Progress Update "Home on the Range"

 

Ok,  I've gone through a lot of the Medal of Honor stories (still got a few left, but I'm keeping them in my pocket in case of loss of story creativity) and I've added a couple of stories about flying which I think interest a lot of you.  But, I'm dredging the bottom of my story index,  so, I thought I'd show y'all the progress on the house.  No Beans, we're not that close to moving in. Yet! But, in spite of some uncontrollable setbacks (AKA Weather) we're getting closer.  Here's the visual  story of construction progress.

Demolition of the old house (very old and decrepit)

Cleaning up the site

Electricity installed on property

Framing the foundation

Framing took 2 or 3 days

 Okay, we’ve survived the financial and weather hoops that needed to be jumped. Evidently 6 inches of rain in a couple of hours upsets the construction crews. What did I know. 

But back in action again 

 

Adding soil in preparation for pouring the slab

 

:Lots of fill AKA dirt! Lots and Lots

 

Weather cooperating this week, the next step is to level the dirt and then the plumbers and electricians will come in and set the pipes and pull wires and plumbing into those pipes.   After that will be pouring and curing the cement foundation of the main house.  Builder says this could take 3 to 6 weeks for the cement to cure depending on the weather and there's only one entity that controls that.  While that's curing, they'll pour the foundation for my Brother's cabin and get it started curing also.  Lots of balls in the air.  

 

Concrete has been poured in the horse barn.

 

They've even started on my brother's house

 

 

The weather has improved greatly and heavy rain is not forecast for a while. But, as can be expected in June, July and August in Texas, it's hot as H377. (You know what that's code for.) But progress is being made. 

 

We shall see what we shall see when we see it. Hopefully something like this!

Please Lord! 

 

 

 

 

Peace out, y'all!

Things and Stuff

 

Ok, Campers,  just an update I'm sure all of you are dying to receive.

 

First, there's this fluid coming down out of the sky, and having lived in Central and West Texas most of my life, I've never had a reason to  spend the effort to discern what it is and why it happens. 

 

 

But, having moved to College Station (Home of the Texas A&M Aggies.  Whoop! I never understood that, but learned that not doing that greeting correctly can get you a non-smiling reaction).

 

Sorry, I digressed.  Having moved to College Station, we have found that the fluid coming out of the sky could, IMHO, float Noah's Ark. I believe it’s called “Rain”!

 

Such is the case as I write this posting.  Mrs. J treated me to an "Out to breakfast" date at a restaurant we had only been to once before.  Most Excellent!  Just in case you're interested, it's name is "Another Broken Egg".  Highly recommended.

 

Back on the story, juvat!

 

On Story, Aye, Fearless Leader!

 

So we're headed out to perform our tasks that the Emperors (aka the Horses ) require daily. When, what to my wondering eyes should appear? 

 

No Beans, Not Santa and his Reindeer.  No, a Downpour that in the course of a few seconds brought the visibility down to a matter of double digit feet.  

 

Holy Moley.  Suffice it to say, Mrs J, being the driver*, slowed down significantly. Fortunately, so did the other drivers.  But, as we approached the decision point (head to the stables to muck in the muck or head to the hacienda and write this post).

 

Guess which option won out. 
 

So, I know that discussion of Rainfall in Texas will entertain all y'all to no end.  But, our lawn is green and ready for mowing and it's only the 11th of March.  Some of you, and you know who you are, are still shoveling that white stuff off your sidewalks.  

 

Enough about the weather, juvat!

 

No Weather discussion, Aye, Tuna,

 

As to progress on the current project we're facing.  The blueprints have been revised with several improvements that the various people, who know houses and the plans to build them, recommended.

 

No, Beans, I'm not in that group.  I just follow Mrs J around and say two things.  "Yes, Dear" and "Build it the way she said." 

 

That last one is not quite accurate.  Our builder knows what he's doing and what he says to Mrs J she usually OK's, sometimes there's compromise, but they get along.  So, I tend to keep my mouth closed. 

 

But, the video below is what the house will look like.  I thought this was a pretty cool method for the architect to show his plans with an understandable method.  Blue prints don't trigger my brain's interpretation of the outcome very well.

 

So, here it is.  Enjoy 

 

 

 

 

Akashi Designs

Peace out, y'all

*Still not allowed to drive.  However.....I have an appointment on Thursday with my Cardiologist.  If he says my Heart is beating properly, well, watch out. I haven't driven in 5 months but, that's not going to stop me.  Bwahh ha ha!

