The Master Bath Series, Part VII

A quick update on the master bath project that is picking up speed again (thanks to my impending departure). I finally was able to figure out how to shape texture along an odd angle which is the last place I needed to finish up. Once I get that sanded and primed, things should progress pretty fast. The only major thing left will be to pull the vanity top out and texture the wall where the sidesplash was attached.

SO, I headed over to Home Depot and Lowe's to pick up some items to further the project along and to order the new vanity top for the bathroom. My superb interior decorator C.W. and I picked out a beautiful Crane Two-Tone Astra Lav marble top in Sand Granite with a White Bowl, but I had one minor issue. The builder of my home decided that he couldn't make life easy and give me a standard-sized vanity top. A much used standard width is 49 inches for vanities and vanity tops. Well, after umpteen measurements and comparisons with different tape measures, I came to the realization that from wall-to-wall, my vanity top is 47 1/2 inches. What does this mean?

I had to order a custom vanity top. What does that mean?

It costs more. It takes longer to produce than a "standard" size. How long of a wait did they tell me when I ordered it to when it will be delivered in Amarillo?

A few days shy of one month.

Needless to say, a few colorful adjectives came to mind when I found that out. I can't wait that long since I need to get the house on the market. So, the new plan is to get as much stuff done as I can such as paint, fixtures, lighting, etc. and then clean up the old vanity top as best I can so I can show the house with a "finished" master bath. When the new one arrives, I'll hopefully be able to swap them out with no issues and be done with this thing.

I knew I should have never stopped working on this project....

The March of the Airmasses

Many of y'all who will read this blog sometime today likely awoke to a strange feeling. The air was "heavy", your clothes feel a bit sticky, a strange smell permeates the air as you go to work, school, or Home Depot to get an estimate on a double inward-swinging non-standard size french door...oh wait. That's me. Focus...

Yes, my West Texas Friends, the annual march of the airmasses is taking place. What is this you ask? For those that went to Anti-Aggieland, think "Brown Smell". Remember how it sometimes would appear randomly at night, usually after 8pm or so? That is one symptom of this meteorological magic that we "weather weenies" look forward to each spring and summer. Sidenote: "brown smell" here in the top 'o Texas is NOT the same phenomenon, especially if you live in and around a certain town in the southwestern portions of the area.

Why is this so magical to meteorologists? It is the march of the dryline (ignore the picture, that is NOT a dryline but this example is!), a magical moisture discontinuity that manages to "slosh" (yes, we ACTUALLY use that term) back and forth across the region in the spring and even in the fall. If conditions are just right, the dryline can mean tornado producing supercells or perfectly clear skies in which one can get a good sunburn. It is a fickle feature, leading many forecasts (yes, mine included) to either come beautifully true or totally go down the toilet.

It is this feature that adds to the challenge of forecasting in the Panhandle and there are extremely few places in the world that have any kind of facsimile or equivalent. But there is something more. When I walked out this evening and saw a hazy full moon, felt the blue jeans and shirt feel a bit stickier than usual, and smelled a bit of mustiness that only comes from air blowing off the Gulf of Mexico, I was reminded how amazing this part of Texas is - from the top of the Panhandle all the way down to the Big Bend. It is the simple feature of the dryline that can mean feast or famine for farmers and ranchers (and meteorologists). A difference in 50 miles or less could mean you are sweating your butt off working outside in muggy conditions or baking under a hot sun in bone dry air. The simple act that moisture gets pulled all the way from the Gulf, goes back and forth sometimes for days at a time, and that it could result in 3+ inches of rain and tornadoes or tumbleweeds blowing in dusty westerly winds that is a constant reminder to me that there is someone behind this weather wonder. I choose to believe that my God created this place, this setting, this environment and I am a lucky person to be able to experience it in all the ways possible. To you it might mean the return of the "brown smell" or having to sweat a bit extra when working outside but there is so much more involved.

That and the fact that I'll eventually be able to ask my Jesus why he makes it so stinkin' hard trying to forecast if the dryline is going to produce thunderstorms or leave us high and dry as it did tonight...

On The Move...Again.

I know that I have been lax in keeping this blog updated but I have had WAY too much stuff going on in my life that I've let some things slide by the wayside. Unfortunately, this blog is one of those things that manages to fall to the bottom of the list every time I get overwhelmed with "life".

SO, what is the latest and greatest news???? Well, on the morning of May 15th I received a phone call that I had anxiously been awaiting for well over a month and a half. I was chosen for, and accepted, a Senior Forecaster position in the Dust Bowl of Texas. Hence the "on the move" title for this blog. Yup, I will be leaving the top 'o Texas here in a couple of months and relocating about two hours south back to anti-Aggieland.

It is bittersweet; this move will be a promotion with additional responsibilities (side note...someone once told me that the only difference between the position I am in now and a Senior Forecaster is that if anything goes really wrong during a shift, the Senior Forecaster is the first one that is given the blame!), I'll be back in an area of dust storms and fall allergies when the cotton is being harvested, and I will be leaving MANY close friends that I have developed over the 5 years I have lived here in the top o' Texas. However, I'll only be two hours away from those aforementioned friends which is more tolerable than 6 hours, there are many old friends I'll be able to reconnect with, I'll hopefully be able to get back into playing guitar for our church worship service, and I hope to finally be able to host the many friends I have who have expressed interest in coming to various events held by the Technological College of Texas.

SO, now comes the fun. Getting the house ready to sell, starting to sort through the assorted "stuff" (not my first word of choice) that I have accumulated, house hunting down south, and trying to figure out what to do with the Jeep while I'm in temporary quarters. The Master Bath project will be resurrected (no, I STILL haven't finished it yet), along with the addition of a couple of other projects; replacement of the backyard fence, replacement of the back door, and other minor projects associated with getting a house ready to appeal to the next person or family wanting to transform it into their home. I will try to keep y'all informed through here as this process takes place but no promises!

Time to get moving...gotta head to Lowe's to order some items for the master bath.