My house in review

 I went driving around yesterday, looking for the houses like mine. This first one is on Mill. It's a lawyers office. It looks the closest to mine in style.

 This one is on Seguin. Some kind of real estate or rental office. It lacks the balcony roof, has badly designed railings, and they have tackied it up with signs. Those Grecian columns look totally out of place also.

 This one is some kind of school affiliated office. There was work being done on it. I really don't care for the balcony trim.

And now my house. I think the rustic  wood posts and trims look more in tune with the Hill Country Style. My house was modeled after the previous three and I think it looks the best of the group.

PERRY FOR PRESIDENT

We are all blessed that Rick Perry has declared he is running for President. He can do more for this country than anyone else running. He has kept Texas strong and he shares our beliefs. Watch though....lies will be told. The left knows he is a serious threat so will work very hard to concoct lies about him. Know this....they are not true. And the media will end up making themselves look like fools. If you hear someone from Texas talking trash about him...realize that they are either not from Texas, or are one of our fruits or nuts that we keep around for entertainment.
RICK PERRY FOR PRESIDENT 2012

I'm melting!!

um...wow...it's been a while since either of us posted. Both of us have been super busy.

One problem has been the extreme drought going on. All my time is spent watering my plants and trees. The promise of this new place makes it hard not to keep putting in plants. Then I spend my waking hours watering the darned things to keep them alive. Above is my latest aquisition...an Angel Trumpet. I didn't go for the usual yellow ones, no, I picked the one that blooms white, then turns pink around the edges.

 

The frogs have been happy and prolific. I do enjoy taking pictures of them. Claire kitty and Jack the dog love to try to catch them. Claire has had opportunities to catch them, but instead would rather bat at them and make them jump. The pond is going to be cleaned this month. I am paying good money to have someone do it that knows what they are doing. Sadly, the darned fish are spawning this morning. Wrong time to spawn, guys.

 The squirrels are endlessly amusing and frustrating. No birdfeeder is squirrel proof...no matter what they claim. It was so cute to see baby squirrels out this past couple of weeks. They were intensely curious about something under that pot. I noticed an anole lizard on the pot later that day, so they must have been fiddling with the lizard. I like to have not caught my breath after laughing at one of the babies. It was on the edge of the pond, going for a drink, when a frog jumped. The squirrel jumped higher. Then calmly landed and proceeded to act like nothing happened.

 I planted my first shade garden this year. It has been a delight to plant caladiums, hostas, ferns, and begonias. I have never had shade to plant in before. Now I have elephant ears up also. This is a picture of the big bed in the front yard.

 I present....my first tomato of the season. It was sooooo tasty! Cubedog calls them edible sunshine. She and Bigdog were down last weekend and I got to serve her homegrown tomato. It was a hit, and there was much moaning going on around the table between the tomatoes and the steaks.

 This is a Flapjack Kalanchoe that I bought a couple of years ago. It has totally outgrown it's pot. It does love the shade in the front yard. Just enough light to tinge it's leaves, but not enough to bake it to a crisp. I need to find a really pretty pot for it. One that will go with it's style.

 I had bought some Oriental Lilies last year. I potted them up, then we moved. I wasn't sure if they would come up now. Much to my delight, they came up and I have been getting blooms like this. I need to find some Stargazer Lilies. I adore them and their heady scent.

 This bed is along the front porch. Again, mostly shade. This shot shows Gebera daisies, purple Oxalis, and Scotch moss. The bed is full of these, irish moss, scilla, coleus, ajuga, and a Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow plant...that I think it got too hot for.

 I have a lot of salvia and sage that was here when I moved in. Watering, fertilizing, and mulching have produced some very pretty plants and blooms. This is an Indigo Spires I believe.

 There were two big batches of Lamb's Ears also that came with the house. I love them. Most people cut off the flower stems, but I like them. This picture is when they first came out. I love the gray fuzzy with tiny purple flowers.

And this is a white salvia that came with the place. Most of them are in a bed that was built up with rocks. I have to redo it because everytime I water...whether sprinkler or soaker hose....the water runs down into the swale. Not cool....we're in drought...the plants need the water, not the rocks.
Well, that is today's update. I will post more as I remember to in the days ahead. I have been working my tail off in this yard. I got almost an inch of rain a couple of weeks ago and discovered that when I don't have to spend my time watering, I can actually get stuff done in the house. We are praying for a nice soaking tropical storm to break the drought.

Smart alek Addendum

 HEY....JACK!!!

What?

It Snowed!!!

