Buying A Home

My wife and I have been searching for our first home for over 5 years, and renting a house during that time. Initially, we toured a developing area North of town, and checked out a popular builder, KB Homes. We went so far as deciding on a "spec" home, and gaining financial approval. I decided that we should sleep on it, before signing away our life. After sleeping on it, it occurred to me that I should check out KB on the web for reviews, comments, etc. It didn't take long to discover that many people had problems with this company's product. While there may be plenty of decent homes built by them, we decided that we did not want to take the odds of being another unsatisfied customer. We canceled the deal. This was our first heartbreak.

Our real search began here. Over the next 4.5 years or so, we cruised communities around Dallas like Rockwall, Sachse, Murphy, Parker, McKinney, Anna, Prosper, Celina, Weston, Richardson, Plano, Cedar Hill, Arlington, HEB, Oak Point, Colony, and even Denton. The usual method would be to go one of two ways: sometimes, we would just drive there, and sometimes, we would find properties on the net and drive by them. We analyzed real state prices, neighborhood appearances, schools, roads and traffic, access to recreation, industry, parks, shopping, everything we could think of. We got with a realtor at one point and checked out a few homes, but didn't want to buy any of them. After realizing how undecided we were, we felt it best not to take up her time until we were more sure of where we wanted to be.

Eventually, we decided that our home was going to be in one of four towns: Colleyville, Grapevine, Flower Mound, or Highland Village. Of the four, Flower Mound was favored. All four share a similar environment, with brown to red dirt, hills, woods, and proximity to lakes. They also were not too far from town, with excellent schools, low crime, and rising property value.

We watched the market like hawks. Through websites like www.ebby.com , www.realtor.com , and www.cindyruppert.com , we found homes, drove by, and trimmed down the list. One candidate stood above the rest. This would be our second heartbreak.

The seller's agent was happy to meet us for a tour, and we checked out the home. It was spacious, laid out nicely, with plenty of opportunity for creativity, and a large backyard. The home was close to work, close to parks, with plenty of trees, in a nice neighborhood. There were some problems with the home, all of which appeared to be manageable. After a couple of tours, we got back with our realtor, and brought her in on the deal. It was at this point that the seller's agent changed tone, and we learned a real estate lesson - If you have an agent, use your own agent's time for tours.

Considering the condition of the home, we presented an offer at 15% less than asking price with closing costs paid by seller. They responded, and we haggled back and forth until agreeing on a 7.5% reduction with closing costs paid by seller. All parties signed the paperwork, earnest money and option fee checks were presented, and we entered our option period. We had the home inspected by a CODE CERTIFIED inspector, namely http://www.texasinspector.com/ or Aaron D. Miller of Aaron's Home Inspections. The inspection was very thorough, and uncovered several items of interest outside of what we already knew about. Specifically, the roof needed to be replaced, the entire AC system needed to be replaced (except for ductwork), the outside of the house had never been repainted in the 18 years it stood against the Texas heat (resulting in masonry boards warping), and there were termites exploiting an active roof leak.

The home was probably not going to be insured with a bad roof and bad AC, so the seller was going to have to get the repairs done. This was not a good scenario, as we had every reason to believe that he would go with the least expensive option, and that we might be left with a short lived roof and an inefficient AC. We presented a new offer. We upped our price within only 5.5% of the original asking price, on the condition that the seller run with contractors of our choosing. We submitted a list of contractors along with that offer, all of which were the least expensive option we could find that would install a high quality product. The seller balked, and replied with the original full price, and struck our choice of contractors. We replied that he must change his mind by that afternoon or we would walk. After a couple of hours, he lowered the price a hair, but did not accept our condition on choice of contractor. Not willing to pay extra for the seller's choice of budget builders, we walked.

(more later...)

Memorial Day

"The moon gives you light,
And the bugles and the drums give you music,
And my heart, O my soldiers, my veterans,
My heart gives you love."

-- Walt Whitman

http://www.usmemorialday.org

Cedar Hill State Park

Twice in the past month or so, my wife and I have camped at Cedar Hill State Park on the shores of Joe Pool Lake in Cedar Hill, TX. This great park is a nice getaway when you cannot spare the time to travel far from DFW. There are plenty of hills, trees, and trails. There is a sandy beach to swim in, and plenty of fishing to be had. The campsites are many and nicely appointed. Primitive sites are also offered for purists. My only complaint is that one can hear the noise from Beltline Road just up the hill if you are camping on the West side of the Park. I have not camped on the East side, so I cannot speak for the noise there.