 

Construction Progress,

 Well Campers, another week has gone by.  Not a lot of "Big" things going on.  

This  Big Thing was seen out the back door of our current domicile

Got another big thing.  We had an on-site meeting with our contractor to look at the site and measure where things are going to go. 

Notice the Electrical Connection on the right and the water connection to the left of the big tree in the middle of the picture.  Progress!!

 

But to our, unprofessional, eyes some of the areas that were cleared of trees and brush are not clear enough for the buildings that are going into those clearings.

Specifically, and most importantly, the clearing for my Brother's cottage has two large trees in the center of it.  Didn't know if that was an oversight or just waiting for the tree clearing guy to get us back on his schedule.  Hence, one of the reasons for our meeting.

Upon meeting with the contractor, he said that the clearing guy was coming back this week to take down the mature trees.  What he'd brought out last week was to clear the brush and small 2-3" saplings.  Okay, that makes sense. 

The other clearing area in progress is the area for our hobby huts.  A workshop for me and one for Mrs J who affectionately called hers  a "She Shed".  As can be seen below, we need to take down a few saplings and small trees to have enough room for those.

Another factor that's got to be considered is order of construction.  The house is obviously a big deal in that schedule, but we need to get shelter and fence for the horses before they bankrupt us at the horse hotel they're currently staying at.

Oh, and off topic, when you're mucking stalls and shoveling "you know what" into buckets, it serves you well to inspect the bucket and insure that it isn't covered with fire ants.  I didn't!  The little bastiges are brutal and numerous.  Spray Benadryl is an integral part of our mucking equipment now. 

Back on subject, juvat!

On subject, aye Sarge!  

So, the horse area has high priority.  Not sure of the priority for our house versus my brother's cottage and time to construct for each.  Hence the meeting this morning.

Mrs J has been working hard on the designs of the structures mentioned.  Once we get the "wish list" settled, the Contractor can take them and turn them into blueprints which will take 2 weeks.  At that point, construction can start and he estimates it'll take 8 months to complete.

He then can move his teams around all four  projects so things can get done simultaneously.

So, that should speed up completion a bit or at least make the 8 month date more of a reality. That's where we are in this project.

Just to change the subject and given the time of year.  Mrs J sent me this funny, but true screenshot.  Enjoy! 

 ,”

Found on Instagram

‘True Dat!

Peace out, Y'all! 

Well...Feces!

 As most of you have heard, Central Texas got hit by a very severe storm on the 4th of July. This storm caused catastropic flooding on the Guadalupe River which flows through Kerrville. There are a few summer Camps along the river. During the summer they are usually quite full with kids. That was the case this past weekend.

Updated at noon Sunday 6 July, there are 67 dead and 11 missing.  Many are elementary and Middle School aged.

God Bless and keep them all! 
 

Camp Mystic

 

 

 

Fox News

This occurred along the Guadalupe river.  However there also was flooding along the Pedernales, a tributary to the Guadalupe which is about a mile and a half from our property.  Fortunately, the Pedernales while it overflowed its banks, did not make it up to the highway that runs alongside it.  Another advantage is it's about a mile of level ground along the banks which, while blocking traffic, will minimize flooding by spreading out the river.  Finally at the end of that mile, there's about a 75' ridgeline that goes up to where our property and our neigbor's property is located, further reducing our flooding risk. 

So, the only running water we saw on our property was runoff from the property.  That having been said, we didn't venture out until things were a little bit more reasonable and the Law Enforcement people gave the say so. Which was a couple of hours after the rain stopped.

Oh, BTW the Guadalupe river is only about 10 miles from our property.  So, we had a fair level of concern. But...We got lucky.

All in all, we got 10" of rain in a little under 5 hours.  For those of you living in Rain Forests, that's probably not a lot.  In Central Texas, well....It's flood level. 

Lots of emergency vehicles headed towards Kerrville this morning as we were headed into town (AKA away from the Guadalupe River) for Mass.  Needless to say there were a few extra prayers being said.

As it should be.

Saturday, in the middle of all this, our daughter called and asked if a family that's friends of theirs could come up and spend the night in one of our cabins.  They had reservations on the Guadalupe for the weekend.  