Last week was astounding. First they said Houston would get snow, and they only got some ice. The weather people really didn't know what was going to happen. Up here in New Braunfels, we got about a quarter of an inch of snow. This snow had an ice base, so that meant that I-10 was closed in San Antonio, and 35 was closed through New Braunfels. We have mainly overpasses here, so they just closed the whole stretch. It was a magical wonderland and a rarity in this part of the woods. Kids got out of school, parents stayed home from work, and everybody robbed the lids off their trashcans and looked for a place to sled.

 This stuff was very dry powder. I guess it's great for skiing. Son managed to pack enough of it together to make a wee little snowman on top of his truck hood.

 Dog and I took a walk with the camera. This is the view up my road from the gate. I loved how the snow crunched under my shoes.

 A view of the backyard from the upstairs bathroom window.

 An artistic shot of snow and rocks.

 This is from the front balcony down to the front yard. It makes me sigh deeply with contentment.

 Another artsy fartsy shot of yucca in the snow. I knew you wanted to see artsy fartsy. You're welcome.

 But the pipes from the well froze. Three nights of sub freezing temps did a number on exposed pvc pipes. Have no clue why they put them that way. Once I put an electric blanket on the pipes and covered that with more blankets, it thawed slowly. I ended up with some pretty foul water for a bit. It took a while, but I finally got clear water. Add that to the list of things we have to take care of on top of the addition that FIL lives in. It is not insulated. His window unit barely put out any heat, so I popped two space heaters in there and ran a fan blowing into the house to blow out the cold air. After years of living in crappy houses, I found that if you blow air out of the cold room, warm air will return. I managed to get him toasty warm.
How was your cold weather? Sister in Houston found out that heat pumps are worthless in cold weather.

Fall color

I am so loving being in a place that actually shows fall color....instead of dead-plant-tan and cedar-green.

I don't know what tree this is, but it is showing a nice gold color at the side of the corral.

Also at the corral is the only Redbud on the place. It will be getting special attention. I love Redbuds!

 I have two pecan trees. The one in the backyard is buck nekkid! I am babying it. This one is in the front next to the drive. It is showing very pretty burgundy colors now.

Silver Maple is a trash tree. I didn't plant this...it came with the house. But it sure is a pretty yellow now. I must see if I can grow Japanese Maples in the understories.

 This is a huge tree....taller than the 2 story house, and shades the whole side yard and driveway. I love this tree. I figured it was another oak, not a live oak since it is changing colors and shedding leaves. But I picked up a leaf and examined it. I do believe I have an enormous Cedar Elm! I don't think it is a winged one, but will get out my binoculars to check the limbs closer to see. I am absolutely delighted. I planted two Cedar Elms at my old house and they were getting nice and big before I moved.

I have deer. They were caught inside the backyard last week. That will mean trouble for them if they keep doing that. But they look innocent enough in this picture. Don't be fooled.

 See their evil lazer eyes? They have meaness on their minds. Don't look....they will entrance you and cause you to put out corn for them. Then they will eat everything you plant in your yard!!!

I miss my turkeys. They were so delightful to watch. This one was strutting in my backyard at the other house. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

ummm.....hello?

uh, my bad. I have been silent for quite a while now. I have been busier than a one-armed paper hanger. We made the move....the day Hermine went over. Lovely, eh? It was so wet that it was 4 days before the movers could come back with our stuff. At least hubby was able to get our mattresses from the van before they drove off. We camped for 4 days. We even went to buy a frig....and it couldn't be delivered until the day the movers were supposed to come back with our stuff.
So we have been here for 2.5 months. I have gotten to the point that I cherish days that I don't HAVE to do anything. I have a yard to plant and trim and learn about. I brought my plants from the other house and am trying to figure out exactly where I want to put them. Then there is the house to put in order. Still haven't gotten it all in, nor put away. The garage is full. I am mourning the loss of my huge studio. I am down to a wee bedroom now until kid finally is able to move out. It also means that the only guest quarters I have is hubby's travel trailer that he was able to bring home. Oh, and I have a pond. A big 8'x18' above ground  pond with fish in it. Tomorrow, after much futzing and trying everything else, I am going to vacuum it out. It is full of sludge. I have a koi named Sumo, and a couple dozen goldfish of all size, configuration, and names.
This is the house. Isn't it beautiful? It's called "Hill Country Style", and though it looks old, it's only 22 years old.

Here are two of my new pets.

 This is Sumo and Slash. Sumo is the only Koi I have. He is a Yamato Nishik. Slash is a nice sized goldfish that has a white streak across it's nose. I enjoy going out in the late afternoon and sitting at the side of the pool feeding them. Next spring, after I get the pond cleaned up and set up the way I want it, I would like to get Sumo a buddy.

