Today I went to a workshop for understanding the different Creative Thinking Talents. We had to create a "round about" book based off the book called, The Important Book by Margaret Wise. Here is what I wrote.
The important thing about building an outdoor kitchen
is to have a reliable contractor.
It is true that it can be a long and draining process,
and the concrete company can "bump" your pour,
and a lying tejano with drunk workers can steal your concrete money,
while leaving a mess for the new sub contractor to fix. . .
and contractors will whine about the money they are loosing because of the lying tejano concrete man, but...
The important thing about building and outdoor kitchen is to have a reliable contractor.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
The Concrete Fairies
They came, they came. They came without giftwrap, trimmings, music, or the long reaching arm thing to pour the concrete. The laborers wheeled and wheeled wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow until the job was done. But it came and we have a concrete patio- that is started and somewhat finished. I will post pictures this week.
FT. Sam Fall Festival
This past Saturday we went to the Ft. Sam Fall Festival. Everyone had a great time.
Riley and I had our picture taken with one of the San Antonio Spurs, Mike Mitchell #34.
Tim marched in the parade.
Natalie did not like the loud noises of the motorcycles.
The girls got to pet a horse.
We enjoyed a lovely lunch at Mi Tierra in the Market Place. Bob loved the Mariachi singers. Natalie said,"Thank you Daddy, that was pretty."
Then Riley. . . climbed the inflatable rock wall.
Okay, she didn't get far. . . but she did pretty good for a 5 year old.
Sea World came and brought some interesting critters.
Here the girls are petting a python. I so would not do this. They take after their dad on this one folks.
Natalie tried to storm the stage when they brought out the penguin. Please note the top she is wearing. Yes, that is a cape on the back. Nana bought her the cutest shirt. The front has a little witch dress on the front and the back the cape- so it looks like she is the flying little witch.
Riley and I had our picture taken with one of the San Antonio Spurs, Mike Mitchell #34.
Tim marched in the parade.
Natalie did not like the loud noises of the motorcycles.
The girls got to pet a horse.
We enjoyed a lovely lunch at Mi Tierra in the Market Place. Bob loved the Mariachi singers. Natalie said,"Thank you Daddy, that was pretty."
Then Riley. . . climbed the inflatable rock wall.
Okay, she didn't get far. . . but she did pretty good for a 5 year old.
Sea World came and brought some interesting critters.
Here the girls are petting a python. I so would not do this. They take after their dad on this one folks.
Natalie tried to storm the stage when they brought out the penguin. Please note the top she is wearing. Yes, that is a cape on the back. Nana bought her the cutest shirt. The front has a little witch dress on the front and the back the cape- so it looks like she is the flying little witch.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
The Story of Rick, Dennis, Frank, Bob, and Marco
Yes, this is a true story and we are living it.
The CAST:
Rick: The creative outdoor kitchen designer.
Dennis: The man who owns the kitchen building company, and is Rick's boss.
Frank: The lying Tejano concrete man.
Bob: The owner of the concrete company who calls Frank the lying Tejano.
Marco: The new concrete man getting screwed by the whole deal.
Midge and Tim: The pissed off customers who discovered the truth.
Once there was a couple (Midge and Tim) who decided to add a deck to their empty mud pit of a backyard. They sent out bids. . . everything shown was so so. Then Rick knocked at the door, he brought life and a fresh perspective to the process. He gave them what they wanted. . . a beautiful detached outdoor kitchen with a covered roof (lined with cedar) and an extended patio off the back. The drawings- spectacular. The price- with in the designated budget. The timeline- reasonable. The only thing standing in the way- the HOA. But that too passed. A date was set to begin- it passed and nothing. Another date was set- it passed and nothing. They called Rick. Rick had been in the hospital- the tumor, located on the stem of his brain had returned. He seemed optimistic and the project was back on track. Again a date was set- and no one showed.
