Sunday, January 28, 2007

KITCHEN CABINETS! + Drywall FINISHED! but NO CONTEST ENTRIES

Floating in Back Bedroom


East wall before cabinets


East wall new cabinets
West wall before







West wall with new cabinets

New fashion line launched by Pat's Dad, Larry





FOR THE WEEK ENDING January 28, 2007
HIGHLIGHTS

1. Multiple Choice - Check all that apply
I HAVE NOT SENT IN MY CONTEST ENTRY BECAUSE -
A. I have no idea what you're talking about because I didn't read all the way through last week's blog. It's no longer cool.
B. The deadline is February 4 and I seldom do anything early. It wouldn't be cool.
C. I'm too cool to enter a cheesy contest like this.
D. I prefer to buy my own Starbucks. Thank you very much.
E. None of the above - My reason is ___________________

2. KITCHEN CABINETS are in the house! They were installed Saturday and look great even with felt paper on the floor and only 1 coat of primer on the walls. The first 2 pictures above show the Before and Currently of the wall where the sink will be. What a great change already (and we're still not done). OSHA Babe is encouraged because I think she believes that there is a house hiding in there somewhere.

3. The taping, floating, and texturing of the newly sheetrocked walls was completed on Friday. It was a great learning experience to watch the guys do that kind of work. This probably adds fuel to some of your belief that I am weird and have lost it. Stay tuned for next week's featured article, "The Ecstasy of Watching Paint Dry."

4. Sam, the Plumber, came by and made a list of plumbing supplies. I went by the supply house and paid for them on Friday. In comparison to the labor costs, supplies are relatively inexpensive. Hopefully, Sam and his helper will begin this week and we can make some serious progress. Report upcoming.
5. Cat Report - Grey Boy is getting closer to domestication. He will get right up next to me to eat Whisker Lickins but still doesn't want to be touched. He is hard core but melting.

6. We had an interesting week of visitors. The soon-to-be new owners of the house to our east were there on Saturday "interviewing" general contractors. The young couple, Alan and Natalie, walked through our house with her parents. I walked through their house also. They have a whole bunch of work to be done to get it ready. Our neighbors to the west came through on Saturday after the cabinets were installed and had continuing words of encouragement about how much progress they have seen. They are the ones who said to expect discouraging times during the first 6 months because the work that needs to be done is not particularly visible like paint, refinished floors, landscaping.

NEXT STEPS

1. I need to get the walls primed and ready for painting. I've got 1 room down and 9 to go.

2. Plumbing work will hopefully get going this week. The major categories of effort are: 1.) Install a gas line for the stove and fireplace starter, 2.) Connect the new 1 inch supply lines under the house to the line from the street, 3.) Install the supply lines for the hot water heater and water softener, 4.) Connect the under house supply lines to the lines going into the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry area, and 5.) Check the drains for leaks. As you can tell, we've got a long way to go.
3. We must keep the kitchen moving to completion. That includes among other things choosing granite for the counter tops, installing the glass panes in the wall cabinet doors, painting the cabinets, refinishing the wood floors, replacing one wood sash in the window opening out to the back yard, and installing the appliances.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Arctic Blast in San Antonio Freezes Construction -- BRRRRR!


Arctic Blast covers local bird feeder














In Memory of Miss Blackie









<--Dining Room Wall before sheetrock
During Sheetrocking (above)
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<--After Sheetrocking



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FOR THE WEEK ENDING January 21, 2007

