Front room we decided would be the dining room (when we first moved in)

After a few months of searching for dining tables online and not finding any that fit what we were after, Bryan and I decided to build a large dining table for the front room of the house.  We have a table from West Elm in the breakfast area of the house that will seat four but I really wanted one that could seat eight and maybe ten if pushed.  Ideally we would build this monstrosity of a dining table before Thanksgiving, which we did! 

Only to have my parents tell us that they would really prefer to host Thanksgiving at their house.  So we'll have to host a table party separately or maybe even the dreaded Friendsgiving.  There are tougher problems in life.

Bryan's schedule this past month has been more relaxed; he's actually been in town on the weekends which is a rarity.  We picked one of the weekends in October at random to be our construction weekend.  The plans we used were for the 4x4 Truss Beam Dining Table from DIY Pete who posted a very helpful youtube video on his entire process.  He also made it look super easy and fast, which imbued us with a sense of optimism.  The following "new to us" tools we obtained were incredibly helpful in the table building:

Kreg Jig for pocket holes - No nails!  No wood glue!  The entire table is held together with screws and one of the highlights of the table project was seeing how effectively pocket holes work.  We were even able to apply that lesson on to one of our other projects (after the table). 

Miter saw - We borrowed this one from my dad, who had it sitting unused in his garage.  We could cut angles!  We sliced through those 4x4s like they were sticks of butter!  Much better than the skill saw we were using before.

Orbital sander - Just typing those words makes my forearms hurt.  I spent over an hour sanding down the table top with the orbital sander borrowed from my dad.  I don't even want to imagine how long that would have taken if I had to do it manually with a sanding block.  We went through maybe five of the 30 sanding pads I bought.

We bought our wood from Home Depot.  The table top is pine and the 4x4s are Douglas fir.  Before the HD trip, we had made a trip out to a specialty lumberyard, but it was closed on the weekends.  The same bit of advice that I repeated before when building the headboard and the console table still applies - choose your wood carefully.  Pick the straightest pieces you possibly can.  Take a level with you to double check.  It saves a lot of heartache in the long run.  If you have or have access to a planer, that's even better.

Pre-stain but after a long construction day

We assembled all materials on Friday night, constructed the table all day Saturday, and spent all day Sunday staining.  Bryan put a couple of extra coats of clear coat on the table on Monday and we left the table out to dry for an extra day.  The weather wasn't cooperating toward the later part of the process.  There were some looming big storms in the forecast, so we moved the table inside to completely finish drying.  We hadn't attached the bottom of the table and the table top because it wouldn't fit in the door together.  Luckily we hadn't done so because we just barely managed to carry in each piece separately.  The table probably has a combined weight of 300+ lbs.  An entire dinner party can dance on this table and not have any fear of collapse.  On Sunday, we also ran into a minor issue with the stain.  After the first coat, the colour was still too light for what I had in mind.  Luckily we had a can leftover from the console project and layered those coats over the lighter colour.  The final result is 100% what I was looking for.

Bowie "helping"

We constructed the table outside under our covered patio, and Bowie decided that since we were in his territory, all of the scrap pieces of wood were his.  Also that wood stain tastes pretty interesting.  And we needed to take a break every five minutes and play tug-of-war with him and his rope. 


And there's the final result - I'm still missing two chairs on the ends but I haven't yet decided what I want those to look like.  We also built the frame for the vintage American flag in the background - a minor DIY project using leftover scrap wood and more pocket holes to hold it all together.  Voila!  A custom built table for 10% of the cost of what we were looking for.  What do y'all think?  Would you ever DIY a project because you weren't able to find what you wanted in the store?

Even though I'm in a new place (and probably sticking around there for awhile), it doesn't mean I've stopped looking at real estate.  There's always the hidden itch in the back of my brain for a place with lots of sky and lots of space where the ponies can roll around and eat grass all day.  A girl can continue to dream, right? 

