August 2006



Aug
31
2006
 28

Come On Down!!!


You're the next contestant on the Erwin House Guess Our Massive August Electric Bill Contest Game Event! Our first electric bill will be in the mail soon. How much will it be? Let's see who can guess the highest without going over. Here are a few hints. 1. August in Texas is hot. The average high has been 101 degrees this...


Aug
30
2006
 10

Decorating the Erwin House


There is something terribly gratifying about the sconce on the stone wall. My mom and I lived for a year with my grandparents when I was 4. I remember my grandfather's basement-turned-den: he had a fully-stocked bar with a collection of miniature liquor bottles, a number of model trucks from his days as a transportation...


Aug
27
2006
 10

Productivity Strikes Again


The punch list grows smaller. The big event of last week was the removal of the old driveway. I think it took longer than they had expected. The driveway was original to the house and was a solid 6 or so inches of concrete through and through. No rebar, no clay foundation. They had to score each section twice and remove...


Aug
24
2006
 19

Flipping Out


Technically speaking, I am not against flipping. David and I have posted about it before, about our neighborhood and the fact that the vultures are circling as Austin booms and the houses begin to crumble. We don't live in an historic area, and there is little necessary to save of most of the homes here. Once farmland...


Aug
23
2006
 1

It’s All Over But the Financing


Tomorrow we make the final payment to our contractor. That means it's time for a real mortgage. Here's a re-cap of our past experience with our bank (affectionately called "Hakuna Matata Federal Credit Union"). From January 26 ...our bank put the wrong amount on the loan. Lame. And too late to fix it today. Better luck...


Aug
22
2006
 6

Everybody Must Get Stoned


Last Wednesday, the mason finally showed up to install the stone wall. No joke, I hadn't felt like blogging because the stone wall was unfinished. I know that sounds pretty lame, but it is true. There was something about that wall that felt monumental to me. It felt like the last thing, even though it wasn't--isn't. Anyway,...


Aug
21
2006
 5

First Impressions


I've been taking notes on my first impressions of the house over the first two weeks. Here they are. Appliances: I have always had bottom-of-the-line appliances. I haven't had a refrigerator with an ice machine since I was in high school (except for the rental we had while renovating). So having crushed ice in the door...


Aug
14
2006
 4

Moving In


IMG_9161 Originally uploaded by cmwoodley. There is no time for blogging when curtains need to be hung, shelves mounted, cabinets assembled, boxes emptied, linens washed, tchotchkies organized, and appliances appreciated. The coffee nook was one of the first areas to be finished and used. The game room (we were...


Aug
9
2006
 15

This Is Not My Beautiful House


IMG_Ribbon Cutting Originally uploaded by daviderwin. We're in! We're in! We're in! We're in! It's official. As of Sunday evening, we're in the Erwin House. Welcome home, family. And I feel a little like David Byrne. Who's refrigerator is this? This isn't my vaulted ceiling! I might as well enjoy the deck...


Aug
5
2006
 2

On the 186th Day they Rested.


Yesterday, our contractor said a cleaning crew would be by the house tomorrow and please, would we not go over there. Then Christiane got this in her fortune cookie. We took it as a sign. We took the last day off. We did not go to the house. (Well, one drive by, but we didn't stop.) We went to the park, we had coffee,...


Aug
5
2006
 1

Week 26: Are we there yet? Are we there yet?


Friday July 28th: Our electric meter was put on the house. Many, many things did not work, but the AC did. We had 7yo's birthday sleepover (at the rental). Bought light bulbs. Saturday: I went to the house and pulled up all the cardboard from the floor, swept twice, then wet swiffered the whole downstairs. Painters showed...


Aug
4
2006
 0

National Night Out


Did I mention that we have the coolest neighbors evah? Tuesday evening, we enjoyed a National Night Out party hosted by our neighbors on Pasadena, Jack and Layne (I might not be spelling that correctly, hm...). It was a refreshing reminder of the power of community. I met some of our older residents, those that have been...


Aug
4
2006
 1

Big Bag ‘o Bulbs


Last Friday I had the unique (maybe once in a lifetime) joy of filling a shopping cart with light bulbs for the whole house. I needed about 65. So many that I organized an Excel spreadsheet so I would know how many of each wattage to get. I was so excited about my big bag 'o bulbs, that I stopped by the house and made Christiane...


Aug
2
2006
 13

Ten Deadlines


June 1: Four Months. Original Estimate for the project was 3 - 4 months. June 10: Baby Erwin's due date. We built that bathroom for birthin'! June 17: Baby Erwin is born in the rental. June 28: Unofficial kickoff marked on June 28, 2005 when we put half of our stuff into storage and Christiane and the kids moved in with...