HIGHLIGHTS
1. San Antonio rose to national attention this past week with 3 days of "wintry wallop." Although OSHA Babe and I weren't walking in a winter wonderland, several historic events occurred - the Alamo actually closed to tourists for one day, many overpasses were shut down, schools extended the MLK holiday by 1-2 days, and construction at our house came to a standstill for those days. The local news media went crazy with their coverage of the "Arctic Blast." The first picture above is our bird feeder on day 2 of the Blast. (All of you California girls probably think that this looks pretty cold while our loyal readers in the Midwest probably would consider this summer in the city compared to what you have experienced this winter.) ..
.....The saga ended on Thursday when we had a heat wave up to the low 50's. We did pick 25 - 30 pounds of oranges the first day of the Blast and got the satisfaction of giving some to neighbors, eating more than our share, and ultimately finding that there was no permanent damage to the ones left on the trees. Additionally, the heat is on in the downstairs and is working fine. (Have any of you named your heater? We've named ours "Michelle" and, let me tell you, she's so fine.) Only time will tell what our electric bill will be.
2. The sanding and painting efforts were nil this week because my girl, OSHA Babe, made a trip to Dallas. When she's not there, not much of this gets done. OB, aka the Silver Lady, was able to drive through the rain/sleet/snow/slush on Wednesday, shop at Market on Thursday, set up jewelry sales on Friday, and even thought about staying over until Monday. Monday, I hope to have her at the house back in OSHA Babe uniform. I'm a better man when I've got you, Babe, by my side.
3. We did receive some sad news about Miss Blackie. Our tender hearted, cat loving neighbor, Mary Alice, told us that she found Miss Blackie dead in the street on New Year's Eve. She and her sister (who is still keeping Little Leo - the 3 legged cat that is looking for a permanent residence) buried her in the yard. Having neighbors like that makes us proud. Mary Alice is already toward the top of our list (and the lists of several of our cat-loving readers.) Our fondest memories of Miss Blackie are of her taking over our lunch times after Little Leo's accident, standing on the lunch bag, and her being able to act naturally beautiful after she had had her fill. I don't remember the last date we saw her before Christmas but we already miss her when we go down to work at our house. ..
.....The remaining cats, Grey Boy and Bad Boy, are hard core but are coming around. If they don't get hit by cars or become victims to a hound dog, they may eventually get to the point of letting us pet them.
4. During the Arctic Blast, I did get a phone call from Robert, the Cabinet Guy. He was asking for my help on the design of the doors (no, not the "light my fire" Doors). I drove out to his shop and saw with my own eyes that we do have actual kitchen cabinets. Robert thought that he might get them installed this past weekend but yesterday came and went without them being installed. Maybe we'll have better luck next time.
5. Edward and his sheetrocking crew were the answer to my prayer. On Wednesday, I sent out the S.O.S. to Edward. On Thursday he made one final walk through and we agreed on a price. Friday, he and three others (one of them a 64 year old man) began hanging sheetrock. I hope that I can hang sheetrock when I'm 64. They finished on Saturday afternoon while three guys began taping and floating. Above, there are "Before, During, and After" pictures of the Dining room that shows the progress that they made. The tapers should finish downstairs and begin upstairs on Monday, put the second coat on this coming Tuesday, and finish out with the texture on Wednesday. THESE GUYS ARE GOOD AT THEIR TRADE. I'll post movies of them working if I can figure out how. It was cool to see the tapers walking on stilts (like Star Wars characters) to complete the work on the 10' ceilings. Although it was not eight miles high like last week's work on the scaffolding felt, it was a long way up there.
.....I could have worked eight days a week and it would have taken me until the next blue moon to do what these guys have done in 2 days. I should have known better than to hire the guy who started in December solely based on price.
6. Two plumber candidates came by on Saturday. One gave me a bid and other one told me he would have his proposal by Monday. Hopefully, we'll get this going shortly and I'll be reporting on the men at work on the land down under the house as they replace pipe and make connections. Hopefully, this is the sign that we've been looking for to get into the modern world and have indoor plumbing. Imagine that!
7. Visitors this week included Samuel and Mark, who were waiting in the truck while their granddad, Sam, one of the plumbers, walked through the house with me. As they got ready to leave, I offered Sam some oranges. I was using a long pole fruit picker that the boys, ages about 9 and 11, thought was cool. You should have seen them jump at the chance to pick their own. I also appreciated their grandparents reminding them to say "Yes, Sir" and "Thank You."

