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Monthly Archives: March 2019

Where Does the Granite Go at Washington?

This shows the cabinet style and the gray bathroom color.

Yesterday we shared some granite and lighting choices we made for the Washington house. Well, we  hadn’t yet shown the cabinets that the granite will sit on, so that just has to be remedied, right?

We used local cabinet-maker McAtee Cabinets to make some timeless custom cabinets for the space. They will be painted a bright white, but now are all under wraps while the interiors of the house are being painted. The granite will be beautiful atop these cabinets.

The kitchen hasn’t been painted yet, but wow, look at that wall o’ cabinets!

All three bathroom areas (two half and one full bath) will have new cabinetry, and the linen closet doors also are new.

But the real excitement is in the kitchen. Some lucky family will have lots and lots of storage now! Since we eliminated the big wall separating the front and back of the house, we were able to extend the amount of cabietry farther, and add real, useful uppers on the other side of the kitchen, too. This is really going to be a functional space.

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Granite Time for Washington

There’s beauty in these boxes!

We are all excited (OK, at least Mandi and I are) that the light fixtures for the Washington house are arriving at the office. They look real good, as they slowly trickle in. The dark bronze is pretty.

Speaking of dark colors, Jennifer and I talked about flooring colors, and while we agreed that something dark is needed to contrast with all the whiteness we are creating, I told her how the dark brown flooring we have at the Bobcat house shows practically every step you take and every bit of dust. So, we’re hoping to find a dark but mottled color, like a wood grain. We’ll see.

This granite will be a nice balance between the pale gray and white of the walls.

The big business of this week has been picking out the granite for the kitchen and bathrooms. Jennifer went to a nice but not overly fancy (reasonably priced) granite place in Temple earlier in the week and picked out some choices that sounded fine to me. But, she wanted a second opinion, so we rode over to check it out in person yesterday. I am not one to turn down a chance to look at fancy rocks. Continue reading →

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Lighter, Brighter Russet Valley

Bathroom cabinets.

Work is continuing at a brisk pace over at our Russet Valley property in Cedar Park. Interior painting is complete, and the ceilings are all smooth and white. That’s a lot of ceiling!

The cabinetry throughout the house, but especially the kitchen, is all primed and ready for paint. That was easier said than done, since the cabinets were very “rustic,” according to Carol. The workers had to do a lot of sanding and filling-in to get them nice and smooth. They, were, however in really great shape, so we are glad we could keep them and give them a new life. The kitchen looks so much bigger already!

There’s More!

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The Mystery of the Former Neighbors

Susan Rosson’s photo from the Southwestern University Yearbook when she was in college.

I’ve been doing research on the Gillis house, finding out who used to own it, etc. I hit a dead end, and even with going to the City offices and looking for the records, I still couldn’t figure out who owned it before the Taylor family. So, you can imagine how excited I was when one of my friends who’s a long-time Cameron resident said she knew who used to live there. She said the mayor would know more, even.

So, I chatted with Mayor Anderle, and she said, oh yes, the Rosson family lived behind the First Christian Church (AKA The Hermit Haus). Off I went to investigate those folks! I devled into old Cameron newspapers, checked Ancestry.com, and did all my limited sleuthing abilities.

Finally, I found out about John and Ruth (Coleman) Rosson, and their daughter, Susan Coleman Rosson. I was very excited to learn about another family who lived in the old house. Continue reading →

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The Little Travis House That Can

Just look at that window with no paint splotches on it! Look at how much space there is between you and your neighbor.

We’ve had our Travis 2 house for rent for a while. It’s been frustrating that Mandi and Lee keep going out there to show the house to people who just don’t show up. So, they’ve changed the plan, and now you don’t get to go in the house if you haven’t filled out a rental application. At least that lowers the frustration levels. Unfortuately, it doesn’t stop the stream of callers who, after looking at the sign, call and ask what the rent is, then, after Mandi explains, they ask if we would take $300. Yes, in Cameron, the expected rent seems to be $300 a month.

These cute built-ins lead to a HUGE master bedroom that no longer has three entrances.

That would be fine if we had one of those falling-apart rent houses, but we don’t. We’ve fixed this house up, and would like it to remain in good shape when it’s rented, so we’d prefer someone who’s in a position to keep it up. We know they are out there! We have two good tenants in our other houses, one of whom just power-washed the deck for us. That’s a good tenant! Continue reading →

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