While most folks understand that this part of Texas is fairly flat with just a bit of roll, there are also outcroppings of rock and hills here and there. This is one of those places. When approaching the park, you will see the first signs of the change in terrain. Road cutouts and steep descents let you know that you are entering a very different part of town. By the time you have made it to your campsite, it no longer feels like Dallas (except for the distant road noise), as you are surrounded by tree covered hills.

The dominant trees are:

Cedar Elm

Eastern Red Cedar (or Juniper)

Mesquite

Honey Locust

There are many others, and tallgrass prairie remnants that I have not checked out yet.

There are bathrooms convenient to the campsites with sinks, stalls, and showers. These are fairly clean. There is a marina with snacks and limited supplies. There was a sign for watercraft rental. Close to Beltline and Highway 67, there is a 24 hour Super WalMart for anything else you may have missed, and a Whataburger incase you just can't get the fire lit. Speaking of fire, you will need to call the park ahead of time to see if they have firewood available. They did not have any on both occasions that we camped there. The first time, we checked with every merchant in the area and no one else had firewood. We ended up buying a large bag of natural lump charcoal and a large bag of Mesquite chunks, and burned the entire contents of both for that campfire feel. The second time, my wife clued me in on the Albertson's at Forest & Marsh in North Dallas, as they have large $10 bags of grilling wood in Pecan, Hickory, and Mesquite. While this worked great, it is a rather inefficient use of great smoking wood. It would be best if you could locate a source for less valuable hardwood to burn, and save the aromatics for when you are cooking over the fire.

In summary, this park is beautiful, and brings you all the joys of camping when you cannot travel to more remote parks.

One more thing - Make sure to get the gate code when you check in, in case you must leave the grounds at night.

Things to ponder...

Steelers in the Superbowl.

Kinky Friedman as Texas Governor.

Kansas = Cold

There seems to be an invisible line just across the Kansas/Oklahoma border. We crossed it just before Christmas, headed to Wichita. Within minutes, the ponds were frozen over, and patches of snow began to appear. The temperature dropped to a frosty, well, less than 40°. That's cold enough for me, whatever it was.

Being born in Iowa, you'd think that the snow and cold would be second nature to me. Not so. Northerners can keep their cold, the heat is fine with me.

One thing that folks in the North do have, which I am jealous of, are basements. We don't get them, unless you have it custom made. Then, it also depends on whether or not your land can take one. The water table might be too close to the surface, so I'm told.

Regardless of the water table proximity, my house will have a tornado shelter. That's just good sense in Tornado Alley. Jarrell was the lesson.

Braun Shaver

This is one fine machine. A gift from my wife for Christmas, this is my first rechargeable shaver since a Remington about 15 years ago. It shaves close, cleans itself, is easy to use, looks good, and tells me how much battery life it has left.

My main concern was razorburn, but it doesn't seem to be causing much. The mild irritation it does bring will probably dissappear in a few weeks as my skin adjusts.

It's probably no surprise that a blade gives the closest possible shave, but it's nice to be able to get damn near as good a shave at anytime in half the time.

MP3 Players

A pretty neat little toy, this here mp3 player is. This was a Christmas gift, and I've already ripped a hundred songs or so from my cd's to it. It weighs about 3 ounces less than nothing, and doesn't skip. Plus, you don't have to carry around any cd's or tapes.

Right now, it's got some White Stripes, some Big Ass Truck, some Beck, some Mars Volta. Heck, it's even got a bit of Gwen Stefani. It should burn through a AAA battery after 18 hours, but there ought to be some rechargables out there.

Rock on.

Smokin'

The carmaker Koenigsegg of Sweden recently produced the world's fastest production car. The CCR, at less than top RPM's, broke the McLaren's record of 231mph for a record speed of 241 mph. This record was made at a circular test track in Italy, but they suspect that a measured run at a straight track in Germany might give them the space needed to approach or exceed 250mph. It's not a Porsche, but that's ok.

Brazos Postponed

A few posts ago, I mentioned that a trip to the Brazos was in the works. That ended up not panning out, but a couple friends of mine did go. We expected that one or the other would happen- lots of debris, or no debris. As it turns out, there was no debris. The flow that nearly peaked 25,000 cfs swept the place out, and they even had a hard time finding firewood.

There will be more trips out there once it starts warming up. I'll let you know how it goes.

