falling leaves!

fall is one of my favorite times of year. i love the brisk, cool evening air and the sunny warm days with the leaves falling and blowing all over. In my yard the leaves are primarily from the pecan tree; these oak leaves from the churchyard are much more photogenic =)

talkin bout an evolution

I've debated myself on whether to post before pictures of my bathroom. Mostly because of how horrible it looked, and then throw in a little embarrassment about how long I lived with it like it was, and I think you can understand =) But hey, the whole point of a good before and after series is to show some dramatic improvements!

A brief background on how my bathroom came to be in this 'before' state: several years ago I decided to remodel my own bathroom. 'Cause I'm so handy and all. I purchased a fiberglass shower enclosure and whirlpool bath combo from the local salvage yard/building supply store and I was halfway there! Or so I thought....

I did make some progress: tearing out a couple closets to enlarge the bathroom square footage; tearing out the old drywall and linoleum flooring and laying ceramic tiles (with the help of my mom); removing the old window that had been covered, and installing a new glass brick window (again, mom's help); and finally installing the tub and shower combo (this one an actual plumber did)

This was the point where I realized the shower would cover a considerable portion of the window - and there was absolutely no good way to frame this in and finish it out. So I quit. I hate to say I knew back at the time that everything would be ripped out and started over - but I kind of think I did. I would've at least finished out the walls if I'd thought it was going to remain =)

I realized at that point that I can drywall, sand, paint, lay tile and even refinish floors - but redoing an entire bathroom was too much. Which brings us to today. I was fortunate enough to reach the point where I could finally re-do my original mess of a remodel. I still need to do some decorating and hang some things on the walls - but I'm really excited about the finished product!

so long, sunday

another end of the weekend that seems to come too soon. but tomorrow my contractor is supposed to be here to hook up my new clawfoot tub =)

today's photo was taken in front of one of the many antique stores in town - i need me a little cow hitching post like this in front of my house !!

leaves everywhere!

this tree in the First Baptist Churchyard in Terrell is the 'perfect' tree. a nice shape, healthy and easily photographed =) 'tis the season for falling leaves!

happy 40th birthday to my friend phyllis!! scarily, we've both known each other since our late 20s and we both turned 40 this year =S

happy friday!

happy weekend to one and all!

can we 'fall back' again this weekend with another daylight savings time? i loved that extra hour =)

night flags

thoughts and prayers to families down in ft. hood, texas.

fallen hero

this photo was taken in front of Anderson Clayton Bros funeral home, where American flags line the front sidewalk and street in honor of SSG Shawn McNabb who passed a little over a week ago while serving our country in Afghanistan.

Visitation and funeral information provided from the Anderson Clayton Bros website:

Funeral service with full military honors will be 10:00am, Friday, November 6, 2009 at First Baptist Church in Terrell, Texas, 403 N. Catherine, Terrell, Texas, 75160 with interment to follow at D/FW National Cemetery in Dallas, Texas. The family will receive friends from 4:00pm to 9:00pm, November 5, 2009 at Anderson Clayton Bros. Funeral Home, 301 W. Nash, in Terrell.

Some additional information regarding the incident in which this local hero lost his life can also be found here at the Military Times website.

downtown

today's photo is the sign on the outside of shumpert law offices in downtown terrell...

Car for sale!!

today's photo is an old 1934 Chevy that was for sale out in Canton this past weekend. If you look close, you can see the small asking price of $30,000 (or best offer). Way out of my price range. In fact, i would be looking for a house in that price range before spending that on any car i'd ever drive =)

a small update also - i was going to document my experience in trying to purchase a clawfoot tub from Vintage Tub and Bath yesterday, but I've decided to hold off on saying anything until my entire exchange is complete.

In short, I purchased a tub online Sept 18, and I'm still waiting for my tub. The company immediately deducted the purchase price out of my bank account - and now, nearly 7 weeks later I still have no tub.

I've had positive interactions with both a marketing executive from the company as well as a customer service manager. Long story short (which I will describe in detail at a later time), I am hopeful that a brand new claw foot tub will be on the back of an 18 wheeler tomorrow headed from California to Texas! I should know soon, i hope, fingers crossed =)

November Theme Day - Doorways

Wow, it's still hard for me to believe how quickly this year is flying by... november here already? yikes!

The theme day at the City Daily Photo Blog for November 1st is 'Doorways' - and my photo today is the side of the ATT building in downtown Terrell, and the 2 back exit doors =) the weather this weekend was beautiful, and almost made up for the 31 days of rain that we've had!! =)

please take a few minutes to browse thru some of the other daily photo blogs participating in the theme day! Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Ps. Check back on Monday for a comment about trying to order a claw foot tub online from Vintage Tub and Bath in Pennsylvania. It has NOT been a pleasant shopping experience.