This cycle repeated itself for 3 weeks. Tim got pissed, Rick collapsed due to side effects of the radioactive implants in his head. Enters Dennis, the owner, he is pissed the job is under bid and now the happy couple shows a contract with dates. Dennis is speechless- the couple has a legitimate lawsuit for breech of contract. Dennis finds Frank the concrete guy.
Frank shows up and blames Dennis for not giving a date. Frank does not show for several days- apparently if he does not pick up his workers by 10am they begin drinking and are too drunk to work (hence why the dates kept getting pushed back). Frank tells the happy couple the job contracted is impossible and changes must be made to meet the new deadline. The couple, now even more confused agree to the changes with minor apprehension. "Just get the job done!" they say. Frank says: Ok!
Thursday:
Midge being suspicious comes home for a surprise inspection. Frank tells her he thinks it will rain and they should leave early. Frank also says that Dennis has been by and cut some of the original plans out of the concrete pour and told him not to put steps onto the 2 foot entrance because it will take too much time. Midge tells Frank, "Frank, you keep working. It will not rain I have talked to God today and it will not rain. And frame those steps!!!!" Midge and her witness Cari leave the scene of disaster.
Frank leaves. He calls Dennis, the owner and tells him that Midge has asked him to leave and stop working early because it is going to rain. Tim tells Dennis this is Bull@#*! his wife would never say that.
Friday:
Dennis calls back. Frank quit and stole the money for the concrete pour.
Enters Bob. "Frank is a lying tejano and has screwed everything up! I am loosing so much money on this job." Midge and Bob talk. She tells him about the original plans for the job. Bob says that Frank called and said the couple requested changes to the job, they did not like the original design. Midge tells Bob, "No, Frank said that it could not be done." "That's bull@#*%! Frank knew how this was supposed to go." Now Bob must hire a new concrete guy to fix Franks mess. Bob then goes on to explain that Frank took the money to pay for a new truck and he is afraid to take him to court because Frank knows where he lives and will slash his tires.
Midge and Tim's new standard answer to contractors complaining about loosing money," That's not our problem."
Bob hires Marco. Marco comes in and shows us how Frank did not even dig for footers, did not put in concrete bags for stability and was going to let the porch slide off the grade. Bob shakes his head. "This has never happened to me before. Do you know how much money I'm loosing on this job?"
The response: Midge and Tim's new standard answer to contractors complaining about loosing money," That's not our problem."
Saturday:
Marco does an excellent job of repairing the problem. He goes on to tell Midge that one of his workers was shot in the ankle that morning by a gangbanger- but Marco came to work on the kitchen instead of all the workers going to the hospital in support of the one shot guy. Midge tells him thank you. Marco goes on to say that Stucco is his specialty and he only does the concrete on the side between jobs.
Marco asks to come to work on Sunday.
Midge finds a note on the door from Bob. It reads:
My guys bought materials + have been working. Ingram Ready mix
is still scheduled to pour 11:00am Monday am = I called at 7:30am +
put under my NAME, so Frank can't change for any reason!
Sunday:
Marco tells Tim that he is loosing money on the job because of Frank's mistakes. Since Frank took the money, Bob cannot pay Marco what is necessary to fix the problem.
We hope Marco will show for the pour on Monday.
The CAST:
Rick: The creative outdoor kitchen designer.
Dennis: The man who owns the kitchen building company, and is Rick's boss.
Frank: The lying Tejano concrete man.
Bob: The owner of the concrete company who calls Frank the lying Tejano.
Marco: The new concrete man getting screwed by the whole deal.
Midge and Tim: The pissed off customers who discovered the truth.
