we had a much needed rain.  notice the water streaming off the roof outside the bathroom (outhouse)

this big oak was one of the reasons we located the cabins at the back of the property.  it survived the drought of 2011 and had a much deserved drink.

view of that big oak from inside the screen room that separates the two cabins. 

the entry canopy received a little bench made from scraps we were cleaning up.  making the most of the waste also equals less work carrying it all back through the woods.

many sleepless nights have been spent thinking about a sink vanity for the off-grid wimberley project.  our recent camping trip had us talking about the teardrop trailer I had once built from the axle up, and that reminded me of the camping hand pump fixture and potable water tanks used for those.  I made some measurments and built the vanity at home using a few RV supply parts and scrap metal. 

the granite counter top was salvaged (free via craigslist) from a home remodel over by mount bonnell.  I cut it to size by turning my tile saw upside down and dragging it across the stone while using a water hose to keep the blade wet.

clean water for washing hands, brushing teeth etc.  we still have to haul our own water in.  the cabinet has a telescoping filler on the front that fills a 10 gallon tank inside the cabinet.  I'll soon make a trip down to tile the bathroom and make it all pretty, but the mechanicals part of the project are getting knocked off the punch list.  I'll also need to make an access panel for the battery and 12v fuse box to get that whole mess cleaned up as well. 

made it down by 10 AM. 

the cabins should stay cooler inside with less solar gain.  I hung curtains that we picked up at ikea. 

the big glass view is nice to have, but something about drawing the curtains closed when it's so hot outside that makes it a bit more tolerable.... almost tolerable.  fall will be here soon.

used some leftover plywood to finish up some walls in the bathroom. 

put some trim around the windows.  also hauled, mixed and poured four 60lb bags of concrete.  my hoe broke in the process.... need a new hoe. 

it was 3 pm when I packed up.  107º (one hundred and seven degrees farenheit) not counting heat index and I'd been working outdoors, no a/c etc.  I thought I deserved a quick dip in the blanco, it still has water in it.  I don't know where that water comes from.... but it's clear and cold and I was hot and sweated up.  some parts are still deep enough for swimming.  

I know of a very secluded private river park...

by private, I mean they have it gated and locked to keep trespassers like me out.  I poured some water bottle over my head and drove home.  I don't have a key.

I even overheard "oh, no!  the ball went on the roof!"  then I heard it roll off, follwed by another round of actual laughter!  I don't think I've ever heard them say anything about a ball/frisbee/kite landing on the roof.  I thought that sort of thing only happened 30 years ago...

anyhow, they had actual real fun and managed to do so without i-devices

I made a tool shed that piggy backs off the bathroom.  the cabins are so much nicer when they are not pulling double duty as storage sheds.  made mostly from scraps.  I also made a roof between the bathroom and long cabin.  this will be the shower area.

(larger pic here) the kids enjoyed the camp fire 

starting to resemble a real bathroom

made a sleeping loft on the tall cabin.

really starting to feel like a second home!

we even took our bikes for a nice ride around our wimbelrey neighborhood sunday morning.  like a mini-vacation

saturday night.... one of our favorite restaurants,

we ate at the leaning pear saturday night.  they have an $8 corkage fee so I took a bottle of kat's favorite wine, campus oaks zinfandel (lodi).  while I loved the 2005 vintage, appreciated the 2006 vintage, I find the 07 to be quite the fruit bomb.  I found the intense raspberry hints to be overpowering for a meal.  maybe when paired with certain cheeses, but not nearly as utilitarian as previous vintages.  kat was happy. 

in shade tree mechanci world....

still prepping the porsche 911 for sale, the battery strap broke and I was struggling for a clean method of install.  I said to myself "if I only had one piece of metal that bend like this and then like so and...."  I love to do my own custom fabrication.  after days of head scratching, it only took about fifteen minutes to fabricate my own bracket and it installed first try.  works just how I imagined it.

oh yeah, I am also doing body work on the vintage bmw...  the big dents have been removed, now to remove all the trim and glass to prep the body for paint.  not easy to do with a troublesome 2.5 y.o. at home, I get an hour here and there, but I really need a few solid days, a helper would be nice too.

I finally got the rest of the siding up on the bathroom.  next move is the tool closet that goes on the back side.  it will be less of a construction zone once we get the tools and supplies out of the cabins.

concrete pour day 3 of 3: 

usually, I haul the 80 lb bags while the wife mixes. then I pour and we repeat.  pour day seems to inspire moans and groans from the wife and kids, so I took the final pour myself.  broke it up into two days.  hauled the bags through the woods one day, mixed and poured the next.

done!  it feels good to have it complete.  that was 4,160 lb of quickrete hauled in on my shoulder.  but now we have a finished floor in the screened in room.  just in time for mild temps that make cabin life tolerable.

eichler supervised on mix/pour day.  she was such a good girl.

after years of dieting, my dad fell in love with his cycle.  now he has to eat more to offset the weight loss from excercise, proving once again it's less about what you eat and more of what you do.  he recently rode 64 miles for his 64th b-day.  had a photo shoot while he was in town.  above is BTS (behind the scenes) .  final portraits can be seen on my photo site:

http://schusterphoto.com/Environmental_Portraits.htm

All that work was offset by just a bit of play....

some friends hosted a party to celebrate the completion of their green home. 

if you look beyond the pretty girl, downtown view!

you know I don't like heights...  this cantilever walk out was way up there.  not very relaxing for me. 