NEXT STEPS
1. Hopefully, we'll be reporting on the sheetrock work being completed. Once that is done, the high level path is prime the walls and ceiling, sand and finish the trim, refinish the doors (no, not the "light my fire" Doors), refinish the floors, and move in. I have a dream that we'll be there by the end of 1st quarter this year.
2. I plan to choose a plumber by Tuesday and get that show on the road.
3. The kitchen cabinets should be installed this week. OSHA Babe may shop for granite. Don't listen to those who tell you that all you need is love on a project like this. Money, money money is a big part of what it takes.
4. If you have noticed some cheesy content this week, you're right. I have embedded numerous song titles and am funding a contest (complete with a prize that is redeemable at your local Starbucks). The winner will be the one who identifies the most song titles and the corresponding recording artists.
...To enter, send me an email - bbbrockman@yahoo.com - by Sunday, Feb 4 listing the Paragraph, Song Title, and Recording Artist, for example,
........Next Steps, 1., "Light My Fire", The Doors.
Remember, I was a teenager during the 60's. The decision of the judges will be final. GLA

Sunday, January 14, 2007

We Found Good Help This Week - Home Grown

Jay and Dad in the sky!

<-We needed to clear this out
Jay and Dad's lumber rack (patent pending)
<--- Jay and Andrew - Church friends from elementary school days in St. Louis
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For the 1st two weeks of January, 2007
HIGHLIGHTS
1. We were thrilled this past week to have Jay, our youngest son, visiting with us from Puerto Rico. He is between semesters at school and was able to come for a visit. OSHA Babe stepped into a phone booth and came out as "Mom" as she baked cookies, made brisket, fussed over him, and got to nurture a while. Old Dad, on the other hand, hearkened back to early pioneer days and "bonded" with Jay, i.e., put Jay to work.
.....Jay is a hard worker and tackled everything that was thrown his way. In the first picture above, notice him 30+ ft in the air scraping and painting the highest point of the house. The setting up of the scaffolding and getting it down would not have happened without him. Additionally, we needed to clear the house in preparation for the sheetrocking that hopefully comes soon. To do that, Jay and I made storage racks for lumber that was in the two back rooms of the house. Pictures 2 and 3 above show the "before" condition of the room and the storage area during its construction stage. Jay worked right along side and we got it done. For his effort, he put a bit of $$ in his pocket that should help with rent and living expense in Puerto Rico.
.....We got a lot done while Jay was here. Son, it wouldn't have happened without you. Thank you.
2. Three people came by to gather information for completing the sheetrocking. Only one has given me a bid. I hope to have a decision this coming week and move forward with that.
3. The plumbing saga continues. My neighbor and I worked together for about 10 hours over the past 2 weekends and ran into some surprises. Fortunately, we have not connected the new water supply lines and did not flood the house. What we discovered is that there are some mysteries about which pipes go where and how they are connected (or not) and that I'd better get someone who can work on this full time until it gets finished. Scrimping on the plumbing work is not a smart thing to do.
4. Good News! The electrical work is essentially complete. I need to buy two motion sensitive fixtures that will be mounted outside (one to light up the driveway, the other to light up the back yard) and call Jimmy back to install them along with the outlet for the microwave that will go in after the kitchen cabinets are mounted. With that, we will be 100% done with what we asked Jimmy to do.
5. Cat Mystery. We seem to be bad luck for the neighborhood cats. First, Little Leo injures a leg to unknown causes and has it amputated. As of press time, he's still convalescing at one of our neighbor's sister's house. He needs a permanent home. Any ideas?
....Our second domestication, Miss Blackie, has disappeared. After returning to the house following New Year's Day, we have literally seen neither hide nor hair of her. Conspiracy theories abound. The most popular stories are 1)killed by the pair of racoons that roam the neighborhood and 2)abducted by someone who wanted a beautiful black cat with white boots on her front feet and white stockings on her back feet.
....The other cats in the neighborhood are meowing among themselves and are wary of getting too close to the Brockmans. Even OSHA Babe is suspicious when I offer her Whisker Lickers snacks. (But they are fish and chicken flavored!)
6. Visitors - The young man alongside Jay in the fourth picture is Andrew Roland. His family attended the same church as us in Ballwin, MO where he and Jay were Bible Class buddies from early elementary school days. Andrew and his wife are teachers here in San Antonio. He and Jay seemed to enjoy visiting as adults for a little while on Saturday.
NEXT STEPS
1. KITCHEN CABINETS are scheduled to be installed on Tuesday. Robert, the cabinet guy, came by for fine tuned measurements and indicated that he's ready for installing this coming week. Hopefully, we'll have pictures soon.
2. Let's make a decision on the sheetrock bid and get it done.
3. I've got to make some calls and begin the process of plumbing bids. This is standing in the way of finishing bathrooms. Stay tuned.
4. The Big One of 2007, i.e., winter storm, is upon us. We have freezing weather in the forecast for the next 2-3 days. We need to get the oranges picked. This year's crop has been a good and tasty one. I've eaten so many oranges that I may never get another cold.
..... The horticulturist in me Googled "Pruning Citrus Trees" and will likely do that in February in an effort to get the tree to a more manageable size.

