Bittersweet Me

I haven't felt like making a post for several days. Thankfully, the people working on my house haven't been as unproductive. The highlights since, roughly, around the time I was fretting over nuances of red brick:

They finished roughing in the plumbing...


I got a SOLD sign! Here modeled by Lou...


They dumped lotsa dirt...


And Tina and I reminisced of childhood, when we would've been (and very much were) all over the dirt. Man, I remember me, R & R being totally caked in filth and having to take all our clothes off on the back porch, and Mom hosing us down. Laura joined in in a small way (not pictured). Then Tina forgot about reminiscing all together and transformed into parent mode, clucking at us to get off the piles...


They framed the outline of the foundation, and it was a pleasure to see the real form of the house. Check out the deep footings for the foundation!


Plenty deep and plenty of rebar. Randy W has told me several times that his houses will be here a hundred years, long after we're gone. I've bit my tongue through, clutching my pearls on that point. Alas, Babylon!


View from the garage, across the back porch, toward my bedroom. Almost ready for some Messicans...


This rig was there the morning of Friday the 14th. You could see it from Southwest Parkway!


I can't believe I let two people talk me out of cement flooring.






Later that day it was hard, but still hot from setting. Gee, Skillz and me...


I still think cement floors are nice. Look at that! Just get a polish on it. I like the industrial look. The consulting expert and me...


The whole slab, minus the garage...


Tuesday, standing in the front door...


The neighborhood's running down already. Have you ever noticed Sheri looks a lot like Kim Deal, but a lot hotter? *Here comes your man* Check out the purty trees across the street, all leafed up for Spring. That's the view I was talking about in my post on what I thought was nice about the land.


And a picture with the forms removed, today...


And the Friday that they poured the foundation, I let them take away my baby dog. I know it was the right decision at the right time, but it just totally sucks. I hate coming home to this house with him not here. Everyone that knows Angus knew he was the perfect pet for me "Did I find you, or you find me?" :O) He was sweet, soft, gentle, and so handsome. I'm glad I was graced out with his love through lots of very very hard times, and back again to +H happiness.

And I know this is really queer, but this is to him:
"Out of all those kinds of people, you got a face with a view. I'm just an animal looking for a home, and we share the same space for a minute or two. And you love me 'til my heart stops, love me 'til I'm dead. Eyes that light up, eyes look through you, cover up the blank spots, hit me on the head, aah ooooooooooooooooooooooooooh"

current music: Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here

White lines

I had narrowed down the brick choice to numbers four, five, and six. Six was my first favorite. Four started creeping up as I drove around with my camera. Five a dark horse and late entry.

#6:


#4:


#5:


So I called today to initiate the search for brick. I'm told that sometimes it can take months for certain brick to be available. We don't know what six is yet, but Judy thought that I must really like four because five is exactly the same brick. So I got laughed at. But tell me, do four and five look alike??? They're probably all three the same. Now's when you marvel at how great my eyes are. Because they are. So any difference is in the mortar, and I like the mortar of four best. It's messy. I like it.

Now I get to go back and read your comments/opinions again. I don't think that many liked what I did, but I may be wrong.

current music: Sheryl Crow: If It Makes You Happy

Coyote Killing Guns For Hire

Roughly, and as the crow flies, I'm going to be living ~900 feet from the WF city limits, and I'd say a quarter of a mile from the Wichita County Line...just on the verge of nowhere. (That's a real leg slapper, isn't it?) Maybe these guys will offer their services with their varmint killin' vehicle. If they weren't parked in my kitchen, I might've offered to rustle up some victuals.

Do you think this is protection?


current music: Front 242: Headhunter v3.0 OK. The temptation was too great. What else could I listen to making this post?

Not too red, not too orange, not pink...

What's the way you pick out brick for your new house? You drive around, looking at new houses (preferably ones that your builder has builted) and decide what you like. I like red. By the way, you do the same process for trim and shingles, but I never remember to do it--I'm too obsessed with the brick. I've taken pictures of six or seven that I like, and here they are, in no particular order:
#1:

#2:

#3:

#4:

#5:

#6:

#7:


I have my favorite. What do you think?

current music: B-52's: Quiche Lorraine

Songicism

Ezekiel doesn't have anything on Tina.

