Windows in the News

Here's an example of how small an island Galveston is:

Chick has been coming to Friday Night Dinner for years and, on many occasions, told Eddie if he ever wanted to sell his house to give Chick first dibs. Chick lived on the Strand before the big Galveston downtown restoration over 20 years ago. He bought the third floor of the Magale Building built in 1870, and he grew tired of climbing the stairs. So when Eddie and I bought our home, Eddie sold his 2-bedroom bungalow to Chick.

Little did we know, while we were making wedding plans and moving into the new house and Chick was moving into Eddie's house, Eddie's brother, Kevin, was buying Chick's loft. See? Small island.

Kevin has wonderful plans for the space, but lots of demo has to happen first. He's been cleaning out the place for awhile now, and recently decided to see what was up above. The ceilings are 13 feet, but he was thinking of raising the fourth floor attic for another six feet. That's when he came across the windows: more than a hundred windows many of which are at least a century old, crafted of old growth woods no longer found.

Now we're learning that this section of the Strand was known as the hardware district, and the Magale Building was home to a sash window and door warehouse. Instead of moving out the windows years ago, it must have been easier to hole them up and build in an attic.

Stashing the sashes then has resulted in finding a historical treasure now, making for a newsworthy story. In addition to being on the front page of the local paper, the Houston ABC affiliate also did a segment on the windows.

Happy Blue Moon New Year, Part II

June

Summer was off to a busy start with a trip to Arlington to attend GASC and to bring Gregory for a week of Camp Invention. Grandpa and Pauline came to Galveston to bring him back, so that led to a FND with Bert & Holly. Joseph started the Junior Lifeguard program. Then the Hugger family met up again for Sr. Mary V's jubilee.

July

In July, Eddie and I celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary. I continued with improvements to the Houston house, slowly but surely. Joseph competed in Beach Fest as part of Junior Lifeguard and placed in two of his three events. But the big event of the month was Eddie's 30th high school Reunion with his friends from O'Connell.

August

Most of August was consumed with the ramp-up of Joseph's new school. Because it's a new program, a full week of orientation was held so all students were ready to hit the ground running on the first day of school. I was at the school every day to help any way I could and ended up serving the year as PTO president.

September

The Paws Gala was so much fun! Canceled last year because (duh) of Hurricane Ike, the main fundraiser for the Galveston Island Humane Society was held on the first anniversary of the storm. In true Island style, the anniversary was commemorated with a big party! Eddie and I made it to Austin for a fraternity mini reunion and to watch the UT/Tech game with Ted.

October

Eddie was guest cook at the re-dedication of the Shultz kitchen and wowed everyone with his paella. My sister, Jennifer, and her three kids came to visit and among other things enjoyed a day of fishing with the guidance of our friend, Arthur. We hosted the 30th Anniversary Oenophiles Wine Dinner, this year at 901 Post Office, where they served the pink champagne on ice. Then it was my turn to celebrate a high school reunion. And - finally - my house went on the market!

November

Well, November surely has the fewest photos. There are the obligatory FND photos (this one taken outside), which I've surprised myself with my consistency. I think there are few event photos because the house was in minor turmoil while a new floor was installed in the kitchen and sun room and Eddie got a new tv and sound system. We've been in the house for a year-and-a-half, and we're still moving things around! Speaking of: I soon get a contract to lease my Houston house! Now the real work begins: moving!

December

Joseph became a member of Boy Scout Troop 123 this fall, and every December the Troop goes to the Texas City Gun Range for a day of shooting. Joseph and Eddie had a great time of gun safety, good aim, and male bonding. Joseph hit his first round of skeet and impressed everyone by hitting the first pull! For the first time in my life, I spent Christmas away from my Hugger family. This year we stayed in Galveston and celebrated Christmas at home. Christmas Day was spent with Eddie's family now that parents are back in their home. And the year ended with a final move-out from my Houston house. Hooray!

Happy Blue Moon New Year!

It's been a hectic few weeks, but I'm taking some time to reflect on 2009. Not much of a year, especially compared to 2008, which included a wedding, a move and a hurricane. But, here it goes: highlights by month:

January

I'm starting off with this photo, taken early in the year and printed and posted in two prominent places: in the key holder and on my monitor. It set the tone for a new year, new family, new life.

