Sunday, October 22, 2006
Monday, October 09, 2006
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Way to Date
On the way to the bunker this month we stopped for a steak in Ozona, this is roughly half way and the they have the best steaks just East of the Pecos. There was a young man and his date at the next table and the were obviously celebrating, you know ordering the big chicken fried steak and extra gravey. They were fun to watch and the whole place kind of joined in. When we left we saw their ride. No SUV for them. See above. Now thats the way to travel out here.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Friday, July 28, 2006
Glass Blocks
A high school was undergoing renovation here in Austin and I scored a few hundred 8X8 glass blocks. I don't know yet what I will use them for but I think they might be good for the fence. Four feet of adobe with sixteen inches of glass block with a cap of adobe sounds neat to me. I may incorporate them into the gate somehow. No reason to let them go to waste. They may work in the addition too, as a shower or the base for an island in the kitchen. We will see.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Light Polution
It's dark out here. UT operates McDonald observatory in Fort Davis just because of the lack of light and the clear cold air. This is what you would see if you were looking down from space trying to see me sitting on the roof in my shorts drinking a Mexican Martini. You can see that ther are not many lights Southeast of El Paso.
It cools down really fast when the sun goes down and believe me shorts are not the uniform of the night. That's what is nice about the Davis Mountains. Even in the summer when temps get into the nineties the mountain thunderstorms cool it back into the seventies/eighties and when the sun goes down it drops into the sixties at least and add in a little wind (yes the wind blows, a lot) and it starts to feel even colder. It is super to toast the end of the day from the roof and watch the fantastic light show that changes with each cloud or passing plane.
It cools down really fast when the sun goes down and believe me shorts are not the uniform of the night. That's what is nice about the Davis Mountains. Even in the summer when temps get into the nineties the mountain thunderstorms cool it back into the seventies/eighties and when the sun goes down it drops into the sixties at least and add in a little wind (yes the wind blows, a lot) and it starts to feel even colder. It is super to toast the end of the day from the roof and watch the fantastic light show that changes with each cloud or passing plane.
Monday, July 17, 2006
The wall
Finished laying up the blocks for the corner post this weekend. I need to find a 18ft cedar beam to lay across the top and the gates will be ready to hang. The neighbors are wondering what I'm doing with the crane and all the blocks. One of them came by Sunday morning and stayed for the whole tour. His place is right across from the bunker at about the same level.
We talked about the guy down the hill that had told me about the mountain lion that might be living under the bunker (in the escape tunnel). If there was a lion he must have been on the move like the bear that wandered through years ago. No signs of either of them. A small herd of desert bighorn sheep came through Sunday and some deer so that sort of shows the big preditors are not around. All in all a pretty nice weekend.
We talked about the guy down the hill that had told me about the mountain lion that might be living under the bunker (in the escape tunnel). If there was a lion he must have been on the move like the bear that wandered through years ago. No signs of either of them. A small herd of desert bighorn sheep came through Sunday and some deer so that sort of shows the big preditors are not around. All in all a pretty nice weekend.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Vacation to the North
The 4th of July is our time to seek the adventure and coolness of Canada and the NorthEast Coast of the US. We flew into Manchester NH to avoid Boston and its problems. First stop was a resturant called Legal Sea Food in Burlington. I had read about it and wanted to try their Clam Chili. Being a Texan I Know chili and the clam didn't measure up. It may have been too much chili powder or the beans but I'll pass.
Next it was on to Gloucester and a really neat seaside inn. We were off in the morning up the coast to Ipswich for another resturant called the Clam Box. What a terrific meal, 25 fresh clams, as many scallops, all deep fried with about 2 pounds of fries and fresh fried onion rings as well as a bucket of cold slaw (or if you prefer cole slaw). It satisfied my clam hunger and then some. On up the coast to Portland, Augusta then inland to Quebec City. This city was as close to Paris as I will ever get. Old town was narrow streets and open cafes. We were there on Moving Day and along with an international bike race and Canada Day so it was really crowded. Still, we have made reservations to go back on Barbaras' birthday.
Next it was on to Gloucester and a really neat seaside inn. We were off in the morning up the coast to Ipswich for another resturant called the Clam Box. What a terrific meal, 25 fresh clams, as many scallops, all deep fried with about 2 pounds of fries and fresh fried onion rings as well as a bucket of cold slaw (or if you prefer cole slaw). It satisfied my clam hunger and then some. On up the coast to Portland, Augusta then inland to Quebec City. This city was as close to Paris as I will ever get. Old town was narrow streets and open cafes. We were there on Moving Day and along with an international bike race and Canada Day so it was really crowded. Still, we have made reservations to go back on Barbaras' birthday.
