Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Cabin Too Underway!

Thanks to my Super-Son-in-Law Alex and my youngest son, 19yr old MJ, the renovations at our log cabin are starting to show some progress.
First on the agenda was the 26 year old in-ground swimming pool. We'd been pondering having it remodeled for the last few years, and I'm glad now that we didn't. First, the cost: $20k for starters. I don't have that kind of moolah laying around the house, so that was a big fat "No!" Second, I was a little worried about the liability involved with retreaters circumnavigating their way up and down the deck stairs balancing their margaritas and wine bottles. Scary.
We decided that it wasn't worth the risk of potential lawsuits or, for that matter, loss of life, so demo-ing it was the only way to go. MJ voted for dynamite, but we settled on jack-hammering it. We rented the biggest jack-hammer we could find and found out that they don't just throw it in the back of your truck. It's powered by a giant compressor that we had to tow home.
That's Alex and his little boy, my grandson Jackson, unhooking the compressor. After the pool was drained, Alex and MJ started jack-hammering the flagstone around the deck and saving the big pieces to make a new front porch.
Took a while to get that much of the decking torn up, then they decided to start tearing up the bottom of the pool. We didn't want to just fill in the pool, cuz when this drought ends, you know we're gonna go straight into hurricane weather, and we didn't want the pool to hold water like a giant bowl, sucking unsuspecting retreaters, deer, and god-knows-what-else into a man-made Slough of Despond, never to be seen again. Remember "Poltergeist?" Geez - that's all I need!
Anyway - there was still about 2 feet of water at the deep end, all black and murky with things moving in it, so neither Alex nor MJ wanted to get down close to it without making sure nothing was going to slither out after them...like a water moccasin. So, they decided on this solution. In the middle of a Burn Ban. Using diesel fuel.
Nothing swam, crawled or slithered out. They spent the weekend making holes through the bottom and turning it into a landfill.
Let's see...what else...
Oh yeah! I started ordering furniture and cool stuff for the Cabin Too. For the sunroom, I decided on a neat indoor/outdoor wicker set. It's a little plain vanilla, (more like café au lait) but I'll jazz it up with prettier cushions.
And I'm waiting on the rug that'll go under the kitchen table
Then tonight (this morning?) I saw these over at Smak Parlour. I couldn't stand it! I ordered 4 sets of them. Aren't they FABULOUS?? I think I need some for my house, too.
Ok, even though I'm on a roll, I need to hit the sack. "It's a quarter to three..." as the song goes...and I've got a date with a couple of antique-y/junque stores in a few hours. Oh crud. Andy just woke up. Gotta go.

Monday, August 1, 2011

August 2011 Desktop Calendar

It's still hot and dry down here in Texas. We've lost an oak, a dogwood and several azaleas. What's left of the grass is as dry and crunchy as a dead grasshopper, and even the dog has to be forced to go outside. There's a burn ban across the state and the county parks have covered up all the bbq grills - which, to be honest, probably wouldn't be seeing much action anyway in this heat.
So anyway - if you like this month's calendar, click on it to expand image to full size, right-click and choose Set as Wallpaper or Background. To really jazz up your desktop, right-click on your background and choose a color that coordinates with the calendar - you'll be the envy of your cubicle!
And if you have any rain left over...please, please send it our way - we're still about 2 feet short so far this year!