Day 25 Turn up the Heat!

Fixer Upper!

If yesterday was a slow news day then this is even slower.  Nothing but light rain all day long and still cold.  About all we've done was set up some scaffolding and burned trash in the trash pit.  Dwight and Nancy headed out today to see their baby granddaughter and take four dozen eggs to unsuspecting relatives.
                                                                                                     
As for me I'm just lounging around instead of working. I began to wonder what the easy life was all about.  I'll just enjoy watching westerns on TV, drink another cup of coffee, and dream of sunny Oregon.




...until tomorrow.

Day 24 Another Respite From the Warm Weather

Picking up scaffolding from Buddy's

This is a light news day as it got cold and we just didn't want to deal with it.  Dwight talked to a neighbor that owns land next door but lives in Falfurias.  He wanted to know what it's like living out here.  Dwight told him it was a good life and if he ever wanted to move here he would help him...by getting him Bob the Builder!

Mr. Pringles

Herbie

I found the look of Nancy's atv vaguely familiar.  She named it Herbie.  I mentioned it  to Aunt Jean and she confirmed it after going to the grocery store, he should be named Mr. Pringles!

...until tomorrow.

Day 23 Floors R Us

Finally  The floor is finished!  It's a good thing this was well planned in Dwight's head because we just had enough plywood to complete the floor area!  Uncle George had been teasing us that he was going to give it the marble test to see if the floor was level.  We made him bring his marble and by golly it didn't roll off the deck.

This afternoon the wall materials arrived right on time so we can start the next phase in the morning.  One of these days it's going to start looking like a house!




...until tomorrow.

The last piece of plywood flooring!

Day 22 The Egg and I

We're having a minor crisis with the chickens this week.  It seems they don't have a problem laying eggs.  We're up to 145 eggs and we haven't even got today's.  I don't think I can eat another 10 egg omelet for breakfast!

For those new readers that want to know what we're building, well we're not real sure either.  Dwight had a pole barn built and we're turning it into a house.  Rough day today.  Nancy broke an air hose so we would have to go to Hebbronville for a replacement...and lunch. Dwight forgot his wallet. I'm sure he's good for it as soon as they let him go.

Some of the eggs

...until tomorrow

Day 21 Sucks to be Cold!

We tried.  Dang it's cold!  Went to work at 10:30 am hoping it would warm up a little.  This time it wasn't so much that the tools wouldn't work but we couldn't feel our fingers!
 Drove down the road to see the well they were reworking at Uncle Bills.  Even they had the sense to stay indoors.

Maybe we'll have better luck this afternoon.  If not I'll just dream about the warm weather in Oregon.

...until tomorrow.

Abandon Ship!

Day 20 Colder than Oregon in February

Well It's cold, windy and wet and I'm not even home!  The floor will just have to wait while we head into Corpus Christi for the day.  First stop is to look at hardwood flooring.  I guess when you rough in a floor you can't help but start thinking about how you're going to cover it up.

Had lunch at Joe's Crab Shack.  Was hoping for some fish from the gulf but I'm afraid it might have been frozen fish from Newport Oregon.  Oh well.  The key lime pie was great.

...until tomorrow.

Dwight waves a card like it's real money

Day 19 Working Over the Trash Dump

Gary and I thought we should do some shootin'.  So we saddled up our horses (ATV) and headed out to the shootin' range (trash dump).  We were supposed to stay out until we ran out of ammo but it started to rain.  Gary didn't want to get his powder wet or something like that.  I didn't hear it all because I was worried about ruining my hearing aids.  We were still able to cover quite a few topics I'd like to share, but as you know, what happens at the trash dump stays at the trash dump.

Headed back to Realitos to start back to work on Monday.  I sure hope someone finished building the floor while I was gone.  But I doubt it.

...until tomorrow.

