I headed home last Sat. and on the way dropped by 500 X, a gallery my daughters were showing in near Fair Park in Dallas. They came out to help on the project right after Christmas and stayed a couple of weeks along with Karol and Alex. We were able to work on the ceiling and walls, trim  and other aspects of the build. We brought furniture along just to see how things would look when we get done. As always the bulk of the build gets done when the family gets together .....somebody's got to bail the ol man out when he bites off more than he can chew! I am very pleased with the way the project is turning out. After everyone went back to their respective lives I stayed on doing more finish work and avoiding  the last room that is still quite rough. The Bath! I convinced myself that almost anything was more important. So much so that one day I thought it would be a great idea to move all the wood off the porch, borrow an above ground pool, pump all the water out of the cement pond and paint it black in hopes that it would warm the water enough to make it tolerable. Even last Aug. it was a might cold. Then pump the water back in and build a solar water heater out of A BOX OF SCRAPS!  Sorry about the Tony Stark in the cave reference. Any way it's a bunch more of the same and some day I will be done. But until then I will continue, with the support of my all too tolerant family. Oh yeah we also did some paint and linseed oiling to the walls and hung some paintings to add extra color in a purpose

ly muted land scape (browns, greys, off whites, pale green) . .....R

I have been persuaded to continue my blog by members of my family that are interested in the progress of the rock house. We proceed. I have succeeded in achieving my goal of making the rock house operational before the end of this year. We now have electricity, water, and sewer. Sinks and shower, also a water heater. The house now has more insulation and is sealed from the elements much better. Adobe floors throughout and most of the ceiling in place. There is much more trim and paint work to be done and the ceiling in the bedrooms need to be finished. I have been on site for a record amount of time this year. Pulling two month tours at a time to try and finish this thing before new year. I have had help from time to time with major parts of the project like the ceiling and floor. Karol and the girls are coming out after Christmas to help do finish work. The next pictures will reveal the finished product. We will see the results of the "vision" good and bad. We have continued to work with scrounged material for the majority of the project to keep the costs down and they give a look that is not easy to reproduce with new.  I have worked backwards from most in the sense that my materials have dictated the design rather than the design coming first. I would have a problem that needed solving and would look for whatever material I might happen to have enough of to complete said problem, hoping that I could figure a way to make it look right. I am pleased so far with the results. Not to say it couldn't be done better. But another criteria was also always on my mind. Time. I have done this project and all aspects of it as quickly as I could. And it shows. I would sacrifice fit and finish often for expedeincy. Perfection is the enemy of good. I'll try now to enter some pictures...........R

LAST POST tired of the internet

The last post

More floor

Spent most of June putting in adobe floors. Requires little thought and a lot of hustle. Shoveling the dirt from down on the desert floor into a truck, mixing it with water in a wheelbarrow, placing it on the floor, leveling and trowling. Then letting it dry and applying coats of linseed oil. I allow it to dry quickly and crack. Then I go back and fill the cracks. Not much else going on. I bought Jerry Brewster's VW dune buggy. And worked on it some. Got to visit with friends some. Returned for the big "Opening" that my "Girls" had in a "Dallas" art gallery. I will try and add some pictures. The opening was great and everyone had a good time. Ayrton's  Meattroplis has been in the works for amost two years. And I really am in love with one of  Bailey's new paintings. I am heading back in a week to try and get the water system going. There is water in the tanks, now to get it in the house. Seeya.........R

Floors and ceiling

May, 2013  Just returned to visit with my sisters who came to Kilgore to see our mom. I also needed to go see our youngest up in Denton and help her with some welding that will be part of the long anticipated unveiling of the "Meatropolis" sculpture. The last two trips have been all about the ceiling. Using metal scrounged from a building in Stonewall, (just outside of Fredricksburg) some 2x6s from an old deck John Spradlin kindly gave us and more wood from the old Wylie farmhouse generously donated by the lovely Lisa. The building in Stonewall was hit by a tornado in 2001 and lost its roof. Mr. Alton Klein alowed Karol and I to take anything we could use from the old house for 150 bucks. Thank you Mr. Klein. I installed a 2 inch adobe floor in the bath and worked on the front room ceiling for a few weeks before Karol arrived and helped me finish the install. We began caulking the gaps (and there were many) and did some painting with some flat white given to us by Tessa Wingfield, thanks T.W. When we ran out of paint and caulk we transitioned to the master bedroom, emptied it of all the materials stored there and started another adobe floor. Karol is what we call here in the oilfield "a hand." She was matching me shovel for shovel and hung tough for what I affectionately call an old school "thrash." Three days of  brutal labor that would, in the end , give us another beautiful floor. After it dries we will oil it with linseed oil. I did this in the adobe house and was really pleased. Hope to finish this house by Christmas and some day have one Hell of a double house warming!  Heading out tomorrow for more abuse. Maybe it will have warmed up a little by the time I get back.................R