Tobin Hill Work Camp

Nasty Trash Pile!
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.Runner Up in the Wet T-Shirt Contest
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Do you have a license to drive that thing?
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This is what 10 cubic yards of construction waste looks like.
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Where did the trash pile go?

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Shhhhhh! - Cat hard at work - Sorry we roused you for the photo, Grey Girl

The inaugaral plug
Dani and Dennis - friends from SBC Mexico days
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Cousin Nettie and friends from Sabinal .

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We enjoyed scones and coffee on the balcony with Kathryn --
Web, Emma, Meagan, Benjamin
Can you hear the theme song from "Gone with the Wind" when you look at this picture?




HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEKS ENDING JUNE 17 AND JUNE 24, 2007

1. Whoever thought that moving a trash pile would be a highlight? If one considers "highlight" to be synonymous with "welcomed relief", then we have a highlight. In the first few pictures, you see "before, during and after" of the move. Even OSHA Babe pushed the wheel barrow. Did you ever hear it said that you need to get a good education or you would end up digging ditches? Well, both the Babe and I have college degrees and we're still hauling trash. What's wrong with this picture?
2. The picture of the air conditioner unit with Grey Girl napping on top shows that the cats have this thing figured out - Eat, sleep, stretch, repeat. We try to keep the noise level down while we're working so that we don't disturb their rest.
Incidentally, there have been no further raccoon sightings. However, there was some sort of midnight animal ruckus in the neighbor's front yard several nights ago. I suspect that Rocky Raccoon was defending himself against a dog or something. It sounded pretty scary.
3. The Zoysia King has resurfaced. The zoysia has taken hold splendidly and is spreading rapidly. It hasn't overtaken the neighbors' yards but is working on it. To help the spread, I bought a "sod plugger" and posed for the obligatory "Kodak Moment." The cats think that it was nice of me to improve their outdoor facilities. Nasty cats!
4. We do continue to work inside the house. There are actually clothes rods in the future master closet. Most of the clothes are out of the moving boxes and onto the rods. Knobs and drawer pulls are beginning to show up on the kitchen cabinets and there are plates on most of the light switches and outlets now. OSHA Babe bought an old dresser that fits the time period of the house. A jewelry case, bookshelves, and the entertainment unit have been brought upstairs and put in place. The Bose system is hooked up. We're catching up on rerun episodes of "24" that we missed. Life is getting better in Tobin Hill.
5. Visitors keep coming and we love it.
.....On May 31, we had a passel (whatever that is) of company.
..........Dani and Dennis, dear friends from SBC-Mexico days were in town for an anniversary lunch and stopped by. They had the choice of staying to work around the house or going on to celebrate their 30 somethingst anniversary. Needless to say, they chose wisely.
..........My cousin, Nettie, came from Sabinal with her dad, Uncle Joe, and two of her friends. (Ladies, I apologize for not remembering your names. This is a test to see if you're reading the blog. Send a comment back and I'll edit this entry to include your names.) One of Nettie's friends remembers that during her younger days, she dated a guy who lived a few houses down the street from us. Isn't it a small world?
.....Just recently, another guest was Kathryn. She is my sister's mother-in-law and was in San Antonio helping her daughter prepare for a move to another house. She particularly enjoyed coffee and scones on the balcony. What a delight.
.....Repeat visitors - Web, Emma, Meagan, and Benjamin - were here last Saturday. You loyal blogsters can see their pictures from previous visits. There is even a picture of Web shoveling dirt for the berm earlier this year. They may be moving soon. It was good to have them stop by for OSHA Babe's famous spaghetti.
6. What do you think of the exterior paint job? It is a real pleasure to drive up and see such a transformation. We need to keep looking at how much we have done and not get discouraged by how much there still is to do.

NEXT STEPS:
1. Finish putting on the knobs/pulls in the kitchen.
2. Begin building shelving and run a clothes dryer duct in the master closet.
3. Restart work on the remaining two bathrooms.
4. Watch the zoysia grow.