Talking Turkey

Thanksgiving - a time to look back upon the year and our lives, to think of our family, all that we hold dear, our love, our many blessings, and to recreate some of the finest foods ever to be made.

We had some family in from out of town, and all of us gathered at my sister-in-law's house just a few miles from here. There was plenty to eat, many children ready to help you run off some calories, and Madagascar played on an endless loop. Do you like to...MOVE IT?

It was decided that we would forego the typical turkey and opt for a fried gobbler from The Cajun Turkey Company. They fully cook their turkeys with an injection of Geaux juice (get it?), and shrink wrap it in foil. All you have to do is thaw it, and throw it in the oven for about an hour. The turkey is juicy, tender, and tasty, with zesty cajun spices and a hint of orange for zing.

Another good choice was the ham from Whole Foods. Their hams have no Nitrates or Nitrites whatsoever, and are incredibly lean. A couple of the kids who never eat ham were more than happy to come back for seconds. Again, fully cooked, just throw it in the oven for about an hour.

There were plenty of side dishes to adorn the plate. One of our nephews cooked up two beautiful pumpkin pies, which nearly stole the show with a bit of whipped cream on top. Another sister sent some positively sinful Baklava to the occasion. All natural candied yams and royalty-grade creamed spinach top the list, but there is so much more than I have space to describe.

One final thing that should be noted, however, is the beer of choice for the night. Samuel Adams' Winter Lager was a perfect fit for the rich feast. Creamy, with a soft hint of molasses, it brought a tremendously satisfying touch of sweetness to every part of the meal.

Hope your Thanksgiving was grand, and filled with family and friends.

Brazos River Flow

Looks like we may be hitting the river this weekend. One last trip before it gets to be too cold. The water and the night air may be a bit nippy, but nothing we can't handle. A wood fire in the firepit, and the warmth of tequila in the belly, and we'll be just fine.

After reviewing the flow (see the link to the right side of this entry) over the past 10 days, it is low but should spike significantly in the mornings. If we can head out early on Saturday (assuming that the current release pattern holds true), we may have a nice ride down to the campsite.

The weather conditions now over Texas provide an exceptional outlook for this weekend. Upper 70's to mid 80's, with a decent breeze and plenty of sunshine. As stated, the nights are expected to be a bit chilly, and I would expect the water temperature to hover right above 70° Fahrenheit.

My one concern is the level of the release. The gage height indicates an increase of 5', and the normal width of the river at the gauge is a bit wider than our preferred campsite. We couldn't have been more than 2' from the water level when it was running at around 900cfs. According to the graph, they appear to be releasing during the day. However - A chance release above 2000cfs, at night, would be a rude awakening.

Our fearless Brazos leader brought up the idea that this would be a good opportunity to see the aftermath of 20,000cfs flooding on that stretch. We'll get to see what moved and what didn't. Since I don't expect another flood of that magnitude to strike the area before next spring, we should have a pretty good idea of what to plan for when spring rolls around. I'll provide an account to this log, of course.

Tubing Texoma

Went out to Lake Texoma with some friends recently. On the agenda was some tubing, some boating, sailing, fishing, swimming, barbecue, you name it.

One of the guys has a nice skiboat, and he also brought the tubes and a 1-person sailboat. But, all of that comes into play on the second day. First off was the night we arrived at the cabin. We rented at Lighthouse Resort on the Texas side, and the cabin was a pretty good deal. Very big, with 2 twin beds, one full bed, one King size in it's own room, and two futons in the livingroom. The kitchen was large enough, and came with everything you'd need. It had a nice porch, and was close to the water. Plus, the entire place was done up in NASCAR decor. Rock on.

So we get there, and the shots start pouring themselves. We were just amazed at how they magically floated through the air and compelled consumption. What choice did we have? A little Patron, a little Knob Creek, some Margaritas, some Pina Coladas, the ever present Spaten, and some Pacificos. We were doing fine. We played some cards and D&D for a few hours, and hit the sack. I should also mention that a couple of our folks headed down to the water for some full moon catfishing during the cardgame, but had no luck. By the appearances of the area in the daylight, I'd say that was simply not a great place for catfish. Not enough debris.

Next day, we are off to the boat. We toured around for a bit, and found ourselves a nice cove. We attached two ropes, each maybe 50', with tubes on the other end. The tubes had handles to grip, these would come in handy soon enough. First round was me in one tube, and my friend's son in the other. The boat gets to making circles around the entrance of the cove in about 11'+ deep water. As the speed increases, so does the grip on those handles as we fight to maintain balance. Here and there, you crash against the wake left by the boat, and your only hope is to hike up on the tube and lean back. Then, he straightens out, and the two tubes collide in the center. On and on, until we wipe out often enough that we can no longer feel our arms.