After creating the site for Joseph's school, I held a training for the teachers and started another site called Galveston Now Open. It was a photo gallery displaying photos of signs businesses were posting around the Island to announce they had reopened after Hurricane Ike. By the time I posted 100 photos, life was almost back to normal. I said almost. Trucks continued to transport loads of sand up and down the Seawall to replenish the beaches in time for turtle nesting season.

February

Early in the month, a lady flipped her Lincoln into our nextdoor neighbor's yard. I was the first responder. We hear she's OK. There was Mardi Gras, of course. One of our favorite eateries, Sonny's, reopened. But the most life-changing event of the month was that Eddie and I got iPhones!

March

Grandpa came to visit and helped me with some improvements to the Houston house, which I've slowly updated, purged, cleaned and painted most of 2009. Grandpa also got to partake in a Friday Night Dinner (FND) and play with Joseph. Eddie celebrated the reopening of El Jardin!

April

Joseph and his 5th grade class went to Camp Kappe, and I went to CKC (my first) in Houston. The Grand Kids Festival was another sign of the Strand returning to normal. And of course, April is birthday month, so we did it fun at Schlitterbaun.

May

Rudy & Paco's finally opens! We don't go right away, but I've always thought that the reopening of Rudy & Paco's signaled the return of "normal". May wrapped up the school year with lots of end-of-school activities like May Crowning and Field Day. Also, I helped the 5th grade make cards to sell at the GCS Art Walk. Oh, and we hosted the May wine tasting. Not everyone is back in their homes.

(ok, enough for now. I'll recap the rest of the year tomorrow!)

Boys on the Beach

Art Walk Photos & Weekend Plans

Here's a little slide show of last night's Art Walk. Wish I took more pictures, but since my new camera battery mysteriously disappeared, I've resorted to the old one that holds a charge for about ten minutes.

So, what's going on in Galveston this weekend? Tonight is the 13th Annual Yaga's Children's Fund Wild Game and BBQ Cookoff, and Eddie is doing his own wild game for Friday Night Dinner: Bacon-wrapped quail on the grill. We've invited Facebook buddy Sonia and hubby Mike. With those two, there's no telling where will end up!

I have two more homes to tour on the Galveston Historic Homes Tour and I want to fit in the 1877 Tall Ship ELISSA since I've never been and it's included with the Homes Tour ticket.

Joseph is altar server at Noon Mass, and Eddie wants to fit in a trip to Schlitterbahn, so that should wrap up our Sunday.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

Timing is everything

Last night was quite dramatic! Our yard backs up to Ave. U, which runs east and west. The setting sun can be brutal to drivers, especially this time of year. The sun may have contributed to the crash that happened last night. I think it reflected in the driver's rear view mirror, causing the 78-year-old female driver to loose control of her Chrysler. The car clipped a large oleander bush on my next-door neighbor's back fence line, flipped over, then hit an oak tree.

I was in the sunroom on the computer when I heard the crash. Joe and Eddie were just pulling up in the garage. The driver was going east on Ave. U, and Joe and Eddie were going west. She had just passed them when she lost control. If Joe and Eddie were 2-3 seconds earlier, she would have hit them head on.

Even though I could see the crash from the sun room, I didn't know what had happened. I ran out to the garage and onto the street, where I found the car up-side-down. I couldn't see too well into the car because of the smoke from the deployed air bags. Eddie called 9-1-1. I soon saw a leg from the driver's side. Someone opened the driver's side back door, and I crawled partially in to see a lady was inside. Thankfully she was able to move and tell me her name. I held her hand and continued to talk to her until EMS took over. Emergency crews arrived quickly; police blocked off traffic, fire trucks and an ambulance were at the scene. The woman was soon taken away in an ambulance.

Police questioned Joseph, since he saw the car drive into the oleander bush just as Eddie was pulling into our garage. Eddie and I gave our statements. Our neighbor was not at home; boy, is she going to be surprised.

The car crashed into the fence, which was mostly down already because of the storm. Both of us are getting our fences replaced, and I had just been on the phone with the fence company rep, who was as city hall pulling our permits.

Timing is everything. Again, we are all very lucky.

Galveston, Now Open

Yesterday I contacted Laura Elder, business reporter for the Galveston Daily News, and told her about one of my web sites, Galveston, Now Open. Today she posted about it on her BuzzBlog, and she might mention it in tomorrow's Biz Buzz column. Hopefully people will see it and let me know about more signs around the Island to be photographed. Right now there are 36 photos in the album; I'd like to get it up to over 100!

Randomness...

