Everything Else

A new jar of fire ant killer. Note that it even has feet to look taller. This is how much product was actually in the container after I unsealed it. Yeah, THIS much. Deceptive packaging. Taken to the extreme. I … Continue reading →

Twenty mile an hour sustained winds…blasting us out of the northwest. Cold…and depressing. Nearly a 50 degree drop over the weather a couple days ago. The winds are gusting to over 45 mph. You can hear them coming…roaring through the … Continue reading →

Y’all might recall me and my friend Mike (also my step-dad) have been working on my he and my Mom’s bathroom. Before: What can’t be seen here is the very pronounced un-level-ness of the floor. It was also extremely bouncy, … Continue reading →

Some work on my Mom’s bathroom. Pulled it down to the dirt last weekend. This weekend we got to the “going back together” stage. Long day. Joist hanging. Plumbing. Progress made. Very hot/humid. Dust, dirt, and sweat. Arms, jeans, shirt … Continue reading →

Some cabinets for our utility room in the Old Vic…reclaimed (for $100). They will fit nicely, and I couldn’t buy the wood for that price (they are upside down in the picture, they will go on the wall in our … Continue reading →

Any tool, in the hands of a competent craftsman, becomes an instrument. Got some learning to do. Gotta wonder though…what the cats will think?

Take action.

Very heavy and steady rain this morning. A reality about an Old Vic, with it’s many roof lines and valleys and a problematic roof (various ages of the different exposures) is that it leaks. It doesn’t *always* leak, and it … Continue reading →

Sooo…pre-storm weather. 72 and balmy. Warm night for sleeping so I had the box fan on. Just me (and cats) all alone in this massive old Victorian house. Box fan vibrates a bit and can “walk” on the hardwood floor. … Continue reading →

We had some pretty serious storms a week ago (Saturday night). Unfortunately we lost some shingles. Not sure how to reach this at the moment… We’re not ready to re-roof yet. Insurance is no help here…this could be repaired for … Continue reading →

My history, my life, my loves, successes and failures, pain and pleasure…all have culminated right *HERE*…and I still don’t know if I’m riding the right road. But fortune favors the bold. Succeed or crash spectacularly. I’m “all in” in every … Continue reading →

Y’all may remember my philosophy that if ya own tall stuff ya ought to own the tools (or know somebody that does) to work on it? The Left-handed Fargle-snorker is a result of that tendency… Turns out I’ll have need … Continue reading →

Replaced bad siding on my Mom’s and stepdad’s house this weekend. It had rotted on the ends and curled away from the house. (there’s some “before” pics around somewhere). Hot work, but we had a reprieve Saturday with overcast clouds … Continue reading →

Well, not my new roof (drat). New roof on my Mom and Mike’s place. Hard to believe the roofing crew made such short work of it in this heat.

My Mom and step-dad Mike just bought a 1920′s farm house. It hasn’t been lived in for so long that there were 35 foot/more trees growing out of the bush-beds and damaging and growing around the eaves of the house. … Continue reading →

Well…drat…I guess I gotta keep my desk job for a little while longer… CUAgain, Daniel Meyer

Full power (brakeage) restored! Sometimes all it takes is pigheaded stubbornness (“I *WILL* fix these friggen brakes if I have to END the universe trying!”) And parts. Needs parts. Okay, well, sometimes all it takes is pigheaded stubbornness, a maniacal … Continue reading →

Yeah, I know, I’m working on brakes a lot lately…but they ARE kind of important and besides, I am the stubborn sort. I WILL FIX THESE DAMN BRAKES…or perhaps I will end the world trying…one or the other…which one depends … Continue reading →

Soo…went by the NAPA boys…have I mentioned that they absolutely rock? Anyway, got the Hydro-vac vacuum booster for the Fargle-snorker…at least, I *hope* I do… There are two different ones, ya see…and the only way to tell which it is, … Continue reading →