This lovely grey barndominium is located on 20 acres near College Station, Texas with twelve 12x12 stalls.  The upstairs living quarters are a 2 bedroom / 2 bathroom and kitchen / living room combo of 1,800 square feet, which is a perfect size for my family and the occasional guests that we would have over to spend a night in the countryside.  The living quarters look brand spanking new and I want those frameless glass shower doors for our new place.  I also love that the living quarters don't have a formal front door - you enter through the front porch which provides the best view of the property anyway.  There's an uncovered arena on the property as well as a pond.

Central Texas isn't known for its cool weather or lack of pests - fire ants, snakes, coyotes, etc.  I bet it's hotter than hell in that barn in the middle of summer.  But how cute would it be to wake up, walk downstairs to all of those faces peeking out at you, nickering "good morning" and "where's my food wench?"  Mae has a very sweet, soft knicker to tell you that she wants your attention (or treats).  I'd bring her and the new tiny roan pony in our barn - so that's two out of 12 stalls filled.  Anyone else want a spot?

One of the perks of Bowie's kennel cough diagnosis is that he is quarantined from other dogs for two weeks <most sarcastic comment of 2018>.  This means that he is banned from attending doggy daycare, my lifeline to sanity while Bryan is traveling for work.  When we leave him at home unattended outside of his crate, typically he quietly watches squirrels and birds from the sitting room and waits patiently for us to get home.  Because it's been raining buckets for the last two weeks, we haven't been able to get him out to the park and let him off leash.  He's been sitting on a rocket launcher of all that unspent energy.  I came home from work to let him out at lunch mid-week and found this.


He had gone into one of the spare bedrooms, found a paper bag with books earmarked for donation, and shredded each one.  Including the hardcovers.  Especially the hardcovers.  We also had our tennis racquets sitting on the floor in that room, and he chewed the grips off the handles.  Needless to say, his roaming privileges have been restricted and he now spends the day in solitary confinement.

Later that same day after I got home from work, I took him for a long walk so he could stretch his limbs.  After our walk, he went into our backyard to do some exploring and promptly caked all four paws with mud.  I carried him to the bathroom to rinse him off in the tub and halfway through, he hopped out and covered the entire bathroom - walls, shower curtain, shower mat, floor - with muddy water.  It was at this point that I sat down covered in dirty water and dog hair on the bathroom floor and promptly called Bryan: you need to get rid of the dog.

After trying to calm me down, he assured me that the dog is going through a phase and tried to rationalize his behavior.  "He's 8 months old, testing the boundaries, and bored."  At home alone with the monster, I didn't really want to hear it but acceded to all his points.  On Monday, when Bryan was home alone with the dog, he went to run an errand for 20 minutes, leaving the dog out of the crate.  He didn't find the damages until Tuesday, when he was about to leave on a trip.  Bowie had gotten into a cardboard box and started shredding it and the styrofoam packing material inside.  It was at this point that that calm, cool collected Bryan disappeared.

The dog was sent back into solitary confinement which is where he'll stay for the foreseeable future.  Like any puppy, he acted ashamed when dragged back over to the scene of the crime.  We then had a few hours of very good behavior - Bowie's way of telling us he's sorry.  During that evening's walk, he didn't pull on his leash.  We both casually strolled along in the twilight, enjoying each other's company.  Up until the point where he found a dead rotting rat and rolled in it.

And dear reader, I didn't even cry.

It's been raining here for - oh I dunno - forever now?  And just to make it that much worse, this past week, it's been in the 40s!  40s!  In Texas!  In October!  I feel as though we've skipped fall and jumped right into the dead of winter.  Everyone is tired of being cooped up inside and I'm tired of wiping mud and muck off of everything after we come back inside from traipsing around outside.

To make matters worse, all of the animals in the household have decided (collectively or not, I'm not sure) to get sick or injured. 

