End of Term

Off to Houston

Wednesday afternoon, we head out for Houston for the six-month CT scan, which we are praying will come up clean. Then we are off to Kansas City for Christmas and more house work.

Just so you know what we have up there, here is a picture we hope not to see in person very often:

Just about everything you see in this picture is new, except for the trim and windows on the second floor! Inside, we tore out everything down to the bare studs, leaving behind some very nice wood floors. We squared up the structure where is was sagging a bit, put in new central air and heat in place of no air and a boiler/radiator system, installed new electrical to replace old knob-and-tube wiring, replaced galvanized water pipes with new plumbing, then put up new sheet-rock and now we have walls and trim all around. The thing is almost done!

This obviously leaves one question lingering in our minds. Given we replaced almost everything, why didn't we just tear it all down and build a new house? The answer is simple, it is as original from the street as we could make it, and looks as good or better than anything on the block, and there are some nice similar homes there. The location is great, and the feeling of the neighborhood is wonderful. In short, it is a great house that we now hope to spend some time in, as we figure out how to slow down a bit and enjoy life.

We have been so busy with work, and with fighting the demon cancer that we really do need to slow down. Hopefully this place will spur both Cheryl and I to do just that.

In the meantime, we need toilets, counter-tops, and furniture after we get a final inspection from the city!

Getting Ready for Christmas!

This evening, we are hosting a dinner party for members of our church small group, about five couples. We have done minimal decorating (Cheryl did most of the work while I was swamped with grading!). We are finishing up shopping, then we will pack up the truck and head North for Christmas.

New Years in Houston

Right after Christmas, we come back to Austin, then head over to Houston for two weeks of art work!. The sculptors at M. D. Anderson will be designing my custom fake eye, and I have to show up daily for fittings, or other weird things to make sure it blends in as well as they can make it. Cheryl plans on spending the first week with me, and we will celebrate New Years Eve somewhere in the area, perhaps in Galveston near the water! It will not be ice around here! Shortly after we moved to Texas, we went down to South Padre Island for New Years, and basked in 80 degree weather on the beach! It will probably be a bit cooler than that this year!

Best Wishes

We are both hoping your seasons preparations are going well. Please remember what this season is all about. Stop shopping and spend some time in your local church, even if you do not do that normally. Our church caters to those who are just exploring their feelings about God and Faith, and we invite all comers to our celebrations. Sadly, Cheryl and I usually miss those Christmas events, since we are usually traveling to visit family.

Take care, and enjoy!