Eddie's friend, Joe Jaworski, announced his bid for mayor of Galveston, kicking off the next election cycle. Local politics is more a part of my life than when I lived in Houston. In Galveston, you actually know and socialize with the players. And the issues are more personal. Gambling. Buyouts. Education. Sometimes there are no degrees of separation.

Eddie sent me this link on Right Brain v Left Brain. Can you see the dancer? Is she spinning clockwise or counter-clockwise. Does she change direction? Now, watch the image with another person, and see if they see the same thing you do at the same time. Eddie and I didn't. It's an exercise in perceptions. Very cool.

Tomorrow is National Yoga Day. I'm going to Sangha to participate in a series of one hundred and eight sun salutations. All proceeds will be donated to the children's section of Rosenberg Library, which flooded (of course).

Life's a beach!

Seagulls wait for dump trucks to offload sand.

Joseph, in the yellow shirt, had a blast playing in the fresh sand. Over time, the tides will smooth out the 5-ft. edge. You can see how deep the "new" beach will be from the seawall.

Yesterday, Joseph and I went to the Seawall to check out the beach renourishment (or beach reconstruction) close up. Hurricane Ike blew away the beaches that are a vital tourism attraction in Galveston. Instead of fine, fluffy sand, the storm left mile after mile of broken seashells, which is no day at the beach.

Dump trucks are bringing in 400,000 cubic yards of sand from other parts of the island to widen the beach to about 70 feet and 5 feet deep. (I'm guessing each dump truck carries 8 cubic yards, so that's 50,000 loads!) Dump trucks have been hauling sand along the Seawall since December 17.

The renourished beaches, coupled with the mild weather we've been having, have brought out the courious. Yesterday, a holiday for most kids, the beaches looked as if it was early summer.

Although the wider beaches will make the island more attractive, the project is really designed to protect the base of the seawall from erosion. The project must be finished by March 31 so it doesn’t interfere with the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle nesting season.

If you want to read more about the beach renourishment, here are some links to recent news reports. Note: My husband, Eddie, serves on the Park Board.

Park board agrees to match state beach funds
State pledges $3M for beach reconstruction
State looking for funds to finish beach projects

My latest project: GCS Web Site

Yesterday I held a training session for the teachers at my son's school on the school's new web site I developed. Check it out: Galveston Catholic School. This has been a great experience for me. I was taken back to the days when I developed and delivered end-user training at Shell. I've learned so much by immersing myself in the enterprise solutions offered by Google. I got to see the light bulb of learning go off in the eyes of my son's teachers. I was able to impart something useful and exciting to people who truly appreciated it... so much so that we're doing it again next week!

Galveston, Now Open

I've decided to do a photo essay of some of the businesses now open on Galveston Island. Survivors of Hurricane Ike, they are welcome sights to see! Check it out! Galveston, Now Open!

Wanna see what I'm wearing to the Momus Ball?

:-)

Brown is the new Black

Here is the trade-in I did at The Nest...LOVE IT! A lacey tank with hook-and-eye closures up the front. Goes well with jeans and my brown leather pants.

I never knew I was a "brown" until Eddie. My wardrobe has done a complete flip -- well, a double flip -- since we'd added both black and brown items. But I am liking the brown. Oh, and the photo...taken in the car on the way to the September Art Walk.

Last weekend of July

Here's a shot of us on our way to a Momus party (return of the green cami). Early evening in the car produces pretty good light, eh?
And believe it or not, this was the only decent shot from the party...of Shane and me. Apparently he has this thing about showing his pearlies.

So after the party Eddie and I had sushi while everyone else went to the Original for Mexican. We ran in to Bill & Sherri and Jim at the Sky Bar. When we left to meet up wtih the others, Eddie couldn't get the car to open. The key fob wasn't working, and worse, the key didn't work either! We struggled for a minute or two, wondering if we should take a cab home. Was the electrical system shut down? But why won't the key work? Then he realized he had Sherri's keys, not his own! They both have Crossfires. Eddie had his keys in his pocket, but when we left the restaurant, he grabbed Sherri's that were on bar in front of him. If anything, it made for a chuckle later the next day.

Better than I thought :-)

Why is it photos can look so different than what you think is real life? I didn't think this dress was as wow as I think it is in these photos. I look comfortable yet sophisticated. The occasion? Just a switch in the Friday night dinner routine: Steve & Gretchen invited us, Chick and Smitty to the A Club.