“Huh. Wondered where all that brake fluid was going…” -Quoted by me when I started the Left-handed Fargle-snorker and she smoked the entire neighborhood in thick, white smoke. Me and my friend Mike were finishing up the brakes on the … Continue reading →

(click the pic for all the details) The Clarksville Fine Arts Festival is Saturday, May 28, 2011. It’s shaping up to be the best one yet. Live music all day Saturday, great acts, lots of fine artists (over 30 at … Continue reading →

Our neighbor (Hi Babe!) sent us pictures from the storm Tuesday. I would guess we’ve got some roof damage over this stuff, either at the Old Vic herself or the building on the square (or both). I’ll know more when … Continue reading →

Cleaning up this morning…found a new nook…or maybe it’s a cranny…full of crap…but I guess that’s another story. Anyway, random thought: Man, that’s a damn big light-bulb. CUAgain, Daniel Meyer

What? So very soon? Spring went and sprung when we weren’t looking. Flowers, buds, and green showing up all over town! I’m gonna have to mow the lawn this week! Pic by Raine Walker over at Wildtype

These things are getting as bad a the forest rats (deer) to us motorcyclists…y’all come on up and whack a few of ‘em for me! There’s $3000 in prize money! It’s March 3-6, 2011. All the information you need is … Continue reading →

Three days of this…gad…there was work to do…weather to get out in…a superbowl to watch…people to see and code to fry…and here I sit, so sore (lower back, ribs, diaphragm) from coughing that I can hardly walk. I called in … Continue reading →

Even with all the issues…all the work needed, the peeling paint, occasional spots of rot, the leaky windows…heck, even her plain white dress…(she’s supposed to be a painted lady)… Even with all that…she’s still a gorgeous old lady… The Old … Continue reading →

I struggle to achieve great…or at least interesting things. Life is so much, well, more…that way. Surviving I’ve got covered. I could handle surviving since I was about 12 years old. Living is what I’m after. Building. Doing. Dreaming. Achieving. … Continue reading →

I have just finished with the redesigned site…the short of it is that it is now MUCH easier for me to post articles and pictures, and just as important, it’s easy for me to organize it. The result for me … Continue reading →

The last cosmic triple play of a full moon at total eclipse on Winter Solstice occurred 372 years ago on Dec. 21, 1638. The next one won’t occur until the end of this century in 2094, well after this writer … Continue reading →

We’ve owned the Old Vic for two years today. Scary stuff…the responsibility…the sheer size of the project…the future. Yeah, I worry it sometimes. I often feel I’m not getting enough done. But then I look around at what we’ve accomplished. … Continue reading →

What: Book signing at the Clarksville Literary Festival When: Saturday, October 2, 2010. 9am to 4pm Where:On the grounds around the historic Red River County courthouse in Clarksville, Texas In conjunction with the Red River County Historical Society’s Fall Bazaar, … Continue reading →

Sooo…Saturday, September 11… Stew cookoff at the fairgrounds in Clarksville…$4 gets you a bowl (fund raising to pay for the Red River county fair), and then you get to wander around to all the different booths and sample as many … Continue reading →

Regarding the post Friday about the guy taking pictures of our house that took off in his white van (THE vehicle of choice for sex offenders everywhere!) when confronted by our house guest: Well, turns out he was upset with … Continue reading →

Who are you…and why are you taking pictures of the back of our house? The driver of this van was shooting pictures of the Old Vic yesterday evening. (click for bigger): He rapidly skedaddled when our friend (who shot this … Continue reading →

106. That’s one-hundred and six. Worked on some. Basked in others. Let’s just say…August is here…and air-conditioning is a very good thing. CUAgain, Daniel Meyer

No good pics this weekend…not a lot of work happened on the Old Vic. We helped friends install a walk-in tub on Saturday (my part was installing two new electrical circuits for the pump and heater). Sunday we cleaned up … Continue reading →