I defend the randomness of the music in my last several posts. Not that it would matter if I did pick post-related music. Actually, maybe it's a supercheesy funtastic idea. Yeah, when I started the blog, I did try to reference a song in the title of my posts, ex: "'No one can tell me that I'm doing wrong today,' 'Your bronze skin shining in the sun,' 'Break the bubble, break it up,'" etc., but my old mind can't be stretched far enough to do it for every post. Plus, Henrietta April attacked me for quoting Morrissey. I like my days silent and gray. A feather in your cap if you get the references! My musical geekiness applauds yours.

Here's the evidence from yesterday's pipe post: I was listening to the party shuffle at work, and for once, it was actually on a remarkable string of good music. And @ 3:27PM - Weezer!


Thanks for paying attention! It makes this fun. I can't wait to have everyone over to my new hoose. And today's music? This one's hand picked and referred to above. If you don't know this one, you really really need to. Super happy joy! :O)

current music: James Taylor: Your Smiling Face

Beginning to almost see some definition

These pictures were taken Monday evening. This one, looking north from the front of the house shows the third bedroom, your bathroom (whosoever may visit and need a bedroom), the second bedroom, then the ditch for plumbing to the utility room. Then comes the garage and the end of the house at the white pipe far off down thar.


This view is looking west from your bathroom with bedrooms two and three on either side. The ditch halfway down is the last bathroom (the entertainment bathroom) and just a bit further is my bathroom.


And here's a picture of Tina from last Friday. She's standing in my bathroom, obviously imagining, vividly, the pleasure of arising from a luxurient bath in which the hot water never stopped flowing. "Calgon, take me away!"


current music: Weezer: Hash Pipe

Back in bidness again

Now then, on Thursday during my lunch hour, Randy W. called and said we had a problem. He had been under the impression that we had to build 40 feet off Rathgeber and 25 off of Stone Lake. Instead, it was the other way--25 off Rathgeber and 40 off Stone Lake! That meant that my house was 13 feet too wide for the lot. I don't think that they thought about it when they made these limits for a house facing Rathgeber. Either that, or they wanted someone to build a hallway house, 'cos it was gonna need to be long and skinny. Randy called the prinicple owner and met with him Thursday after work. When he called me, things didn't look great for me keeping this lot. The owner's solution was for me to buy a wider lot in a less attractive spot, at half again the price. Sure!!! Why not? I thought I was going to have to write a post titled "It weren't! (to be mine). But, Randy met with more of the land owners and they must've realized that this lot wasn't meant for a house that far away from the street, because they let us bend the rule.

It was going to be a real drag searching for a new lot. It was really going to be a drag for Randy, I imagine, because that was one of the very first questions that I had for him at our first meeting. "Will this house fit on this lot?" I wasn't going to accept responsibility for this mistake, and I sure wasn't going to go back to the drawing board for a two-story bread box house to get the square footage I wanted!

And Friday afternoon!:


They had started to square up the area of the foundation:


And a man in a backhoe started leveling the land. Seeing something there besides the usual empty lot was a different feeling, and I loved it. Words escape me right now, so I'll let that be it.


current music: Seals & Crofts: Get Closer

Layin' cable ... *chortle*

I drove by the property today after work. I drove by yesterday, too, but it was all the same. Today there was a change. Still no "SOLD" sign anywhere, but there were orange flags demarcating buried cable. Or so they said:


And this spray paint-on-grass offering. How permanent is that? (As if we'd be graced by a storm tonight). I wonder why they need a splice here. This is between two lots. Did they not forsee a home on each one?


Me and the line of flags/paint line:


I haven't heard from the builder in two days. I wonder if he doesn't like me anymore. Shouldn't the foundation be poured by now? Seriously, though, I'm looking for that sold sign and maybe a R.J. Wachsman Homes sign. These flags were exciting progress (I'm not kidding) but a sign will send me over the top. Not Texas-winning-the-national-championship-over-the-top, but way up there.

current music: Pixies: Dig for Fire

Got a honey jar stuck on my nose

2318 Rathgeber Road is going to be my new address! I signed a contract today (Friday). I've officially bought a lot and a new house. It seems like it's taken forever to get to this point. Maybe longer than that for those with whom I drove by this special lot on the corner of Stone Lake Drive and Rathgeber Road umpteen months ago. (Speculation is not yet over! In fact, it's probably been ratcheted up a level.) Then alone, driving by, and driving by, and driving by. Looking at it in the green of the summer and the brown of winter, seeing if it's different when it's 105 degrees as opposed to 103, checking to see what it looked like in a rainstorm and in then in the fog. Not worrying that it would be sold away before the right time, but knowing that if it were to be mine it would be there. (But wondering, after all, it if were to be mine!) And now, after a hold and wait, it is! Recognizing it's through nothing that I've accomplished, but as a result of it being poured for me.

