Living Out Here

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Day two of of Big Bend adventure.

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The Pecos River and the Highway 90 bridge over it. 

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Terlingua Ghost Town, TX. 

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Balancing Rocks in Big Bend Ranch State Park

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Day 1 of our Big Bend trip

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Langtry, TX and the Jersey Lilly, Law West of the Pecos

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Bridges along Highway 90 in Texas.

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Garner State Park.  I wonder how many people have taken these exact photos over the years?

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ROBOTS OR DINOSAURS?

Burgers.

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Two At The Same Time...

Adirondacks...

I think this is how I'll do it from now on.  It just made sense that I could trace the boards, make the same cuts one right after another and then assemble the chairs simultaneously.  And what a way to spend my first Furlough Friday. Just a brief note about the furlough situation.  I am a civil servant so, as you may have seen on the news, I am among the multitudes of folks taking one day per week of unpaid vacation.  For me - I can only speak for myself - I would have preferred the government had simply cut my pay by 20 percent and told me to take it or leave it.  The truth is, thankfully, I am in a position that my pay as a government civil servant isn't my only source of income., and frankly, we can adsorb this hit easier than many of my co-workers. What is hurting me is the impact and stress I have on doing a 50 hour a week job in only 32 hours.  I am forbidden by federal law from working a minute over 32 hours per week, and honestly, in spite of what you may think about government civil servants, my wife can tell you that I don't do my 8 hours a day - and done.  What it amounts to for me is, on Monday, I'll go in with even more to catch up on and only 32 hours to do it in. 

But, all this free time gives me more time to hone my skills on these chairs.  And after tracing two sets of wood, I commenced to cutting.  That took me most of Friday morning.  If you notice on the picnic table there is a plastic license plate.  I used that as a template for drilling the holes on the chair slats.  That sped things up a bit.

With experience, I have also added a few little tricks to make it all go faster.  You'd be amazed at how much time is saved by having the screws all set in the pieces before assembling.  I've also learned a thing or two about sanding.  On some of the previous chairs, I have sanded every edged and surface.  Understanding what is visible after assembly has helped me to better use my time on the parts that touch the body or can be seen, and spend a lot less time on the parts that won't see the light of day.

On Saturday morning while the sun wasn't blaring down, I started assembling the chairs side by side.

And before long, things were taking shape.   Eva calls this the "shooting the bird" phase.

I have to tell you, these seat backs came out very good.  I've gotten it down to a science I think, and I told my daughter (5 & 6 are for her), that these were easily the most comfortable yet.

Of course, I waited until they were finished to try them out.  This evening, I sanded them one final time to remove the pencil marks and now they are ready for paint.  Instead of stain, she is going to go with a paint scheme that will look rustic.  I'll post a picture when she is done. I already have the wood for the next set of two (Eva would like at least 8 chairs for Stoney Island), but I think I may have to take a break and try a different project just to shake things up.  Next, I think we are going to try to build the Cornhole boards.  You can see the concept here.

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My Daily Deer...

I haven't even had the deer cam out in a month or so but the other night I thought I should put it facing the back fence where a family of about 11 or so deer live.  Then, this afternoon on our way home, I pulled the truck to a stop so we could watch a mother and her new little baby.  By the time I could try to get a picture, the little baby which stood about half the size of Gracie, took off running and the mother was right along with her.

And that reminded me to check the deer cam.  Not as exciting as a new fawn, but a smiling face nonetheless.  Oh, and notice the temperature at 7:39 in the evening.  The camera is mounted in the shade of a tree, and I'd say it is pretty darn accurate.

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Number 4 and Other Items...

I started off the big 4 day weekend by mowing and weedeating so we could have the kids and cousins over for some fireworks and burgers.  Once I had gotten all that taken care of, I spent the afternoon sanding and preparing Adirondack Chair Number 4.

I got everything ready to go so on Friday morning I could just grab some glue and some screws and get things going. Friday morning we woke up and I immediately noticed that something was amiss with our A/C unit.  I could hear the thing running all night but the house never got below about 76 or 77.  I know, that probably seems like a comfortable temp (I have a friend who keeps his place at about 80), but overnight, we are more like a 73 degree family.  I can tell you, we would have never survived Texas before air conditioning.  Anyway, we called the A/C folks we like and they had someone on the way.

 In the mean time, I commended to assemble Number 4. One of the problems I've noticed is that the pattern I use requires you to create a left and right side using the same pattern.  You have to be smart enough to realize that you have two of each piece, and you simply reverse one of them in order to assemble it properly.  On the first one, I was obviously still figuring things out, so I slowly assembled it and had no problem.  On 2, 3 and 4, I have made the mistake of assembling two duplicate legs, or in other words, two left legs.  And each time, I have to take it apart, call myself a dumbass, and press on.  This isn't rocket science, but it helps if you at least have some common sense.

