Banner Week for Visitors at Tobin Hill

Distance award winners from Nebraska
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Sabinal visitors Nettie and Joe
Second appearance from Del Rio for Bill and Gene...
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Webb, Emma, Megan, and Benjamin



HIGHLIGHTS:
1. We love having visitors! This week, a record number came to the house. In order of appearance in the photos above we had brother and sister-in-law of son #1's parents-in-law, uncle and cousin, aunt and uncle, and church friends and children. Is that confusing enough? I intended it to be. The distance award goes to Nebraskans Jo and Ray who were in town Monday visiting brother Bill and wife Dale. Bill has starred on the blog before but this is the blog premier for the others. Uncle Joe had a doctor's appointment Wednesday. He and Nettie stopped by afterwards and toured the place. An elegant lunch, i.e., the $4.99 enchilada special at Blanco Cafe, capped off their visit. Friday, Aunt Gene and hubby, Bill, were in San Antonio for an appointment and stopped to check on progress of the house. As you can see, we dined at Luther's. There's nothing like the sophistication of a great hamburger and fries served in what was a mechanics bay in a building that was a gasoline station in the 1950's. The week was capped of today with Webb, Emma, Megan, and Benjamin visiting after church.
...When this house becomes livable, we need you to help us fill it up with company. More company is on the way this week and next. We love it. Make your reservation today! Operators are standing by.
2. Oh yeah, we did do some work on the house. We're particularly excited that the kitchen continues to move forward. On Wednesday, a man came out and made templates for the granite counter tops. Still no ETA on installation. OSHA Babe and I painted two door frames in the kitchen and are having to use less imagination to see the finished product. (No, there's not a brisket in the oven, yet.)
3. There were four days of window repair, replacement, and removal. A crew of three showed up on Tuesday and began upstairs. Broken panes were replaced. Some unbroken panes were broken (Oops!). All windows were reglazed. Sash cords were replaced. All upstairs window sashes, except one, now open and close as smoothly as can be expected of 100+ year old windows. Friday brought the removal of four windows downstairs. They are off to have panes replaced and/or have new sashes built.
4. The big bathroom news is the acquisition of a pre-fabricated shower base for what will be the only stand up shower in the house. The rough opening for the shower is 32" x 32". That's pretty small but is a lot better than having to take a bath in a tub in the back yard. Not to worry, though. There will be two additional full baths, complete with claw foot bathtubs with beautiful brushed nickel plated feet and handheld shower attachments. They are just going to take a little more time to get ready.

NEXT STEPS:
1. We need to get one bathroom and the kitchen functional before we call the plumbing inspector back. Hence, getting the shower base set, walls tiled, floor tiled, and new lavatory and toilet set are priorities. I have good help coming from Houston who told OSHA Babe, "We'll work for ribs cooked in the Magic Pan." Hopefully, we'll not be too full to get most of this list knocked out.
2. With the kitchen cabinets, mantel, and now, a couple of door frames painted, we're starting to see some "pretty" in the house. We need to continue to prepare the trim around windows, doors, and baseboards for painting. During the life of the house, someone decided that Spinach Green would make a lovely color for several interior doors and wall trim. Ugh!! Our paint preparation focus will be on the second floor in an effort get rooms ready so we can move in and at least get a good night's sleep.
..We're using a Metabo Paint Remover machine that is outstanding. Paint literally flies off the wood when this thing is used properly. It is German engineered, makes significant noise, has a disk on it that turns at a gazillion rpms, and could hurt a person if they weren't careful. And guess who has become quite proficient with it? Yep, the nervous, cautious, worry wart OSHA Babe herself. Isn't she something?
3. Window sashes are being built this week. I expect the crew back next week with new sashes to wrap up that work. The jefe of this crew, Rick, thinks that he may be able to help get the 10 foot pocket doors back up and working after the windows are done. That would be huge.