Monday, January 01, 2007

Slow Week between Christmas and New Year's Day

<--OSHA Babe's next conquest
View from the East with no pecan leaves
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FOR THE WEEK ENDING December 31, 2006
HIGHLIGHTS
1. Despite good intentions, the plumbing work planned for Saturday, Dec. 30, had to be delayed. My neighbors were ready to go and showed up early Saturday morning with the news that the supply house was closed for the New Year's weekend. We're tentatively on for next weekend.
2. Electrical work is winding down. Jimmy has the lights on, new outlets in, switches relocated. It is a pleasure to have him work around the house. He is in his mid 60's and has an interesting story about how hard work and determination over the course of a lifetime has paid off.
3. Window repair was a major effort this week. (Glass is more expensive than I thought - $3-4 per sq ft for normal single pane glass vs. $11 per sq ft for "restoration" glass.) One window in the master bedroom now has a full pane of glass in it for the first time in who knows how many years. A window pane in the kitchen was also replaced. Additionally, our visitor this week, Bill Dranselka, helped replace some window weight ropes in one of the front upstairs rooms. We worked on two sets of windows. The first one took us 2.5 hours. The second one took us 45 minutes. Who says experience isn't worth much?
4. OSHA Babe has started a new area of focus. The interior door in the picture above is 9 ft. tall and has 18 panes. One pane has a wood panel in it and the other 17 have glass panes that have been painted over. The ever so lovely OSHA Babe has tackled the paint removal and was encouraged to find a surface that finally worked well for chemical paint strippers. After cleaning the glass panes and replacing the one, we'll paint the door the same color as the trim, clean up the hardware, and have a great addition to the entry way.
5. I cleared out a hackberry tree in the front yard this week. In the tree picture above, you can see a V-shaped trunk that was crowding the base of the 50" ft. tall pecan tree. That was the target. Speaking of trees, the orange harvest continues. We may have 2 more weeks of fresh oranges.
6. Visitor Report - Bill Dranselka made another visit to the house. (This time, we got his picture.) Bill and Dale are Katy's (our San Antonio daughter-in-law) parents. Bill is a native Nebraskan and does support the Big Red throughout the entire football season. Bill, thanks for the help with the windows.
NEXT STEPS
1. Plumbing is critical to moving the kitchen forward as well as having indoor plumbing that works. Hopefully, this coming Saturday, we'll make good progress.
2. Jimmy thinks that he can finish the electrical with only a few more visits. He has done a good job.
3. There is some prep work needed in the kitchen before the cabinets can be installed. I need to check with the cabinet guys about where they are in the construction.
4. Sheetrock is still dependent on having the plumbing completed. However, there is some that can be done but I'll probably have to be directly involved since this is just "piece work" as long a plumbing remains unfinished.
5. As always, scrape, sand, paint, repeat.