After checking our driveway wash, we said sure. The wash was only 6" or so.  They showed up a bit later.  The husband got out  and I thought he had an interesting outfit on.  A two toned green tee shirt and a pair of new looking jeans.  The tee shirt was light green at the top and a darker green about 2/3rds of the way up.  The jeans were a very dark blue.  I thought it interesting as I walked out (into the rain) to greet them.  Got them settled in the guest bedroom and he asked if he could use the washer/dryer.  I said sure.  He then explained that he had to wade out of the guest house they'd rented in Kerrville while helping his wife and two kids get to the car to evacuate.

The police had knocked on the door and told them they had 2 minutes to evacuate. 

Somebody in Heaven musta been looking out for him .

One of the several people still missing is a 4th grader.  She badly wanted to go to camp with her friends.  Her family, friends of our daughter, had planned a trip to Italy during that time frame.  The family came to an agreement and let her go to camp while they went to Italy.

I cannot imagine what is going through that family's minds now.  I hope they get help soon. Again, prayers much appreciated.

So...not a great week here in the State of Texas.

Oh and it’s Sunday PM, we’re back in a flash flood advisory and it’s raining…HARD!

Yay!

Baby, it's Cold outside!

 

Yeah, I know. it's an oldie.  But, for a large portion of the country, it's a fact of life right now.  Had a bit of an "aww Feces!" moment, yesterday when we woke up and the water wasn't running.  Fortunately, the temperature got above that magic number before noon.  I spent a bit of time adjusting and adding insulation to the well.  Thank you, Lord!

Last week was pretty busy and this week doesn't seem that it's going to be any different.  Mrs J's OPlan phase 1 is to fix up the old house.  Phase 1, part 1 is to refurbish the front porch.  25 years in the Texas Sun did some destruction on a lot of the wood.  

Phase 1, part 1, action 1 was to remove the warped deck boards, remove the railings around the porch and steps.

 

That phase has been successfully completed.  A lot of pent up aggression was released during that phase.  

  

While I was taking out my desire to destroy stuff, Mrs J's Phase 1, part 2, action 1 was to "Do" the kitchen.  Again, 25 years of use, took it's toll.  It's much cleaner now, but there's a bit of carpentry needed that's above my skill level. So we're going to be hiring a carpenter shortly.  

Having come to a stopping point outside, I checked with the Boss Lady about what to do next.  She advised me that the two bedrooms needed attention.

 

Meanwhile, Mrs J's Phase 1, part 2, action 2 was to clean the bathrooms.  My brother thankfully stepped forward and took care of that action.  25 years of hard water residue took all day to somewhat remove.  However, not quite up to management expectations.  Our carpenter friend will be tasked with replacing the Shower Insert.  This was not unexpected, so within the budget.

Phase 2 will begin, (we hope), on Wednesday when the temperature returns to somewhat normal (50ish).  I estimate the porch will take 2 days max. (Gee, I pray I didn't jinx that).  Cattle panels with frames will be the upright "walls".  Replacing a couple of deck boards shouldn't be a big deal, but...

Which will bring us to Phase 3,  Exterminate the rapidly reproducing stored junk. 

Main Problem Area

 Phase 3, Part 1, Action 1 Delivery of the refuse bin should occur the morning we start this phase.  An 8' x 6' x 30' bin should be sufficient for the main problem area although it will likely be full.  A second one will then be delivered to the rear of the house to facilitate de-junkifying the back patio.  

Completion of these three phases should bring us closer to being ready to put the property on the market.

It will also bring us very close to a bit of a vacation.  Mrs J has spent the last year or so, planning and scheduling a family trip and cruise in Australia and New Zealand.  The end of February, she and I, and MBD and family will be flying out of Austin, to Honolulu (a time zone rest and recovery stop) then on to Sydney.  Little J, LJW and Miss B will head East out of England enroute to the former colonies and join us.  

Looking forward to all that, because when we get back, it's our house that needs prepping.  (I actually started on my "office".  I managed to get down through the stuff and can now place things on the desktop.  (I was very excited, Mrs J, not so much.) 

The house overall is mostly "stuff" removal, although there are a few things the carpenter will have to take care of.  We'll get through this campaign, one way or another.

Then, with a little luck, some one will stop by, "Love it" and that will be that.  Or, at least, that's what we're hoping happens.  We'll see.

Stay warm! and....Peace out y'all!

It's another Manic Monday

 

My apologies to the Bangles.

Well....This was a heck of a week.  Not quite as "heck of a week" as it was from Dallas north to the North Pole, but heckish enough.