At one point, one of the tubes fell apart, and our fishers get on one tube together. Now, that was a sight to see. I still can't believe that they were able to balance for as long as they did, but maybe the weight of two was the key.

There was no drinking that night.

Next day, we head out to break in the sailboat. Everyone takes their turn, and I am last. It's just as well, since I take to it and have no one waiting for it to come back. So, I headed out for the open water. It was just me, the wind, the sail, in 40' of water and no experience in turning a sailboat. A couple of times, I was nearly smacked by the sail as I turned and it found wind on the other side. A little evasive maneuvering (a la Matrix) and I avoided concussion. I quickly learned how to move around on the boat to make sure the wind would not tip it over. Even so, it was one of the most relaxing experiences ever.

After that, we all headed home. I could still feel the waves as I laid down in my bed.

Say It Ain't So

(photo from nfl.com)
This game was a thrill to watch. Throughout, I had been excited by the idea of keeping the Redskins locked out, but it wasn't meant to be. Santana Moss intervened.

You have to admit, the man is fast. Those were some damn fine passes thrown his way, as well. The scores that the Skins put together in the last few minutes were too much to overcome with such little time left in the game. The Cowboys played valiantly, right up to the last second, so it's pretty clear the kind of rivalry that can be fired up between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins. The ending of this game will only make it more intense.

Regardless, I am very impressed by the new Cowboys lineup. This will be a great season, so keep your eyes open for amazing plays and superb scores.

Reunion Arena

On Labor Day, I went down to Reunion Arena to volunteer. They needed the help. Within a couple of hours, they were so many volunteers that they had to begin turning them away.

The place I volunteered at was not inside Reunion Arena or the Convention Center. Those are the shelters. Outside, in the ground level of a parking garage, was the area where New Orleans residents waited for transportation to to other cities, and could pick up supplies before heading out. There were sections throughout the garage for each type of necessity. Women's Shoes, Boy's Shirts, Food, Prayer Services, Diapers, Formula, all with many people shuffling around with large shopping bags donated by The Container Store. New merchandise was also available, including underwear, socks, soap, washcloths, towels, etc.

With about 50 volunteers, we unloaded a semi trailer full of baby items in about 20 minutes. Inside the trailer, we had two human chains running down each side, with a person on the outside for each line, and a man in the middle in case either of the two weren't available for whatever reason.

The rest of the day was spent regulating stocked merchandise to the stations, so that they wouldn't have too many boxes crowding around them. This included moving large stacks of merchandise around with nothing but arms and a couple of dollies. We also directed people to the stations when they needed a particular item.

Occasionally, you would hear an announcement like, "Anyone wanting to relocate to Arizona or Southern California, come to the stage." It was interesting to see all the different people trying to find a good pair of shoes for their baby, or looking for the right kind of formula. One man was so exhausted, he passed out with his bag of goods on a stack of our boxes. A photographer came by and snapped some shots of him, then started talking to him. Two guys came over right after that and started praying with him.

It's been awhile since I worked that hard.

Katrina's Victims

Before the hurricane struck, I hadn't fully considered the plight of those who could not leave. The fact that I would have left blinded me to possibilities like not having the money to leave, or even a car, or not being healthy enough to handle a trip, etc. People close to me have considered me a tinhatter, and a survivalist, if only for my spoken concern about being ready for anything. This crisis shows pretty clearly that I know little and understand even less about how difficult life can become. These sorts of things happen in other places, of course. Bangladesh, for instance, receives massive flooding practically every year. This isn't Bangladesh, though. Here, in the almighty USA, there is an expectation that things should never degrade to this point. There should never be bodies lying around in the street for 48 hours. People should not be without food for nearly a week, and certainly not without clean water at anytime. There really is no excuse for a situation like this to occur in our nation. Everyone knew this was coming. We should have been ready.

There are two more major events yet to occur. That would be the recovery of the bodies trapped in wreckage for 5 days and counting, and the economic halving of the area. Between the duration of closure, the expected razing of structures, the exodus of refugees never to return, and the stigma of being known as a bowl waiting to be filled, New Orleans is most likely five days into it's downfall as a major American city. Every person who considers staying in New Orleans will have to consider the possibility of the levees breaking again, despite any assurances they might receive of their strengthening. How many people will put the safety of their family on the line and trust the rebuilt levees or the emergency response? What responsible corporation is going to remain in a town that can lose power for a month and put their real estate at risk if the right storm comes along?