Yeah, I know summer officially starts on June 21…but we’re here in Texas and we know summer when we see it…hot, sunny, chance of thunder-storms…sweat pouring out of my salt-stained shirt…AC running overtime…temperatures at NIGHT not falling below 85 degrees… … Continue reading →

We (kind of, sort of) took this weekend off. Several things conspired. Lots of work at…well…work, not enough sleep (due to same), and also we got the wife’s car back from the body shop. All the extra running around simply … Continue reading →

Note: I’m reposting this from 2006…because I can’t figure out a way to say it better. A moment of silence to ponder. A moment of awe as I again understand just what they have given . . . and why. … Continue reading →

Alternate title…”Crunch 3″ The alternate title…the alert reader might think, implies there might be a Crunch 1 and a Crunch 2. Heh. Yep. Well, the wife and I shortened Da Altima about two or three inches last weekend. Not that … Continue reading →

Some of you may be wondering…why no recent posts strictly about the house? Well…remember the one about scraping paint? Yeah, we’re still there. We’ve done some other things…the standard yard work, cleanup (this weekend was our town’s big cleanup week, … Continue reading →

We DID work this weekend…more about that later. In the mean time, just a quick reminder. Always remember…no matter how busy or frantic things become…Weekends aren’t just for working. Take the time for the ones you love. CUAgain, Daniel Meyer

Last weekend was a huge software upgrade at work…I’ve worked a LOT of hours leading up to that and for the upgrade itself… So…not much happened at the Old Vic last weekend. This weekend is more scraping and such. Oh, … Continue reading →

My Mom always got to our chocolate rabbit’s ears…I suppose I should be scarred for life! CUAgain, Daniel Meyer

Was wondering why my work shoes were a bit uncomfortable lately… Pulled all these out of the right shoe. CUAgain, Daniel Meyer

No work for me this weekend. Resting. Processing. Recuperating. Recharging. I putter. Watching some TV. Listening to music. Reading. Writing. Plotting my next project. Sunday I manage a nap…and for the first time in days, my dreams don’t wake me … Continue reading →

I started this week as a juror on what seemed a fairly mundane case. The prosecution’s case was very carefully put together. He knew his business. The defense had nothing. There was no reasonable doubt. There was no doubt at … Continue reading →

Y’all make it a GREAT one!

Those of you following along probably realize by now that I need to purchase about 2.3 million dollars worth of stuff from Home Depot for the Old Vic project… Heh…and THAT’S just for the stuff I need to finish this … Continue reading →

Something’s nagging at me… *glances at the calendar* Wait…what? *stares hard at the calendar* Good gravy…a year. *ponders that a bit* We’ve owned the Old Vic for a year? *fights down panic a bit* Yep, a year. Where DOES the … Continue reading →

I hope y’all (technical Texas term) had a great Thanksgiving. We did. We spent Wednesday stuffing family full of food! Friday…well…we spent Friday lazy-ing about the house, basically recovering from Thursday. Well, that and eating leftover turkey and ham sandwiches … Continue reading →

We always have things to be thankful for…and Thanksgiving reminds us of that. It’s also a great excuse to get together with family and cook enough food to feed everybody twice! It’s not a bad time to sit back a … Continue reading →

Yet more electrical work. Not much to show…as in “interesting pictures”. Basically I’ve been crawling through attics trailing yellow wire all behind me like some sort of giant mutant spider. *shudder* On second thought…strike that mental image…I do NOT want … Continue reading →

Thanks to all that have honorably served. You did it right. CUAgain, Daniel Meyer

Working on a halloween decoration…putting it together in this picture…it will be outside hanging on the edge of the porch.. To give a little size perspective…that is the “round room”…our entry parlor…the room is something like 24 feet in diameter… … Continue reading →

Can you hear the scary music? There are terrifying things afoot in this picture: This picture was taken by the wife…catching me working on the water heater. There are scary things going on here. That the wife caught me working … Continue reading →

CUAgain, Daniel Meyer

Cash reserves help in times of reduced or no income. But inflation eats cash reserves, returning nothing. As prices rise the money can buy less. Any interest earned only offsets a small fraction of the loss of buying power. Have … Continue reading →

