Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Cogs and goggles required
So in case you never heard of Steampunk you should look it up. It has a nice aesthetic even if most of the adherents are a bit fanatic in their devotion. If you found the music fun I highly recommend hopping over the The Steampunk Workshop and to Datamancer for other fun things that go hiss, clank and whir!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Home remodels
So things like this http://realestate.msn.com/fresh-new-looks-for-a-bathroom I find rather interesting now that I am a home owner. First because we are planning a costly set of renovations ourselves and second because I like the ideas and different styles of stuff. Not an uncommon thing really, I mean who doesn't look at other designs and go "ohh how nice!" or "what were those clowns thinking?".
Part of the fun is to play the, what if we won the lottery and could do anything we wanted game, and let the imagination just run wild. Now I have a lot of imagination and no limit of space in the world. This is a fact. My Bride has the Greek houses that still need work and maintenance, we have the house here that needs upgrades and maintenance. Something always needs worked on to some degree. It is part of life and home ownership. So when reality decides to cut us a break and let 10 minutes of free time become available one can't help but let the mind wander a bit to what can we do to a house somewhere around the world?
This is a fun, completely normal game that everyone plays at some point in their life!! The best and some times worst thing is when life imitates art. The best because you can make a dream come true and improve your surroundings and living arrangements, aka quality of life (as the corporate world likes to say now-a-days). The worst because that sh!t COSTS money!!! Yes in our dream world we would find old but strong timbers from a ruin somewhere and cut and smooth the timbers by hand. Oil the wood and protect them using non toxic liquids, that are environmentally friendly, and cost half the price (in imagination land you have loads of time & money with no distractions to to keep you from your noble task) . Then you design your own wrought iron, Venician style, handrails to replace the old prefabricated ones. The end product is a perfect balcony with added space that will last a life time as it overlooks the small alleyway with the Mediterranean view! That is a subtle but important thing, it has to last a lifetime because it is PERFECT NOW! Perfection requires no more work!! This is actually a side project by the way, how the reality will meet it in the middle we have no idea yet. You see I am not that handy (ask my Bride) and have not near enough the amount to patience required! In fact my patience level is somewhere between a dogs and a house fly's, (I am leaning more toward a persistent dog in my opinion). That makes tasks like this a shade more difficult! But in imagination land I am Heracles and no task is insurmountable!
In our dream world the replacement windows we are getting would be 1/10th the price, and two to three times the energy savings! In imagination land the bathroom remodel would be 1/2 the price, and have all the bells and whistles we would LOVE in a modern European home and still match the decor and style of the house! Ahh imagination land...second star to the right and straight on until morning!
Unfortunately we are in the real world, even if it does feel like Bizarro World world sometimes (comic book reference there and extra credit if you get it!). So in the end we will pay more than we want to and get half of what we would like. However we are hitting some important wickets, to us anyway. The windows are made here in Washington State right across the Puget Sound. A little old fashioned of a concept? Buy local made products instead of something a Chinese factory could churn them out for a little cheaper ? Yeap that's us old fashioned! What we found out was the windows we are getting were the LEAST expensive of every other reputable option available and they have an comparable rating to higher priced windows. Now we just have to keep our fingers crossed and hope that the end product meets our expectations, just like every other big buy in life I guess.
Meanwhile we discovered a little while back that the bathroom tub has had a leak for a while and that the bathroom need to be renovated, repaired and hopefully NOT gutted like a fish! So we have that to look forward to in the next month! Once again we are looking at local tradesmen for the job and the best bang for the buck we can get. Man I should have taken wood shop in High School!
Well no matter how rough it goes I do know one thing. When all this stuff gets "done" it will be worth it. Sure it will be a royal pain in the a$$ at the time. Yeap there are going to be tense days but it is getting done, it is getting paid for, even if I have to go without eating a steak for a year or two! My Baby and the kids need to be warm and I need a roof that won't fall in if people come to visit from parts unknown.
Part of the fun is to play the, what if we won the lottery and could do anything we wanted game, and let the imagination just run wild. Now I have a lot of imagination and no limit of space in the world. This is a fact. My Bride has the Greek houses that still need work and maintenance, we have the house here that needs upgrades and maintenance. Something always needs worked on to some degree. It is part of life and home ownership. So when reality decides to cut us a break and let 10 minutes of free time become available one can't help but let the mind wander a bit to what can we do to a house somewhere around the world?
This is a fun, completely normal game that everyone plays at some point in their life!! The best and some times worst thing is when life imitates art. The best because you can make a dream come true and improve your surroundings and living arrangements, aka quality of life (as the corporate world likes to say now-a-days). The worst because that sh!t COSTS money!!! Yes in our dream world we would find old but strong timbers from a ruin somewhere and cut and smooth the timbers by hand. Oil the wood and protect them using non toxic liquids, that are environmentally friendly, and cost half the price (in imagination land you have loads of time & money with no distractions to to keep you from your noble task) . Then you design your own wrought iron, Venician style, handrails to replace the old prefabricated ones. The end product is a perfect balcony with added space that will last a life time as it overlooks the small alleyway with the Mediterranean view! That is a subtle but important thing, it has to last a lifetime because it is PERFECT NOW! Perfection requires no more work!! This is actually a side project by the way, how the reality will meet it in the middle we have no idea yet. You see I am not that handy (ask my Bride) and have not near enough the amount to patience required! In fact my patience level is somewhere between a dogs and a house fly's, (I am leaning more toward a persistent dog in my opinion). That makes tasks like this a shade more difficult! But in imagination land I am Heracles and no task is insurmountable!
