Quick cabin trip.&.zapped by the Border Patrol X-RAY

Pics from the last 2 trips to Brewster Co during March. Sunset over Agua Fria Mtn

The front porch (with plenty of lumber clutter)

Caren painting the bedroom...just OSB w/ Kilz oil primer, and then latex final coat.

Caren and her folks down for their first cabin visit (he's from upstate NY)

Pic of some distant and sparse rain a couple weeks ago to the SW. (never hit us)

We made another trip back last Friday for a short 3 day visit, mainly to get Caren's car from the Alpine mechanic with the rebuilt tranny, but also to spend some more time in this wonderful part of the world.

Weather was perfect with 55-60 degree mornings, and 85 highs...some breeze and at times windy (normal stuff, huh?)

Got to see David Tffnguy, John W. TFL, spent some time at the legion,etc.

Caren painted like a fiend, and I got a little more OSB installed.

I pulled a smallish trailer down behind the towncar to get some OSB from Alpine (McCoys)...did not bring it back, so now I have 2 small trailers sitting at the cabin now.

Big news is we were "chosen" at the border patrol checkpoint to assist with their "training" with the backscatter X-Ray truck. They asked a few more questions than usual, then asked if we would pull up to the side of the waiting X-ray truck and step out while they checked it. We did so and they stopped Caren from taking any pics with her cell phone (It might "mess up the X-ray efforts" said the guard....BS!)

She snapped a couple anyway and once we figure out how to get the images off her phone and onto the internet I'll post same. After the X-ray session they wanted to get into the trunk to check out something that looked "suspect". They checked and decided our half a loaf of wheat bread was okay. Had 2 pistolas in the car, but nothing was said about them (not illegal).

After about a 10 minute delay we were on our way. (I hate this creeping Big Brother Govt invasion of our privacy, and we ain't seen nothin' yet)

Not sure which is worse...getting zapped by the Border Patrol's new high tech, military-industro toys, or body surfing at Fukushima.

Picked up Caren's car at the mechanic's in Alpine and after being told she had a tread splitting we stopped at the only tire store in town and bought a new Michelin...only one in stock. Another $145 spent after $750 at the mech shop for the tranny swap. (Jeeze...I'm gonna hafta sell a Packard soon)

Heading back to DFW area, the temps around Big Spring and Sweetwater dropped off to mid-high 40's with north wind, under thick clouds and fine misty drizzle. I had to turn on the heater since I was in short sleeves and shorts. It was 74 when we left Alpine that morning...and sunny.

Home now to 2 pregnant previously feral kittens we befriended here last winter. Anybody want a kitten??? or three?

Trip to South Brewster Co.

Bigfoot typing...

Nephew Joe and I arrived late Friday afternoon. My son drove in from College Station for his first visit and arrived around 10:30PM Friday night.

Caren decided to arrange a sub for her classes early the following week and headed out for a "surprise" visit. It was about 20 miles north of Alpine that the little Jap car tranny finally crapped out after 185k miles.(maybe too many prior trips pulling a small trailer to Terlingua?) The car is sitting at a mech shop in Alpine while we try to locate another tranny at a reasonable price...looks like $1800-2000 is best for rebuilt unit plus shipping. (still cheaper than another used 10 yr old Lexus)

With me supervising and the 2 "kids" on the scaffold and ladders the ceiling is now insulated and most OSB panels in place too. Couldn't have done it w/o them.!!

Did some lead slinging, boys took a couple of area hikes, Caren did alot of painting ( see pic.."can I get some more tartar sauce with my fish sticks please lunch-lady?"), and we even got another cabinet hung on the wall. Countertops all hauled down this time too.

Budget rental pickup did wonderfully, even got 15-16MPG pulling a long 18' trailer with the big 5.4 v8....sure wish I owned one. Less than $300 for a 7 day unlimited miles rental...(but you are NOT supposed to pull a trailer with it..hush, now)

Weather was great..coolish nights and daytime highs around 84. Real foggy a few mornings too.

Tffnguy and Ring invited us over for some delicious brisket our last evening there...sure was a nice time sitting around outside in the shade, but got chilly around sundown. Not enough time to visit with other friends and neighbors, but did see JustMe for a bit at the Legion friday night.

Headed back down around spring break...but need to do some coolant system leak repairs on the old Towncar first....can't afford to rent a truck again. Hopefully the Jap car will be ready to go then.

warm day today....stacking lumber

Got the nail-less boards stacked and organized...had to glue some split ends with clamps.

Got the 18' trailer cleaned out and swept out. See the nice 4x4 cedar posts on the right side fender.

Got some Ace Hdw spray paint for that matched the truck paint pretty well for the ladder rack...not too much overspray with the off and on windy day.

Nothing exciting to post...got some lumber sorted and stacked. Had to switch into tee shirt and shorts...to warm today. Big change from a week ago.

Gotta repair the trailer lights, get some R19 insulation, take brother to the Doc, get some OSB locally this week....and load some lumber etc this week for the trip to South Brewster Co later this week.

Caren's bro gonna be staying here a few days...he's a gun nut...but a good guy.

Hope everyone is doing good.....

adios..!!

What-A-Deal.....lookie here..!!!

Well, I was checking the "clearance" tab on the Dickie's clothing website the other day and saw a tremendous deal on some coveralls. Only $16.80 for this 4XXXX-Extra Tall "Deluxe" cotton jumpsuit.....only one color & one size available.

