I got to tag along with Mike today. He was supposed to go to San Antonio, but shortly after he hit the road that got cancelled and he was rerouted to some sites "nearby." It was a nice drive (or ride, for me) along a nice rural road to Victoria - really nice to get away from the city and back to what we left behind in Tennessee. It was also cool to see what the hubs does for a living, and I'm glad he wasn't alone out there (sometimes overprotective wife, party of one).
I would have loved to have snapped a pic of a windmill or an oil derrick, but I didn't see any until dark. Also missed the water tower in Luling that looked like a watermelon with the lights being shone in stripes. Here are the pics I did get:
I saw movement in the grass at Brian's and saw this giant stick bug making its way across the yard. I kid you not, the thing was eight or nine inches long. I was glad I was in the truck with the door shut.
After all this time I have discovered that I have different scenes to choose from when taking pictures with my camera. Go figure. This one is called miniature, as somehow blurring the background is blurred and that makes things appear to be small. It's kind of cool.
This mode I have found and mastered... macro. I like macro.
I liked the contrast in colors with the feather and the rocks. Kept looking for arrowheads, and while I found some flint, I never did find one. Sadness.
Another shooting mode that enhances color. I love this tree with its twisty twirly limbs, but the colors of the leaves really set it off and make it almost fairy-like.
The light on the side of the building, almost looks like a candle in there.
Peephole.
Through the peephole.
Reflection of the tower in my watch.
Homeward bound. Construction, construction... always construction.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012
0088 - Time keeps ticking along
Finished painting the purple portion of the walls. Looks pretty good. Cutting in on a white ceiling when you have a dark color is always a challenge but it turned out okay, and even though it's not an entirely clean line, it isn't noticeable.
All the work I had done to clean the house was undone the minute Brian hit the door yesterday. I think he's like that kid in the Charlie Brown cartoons that always has the little tornado of dirt circling around him... coffee spots all over the counter... cat treat crumbs and pawprints on another part of the counter... big muddy man footprints on the carpet I just spot cleaned... clutter.... I give up. The master bedroom and bath are clean and that's the only thing I have control over. I'm just glad to have a place to stay, and we get along, so it's all good.
There are now eight cats (plus Gracie) in the house. The four that were here all along are not particularly pleased with the situation, there was a lot of hissing and growling yesterday, and this morning Trouble was chirping at the door for me to let him in. Yeah... a cat that chirps, it's adorable. I think he just needed a break. Today they all seem to just be avoiding each other. The only one who seems unfazed by it all is Simon. Simon is still doing what Simon does... lays in his spot... walks around... hisses at anything that passes by... waits for his treats. Gracie doesn't know how good she has it with a room all to herself (well, when I don't have the kittens in here, but I only do that for a little while). I think she's just happy not to be in the truck for a while.
Mom and dad are coming by tomorrow for lunch. They take little road trips here and there, and have decided to head to Fredericksburg for the weekend. Since they'll be in the area I'll get to see them for a little while. It's nice to be able to do that while we're still basically in the area. Once we hit the road again it will be difficult to know when we'll see people (unless we get the house).
Mike is in New Mexico. Hasn't had much sleep. I worry about him when he goes without sleep for as long as he has. He'll be home either tomorrow evening or early Saturday. I wonder about the feasibility of our 'take the RV wherever the work is' plan with this job. Of course, when we have the RV we don't have to come back to a homebase unless we want to, so that's less travel I guess. I just don't know how many boomerang trips to Dallas there will be, seems like they finish a job and return to Dallas then go to the next site.
Thought we were done with the IRS, but the letter that came wasn't a determination like we expected, it was an 'oops, we didn't quite get to that, we need 45 more days' letter. Our tax attorney says that's probably a good sign as most no's are handed out pretty quickly, and it's the yesses that take a little while. It's not certain that we'll come out ahead, but I am going to be positive about it. It's been about a year and a half now... what's 45 more days...?
