July 26
No work on Fridays, so we had the run of the house on this visit.
There is a treat at the bottom of this posting, so be sure to read to the end. 🙂
And don’t forget to click on the first picture to open up the BIG Gallery!
technical
-
- All of the edges are done.
-
- And almost all of the windows are secured with plastic and tape.
-
- And the stucco mesh itself is making its way around the house.
-
- Pretty soon someone is going to slap some stucco on this wall…
-
- …and up into the tiny corners around the vigas.
-
- But there is still stucco mesh to be applied.
-
- And some sheets of metal lath remain…
-
- Hiya, Joe!
-
- The front porch is ready to go. Notice how neat and tidy it is? Sure sign of big work to come!
-
- I will try to keep it this nice, too… 🙂
-
- My closet doors are moving closer to their final installation!
-
- Bella likes the outside door. This will lead to my flagstone patio someday.
-
- My bathroom door is up.
-
- And so is my bedroom door.
-
- Door to the laundry room–and my office!
-
- Dining room. No eating here yet. Still making stuff!
-
- The kitchen.
-
- Living Room.
-
- Action on the kiva! The firebricks are getting higher.
-
- Door to Guest Bedroom. Yes, you will have some privacy, I promise.
-
- Ta da! First salt cedar door to go up is the West End Master Suite door.
-
- Ain’t it pretty?!
-
- Door to West End Den.
-
- The West End Den kiva is going up too. Can’t wait to see the final kiva profile!
-
- Door to West End bedroom.
-
- And the closet doors for the West End bedroom are waiting patiently…
-
- West End Ramada is all tidied up.
-
- So is the yard. Stucco is about to happen, folks!
-
- Swirly clouds as seen from the Ramada. This is going to be a great view–heck, it already is!
personal
-
- Now everywhere I look I see potential landscaping ideas.
-
- But it is hard to compete with Nature!
-
- Mature sotol
-
- The texture and the color are so luscious.
-
- This is the tallest sotol I’ve found! 😉
-
- And nearby is a tiny button cactus. I love the landscape–great and small.
-
- It is raining back there. And now I’m hearing thunder.
-
- We head home as this monster cloud moves in…
postscript
So where have I been the last few days, you ask? Ah, you think I’m hanging out having a good time being retired, don’t you? Well, I am!
On Tuesday, Steve took me on a road trip to visit some of his previous clients and to see their homes. Tile in the bathrooms and kitchens, specifically. He wanted me to get some ideas about my own tile projects. And I did! Everyone was very nice and allowed me to take pictures for reference. I will not share them with you because I want you to be surprised when you see the tile installed in my new house. Also, I did not ask permission to publish the pictures on the blog. I should have, I guess. Still, it was a great afternoon of talking with happy Steve fans and learning about tile. I also was able to see their gardens and get some ideas about future landscaping and that was very helpful. The only downside to this little jaunt was the kidney-rattling road up to where these houses are situated! Thank goodness Steve’s truck is such a warhorse.
And on Wednesday I traveled to Mertzon, Texas (near San Angelo), home of Mr. Reid Overstreet, mesquite wood furniture maker and artist.
Mr. Overstreet is a very interesting gentleman. He wrangles horses for the movies so he can make furniture in his “spare” time. My brother joined me on this trip and we really enjoyed our visit. Mr. Overstreet is quiet-spoken but he has a good (and dry) sense of humor. He shared a few stories about his film-making adventures (“Seraphim Falls”, “Appaloosa,” “Far and Away,” among others) and he showed us a picture of the actors from “Seraphim Falls” which included autographs and messages from Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan. I about fainted! He also worked on “The Missing,” with Tommy Lee Jones and Cate Blanchett. OMG! I was really fan-girling over this! He taught Ms. Blanchett how to ride. How cool is that? I think his real love, though, is working with wood. His furniture is so beautiful. Each piece is unique. I am very interested in a large mesquite dining room table, similar to the one he created in the photos below. Mr. Overstreet is going to see what he can do. We will be talking. Maybe I’ll ask him to teach ME to ride…
And yes, I love being retired and living in Far West Texas.
-
- Coffee table
-
- Detail of a headboard for a bed.
-
- Another headboard detail–so cool!
-
- Dining room table
-
- I love the wood texture and roughness on this dining room table.
-
- It has been polished and made smooth to perfection!
—
Great posting! On your next walk gather some rocks for Tommy ‘s mule!
glad you enjoyed meeting reid, he is indeed a very interesting west texas character.and i’m glad you are getting the chance to work with him. hr won’t disappoint.
Meeting Mr. Overstreet was a total blast! Thanks so much for the recommendation!