Here is what the pond looked like before we moved in. My son and I got busy one day and cleaned it out. there was an amazing amount of crap in it, and lilies that are way too overgrown.
This weekend I am going to Kid n Ewe in the next town. I love that I can go and it's only half an hour's drive to a fiber festival!!!
Well, that's it for right now. I will check back later. Maybe with shots of the Fiber Festival. Cubedog has been very busy every weekend at the Faire. Things are going very well for her. Hopefully she will have pictures to share when she finally has time to breathe.
Oh, and I will have to share the tale of the moron neighbor at the other house. It is amazing just how stupid people can be.

Its a-camping I will go

Its that time of year....Faire Season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't believe I'm up at 6 am on a Saturday to basically drive 1.5 hrs to volunteer my time to clean a shop that does not belong to me. But hey, I get first look at all the goodies.
I'll be spending the night in the back of the truck-haven't done that in years.
Hopefully, the CMCU will be ready to roll in two weeks when we have to be there for opening cannon to a new season.
The best and worst part; we are working for 2 different vendors this year and will be clear across the park from each other.
And I'm hoping that I will spend WAY less money by being busy with customers all day. Besides, 4 Quarters (where I'll be) isn't near any of my favorite vendors-THIS is a very good thing.
I'm looking forward to seeing the park before any patrons are allowed in. A faire where only the vendors are wandering around is still 'magic'. Once the patrons arrive-its all business and people watching.
I'm taking the camera, so hopefully I'll have pics to share later.
Auf Wiedersien!

In the catagory of "Isn't that about right"

This house buying and moving thing has been one thing after another. I am sure there is more to come with only one day left till load up. First, I still have tons of stuff to pack and have run out of boxes. It took me two weeks to come up with the ones I had. It's going to be next to impossible to find more in this town in one day.
But then, to top things off with a cherry....I get up early this morning because too many things are going through my head. Decide to get on the laptop to distract myself and check the weather for tomorrow. What the hell????? Who is this Hermine and where did she come from? Apparently a tropical storm formed at the south tip of Texas last night and is supposed to rain like a mofo on us the day we are loading up!!!!!!!!! Yep, there it is....the big honking cherry on top of everything!  Personally I think the devil has enough to do playing with the liberals in gov't.....there is no reason to be picking on me!!!!!!

OMG House Explosion!!!

This is what my living room looks like tonight. I pulled out a sofa in order to have a place to stack boxes. That contains my bathroom, half of the kitchen and part of the living room. I just packed one bookcase and have the boxes stacked in front of the fireplace.

My bedroom. It is cleared out and into boxes except for Clueless One's half of the closet. I left his boxes of undies and socks unsealed so he can get into them when he is home. I have a container larger than a shoebox that holds my undies for the week and a few clothes still in the closet to wear.
All my stuff packed up and sitting around and all the stuff yet to be boxed up is driving me nuts. The chaos is enormous! I had to take a painkiller this morning and again this evening. The work is really wearing on me now. Monday we sign papers and get the keys to the house, then eight days later we will be loading up and moving to the new house. I am so excited...that is what keeps me going. The excitement of going to a happier place to live.
You should see the pile of trash!!! OMG....have got to get on the ball next week and hire a dumpster for a couple of days. I also have a large pile of stuff to give to a friend of mine.
Oh, and I am allergic to dust. Unearthing things that haven't been unearthed in a while has got my sinus's stuffed up and giving me a sore throat. I just got through sneezing a couple of times. I have got to remember to buy more tissues tomorrow.
I also have freaked out pets. Jack is taking things in stride, but the cats don't know what in the world is going on! The two oldest are getting clingy, and the youngest is terrified because her world is changing, just as she was getting used to things. When the kid moves this week, he will be taking her with him. That will give her time to herself for a week to get used to the new place before the bullies move in. There is no pet door at the new house. That is one of the first things we are going to have to figure out...where to put one. These guys are spoiled to going in and out when they need to. And I have gotten spoiled from not having to play doorman constantly.
CUBEDOG: And it is this reality, that my house will someday look like that, that motivates me to put stuff in the trash or the donation box. I stop and think, "Would I want to pack that?" But more importantly, "Would I want to UNPACK that?" Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahah

Otter: yes, I have a big pile to give to a friend of mine, and a huge pile of trash. That is what happens when you live where you have no trash pick up for 20 years. You hang on to things you would otherwise toss. I have been surprised at some of the things I have found squirreled away. 

Otter addendum: Just to show you why I call my hubby "the Clueless One".....I sent him the above pictures, showing him how much I had done. This is what he emailed back....
You still have a week before the movers come. We are only signing papers tomorrow. Or are you loading the animals up and moving tomorrow.
After my maniacal laugh, I came thisclose to sitting in a corner, rocking back and forth, with my thumb in my mouth. I am sure you understand.