Woke up Friday to 33 degrees, a lot of rain and a wind chill in the teens.  Got 2 1/2 inches of rain that day.  Normally, that's a cause for celebration.  We had to wait for that party opportunity while asking the Lord to keep it from freezing.  Nobody and I mean NOBODY, knows how to drive on ice especially not Texans.  Fortunately, the weather guessers had given enough early warning and we had stocked up last Monday.  Went to HEB Friday midmorning for a few "nice to have things" to put on our shelves (that's my secret phrase for Wine).  Suffice it to say there wasn't a lot of food stuff on any of the shelves.

Yes, Beans, there was a good supply of wine.  No beer though, this IS Texas.

Got through Friday and Saturday, didn't have to, nor want to go anywhere.

Sunday, woke up at 6 to go to early Mass (0730), cold as all get out, a little frost on the wind screen, but the roads were dry and ice free.  Not hard to find a pew at church though.  Got out of church and the highly accurate truck thermometer read 45, so maybe the worst has past.

One can hope...and pray!

So, juvat, enough bitchin' about the weather, it sucked all over.

No more weather bitchin' Aye!

We've passed a large stumbling block in the last week or so.  We've hired a broker and have started the process of selling the property.  Mrs J's bout with the Big C was the final straw.  Living in the country with an excellent "See 'em comin'" view was wonderful over the past 25 years. However, the realities of getting older and the potential need to get to a hospital or worse get somebody to come and take you to a hospital in time to make a difference, rules against living in the country.  So...since there are a lot of people moving here from a state out west and seem to have quite a lot of cash they need to invest lest Uncle Sam claim quite a bit of it, we decided to talk to a broker.

We were very surprised (on the happy side) when he quoted what he thought a fair price range would be.  Should that come to fruition, we will be able to afford a bottle of wine or two.  Yes, Doctor H, in moderation, in moderation.

But, we've got a lot of work to do, cleaning junk out of places we had completely forgotten about,  The realtor was quite adept at finding them and pointing them out.  Apparently the reproduction rate of junk is much, much greater than that of Rabbits.  

Quicher Bitchin', juvat!

Enough bitchin', Aye Sarge.

So, we're going to lease a large dumpster (one that gets picked up on the back of a truck) and start loading it up.  Maybe we should also hire an archeologist in case we've got some ancient Incan artifacts, who knows?

The other, equally big and time consuming, project is what are we going to move into?  We intend to move to the College Station area, which is about 200 miles east of our current location.  MBD, The Rev, MG and Leon' live there.  That's the Family we need to be close to, just in case.  (Little J, LJW and Miss B are stationed overseas, so not an option.). We'd like to be somewhat out of the city, but not too far.  We'd also like to have a bit of acreage so we can keep the horses, as well as the 5 dogs and two cats.

To complicate matters, there's probably going to need to be an interim rental house to live in between selling (and more importantly closing on) our current house and closing on our new property.  The 2 horses, 5 dogs and two cats gang also adds to that complication.

So...a lot of pondering gonna go on as we get ready for this transition.

It also seems like PCS'ing in the Military was a heckuva lot easier than moving as a civilian.  I could be wrong, but it sure doesn't seem like I am.

Finally,

Just because I know this guy and sang a lot of his songs, including this one, as a member of the Juvat Boys Choir. That famed (maybe infamous) organization provided musical entertainment/roasting at going away dinners at Kunsan.  Good Times!

So, for your musical enjoyment, "Ain't no Fighter Pilots down in Hell" By Dick Jonas. Enjoy!

Peace out y'all!

Updates on WX and Chems

 For those of you still working stiffs, let me warn you about an aspect of retired life that I hadn't known about until I pulled the handles.  If you're not very careful, it becomes very difficult to determine what day of the week it is.  One day just seems to be like the next or the day before or two months ago.  

My workaround is Sunday church.  Mrs J and I go to the early mass and then go have breakfast at a nice diner nearby.  Some of my former students work there,  which kinda helps you keep track of your own age.  "Geez, she had just turned 16 when she was in my class, now she's got two kids in elementary school!"

Ages ya, pretty quick!

Stay on Target, juvat!

On Target, aye, Sarge!

Where was I?  Oh yeah, Mass on Sunday.  The rest of the week is defined as one, two or three days since Sunday and three, two or one until Sunday.  Keeps me sane (-ish).

However,  my good friend, Winter Storm Heather, arrived a week ago (Sunday before last).  Freezing rain was the forecast, and since sunrise this time of year is ~0730, seeing any icy spots is problematic.  Ergo, we asked for papal dispensation for Mass that morning.  

