1995 Buick LeSabre Custom

1995 Buick LeSabre Custom

As much as I love cool cars, I never had much luck over the years getting my parents to step up their vehicular game.  My mom probably would have branched out a little but dad was much more frugal and sensible.  He was the president of a state university in Texas for 20 years and he would only buy things like Oldsmobiles and Mercury's...and Buicks, and usually in the school colors of maroon or gold. I used to say "Dad, why don't you just get a Mercedes or a Cadillac, or at least a Lincoln Town Car?"  He would explain that since he was President of a state university, technically his salary was paid by the taxpayers and he didn't think it would be right for him to drive around in some fancy car under those circumstances. (Fortunately he didn't extend that rule to cover me while growing up.)

After he retired however, I did have a little luck getting the folks to branch out.  I talked them into trading me this LeSabre which they had purchased new a few years prior for a '95 BMW 740iL that I owned.  

I know what you're thinking - not a very shrewd trade on my part.  You're sort of correct, but I had owned the 740 for a few years and was ready for something else and I really enjoyed the idea of dad cruising around Wichita Falls in a big black 7-Series after all those years of maroon Buicks.

As for the LeSabre, it was really like a new car.  I wasn't crazy about the maroon over maroon combo, but other than that I had no complaints.  Truth be told, I hardly ever drove it.  It hung around for about five or six months until I got around to selling it.  It was a comfortable car, but floated a little too much for my tastes at the time (I kind of like that now - I'm getting old).  The 3.6-liter V-6 was surprisingly potent.

Needless to say, this car was not a chick magnet.  It was marketed for an older client, and for that demographic it made sense.  I finally sold this one to a young couple that were living with the girls' parents and had a couple of kids.  They only had one car, and in Houston that just doesn't work.  All in all, this was a very good car and I'm sure it performed well for its new owners for years.  

Guest House Construction: Part 30

Guest House Construction: Part 30

Super short blog because I sadly don't have much to report this week.  For one thing, July 4th fell on Tuesday and no one worked then or Monday.  It's not a surprise that no one showed up on a holiday, but you never know really - they were working here on Thanksgiving last year.

Later in the week a couple things got taken care of.  A pad was built for our AC compressors.  Because we're in the windstorm zone, you have to pour these by code instead of using the pre-fab ones.  Easy enough job I guess.  

It got done, and now we are ready for the HVAC system to be finished up....except there's no gas line to the house yet. It was supposed to get completed last week, but our builder didn't get to it and this week seems like it's going to be a rainy mess.  That's why it hurts so much to put things off just because you don't have to have them done right then.  Who knows when it will be dry enough to complete the line now.

One bit of progress was that the plumbers came back out and I believe finished up all their work. They installed the last of the fixtures (like our garage bath sink) and fixed a few leaks and checked everything. Should be good there.

They also installed the range and dishwasher.  It's starting to look like a house. The electricians came out again and worked, but still didn't quite finish everything.  

At this point my contributions are somewhat limited. I mainly write checks and occasionally get to pick something out, like sconce covers!  The weather doesn't look good this coming week and we still have to survive...."The Trim Guy!!!" Hopefully he shows...and stays long enough to get some things done.

The Greek Islands

100 Places To See (and take a selfie) Before You Die:

The Greek Islands

Greece

I have to confess up front that I am no expert on the Greek Islands.  Greece has something like 6000 islands - I've been to two.  I added it to our "100 Places" list because regardless of which island or islands you visit, it's an exotic and unique location that will leave an impression.

The pictures with Branelle or myself in them are all from Mykonos.  Where you go depends on what kind of trip you want.  Mykonos is known for having great beaches and even greater nightlife, like Club Ramrod.  If you want luxury, go to Rhodes or Santorini.  Every island is supposed to be unique.  I'll take their word for it, but keep in mind that when you go matters as well.  That nightlife Mykonos is famous for in the summer will be non-existent during the off-season.

One thing you can count on to be consistent from island to island are the souvenir shops.  Greeks love to sell you something 'Greek', even if it's made in China.

The towns are interesting and where 95% of tourists will stay.  Don't discount getting out to see the island on your own.  Most islands are sparse but beautiful in their own way.

I was kind of bored to be honest in Mykonos and then we ran into our new friends Wes and Tam who suggested renting a car.  It sounded like a great idea to us so we walked up to the nearest rental place and headed out of town.

We got this little Saffron Orange Fiat Panda - or the 'Fanda' as Nel liked to call it.  Terrible car, but perfect for the tiny little walled roads of Mykonos.  We cruised around the island checking out all kinds of places.

  
Sometimes simple stops like this little local eatery can be fun.  Greek food is very Mediterranean - lots of meats, cheeses, breads and fruits.  If you're a picky eater like me, you won't have trouble finding things to eat here.

This little basement bakery in Hora still uses the same wood oven they have for hundreds of years.  

I'll warn you that roads in Greece are really suggestions.  Some are extremely narrow and few are marked.  Navigation can be tricky.  Still, it's always fun to drive around in other countries.

When people think of Greek Islands, they imagine beaches like this.  It's true, there are lots of beautiful beaches on most of the main tourist islands.  That said, I'll restate something I say from time to time.  If you're American and you're going anywhere in the Mediterranean just for the beaches, don't waste your time or money.  I've been all over the world and the best water and beaches are right here in the Caribbean.  It's cheaper and easier to get to as well.  Go to Cayman of you want to swim.  Go to Greece to go to Greece!

  
The biggest problem with the Med is it's just too cold most of the time.  This was in September and it should have been warm, but even my wife who's from Minnesota where they swim in ice water in August and seem happy about it thought it was too cold.

