Painting The Living Room

Cash helping Daddy paint

T-Bone wants to join in

Ike Survives Many Have A Few Years Before They Need To Worry... Maybe...

Sometime around 1999 I saw a weather "expert" say that they could "predict" when hurricanes would hit the Galveston area by the past pattern of hurricanes.

He said that the Galveston area was hit by a large and damaging hurricane every 15 to 20 years. He went on to say that we where "due" for a large and damaging hurricane at the beginning of the new millennium.

I tried to find any info on the guy's report online with no luck. So I looked up some of the "worst" known hurricanes to hit the area and this is what I got:

• Sept. 8-10, 1900: Galveston; 6,000-12,000 dead; damage $30 million to $40 million (around $800 million in today's dollars); Storm surge 15-20 feet, winds estimated at 120 mph; Deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history

15 Years Later

• Aug. 16-19, 1915: Galveston; 375 dead, damage over $56 million. Most losses ($50 million) to crops; storm tide 16.1 feet.

28 Years Later

• July 27, 1943: 1943 Surprise Hurricane

18 Years Later

• Sept. 11-13, 1961: Carla, Port O'Connor-Galveston-Houston; 34 dead, $300 million damage; wind gusts estimated at 175 mph, storm tide 18.5 feet at Port Lavaca.

22 Years

• Aug. 18, 1983: Alicia, Galveston-Houston; 21 dead, more than $2 billion damage; 22 tornadoes, winds 130 mph.

25 Years

• Sept. 1, 2008: Hurricane Ike

So if we use the "20 Years" voodoo science we should be okay around here till 2028 - 2033!

But a pretty much unrelated and "Amanda" thing I notice was the design periods!

Right now we are trying to "Remodel" our home. And I keep coming back to the style of homes I lived in when I lived in the Texas City/Galveston area as a kid. They pretty much all have three design eras: Victorian, Art Deco & Atomic Age all used at once.

But if you look at the time line you can see why!

It was during each of those design eras a nasty hurricane hit leaving the area homes in need of repair. So of course they would update and repair the home in the latest style.

So if we ever finish our house and you are able to see it, you'll then under stand why there are three different design eras use all over the place!

Creeping Fig - The Battle Begins

So, one of the reasons Stephen wanted this house was because of the HUGE Queen Palm in front of the house.

But it, and the whole front of the house, is covered with these thick vines.

After a little searching, I found out that the vine is creeping fig

And it isn't good for the pets or the house! So are pulled it down. Pretty sure it's gonna take allot of work to get rid of it.

Fifth Ward Doors

Stephen working on the doors we salvaged in the Fifth Ward

Really love these old door knobs and locks.

New Rug For The Living Room

Looks like real people live here now: