Rain!!

I never thought I would see the day when I would get excited by rain. Well that day had arrived. About a month ago we heard this strange noise. We knew the wind had picked up, but there was something else!! RAIN..

I think it was the only rain we have had this summer and then it turned out to be 1/10th of an inch. Oh well, it was refreshing while it lasted.

It was enough to make a little river down into the common area.

Sunday Doings

The sun rises on another very HOT day. In fact it turns out it is the hottest day ever recorded in Texas. 112 degrees.

After church we went to lunch with some of our friends and decided to find the Anderson Mill Museum. They had advertised an open house and ice cream social. It is in a rather secluded spot above Cypress Creek.

In the early 1850's, Thomas and Lucy Anderson found a veritable paradise by the shores of Cypress Creek. In 1863 Thomas and his sons, Abe and Ed, built a mill to create gunpowder. They dug bat guano from nearby caves to make saltpeter, then mixed with sulfer and charcoal (burning mesquite trees for charcoal). They supplied the confederate army with the gunpowder.

After the war, the mill was converted to a grist mill and farmers from miles around brought their corn to be ground. Sometimes they camped near the mill while they waited their turn. When Cotton became more popular to be grown, they again converted the mill to clean the cotton of seeds etc. I think they called it a cotton gin.

In 1941 the mill was in ruins and soon to be flooded by the creation of Lake Travis when they built the Mansfield Dam . They moved the remains of the mill to the present site. A replica of the original mill was built in 1966. They also built a 2 story building which houses the current museum. The caretakers and builders of the current site are the Anderson Mill Gardeners.

Sunrise on another hot day.

You can make the pictures bigger by clicking on them. Then use the back arrow to come back to the blog.



Mill on the right and Museum building on the left.

The mill stone which is still used to grind corn into cornmeal. They do this twice a year and sell it to help in the upkeep of the mill.

The water wheel has fallen apart with age and they hope to rebuild it. The creek is currently dry, but when it is running, they bring the water in a trough over the top of the building and down onto the wheel, making it turn.

Replica of the house and the mill (below). I would have taken more pictures, but read a sign asking people not to!! The downstairs room of the museum was about the mill and the upstairs was more about the living quarters etc.

Back into the air conditioning for our ice cream and cookie treat. Also needed to cool off. This was the Garden Club meeting room. Gearld Koonce, Betty Beatty, Betty Sue Koonce and Bob in the picture. In the mirror you can see me taking the picture.

It was a fun afternoon and we are looking forward to some more adventures another day.

Peach Time in TX

We are just finishing up peach time in TX. We always talked about picking peaches in the orchards at Fredericksburg, but we always left to go west before they were ripe. So this was the year. Due to the extreme heat and lack of rain, the peaches this year were smaller but richer in flavor. They also had not sprayed, so they were a little mishapened and needed lots of tlc in preparing them. Unfortunately I didn't take the camera into the orchard to get shots of the trees etc. But when we were finished here is the result.

We went to Marburger Orchards. They have at least 10 different varieties that ripen at different times. They had red globe and majestic ripening at the time we went. We picked the red globe as we thought they had the better flavor. It was hot and dusty but as you finish picking a box, the orchard workers came around on golf carts and picked up the boxes to deliver to the shed for check out. Your name and type of peach was marked on the box. That worked for us... then we took our time walking back to the shed and did a little sampling. mmmm good!!
We got a better price by taking 3 boxes so we had plenty to share and lots to slice for future cobbler and lots of freezer jam. We have been eating fresh peaches every day on our cereal or in a fruit bowl. Oh my they are good.

We have 2 drawers full of freezer jam and the one deep drawer with the slice peaches. I hope that is enough for the year.... we will look forward to next year & I think we need to involve some others in our adventure..

We are moved in!!

I can't believe after so long, we are finally moved in. We have slept 4 nights in our new home now. Every day we make it a little more ours. You know all those finishing touches and putting out all those things that have been packed away for 6 years. Of course all the furniture has to be polished and the glassware washed before we can use it.

Here is the outside, all finished even the dead grass is in. Even after watering it every day for a week, it is barely showing a tinge of green. At least we don't have to worry about mowing it.
That is a live oak in the front yard.

Our two favorite realtors, Sharron and Val.That is a picture of Del Webb. This was after signing the final papers and we needed a little humour.

Then we went to the house to put the grout sealer on before moving anything in. I did the back splash in the kitchen and Bob did all the floors.

The truck ready to unload!!

The delivery men from Lowe's starting to install the washer & dryer.

The last load of boxes to come off the truck. We were blessed by our friends Mary & Bud, who helped us unload the heavy stuff. They also supplied us with 2 days of dinner. So now it is unpacking and going for more stuff still in the Montana. I can't believe what all we have in there. More later.....

Feb 25th Almost Done

There she is, painted, guttered, rock trim in place, clean windows and ready for the touch up crew and the sod crew.

Here is the big pile of dead looking sod!! You can see it in the neighbor's yard, the same color brown as the dirt.
The stove and microwave are in place. Supposed to be energy savers. I like the flat top on the stove and no burner cups to clean.

The dishwasher will be a welcome addition.

Looking at the kitchen nook and the clean windows. The open door is where the washer & dryer will go.

The shower stall is complete. The only problem will be reaching a towel from the way the door opens.

Trying to get a good shot of the rug to compare color with samples chosen. I think this carpet is darker and I am not too happy with it.

Inspection, walk thru and orientation is next wed. Then they have a week to finish any touch ups before the closing on the 9th.

This was a shot to show the gutters they put in.

2/18/2011 Looking Good

Such a nice feeling to come around the corner and see 524 all decked out in her new colors (bland as they are). I think the native plants will be a good accent. The stonework looks great. It is called rattlesnake. It helps to give it a little contrast. I hope we have good neighbors, because I think we could open a window and shake hands across the property line!!

The light fixture and house number are on and lit up. The garage door opener is installed.
Here is the front door light fixture. The window is in to the kitchen.

The tile backsplash is on, sinks installed, silver fixtures. Kitchen floor is tiled.

The entry way is all tiled.

Interesting light fixture in the dining room. I think I have a pewter oil lamp that will go with that.

The fan light above the living room.

Shower doors, sinks and toilet installed. The workers were finishing up the towel holders etc.

Light fixtures in the master bath.

Close up of the tile back splash. This is where the microwave will go with the electric stove underneath it.

Closing date is scheduled for March 9th, ready or not!!

Close up of some of the rock.

Happy Valentine's Day

Well our gift to each other was finally settling on a contract and locking in an interest rate. I am glad that is over. We went up on Sunday after church to check on things and Bob put down insecticide before they start on the flooring. The changes in the last few days were:

forms started for the sidewalk and driveway.
The stucco was drying nicely and hopefully the stone will go on this week.

Kitchen counter tops are on and the walls throughout are painted.

The grill for the air return is in place.

A little closer look at the counter top.

The a/c is in place and hooked up. The weather has improved and should be above normal temps for the next 2 weeks, so we expect some wonderful changes this week... Later....