Dinner in Hora - The menus will include lots of fish, but as I stated before you won't have trouble finding something you like even if you're a picky eater. 

The Greek Islands are a tricky spot for me.  I like to go places off-season to avoid crowds, but you really need to visit the islands here during the summer to get the full experience.  

I can't really tell you which islands to visit, but I can tell you to visit some. I think my favorite way to see the Greek Islands would be hopping around on a sailboat for about a month.  I think probably the next best way would be on a cruise ship. I'm not sure I would recommend just flying in as a destination and staying somewhere. I'm sure that would be fun too, but I can think of better places to do that.

Go to the Greek Islands at some point in your life because, well, they're the Greek Islands! It's not the cultural or historical trip that Athens, for example, would be, but it's iconic and unique.  I'd go back and visit more islands at some point if Nel wants to.  Only 5998 to go.

Let's Build A Pool! Part 7: Waiting

Let's Build A Pool!

Part 7:  Waiting

It's been a month and a half since I've posted any updates on our pool.  There's a very good reason for this....nothing's happened!  To be fair, I should say very little has happened.  I have to emphasize that it's not the pool companies' fault at all.  The pool construction has gone well, but they got to a point where there was not much they could really do because our concurrent guest house build was in their way.  We always knew this was likely going to be the case, but I didn't think it would take quite as long as it has.  The main issue has been the lack of electricity available for the pool equipment.  I had a designated circuit added to the guest house just for pool stuff.  You can't spray the pool until you're ready to fill it with water, and you can't fill it with water until you're ready to power it up, and you can't power it up without, well, power.  We JUST got electricity to the guest house this week so I would expect the pool to ramp up soon.  Here's what's happened in the meantime.  

  
A crew came out and finished all of the steps and step faces with travertine and stacked stone.  We have a lot of new patio and steps weren't originally part of the plans but the drop from the guest house patio to the new pool area was substantial and really needed them.  Preferred was great about doing this and it looks good.

They also did the travertine inserts.  It doesn't show up that much now, but when we eventually get the spray deck coating on the concrete this should "pop".

After a few weeks of zero activity, Preferred decided to start knocking off a few items on the list while waiting for electricity.  The most important was installing all of the drainage lines away from the pool and patios.  It was a big job and I didn't take any pictures, but drainage is a very important part of this project. Another item they knocked out was the fire pit.

The stone guys came out and built this cool pit in a couple days. There's more to something like this than I would have considered.  There's a drainage hole in the middle for example that runs to a pop-up valve about 15 feet off the patio. One thing the guys did which they'll regret later is they grouted the stacked stone.  The stacked stone hadn't been grouted on the spa or any of the steps, but they did it on the fire pit and it looks great!  I wouldn't have known I wanted it, but now that I've seen it they're going to have to grout everything.

From time to time they send a cleanup crew to remove trash and grade out all the dirt.  They do a great job and it makes a big difference.  I asked them to move the three palm trees that had been land locked just laying on our patio since before it was poured to the back so they could be planted.

We sat with patios finished and just waiting for about a month.  

They did a really good job on the steps.  I'm optimistic that this is all going to look good when finished.  I'm sort of second guessing our choice of color for the spray deck, but we have some time before it gets applied.

This week, after getting the news that they had power to the pool circuits, Preferred sent out their electricians to get started.  They ran us a couple lines, one to the back side of our patio for our pavilion, and this one to the outdoor kitchen.  

Most importantly, they hooked up the pool equipment to the power circuits. They did all this in a couple days.  I think we can now go ahead and get the pool sprayed...once we get it drained - it's nasty!

On Saturday we came home to discover that our palm trees were actually vertical again - finally!  I know they're tough, but I was getting worried about them just laying on the ground for months.

Guest House Construction: Part 29

Guest House Construction: Part 29

We had a good week.  The tile guys finally finished up (I think).  It took all week but they got the last few bits of tiling done and got everything grouted over a few days.  The main shower was the last area they had to work on but it turned out good.  (Yes - I just posted a picture on the internet of my wife in the shower.)

We used this wood tile for all of the flooring in the main living area and I think it's going to work out well.  It's filthy in this picture after being grouted but when clean it should still have a rustic but modern look.

The backsplash is all done as well.  This was a lazy choice - we couldn't make a decision and we had tons of this stuff around.  Even so, it looks pretty good. When it was wet during application I didn't like it but dry and sealed it works. We still have tons of the stuff - what else can we travertine?!?

The most exciting thing that happened a week ago was getting electric service upgraded to the main house.  This week, the most exciting thing that happened was getting that electricity to the guest house.  It started with a crew on Monday putting in the conduit and pulling wires.

When they left Monday we had electrical wires - that work - all the way from the source to the breaker box on the guest house.  On Tuesday a guy came out and hooked up the circuit for the pool equipment at my request so we could ramp back up on the pool build.  He also charged the plugs in the garage so we would have power to plug things in.

The next day a crew came back and installed all the rest of the lights and plugs and turned everything on.  This was one of the most exciting parts of the entire build to me.  I couldn't wait till it got dark so I could see how the lighting worked.

We're thrilled with everything.  Lighting is tricky.  You need things bright enough to see but not so bright as to be uncomfortable.  The trick is to use more lights but stick to warmer tones.  We used a ton of lights everywhere but went with warm LED bulbs.  It's pricey, but worth it.

My "cave" is coming along nicely.  To be named later.  The electricians still need to do the undercabinet lighting and a few other odds and ends but they are close.

There are always a few things that come up during a project like this.  When the plumber hooked up the water line there was a leak in the wall.  We're guessing a nail from the brick guys caught the main line.  The plumber cut out a section and fixed it and this will get patched up good as new later.