- We did get one of the interior doors refinished to see if it was worth the expense. The answer is "Yes!" It came back looking like brand new.
- Last but not least, WE HAVE BOTH SETS OF POCKET DOORS HUNG AND WORKING! I wouldn't call it the miracle of all miracles, but it is pretty amazing. Carpenter Charlie and helper, Nat, spent about 18 hours over the period of several days and got all of the pocket doors working. The pictures above include one of the rollers that still works after 100+ years.
...We did run into a small "opportunity." Here is the math. Two sets of doors = Four individual doors = 8 rollers. Well, we only found seven of the threaded adjusting bolts that are needed to raise and lower the doors on their track. When I took the roller mechanism to ACE Bolt and Nut, they couldn't match the thread pattern because the bolt probably came from German origin in the late 1800's and the thread pattern is not available a hundred years later. Imagine that! But, Yankee ingenuity prevailed and we made it work. Come see it and marvel.
....When all the doors are up, you can't break on through to the other side.

4. We did some more painting and began stripping the pocket doors and the swinging door that is between the Dining Room and the Butler's Pantry. Andy took his turn in Bo's "Guest Worker" program. I did not check his papers but think that he is legal. There is still a lot more of that to do.

NEXT STEPS:

1. Frank the Floor Man is supposed to be here on Tuesday. Hopefully, he can get the floors on the first floor refinished and looking spectacular.

2. I need to make arrangements to get a bid on refinishing all the doors. It will be expensive. But doors are such an important part of the appearance of the house.

3. Water works are looming on the horizon. There is a Water Softener to be installed. Additionally, we need to get water to the Icemaker so we can stop buying bags of ice from the Valero gas station.

4. There is a Zoning Commission hearing this week regarding the proposed Historical Designation for Tobin Hill. The opposition has created an 11th hour smoke screen that may delay the final approval. OSHA Babe has been schmoozing with city politicians. We'll see if she is ready for Washington, D.C.

Monday, October 29, 2007

A Thousand Words.....

Family get-together in College Station with Andy and Bethany and Washington state Brockmans

Bo's birthday lunch with Buck, Katy, Bill and Dale
Kayla joined the party
Byrl and Virginia - coffee on "The Porch"

Robert, Ellen, Rob and Scott - their Texas vacation included the Alamo and "The Porch"

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.A step long awaited-light fixture hung in entry way!
May we always need the high chair! Marshall takes his turn.
All the girls like to play in the jewelry when they come to Pat's house. Lauren was no exception.
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Mark, our roofing contractor, brought mom, Troyanne, and children to see the house













The Friedrich Memorial Mud Room now boasts a utility sink
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FOR THE WEEKS ENDING OCTOBER 21 and 28, 2007

It is early Monday morning and I am posting a few pictures from the last two weeks to let you know we are still happily busy with family and house. We are encouraged to be at the point where some of the projects we are working on are the details that are pulling things together. I know we will be able to proudly enjoy living in this old house, because we already are!

Those of you who know us understand that it is family and friends that mean the most to us. I will let Bo add the details of what has been accomplished as far as paint, plumbing, pooch with pearl collar, and politics (we are actively involved in trying to get the historical neighborhood designation) but I just want you to know we love being tour guides, having the opportunity to celebrate special occasions with our family, and having friends drop by!

Monday, October 15, 2007

Fun at Grandma and Grandpa's House!

We are pleased to announce......

Anne and Pat. Guess who is not ready for the day?
Bethany, Nicole, and Tiffany making chocolate chip cookies--fun times and yummy smells

Can OSHA Babe still pass as "one of the girls"?
(your YES, DEFINITELY comments are appreciated)
The old sidewalk

Making "curbs" for the new sidewalk
My amazing contractor and the finished sidewalk

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For the Week Ending October 14, 2007

We are pleased to announce-Peanut! That's him/her riding in the little cart with Norman, Lupe, and Pickles. We have had these little figurines representing our grand-cat and grand-dogs out on the counter for all to admire since we moved into our apt. here in San Antonio. When Buck and Katy told us she was pregnant and showed us the ultrasound picture, the baby was just a little "peanut" shape, so Grandma Babe happily introduced Peanut to the fun to be had at Grandma's house. We are thrilled and proud for them and quite excited for ourselves and the other happy grandparents to be, Bill and Dale. The baby is due about May 1.
2. Nothing else seems quite as blog-worthy but we will try to stay focused and share recent progress. The main project accomplished this past week was a new sidewalk leading up to the house. I have an amazing contractor who came up with the idea to use some of the many old bricks under the shed in back to re-do our front walk. That's him with the broom and standing proudly by the finished walk. The folks who did our foundation work came back to make us a curb on each side of the existing walk and Bo brought in two loads of sand in the back of the pick up truck to fill in. He then placed the bricks in a well thought out design to show off the varying colors and brands. We are most proud of the two D'Hanis bricks from the factory near Uncle Joe in Sabinal. The finished sidewalk now looks like it has always been there which is what we were trying to achieve.
3. Our guests this week included long time friend Anne, back to check on the progress we have made since her last visit six months ago. She was graciously encouraging. We were also thrilled that Bethany, our young college friend from California, wanted to come for the weekend from Abilene with a couple of friends. Her folks, Steve and Sharon, had come down to visit us after getting her settled in August. We hope Bethany will consider this her Texas home away from home while she is in school. She and her friends, Tiffany and Nicole, blessed this old house by singing and laughing, baking cookies, and making the house smell good with all those girly girl smells of shampoo and hairspray. Tiffany is a ranch girl from Dalhart, Texas and it was fun to hear about her barrel racing, pig raising, horse breeding life on the ranch. Nicole and Bethany got to visit her family there a few weeks ago. I would have loved to watch the two California girls on their "snipe hunt"! Here in San Antonio we introduced them to breakfast tacos and the Riverwalk. I think they were more interested in shopping than the Alamo but we had a good time. Come back any time, girls. We loved having you.
NEXT STEPS:
1. Andy and Bethany are coming from Michigan! YAY! We hope to have the painting downstairs done and the floors finished so we can move furniture into those downstairs rooms. Bo has several father-son projects planned. Bethany and I will find ways to stay busy I'm sure-first stop is Shop Ole' where Katy and Rachel are setting up a Bless Your Heart booth for the Junior League show.
2. We need a new finish carpenter. Several projects are still on hold.
3. A door man is coming. Maybe we won't always have to use a crow bar to get in and out the front door.

