Rock Wall

Saturday afternoon, we purchased 342 pounds of moss rock

Approximate cost $40.00

Sunday (late afternoon) the first 4 rocks were installed next to the pool.
Monday (early evening)  the next 4 rocks were installed.

Tuesday (early evening) the last 5 rocks were installed.
The rock wall is now complete.
We hope this will help to keep the jasmine from growing into the flowerbed.

 Another view of the completed rock wall.

A Weekend of Projects

We are only part through the weekend (Saturday/Sunday)and you should see the house,

every corner reflects some sort of project in progress.

I hope nobody stops over for a visit to witness all the chaos going on around here!

This photo is the kitchen counter, with wall repair items for the wall repair being done

in the formal area of the house. Doug also needed to restain the bottom of the kitchen

cabinet due to the soap container leaking all over.

The formal area is getting some wall repair due to the issues we had with the foundation.
**more detailed photos on that when that project is completed**Now that the foundation has been fixed, we can make some of the cosmetic fixes around the house.

The formal dining table is accumulating all the stuff that I need to take with me to
Conroe next weekend for another bridal shower for Jackie.
You will note an outfit for Andrew for the wedding,
Mimi made some alterations so that it would fit him better.
I'm also taking Karl's christening outfit along, to see if that dress shirt "onesie" will fit Andrew, instead of the shirt that will that came with the shorts, vest, bowtie and cap outfit.

The rest of the formal area is shown after I test all three of the aero-beds and vacuumed them. I'm in the progress of washing all the sheets to pack them in the bags so they are ready to use for our guests.

The rose rooms has been partially demolished.

 The bed has become storage for the paint/tile boxes as we've been getting in to them regularly.
**Ceiling touch-up paint in Jackie's room & wall repair in the formal areas.**

  Doug took the trim and closet doors off to rehang the door,
as it wasn't closing right now with the issues related to the foundation.

Our master bedroom has become a storage setting for the items that we need to take
to the wedding venue - Fairy Tale Manor.

The antique window below has been cleaned up; paint pens were tested
and this window will be used for the table assignments for the wedding.

 Even the outside has a project in limbo.
Yesterday we purchased some moss rocks to start building the rock wall that
will the back side of a small flower garden.
We will start that later today when there is some sun in this spot.

Friday, I let Doug know our Watts recirculating pump off the hot water was not producing instant hot water at our kitchen and bathrooms any longer. He tested it, talked with the Watts customer service folks and it was determined our pump is out. So I tried bidding on one on Ebay yesterday but lost out in the final seconds to a higher bidder.  So guess we'll be making a trip to Lowes to purchase a new one in the near future.

Other things we have completed by Sunday but were not worthy of a photograph:
previously noted bench/chair project completed;
Cadillac to TradeSecretAuto for hail damage estimate *hopefully it will be fixed before the wedding*Trip to Goody Goody for purchasing the wine for the wedding;Mow the yard;
Fertilize the yard;
Trip to UHaul to get a LP refill for the grill;
Trimmed the jasmine;
Pool flagstone repaired at the spa;
Cleaned all the wood blinds in the house;
Cleaned the owl cabinet inside & out;
Grocery shopping @ Walmart;
Home Depot twice (a purchase and a return)
Walgreens to pick up prescriptions;
Sunday Church services;

Laundry - Dishes - Meal Prep - Wine by the pool & we even some time for Sleeping.

There's still one more day of this holiday weekend.
Maybe we can get some of these projects finished!!!!

Chair & Bench Completed

This is a continuation of a story I wrote about on April 30th.
Bench Restoration

Doug has been working on a plan to replicate the same barn trim previously used as the rooftops.
It took purchasing two new router bits, but he accomplished it.

Doug shown her working in the 95 degree - hot sun!

This is the trim he was trying to replicate.

The completed cedar chair by the front door.

The completed bench in the front landscaping bed.

Now the bench and chair have been replicated to the exact specifications
of the previous version made by my dad.

Playtime with Grandma

Gutter - Drain Repair

Issue: Gutter (French Drain) has become clogged with roof granules and plant roots.
This was causing a back up the gutter.
The boot from the gutter travels about 5-6 feet under the landscaping, out to the yard.
This hose had a cap on the end of it.
Water was staying inside the perforated hose and not seeping in to the ground.

This is a close-up photo of the drain where it comes up in the yard
(after the cap was removed)

Step 1 - Dig a bigger hole around the existing pipe.



Step 2 - Dig out all the debris
** A son-in-law with long arms work great for this task**


Step 3 - Remove all the stinky water sitting in the hole.

Step 4 - Install a T shaped pipe and install a grate on the top.

 Step 5 - Put dirt back in the hole around the T shaped pipe.
Add the grass that was previously removed.



Step 6 - Wait for the next rain storm to see if it worked!

Audrey's Graduation

Friday morning, I picked up Doug from the DFW airport (he was in Monterrey Mexico for 2 weeks) and we drove to Austin, Texas to attend Audrey's graduation from the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Audrey graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering.