Miss Maeby has been lame and limping since the beginning of October.  We've been waffling on whether or not it's real or if she's faking (see this previous occasion).  She is sound on some days for my trainer and she's lame on all her days with me.  She is fine at the walk but there is a noticeable head bob at the canter.  There isn't any swelling or heat in her legs or feet.  My trainer was able to get this video of her playing, in which she seems completely fine and normal.  The farrier pulled her front shoes last week to see if the lameness was caused by her last shoeing.  He tested her hooves for an abscess but it came up negative so the vet is coming out today to see what the issue is.  My trainer still suspects that it's an abscess so we'll see what Dr. Anderson says.  Meanwhile Mae is happy for the time off - a well-deserved break is what she thinks she's getting.  Update: Turns out she has a sore coffin bone from her feet growing, since we're in the process of lifting her OTTB low heels. She'll get her shoe redone and her coffin bone injected next week.

Ready for Halloween

Bowie woke us up at 3:30 am last Monday morning dry heaving for a continuous 10 minutes.  After a moment of panicked googling and reading about symptoms of bloat, we decided that it didn't warrant an emergency vet trip.  He continued to dry heave (no vomit) for the rest of the morning and I stayed home from work to keep an eye on him.  Bowie was completely normal during the day - ate all of his food, regular bowel movements - but I decided to take him into his vet just in case.  Of course when he saw the vet that afternoon, he displayed none of the symptoms that he had before and the vet pronounced him perfectly healthy but to send her a video the next time he started hacking.  He was quiet the rest of the day but when Bryan came home that evening, he got riled up and had a coughing fit, which we were able to capture on video.  Our vet prescribed antibiotics and cough tablets that evening - bordetella aka kennel cough.  Apparently the vaccine isn't 100% effective.  Who knew?  His symptoms have subsided but he is quarantined from other dogs and going completely stir crazy at home.  Bowie also hates taking pills so we have to hide them - so far what's working is a tortilla with peanut butter.  I know, what a spoiled guy right?

Luckily all of the humans have stayed healthy.  We're drinking copious amounts of tea and get out in the sun when we can manage to.  Keep your fingers crossed for Mae's feet and also that we continue to have sunny days to dry up the swamp that is north Texas.

House at dusk

Where has the second half of 2018 gone??  Almost two months has flown by since we've been in the new place and I've been teaching myself about home ownership adult things like:

When is trash day?  What about bulk trash day?

What days/times can you water the lawn?

How often do you need to replace an air filter?  What size is your air filter?  How many do you even have and how the heck are you going to reach the ones high up?

Owning a house - particularly one built in the 1950s - hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be but that's also largely due to having an extremely handy partner.  Bryan's been a busy bee planting grass in our back yard, hanging a peg board in our laundry room, fixing the automatic gate, wiring the doorbell, caulking the shower, and switch up shower heads (who doesn't love excessive water pressure).  Somehow he's also made time to make sure our lawn is meticulously mowed and flower beds are watered - although there's not been much need for watering as its been monsoon season in Texas this fall.  The man knows how to keep himself busy and there are enough little projects around the house that still need to be done.  I'm certainly not complaining that he's been able to have such a long stretch at home with us.

Bowie's been entertaining himself with the squirrels who think they own the three oak trees in front of our house.  He sits and stares at them for hours, watching intently out the front windows.  He's named himself protector of the property and barked up a storm when we heard a coyote yipping in the alley the other evening.  As a replacement for his dog park play group at the old townhome, Bryan has found him a new dog play group that meets at the park every morning.  They race around, cover themselves in mud, and hunt squirrels together.


I've been slowly furnishing the house although we still have one bedroom that's completely empty and a gigantic bare front room where the dining table will eventually go.  The dog enjoys racing through the emptiness and we'll let him enjoy it for the time being.  Unsurprisingly, we've already entertained at the new house and the majority of the guests end up gathered around the kitchen which makes me oh-so-glad that it's smack dab in the middle of everything with a big center island.  No real housewarming party yet but maybe I'll get everything in order enough to throw a Christmas party.  Ugh which is probably around the time I'll write my next blog post - let's hope not right?

Has it really been almost a month since I’ve blogged?  Life’s gotten away from me very quickly - both in a good and bad way.  First things first, we’re back from Michigan and in the new house - eep!  Secondly, my sister is engaged and getting married next summer!