As a note of optimism, I would guess that higher communities nearby might benefit from New Orleans residents moving in, but the benefit might just help soften the blow from the number of people who will leave their windblown homes behind and move away from the Gulf for good.

This is what happens when you do not plan for the worst.

Katrina

How about Katrina? I don't remember ever seeing a hurricane that strong hit our shores. Luckily, it weakened some. At one point a couple of days ago, there were reports of winds up to 215 mph, and now it's down to 160 mph. It is still going to be a bad one. On top of that, it's going to be strong right through Tennessee and Northward.

Last year there was this big discussion about what would happen to New Orleans if it received a direct hit, and here it is. They say that New Orleans is below sea level, and that there are levees that could be topped. Apparently, one of them has already been topped, flooding part of the city in up to 8 feet of water, and things are just getting started.

Why folks planned to stick this one out, I don't know. As one who normally appreciates people's bravery for sticking around, this one seemed even a bit too strong for me.

Also, I'd like to note that the folks in and around Biloxi, Mississippi will probably have more destruction to deal with than New Orleans or elsewhere, as they will be bearing the brunt of the storm.
Good luck, ya'll. God be with you.

As promised...Beer!

Now, this is definitely a subject I can touch on from time to time. Our landscape of brews goes on for miles and miles, an expansive sea of refreshment and taste, just waiting for a frosty mug.

First of all, let me state my favored beers, and then we can throw around some beer facts & lore. I like beer with a strong flavor. Whether light or dark, filtered or not, it's got to have some taste to it.

Top Tier: Spaten, Samuel Adams, Franziskaner, Belhaven, Guinness

Excellent: Shiner Bock, Amstel Light, Anchor Steam, St. Pauli Girl

Now, I do have a few others that I dive into from time to time, but I wouldn't consider them favorites. For example: Keystone Light, Pacifico, Warsteiner, Lowenbrau, Mississippi Mud, and even Budweiser. All are very good, or I wouldn't have listed them. All I'm saying is that they simply do not capture the heart like a glass of Optimator.

So, beer facts and lore. For the lore, I'll tell you a story. There was once an individual who stayed in front of the pc, trying to think of a beer story, all the while he could have been drinking a beer. The fact is that the individual is me, and I am changing my errant ways starting now.

Have a good weekend.

Brazos Flooding

It's been raining quite a bit out West, so much that Possum Kingdom Lake has had to release excess water into the Brazos River. Now, when I first suspected this, it seemed like a dream. Good water levels on the Brazos, in August? I'm there! After checking the water levels online, however, and after seeing the National Weather Service warning of the expected release, it's a good thing that I didn't make plans. They released far more water than I would have imagined.

First, a little background might help.

A comfortable run on that stretch of the Brazos is about 900 cfs (cubic feet per second). At least, that appears to be the magic number where you may not have to get out of your canoe in order for it to float across the occasional shoals, provided you are paddling fast enough and choose the right path. If it were even higher, that might be better, as it might bring a bit more excitement to the sparse rapids, and might offset the upstream winds with a good current.

Most of the summer, it's been running under 500. There are times when it goes up, such as when they need some power out of the dam. That's hard to predict, doesn't last long, and you don't want to plan a trip just to get there and find out it's running at 300, with 100+ degree Fahrenheit temps.

So, with all that rain, I expected that they would need an extended release from the dam. They sure did. It was running about 7,000 last week. A bit much for a canoeing trip, especially when you consider that it probably wiped out my camping spot. Yesterday, it appeared to have peaked around 24,000. Alright, that camping spot may not even be there when we get back.

Beinvenido a Safari Boots!

Welcome to the Safari Boots blog. This is my first blog. My intent is to share some of the more interesting things that happen to me or those close to me and to point out interesting news & facts.

Along the way, you can expect to see posts on fishing, beer, cooking, camping, barbecue, automobiles, and other aspects of the fine life.

Post comments if you like, but keep it clean. This is a family blog. My men's blog can be found at q1f378f^(lgp

My apologies, this keyboard is acting up.

Although I have never been on a Safari, I own 2 pair of Safari Boots, and they are the best. All leather, except for the rubber sole, and built to handle abuse, they are great for camping. They were gifts from my Mother-In-Law.

Enjoy your stay.