A Tile Rug?

This retaining wall should help us keep the HVAC units level over time. It will also make a nice raised bed garden.

Jaime may wish he hadn’t suggested a tile rug in the entry way.

Jaime continues to work on tiling the ground floor at the ranch house. I’m impressed. The Versailles pattern Suna picked out is difficult at best. But he has also managed to continue it seamlessly around all of the obstacles I mentioned before.

Suna and Jaime came up with an interesting idea to make the pattern even more difficult. Jaime will use some large format tile to make a tile “rug” in the middle of the entry way. We even have enough leftover tile of a from the master bath to make a decorative border. And now we’re buying some glass tile to make a second border. I’m sure it will all be beautiful when it’s done.

By the way, all of the tile in the house is Travertine, which I want to call “turpentine” for some reason.

Outside, the HVAC heat exchangers have been installed. Raul built a retaining wall around them, so we should be able to keep them level once we bring in more dirt and relevel them once.

 

Shopping: I’m Not a Fan

What are the odds?

We went shopping for fixtures in Austin today. After several false starts, we finally found everything we were looking for (and more) in one location.

I knew Ferguson’s had a good chance of satisfying Suna’s wants when we pulled into the parking lot. There was an empty spot beside another XJ. It was like fate intended us to park there.

Inside, we found plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, and appliances. We bought everything we need for the kitchen, including two wine refrigerators.

My contribution to overspending was a built-in coffee maker for the master bedroom. Luckily, we’re in time to send the updated requirements to the cabinet maker.

 

Another Ranch House Update

Jaime lays tile in the Versailles pattern, a really complex pattern made up of several different sized tiles.

Have I mentioned that Stella loves water? And look! The pond is full. The red gate pops and echoes the red trim on the house and garage.

Jaime figured out how to put down the Versailles pattern on the tile that will continue throughout the downstairs. It’s very intricate, and he has to break it to wrap around the bar, the island, the kitchen wall, and the stairway wall. For each item he breaks around, he has to make the pattern align correctly in the middle of the other side.

Frank has begun laying the bamboo flooring upstairs. He’s starting in the master bedroom and will carry the pattern down the hall to the landing. The stairs will also be clad in bamboo. Suna picked a rich chocolate color.

The crown molding is up. It makes a tremendous difference in how finished the house looks. There was enough left over molding that we ended up with crown in the toilet stall. Fancy!

Suna took advantage of a break in the weather to paint the entry gates red. They look really good now that they match the trim on the house and garage.

 

Rain

The sun is visible through the clouds above the ranch house Photo by: Sue Ann

I wanna know

Have you ever seen the rain?

—John Fogerty

I think I can say the drought is breaking, if it hasn’t already broken. So far, we’ve had the wettest January and March since I’ve been keeping records at the Hermits’ Rest.

You can see the effects in the greening of the weeds around the house. They are growing in where construction has disturbed the ground for the last couple of years.

Speaking of construction, I’ve also laid some PVC pipe to carry rainwater away from the house. After a failed attempt to use chains I could buy locally, I ordered some decorative rain chains from Amazon. Let’s see how they work.