 Actually, the hardest part of the assembly is putting on the arms with the piece that supports the upper part of the back slats.  Again, part of the problem is the fact that you have two arms that are duplicates instead of mirrored, thus, the little guidelines that you draw on to help line things up work for one, but not the other.  I have taken to measuring things out on the floor, using tape to line things up and making it easier.  If I were smart, I'd build a frame that I could just sit the pieces into, then glue and screw. But I keep telling myself that I only intend to build a few of these, so why worry about it?

Just looking at the picture, I'm about 90 percent sure the center slat is not exactly centered.  But as Eva says, the little imperfections add to the personality of these chairs.  I have to agree.  I realize that with the right equipment, a manufacturer could pump out perfect copies.  I'll pass.  So far, everyone who has sat in one of these chairs has raved about how comfortable they are, and nobody has said, "Hey, I think this center slat is about an 1/4 inch off."

This is the last picture I took before the A/C guy chatted with me about my bill for a new capacitor and the fact that he wanted to come back and look for a possible leak in the system.  As Eva squared up the bill with the assistant (she writes the checks in our family), the company owner and I talked about the chairs and how good it felt to build it yourself.  

I have found that the only unenjoyable part of making these chairs is staining.  I realize that I just don't like it, especially bending over and such.  I also found that another one of the problems with using the same pattern for both sides of the chair is that the wood is flipped and you don't get a consistent surface when you stain.  I know there is an answer to this, but I'm just not that worried about it.

This is a picture of Chairs number 1 and 2.  Notice they are a bit darker.

These are Chairs 3 and 4.  Much lighter.  The reason is, I only did one coat of stain on 3 and 4.  Today, I'll go out and do a second coat just to make them all match.  I only did a single coat on the later chairs because I have been toying with this idea of painting them a solid color.  But someone told me, "Dude, it's wood.  You have to stain it.  You can't cover that with paint!"  and I have to admit, it's true.  So, another coat this morning then some sealer later.

UPDATE:  I put on the second coat of stain and am reasonably happy but based upon comments and e-mails, I'll give the pre-stain sealer a try on the next set.

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On the 4th we went to La Pasidita for lunch and on the way we saw this parked in front of the tire shop.

You just gotta love this old truck. Later, we had made a trip into San Antonio and on our way home, about the time we hit Lytle, we could see a huge plume of black smoke coming up, and it looked like it could be from our neighborhood.  As we got closer, we could see that, yea, that really could be coming from our neighborhood.  And then we saw a Natalia VFD (a newer version, not the one pictured) headed toward the fire.  Oh, that ugly feeling.  Of course, I was asking Eva if she had left her hair curlers plugged in.  In the end, once we got close enough to see, it was slightly south and west of our subdivision, and when we pulled into the driveway, all was well.

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Remember that little play house that Eva bought at the yard sale a few weeks ago?  I knew this thing would cost me more than just the $10 she spent on it.  Our granddaughter really likes it, so it had to be added to our little playground area.

We just added in a small section big enough for the house in order to save on the cost of the rubber mulch.  Little Kitty inspects.

Here is the final product. For Isabella, a fun place to play, for me another thing to mow around!

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It's Not the Heat...

It really isn't all that hot when you shut all the blinds, crank up the A/C and sit yourself inside until the sun goes down and the temperature drops into the high 90's.  Our weather guy said the 108 was a record for San Antonio on Saturday, but I can assure you, it was a lot hotter than that out here.  I guess I'll put off mowing until the 4th of July weekend.

In the mean time, Adirondack # 3 looks like it might need another coat of stain.  You can see my plan - slowly replace all of our assorted cheaper chairs with the Adirondacks.  I think a dozen would be nice, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. I'm starting on #4 today, and I also need to build some of the foot stools that match the shape.  I think that will be fairly easy.  The other thing we are considering is painting them instead of staining.  Eva saw a picture of four Adirondacks all painted a different color - like red, blue, yellow and green.  I'm not sure I like that idea, but I could see painting them a single color since obviously, my staining skills just aren't there yet. In other news... I have a colleague at work who came into the office from a smoke break outside and reported that some jerk had backed his truck right up to his car and used it for a stop sensor. 

The black square thing on the front of the BMW is the license plate holder.  My friend left a note on the truck, something very polite, I'm sure.  No damage was done, but Jeez - that's pretty rude. I know what you are thinking - the shocking part of this story is that people actually still smoke. This morning Eva is working on a craft she saw posted on Facebook.  Apparently, everybody has seen the same picture of these glow-in-the-dark planters.  The idea is, you paint this stuff on something and it absorbs the light during the 108 degree weather, then at night, it glows.  We drove around for an hour before finally stopping in a Wal Mart and finding some paint.  The people at Lowe's and Home Depot were all sold out.

