Late July 2013

Was a very productive week... Reg was here and we painted all week.  Started by priming the cabinets and all the window and door trim, baseboards, etc.  Next we sprayed the cabinets, cabinet doors and drawers in their final colors.... lotta work.  Here are some pics.

Here is pic of Maddy .. she's only 16 weeks old now.

A picture of a friend, Amelia (bartender at Forge) with her Great Dane.  It's a horse!

Planted some watermelon for grins and had a pretty good harvest.

This next week I need to finish painting the trim.... hiring a painter crew to come in and do the ceilings and kitchen.  Reg and Stew will be up in a week and hope to do the walls then.  HVAC contractor is supposed to be in this next week to hook up AC ....finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Late June to Mid-July

Getting Hot here ......not much rain lately either, hope we don't have a bad drought.  My good friend, Robert S. Williams, called RS by our friends (I was known as RJ) since we have the same name and hung around with each other since we were teenagers, four years at West Point, one year at Aberdeen Proving Grounds  and three years at Fort Carson  came out from New Hampshire for 10 days.  Once out of the Army, he apprenticed as a carpenter with his dad and is now a wood shop teacher.  We had a great time.  He finished the interior trim details and helped me rebuild the front steps that had to be extended 10 inches to the side to line up with the porch column so stair rails would fit.

RS is a big hot rod and early Ford truck fan so we spent time at the local hot rod shop in Van.  http://lbgarage.com/index2.html

Also spent time in Ben Wheeler of course introducing him to some of the locals...

My "paid" trim guy finished the crown molding, the coffered ceiling and the beams in the kitchen and bathroom.  Reg and I went to Dallas to pick out the slabs of soapstone we're putting on counter tops.


Here is RS

 Coffered ceiling

Entertainment at the Forge.... they might not look like it, but these guys played great rock and roll and took on some songs most people wouldn't attempt to play..  members of the Stratoblasters out of Dallas: http://www.stratoblasters.com/

Watermelons are getting bigger.  We ate two while RS was here.

Here is the porch rebuild pics.  I was just the "helper" and RS provided good technique pointers along the way.

Taking a break and admiring the local sights

Sun Flowers are doing well.........

Dry fitting kitchen sink

Soapstone slabs

Reg on the back porch

So trim is done, Reg and I are currently puttying and caulking in preparation for paint.  That is the next big step.

Mid-May to Late June

My son reminded me I was past due for an update.  I thought things were going quite slowly, but after reviewing the blog, we have made progress.  The peach trees look better with new growth.  Had the pasture (property) sprayed for weeds (goat weed is especially a problem here). That is goat weed growing in the grass around the peach tree picture.  Those areas have to be hand sprayed in order not to get any herbicide on tree.  Kitchen cabinets arrived and have been installed.  They are really nice.  This past weekend Reg and I removed all the doors and drawers to prep them for paint.  Big job ahead.  Trim guy had some health issues and was out for a week, but a new guy was assigned last week and he finished base boards and is doing crown molding now.  Probably the biggest change visually from the exterior is I finished building, installing and painting the porch railings.  Grand kids were up for the weekend a couple of weeks ago..... Have seen some good musicians in Ben Wheeler.   My buddy and old friend Bob Williams (RS) from New Hampshire comes in for a visit on Friday.. He is a wood shop teacher and boy do I have a list of projects for him.

Finished porch railings.  Still need to do stair railings

That center section will be a screened in porch.  The end section closest is the porch off the master bedroom.  The steps lead into the kitchen.

Peach trees

New cabinets... unfortunately I didn't get pictures yet with doors on.  But you get the idea,  They are made of poplar for a paint grade finish with bead boards insert panels, but a quite beautiful in plain wood.  You can see the two step crown molding in the first pic.


Cabinets arriving from Rob Pitre's cabinet shop in Mineola, TX

Bookcase in den

Dining room trim and crown molding

More cabinet pics

Mudroom

Kitchen desk with many cubbies

I've got reeded glass for upper doors

Chloe and Aidan doing a bit of archery

Tommy Alverson in Ben Wheeler

Our new addition to the family.  This a Madeleine, Maddy for short.  She is now a 12 week old Great Pyrenees.

A weird bug/beetle I found in the garage... note the real gold color and iridescent green and red.

One foggy morning

Next update should show some painted cabinets and more I hope!