In our dream world the replacement windows we are getting would be 1/10th the price, and two to three times the energy savings! In imagination land the bathroom remodel would be 1/2 the price, and have all the bells and whistles we would LOVE in a modern European home and still match the decor and style of the house! Ahh imagination land...second star to the right and straight on until morning!
Unfortunately we are in the real world, even if it does feel like Bizarro World world sometimes (comic book reference there and extra credit if you get it!). So in the end we will pay more than we want to and get half of what we would like. However we are hitting some important wickets, to us anyway. The windows are made here in Washington State right across the Puget Sound. A little old fashioned of a concept? Buy local made products instead of something a Chinese factory could churn them out for a little cheaper ? Yeap that's us old fashioned! What we found out was the windows we are getting were the LEAST expensive of every other reputable option available and they have an comparable rating to higher priced windows. Now we just have to keep our fingers crossed and hope that the end product meets our expectations, just like every other big buy in life I guess.
Meanwhile we discovered a little while back that the bathroom tub has had a leak for a while and that the bathroom need to be renovated, repaired and hopefully NOT gutted like a fish! So we have that to look forward to in the next month! Once again we are looking at local tradesmen for the job and the best bang for the buck we can get. Man I should have taken wood shop in High School!
Well no matter how rough it goes I do know one thing. When all this stuff gets "done" it will be worth it. Sure it will be a royal pain in the a$$ at the time. Yeap there are going to be tense days but it is getting done, it is getting paid for, even if I have to go without eating a steak for a year or two! My Baby and the kids need to be warm and I need a roof that won't fall in if people come to visit from parts unknown.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
From Russia with love
Monday, November 21, 2011
The sombrero diaries-Final nights.
So as I recall we all just sorta did our own thing and napped and stuff the last night on ship. Blame the tamarind tequila or the need to censor a family blog. But I do remember our laundry coming back pinkish with a set of purple culottes that were once red. But other than that a very pleasant evening, if pleasant is a freak-out mad dash to pack clothes and minimize the carryon luggage and booze on your person. However it all went off with nary a hitch. Disembarked and packed trucks and headed back to San Antonio. We unpacked trucks again, settled down for a great dinner, conversation and a glass of bourbon. Then off to bed for a 4:00 AM wake up and dash to the airport. Goodbyes were said and thus ended a spectacular birthday party/vacation/adventure. The end.
What you want more? Ok so I got some goofy looks from people in the airport. I mean I am wearing a big green sombrero the whole time but hold down the hat envy. Freud could write a book on it I tell ya! Except he's dead. Anyhow sure it was a nuisance having people bump into my hat on the plane, I had an aisle seat, but I understand it. Who wouldn't want to touch it? It is green felt! That's like twice as nice as Corinthian leather! I am certain I read that somewhere! Sure the stewardess was miffed when she asked where we went (smug with her airline attendant training) and I responded France, but hey Poncho is new to the high speed life of America! I can't have him swayed from a righteous path by some floozy stewardess looking to touch my sombrero! So off she went and not a ginger ale was to be seen the entire flight!
The sombrero diaries-Cozumel
So many things are discussed about Mexico. Bad water, tequila, sun, beaches, poverty, crime, sombreros, etc., etc... My God-Daughter will tell you emphatically NOT to drink the water. This wasn't my first rodeo when it came to travelling abroad so that was not a problem. My mind run that course easily. No water, no ice, no frozen delights that could be made with tainted water, don't rinse your mouth with tap water, don't wash your hands and put them in your mouth until fully dry. Paranoid? Well guess who never had Montezuma's Revenge? This guy! Tequila? I don't really like the stuff. However there is always an exception to the rule and Cozumel I found it!
So we crossed the brow from the ship and we were in Mexico! After the obligatory pictures and shop browsing we ended at a cab stand where the haggling began again in earnest. After a span of roundy round with the drivers we hopped a van and headed to the beach.via a tequila distillery. Well sort of. It was a very nice Hacienda that was converted to show how tequila is made at the actual distillery a few hundred miles away. However, free samples of everything were provided so that makes it a non-issue!! So as I said tequila and me are not friends. No story there, I am just not a fan. That is until I tried a tamarind flavored tequila. This stuff was FUN. So we buy a bottle with the express idea that we are taking it to the beach and sharing it and having a good time. You know what? That is exactly what we did too. No drama. No punch line. After the Hacienda we all went to this beautiful beach and drank tequila and sunned and swam and had some food that my wife labeled "gorgeous". You know what? It was gorgeous too, from the octopus to the nachos it was just gorgeous. Like so many other nice things in life they all come to an end though.
After far too few hours we headed back to town and did a little more window shopping, and that is when we saw him. My wife actually spied his younger brother and pointed him out to me, but. that was when I saw Poncho. How anyone could miss Poncho I don't know! He was covered in dark green felt and white sequins. He was majestic. He was all that was, and is, Mexico to me. The Cisco Kid and Zorro rolled all up into one.A BIG GREEN SHINY SOMBRERO!! So after some time alone talking to Poncho and weighing the options of getting him on the ship, off the ship, on the planes, off the planes I decided to do the smart thing and say sorry Poncho you have to stay. At which point my wife asks me why I don't have a sombrero on my head. I explain the logistical nightmare of a 2.5 foot sombrero and air travel. Which she promptly poo poo's and tells me to go buy a sombrero. So I go back and hem and haw..and buy myself the coolest sombrero ever! Sure I got strange looks but who cares? They're all just jealous.
So shortly after that, on the ship we went and out to sea we go! Next stop Texas!
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