Two Shades of Red - Pink for Baby Girl and Red Flag for baby cat

Mom 2B Katy went shopping for the new Princess
Granny OSHA Babe never got to dress her sons this way













Remember Little Leo #1 - from November 2006


Would Yogi Berra say that this is "deja vu" all over again in January, 2008?










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Meet Little Leo #2 - or, as he prefers to be called, "Your Highness"

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Master Closet before transformation began
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Master Closet during transformation








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Master Closet after transformation



















Leaded Glass for transom window downstairs














Francisco made this one for the transom window in the Guest Bedroom







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Uncle Joe working for his supper



For the period ending January 27, 2008

HIGHLIGHTS:

1. Our grandchild who is on the way is a GIRL! For me, Baby Girl will be the first female to join this family by some way other than marriage. We couldn't have chosen better in the marriage category because our two married sons, along with their old Dad, married very well. But Baby Girl, whose scheduled arrival in late April will give both sides of her family their first grandchild, is coming in another way. I guess that storks still make it to San Antonio.

.....Mom 2B Katy (with help from Aunt Rachel and Glam Gran Dale) has already been shopping for Baby Girl. You can tell from the pictures above that Granny OSHA Babe is right in the middle. Katy, my only request is - can you find something pink for the newest princess?

.....No, Great Aunt Donna, we are not going to sponsor a "Name the Baby" Contest.


2. Now for the RED FLAG! FOR KITTY story. There is a new member of the neighbor hood. You're not going to believe this story. I have taken some literary liberties when it comes to direct quotes. They may not be exact but I bet that they are close.

Once upon a time in a land not very far from here -

. Chapter 1 - Dani, a dear friend from Mexico City days (and yes, Dani, still a dear friend even after this) goes to babysit for her grandchildren while son and daughter-in-law are out of town for the weekend.

. Chapter 2 - On Friday afternoon, Dani arrives at school to pick up Granddaughter. She notices that Granddaughter has an orange tabby kitten (RED FLAG!) with her.

. Granddaughter (who happens to be allergic to cats (RED FLAG!) probably says things like -
.....--"Isn't he cute and cuddly?" (RED FLAG!)
.....--"We can keep him outside." (RED FLAG!)
.....--"Can we take him home?" (RED FLAG!)
.....--"Pleeeeze. I'll be your best friend." (RED FLAG!)
. Granny Dani, who has several outside cats of her own (RED FLAG!) can resist neither the look in the sweet kitty's eyes (RED FLAG!) nor Granddaughter's request and loads up (RED FLAG!) Granddaughter and Kitty.

. Chapter 3 - Next day, the entourage is off to Pets' Mart (RED FLAG!) for health, food, and fashion reasons. (Did I say "Pets' Mart" or "Pet Smart"?) Multi-hundreds of $$'s later, Kitty makes out like a bandit and leaves the store nearly, but not quite, as well off as Baby Girl in item 1 above. Kitty is vaccinated, de-flea'd, wormed, collared, tagged, has a litter box (RED FLAG!), a big bag of kitty litter, a big bag of dried cat food, a case of Fancy Feast, a deluxe carrying cage, numerous kitty toys, two food bowls, two water bowls, a bag of kitty weed (aka Premium Catnip), and an appointment in early February to be "fixed." (Kitty, if you are reading the blog, this is a big RED FLAG! for you, Big Fella.) Kitty is thinking - "Is this a great country or what?!"

. Chapter 4 - Sunday, after saying goodbye to the grandchildren and Kitty, Dani returns to her own home. After Son and Daughter-in-Law return to find their daughter red-eyed (yes, the one who is allergic to cats), Son puts one and one together and calls Mom. He very graciously reflects on his love for his mother BUT (RED FLAG!) says that Kitty in their house is not a good decision and wants Mom to come get the cat (RED FLAG!). Mom (Dani) says "OK, I had planned to come back on Tuesday. I'll pick him up then" to which Son replies, "No, come get him tomorrow."