Day 18 The Rise and Fall of Bob the Builders Ego

Cousins

Cindy, Mike, and Uncle Herm

While visiting with my extended family I start hearing comments "There's Bob the Builder","Hi Bob the Builder".   I'm thinking wow, I thought only 3 or 4 people were reading this diatribe! I guess this storyline is more interesting than I thought.  Only to be shot down later that evening by my cousin Gary.  I was cutting a piece of cake and commented that I seemed to be having trouble cutting it in a straight line.  He immediately comments "I'm just glad your not building my house".  I guess it's good my ego came back to earth.  It makes it easier to accept being a mediocre carpenter.  Also funnier.

...until tomorrow.

Discussing bladder control issues with Gary

Day 17 A Special Day

 Today was a day of fellowship and remembrance...

Me and Uncle Ed, August 2014

...until tomorrow.

Day 16 We're Tired and We Can't Take It Anymore...

We're still at it, working on that darn floor.  Dwight says it isn't that he's tired, he's just tired of doing the same thing.  We just want to finish  it and move on to something different!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            I think I'm going to take the long weekend off after we finish another row of

Beautiful Downtown Nordheim

plywood and head up to Nordheim to stay with my cousin Gary.  Maybe we'll buy a box of 22 ammo and pretend we're big game hunters.  I bet there's a chance I could hit something at least 10 feet away!

So the heck with it.  We'll just have to finish the floor next week...

Dwight, the hoser.

...until tomorrow.

Day 15 Feel the Rhythm, Feel the Rhyme...

Dwight and Nancy and I have really got the pace up on building the flooring.  Dwight started out worrying about the fit and finish when we began the floor. Now he's figured out, screw it, nobody's going to see it when we cover it up!  Other than that the weather is getting warmer again with a high today of 61.  By Friday it will be in the 80's.  Gee, and to think I always hated February!

Reluctantly, I must tell my darling wife that the store in Three Rivers that sold Brighten Jewelry has closed and the building is for sale.  Darn.  And to think I always enjoyed spending money there.


...until tomorrow.

Day 14 Baby it's Cold Outside!

Last nights sleep kept getting interrupted by the smoke alarm with a battery issue.  When it would occasionally beep no one was awake enough to turn on a light and get on a chair to turn it off.  Finally about 4 am Aunt Jean took a broom and beat it to death.

Dwight thinks it's cold...

We didn't get started on the job until 10:30 am because it was too cold to get out of bed.  It was 32 degrees out and I must admit that it really is cold.  We started to nail down the plywood deck but my nailer wouldn't punch the nails in but half way.  I figured it was broke so we got out the other one and it didn't do any better.  

...I'm just pretending it's cold!

Dwight decided that it was the cold that was affecting the tools. As we contemplated our next move a dim bulb flickered to life above our head. Did anyone turn on the compressor? The flooring continued on smoothly after that.

...until tomorrow.

Day 13...and Then the Winds Came

We all spent a relaxing Sunday night watching HeeHaw.  I forgot how corny that  show was.  We sang along with the songs and laughed at the jokes.  Do you know who's buried in Alexander the Grapes tomb?...Alexander the Raisin!

Today we started early because we knew the weather was going to change.  We got the joists and the insulation done on another row and started to place the plywood deck in.

And then the wind changed direction, the temperature dropped 25 degrees in 5 minutes and everything started blowing away.  We briefly considered seeing who could fly a sheet of plywood the farthest but then thought better of it.

Went back to the farm for sandwiches and a brief siesta before heading to Kingsville to the hardware store.  Down here you better know what you need before you go because it's 60 miles to Lowes!

Two guys going to a hardware store...

...is worse than 4 women in a clothing store!

...until tomorrow.

Day 12 We Don't Need No Stinkin' Day Off

...and on the 7th day God rested, but he said Dwight and I had to keep working. So this Sunday we finished the second section of the floor for a total of 640 square feet of shuffle board space.  The weatherman keeps threatening us with wind and rain so we figured we better keep going.  You may wonder why that would be a problem when we already have a roof. I do not know.  Something about a cold rain blowing sideways or something.

We did quit at 3:00 pm so we'll have the rest of the day to visit with family.  Just so you can see what kind of damage 56 years will do, here's the proof side by side.

...until tomorrow.

1959

2015