End of year update!

Well folks, nearly the end of the year. It seems like only yesterday that the doom and gloom crowd (that would be you whinny liberals) were running around screaming that the world, as we know it, was about to end because the year 2000 was going to arrive on schedule. OOPS! Just like everything else you try to frighten us about.... you were wrong. (Don't y'all ever get tired of being on the wrong side of everything?) But enough about the head up their ass bunch and back to reality!

HOUSING UPDATE!

Work progresses slowly on the old home front. We have the laundry room finished with the exception of storage cabinets and trim work. The walls are painted, ceiling painted, new steel attic stairs installed and a 12 inch high platform constructed for the washer and dryer to set upon. That was covered in the same ceramic tile as the rest of the floor. The platform probably sounds silly to most of you until you consider two important factors. #1 is that we both recently discovered that we're not getting any younger. (Yes... that was a shock!) #2 is that both machines are front loading. Raising them 12 inches means one doesn't have to bend over nearly as much to do the loading and unloading. (NOW it makes sense, doesn't it?) We also added a screen door outside and a nice little water diverter to the roof so we don't have to walk under Niagara Falls to get into the house when it rains.

Ceramic tile is appearing elsewhere now. 90% of the hallway is covered as is 2/3 of the master bedroom floor. If you've not had the pleasure of installing ceramic tile before it's slow back breaking work that requires 100% accuracy in the preparation phase. So far it seems that we did a good job of laying out the initial run in the hallway. That is the key run and eventually will stretch nearly 60 feet in one continuous visible run. Everything else keys off that into the other rooms of the house. It's something of a pain in the butt, however the end result will be well worth the effort.

LIVING OUT BACK UPDATE!

The "Guest House" continues to be our living quarters and will likely be such until we get one other room finished besides the master bedroom in the main house. The reason is simple. Since we had to move before the remodeling work was completed we have a house full of boxes. Those have to be escorted from one room to another to expose the walls and floor so we can work on them. Right now the master bedroom is empty while we tile and paint. Once finished then we have to empty the guest bedroom and put all that stuff into the master bedroom so we can work in there. It's a constant game of move the stuff around until we've got enough completed to start placing things in their proper places. The "guest house" is serving us well enough for the time being. Most nights we can sleep comfortably without additional heating but if the temperature stays below 60 we have to do something. Turns out that the previous owner (who didn't mind spending enough money to completely recover the entire outside of all the structures in the back yard to make them look "rustic") didn't think to spend any money on something called insulation. OOPS! So basically the walls serve as a wind break and not much beyond that. We first relied on a couple of electric space heaters, one ceramic and the other one of those oil filled radiator units. Those work well enough while the temperatures stay in the upper 40's and above but cannot handle 30's and below. Also they tend to do frightful things to the ol' electric bill. We have a triple redundant heating system out back now. Partly because as a former Boy Scout I believe in that "be prepared" motto.... but mostly because I really hate freezing my ass off. (long story punctuated by many in leadership positions repeating the line "good training" over and over again) The afore mentioned electric system is now the third line of defense against the cold. Since propane is fairly inexpensive we use a gas space heater as the primary heat system. With three different output settings it has proven to be capable of handling temperatures into the 30's fairly well. Much lower than that or with high winds and it might not be able to cut it. Just in case it does get colder, or we run out of propane on a very cold night, we have two kerosene heaters. One is a Corona unit that only has two output settings.... pretty damn hot and REALLY freaking hot! Don't fire that sucker up unless it's in the 20's and heading south in a big hurry. We have not yet found a night that is too cold for it to not be able to steadily increase the room temperature. The other kerosene unit is a very old "Perfection" model that I've drug around for many, many moons. (a little Indian lingo there) It's black, it's ugly, it's butt simple and it works flawlessly every time. It works well when the temperatures are in the 30's and 40's and keeps the place very comfortable.

Some plumbing issues have developed though. After the sewer backed up I made the discovery that the "guest house" is not connected to the city sewer system! Why I have no earthly idea since it's line comes within 18 inches of the city system line. (more of the insane genius of the previous owner) No... what he decided to do was, rather than spend $6 for 18 inches of PVC pipe and make the connection.... he'd just hook the guest house to the septic system that was suppose to have been taken out of service when the city of Dallas annexed this part of the county and ran regular sewer service lines out here. (The mans twisted logic never fails to amaze me.... I strongly suspect he was a democrat) Not knowing this I dumped gallons of drain cleaner, root killer and every other toxic drain cleaning substance I could get my hands on into the toilet out back. Rather than open the line that basically killed every beneficial biotic agent hard at work in the septic tank. (Sorry guys) Following that genocide I've had to re-establish the anaerobic colony and get things chugging along again underground. (fortunately my ex-wife's father was a plumber so I learned about these things.... Thanks, Leo!)

Other than that life out back has not been too bad really. Granted it would be nice to have cable out there but I just haven't had time to mess with attempting to tap into the main house system and re-direct some entertainment out back....... yet. Then again I only have one cable box so it's a wasted exercise.

MESSED UP LEG UPDATE!

Doctors told Miss Rebecca that I might loose my leg following the unfortunate interface between it and a Dallas fire hydrant. They also told her that even it I did manage to keep it that I'd need between 12 and 15 reconstructive surgeries. I basically told her "bullshit! Watch me. I'll be walking again in 90 days." Well.... I lied. I was walking unaided in 80 days. Never tell someone like me there is something I can't do. (within logical reason of course) The knee is still a bit weak and there is a lump above the knee that is a bit painful but otherwise I can walk or jog just fine. Not quite up to delivering a good roundhouse kick yet...... but all things in good time. Besides.... I don't actually need to be able to kick someone's ass to hand it to them.... if you catch my drift.

OTHER STUFF UPDATE!

Well.... Miss Rebecca and I have reservations at a hotel down in the hill country for New Years Eve this year. There is a little Cajun style restaurant within walking distance that serves up groceries that are well worth the drive from Dallas. There is a patio out back with a view overlooking the Llano river that is priceless.

I personally wish each and everyone one of you (Yes... even you poor misguided democrats and liberals) the very best of New Years. I wish you peace and prosperity, health and happiness. May all your troubles be small and all your dreams larger than life. May the Lord bless you and all those you love and hold dear.

Until next year........

Peace......