Opening New Doors

We've been getting along with just one interior door in the Wimberley house for many months now. Now we are stepping up to the realm of true luxury living, with an addition of a second door, this one to the master bedroom.

All the doors in the home are solid wood, stained in the same cherry color as all the interior wood. This door is special because it was stained by my sweetheart Ann. She did such a great job on the door that she thought the stain might also look good on her best jeans, which I thought wise to crop out of this picture.

Now when we have guests over there is at least the possibility of a little privacy. Not for them of course. Guests won't have any true privacy until door number four, the guest bedroom door. Which has seemed to keep the number of guests rather low now that I think about it...

Up, Up, and Away

I just started the first installation of drywall on ceilings at the Wimberley house. Turns out those 13 foot high cathedral ceilings that looked so good in the drawings were just a tad challenging.

I normally try to get the right tool for each construction job, and a drywall panel lifter like the one in this picture is normally perfect. But, the local rental stores only carried ones that raised panels up to 11 feet. Being anxious to complete the living room ceiling, I rented "Shorty" here and built the platform you see him standing on (out of scrap lumber) to get the extra height.

So, the ceiling is done now, and I escaped with only a very sore neck from bending my head back for about 8 hours straight. Next big event: The living room limestone fireplace surround and hearth. Luckily, the limestone height is only about five feet above the slab!

A year of bliss

Our first wedding anniversary provides a sweet opportunity to look back on adventures Ann and I have had since we met 3 1/2 years ago. This photo is from Spring 2005 at our Wimberley property, long before the current house was even on the drawing boards.

I may have loved Wimberley before I loved Ann, but she's been an amazing force supporting everything I've done there, before and after our marriage. Understanding. Patient. Gently helpful. Our marriage makes the Wimberley experience even better. Wimberley makes the marriage experience even better.

Thanks Ann, and Happy Anniversary.

Symphony, Hill Country Style

Wimberley gets a little more fascinating to me every year. The word "culture" in small-town Texas often consists of a Dairy Queen and the video rental store. Wimberley has it's own outdoor movie theatre, a play-house, and even this amphitheatre-in-the-woods where you'll find a home grown symphony orchestra playing four times every Spring.

The orchestra members include a few retirees who always wanted to play professionally but never quite got around to it, and lots of former former high school and college orchestra members trying to keep their skills fresh. On the occasion of our visit, they even had two local college singers for some of the selections. REAL singers, operatic types. What an surreal experience that was, listening to beautiful music deep in the woods in small-town Texas. And did I mention it was donations only, pay whatever you want? Except if you wanted water, that is, sold by the bottle out of an ice chest by a local Boy Scout raising money for his Eagle Scout project.




In the past there were times when Wimberley seemed a bit corny to me. No more. And I don't think it's the town that is changing, just me. Growing old and even cornier myself I guess, and adjusting to the Wimberley way.