Ta da!

As we move more and more stuff into those sea containers, they are getting more and more disorganized.  On one of our trips Jim Bob and Grant built some fabulous shelves that will withstand a hurricane (typical JB fashion).  Now we have a place to put our stuff instead of piling it up on the floor.  The building of the shelves marked a momentus occasion:  the first usage of wattage.  Of course, I took some pictures. 

Ta da! Jim Bob successfully installed the circuit breaker and an electric outlet to run some power tools. 

Here are our hefty shelves.  They fit all the way in the back and go floor to ceiling.  Very nice indeed.

So this is how much power you use when running a chop saw to build two sets of shelves.  Not much, I know.  The electric company didn't even charge us.

Sharing a cold beverage after a nice long day of hard work.  Cheers.

Ford 2600

We also bought a tractor a few months ago.  How cool is that?  One of our friends found a great deal for us and hooked us up with a 1979 Ford 2600 38HP with a shredder on the back.  Jim Bob jumped on that bad boy and took it for a spin.  It wasn't quite as fast as his Harley but it looked like he was having a good time!  With all the rain they are having in central Texas, we are going to be using that shredder real soon!

Our friend, Grant, giving JB a little lesson before he plows down Grant's field.

There he goes!

On this same trip, we moved the play house to the property.  JB joked that he should put his pottery wheel in there and call it a studio!  He is so funny.

Sold!

Holy cow!  I can not believe it has been a year since I have posted on this blog!  Goodness, how much has changed.  We sold our house - that is the biggie.  And now we are rapidly working on the bus to finish it out.  We sold the house about two months ago but had art shows, exhibitions and various engagements that has kept us from working on the bus until now.  SO, these last few weeks and the next two weeks have been and are going to be INSANE.  Throughout the year we have been hauling our stuff to the property and storing it all in the sea containers.  That was such a smart move because now we are not freaking out thinking about all the stuff we still have to move.  Most of the closets are empty, the kitchen has been cleaned out, drawers of clothes given away, furniture sold and the art collection packed up and sitting in Gonzales.  I think we feel pretty good about where we are in the move.  We are freaking out a tad but just the usual worries.  So I am going to post our progress on the bus over the past two weeks.  We might be editing some of these posts as we finish things out.  Oh!  And now we have 4 people living in the bus instead of the three - little Zeb will be a year old next month!

Here is our realtor, Michelle, from Moutain View Properties putting the sold sign up in our yard.  They are AWESOME, hardworking ladies who know their business.  If you are looking for a house in the Big Bend region to buy or sell, check them out!  Highly recommended. 

Studio Building

Now that we have our shipping containers on the property, we are bringing loads down everytime we are in the area.  This time Jim Bob and I brought down the metal building that will be the studio...eventually.  It was quite the chore.  We took each piece and washed it before bringing it to the property (since we do not have water there right now.)  It took FOREVER and I had one heck of a sunburn when it was all clean.  My wonderful father helped us unload it off the trailer in Gonzales - thanks Dad!

It  felt a lot bigger than the actual size of 20 x 40' when it was sprawled out across our backyard.

All stacked up waiting for a long ride to the property.

Hardworking men!

There it is...the future protector of our livelihood laying nice and clean in a cozy sea container waiting for us to put her together!  I can't wait to post that on the blog! 

Power Up

We have electricity at the property!  We are super excited that getting power to the place worked out so nicely.  Our neighbor turned out to be very neighborly and allowed us to hook on to her pole - she saved us a LOT of money!  If you know Mrs. Klapuch, tell her Jim Bob and Candice say "thank you!!!" and give her a big hug.  GVEC is our electric company and they are were FANTASTIC to work with.  Roy Johnson in particular was very professional and knowledgeable.  They were always on time, answering all of our questions and returned every phone call (and I had plenty!).  We lucked out and only had a tree to trim and a two trees to completely come down.  Once we live out there permanently, we will plant many, many trees to replace the ones that were sacrificed.

The bus is still chugging along.  We have ordered a heater, a water heater and looking at appliances.  The windows are completely finished and next is the water lines and electricity.  JB has two more pottery shows coming up - so I am not sure when that will happen.  Hopefully soon!

Here are some pictures of the pole that GVEC put up on the property.  It looks good as far as electricity poles go.  We will eventually have either a wind turbine or solar panels hooked up to the grid to compensate for some of that electricity we will be using to fire those kilns.

How often do you see 00000?

Sea Containers

As part of our transition from house to bus, we bought some sea containers for storage on the property.  We plan on bringing a truckload to the containers each time we are in the area.  We thought this would be easier than renting some crazy huge truck to move all of our stuff at once.  Plus, we will need some tools to build the studio and this is a nice safe place to keep them when not in use.  It is also helping us clean out our house and allow us to finish some remodeling that needs to be done before the house goes on the market.  (Yes, we are also remodeling our house!)  Here is a video of the sea containers being delivered to the property.  It was a pretty impressive trailer this guy had.  Notice how the axles move along the trailer.  I am not hip to trailer technology and thought it was pretty darn cool.  We bought the sea containers from a guy off of Austin's Craigslist and had them delivered.  Pretty simple process if you are in the market for some long term storage.  The video is almost 10 min long - enjoy! 

Windows In

With the glass windows out, we are replacing them with 24 guage sheet metal, a layer of 1/2" foam board and then 3/4" plywood cut to size.  Another bonus to having some of the windows out is some much needed insulation!  Maybe it will keep some cool air in in the summer and cold air out in the winter.

Jim Bob went to our local AC place and bought sheets of metal from those guys.  He then took it up to the metal shop at school where he cut it to fit the windows using a foot shear and put this nifty 1" lip at the bottom to hold the metal in place, to give the metal rigidity and to give some surface area for the caulking.  He made the bend by using a metal brake.

A sheet of 3/4" plywood was then cut and placed on the inside of the window to finish it out.

Jim Bob screwed it all together from the outside being careful not to screw all the way through the plywood on the inside, leaving a nice clean surface to work with later on when we want a backsplash.

Jim Bob has a nice little helper these days. 

We are replacing six windows on each side of the bus.  I think eventually we will put a little window in over the kitchen sink for a nice view.  This picture shows four windows complete and two windows lacking the foam insulation and the 3/4" plywood.

It is nice and clean on the outside too.

Here is a video showing the installation of one of the windows.  In Jim Bob style, it all fits together nicely.