A Full House

Home Sweet Home-it's official

Wood floors-even prettier Feeding the Jaguars

Cousin Rebecca-first official overnight guest

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Michael, Jasmine, and Trudy visit the Alamo

Out of the apartment and into the house
Rocky Raccoon
Column painting in progress

Highlights for the Weeks of May 30 and June 3, 2007

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We unloaded the U-Haul and took off to Missouri for a very special reunion of the James family. Three of Pat's mom's siblings were there and her dad's sister, plus cousins and in-laws. We also got to visit long time friend Ken Callis and meet his newest grandson, Graham born May 24. An unexpected guest greeted us when we returned home. The raccoon mentioned in the previous entry seemed to have claimed the front step as a dining table (the neighbor boys who fed the cats while we were gone were very generous with their portions). You can see from the picture why the cats leave him alone!

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Bo's cousin Rebecca was our first official houseguest and wins the Good Sport Award for braving no airconditioning and no covering on the windows. The motion detector light outside her window was probably a night-long alarm clock since it seems to detect the slightest movement of leaves when there is a breeze. She was awake in plenty of time for her early morning flight to visit her son Bradley and his kids in Missouri. (P.S. A visit from the air conditioning repair guy next day revealed absolutely no freon in the upstairs unit. Freon for the air conditioner $350-a good night's sleep-priceless)

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We took a break from our unpacking the week of June 3 to help get Katy and her sister Rachel move into their new Bless Your Heart quarters. They were remarkable orchestrators of a hardworking crew. What an achievement to move the wonderful, extravagant inventory of two stores, get everything set up, and be open on the 5th day! If enough of you request it, I will post a picture with Bo next week entitled, "Why a Man Needs a Pick Up Truck in Texas." It has to do with shoes, and lots of them!

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Nephew Steven and his wife Michelle arrived with Sean and Maddie for a long weekend on the 7th. Aunt Pat got to choose the pictures for the blog this week....can you tell she's smitten?

I told their Gran (Shanna) that they were the only way our wood floors could be any prettier. What a beautiful way to furnish our guest room! Sean enjoyed feeding the cats which he called "jaguars" since he had just watched a Discovery program on jaguars.

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We also had the honor of introducing Jasmine and Michael to Texas. They accompanied mom Trudy from San Jose, California and though their time in San Antonio was short they got to experience The Alamo, The Riverwalk, and Sonic! They are in Texas because Jasmine qualified for a national speech competition in Belton and will hopefully take home honors along with her pink cowboy hat (with tiara) purchased on the Riverwalk.

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Yes, we did get a little work done on the house. Francisco and Daniel worked carefully and conscientiously to scrape the capitals and posts to get them ready to paint. The last picture shows one completely primed. Wait til next week when you see the finished job!

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What's next-

1. Electric circuit for washing machine and inventive venting of dryer

2. Install transom windows upstairs.

3. Get window coverings

4. Unpack boxes (we need shelves and rods in the closets)

5. Ceiling fans

6. Cheer for the Spurs!

The Welcome Mat is Out

The cats - as if nothing ever happened

Some of these boxes are from the move out of Mexico-1999 .
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View from master bedroom through upstairs hall into den

Balcony porch before and after

Zoysia -before and during-the pallet sure beats the St. Louis sprig by sprig method

Skirting is a big improvement
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Brady gets the tour



Sarah, Pat, Skye, and Scott



HIGHLIGHTS FOR WEEK ENDING MAY 19, 2007

The count down for moving in is on and we are keeping long hours getting ready to vacate the apartment and move into the house. A Memorial Day weekend family reunion that's been on the schedule since January has motivated us to get 'er done. With Bo wearing the hats of Zoysia King, tile finisher, floor man's helper, window checker, Home Depot runner, toilet placer, faucet fixer, tax appraisal challenger, and unloader at the storage unit, I am getting my head out of a box to write the blog this week. Thanks to all of you who said you miss it when it's not there on Monday morning!

1. Frank and Lynn have continued to work hard and spent several late nights helping us have the upstairs floors finished for the moving in on Wednesday, the 23rd. (Last night as they were wrapping up about 11 PM and taking a smoke on the front porch, they were joined by a raccoon who helped himself to the left over cat food. Sorry, we don't have pictures yet.) Back to the floors, "gorgeous", "like new", "spectacular" are just a few adjectives we could use to describe the outcome. The long leaf pine is restored to the beauty that God gave it at His creation. Over 90% of boards upstairs are full length, i.e., are a plank that runs the length of the room. That is amazing considering that today's wood floors might have some planks that are a little over 4 feet long.

