New House Blog: Episode CCXXIII - Windows 22

Welcome back, friends, for the final Episode of AD 2022.  I know it's been a few months since our last Episode, but believe me when I say there are good reasons for the delay in keeping y'all informed of our Texas House happenin's.  And as promised in the previous Episode, the answers to the random trivia questions are all here, way down at the bottom of this Episode.  So keep readin' through, or scroll all the way down yonder to check your answers.

Windows 22a

You shall recall from this Episode that our Texas House has about a bajillion windows, and we replaced about half of them in AD 2021.  In order to avoid rising windows prices we decided to replace the other half this year (AD 2022).  

This reading room window is an example of the old windows.  The job took only a couple of days, and the installers did a great job.

We even had the garage windows upgraded.  Here you can see the old partially dismantled.

Cute Cat Interlude

This is Daisy.  She lives upstairs, and she looks out of our new windows. 

She also climbs up on things.

Plants Update

As usual, we planted some new plants earlier this year.  

Sadly, our raspberry plants died.  We watered them, and they got plenty o' sun, so we're not sure why they died.  In their place we planted two new blackberry bushes.  We both know from previous experience that blackberries love to grow and thrive, so we are hopeful for these guys.

This ficus is not new, technically, but it is the first ficus we have planted out-of-doors.  We did said transplant because it had some kind of bug that was causing it to drip sticky sap on the floors (and other surfaces) in our Texas House, and we did not want to simply destroy said ficus.  This is an experiment, and as of this writing it is still alive.  

At the New House Blog we show our mistakes (maybe not all of them) as well as our triumphs.  This is an example of the former.  You will recall from this Episode that we installed a wall-mounted hose reel, and then installed the heaviest garden hose we could find.  That turned out to be a mistake.  We think that the weight of the hose was just too much for the poor hose reel, and it broke.  We decided to replace it with a ground-based unit.  So far it has not broken.

Windows 22b

Sadly, our small Yaupon Holly "Stokes Dwarf" (Ilex Vomitoria) was apparently stepped on by a windows intaller.  It did not survive.

Here you see a new window to the right of a new wall-mounted fan.  Said fan helps with cooling and fumes reduction (when working with powerful epoxies and such-like).

Pavers 22a

It seems that the tire(s) from someone's pickup truck may have wandered onto the lawn once or twice, and left a depression, so we reasoned that if the truck's tires are prone to wander in the future, it might make sense to provide a more appropriate wandering surface than soft dirt and grass.

Of course, the first step in any paver project is excavation.   And as you might expect, we encountered large, buried boulders from the outset.

The tarps are there to keep the dirt (and smaller rocks (and root bits)) under control and concentrated.

Happily, we were able to reconstruct this small boulder (with glue and dangerous epoxy, even) that we had to remove from the hole.

More boulders.  The larger of the two in this picture was truly a challenge to excavate.  We had to use pry bars, wood wedges, shovels, and several hours of labour to just pry it loose from its moorings.

This smaller boulder was not quite as challenging, but it was still a handful.

Does that not remind you of an unfinished Moa (from Easter Island)?  In this photo it has been loosed from its moorings, and the raising process has begun.

To raise the largest boulders we had to rely on some of the oldest machines in existence - the lever, the inclined plane, and the stack of pavers.  That is to say, we would pry up one end of the boulder, put a paver underneath, pry up the other end a bit, put a paver underneath, then repeat.  In this we we were able to raise the Moa boulder to the surface and then roll it aside.  It helps that we already had the pavers on-hand.

Windows 22c

Edgar is watching me through one of our new windows.

Edgar is napping on top of Zorro, in front of one of our new windows.

Wildlife Update

This past spring and summer we had a deer family (a doe and two fawns) that decided our property would be their new home for a while.  They wandered, frolicked, and rested in our yards for several months as the fawns matured.

Of course they didn't just stay in our yard 24-7, but they did seem to spend the majority of their time (as far as we could tell) on and around our property.

And I tell you what - those fawns really do blend into the grasses surprisingly well.  It may be hard to make out, but there is a fawn right about in the center of this photo.  I was in the back to turn on the water, and I almost walked right on top of this little dude before I saw him.  I was able to reach the hose spigot, and the fawn didn't so much as flinch or acknowledge my presence.  

At the time of this writing the little fawns have growed up and moved on  to whatever deer do when they are growed up, and the family no longer calls our yard their home.

Fillmore Fencing

Fillmore turns out to be somewhat of an escape artist.  He has figured out that he can slip through a gap rail of our back porch, and from there he can jump down to the ground.  

To prevent this escapement, we installed chicken wire over and in the Fillmore gap.  So far he has not figured out a way around this.

