10-17-2011: Dust wall

Just a little west Texas dust storm accompanying the cold front tonight!

08-03-2011

07-24-2011

Rick got the grill working this weekend.  We initially used it on Wednesday, but it needed some adjustments to the regulator.  He's going to work on the doors and will stain the patio this coming week.

We've been working on decorating for the past few weeks.  It still needs lots more work, but it's starting to come together a bit in the living room area and we actually hung some stuff on the walls this weekend.

The front wood blinds were installed this week, and the woven wood blinds for the bedroom and living room/kitchen/hallway windows were supposed to ship last Wednesday.  Hopefully that means they will be installed this week.

07-18-2011

07-14-2011

The outdoor kitchen is getting closer to being finished.  Rick bought the sink today and is working on the forms to pour concrete for the top. 

We've been working with an interior decorator on the living room and entry hall this week.  It's very much still a work in progress, we're still working on figuring out what to keep.   http://www.flickr.com/photos/37379693@N03/5935247653/in/set-72157626943833362

07-04-2011

 These were taken on July 4th.  If you look back at last year's blog on the July 4th weekend, we were having one of our largest flood events in recent history.  This year we're having the hottest and driest summer in Lubbock history.  We spent most of the day chipping out small holes in the front yard with a pick-axe for grass plugs.  This is the worst possible weather to be starting new grass, plants and trees, but if we don't get them in now, it will just be a blowing dirt patch through the winter and into next year.  Maybe something will survive.

06-30-2011

The front of the outdoor kitchen is finished.  Rick's now working on the back.

We had a little surprise today.....Rick heard a large commotion in the chicken pen this afternoon and found this small egg in the center of the pen.  It looks like it came from one of the little bantam hens.  They are supposed to start laying at 5-7 months.  These gals won't even be 4 months old until about July 8th!  I guess we'll have to start working on nesting boxes.

06-29-2011

I actually posted these last night, but Blogger was down.  The outdoor kitchen work continues.  The furniture needs to be moved around a bit.

06-28-2011

I had a couple of comments today about my lack of  recent posting, and it just so happens that Rick started on the outdoor kitchen and part of the furniture was delivered today.  The coffee table and hall table will be delivered tomorrow. 

We've been working on some landscaping in the front yard area.  This has been quite challenging in the brutally hot and windy weather we've had all month.  It hit 111° on Saturday and 112° Sunday (both with wind).  It's been 105°+ many times in the past few weeks including one day with about 108° and 50+ mph winds.  The 3 large red oaks in the front yard are surviving somehow.  I've been putting in some grass plugs and have really increased the effort over the past few days.  We need to have the grass going within the next few weeks if there is any hope of covering the large area of blowing dirt in front before winter. 

I'll try to post a few more pics tomorrow.

06-09-11

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06-09-2011: Trees

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05-16-2011

We are in!!

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05-13-2011: Closing Day!!!

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I tried to post these pictures last night, but blogger was down. 

Today was closing day!! It's all official now.  Our great neighbors to the west brought over a bottle of wine when we got home, and we toasted the new house.

We decided not to try to move in tonight because there were just too many loose ends and little projects that needed some more work.  We bought some temporary window shades and  decided what we'll use for now.  We just need to take some window measurements. 

Tomorrow will be quite busy with finishing many small projects, cleaning, and moving some stuff in.  We'll probably try to stay over there tomorrow night.

05-11-2011: Interior front doors stained

Rick stained the interior part of the front doors today.  He'll probably work on the outside part tomorrow if it isn't too windy or dusty.  Rick has been caulking and installing doorknobs for the past couple of days, and I've been sealing grout.  Neither makes very exciting pictures, so I haven't posted to the blog.

We had some excitement across the street from our subdivision tonight when a large grass fire started around 4:30pm.  The fire trucks and police are still out here, but it's under control.  If one starts on this side of the road, we could have some problems.  We had a severe thunderstorm about 4:30-5:00 this morning and got around ¼ to ½ inch of rain.  It wasn't a lot, but it's the first rain we've had since October 21 and is only the second time that the new house has been rained on! The walls and roof went up last August. 

The fun continues tomorrow.  The shower doors in the hall and guest bathrooms will be installed.  The alarm people will be back to finish up.  Rick will continue caulking and staining the front door, and I'll maybe seal grout in the showers.

05-09-2011

Rick got the washer and dryer set up today, and he also did a lot of caulking.  I continued cleaning in the kitchen and bar areas, cleaned the hardwood floors in the master bedroom, and started sealing grout in the kitchen.

05-08-2011

We've spent the past few days working on touch-up stuff.  Rick spent most of Saturday and part of Sunday installing the garage door openers/outside keypads/inside controls. 

I put up the rest of the kitchen backsplash and grouted.  I also cleaned the outside windows and patio doors (except a couple of windows on the front where the wind was blowing a thousand miles per hour).  I cleaned in the kitchen today and have been working on the hardwood floors.  We also put up mirrors in the bathrooms this afternoon.