SNOW

We have been experiencing very cold weather and yesterday they predicted winter storms for last night. Austin got more ice than snow and we got about an inch of snow. But they closed the schools and many of the offices were closed because of the weather. We have had over 70 hours of below freezing weather. Needless to say we are getting alittle tired of this, after all we are in TX. This morning I heard voices outside and was given the invitation to come take pictures of snow angels. Who could resist!!

Ben was the first to plop down in the driveway.

Here is his angel.
Of course Bobby had to be different.. face first he went. I think he just wanted to eat some snow!!

It really needed to be a little deeper, but they had fun. It did pack for some good snow balls.

The snow made our century plants a variegated variety!

We did get above freezing this afternoon, so the snow did not last. Currently we are back down to 26 and dropping. Later.....

February 3rd, House update

We were pleasantly surprised today to see the stucco on the house. It was 18 degrees up in Georgetown today with a mighty wind blowing. Those poor workers that were outside were moving fast as they framed a house two doors down. We need some warmer weather to dry all of this so they can paint it. I don't know if the stonework goes on before or after they paint.

I was glad to see the garage door was on.
Inside the wall board was taped and spackled. looking good. I was concerned about the pipes freezing, but they reassured me that everything will be ok. This is looking towards the patio doors.

Out in the garage is a mighty pile of cupboards waiting to be installed. The little boxes on the right are tiles for the kitchen, entry and bathroom floors.

Behind the cupboard boxes are the inside doors in their frames. The box on the floor is the fold down ladder that goes in the ceiling in the garage.

This looks towards the front of the house. There is a pass through into the kitchen.

February 2nd Winter in Texas

Winter in Texas is variable. On Monday it was 80 degrees, with doors and windows open. That night an abrupt turn around. The wind turned and came out of the north with a vengeance. We could feel it throughout the night as the 5th wheel tossed around a bit. Brett called at 6:30 am and wanted to know if we were going out, because there was a tree across the drive. Fortunately we were not and this was the scene when we looked up the drive.

It came down close to their back porch. Missed the metal shed and was a bout 5 ft from their van.
So we commandeered Fiona the Ford F350 for the job. First we put on about 3 layers of clothes. The wind was wicked and has not let up for 2 days now.

It was an old dead tree and the roots gave way to the buffetting 60 mph winds. As we have driven around the last 2 days, there are many more trees down throughout the area. In Burnet they lost metal roofs, fencing and anything that wasn't secured. Lots of trees on cars and houses.

And down the driveway it went to be dealt with on a warmer day.

The temperatures have plummeted to 18 with wind chill at 0 degrees. The next morning we had no water. Problem solved when we figured out it was the filter. Everything else had heat tape and insulation on it. Still cold today at 18 degrees. Tonight we are in a winter storm watch with freezing rain and snow expected. They are predicting temps up to 58 for Super Bowl Weekend. I know we can survive one more day. I hope those up north will survive their weeks of winter left. We have nothing to complain about.

Thursday Jan 27th, Wall Board is done

Wow, what a difference. Another major step done.

The garage looks so different all enclosed. Now lets see.. cupboard on the left wall and either side of the window.. just dreaming.
Standing in the kitchen. This will be a nice place to watch the world go by. Already have invites to the knitting group and the pottery group and.....

Living room and dining room. We will be able to see beautiful sunrises from here and look out over the hill country.

The master bath looking at the shower. Lots of room..

The back patio and windows to the bedroom.

The pile of wall board scraps. Next week we hope to see the stucco and stone, and maybe the driveway and sidewalk done. Hope the weather cooperates... later...

First Inspection

Arrived at 3 pm on Monday for the first inspection with the project boss. Explained to us about all the different wires and hoses. There are even special lines for termite control. He was also able to answer many of our questions and we are quite pleased at the quality of the work. The wall board is to be started tomorrow and he gave Bob permission to insulate the walls in the garage.

The house looks more complete with the windows and doors in.
Here is the garage with the stack of wall board waiting to be put on.

So our dear friend Bud came with all of his equipment. The sun is shining and off came the jackets to start the insulating. They had about 2 hours of daylight left to do it.

Bud did most of the stapling and Bob measured, cut and put in the bats of insulation.

Even the little areas over the garage door got filled. The job was finished in the 2 hours even with the cleanup and putting away of all the equipment etc. Then off we went to the city market for dinner. A job well done..

524 Has Doors and Windows

I have to start out with a little detour. We went to the White Wing Golf Club for lunch. This is the preferred mode of transportation, so I think I need to pick one out.

I think this one will do. Where do you buy tickets for the lotto!!


First view of 524, all ready for the stucco and rock trim.

They sure run a lot of wires, water pipes and furnace ducts in the attic space. I would hate to be the furnace repair man.

The front door and the windows are in.

Looking at the plumbing in the kitchen area.

This is on the patio lookiing at the sliding glass door.

It looks nice with the windows in the kitchen and the garage.

One Week's Worth

524 has been closed in. It has it's pretty blue wrapper on. The black in the front is where the rock will be going. Looking more and more like the house we picked. No shingles yet.

The white area in the front is covered in chicken wire for the stucco to go on. The rest of the blue will be covered like that also. The curved windows in the front are the kitchen area. We will have our small table there so we can watch the world go by out front.
The attic area above the living area is a network of ducts from the furnace (which is up there too) and from the air conditioner.

The shower in the master bath.. it has water in the base which is frozen!! I guess we aren't hooked up to the sewer yet, so they didn't drain it. it will be fun to have all that space.

The air return in the main hallway.

Our patio and the windows of the master bedroom. There are 2 sliding glass doors out onto the patio.

A view from the back corner out to the front. The neighbors are close.. hope they aren't noisy..

The garage with the white insulation board and chicken wiring.