On the Square

We’ve done a massive amount of work on the roof of our 1866(ish) commercial building on the square. It’s been an ongoing project…first addressing critical problems and now, finalizing the work so it will last, trouble free, for a long … Continue reading →

Working on the Cupola building this weekend. Doors. Again. Glass reset. Rot repaired. Frame screwed back together. Stripped. Primered. Painted. Can’t seem to find a good “before” picture…(one will turn up)…everything was the pinkish color and hadn’t been painted in … Continue reading →

Worked on the rear (side) door of our building on the square this weekend…this is the door that leads directly to the staircase that goes all the way upstairs. It may be original…hard to tell…but unlike the other exterior doors … Continue reading →

Lots of work this weekend…lugged 1000 pounds of stuff up the stairs…then most of that up to the roof…then spread goop and cloth and more goop. We also had to cut out and replace a couple rotted places on the … Continue reading →

Many, many hours of heavy downpours yesterday and last night…the radar summary indicates 2.5-3.5 inches…but I’m betting it was much more than that. There’s 9″ of rain in my impromptu rain gauge at the Old Vic (a 5 gallon bucket … Continue reading →

My very good friend Larry Algaier passed away yesterday shortly before noon. He was a man of honor and integrity who genuinely cared about people. He worked tirelessly in whatever capacity needed to support his friends, family, and community. He … Continue reading →

So, yeah, I was bummed. Sick too. Blearrg. Just a week ago we had paid off the mortgage on The Cupola. This is a big deal for us. It was a strain too, tapping financial reserves. So, what happens the … Continue reading →

Saturday night was not a good night… Head on over here to read the update… Got my work cut out for me this coming weekend…

Our 1860’s commercial building on the square needs some tinkering on the roof. Mostly I just need to get up there and fix a few issues, then do some annual maintenance. It’s time to get started. Step the one: Access … Continue reading →

It’s just me and the ghosts tonight. My own and others. The cooler weather. A blood-red half-moon rising. Lingering doubts. Loneliness. Gawd I hate to sleep alone. Exhausted from toiling on works of man that transcend the modern age. Looking … Continue reading →

That’s THIS Saturday! Come on out! Live music on the center stage from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Free parking. Art! Food! Music! Fun! What else could you need? Come on out and enjoy this very special weekend. Check www.clarksvilleartfest.com … Continue reading →

Paid a bunch of guys a bunch of money to use a bunch of glop to seal a bunch of cracks in the roof of the Cupola building yesterday. I simply could not get the time to get up there … Continue reading →

Ker-SNAP-POPshhh… Hmmm…that can *not* be good. *** Sooo….a couple weeks ago I had the Left-handed Fargle-snorker up on the square to hang a new banner for our store. Had to take the old banner down: And then roll out a … Continue reading →

Kind of a big deal to us…we are opening a shop in our historic building on the Clarksville Square! The Cupola On the Historic Clarksville Square 131 North Locust Street Clarksville, Texas 75426 Opening Saturday, October 1, 2011 at 10 … Continue reading →

We’ve been cleaning up the old Pharmacy building downtown for nearly nearly 20 months. We could have done it faster, if it had been the priority or we had thrown money at it. Anyway, to illustrate the *scale* of the … Continue reading →

So. Last post described some fails…here’s some pics… The parts I need to source: And the lunch place…the line was short but no matter how hungry we looked we couldn’t get a seat: Soooo…hoping I can get the parts this … Continue reading →

Y’all might recall THIS post from last week, where I did a bit of fargle-snorkering. The plan this weekend was to take the truck back up, finish off the flashing where I foamed last weekend (got too hot to work … Continue reading →

Sooo…I needed to fix the downspout on my building and rolled out the fargle-snorker Saturday morning. Felt kind of silly to work on a rain downspout. I mean, is it *ever* going to rain again? Had a short window to … 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 →

Some good music coming up on the square. Come on out. Saturday July 9 at 8:00pm. Erica James is going to shake up the stage! All the info you need is here.

“Can I help you sir?” I swept into the store with a flourish, “PARTS! I REQUIRE PARTS FOR MY FARGLE-SNORKER!” God bless the NAPA Auto/Truck parts guys…they don’t even flinch when they see me coming anymore. I use them often, … Continue reading →

Hmmm…another nook…or perhaps a cranny. That’s an interesting thing about old houses and buildings…they have nooks and crannies all over the place. Working on the 1860’s building on the square Monday… On the commercial building, there is a drop ceiling … Continue reading →

Go for it, you gotta set the pace and work. Okay, a line from a song I like. From a strange movie I like. (shrugs). Anyway, in keeping with our newly found 2011 Tradition of having absolutely no money whatsoever … Continue reading →

