Friday, June 26, 2020

rain and progress



A little over 4” of rain in the wee hours of Wednesday morning and no standing water the next day, that's how dry the land was. Another 2 1/2” early Thursday morning, standing water in the back and side yards and water in the ditch which was all absorbed by noonish. Two nights in a row of a panicked dog panting in my face and being restless and I was completely lethargic Thursday. My biggest accomplishment was doing the dishes. Mostly I vegged out on the couch and read or napped.

I did advance the paperwork for the new house some, got the forms for the development permit and for the new '911' address. You might remember that I had to get a new address for the meter box since the power company only allows one meter per address and they just added a B to the existing address but now the permit lady says that the existing address is tied to the shop and that is where emergency respondents will go if called so she generated a completely new address for the house that will be tied to the 911 response. So I took the form to the Post Office who previously told me I didn't need a separate mailbox, that all mail with or without a B would go to the existing one, and got them to make it an official address with a city and zip code assignment and now we will need a dedicated mailbox. Then I called the power company to apprise them of this new wrinkle and so they are creating a new ESI# for electrical service for the new address.

And ladies and gents, we own a house. Pam and I went in today, she signed all the forms (the house will be in her name so she can apply her homestead exemption to the property taxes on the house) and I signed the check. It's possible the house will be here by the end of next week. We'll have to have a few dry days before they can bring it out after all the rain we've had and are still having off and on.

On the way back, this was in front of us.


And here it is as we passed it. I have no idea what it is but I wish I could have gotten a picture from the front as well as it was very Batmobile-ish.


A few miscellaneous pictures...

The sky is white today and not from the clouds, although it is and has been overcast the last several days, but from the Sahara dust storm that finally made its way to us.



plumeria in full bloom


mexican bird of paradise


white orchid tree bloom


flowering senna





15 comments:

  1. Your yARD MUST SMELL LIKE HEAVEN! SO EXOTIC FROM I CAN SEE!
    YOU HAVE A HOUSE- THAT IS VERY EXCITING , AND A LEVEL SOLID EARTH ON WHIch TO PLOP IT. SO GOOD. sorry, my caps lock has a mind of it's own.
    Anyway good for you. Your sky looks amazing, it could be the sky up here - we are getting rain as well.
    That car looks like it just came out of the box, brand new Dinky toy.


    congratulations on the house.

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  2. That's great news about the house. You know how to get things done. It is a joy to see your flowers. The three-wheeled car reminded that when I delivered mail in the spring and summer of 1970, I drove one of those little three-wheeled mail trucks, but its third wheel was in the front, and its top speed was 35 mph! It seems like such a small world when dust from the Sahara travels to where you live.

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  3. My brother in law used to have a three wheeler car in the 60s. When he parked he could lift up the corner with one wheel and put it in the parking space more neatly. His friends used to ask him about the motorized roller skate.

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  4. So excited about the new house!
    That is like an extended three wheel motorcycle that old men around here drive. Some have one wheel in front and the most envied ones, I'm told, have one wheel in back.

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    1. I've seen three wheel motorcycles that look like motorcycles. this one is a two seater and looks more like a car instead of a motorcycle though I see from other comments (and I looked it up) that is is considered a motorcycle.

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  5. You don't let the grass grow under your feet, Ellen! You get things done!

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  6. Congratulations on the house and of course, the plumeria! Or frangipani as we call them.

    The car looks a tiny bit like a Mini Moke, my all time favourite car!

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  7. Hi Ellen, Jim Davis here, (Allison's husband) Pretty sure your 3 wheeled vehicle is a Polaris Slingshot. Your flower pictures are lovely, have been reading about the surge in cases in Harris County, be safe.

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  8. Does everybody in Texas get a homestead property tax exemption? At one point were were investigating Texas as a final resting place, we were surprised at how high the property taxes were.

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    1. homestead property tax exemption is available for anyone who owns the home they live in whether they own the property it is on or not. we get it on the house and property because we own both and live here. we own the shop and property but do not get the exemption on that because we don't live there. the basic exemption is a $25,000 reduction of the value of the property that is taxed. for instance if the house and property is worth $75,000, we only get taxed on $50,000. there are other exemptions through this program depending on if you are disabled or other considerations. so my sister will get that deduction on the appraised value of the house while we will still have to pay the full amount on the property and shop.

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  9. Yeah, that vehicle is a Slingshot. They are supposed to be illegal to drive in Texas but a few are out there. My sun tea days are over until that dust storm leaves our atmosphere. I love making my sun tea. It has a completely different taste from boiled tea.
    I can't wait to see the new house. You are going to show us ( I hope) a complete inside and out tour?

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  10. That's a lot of rain in one day. Glad there was no damage. I'll have to read some older posts to see the story behind the new house that's on its way. Lovely flowers and skies there.

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  11. I love the strange vehicle, but I would be nervous about driving it on anything than a secondary road. Yay on the house progress!

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  12. Nice flowers! That IS a very bizarre car. It almost looks like a motorcycle-auto hybrid, with a little bit of insect thrown in. I wonder how highway-worthy it is?

    Congrats on getting things squared away for the house. That must give you a sense of accomplishment!

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  13. Congrats on the house. Can’t wait to see it in situ!

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