Me on the lot from the west. There's an empty lot between mine and the existing house in the background:


From the southwest corner. Of course--love the lamp post. I don't think I'll be throwing any rocks at the bulb. Surely those days are past. The house in the background to my right is my katty corner backyard neighbor:


You can't really tell anything from this picture. Actually, you probably can't tell anything from any of these, but humor me. The west side of the house will be in line with that of the distant one in the background. The lot is 150' deep and 100' wide:


Across the street looking South, which would be out the front door. There are some estates over there with nicely cleared out land that is interspersed with wild mesquites. I think it's beautiful in the summer, and it smells great. It smells sweet and a bit sticky like the fields we used to play in. (Not to be confused with fields in North Carolina, which smell sweetly of dookie):


Accidentally shooting myself when setting the timer on the cam. Rickerrific!


A shout out to Shanny Skillz who pounced on my new profile photo (since modified slightly) that was taken in post-signing jubilation at the site.

current music: Lobo: Me and You and a Dog Named Boo

Something to pass the time

While my contract is being reviewed:



I'm less of a nerd than I thought. I wonder if this is good or bad. Wondering this probably raises my score a bit--good thing the test is over. I'll have my new home's address with my next post! Meanwhile, for those of us creeped out by aliens: http://www.cowabduction.com/ The picture on page 4 (bottom middle) is astounding.

current music: Blood Sweat & Tears: Lucretia MacEvil

March Madness!

...of another kind. I'm going mad already and nothing's been decided yet. I'm used to being the provider and not necessarily the decision maker. I've made a minor decision or two. Those in my immediate periphery would laugh, since I ask opinions of anyone that can form a complete sentence. Decisions? One side of my kitchen will look faintly like this:

But omit the corner pantry and the somewhat useless counter at the very end of the kitchen. Include double oven and microwave/vent hood over the stove. I want a gas stove. Does anyone have an opinion on the difference between an electric or gas double oven? I mention to my mother that those are all drawers from the oven to the pantry.

The other side has a space for the refrigerator at the far corner with an independent ice maker next to it. The counter with view of the living room will be about a foot shorter. I don't think that the island will include nonsense room for display.

I do want a built in entertainment center in the living room. This is an example:

I've moved the fireplace to the corner like this example. Who buys a television this small? Not me! I'll have to decide on my TV way beforehand, and then we'll build cabinetry around it. Hopefully, I'll be able to hide the Gamecube and Xbox 360 on some shelves underneath the movie screen. That's a funny thing to remember for anyone attending UT in the 80's. Dobie Theater in Dobie Center, a.k.a. the "Hebrew Hotel" showed movies on screens that were about the size of the TV I want. That wouldn't go over today, at all. I know I watched "Lost in America" there. "Say it! Say it! Say 'I lost the nest-egg.' Go on, say it!" Oh, man. This is classic good stuff. Check it out!

Current music: Pineapple Rag/Gladiolus Rag: Marvin Hamlisch (Soundtrack to "The Sting")

Reevaluation

The jury is still out on the game room issue. The builder is going to give me an apparently very rough estimate on the cost of building it. Now my train of thought has moved down the line and resulted in this: "How many pinball machines does one really need?" I'll keep the Addams Family, and for that matter, probably be buried in it. Everyone loves that one. The older mechanical machines, though...they're hardly played. I could try to reclaim Pinbot and place it and Addams in a 11X12.5 "office," have enough room for nice bookshelves and possibly a desk (why?) and be content. ??? That's surpassing pinball, right? Any thoughts?

This thought process should probably be a shame to me. You'd think I'd agonize about something more pertinent to every day living. I'll bet those who've built are laughing now! The promise is that that agony is yet to come!!!

current music: Bread: It Don't Matter to Me

I might have the lot soon

OK. I got up off my hiney and lifted the fog off the picture. If I could build a house that had a fog around it, I'd give it heavy consideration. Not so much the moat, though. I'm still looking at plans, so thanks to everyone who has sent them my way. Pros of this plan are: 1.Garage is in the back of the house and on the side. Yay! 2.Master bedroom closet space is not like a hallway 3.Laundry room is bigger. Cons are: 1.There is no built in entertainment center in the living room 2.No built in drawers and chest in the master bedroom 3. Everything is bigger.