Same weather forecast was announced for today, so we decided to go to Mass last night.  All is well and good, temps didn't really get much below freezing, and little to no rain.  

However, I am writing this a little later in the day as my usual Sunday schedule is Mass, Breakfast, Blog.  Since neither of the first two happened and therefore were not marked in my brain, I had a sudden realization later in the day, that "Aww, Crap!  It's blogging day and I'm behind the power curve."

But, here goes.

Managed to survive Heather's best.  The weather itself wasn't too bad where we live, thankfully.  We managed to avoid power loss and had no snow.  It did get a tad icy in places, but nothing horrible.  Monday and Tuesday the temperature didn't get above freezing and Monday it was in single digits.

Yeah, I hear ya!  "Here in (Insert Northern State name here), We go skinny dipping in single digit weather!"

Good on ya, Mate!  We don't.

We stayed home.  Mrs. J was able to take several long naps, more to follow.  I did a lot of research on turning things on the lathe.  As I said last week, that pen with the excellent finish didn't make it through the final couple of steps and, while functional, isn't going to leave my desk.  But, I did learn quite a few techniques on YouTube, so not a wasted period of time.

But, Heather did have two unfortunate effects on Rancho Juvat.  

First, we did have one busted water line.  Tuesday, I was driving to the mailbox to see what there was to see.  No ice/snow/water of any form on the road, so no big deal.  I was passing by one of our fields and noticed that there appeared to be ice out in the middle of it.  Stopped, got out and went to look.  Sure enough, there was ice in the middle of the field.  At that point, I couldn't figure out where the water had come from.  

The ice that's pointed at the top is the tire track.  The ice in the top left is where the crack is.  Neither of which I knew at the time.

 

I'm looking around and see a couple of tire prints in the dirt around the area.  A couple of months ago our "Hay Guy" had cut and harvested our coastal hay.  I suspected that the tire marks were from that event.  But, where did the water come from.  I'm looking around, see our old house (where LJW and Miss B live now.)  I had called earlier and checked that they still had heat and water and were doing ok. They were, so no answer there.  I continue looking around and our two guest houses still have water, so...Continue to sweep my view and next thing I see is our original well house.  I do a quick 180^o and low and behold, in an extended direct line from the well house to the ice is the old house.

The Well House is at the right end of the green line, the line break is the left end

 

So, I got back in the truck and drove back to the house and called our plumber.  I politely asked the lady taking calls that I knew they were probably busy, but I wanted to get on their list.  Explained the issue and my suspicions of what had gone wrong.  She said she'd get with the boss and see what he could do.  Not an hour later, I get a call from a strange number.  I say "Hello" and get a reply "Hello, Mister juvat, this is Thomas, I was one of your students when I was in HS.  I understand you've got a water problem and need my help."  

"Why yes, I do.  When do you think you'll be able to get here"

Wait for it....

"I'm on your property right now, where do I need to go?"

"Give me thirty seconds I'll be right there."

Have I ever mentioned that living in a smallish town definitely has its advantages?

I show them the problem area and they commence to digging.  About an hour later they say they've found the problem, but would need to shut off the water to the old house completely.  I call LJW and advise her on the situation.  She's OK with the water being shut off. So, I head back down and take a look at the pipe.  

I still don't understand why the old house still had water if the pipe was broken.  Thomas and his helper were still digging around the pipe as I drove up.  He explained that it was just a hairline crack caused when the tractor went over it, but it had been leaking for a couple of months and so the ground was pretty soft and providing little support for the pipe.  And the freezing temps hadn't helped.

So, cutting out the bad section and replacing it was the thing to do.  I gave him the go ahead.  I get another call about an hour after that, saying that the repair is done, but the glue needs a couple of hours to dry and they had another call.  They'd be back, turn the water back on, check for leaks and bury it again.

Which they did.  

 I asked if they did new projects.  They said they did, what did I need done.

Well, when we inherited the horses and built the barn, it was summer and we just dragged a hose over to the barn and attached a float valve to the hose end in the trough.  Worked like a champ for 4 years now.  

Until Heather.  

I'm braving the weather to go and feed the horses.  I happen to glance at the junction of the two hoses.  (It's about 200' from the house faucet to the barn, so 2 hoses.)  At the junction of the two, I see a large chunk of ice.

Aww, Crap!