took dad to the odd duck farm to market trailer.  the odd duck chefs hard at work.  it was a 45 minute wait for trailer food.

but gourdough's stole the hearts of the people.

some 2007 bonny doon bien nacido syrah helped wash it all down.

some of the best gumbo I ever had was found at the leaning pear in wimberley.

dad was issuing a his list of favorite pie houses across the country and we just happened to be driving by the WPC so....  I'd never stopped as I'm not really into pies, so I thought.

he was so delighted to find the elusive rhubarb-strawberry pie he had been lamenting.  some place in w. des moines (poppin fresh pies) had left a mark in his memory with their rhubarb-sb pie.

he couldn't wait to dig in.  it was good, no, it was REALLY GOOD!  so good in fact, that I was dispatched by the wife just a few days later to try and get another.  on the 2nd visit they were sold out of the rhubarb-SB so we tried two other pies, good, but not as good as the rhubarb-strawberry.

we have found ourselves with a batch of groupon/living social deals that are set to expire this week.  requesting assistance from my mom to watch the kids, we have a schedule of good eats this week.  last nights offering was from la condesa.  the salad above featured watermelon, feta, fresh basil and chili slices, toasted pumpkin seeds and white balsamic/agave syrup vinaigrette.  GOOD!  also notable was the three day mole' with duck breast and duck leg confit.  it is very dark in there, kat used her iphone as the light source while I captured pics w/ my iphone (no flash)

saturday was a day for fun (not work) in wimberley.  our first stop was market day. 

kettle corn being made.

kettle corn being consumed. 

no market day would be complete without a stop at the marble store.

kat is assembling the black friday-home depot purchased heat source.

most of the hardie siding is up on blue cabin.  blue cabin was made larger and will have two rooms.

roaring fire in the truck brake drum/fire pit.

the square in downtown wimberley was hosting a winter celebration.  some great food, wine, santa claus and the wimberley high school marching band too!

she asked for a "nikon camera"

he rattled off about four items related to pokemon/nintendo and bakugon.

I found a 41k BTU patio heater for $99 on black friday.  this was able to offset the 25 degree farenheiht temps.

kids love to play in the fire.

the baby was all warm in my lap... he kept me warm too.  kat, the three kids and I stayed the night in the small (very well insulated) cabin and did stay warm despite the 25 degree temp outside.

friday had been the daughter's turn to be the school tv station anchor.  they earned a wacky friday so the morning news included costumes and crazy dances.

friday evening had us at an art event for our friend caroline wright

the event was hosted by toquigny.  definitely some of the nicest office space I've seen.  and the drink provided by dripping springs vodka did not disappoint.  dripping springs is about halfway between austin and wimberley.  I have been driving through DS several times a week lately.

the art between kat and caroline will be making it's new home here at AMH.

the frost bank building was the tallest building in austin when we moved here.  not so any more.  a new building; the austonian, is near completion and claims to be the tallest residential building in texas

we spent black friday day at home depot and laying the t&g subflooring for cabin #2

saturday and sunday had us busy with framing and some sheathing.

cedar pergola for porch of cabin #1 is taking shape.

these two girls worked hard this weekend!  I had hoped to get the roofing up before the rain started last night.  we finally gave up as we ran out of batteries.  we did manage to cover up the OSB with plastic sheeting before taking off for a few days.

we now have cabina azul and cabina verde!

came home and applied LED lights to our new made in china fake christmas tree.

I cut down the old construction door from austinmodhouse to fit the cabin.  testing paint colors and we are not settled on this cranberry, looks a bit too much like purple.  also have decided to paint the hardie that is up high around that window in white. 

kat worked hard at applying insulation.

the inside really feels like being indoors!  she is ready to start the finish details and get it cleaned up.  I have it prewired for LED lights and have a small AGM battery to power them (will be charged via solar)

we set off to climb mount baldy, a few blocks from our cabin.

that was a steep climb up, especially with a toddler on me.

our cabin is among those trees down there, just beyond those buildings.

a few weeks back we visited our property in wimberley and admired the huge oak near the back of the property.  while at home caring for a baby this week, I managed to spend some time on sketchup.  made this scale model and got spousal approval.  should not cost much money or time to get this small pavillion started.  it measures just 8ft x 16ft.

 we spent sunday clearing ALL the cedars away from that giant oak.  got out the measuring tape, marking paint and post hole digger.  ground was broken!  kat also harvested some agave from austin modhouse to repurpose near the shack foot print, two sago palms too.

it feels great to have a project to work on again.  I get a bit stir crazy when I'm not making something and that land has been making me all itchy to get something started there. 

he roamed about.  enjoyed some watermelon and promptly threw himself into the wild growing rabbit ear cactus bush

we decided there was little choice but to hack it up.  it was not fun trying to pluck all those little stickers out of his skin.

most of the weekend was spent relaxing with friends.  kat made scallion cakes.

steelhead trout (cousin of salmon) is currently plentiful and cheap too!

warmed some of the lardo.

fall like temps had us in the screened room enjoying wine, cheese and company.

daughter had to do an experiment.  milk in a plate, a drop of red food coloring and a drop of green, then add a drop of dish washing detergent...

the colors swirled and spun for about 30 minutes.

I got to play connect the dots and dice up some more cedars.  hmmmm, maybe the driveway needs to be a bit more to the left.  the upside is that we have many more nice oaks on the left side that we didn't realize was part of our land.