Pavers 22b

And what would a paver project be without some PVC repair?

Paver base is going in.  We decided to leave this boulder in situ.  We have no idea just how large it is, so it seemed to make more sense to just carve the pavers to fit around it instead of trying to excavate it.

Paver base is in.  Next comes the paver sand and then the pavers.

Finally, actual pavers in the hole!  If you look closely you can see where we had to do a little sculpting on the bottoms of some of the pavers so they would fit around the one boulder we left in place.

More pavers go in, and soil backfill begins.

Pavers are in, soil is mostly backfilled, and the weather is nice.

Polymeric sand is in, and backfill is done.  As of this writing, the grass is growing nicely in the backfilled area.  But what of the boulders?  Several of them now guard the entrance to our long driveway.

More Fillmore

Is it possible to get too much Fillmore?

Apparently not.

Windows 22d

This new Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera x Buckleyi) is sitting in front of one of our new windows.  It (the cactus) is from a cutting supplied by DR in the RV.  Thanks, DR.  As of this writing it is thriving inside our Texas House.

Answers:

As mentioned at the beginning of this Episode, here are the answers to the previous Episode's random trivia questions (in order).

The changing of the door locks; May 9, 2012; 33"X22"; Episode LXVIII; An oarfish; The trench of first Death Star; Three; Four; El Toro; Anton; 42" and 36"; Red; 105 F; Cuban sandwiches; 220 CFM; Four; Two of each

How many questions did you get

    bIsh

New House Blog: Episode CCXXII - Ten Years Of Home Improvement

I remember it like it was only ten years ago.  Becky and Bish made an offer on a house, the offer was accepted, and the New House Blog was born.  It had a humble beginning with its first Episode, and it has made great progress since then.  Here, for your convenience is a link to that first, humble Episode (so that you can go back to the beginning and re-read all of the wonderful Episodes, and relive all of the exciting projects that we have completed since that first, humble Episode).  To commemorate all of our progress since May 5, 2012, we will be inserting random questions into this Episode.  All answers may be found in New House Blog Episodes of the past.  But since you have read and re-read them all many times, you won't need to look up the answers, right?

Stump To End All Stumps

Throughout the years we have battled many tree stumps, and recently I battled the stump to end all stumps.  

You may recall from this Episode that we had to have a dead elm tree removed.  It had been in poor health for some time, and the great freeze of '021 finished it off, so we had it removed before it fell and damaged our Texas House (or Becky's truck).  At the time we did not choose to have the stump professionally removed.  I figured I could handle it.  After all, I had removed many tree stumps before, or so I thought.

This elm stump was in a totally different class from all of the previous stumps I had battled, and it challenged (and injured) me.  Little did I realize at the start that it would take me 8 months to win this battle o' the stump.

Random question 1: What was the first ever project posted to the New House Blog?

As you can see, much like an iceberg, only a very tiny percent of the stump was visible above the surface.  The greater mass of wood lay hidden under rocks and dirt.  Of course, I wasn't engaging the stump in battle every single day - more like once a week, sometimes for brief ten or twenty minute skirmishes.

Eventually the pit was large enough for me to bring in some power tools.

Random question #2: What was the date I first posted about black widows (Latrodectus mactans)?

Finally, after months and months of battle, the stump was defeated.  I did not feel the need to dig up all of the radiating roots: my main objective was the removal of the center mass and some of the surrounding root material.  As you can see, the final pit was quite deep.

Here you can see all of the tools that were used in this grand battle.  At one point I did consider seeking out a neighbor with a chainsaw and asking for help, but I never put that plan into action.

Have I mentioned, yet, that the soil at our Texas House is full of rocks?  These light-coloured boulders were dug up while battling the stump.  I do not know how there was room for them and the tree roots, but there they were.

And these two piles are (left to right): the dirt removed from the pit and the pieces of elm that were removed from the pit.  Does anyone need any firewood?

Random question #3: What were the dimensions (length and width) of the kitchen sink of our California House?

Cute Cat Interlude

How can we do a tenth anniversary Episode and not show off our cute cats?

Daisy is now 13 years old.

Edgar is nine years old.

Fillmore is 6 years old.

Satchmo is 14 years old, and still as active as ever.

Random question #4: What is the Episode number where we first mentioned Edgar?

Random Paraplane

Just a random dude in a random paraplane.  This is the first such that I have seen in the wild.

Lunar Eclipse

Recently I witnessed a lunar eclipse at our Texas House.  

Oh no!  Something is eating the moon!

Random question #5: To what did I compare the section of rain gutter that fell off our California House?