We ended up with a "bonus room." Bo asked to borrow their edger to help get the balcony floor ready to paint. While he went to get some sanding discs, Frank and Lynn got out with their big machine and did a swipe or two. Who knew we could restore even that rugged, weather beaten wood? With their expertise and a little sealer we will have an amazing place to drink coffee, visit with friends and neighbors, catch a cool breeze, and enjoy Tobin Hill.

2. Francisco and Daniel finished up the exterior painting (we will do the columns and around the door later) and got the skirting up around the house. The cats will have to find a new place to stay out of the rain. I think they already have.....

3. Bo, aka Zoysia King, brought in a pallet of zoysia and got it placed with the help of a hard working young man who "just happened" to show up willing to help with whatever was needed. We are thankful that God has sent us such good people to help get this big job done. It has definitely been part of the adventure to work with conscientious, capable people. We appreciate and admire these new friends. We also appreciate the rain this week! The zoysia needed that!

4. Visitors this week included Brady Watson, our Farmer's Insurance agent. He has been helpful to all our family since we first lived in San Antonio in 2000. On Friday, Sarah gave me a ride home from Bible study and got the tour. Friends of Buck and Katy, Skye and Scott, who we know from Journey Fellowship happened to be in the neighborhood checking out a house for sale next door. They knocked on our door for details and were surprised to be greeted by someone they knew. It was fun to show them all we have been working on. When we get out the "before" pictures and consider how much there was to do when we bought it last September, it really is amazing that we can actually move in this month!

NEXT STEPS:

1. The U-Haul is lined up for Wednesday, the 23rd. Why did I unpack so much when we moved into the apartment?
2. Frank and Lynn will put the final coats on the kitchen, stairs, and upstairs floors.
3. We are getting some duct work done.
4. The zoysia needs to stay watered and there is some landscaping to do to keep water from draining too much around the foundation.
5. Appliances need to be placed in the kitchen and a circuit found for the microwave.
6. Change of address cards sent!!!!!!

Fabulous Floors! and Legend of the Zoysia King

Kitchen Floor before sanding











Kitchen Floor after finish

Would you prefer this Guest Bedroom or .....











.....this Guest Bedroom?


Pretty nice restroom, eh?










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Restroom with new fixtures

Exterior Paint - in progress











Exterior Paint - after completion

Skirting around bottom of house









The Clampetts are on the move again












Visitors from South Carolina - Mike and Karla

For the Week ending May 13, 2007

HIGHLIGHTS:
1. The floors are coming out fabulous! You have already looked at the first four pictures above and can see for yourself. The folks who are doing the floors, Frank and Linda, are doing a great job. We still have about a week to go before completing this round which will include the kitchen and all the wood floors upstairs. The guest room is getting closer to completion. Schedule your reservation now before it fills up.
2. Wouldn't you agree that the small upstairs bathroom has come a long way. When you look at the "Before" picture, it makes the port-a-potty look not quite so nasty. We still have to connect the water supply lines and the sink drain before the test flush.

3. The exterior painting wrapped up this week. Pictured above is the east side of the house. Francisco and Daniel worked hard and did a careful job. It took them two weeks. Had I taken this on myself, the result would have been measured in months. This sure seems to have been money well spent. There is more exterior painting to come as I am treating the columns and capitals out front as a separate painting job.
4. Francisco and Daniel began putting "el faldon" around the house on Friday. (I think that they were really glad to be working on tierra firme. The picture above with the blue board at the bottom of the house shows the "skirting" that is intended to minimize the possibility of water running under the house. That skirting is to be covered with a wire mesh and then coated with concrete to make it more durable. There will also be 9 - 10 vents and two access doors for crawling under the house.

5. The Clampetts (the Texas cousins of the Beverly Hillbillies) are on the move again. OSHA Babe has directed the moving of boxes out of the garage at the apartments and a 10' x 10' storage unit that we have had since moving from San Antonio in 2000. Every day, we have loaded the car and pickup and moved stuff to a storage unit that is a half mile from the Tobin Hill house. The plan is to complete moving the small things this coming week and rent a UHaul for the bigger stuff, e.g., furniture, washer, dryer, etc. I have already tee'd up the idea with Francisco to round up a crew for that effort. Are any of you loyal readers going to be in San Antonio toward the end of May?
6. Work related travel brought Mike and Karla, church friends from St. Louis, to San Antonio. They came by the house on Tuesday for the general tour. We did manage to support fajita night at one of our favorite Mexican food restaurants and caught up on their two sons' and our three sons' lives. Karla came back on Wednesday to consult with Pat about color selection. She and Pat did manage a bit of shopping at "Bless Your Heart" and lunch at a girly tea room. Additionally, our neighbor's brother from Chicago was walking the dogs with his sister and stopped by for introductions and a chat. That led to an abbreviated tour. We do love having visitors.