. Chapter 5 - Monday, Dani drives to Son's house to pick up Kitty before going to Bible study that OSHA Babe attends (RED FLAG!). Unsuspectingly, I'm busy working on the house. Shortly before noon, my phone rings. It's OSHA Babe. (Yes, that OB, the one who also is allergic to cats.) The conversation goes something like this OB-"Hello, darling." (RED FLAG!) "Are you home?" Bo -"Yes. Why do you ask?" OB - "Are you going to be home for the next few minutes?" Bo -"Yes. Why do you ask?" (BIGGER RED FLAG!) OB - "Dani wants to come by. She has something she wants to show you." Bo - "What is it?" OB - "Oh, you'll see when she gets there." (RED FLAG!)

. Chapter 6 - OB and Dani arrive holding Kitty. (RED FLAG!) OB - "Doesn't he look just like Little Leo? (RED FLAG!) I told Dani that you would love to have him." (RED FLAG!)

. Epilogue - Kitty is sweet, playful, litter box trained, and in the process of becoming an outside cat. He and the incumbents, resident feral girls Grey Girl and Bad Girl, are gradually adjusting to each other. At least, they haven't stalked him since Day 3 and he can walk near them without hissing and spitting. OB's eyes still get red when he gets too close but, hey, he's so cute and cuddly, we can keep him outside, can we keep him, and I'll be your best friend!!!! How could I resist (RED FLAG!)

3. Now that OB has come out of the closet as being a cat lover, let me tell you about some of the work we did around the house since last report. It does involve the Master Closet. Since our weather has been cold and wet here for the better part of two weeks, we have worked inside as much as possible. We put longleaf pine flooring down in the Master Closet. A company near San Marcos actually mills various cuts of lumber from old telephone poles, many of which were made of longleaf pine. You can see from the pictures that the flooring along with painting the window and door trim make a huge difference. OB went to the Container Store and bought Elfa shelving for most of the closets upstairs. When that gets installed, we will actually have permanent places to do minor things like hang clothes, store shoes, etc.

4. Did you notice the leaded glass panels in the pictures above? OB had the center designs from our time in Mexico and we took this opportunity to get Francisco to custom build rectangular leaded glass panels to fill in two of the transom windows that were missing their original frames. We think that these leaded glass panels will be a classy, unique touch to this old house.

5. My Uncle Joe was one of our visitors during the last two weeks. We really didn't make him work for his supper but he did pitch in and help paint the plate rack that OSHA Babe plans to hang in the kitchen.


NEXT STEPS:

1. Frank should start on the floors this coming week. We have 6 rooms left to do, including the Master Closet upstairs.

2. Hopefully, we'll get some warmer, drier weather and Charlie, the carpenter, will get back down here and we can trim out the corner where the downstairs AC unit is installed.

3. As always, there are doors to refinish and windows to scrape and paint.

Off and Running in 2008

OSHA Babe in Dining Room Oct, 2006
OB in Dining Room in Jan, 2008. Notice any differences?


See the Poor Man's Sconce that is connected directly to electrical wiring? It is not quite as nice as ...
The new Sconce that actually matches the fixture in the entry way
This vanity stand has a story














Bethany - our overnight cowgirl visitor













As of January 13, 2008

HIGHLIGHTS:

1. Four more doors rolled off the production line at Bo's Door Refinishing. The grain in the wood is showing through nicely and the doors look great! Three of the doors are to rooms off of the Landing Area at the top of the stairs. The fourth door is to the closet in the Master Bedroom. Before hanging the doors in their openings, I need to scrape, sand, and paint the door frames. It is tedious but will look so much better than the blue paint that is currently on the doors.
.....In narrative form, this is really pretty boring. So, we included "Before" and "After" (B&A)pictures of the pocket doors in the Dining Room. (Technically, you won't see any doors in the before picture because they had been taken down in the mid-1990's and were on the floor in a back room when we bought the place.) OSHA Babe expanded her resume by helping with the installation of the doors this past week. Seeing the difference between B&A gets me through the mundane message of "we got more doors finished."

2. You will also notice another set of B&A pictures that shows what a difference a light fixture makes. Although I had grown quite fond of the single bulb wire nutted on the end of a piece of romex electrical wiring, I must admit that the new sconce really looks nice. Check out our blog entry from December and you will notice that the sconce matches the new fixture that is in the Entry Way. Hmm - what a coincidence.