I've nearly trashed the gameroom idea. It would be nice, but unless I shrink everything else it might be unreasonable. Plus, there's never a plan with a good spot for stairs. I haven't eliminated it yet, though.



currtent music: John Coltrane: The Inch Worm

Bigger better stronger faster

The flavor of the day:

If it's too hard to see, I'll either tweak the picture later, or type in info. This one would be 3300 square feet if I put a gameroom over the garage.

current music: Nitzer Ebb: Contol I'm Here

Walking through an empty house, tears in my eyes

Aha! The first indication that this endeavour is actually going to be a test. Silly me!



Rotating the garage and adding the stairs toward the game room are a bust! Look how far out the garage sticks in front of the house. How unattractive! And if I reduce it to a sensible two car garage instead, it cuts the game room to less pinball machines and no pachinko or poker. This ain't doing it for me anymore. Post comments on how it may be improved if you wish. I think it's back to the drawing board...but for an expert. Darn it all, I thought I had identified my right floorplan. Maybe if I instead identify and isolate the important aspects. Enough of this mess. I need to make Angus some eggs.

current music: ABBA: S.O.S.

Because my windows are painted shut,

I'm going to build a house around some new ones. This is the floorplan I like:



There will probably be a game room above the garage, and the garage will be rotated for side entry on a corner lot! Let me know if you have any improvements, or see any flaws in the plans. Randy and Kim sure have.

current music: The Smiths: Frankly Mr. Shankly

We were just on the road

Talking to my staff, and people in general, has reinforced what I already knew: that my parents provided what I'd consider great childhood vacation time. I happened across this neat paint graph that colors in the states that we've visited:

We visited 16 states, or 31% of the country. I'm bound to be corrected here--let's see...

I was around six when we started, and we had a "cartop carrier" that my dad crafted from his own plans. It would sit on top of our Ford Country Squire LTD station wagon and help us slice aerodynamically through the days on the road. It and the back of the station wagon were filled to the brim. He also fashioned a cupboard that sat in the back of the wagon so my mom could crawl from the front seat, over the back seat, and into the back to make us either peanut butter or baloney sandwiches and drinks. That way we didn't have to be bothered by stopping at Stuckey's to eat. (I don't think that I ever did get one of the old fashioned pecan log rolls that they featured on their signs...every 2.8 miles!)

On the way, we'd pester my parents to insanity--but not as bad as Tina tormented her father. We'd occupy our time playing the alphabet game on signs, playing road sign bingo, and the license plate game. It was cool to get out at state welcome signs and snap a picture. John Denver and, rarely, Linda Ronstadt were the soundtrack of our lives for the week. (Silver threads and golden needles cannot mend this heart of mine! -and- Empty the ashtray, sweep up the floor, put a lock on your door. If somebody calls in the mornin' just say we don't live here no more.) Oh, and man! I almost forgot: "Y'all need to be quiet, Dad is coming up on traffic." Whatever! Lastly, who didn't draw a line in the velour or make one with a seat belt (that's all they were used for back then) to demarcate your territory? This 3-D boundary extended up from the seat to the ceiling, and even a finger in the air violating the neutral zone would elicit retaliation and/or cries of injustice! A walah!

Most of the time we'd camp in a KOA instead of stay at a motel. We'd camp at the destination as well, usually. It was fun, having a campfire, running around in the woods or rafting in a clear mountain stream, the whole family sleeping in one tent and being admonished, "Don't touch the walls of the tent!" if it was raining. Later on we had an RV, which afforded us A/C, beds less firm than the ground, a refrigerator and stove, an indoor toilet, and a shower! There's a scene in an upcoming vacation movie (check out the trailer!) that my dad lived real-life. It involves dumping the waste.

Anyway, amongst the places we visited were Yosemite, Smokey Mountains, Meteor Crater, the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Vicksburg, Pagosa Springs, Hawaii, and both Disneys. There's a ton more, and what great memories. If you're going to bring up kids, you should consider exploring the country a little more than familes seem to do these days. Sure, it's a hassle and heaven forbid a kid miss any practice of any sort, much less school. For me, I wouldn't trade the times we spent.

Oh yeah, and the most boring state? Childhood: Louisiana--miles and miles of causeways over unsightly bayous and pine trees. Sheer boredom and stench. Adulthood: Iowa--miles and miles of rolling hills covered with corn. What's over the next hill? Another corny hill! Where I'd live if Texas weren't an option? Washington state. It doesn't rain there as much as people think. Any other questions?

I haven't improved much on the exploration of the country since those days, but I'm going to change that:

Upped it to 23 states and 45% of the country. Not impressive.
(create your own visited states map)

current music: Franz Ferdinand: Take Me Out