Late Summer updates

after what seems like a year long summer, things are finally getting back to a settled state. work is chugging along nicely and the weather finally broke. we've received a good amount of rain in the last few days of which we were in dire need. the grass is turning green again and the dogs are out frolicking and digging their way out of the back yard. i don't know whether i'd mentioned this in an earlier post, but Bullitt, the puppy has taken to digging holes all over the yard. she's a puppy and she's bored and she's an impatient and very smart breed which all adds to the digging. she's dug her way out of the back yard a half dozen times. if we're at the house, it's funny to look out the front window and see your puppy sitting under the tree in the front yard. what's not funny is receiving a call from a neighbor to tell us that she's sitting in the front yard and we have to leave work to go get her. because of this, my wife and i have been beating our heads over how to keep the little shithead in the back yard. in our attempt to do so and make what used to be a nice grassy area (which is now a mudpit full of potholes), we've started landscaping the backyard. the backyard renovation will be in three phases and we've finished phase 1.

Here's a before picture:



and here's an after picture:


The after picture is still a little incomplete. We've got the red stone running around the beds on both sides and we're going to have to buy another dozen bags of white pebble to fill in the walkway a little more. And we've discovered a few things during this transition. Texas ground is rocky and full of clay and junk. We also uncovered unbroken glass bottles, crushed beer cans, the tail light to a 57 ford and a ton of rock and cement.

i wasn't thrilled about finding out that my house was a dumping ground for the builders, but i've heard of this happening before, so i wasn't really surprised. The other thing i learned, was that flagstone is heavy. I personally moved 2200 lbs of flagstone from the bed of my truck to the backyard. That's well over a ton of rock. a ton.
We've also lined that entire area with black plastic to keep anything from growing up thru and also with chicken wire to keep Bullitt from digging down in. Phase 2 of this is in the area directly to the left and behind the pics which we're turning into a sitting area with a bench and the rest of the flagstone and pebble, complete with a fountain and some nicely potted plants or trees. Phase 3 includes a path at the other end of the above picture that leads up under the tree in the yard with yet more flagstone and another seating area (we like to sit a lot) under the tree. Once it's done, it'll look great. Until then, Bullitt will continue to eat white pebbles and track mud into our house.

On another fun note, our water heater is about done. We're having to get a new one installed. Too much sediment and 11 years of work = time to replace. The idea of the tankless heater was cool, but cost of install doesn't seem to outweigh a normal heater and gas bills just yet. And i've discovered that our insurance doesn't cover a tankless, along with all the additional parts they nickel and dime you to death with. Maybe on the next house.

I mentioned in a previous post about going back to church. I made the mistake, one sunday morning, of asking the pastor about their website. I was trying to find some information and he jokingly said, 'why, do you design them?'. I made the mistake of answering. So, after almost two months of work, Narrow Trail Cowboy Church has a new webstie. I've got to quit doing this to myself.

Aside from that, school goes well for both my wife and son. She likes it. He doesn't. I tried my hand again at world of warcraft and it lasted for about a week. I got really bored with it. A buddy of mine suggested i join them in Everquest 2. This, I'm really enjoying. The game is just like WoW, but not so cartoony and a more advanced gameplay. It looks like it could last me for a while. I know that NWN is being released this month, which i know i'll want to play.

I'm starting to catch the new fall tv shows and i'm digging most of what i'm seeing. Blade ended well for a summer show and now i'm looking forward to some new shows (Standoff, Kidnapped) and some old stand-bys (Battlestar Galactica, Lost, Prison Break, 24, etc).

I've got my hands full.