Below is a link for all the photos from the day.

http://pix.kg/p/3567682501103%3A1632939785/scl

Andrew's Rental Car

Jill, Josh and Andrew are visiting this weekend as Josh takes his last chiropractic boards. 

I met my neighbor Hillary in the driveway this afternoon and she came over to see Andrew and said "if you need some other toys I have plenty".  So she came back with this little yellow car walker, a jumping activity center and a jumper for the doorway.  Andrew is very happy in his free 5 day car rental. The best part was when he was honking the horn, using his nose!  Grandma hasn't felt this happy in a long time!! Lots more baby love to come this weekend.

Mothers Day 2012

These are the flowers I received from Jackie on Thursday afternoon. I just love daisies!!!

Jackie would be home for part of the weekend (Friday & Saturday) for some last minute wedding things to do.  She had her final dress fitting and we had the planning meeting at Fairy Tale Manor. We ordered the paper for the wedding programs; finalized the florist order; provided the final drink list to the bartender and selected a caterer.
Sunday morning, I received a call from Doug to wish me a Happy Mothers Day, before I went to church.
Sunday afternoon, I received a call from Jill, Josh & Andrew.   While I was talking to them, Karl beeped in so I called him back. 
I sent my mom flowers earlier in the week and then called her on Sunday afternoon. We talked about their upcoming visit in June. I'm very excited to see them since they didn't get to Texas this winter. I took the week after the wedding off so that we can have some fun relaxing times.
We also sent flowers to Doug's mom. Doug is in Monterry Mexico, but was able to take some time out of his working weekend, to call and visit with his mom and dad.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day!

SuperMoon

The photo I took of the moon tonight was very hazy, so I copied one off the internet.
This photo was taken somewhere around Phoenix Arizona.
I hope you got out to see the Super Moon tonight!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tonight, if the full moon, rising in the East, struck you as unusually large, you were be right. It did loom larger than usual.

Though it's hardly a scientific term, it is what's known as a "super moon."

It happens because -- despite what our senses tell us -- the moon does not orbit us in a perfect circle. It follows a slightly elliptical path every month. Astronomers say it will come within 221,802 miles of us, that's about 15,000 miles closer than normal.  This will offer skywatchers a spectacular view of an extra big, extra bright moon.

While remarkable, the “super moon” happens when two normal events converge.

“The moon is on perigee when it’s closest to the Earth. That happens every month. And a full moon happens once a month,” Gurdemir said. “This time, these two things are happening in the same day. That’s why we’re making a big deal about it.”

A super moon happens about once every 18 years, according to NASA’s website.
The next full perigee moon will appear in 2029.

Painting

Thursday, May 3rd two painters from Harrington Paint came to start the repair process prior to painting the family room downstairs, the stairway and the gameroom and hallway upstairs.

The picture below shows part of the paint booth they made out of the upstairs;
to fix the ceiling seams and paint the ceiling.

This is a repair spot of some corner bead.

Corner bead fix around the opening to the downstairs.

This is the ceiling fix, looking out over the formal areas.

This is a ceiling fix in the corner of the vaulted area.

This is a ceiling fix by the attic stairs.

This is the cutting in of the new paint color
Behr "Pecan Sandie"

This is the cutting in of the area around the fireplace.

The two painters were hear all day Thursday, Friday and 1/2 day on Saturday. We have everything back to normal now. Can't wait for everyone to see the place now that all the issues related to the foundation have been fixed.

Week of Babysitting

I spent a week babysitting my grandson Andrew
Thursday, April 26 - Wednesday, May 2nd

Saturday morning, we participated in the March of Dimes walk in The Woodlands.
Andrew is shown visiting with all the friendly McKesson employees.

Jill and Andrew walking with the masses of people.

Friday morning, I put together Andrew's high chair. He is shown here sitting up to the table like a big boy.  Saturday afternoon, he enjoyed his first taste of rice cereal off of a spoon. He's been getting it in a bottle, but this was his first spoon feeding. 

 He took to the spoon very well and didn't make "too" much of a mess!

He actually sucked the cereal off the spoon.
I can see the sippy cup in his near future!

We had lots of play time on the floor.
He was just learning how to roll over pretty good.
And one afternoon, I think he rolled over and over about 40 times.

Andrew in one of his new outfits from Mimi.
Looks like he can't wait to help Daddy!

Cuddle time!
Andrew doesn't look so happy about it, but Mimi enjoyed it immensily!

Andrew had discovered his toes.
I think the brightly colored socks helped and he had his socks in his mouth before this day was over.

It was a look of fun for Mimi (and hopefully Andrew too!)
There were many firsts and I sure wished they lived closer so I wouldn't miss out of any more of those milestones.

Honey Do List

While I was babysitting Andrew, Doug returned from a business trip to Washington DC.

He completed a few projects (the bench/chair project & the concrete flag restoration).
See previous blog entries.

He also found some Pine Bark Nuggets to put around the landscaping in the front yard.

He also built a concrete retaining wall, to keep the jasmine out of his flower bed by the pool.
He will be adding some landscaping stone atop this wall in the next month or two.
Stay tuned for more updates on this project.