Heh…and the tingly part is electrical in nature… Continue reading →

Our building on the square…which dates from sometime in the late 1800’s, was doctors’ offices upstairs, and a pharmacy and soda fountain downstairs. Near as we can tell, it has always been so, until sometime in the 1940’s when the … Continue reading →

Ever wonder about the construction of a 70’s era pool table? We cut up the pool table and another crappy (heh) display…in order to more easily get them down the stairs and out of our building. These were not in … Continue reading →

Well, Mike Rowe isn’t returning my calls, so it looks like it’s up to me and the wife. With the Christmas season and its accompanying spending and other madness (oh, and let us not forget “property tax” season), we need … Continue reading →

We found this instrument in the upstairs of our historic commercial building in Downtown Clarksville: I’d never seen one so some confusion about what it was ensued. It was not quickly cleared up as I hadn’t gotten any clearer pictures … Continue reading →

Working on the Old Vic Monday…got a call. A good friend of mine was in trouble and I had the tools to help out. Seems some high winds the night before blew my friend around a bit…and while not injured, … Continue reading →

My sister’s SO drives a truck for a scrap yard. Thanks to him I scored a 10-foot stainless steel prep table and food sink…AND a hand-washing sink…complete with faucets and drains…all for $236…it was headed to be scrunched and bailed … Continue reading →

On nooks and crannies…and why poking into them isn’t always a good idea…part the un… We didn’t take full advantage of the holiday weekend…working on the house-wise. Rather, we cut it a bit short as I have some minor motorcycle … Continue reading →

The 2010 Clarksville Fine Arts Festival was a blast! Lots of food, great music, and pretty good weather made for a fun day. Lots of high-caliber artists with quality wares made for a “target-rich” environment for the discerning collector. I … Continue reading →

I expect to see y’all there! This year the 2010 Clarksville Fine Arts Festival will be Saturday, May 22, 2010, from 9:AM to 4:PM on the historic square in Clarksville, Texas. This year’s festival is going to be a great … Continue reading →

Alternate title: “A Tale of One of Two Towers” or “How to Use a Chop-saw from a Bucket-truck…” In last week’s exciting episode, we did a bit of work on the tower. This week we moved it even further along. … Continue reading →

Now that the Left-handed Fargle-snorker was back on the road again…there was no excuse left to keep us from getting to work. Not that it was a bad excuse or anything…after all, when there is Fargle-snorkering to be done, ya … Continue reading →

In last week’s exciting episode, I left the Left-Handed Fargle-Snorker in suspense…or rather, suspended, waiting on brake parts. Those I got. Sort of a sign of the times that the brake fluid, brake cleaner, wheel-bearing grease, and hand-cleaner needed for … Continue reading →

Went to back the Left-handed Fargle-snorker out of the yard to mow the grass around it…was just a bit surprised when I put on the brakes and there was nothing there. Nothing gets the heart going like a big truck … Continue reading →

Whilst working on one of the towers…my friend Mike happened to look up at one of the nearby electric poles. He snapped this pic. Hey Oncor…just what the heck have you got going on here? CUAgain, Daniel Meyer

Continued from last week…This Sunday we finished the bottom section…that’s the hardest one as there was quite a bit of repair to do underneath the siding…and because of the height and pattern nearly every shingle in that section has some … Continue reading →

That’s me, 35 feet up there…removing about 40 pounds of wood trim that was no longer firmly attached. It was about to fall off and I *really* don’t want to kill random pedestrians with pieces of my building. Over half … Continue reading →

Make your plans now! This year the 2010 Clarksville Fine Arts Festival will be Saturday, May 22, 2010, from 9:AM to 4:PM on the historic square in Clarksville, Texas. This year’s festival is shaping up to be a great one. … Continue reading →

Those that have been following along our various adventures with old buildings might recall that we bought an 1890(ish) gothic debatable commercial building, complete with tower. This building has been a pharmacy downstairs since it was built. It’s been rearranged … Continue reading →

I ordered the shakes for our 1880’s Gothic Debatable tower today. I’m replacing all the cedar on it. Got some trim work around the edge of the roof to do as well. Oh, and a couple pieces of tin to … Continue reading →

…ya take one down and pass it around…98 bags of trash on the wall… Okay, I freely admit it…I can’t sing. I once had someone tell me that at gunpoint…but that’s another story. Anyway, this weekend. Trash. Lots of it. … Continue reading →

Big day tomorrow. I’m writing a “heap-big-check”… Well, big at least, when compared to the monthly cable bill or something LOL! We’re closing on this tomorrow… Some More Pics This has vast implications on my writing/books/etc. Among other things…(art studio, … Continue reading →

(deep breath) A project that’s related to the Old Vic project that’s not quite on topic but since it’s a project and I tinker on it and this one will definitely be related to the other one… There’s a tower … Continue reading →