I'll post a picture of what it looks like when I actually see them glow at night.

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Lunch Report: La Tuna Grill...

As they say on the Internet, Oh. My. God.  I just woke up from a three hour nap following the thorough stuffing of my tummy with a wonderfully tasty, perfectly cooked and expertly prepared and presented burger from La Tuna Grill in downtown SAT.

We've stopped into the tree covered picnic table area of La Tuna for an after meal beer a few times but never could seem to make it into the restaurant that shares the property until today.  Eva had it in her mind that we would eat at La Tuna Grill this weekend, and though we had to wait until 2PM, our late lunch was just what our hungry appetites ordered.

Until one of the proprietors told me after we ate, I had no idea that the grill and the ice house were actually two separate businesses.   And now it makes sense that the hours are different.

Inside, the place is obviously much fancier than the beer bottle cap covered rocks and picnic tables that await you outside.  The seating area is tight and within a few minutes of opening, the dining room was full.  Conveniently, and if it isn't 108 degrees like it was today, you could sit outside in the shade if the place is too packed for your tastes.

Someone had suggested we order the fried mushrooms as an appetizer.  This was the half-order, and between three of us, we took half the half-order home.  Get them with the Ranch dressing and enjoy while they are hot!  Good stuff.

My son ordered the Chicken Salad Sandwich which was on special this afternoon.  Loaded with bacon and alfalfa sprouts on wheat toast and plenty of fixin's on the side, he was extremely pleased with the cool selection.  And those look like sweet potato fries, but they aren't.  What they are is really, really good.

Eva had the Cheesy Burger which is a half-pound of Angus beef covered in gooey cheese and served on a grilled bun.  They provide plenty of pickles and lettuce and tomato, etc., so you can build it out the way you want.

I also had the cheesy burger but went two steps further and added grilled jalapenos and bacon.  Somebody, just put me out of my misery now.  This burger was so incredibly delicious that I had to take random breaks to sit there and enjoy it, and to see if I could finish it all. 

That is my face on fire from the freshly chopped and grilled jalapenos.  I rarely leave even a scrap, but my fries had to go home in the Styrofoam box along with the rest of the mushrooms.

The wait staff was Johnny-on-the-spot with iced tea refills and all three of us raved about how good the freshly brewed tea was. 

Do not wait any longer.  Get yourself down to La Tuna Grill and try some of the goodness coming from that kitchen.   If the food and service are anything like what we got today, you'll be in for a Tasty Treat.

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The Week in Review: Oil, Tacos, Burgers, Rocks...

The Spurs did not win either game in Miami.  That was disappointing but it was a fantastic series and we had a great time watching the games, commenting on Facebook and trading barbs with my nephew Dan, a disgusting Heat fan. 

On Sunday, the Spurs were successful and it was probably because Eva made Bauer Burgers.  What are Bauer Burgers you ask?  Have you not seen the soap opera, Guiding Light?  Oh wait, that went off the air. 

 Anyway, one of the main families, the Bauers would have a party every 4th of July, and they would serve Bauer Burgers.   And, now we make them too.  I'll refer you to an older post from the old blog to refresh your memory, but they are just as good now as ever. Speaking of eating, the other day we took vehicles to Lytle Oil Exchange to get some oil exchanged.  We thought it would be a good time to grab a bite and one of the ladies suggested a place across the street called Pirates Cove.  The small town of Lytle's High School football team mascot is The Pirate, so this restaurant sort of picks up on the theme.

We have driven by this place a hundred times, but this was the first time stopping in for breakfast.  Nice looking place inside, seemed clean and the people seemed friendly.   We took a seat in a booth and ordered drinks, Iced Tea for me and lemonade for Eva and my son, all in to-go cups. As we waited for our breakfast, we noticed some of the signs on the walls - they have wings and catfish and other good things.  We really started contemplating return visits for lunch or dinner.

My son ordered the Tejano plate which came with three eggs, potatoes, beans and carne guisada.  He added cheese (as you should).  Looks great.

Eva got a barbacoa with avocado and a bean & cheese.  She commented that the beans had been through a blender versus mashed.  I really don't know it that is good or bad, but everybody ate them!

 I ordered my usual trifecta for any first visit to a taco place.  The carne guisada with cheese, the chorizo & egg, and the country & egg, all on flour.

The country & egg was very good.  I added the green sauce and it had a nice flavor to it.

Next, the carne guisada was also good.  I stared to think that maybe the flour tortillas were feeling a bit hard, but not enough to take away from the carne guisada.