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Minor injury
While drilling the blocks to stabilize them I hit a rebar and the drill stopped. No problem, I'll just back up and start again. When I pulled up on the drill I grabbed the switch and the drill spun out of my hand and snapping two knuckles in the process. It's been two weeks now and I've got 95 percent use back and the swelling is down so I'll try to bring this blog up to date.
UPDATE Tried to finish the wall the weekend of the 15th and like the dummy I am I let the drill spin again. This time it really hurt. The pain was so bad, I relented and went to the Dr. and he put me on a course of steroids for the swelling. Nothing was broke but the pain was much worse and still is. The swelling has gone down but the pain is still there. I'll give it a couple more weeks but I think it will be all right. It seems as though as I get older it takes longer to bounce back from these small injuries.
The wall looks good and is about half finished as you can see. Three more blocks high and I'll start on the other side. The gate will swing on hinges mounted through steel studs set in concrete. Don't know what I'll make the gates out of but probably rough cedar with wrought iron fixtrues. The fence will be a hybred of steel studs and EIFS foam and a polymer cement mixture. The finish will match the bunker in color and texture and also will finish the kiva and the 16 foot false front at the western end of the courtyard. This false front will stand alone until it becomes part of the addition.
UPDATE Tried to finish the wall the weekend of the 15th and like the dummy I am I let the drill spin again. This time it really hurt. The pain was so bad, I relented and went to the Dr. and he put me on a course of steroids for the swelling. Nothing was broke but the pain was much worse and still is. The swelling has gone down but the pain is still there. I'll give it a couple more weeks but I think it will be all right. It seems as though as I get older it takes longer to bounce back from these small injuries.
The wall looks good and is about half finished as you can see. Three more blocks high and I'll start on the other side. The gate will swing on hinges mounted through steel studs set in concrete. Don't know what I'll make the gates out of but probably rough cedar with wrought iron fixtrues. The fence will be a hybred of steel studs and EIFS foam and a polymer cement mixture. The finish will match the bunker in color and texture and also will finish the kiva and the 16 foot false front at the western end of the courtyard. This false front will stand alone until it becomes part of the addition.
Monday, June 12, 2006
Playing with blocks
As you can see from the pictures above and below the wall is starting up. Each block weights about 500 pounds so the wall may take several trips to finish. These are the blocks that were cut to make the door and windows in the bunker. Had to do something with them so I am incorporating them into the gate posts. I am up to 40 inches, the blocks on top are just there for trial fits because I ran out of mortar. Barbara learned how to operate the crane (we call it Denny) and I guide the blocks into place. The pictures are after one very long day so if I hope to top it off at 7+ feet we will have to hustle. Another wall will be built over at the corner of the bunker to make the other side of the gate. The gate will be 12 feet wide and the nearest one to the bunker will have a 30 inch door in it so we can come and go into the courtyard more easily.
The crane is from a contractor that used it to build log homes and it will come in very handy when the addition starts up next year. It can lift a 3,000 lb load to 28 feet and can be towed behind a pickup. We bought it two years ago off ebay and a 16 ft trailer came with it and there are times, like the wall, where nothing else would do.
The crane is from a contractor that used it to build log homes and it will come in very handy when the addition starts up next year. It can lift a 3,000 lb load to 28 feet and can be towed behind a pickup. We bought it two years ago off ebay and a 16 ft trailer came with it and there are times, like the wall, where nothing else would do.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Monday, June 05, 2006
Time to begin the expansion
Everything went well over Memorial day. The A/C had a slight fit and blew out a transformer, no I don't know why, probably gremlins. I had another unit in the trailer for the addition so a quick swap of transformers and viola, cools like a champ. Unloaded the trailer and stacked the studs in lenghts and widths so when the time comes it will be easy to lay my hands on the right ones. I need to take the trailer back to Austin because I have purchased a load of trusses for the roof and it is time to load up eveything else in the back yard and bring it to the bunker. This time I will leave the trailer at the bunker.
The first order of business is to fence the courtyard and build the kiva, which is a big fireplace/oven, that will make up the NW corner of the courtyard and the North end of the fence. The fence will be 5 to 6 feet tall and I have about a hundred glass blocks and some wine bottles that will add color and light. The gates are part of the package too but I don't have that figured out yet. Maybe I'll run across some weathered barn wood or something similar and will make the gates look like they have been there forever.
The first order of business is to fence the courtyard and build the kiva, which is a big fireplace/oven, that will make up the NW corner of the courtyard and the North end of the fence. The fence will be 5 to 6 feet tall and I have about a hundred glass blocks and some wine bottles that will add color and light. The gates are part of the package too but I don't have that figured out yet. Maybe I'll run across some weathered barn wood or something similar and will make the gates look like they have been there forever.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)