January 2006



Jan
31
2006
 0

Before Pictures


These correspond to this and this. I forgot to note the mysterious box above the vent hood. My guess: it's Hoffa. I wanna be there when they bust it open.


Jan
30
2006
 0

Yikes!


We got the demolition permit today, construction permit is tomorrow morning, and tomorrow afternoon, they are going to start pouring piers. I better get some "before" pictures.


Jan
28
2006
 2

Kitchen


Still talking about the details last night. We lowered some of the countertops to 32in for Christiane's comfort. She had some brilliant ideas about the little stretch of lowered countertop next to the sink: one half pull-out trash and recycle and one half open shelves.


Jan
27
2006
 1

Closing


Done. Not much to report. We brought youngest boy with us. He ate rasins and had a minor flip out. I was out of town for three days and Christiane has been home with him so when we look at him we don't see the same child. I see cutie-pie-dumbell-wanna-fly-like-batman and she's just waiting for his head to spin around. So, maybe...


Jan
26
2006
 0

Not closing, but close!


We were not meant to close on the loan today. First we went to the bank. This is not where you go, you go to the title company. Then, when we were less than halfway through the paperwork, Ace shows up hugging a big box of Cheese Nips (orange hat and shirt to match) and notices that our bank put the wrong amount on the loan....


Jan
24
2006
 2

Our Dumpy Carport


Ace stopped by this morning to pick up the last of the permitting paperwork. He needed a pic of what was to be demolished, and we didn't have a pic of the carport and storage readily available, so he ran over and took one. Look at our dumpy little carport! I mean, our house isn't really dumpy, I swear, but seeing both...


Jan
23
2006
 3

5304 Agatha Circle


This is a concept home in a new neighborhood called Agave in East Austin. I like the variety of depth of the front elevation and the contrasting angular nature of the roof lines. Unfortunately, most of the floorplans of the homes designed for this neighborhood seem to be rather clunky. They remind me of apartments I have...


Jan
23
2006
 0

That Old Song-and-Dance


So I took the paper over to the bank today. I dropped it off with the sweet lady at the front desk. She's sweet, but I have issues about this kind of stuff. I want it to be like in a movie where she jumps up and runs it to the proper person immediately, while the entire foyer full of people breaks into a song-and-dance...


Jan
22
2006
 0

Living Room




Jan
22
2006
 1

The Dirty Deed


Quoted directly from the original deed of our house (some parts illegible). No part of the premises or property above described shall ever .......occupied or owned by or held for, or rented, leased, sold, .......conveyed and or otherwise become the property of, or ..... use or possessions of, any person or persons other...


Jan
20
2006
 0

Oh yeah, the release


So I refinanced my house and they sent me this paper and I needed to file it or something. I put it in my to-do file, for about three years. Not really a file either, more of a stack, any way, it was lost before we moved. If it was so important, why did they send it to me anyway? Today I got a call from the bank saying...


Jan
20
2006
 0

Exterior of the House and Pattern Languages


For the last couple of days I have been thinking about the exterior design of the house in terms of elements found in our neighborhood. My obsession with this may be the fact that the 3 largest features of the house are not consistent with the other houses. These are: 1. 2 Stories 2. Shed Roof 3. Upstairs Deck So the challenge...


Jan
19
2006
 0

Paper paper paper


Turns out you need more paperwork to knock down a wall than to build one. We thought we would get the permit yesterday, now we have to wait 3 days for the county to process a "Certificate of Title" or sum-such. This will prove that we really really paid our taxes (and it costs $10.00). The tax office front desk lady gave...