Visiting all the dog parks on the road

In mid-August, we spent almost 40 hours in the truck, driving to Michigan with Bowie to visit Bryan’s family and friends.  On the way up, we drove through Nashville where we stopped over and visited one of Bryan’s friends from high school.  Unfortunately we didn’t get to spend any time in the city, but Bowie ran around the yard with his friend’s Pomeranian puppy and redbone coonhound.  Bryan’s friend took us to a creek by their house and the dogs got muddy swimming in the slow flowing waters.  Turns out mosquitoes, a mess of dogs, and slow living would end up being the theme of our summer vacation.

The Big House

The second driving day, we went through Ann Arbor where I went to one of my favourite stationery shops and we took the obligatory picture in front of the Big House.  All of Bryan’s family members are Michigan fans except for him (Michigan State fan).  We visited the famous Zingerman’s bakery while we were there and picked up three loaves of freshly baked bread to bring home to his parents.  His mom hosted a family reunion picnic the next day with a lot of members of his extended family, including his grandparents.  They were more than happy to show up to see Bryan, who they don’t get to see very often.  Bowie and Coda, his parents’ dog, got along really well, when they weren’t wrestling around on the lawn.  She showed him her favourite hiding spots and how to blind retrieve training dummies.

Small town Michigan, which surprisingly had a boba tea shop??

Family selfie using the selfie stick

For the second half of the trip, we drove across the state to visit his brother and sister-in-law at their new house.  Their home and big red barn sits on three acres between two farm fields.  Bowie met his dog cousin Ruger and they immediately started stealing sticks from each other and running through the long grass together.  The first night there, we had a big bonfire and ended up putting an end to the brush pile they’d been building up as well as some of the old furniture that came with the house that they bought.  Apparently fires are a popular method of trash disposal in the country.  Even though we were country-living at both homes, we never ran out of things to do and most of our time was spent catching up with family.  The dogs probably had the best time of all.  Bowie was wiped out every single night and eager to find his dog friends the next morning.

Backyard Bonfire

Family time!

The Three Amigos - Ruger, Bowie, and Coda

We split the drive back into two days and ended up back in Dallas on a Saturday afternoon.  We went straight to the new house, got the keys from the realtor there, and started immediately hauling things over from the town home, which is luckily only five minutes away.  The movers came on Sunday and we had practically everything moved by the end of the day.  After getting our belongings situated in the house, it became clear very quickly how much more room we have now.  We have an extra bedroom that we’re making the guest bedroom and another spare bedroom that’s completely empty.  A sectional has been ordered for the family room, and Bryan found a great deal on a grill that we’re picking up this weekend.

Post-Op

Protecting the new house

In the middle of all of this, Bowie got neutered which went just about as well as it could have gone.  His stitches and incision have all healed up and the only thing lingering is fear of the vet’s office.  My sister and her boyfriend - now fiance - also got engaged in Bend, Oregon!  They’re planning a wedding for August 2019, and I’m pleased as punch for the both of them.  He proposed using his great grandmother’s engagement ring, which is beautiful and so achingly sentimental.  Wedding planning is becoming one of my sister’s least favourite things to do but unfortunately comes with the territory if you want to have a wedding. 

Sis and fiance

What’s new with y’all?  I feel like it’s been forever and a day.

A hint as to where we'll be

Because when it rains, it pours.  And also because we’re crazy, we planned a vacation and then threw a new house closing / move into the mix.

Before we move into the new house (and literally right before), we are heading up north to visit Bryan’s family.  We’re packing up the truck, throwing the dog in the back, and driving the too many hours north for an impromptu family reunion.  There will be something for all of us.  Bowie will get to meet his doggie cousins and his Midwestern family.  I’ll get to take a road trip (my fave) and get away from the heat and the office.  Bryan will get to see his whole family; the last time he saw them all was last summer at his brother’s wedding.

We’ll close on the house while we’re on the road.  And then we’ll come back home to a brand new very empty place.  It’s all happening so quickly yet so slowly at the same time.  This week in the office before vacation has been the looooongest week.  The anticipation is the best part though, right?