3. The piece of cabinetry pictured above is the vanity stand for the Master Bathroom. This is no ordinary vanity stand. This one has a story.
.....Once upon a time, OB saw a picture of this in a magazine and we decided that it would look good in our bathroom. Back in September, we received a proposal from "Cabinet Guy #1" (who had done a great job custom building our kitchen cabinets) and paid him $450 up front "for materials" to build this vanity stand and one other item. Guess who took the money and ran? Yep, you guessed it. (I do have a Small Claim complaint in process against him but am not particularly hopeful.)
.....There is more to this story but you will have to get the rest in person. As a post script, we did make arrangements with "Cabinet Guy #2" to build the vanity. After we get a granite top fabricated, the vanity painted, and the lavatory installed and connected to the plumbing, this story will have a happy ending and we will live happily ever after.


4. We had a western theme to our visitors this week. The cowgirl in the picture is our overnight guest, Bethany. As background, OB works with "Young Lives," a national program that reaches out to teenage mothers. Bethany's mom was asked to tell her story at the national meeting of Young Lives in Orlando, FL and needed places for her three children to stay. We were blessed to have Bethany stay with us. What a joy to have a precocious, happy, little girl stay with us. Incidentally, for the record, we need to include Bethany's Mom, Yvette, and her Young Lives mentor, Terry, as visitors also.
.....With Bethany, Emory, and Maddie having stayed with us within the last month, maybe God is getting this grumpy old man ready for a granddaughter. Did we tell you recently that our oldest, Buck, and his wife, Katy, are blessing both her family and ours with a first grandchild who is due in late April? They have a doctor's appointment this week for another sonogram to look for evidence (or not) of Baby being a boy or girl. At the December doctor's visit, Baby would only "moon" the camera. We're not sure if Baby is bashful or strong-willed. We will find out soon.
.....Saturday morning, we ended up with Frank the floor man, Andy the plumber, and Steve, Terri, and son Shea, friends from Mexico City days, all here at the same time. Andy and I were fixing a water leak out near the meter when Frank drove up with a sample of longleaf pine flooring that he found near San Marcos. Steve, Terri, and Shea stopped by to pick up a book and get the tour. You loyal blog followers have seen a picture of Terri before but this was Steve and Shea's first time. Guys, sorry we didn't get a picture so you also can star in the Tobin Hill Blog. You'll have to come back for the photo op.
.....Additionally, Phil and Joyce, church friends from here in San Antonio, came by on Saturday evening and took the tour before we went out for Italian food and the Art Garfunkel performance at the Majestic Theater.

NEXT STEPS:

1. Frank is buying about 130 square feet of long leaf pine for the Master Closet floor. (Did you know that longleaf pine was used to make telephone poles in the early part of the 20th century? The supplier of this flooring is actually milling the tongue and groove flooring out of old telephone poles.) Frank has run into some problems on the job in Austin and won't be able to start on the remaining floors in our house for another 10 days.

2. Charlie the carpenter is scheduled to be here on Tuesday. We need to finish some window and door trim and enclose the HVAC unit that is in the corner of the Dining Room. Charlie may end up helping get started on the two rooms that were added onto the original house. There are several windows that need sills replaced.

3. Did I mention that there are still doors to refinish? We still have eight doors that we know need to be refinished and still need to find four or five doors to hang up. Before you get too discouraged, remember that we have finished about fifteen doors already. We're getting there.

2007 - A Blessed Year - Our House Became a Home

Christmas 2007 Family Dinner

Granny Sue would be proud

Bo's Christmas present painted by niece Shelley

This is what clawfoot tubs were made for
Fort Stockton cousins Paula and James -our first 42 game in the old house






Nicho happened to stop by to see the fireplace he rebuilt decorated for Christmas

Bo and Emory feed the cats

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Fifty years ago, Pat was the little girl sleeping in this bed at Christmas time

California friends Chip, Susan, and Emory

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A wonderful Christmas present-new front doors!

1. We went back through the blog and counted 168 visitors through the house in 2007. We had family and friends from Israel, England, California, Nebraska, North Carolina, New Mexico,Missouri, Washington, and all over Texas. Talk about counting your blessings! Sixty-three have signed our guest book since August. We hope your name will be among them soon.