Random question #6: To what did I compare the old rain gutters on the Parents' House?

Random question #7: How many dishwashers installations have we posted on the New House Blog?

Cute Cat Project

As we did at our California House, we recently installed a cat door in Becky's office so that our cute cats would be free to ingress and egress at their leisure.

Yup, it's a new cat door.

Fillmore approves.

Random question #8: How many in-sink disposals have we replaced during the first ten years of the New House Blog?

Spring Planting

Once again we lost a few plants over the winter, despite their claims to tolerating low temperatures.  And once again we have replaced said lost plants.

The Lace Aloe (Aristaloe Aristata) that was in the left-hand entry-way pot succumbed to the cold, so we replaced it with this other aloe that we do not know the variety of.  It was elsewheres on our property, and it survived the winter, so we decided to move it here instead of spending money on a new plant.  Its new little shoots seem to be doing well so far.

Our Candelabra Aloe (Aloe Arborescens) also succumbed, so we replaced it with this Dyckia.  We do not know the exact variety or species.  As you can also see, the Silver Torch Cactus (Cleistocactus Strausii) in the background made it through the winter and is thrivening.

Behold our Elephant Ear ‘Sumo’ (Alocasia Hybrid).  I have seen these thriving along the local rivers, so it seemed like a good choice for our Texas House.  We planted it in the spot formerly occupied by a dried-up, dead philodendron.  We believe that said philodendron died because of a buried sprinkler that we had to replace (more on this later).

This Gherkin (Delosperma Echinatum) is in the spot formerly occupied by the entry-way aloe (see above), which was a replacement for the Euphorbia Lactea Crest Grafted (Euphorbia Lactea Cristata) that did not survive the snows of 2021.

Random question #9: What was the name of our gasoline lawnmower?

Meet the Gumby Cactus (Austrocylindropuntia Subulata Gumby).  Have I mentioned, anywhere, ever, that we sometimes choose plants based, in part, on their names?

Random question #10: What is the name of our electric lawnmower?

Look Both Ways

This is the train that delayed me one recent night as I was on my way home from a rehearsal.  We have a several very active train tracks in and around our small town.

Random question #11: How wide was the original stove hood I replaced at the Parents' House, and how wide was the replacement hood?

Another Lost Sprinkler

You may recall from this Episode that we found, replaced, and raised a sprinkler that had been completely buried by dirt and rock.  Recently we found a second such sprinkler when we were testing out our irrigation system.

This sprinkler was completely buried under dirt and rock, so we dug a hole, extracted the old, installed a riser, installed a new 180° sprinkler, and filled in the hole.  We believe that the above-mentioned dead, dried-up philodendron became dead and dried-up due to this sprinkler being completely buried and ineffective.  So far it seems to be providing plenty of water for our new elephant ears plant.

Not Doing So Hot

This is all that is left of our Sunburst Cactus (Opuntia Sunburst).  It survived the move from California, heat, cold, snows, more heat, cold, wet, dry, deer; and then one day it was simply dead.  There was another entire cactus inside the cage, and it simply disappeared.  This one in the picture just ceased living.  It is a mystery.

So now we are down to only one outdoor transplant from California that is still alive and threyeving - our large (well, less large because of last year's snows) aloe plant.

Random Question #12: What color are Satchmo's harness and leash?

As is our custom, we planted pepper plants in our food garden, but they are not doing so hot because of the hot air,  recently-enacted watering restrictions, and lack of rain.  They are still clinging to life, and have managed a total output of one pepper, but they have definitely not thriven so far.  There is some hope, as they seem to have made a new effort to grow and survive.

Red Bud

Well, we couldn't just leave a big, open pit where the old elm stump used to be, so we planted a new tree and filled in the dirt all around it.

Meet our Mexican Redbud (Cercis Canadensis Var. Mexicana).  We were actually looking for a Sandpaper Tree (Ehretia Anacua), but the nursery did not have any in stock, and this one checked the right boxes (drought tolerant, deer resistant, looks good, cold tolerant to -5° F, not too expensive), so we chose it as an alternative.

Bonus random question #1: What was the temperature in Barstow as we drove through it on our escape from California?

Bonus random question #2: What did we eat for supper at our first night's stop on our trip to our Texas House?

Bonus random question #3: What was the peak airflow rating of the stove hood we replaced in our California House?

Bonus random question #4 - Part 1: How many snake sightings have been posted on the New House Blog?  Part 2: How many of those were venomous vs. non-venomous?

Please post any/all answers in the comment section.  Correct answers will be provided in the next Episode of the New House Blog.  Thanks everyone for your support.

Here's to another ten

    bIsh

Acts 4:8-12