Once there was a couple (Midge and Tim) who decided to add a deck to their empty mud pit of a backyard. They sent out bids. . . everything shown was so so. Then Rick knocked at the door, he brought life and a fresh perspective to the process. He gave them what they wanted. . . a beautiful detached outdoor kitchen with a covered roof (lined with cedar) and an extended patio off the back. The drawings- spectacular. The price- with in the designated budget. The timeline- reasonable. The only thing standing in the way- the HOA. But that too passed. A date was set to begin- it passed and nothing. Another date was set- it passed and nothing. They called Rick. Rick had been in the hospital- the tumor, located on the stem of his brain had returned. He seemed optimistic and the project was back on track. Again a date was set- and no one showed.
This cycle repeated itself for 3 weeks. Tim got pissed, Rick collapsed due to side effects of the radioactive implants in his head. Enters Dennis, the owner, he is pissed the job is under bid and now the happy couple shows a contract with dates. Dennis is speechless- the couple has a legitimate lawsuit for breech of contract. Dennis finds Frank the concrete guy.
Frank shows up and blames Dennis for not giving a date. Frank does not show for several days- apparently if he does not pick up his workers by 10am they begin drinking and are too drunk to work (hence why the dates kept getting pushed back). Frank tells the happy couple the job contracted is impossible and changes must be made to meet the new deadline. The couple, now even more confused agree to the changes with minor apprehension. "Just get the job done!" they say. Frank says: Ok!
Thursday:
Midge being suspicious comes home for a surprise inspection. Frank tells her he thinks it will rain and they should leave early. Frank also says that Dennis has been by and cut some of the original plans out of the concrete pour and told him not to put steps onto the 2 foot entrance because it will take too much time. Midge tells Frank, "Frank, you keep working. It will not rain I have talked to God today and it will not rain. And frame those steps!!!!" Midge and her witness Cari leave the scene of disaster.
Frank leaves. He calls Dennis, the owner and tells him that Midge has asked him to leave and stop working early because it is going to rain. Tim tells Dennis this is Bull@#*! his wife would never say that.
Friday:
Dennis calls back. Frank quit and stole the money for the concrete pour.
Enters Bob. "Frank is a lying tejano and has screwed everything up! I am loosing so much money on this job." Midge and Bob talk. She tells him about the original plans for the job. Bob says that Frank called and said the couple requested changes to the job, they did not like the original design. Midge tells Bob, "No, Frank said that it could not be done." "That's bull@#*%! Frank knew how this was supposed to go." Now Bob must hire a new concrete guy to fix Franks mess. Bob then goes on to explain that Frank took the money to pay for a new truck and he is afraid to take him to court because Frank knows where he lives and will slash his tires.
Midge and Tim's new standard answer to contractors complaining about loosing money," That's not our problem."
Bob hires Marco. Marco comes in and shows us how Frank did not even dig for footers, did not put in concrete bags for stability and was going to let the porch slide off the grade. Bob shakes his head. "This has never happened to me before. Do you know how much money I'm loosing on this job?"
The response: Midge and Tim's new standard answer to contractors complaining about loosing money," That's not our problem."
Saturday:
Marco does an excellent job of repairing the problem. He goes on to tell Midge that one of his workers was shot in the ankle that morning by a gangbanger- but Marco came to work on the kitchen instead of all the workers going to the hospital in support of the one shot guy. Midge tells him thank you. Marco goes on to say that Stucco is his specialty and he only does the concrete on the side between jobs.
Marco asks to come to work on Sunday.
Midge finds a note on the door from Bob. It reads:
My guys bought materials + have been working. Ingram Ready mix
is still scheduled to pour 11:00am Monday am = I called at 7:30am +
put under my NAME, so Frank can't change for any reason!
Sunday:
Marco tells Tim that he is loosing money on the job because of Frank's mistakes. Since Frank took the money, Bob cannot pay Marco what is necessary to fix the problem.
We hope Marco will show for the pour on Monday.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
A New Game
Tonight the girls created a game. They piled all the pillows in a tower, went to the front door and ran full speed across the house (a good 30 feet) into the pile of pillows. Tim got involved in the tower construction- hence his camo pants.
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