Now I don't wear 4X clothes (yet)...and in the past, I've ordered big/tall jumpsuits from other sellers but the "X-tall" just ain't quite tall enough for me. I mean...I could get into it, but my crotch pulled on my shoulders/neck.....or the other way around...so I gave them to my son. But THESE....wow...lotta room, I could carry a couple of smallish wetbacks inside there (female of course) and nobody would notice. Even the legs are too long.

Littlefoot has 'em in the washer now, with hot water and some bleach, trying to tone down that flourescent orange glow. Maybe shrink them a tad too??

I was thinking about wearing them next time I drive down to TR, but even with tinted windows I bet the DPS would pull me over to inform me the inside of my vehicle is on fire. And likely issue me a ticket for too big a carbon footprint.

Hell, I bet I could see myself on Google Earth working around the cabin.

Come to think of it...if I got 2 more at that price...they'd make a helluva cheap shade tarp structure.!!


And...if a fellow Aggie catches me wearing this thing....I'm screwed.

Looks like warm temps are here again....supposed to be 70 here tomorrow and in 70's for highs all next week. TR looks to be in 80's all week pushing 90 next wknd.

(Garden preps just around the corner..oughta get some tomato seedlings going now)

the end

New Crocs finally arrived !!

After checking at 3 local FTW area shoe stores and not having any luck, I finally went online to the Official Croc shoes website and checked there.

They had ONE pair in my size and it was black and sorta a dressy style as far as Crocs go (I'm no expert on these shoes tho) But these have no air vent holes..so I told Caren I'd have to use a small paddle bit and make my own by the time summer rolls around, and once the ice age pulls back from all of Texas.

Just glad the only size 15 pair they had wasn't hot pink.

Mr J. Wells has a nice pair that he got even more mileage out of than I have so far. One of his old posts from many moons ago shows his well worn blue crocs.

Not much to post about, the snow/ice is 98% gone, everywhere is cold and muddy outside, my nephew Joe's HS graduation is tonight, and our water well line froze up this morning with 9 degree temps here but a heatlamp applied for 30 minutes fixed it.

I've been tracking our Obamanation fearless leader's comments today regarding the Egypt thing. He's really a world class dude and deep thinking pontificator, see today's quotes below:

"It is a moment of transformation; people of Egypt are calling for change"

"We're going to have to wait and see what's going on"

I sure feel better now...and I know all y'all do too....right??

Cabin Fever... it's killing me....!!

Every few hours I have to go sit in front of the kero heater and warm my hooves for awhile.

View out the back door of the deck this morning.

What a lovely sight....a snow laden Packard. Now that's art!!

Towncar snow blanket.

Note the bare, ice/snow free spot in the middle of the hood?....that's the block heater a'workin'.


Well, after all the sleet and snow we got Tues AM...then 2 days of simply cloudy and very cold days (high was 20)...and colder nights of around 11-12. ......Nothing melted.

This morning we awoke to another 2-3" of overnight snow...and then at 8-9AM another 2" of big flake snowfall. Sun is out now and snow has stopped, but the high today is only 26...supposed to get to 36 tomorrow (Sat).

Timing is about right as we only have another 24 hours or so of propane and kerosene fuel. I'll venture out tomorrow for some more jugs of energy juice.

So far Caren's big pot o'beans and the spiral glazed ham has held out for many meals these last few days. Caren's been doing some Ebay selling with her jewelry stuff she buys and sells, but the post office hasn't been running too regular around here this week so she can't ship anything.

I hate to hear of our TR neighbors running out of propane and shivering under the covers nowdays....but I know it'll be in the 60's in a day or so down there. I hope the big water tank at our place didn't freeze and bust at the 2" valve..!!?

pssst...............(Sunday is Caren's B-day...!!) We had sorta planned to go out to din din that day...but dang...with the big game, everywhere in DFW will be packed...so we'll probably just mosey down to the nearby truckstop-diner we frequent that's only 3 miles away, for supper.

Hope everyone is doing good, as best as can be expected for now.

UPDATE: Fri afternoon:

Sun has been out bright all afternoon and snow is slowly melting off. Can't hardly go outside for long as the snow reflection is so bright, but it sure is nice to see some warm sun

We ain't gettin' out at all today...!

This old dog actually cranked right up today in 20 degrees....I just let her idle a while.

The '49 Packard under the carport....still covered in snow/sleet blowing in from the north all night.

The '48 Packard resting quietly under a canvas tarp (this one starts and runs in good weather with a little help) See the ugly things in the background?...a power pole and nearby neighbor's house....we don't have to deal with these unsightly things in Terlingua.

View from road in down main drive entry.

Here's the 10K BTU Kerosene heater found on sale at Lowe's last week for $60 (1/2 price)...runs about 12 hours on a tad under a gallon of kero...(which costs about $8 per gallon now days for the K-1 variety) Very nice heater, but no high or low...just "ON"...but puts out a good deal of heat. We have a couple other LP heaters in the house and it stays comfy....the main central heat unit in the attic did not work when first kicked on last fall...but these little ones do the job fine.

We heard the sleet starting at 3AM this morn...was about 20 degrees this morning at 7...still about 20 here at 2:30. Been mostly cloudy, windy all day and snow flurries for the last few hours. Not supposed to get into the mid 30's until sometime Friday. Low tonite and tomorrow night supposed to be around 11-12 degrees.

We sure do wish we were at a "finished" TR cabin sitting around a cracklin' fireplace.

TOTALLY not related...but here's an older very short video from the cabin porch after a big rain & hail storm rolled in...last spring I think..? gotta love a tin roof.