2. Celebrating our first Christmas in this house made it finally seem like home.

OSHA Babe, aka Ms. Claus, decked the halls, made us some figgy pudding, jingled the bells, dreamed of a white Christmas, and harked the herald angels as she hosted the first Christmas in the Big House. The 9 foot tall tree (complete with remote controlled lights) decked the entry way. Her collection of Nativity scenes was displayed in the parlor. She prepared a feast that even the Grinch Who Stole Christmas would have enjoyed. She graciously hosted family and friends. Sunday night, December 23, we had nine people sleeping all over the house. Two nights later, we were blessed by a visit from Chip, Susan, and Emory, dear friends from California. Other than that OB hasn't been doing much. Isn't she amazing and wonderful?

We had lots of San Antonio fun with all our company. December is a beautiful time to visit the Riverwalk with 100,000 strings of lights adding to the always festive atmosphere. We heard three different tour guide versions of fun facts about the Riverwalk which should make us better hosts. Did you know there is a city ordinance that prohibits any building being built to such a height that it would cast a shadow on the Alamo?

Dallas relatives Uncle Don, Aunt Bonnah, and Cousin Laura were in town to visit other cousin Emily and came by just as Stacey and Shelley were arriving from Austin. It was a special opportunity to form a family circle and give Bo his Christmas present. Pat had commissioned Shelley to paint a portrait using a family photo from Christmas, 1982. The painting shows Bo's mother Evonne sitting in a rocking chair with Jay on her lap and Buck, Andy, Steven, Stacey, and Shelley all around her. Shelley "nailed it" reflecting the personality of each little child. The picture will be a treasured keepsake as we settle into our "grandma house" and since we have a grandchild on the way!

We had to share Shanna's family with the New Mexico relatives. They took off over the river and through the woods early Christmas Eve morning to drive to Albuquerque. Sean and Maddie were troopers for the long car trip. We stayed in town and started a new Christmas Eve tradition. In addition to the boat ride we had dinner with Buck and Katy at Paesano's. Forget the milk and cookies. Santa has a new favorite-the Shrimp Paesano appetizer! On Christmas Day we joined Katy's family for dinner and more gifts. Unfortunately we slept late and missed the Fashion Show. The meal was wonderful and it was fun to see how Dale had decorated. Pat was enchanted with the dolls and doll clothes made by Dale's grandmother. She may have to go back one day to "play".

We were honored that Chip, Susan, and Emory made a side trip to visit us. It was our first time to visit the San Antonio zoo in more than 20 years and Emory did a great job of using the map to help us find our way around. Campbell friends, you need to ask Chip to show you the tiger picture he took with Susan's new camera and ask Susan how she managed to get her name in the paper! We went to the Riverwalk, ate caldo and breakfast tacos, toured the missions, fed the cats, shelled pecans, and read books. What a wonderful privilege to have this special family in our lives! Chip and Susan, you are so generous to share your daughter with us. Thank you for coming to San Antonio to see us.

3. Part of our Christmas present to each other was a refinished Front Door. You can see in the pictures that the front of the house just lights up when you have a real front door with matching side panels instead of of piece of plywood and blue shutters. The door is the original one that was installed in 1905 and looks marvelous after the facelift.

4. Other doors make the list also. You will recall that the price tage of $300 each to have someone else refinish the doors along with the count of over 30 doors in the house inspired me to learn how to do that job. Well, in addition to the front door and 2 doors that we did have refinished by someone else, the list of doors that have rolled off the Brockman Door Refinishing assembly line includes 4 pocket doors in the parlor, 2 doors in the dining room, 1 bathroom door, 1 guest bedroom door, and 1 pantry door. They look great! We're currently working on 2 of the 8 remaining doors to upstair rooms. Downstairs, there are at least 6 more doors to do. (That is code for "We'll be working on doors for a long time.)

5. The carpenter is trimming out the windows and doors in the Master Closet. We're trying to match existing trim as closely as possible. I know that this doesn't sound like much but it's part of trying to make this look better than a "duct tape" remodel job.

6. The brick sidewalk in front of the house has become a museum. I have started collecting bricks from different kilns. At last count, I have bricks from 10 - 11 different companies. If you have any old bricks laying around that are stamped with the manufacturer, e.g., D'Hanis, L&L, Houston, Valdez Laredo, Groesbeck Red, Whitselle Corsicana, Houston, Alamo, etc., let me know. I would like to include them in the walk.

NEXT STEPS:
1. Floors

2. Closets

3. Doors

4. Windows