Walk into the barn and look at the trough.  It's almost dry and the horses are looking a tad thirsty.  I happen to have a 5 gallon water bottle nearby, so dump that into the trough.  Fills it about a quarter of the way.  

So, I go back to the house, and google "How much water does a horse need to drink per day?"  5-10 gallons, more if the weather is too hot or too cold.  A gallon of water nominally weighs  8.33 Lbs.  So my 5 gallon jug weighs 40 Lbs+.

Carrying that about a hundred yards, while 40 years ago might not have been difficult, now and in freezing weather, not so much, and, at least 4 times a day, makes it even more fun.

We also learned that we had to portion it out into 4 or 5 trips spread over the day so we didn't cavitate the well at our house.

After explaining all that, Thomas asked if we wanted to install a pipe from our house well to the barn.  I told him that when he was in my class, I thought he was a very astute individual and that hadn't changed.  I asked him when he thought he could come take a look.  He said given Heather's impact it might be a couple of weeks.

Fortunately, the weather is a tad warmer and the hose plan is working again.  Although I do disconnect and drain it in the evening, so it doesn't freeze again.  

See, Sarge, old Fighter Pilots CAN learn from their mistakes.  

But....I am looking forward to a little construction between the well and the barn.

As are the horses.

To end with some Good-ish news.

Mrs. J had her 4th of 6 infusion sessions this past week.  Part of that process involves drawing some blood and doing the voodoo magic on it to find out the "numbers".  Well, when this whole cancer thing started a few months ago, her main indicator number was 12. (No, Suz, I have no idea what the name of that indicator is or what they're measuring.)  This visit it was 7.  Based on that, I assume Oncologists (AKA Cancer Doctors) take their golfing serious, because in this case, lower is better.  So...Thank You, Lord.  

Apparently, as I've never personally experienced it, just seen it in action, Chemo takes a lot out of you.

 Not out of the woods yet, but two more Chemo treatments, then a couple of months of Radiation and then see what's what. 

I/We really appreciate all the prayers all y'all are saying.  Please keep them up. At this point, they seem to be working.

Peace out, y'all!

Indiscriminate Thoughts (or a shotgun approach to blogging*)

 Well, Campers, another week under our belt.  The highlight of the week was that it appears that our Beloved WWII storytelling Scribe has gotten over his funk and started feeding his story starved audience again.  

So...We got that going for us. But... on with the show.

For those readers interested in statistical meteorology,  I read somewhere this week that this summer, our area of Texas had 58 days that reached at least 100 degrees and 20ish that had reached 105 or better. Unfortunately, after a frantic search I could not find that source again.  So, the best I could do is this.

Source

That's Austin and only through the end of August.  We've had several days above 100 in September also.

However...

Things have changed a bit recently.

The sucking sound from the ground absorbing the rainwater was nearly deafening.

A Noah like sign from The Big Guy? Or a sign that Lisa's taking care of watering the lawn at her house?  Who knows?  We'll take any rain we can get and say "Thank You".

Headed into Church yesterday at dawn.  The temperature on my highly accurate truck thermometer read 62^o and 94% humidity.  Significantly cooler than the previous Sunday at the same time with the temp then being in the 90's already.  So yesterday, we had to resort to turning the defroster on after Bambi's family ran in front of me unseen til just short of the last possible moment.  The wipers weren't keeping the condensation off the windshield.

Yes, Beans, it was a touch "sporty".

But the weather has made for some spectacular atmospheric color palettes.

The camera didn't do it complete justice, the reds and pinks were much more vibrant than were captured.

In the "What the heck are you doing to stay busy?" category and as I mentioned last week, we are entering the Birthday/Anniversary/Holiday season around Rancho Juvat.  The last week in October is a critical one for my health. Forgetting it could be "unhealthy".  Not only is Mrs J's Birthday (I think it's her 25th ;-), I could be wrong) that week, but Grand Daughter #1 aka MG has hers also.  Additionally, Grand Son #1 is expected to make his grand entrance that week to top things off. 

So...The transitioning of good lumber into sawdust must occur with great regularity.  MG will be turning two and since she has at least 1/4 Fighter Pilot blood in her (No Beans, I didn't want to do the math on how much of my Dad's blood would be there), she has discovered she likes to be high up on things.

This was discovered when a ladder that had been being used in the living room  (work on the book shelf perhaps) was climbed by MG with out the assistance, or even the knowledge, of her mother.  At that point, MBD requested a Birthday Present that fulfilled that climbing curiosity, but wasn't 7' tall.

