austin cubed

 

 

I hadn't been in Cloudcroft during monsoon season before, so it was a treat to spend the day on the back porch remote working and experiencing the monsoon in all its glory. If you are not familiar with the monsoon season of the American Southwest and Northwestern Mexico, it is the influx of (mostly) Pacific moisture between June and September resulting in afternoon thunderstorms nearly every dang day. This year, the monsoon season came early, and thankfully so given the dry conditions leading to forest fires all over the state. 

On that first day, the morning started off sunny and clear. As the morning progressed, clouds bloomed and, on queue, starting booming and raining at about 11:30 am continuing through the afternoon. Temperatures rose throughout the morning, approaching 70 degrees, before falling to a chilly 50 degrees once the rains started falling. I didn't bring a jacket so I had to cruise into town and buy one (ironic considering that it was above 100 degrees in Austin).

Oh, that back porch is delightful! I could hear birds tweeting and wild horses whinnying and see chipmunks climbing tall into the trees. I could see and feel the weather changing and, finally, see clouds wandering amongst the pines earning the village the name Cloudcroft: a farm of clouds. The bad thing about being as high as the clouds is that when there's lighting and thunder, it is happening literally next to you. One clap left my right ear ringing more than after that pan_sonic show at (the original) Emo's back in '99. Good napping weather.

 

While I harbored hopes of staying in the cabin this past weekend (at the end of July), we are still aways away from getting a certificate of occupancy. So we have reeled back any expectations and scheduling until we have that certificate. Ultimately, it was good I went (to be honest, it's always good to go to Cloudcroft!). I was able to enjoy the space (The Bride bought me the chair to sit in), take a hike on a trail one morning, spend some time visiting with the builder and architect (always a hoot), see the progress, and eat some good local food.

I had scheduled the cable installation, deciding to go with PVT, so I needed to be there for that. I'm really impressed with these guys since they took their time, were flexible, and worked with us on hiding the cables. First rate.

The builder had the cabinet guy shorten the shelves in the kitchen over the cooktop, and it made a WORLD of difference, both functionally and visually since (by my eye) it helped with the hood. 

The kitchen appliances are starting to go in, and they look sharp. Really happy with our choices here.

One bummer was that the countertop man hadn't ordered enough countertop to run the entire height of the back splash (sigh...) and waiting was going to take too long. So we're going to tile behind the cooktop with the same tile on the fireplace and leave the rest as is. 

The cabinet guy told me that he is getting out of the cabinet business, which is a shame because he does really good work. He carried the floating shelves concept from the kitchen into the bathrooms for these spectacular floating shelves:

Plumbing fixtures are still going in, but are still not all in (the plumber was there on Saturday working on the master sink).

I can't get over how perfect the lights in the stairwell look:

 

I'm not 100% on the indoor sconce I chose (and then used the same style for the bathrooms). Maybe a little too steam-punk? You are generally not supposed to mix and match fixture finishes, but I thought the brass would be warmer, evoking to wood (and I love the LED filament). We shall see...

The front hardscape was being formed when I got there, so hopefully that will be done soon. And I made a friend!

Finally, I took delivery of a fire pit and got to talk to a dude with really good design chops from El Paso about building shelves for the cabin. 

The next time I go up, it will be for the final walk through and I will be staying in the dang thing!