By the time I got to the chorizo & egg, it felt like the tortilla was hard and while the chorizo was tasty, I was losing interest fast. All in all, we all felt like this was a place we'd certainly like to try again, if not for breakfast, at least for lunch.  And then we got the bill.  $30 (before tip).  This same exact meal at La Pasidita is probably $13 - $15 max.  In retrospect, it was not the food price that got us, it was the extras.  Example:  Lemonade is $3.00 each.  Add a to-go cup and that is another 25 cents a pop.  The cheese for my son's plate and for mine is another .40 each and of course, Eva's avocado was probably at least a buck. Let's not freak out over $30 for three people to eat, but why would I go back when I can get the same thing but better for half the price?  And then when we went back to pick up the cars at the oil place, one of the ladies gave us an earful about Pirates Cove.  I shan't bother to share the details of that private conversation, but yea, we'll just stick with some of our regular places.   

Did you know that Little Kitty likes the taste of spinach dip?  I did not know that either until she found that I had some dripping from my beard.  I know that makes me a slob.  It also made Eva want to gag and shave me whilst I slept.

Speaking of Little Kitty, she had a fun time with Isabella in her play house.

On Saturday, we did a little yard work.  Okay, a lot of yard work.  One of our projects was to clean up the front hedges.  We had some mulch in there that the exterminator told us was a breeding area for lots of the bugs Eva hates.  We had some mold action going on too.  So, we got rid of all the mulch, cleaned things out, but down some of that weed barrier stuff and put in a yard of river rock.  Gracie approves.

It still needs about another half yard of rock for everything to even out, but we'll do that next week.  Oh, hey!  Is that a turtle?  I'm off to cut more wood for Adirondack chairs #3 and possibly #4 today.  Pictures to follow!

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It's Father's Day...

And an opportunity for me to catch up on a few things.  First off, the Adirondack project.

After only a slight miscue, the second chair got glued and screwed (as we say in the Adirondack chair building community).

Next, I was able to get some stain on it in between rain storms.  When I look at it by itself, I like it.  It has a really interesting color pattern to it. 

 The color I'm using is from Olympic called Redwood Naturaltone.  It took one full can to do both chairs, and honestly, I don't know if that is too much or not enough.

 Anyway, sitting next to the first chair, I begin to question my staining skills, though in fairness, I used wood from two different sources on these, so perhaps that is part of the cause.  Or perhaps I need to spend a few hours in front of Norm Abram re-runs and get smart.

On Saturday, we met up with our kids for a Father-day lunch at The Yard House over in La Cantera.  You have to appreciate the large, comfortable set-up of this place.  Lots of TV screens, spacious seating (we easily sat 6 in our booth), and the cool display of beer kegs and overhead pipes transporting said beer to the bar in the center.  I didn't even try one of the 2 pages worth of beers on tap, but there certainly were some that looked interesting.

I am pretty sure this was my first time eating at YH, though everyone else had been there a few times or more.  That was why everyone was really confused about what happened with our order.  We had our granddaughter with us and so the server said he would get her kids pizza out right away (which was a huge bonus).  Sure enough, here comes the pizza (which was huge) and I'm thinking really positive thoughts about the service.

After another 5 minutes or so a server brings out Eva's half-club, half-salad lunch combo.  I could tell by the confusion on the server's face that something was amiss.  After about 10 minutes, first our original server came by to apologize and say the rest of the stuff is on the way, then a few minutes later, a manager came buy to apologize and say there was a computer problem in the kitchen and our stuff would be right out.  Long story short, Eva slowly picked at her food trying to have something left by the time the rest of us were served.  I think we are all casual enough that it was no big deal, but still, can you imagine being on a first date with someone and half the order comes out 15 minutes later than the first?

So when I did get my Pastrami sandwich, I thought it was pretty good.  Throwing in some Jalapenos was a good trick.  Very enjoyable. 

The fries are those skinny type that are okay but you feel the urge to eat with a fork.

My son order an avocado Swiss burger but got something different.  You know the rule, never send anything back to the kitchen, so the server brought him slices of avocado to top it with.  The food was all good, and in terms of our server being Johnny on the spot with iced tea refills, I was completely happy.  But if I had not had the rest of the people at the table telling me that our little serving glitch was not a normal thing, I'd be prepared to never return.  And I think that in itself is one of the problems about restaurant reviews in general; sometimes shit happens and not everything goes as planned.  I'm happy to go back and see if I can get some fish & chips along with a nice custom brew. Here is something weird. 

I think Little Kitty is an alien.

Last week we had a yard sale that mostly resulted in me taking a bunch of stuff to Good Will.  And to reduce our income, Eva went down the street to the neighbor's yard sale and bought a little play house.  I didn't think Isabella would have any interest in it, but sure enough, she loves it.  And so does Gracie! Did I mention today is Father's Day? 

Last October, my dad passed away - you recall the video, right?  Father's Day is just one of those reminders because you aren't scrambling to get a card mailed out in time. 

But Eva has a few years of experience on me in this area.  We lost her father over a decade ago.  So, I'm not a huge fan of the Hallmark Holidays, but at least take a minute to think about the ones you have and the ones you had.