Mrs J did some research and found something called a Pikler Triangle. So it is written, so it shall be.

Still needs paint on the legs, but came together pretty well.  Part of the package is a climbing ramp.

This will be that.  Needs a coat of paint and then some half round dowels will be attached horizontally to be grips/steps.  The intent here is to lower the angle of the climb so MG can learn the ins and outs (alternatively ups and downs) at a more sedate pace.  

It's been a fun build.  I only had to trash one leg that the dowel holes were out of alignment with it's partner on.  I got cocky. 

 "I don't need to use a ruler,  I'll just eyeball it."

Good thing pine 2 x 4's are inexpensive.  Gas to go back to Lowe's however....

And to wrap it up.  Sarge and the gang have had several good discussions lately on the blog about whether or not he should retire and what to expect when he does.

I stumbled across the perfect description of the reality of being retired at breakfast yesterday. Presented for your education, all you, still working stiffs, you!

Am I wrong?

Peace out y'all

*A modern day shout out to Blaise Pascal.

Noah! Redux

Morning Campers! Had an interesting day recently. Woke up, the sky was cloudy, but no big deal.

Yeah, Tuna, I know. "Red sky at morning, sailors take warning." Still, it was pretty and the forecast said "Chance of Rain."  Now, notice the green in the above picture.  This is Texas in June.  Not Rhode Island, California nor Florida.  By now, the hay is mowed and in the barn and what's left is fading quickly from light green to brown.  Oh, and Dust is starting to appear. Not the case this year.  Grass is still growing.  Expecting a bumper crop of hay this year (If I can get my Hay Guy to answer his phone).

But, Hey! It's Texas.  Love it or Leave It Don't move here! (newer more appropriate slogan).

In any case, round about 10 AM, it started looking like this.

Pay attention to the area between the two trees, it will be important shortly.

Little bit of rain to the North East of our place.

10 minutes later.

A couple of minutes later.

  

Now, we've lived on Okinawa.  We know what typhoons are like.  This was as close a reminder as we've had since we left there.  The green sunshade for Mrs. J's garden is about a quarter second from it's first solo flight. 

And a couple of minutes after that.

And shortly thereafter, it's safe to go outside.

The one piece of good news?  The Big Guy upstairs got tired of me not washing my truck and took care of it!

Oh and the Rain Gauge.

Just under an inch...in less than 15 minutes and with a lot of horizontal rain.

The Weather Radar was very multicolored in its display.

Yes, Beans, the Blue dot is our location, not a center of the storm indicator per se.

And that picture above I asked you to keep in mind.  This was about 30 minutes after.

Notice the different color under the tree to the right.  That water goes from the top left to the top right where it enters my property via a dry (usually) stream, crosses our property hopefully filling our stockpond and proceeds down into the Pedernales River.  

 

The following morning: Yay! Water in the Stockpond.  Beans can go swimming!

We gave it a couple of hours before deciding to go exploring.  Just in Case.

But...The Grass is green!

 Oh, my phone just dinged.  NWS has issued another Severe Weather Watch with more rain expected through the weekend.  As Morton's says.  "When it rains, if pours"

Any of you wood workers got a good plan for an Ark?

Peace out, y'all!

...and Master of None!

 Well...This has been an extraordinarily educational week for myself.  Lots of lessons learned, mostly the hard way.  But, those are the ones that are hardest to forget also.  So...I got that going for me.

What lessons are those, juvat?

Well, Mrs. J asked for my assistance in installing a drip irrigation for her plants.  The Lady has quite the green thumb.  Not only does she do well with flowering plants....

Lantana

But also vegetables and herbs. 

Anaheim Peppers, the Poblanos are in the background

 

The reason she wanted the irrigation system is summer is nigh and we have several "events" scheduled over the next several weeks where we will be out of pocket for a couple of days or more.  One of those we'll be discussing later in this missive.  But, in any case, she wanted something to insure the plants would be watered.  That task will be called "Plumbing".  

We went to the Big Box Store (BBS) and bought all the accoutrements we thought we'd need, RTB'd and began construction.  One of the first lessons learned is there's a difference between "Pipe Threading" and "Hose Threading".   

Yes, Beans that's the "Pet-tio" and the Doggie door AKA "The Pet's Bathroom".