Sunday, October 07, 2007

Not the Full Monty - But a House Full of Monty's

The first Monty this week - From California, Monty, Desiree, and Nita (Monty's Mom)












The second Monte this week - From Colorado - Cousin Monte and Mona enjoying morning coffee on the front balcony











Remember the Alamo!















The San Antonio River - a "must see" on OSHA Babe's official tour












Does this pedestal sink look like a bird bath to you?


















FOR THE WEEK ENDING October 7, 2007

HIGHLIGHTS:

1. This past week we had a Monty and a Monte visit us in San Antonio.

.....In the first picture above, Monty, Desiree, Monty's Mom, Nita, and I are posed on the front porch. Monty, Desiree, and I worked together in San Jose, CA. They were in Texas on a well deserved vacation and thought that a side trip from Anita's home near Longview, TX to San Antonio was how they would like to spend part of their time. (Hey, I did mention to them that it's nearly 400 miles from Longview to San Antonio and they came anyway.) We thoroughly enjoyed the visit. They loved the old house. I was, however, disappointed that neither Monty nor Desiree brought their work clothes but we did enjoy several walks down Covadland memory lane.
.....OSHA Babe donned her tour guide hat and the four of them enjoyed the Alamo, Riverwalk, Mercado, and rest of downtown SAT on Wednesday. Come see us and you also can have your picture taken in front of the Alamo and on the San Antonio River. OSHA Babe has a long and storied history as a tour guide. She's good at it. But be prepared to go. She has no low gear when it comes to showing people around.
.....Covad is fortunate to have Monty and Desiree, along with their boss, Jess, working there. They sure made my job more enjoyable while I was there. Guys, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

- Thursday night, cousin Monte and Mona came in from Denver. They were on their way to Monte's 40th year High School Reunion in Del Rio. (I would make some cute remark about his age if I hadn't graduated from HS the same year.) After a good night's rest, we enjoyed a good cup of OSHA Babe's coffee on the front balcony. Does the second picture above look like they were enjoying it? Monte remembers with great fondness coming to SAT as a child to shop at Joske's, get eye examinations at TSO, and eat at Luby's Cafeteria.
.....I have enjoyed my cousin since our childhood days when we would play catch in the back yard and spend a week at each other's house during Vacation Bible School. Over the decades, we have stayed in touch, skied together, laughed and cried together. Cuz, I hope that we're blessed with more years of these and more memories yet to be made.

2. I was concerned that some of you more proper readers might raise your eyebrows about the use of the term "Full Monty." (I knew that others of you would genuinely appreciate it. Why don't you post a comment on the blog and let me know which category you fall into.)
To address your concerns, I did my journalistic background research on the term prior to publication.
.....Did you know that until the 1980's, "Full Monty" was an obscure British English slang expression meaning "the whole thing." For y'all who don't speak British, you may have used the phrases "the whole kit and kaboddle" or "the whole sheebang." Well, if you did speak British, you might as easily have said, the "Full Monty."
.....The origin of the expression, in all likelihood, comes from the tailoring business of Sir Montague Burton. A suit purchased from Sir Burton's shop was commonly known as a "Monty." A complete three-piece suit, i.e. one with a waistcoat, for a wedding etc, would be the "Full Monty." There is plausible hearsay evidence from staff who worked in Burton's shops who confirm that customers were familiar with the term and often asked for 'the full monty' by name. Burton opened his first shop in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, in 1904. The business flourished and he began opening a chain of shops in 1906. This included premises in Sheffield. Burton's name was certainly well known. The business went on to become world's largest wholesale tailoring service.
.....So there you have it folks. Those of you who had your minds in the gutter, consider yourselves exposed to a piece of fashion history. Consider yourself more educated and cultured than you were before reading this. The Tobin Hill website delivers again.

3. Oh yeah, we did do work on the house this past week. The claw foot tubs are set in place. HOORAY!!! In the downstairs bathroom, there is a toilet (and it actually works) and a pedestal sink in addition to the claw foot tub. I don't know if the picture above gives you a good perspective but the sink is small. We did that on purpose because the room is only about 7' x 7'. When we were putting the pedestal sink in, the plumber said that it looked more like a bird bath than a lavatory. On your next visit, if you need to wash anything bigger than a bird, you will have to use the claw foot tub.

NEXT STEPS:

1. The cabinet guy who is doing some finish work that includes a vanity stand for the sink in the upstairs bathroom says that he will be here on Monday, October 8, to install it. He's been having some health problems but seems to be doing better now. We'll see if he gets this done.

2. We're going to put a brick sidewalk in the front between the porch and the street. Currently, there is a concrete sidewalk that has settled and actually slopes back toward the house. In addition to the brick sidewalk sloping away from the house, it will look a whole lot better that the cracked concrete one.

3. In advance of floor refinishing in the Entry, Parlor, Dining Room, and Butler's Pantry, I need to finish sanding the door, window, and stair trim, paint that trim, and paint the walls. If this goes well, I may try to hang the new light fixtures in those rooms. You're going to love the chandelier in the Entry Way.