The neverending Saga of Housebuying

Well, here we sit, a little over a week from closing day. I have my end tied up on a pretty bow. Picked a Home Warranty company, got my letter of credit because the mail can't manage to get a letter 20 miles to me, change of address forms printed out and ready to turn in, pets shots updated and new address logged into their files, more boxes, and things at the bank are almost ready for signatures. Even talked Clueless One down from a tizzy over temporary interest rates.
So what could happen now? Well, a bit of background.....we made a bid on the house, the seller came back and wanted 12,500 more. Okay, he indicated it would put him in the hole otherwise. We get his appraisal from April and shows it was worth 33,000 more than our first bid. We are fine with that. Then today we get our appraisal that the bank ordered for the loan. Yeah, guess what.....it appraised at only 1,000 more than our original bid. The whole purchase is up in the air now. My Real Estate Agent sent him the appraisal and will discuss it with him. Either we accept the over priced house purchase, dump the house purchase, or the seller has to accept the lower price for the house. What is in our favor on this is the fact that the seller has already moved out and is anticipating not having to make a mortgage payment next month. That is why they are selling the house....got in over their heads.
I am deflated. I just had to hand the whole thing over to God. Maybe God only wanted us to pay the amount of our original bid, and this is his way of getting us there after all. I don't know. All I know is that it isn't anything I can do anything about.....so it's up to Him.

It's always something

I just got through filling out and printing off 3 change of address forms to turn in to the post office. Family, business, and father in law. Gonna have son fill his out so I don't screw it up. I have things set to start going to the new house on the 3rd of Sept. Son should be there by then....trying to get him ready to move on closing date to be there for anything we have to have done before we move...cable, phone, etc.
But there is always something that will screw up. I have a dear friend that is going to go to Saudi for a year to teach English with a mission group. She is set to leave next month. She has an account set up with an Arab mission group that we can support her with. So I waited till the house was finalized, then sent off a check with the new address listed. She was in tears sunday because the group she was registered with is disbanding and her account is going to be with another company.....so the first one is sending everyone's checks back! You know what that means? My return will be sent to the new house and I haven't even gotten the keys yet!!!! Grrrrrrrr!
Also, The Clueless One has changed his days off. Instead of coming home next week to pack, he will be coming home the week of the move. That means I had to email him the electric company application to sign and send back to me so I can fill it out and send it off. But first, I have to call my electric company today to see what the hold up is with our letter of recommendation to be sent with the application. It has been over a week and nothing has come in the mail yet. Geesh, they are only 20 miles away. It's not like it has to go around the world first. Or does it?
I also have to call about Home Warranty Insurance. ugh. You know, in all honesty, Clueless One is in charge of millions of dollars of equipment and men on the jobs he does, so is very busy and trying to complete jobs without having to spend more millions......but having to do the whole move thing by myself is driving me nuts!

Since I double posted pictures......

How about a different set of pictures? I can show you more of the inside of the house. Will I be forgiven for totally losing my mind?

 This is the front porch....you can sit on the swing and catch a breeze, but come on in.

 Right in the door is the staircase. To the left is the office and the guest bathroom. Lets go upstairs.

 This is the only spare bedroom I will have for a while. Family will want me to make it the guest bedroom, but it is the only option I have for a studio right now. From the door to the left.....

 And from the door to the right. I am sure I will stuff the closet full, it's an decent size anyway. That is Clueless One opening the closet. And yes, that is how he dresses to ride the Harley.

 This is the room that I covet for my studio. But kid has claimed it. I am sure it will be painted soon. That is the view to the left with his closet.

 And the view to the right. Not a big room, but see that door there?

 The room has a small room off of it. You step down into this cute little windowed room. covetcovetcovet When kid finally is able to move out....I am moving my studio in here!!

 The room for myself and Clueless One is the biggest...except for FIL's suite. The pink walls will be pained pronto!

 But take a look at the small pan in the ceiling! Tricked out in decorative wood! way cool.

 Our bathroom...meh. It has a tub/shower to the right of the toilet. And to the far right out of camera shot is a small alcove with storage. I am not too worried about having only one sink. Right now we have two and he never uses his...always uses mine.

 The very dark upper hallway. Looking from the front of the house to the back. To the left is kid's room and across the hallway is his bathroom. Between them is a storage closet with a bookcase in the wall. To the right is the door to my room. To the left out of camera shot is the extra room/studio. And behind me when I took the picture is the multipaned door to the upper balcony. At least you don't have to go through anyone's room to get to the balcony.

The upper balcony. Nice view and should be able to catch a nice breeze up there. I can hardly wait to move.