Still cooking at home. Tonight it was patty melts and homemade fries. I cooked mine a little too long. Brian bought a truck and has been waiting on the dealership to detail it, so he isn't home yet. That means I'll get a second chance to try again. It was still good, the fries just had a little bit of a burnt taste. The double cooking method did seem to crisp them up and put some fluff in the middle, I just don't think I should have turned the temperature up like they told me to. Patty melt was good, and I understand that part of a patty melt is Swiss cheese... think I would put pepperjack or cheddar on it next time. Swiss just doesn't add much flavor.
I ordered a book about renovating old houses. Just putting it out there. We want this house. :) I really hope that once we qualify for the loan, we aren't disappointed. Yes... I am slightly obsessive.
All the work I had done to clean the house was undone the minute Brian hit the door yesterday. I think he's like that kid in the Charlie Brown cartoons that always has the little tornado of dirt circling around him... coffee spots all over the counter... cat treat crumbs and pawprints on another part of the counter... big muddy man footprints on the carpet I just spot cleaned... clutter.... I give up. The master bedroom and bath are clean and that's the only thing I have control over. I'm just glad to have a place to stay, and we get along, so it's all good.
There are now eight cats (plus Gracie) in the house. The four that were here all along are not particularly pleased with the situation, there was a lot of hissing and growling yesterday, and this morning Trouble was chirping at the door for me to let him in. Yeah... a cat that chirps, it's adorable. I think he just needed a break. Today they all seem to just be avoiding each other. The only one who seems unfazed by it all is Simon. Simon is still doing what Simon does... lays in his spot... walks around... hisses at anything that passes by... waits for his treats. Gracie doesn't know how good she has it with a room all to herself (well, when I don't have the kittens in here, but I only do that for a little while). I think she's just happy not to be in the truck for a while.
Mom and dad are coming by tomorrow for lunch. They take little road trips here and there, and have decided to head to Fredericksburg for the weekend. Since they'll be in the area I'll get to see them for a little while. It's nice to be able to do that while we're still basically in the area. Once we hit the road again it will be difficult to know when we'll see people (unless we get the house).
Mike is in New Mexico. Hasn't had much sleep. I worry about him when he goes without sleep for as long as he has. He'll be home either tomorrow evening or early Saturday. I wonder about the feasibility of our 'take the RV wherever the work is' plan with this job. Of course, when we have the RV we don't have to come back to a homebase unless we want to, so that's less travel I guess. I just don't know how many boomerang trips to Dallas there will be, seems like they finish a job and return to Dallas then go to the next site.
Thought we were done with the IRS, but the letter that came wasn't a determination like we expected, it was an 'oops, we didn't quite get to that, we need 45 more days' letter. Our tax attorney says that's probably a good sign as most no's are handed out pretty quickly, and it's the yesses that take a little while. It's not certain that we'll come out ahead, but I am going to be positive about it. It's been about a year and a half now... what's 45 more days...?
Still cooking at home. Tonight it was patty melts and homemade fries. I cooked mine a little too long. Brian bought a truck and has been waiting on the dealership to detail it, so he isn't home yet. That means I'll get a second chance to try again. It was still good, the fries just had a little bit of a burnt taste. The double cooking method did seem to crisp them up and put some fluff in the middle, I just don't think I should have turned the temperature up like they told me to. Patty melt was good, and I understand that part of a patty melt is Swiss cheese... think I would put pepperjack or cheddar on it next time. Swiss just doesn't add much flavor.
I ordered a book about renovating old houses. Just putting it out there. We want this house. :) I really hope that once we qualify for the loan, we aren't disappointed. Yes... I am slightly obsessive.
Monday, October 1, 2012
0087 - We went for a ride today
And I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
(calm down Brian, we were parked)
Quick! Someone call CSI...
(calm down Brian, we were parked)
Quick! Someone call CSI...
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