Here I sit…in the office…wearing a dress-shirt, dress-slacks, and sneakers. Yep. Sneakers. Heh…usually it’s motorcycle boots…but at least they meet the dresscode. Why the sneakers? Well, it’s about a nail, a wasp, and a prybar. It was swell, but the … Continue reading →

The 2nd annual Clarksville Fine Arts Festival ROCKED! Lots of folks came out to see us, including friendly faces from the Dallas area (Hi Y’all!). There were dozens of outstanding artists, a Friday night gallery show, some fine Texas wines, … Continue reading →

I don’t know why…but I have this sense of urgency about the project…like I *must* get (insert whatever list of stuff needs done here) completed *right now*. Since there is a LOT to do about the house, you can probably … Continue reading →

Come out and see me at the Clarksville Fine Arts Festival this Saturday. I’ll have books, about 25 watercolors, and close to 60 pencil works. Even a few prints as well! There’s food, music, and art! It’s going to be … Continue reading →

CUAgain, Daniel Meyer

If you’re reading this you know we’re rennovating our old house. This is our home for the future, and as such, we are trying to be involved in our community as well. Y’all might know I’m an author (I think … Continue reading →

Smooches for everybody! CUAgain, Daniel Meyer

My company has announced some extremely severe cutbacks despite the fact that we are profitable. Wall Street demands more. Gotta pay out those executive bonuses afterall. Anyway, shortly they are going to lay off somewhere upwards of 500 workers…that’s an … Continue reading →

A tale of how a motorcycle ride, in a completely unexpected way…suddenly took me home. Continue reading →

In another 23 hours or so…we’ll be closing on The Old Vic… Butterflies are holding an acid rock concert in my stomach. They brought all their friends! CUAgain, Daniel Meyer

He didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. ~Clarence Budington Kelland And I still don’t know. The right thing? The smart thing? I’m never really sure. All my adult life, I’ve waited … Continue reading →

Just this morning we cleared the last of the hurdles. I just went to the bank and got a “heap big” cashier’s check. We close next Monday morning at 10:30am. My gawd…what have I done? LOL! CUAgain, Daniel Meyer

Got a call today…my NEW bank…NOT “TIC” from the “Bank Job” post, called. It seems we’re ready to go on their part…just the title company stuff now. We should be able to close December 1. I’ll feel even better when … Continue reading →

Around 3pm yesterday, I’d expect that my friends…ya know…the ones that owe me favors or just seem to always be there to help…all looked up at the same time, shivered, and said something along the lines of, “I’ve felt a … Continue reading →

Okay, I’ve given up on my bank…ya know…the one I’ve done business with for decades…well, not really decades, just ever since they “borged” all the other banks and credit card companies (and home loan and car loan) that I used … Continue reading →

Trying to buy a house is like trying to pull teeth…from a Dragon…a fire-breathing one…that’s awake and has had no anesthetic…AND she’s crabby too! Should be pretty simple…we need a bit of financing, our credit report and income/debts readily support/permit … Continue reading →

So, money’s tight…at least, that’s what the media and the prospective presidential candidates are striving to convince us of. Many folks, including us, are tightening our belts a bit and doing our best to cut down. The news is downright … Continue reading →

Something over 300 years ago an English poet named Alexander Pope said, “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” I’ve always liked the quote…simply because to me, it means “No limits.” Angels have no fear, you see. I’ve always … Continue reading →

About Saturday’s post…Yep, we’re going back to take another look. Not sure why we torture ourselves so… After all, if we weren’t looking, and didn’t find anything we liked in an (barely) achievable price range…then we wouldn’t be agonizing over … Continue reading →

Must my reach always exceed my grasp? Must my dreams always push me beyond my current capabilities? Financial, equipment, time, market, employment…always, something is just not quite there. Yeah, a dream is available. Yep, I could probably swing it for … Continue reading →