NEXT STEPS:
1. Floor work will continue. I expect that Frank and Linda will be working on the floors upstairs most of next week.
2. I need to continue working on the upstairs bathroom. I noticed a gap in the grout on the shower wall. That needs to be filled. Also, I may need some help attaching the drain of the lavatory.

3. We are close to having the kitchen ready for the stove and refrigerator. This could be the week for moving them in.
4. The Zoysia King is on his way back! I have ordered a pallet of zoysia grass that is scheduled to be picked up on Tuesday. I have hired a young man to come over on Monday and help grade the front yard in preparation for sodding. If he shows up and works out, I'll have him help on Tuesday.

The Legend of the Zoysia King goes something like this. When last seen, the ZK was in his late 30's and living in St. Louis. His weekend mission was to plant zoysia plugs in his family's massive back yard. Sherwin Williams' "Cover the Earth" trademark was allegedly inspired by ZK's world vision for zoysia. His work clothes were tight, gold gym shorts (yes, the kind that were worn in the 60's and 70's) and a ragged old t-shirt. There was only one pair of gym shorts and, if I remember correctly, they were carry overs from college days. Since ZK had put on a few pounds since college days, (picture that, Batman) his appearance in the family's yard did bring hilarity and ridicule from the neighbors along with massive doses of embarrassment to and from his family. It did stop just short of obscenity. I hope that OSHA Babe hasn't thrown those shorts away. (Ed. note-The world has been spared a sighting of ZK in the gold shorts. Chris Farley's SNL Chippendale routine was inspired by ZK. The shorts are now designated historic and no longer available for public viewing).

4. Hopefully, the skirting will be finished this week.

30 Day Notice given at the Apartment: The Heat is On!

Painters hard at work
Front Door started like this...

<--Front Door now looks like this!

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.Gas Line got moved away from the driveway

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Kitchen backsplash behind stove - Nice tile work
<--Small Bathroom floor got tiled and grouted

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Wary Bad Girl on the way to Dr. Snip Snip

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HIGHLIGHTS:
1. We're on schedule to move into the house at the end of May. We took a leap of faith (and hard work) and gave our 30 day notice to the apartment manager. Our expectations are - 1. the floors upstairs and in the kitchen completed. 2. The small upstairs bathroom is functional. 3. The kitchen is functional. 4. We will "camp out" in the upstairs and live there as we finish the rest. Who said I was still crazy after all these years -- Paul Simon?

2. OSHA Babe has expanded her role. If I want to stay married, I won't call her the Mayflower Mover Maid ("3M") too many times. (Editor's Note: The author just used up his allowance for calling me "3M".) We did rent 2 storage units about 1/2 mile from the new house and have begun moving contents from the garage here at the apartment. We hope to do a little each day and then hire help for the furniture and other heavy items later in the month. I think that Pat is planning a box burning party after this one is over.

3. We were pleasantly surprised on Wednesday when a crew from the gas and electric company, CPS, showed up to move the gas meter from the driveway side of the house to the east side. Several months ago, I had asked if this could be done for safety reasons, i.e., backing the car out of a narrow driveway that has a gas meter as one of the boundaries could prove to be unnecessarily dangerous. CPS had indicated that they would move the meter but not until we got a final inspection on both the gas and plumbing. We've had the final approval on the gas for several months but have not called for the final plumbing inspection. When CPS showed up and told me they were moving the meter, I didn't ask any questions. They finished on Thursday. Hopefully we have gas in the kitchen for the stove. I can smell the brisket already.
4. Exterior painting continues. As two of the pictures above show, it is making a HUGE difference in the appearance. Francisco and Daniel are working hard, doing a good job and making good progress in spite of the rains here in San Antonio. They need to finish up the front and then paint the east side. We're probably talking about at least another week.
5. The kitchen is ready for the floor people to start. I finished the backspash behind the stove and hung the microwave. The circuit to the microwave is not working so I placed a call to the electrician and hope to see him early next week. I have asked him to hang some ceiling fans when he comes.