 

So...First return trip to BBS for a hose threaded pressure fitting.  Got a little further on in the project and realized we had miscounted how many 90 degree connectors we'd need.  

Second return trip to BBS.

Finally, got it all connected and time for the big debut.

Yes, Sarge the diagonal white line from the center of the picture to the top left is water.

Third trip to the BBS.

At that point, we're out of time as we are leaving for CStat the following morning.  Called my Sister and added "Watering plants" to "Feeding the Animals" on her caretaker list of To Do's.

So...Add Plumber to the list of skill sets I wish I had mastered but have not.

The morning after our arrival at CStat, we started the kitchen project for MBD and The Rev's new house bright and early at 1PM.  Unfortunately, one of the other skill sets I wish I had but don't is "Doctor"

MG was feeling quite under the weather and ended up visiting the ER at around Midnight one evening.  Thankfully, there were fully trained medical personnel there and she is on the road to recovery now (4 days later).  But getting on track to work the house project took a bit longer than expected.

But we did manage to get started.  I was confident that "Painter" was one of my actual skill sets having done so during summers to pay for college.. Unfortunately, whilst on a ladder later in the week, I came to the realization that I'd done that in 1973.  Beans, before you take off your shoes, that was 50 years ago almost to the day.  A lot of things have changed since then, primarily my Back and Knees.

At that point, we also discovered the difference between "Fleeting Glance" and "Intense Deliberation".  On the first look at the project requirements, my assessment was "No big deal, just a bit of painting."

 Foolish, Foolish, me.  As I started to remove the drawer and cabinet handles in prep for painting, MBD decided to count them so we'd know how many we had or would need if she decided on new ones.

Who knew there would be 87?

Well, No big deal, they just unscrew.  Let's get started.

  Except several of them didn't "just unscrew" and required drilling out the bolt.  This slowed down the expected progress somewhat.

So...Add Cabinet Maker to the list of Skills I have not!

MBD had decided she wanted a lighter, brighter kitchen than was currently in the house and her friend, the interior designer, had recommended a couple of shades of white.  One for the cabinets, one for the walls.  Off to the BBS to pick up samples.  Applied the samples to the appropriate areas and Voila'.

This Eagle-Eyed Father could NOT detect a difference in the colors.  Saying nothing about that deficiency to my Daughter, I was relieved/irked when she asked if I'd used the same paint on both areas

At that point, my advisory staff, Mrs. J and MBD, went into a conference and came out later with a request for a color change.  Off to the BBS, I went.  Found out the BBS I had been visiting had none in stock.  But...It was on the truck and would be delivered in the next few days.

RIIIIGGGGHHHHHTTTT!

Off to another of the BBS, all the way across town, and picked up the paint.  We are now at the end of the next to the last day of the planned excursion.  

The following day, we get to work and start "cutting in" the cabinetry.  Did you know that 87 cabinets and drawers have a lot of angles, hinges, edges etc that need to be addressed before painting with a roller can be accomplished?

The spots above the cabinets are the two "different" paints.

I did.  

So...Guess what?

I get to make a return trip to CStat next week.  By myself.  (Mrs. J, LJW and Miss B have a few Doctors visits to make next week.)

On RTB, our transit of Moscow on the Colorado involved the usual pain. So, on arrival at Ranch Juvat, we decide to have a relaxing glass of wine (or three) on our front porch that evening.

 Ahh...relaxation.  Mrs. J comments that the forecast over the next few hours will be severe thunderstorms.  The astute, educated, experienced Fighter Pilot says "Nah, it's going to miss us to the North."

I think she managed to get a few excellent pictures of the storm before it hit us, don't you? Left another 2" of rain on the property.  My Hay Guy needs to stop by soon.

Lastly, I've been working on my Friend's Retirement gift and had been making excellent progress on the mechanical pencil.  Everything was going well.

 I mean, look at the right part.  Notice, no difference between the bushing and the pen blank.  Woohoo!  Learned my lesson.

Well, juvat, you learned that lesson, here's another.

One must make sure that the entire tube is covered with glue when inserted into the pen blank.  Else...

 

Well, crap!  Good thing I started this project early.  "Wood Turner" has yet to be an awarded title for me.

So...I learned a lot of lessons this past week on what I am not.

I'm not a Plumber, Doctor, Cabinet Maker, Painter, Weatherman nor Wood Turner.

But I'm also not a Quitter.

Never Give Up, Never Surrender!

Now...If I only had an Omega 13!!!

 

Peace out, Y'all!