Austin ModHouse

I was asked if I am enjoying my new home.  my answer seemed to be quite surprising; no.  I have not yet had the time for much enjoyment.  it's still much too overwhelming.  my reason is, everywhere I look I see 100 small things I need to get to.  a dry wall patch here, paint touch up there, some hardwood floor fill in, boxes of stuff from the old house to unpack (and the fact that the old home is still filled w/ stuff and looks like a disaster area) etc. etc. 

the lack of sleep hasn't helped either.  we have a wall of east facing windows at the end of our bed.  the view of the back yard is great.  when the sun starts to rise at 4 am it is not great.  the pic below was taken from bed at 11 pm (in the middle of an electrical storm 

this morning I was able to sleep in to almost 7!  thanks to my sun shield.  yes, that is a cardboard box and a 4x8 of 1/2 inch birch.  we need some window treatments.

and don't get me started on the accoustics.  from the master suite the ice maker sounds like a freight train.  conversations are as through megaphones and music sounds like an echo chamber and puts us all on edge.  I have fixes for the accoustics in the works, but they are falling down my list of things to take care of.

enough whining.  I know things will be much better in a few weeks.  some things we love about the new house,

the stove!  stir frying on a real wok burner is fantastic, and the convection ovens are great fun

the geothermal hvac works great, is quiet and humidistat keeps indoors very comfortable.  the starck tub is a great soak.  the home theater is the best place take in a movie.

we did take sunday off from all the projects and moving.  hiked the green belt and dipped in the barton springs.

my son found this exotic looking flower floating along in the creek.  he let us all smell it and take a few pics before he destroyed it.