6. The floor in the small upstairs bathroom is tiled and grouted. It really tidied up the appearance. Finishing this will be a big push for the next couple of weeks. Camping out in the upstairs does not include having to use the porta potty.

7. The cats don't love me much this week. We caught both Bad Girl and Grey Girl and took them to Dr. Snip Snip. With help from Ruth Ann, a lady from the San Antonio Feral Cat Coalition (SAFCC), we trapped Bad Girl for a Wednesday appointment and Grey Girl for her date on Thursday. CAT CONTEST - If one female cat has the 4 litters annually that she is capable of having and if each litter contains 2 female kittens who survive and they bear kittys at that same rate, how many cats will come from this one female in 7 years? The official answer is on a poster in Dr. Snip Snip's clinic in San Antonio. There will be no arguing over the answer.

8. We did have visitors this week. Susan, a friend of Pat from BSF came by for the tour. Additionally, our neighbors Rony, Anita, and their daughter, Karen (who is going to school in Israel) came through for the tour. I believe that Karen is the current leader in the "Traveled the Most Miles to Get Here" Contest. It is fun hearing from young folks who lived in the neighborhood and remember seeing homeless people staying in the house from time to time.

NEXT STEPS:
1. Floor refinishing begins on Monday. Frank and his wife have us slotted for ten work days. This round of flooring includes the kitchen and all the rooms upstairs. We have great expectations.
2. We will continue to move boxes to the newly rented storage units. We may rent a trailer one day so we can get more in one trip but we'll see. Sanding Patty is getting a reprieve from sanding to put on her 3M cape.
3. Exterior painting will continue. Hopefully, we'll get the east side of the house finished. Francisco is also going to put new drip cap and skirting around the house as the weather and time permit.
4. I've got to keep working on the small bathroom upstairs. Baseboards, moulding, and a final coat of paint are needed before setting the lavatory and the toilet. The end is in sight. And then there are only two other ones to do!

Most "This Old House" episodes end in 30 minutes. Where did we go wrong??

Loyal friend Judy shows up to help paint

Vicki visited from California
Friends since Mexico City days, Sally and Steve

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Exterior painting during and after


Domestication of Grey Girl continues

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.The high cost of a free meal....

FOR THE WEEK ENDING APRIL 29, 2007

HIGHLIGHTS:

1. The 2 person paint crew is making a HUGE difference. The contrast that you see in the "Before" and "After" pictures (above) of the back of the house is incredible. It is also an encouragement to realize that there really is a house in there somewhere. Although we do have several more commercial breaks in our living episode of "This Old House", we are making visible progress.
2. A lady from the SPCA brought a trap for us to use. The plan for Bad Girl and Grey Girl is to catch them and have them neutered and vaccinated. The oblivious Grey Girl thinks that eating inside the trap is cool but, as Elmer Fudd would call her, wary Bad Girl is not so sure. (It took OSHA Babe 4 times to get it. Did you do better?) This should be interesting.
3. Saturday and Sunday, we had visitors from out of town. Vicki, a former associate at Covad in San Jose, CA, was in town for an annual "girls weekend" with a group of friends. OSHA Babe and I met her for breakfast on Saturday and then took the tour of the house. (Vicki, how was the spa appointment?) On Sunday, Steve and Sally arrived in town from Plano, TX. We met them at "This Old House" for the tour and then shared an outstanding meal. Steve and Sally, along with their children, were work associates from SBC days in Mexico.
NEXT STEPS: Guest editor, OSHA Babe, here, finishing up for Best Blogger Bo (now you know where the B.B. Brockman comes from. The Spurs need his support in the playoffs this week which explains the late publishing. During the first week of May we hope to give our 30 day notice at the apartment, and work on the upstairs bathroom and kitchen. I can move in without a kitchen, but the bathroom is a must! The floor man said he will come "after the first of May" so we hope that is sooner than later. We'll get a storage unit for the downstairs furniture and go ahead and move everything in that goes upstairs when the floors are done. The paint upstairs looks wonderful and I am having fun deciding on new linens for the master and guest bedrooms. I much prefer shopping to painting!