Category: House

Pictures, Blogs and Katrina

William 1 Comment

Kyllan has posted some more pictures of the house to her flickr account. It seems like just yesterday she was complaining about rain delaying the pooring of the foundation. It’s amazing to see how far things have come.

The House

After much “discussion” my good friend Neil has decided to start a blog. If you check out the url you will notice that he wasn’t very creative. He and his wife Tammy are expecting the birth of thier first child sometime this week. I know a few friends from Xavier have been reading my blog. You guys should visit Neil’s and say hello. There is now link to his blog in the right sidebar under the “Friends and Family” section. We will see if he actually updates it.
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Just in time for the anniversary of hurricane Katrina this news story popped up. A man took a boat and saved over 200 poeple during the flooding is being sued by the boat’s owner. “Embarrasment” and “mental anguish” are cited sited as some of the reasons. I will not be making a Katrina anniversary post. I wouldn’t know where to even begin. I tried watching Spike Lee’s “When the levees broke,” (the first Lee film credited “A Spike Lee Film,” and not “A Spike Lee Joint”) but it was too much and I turned it off. Here are a few news articles if you to see what other people are saying about the upcoming anniversary. I’m sure plenty more will pop up on the 29th.
Here, here and here

Better yet, if you want to get a sense of what life is like here in New Orleans one year after Katrina, check out “B’s” flickr page and blog. He is a faculty member at Xavier, my alma mater, and lives in an area of mid city that was flooded. His blog, “Life in the flood zone,” really provides a peek into how the aftermath of Katrina has effected our daily lives. Even if you don’t read a single post you should scroll through a few pages just to get a sense of what life is now like in their neighborhood post-K. His flickr page is filled all to familiar images of the damage that still remains. If you go back far enough, he has pictures of Xavier’s campus about a month after the hurricane. I am adding links to his blog and flickr page to the “favorite blogs” section of the sidebar.

Closing time!

Kyllan 2 Comments

It is official…. I am set to close on the house next Wednesday, August 30th!  I am very excited.  I am already making plans to move next Friday so I can take advantage of the long Labor Day weekend to unpack.  I am also excited b/c it worked out perfectly with my lease that ends Sept. 2nd.  I was hoping I would not have to pay September rent, so that worked out great!  The only thing that has not worked out so well is that DirecTV can’t come install my new dish until September 11th!  But, there is nothing really on TV during this time of year anyway.  I tried to take pictures yesterday, but my camera was out of batteries!  I will try to take pictures at the walkthrough on Saturday.  So… the next few weekends will be packing and unpacking for me and trying to remember to make all the proper contacts to change my address.  More pictures and updates to come! Stay tuned…. 

The Tour

William 3 Comments

While in Dallas our parents toured the construction on the new house. My dad used the video capture mode on his camera to record a brief tour. You can check it out below. My parents flew out today. Kyllan’s Parent leave tomorrow. I’ll let make kyllan post and tell everyone about all of the wedding details they planned this past week.

Gearing up for a week of wedding planning!

Kyllan 2 Comments

Well… the countdown continues…. and the hardcore wedding planning is about to kick in.  My parents and William’s parents will be in town this weekend and next week.  I have taken all of next week off work so that my mom, William’s mom, and I can visit wedding vendors until we collapse (just kidding).  I don’t know if the moms know what they are getting themselves into.  I can be quite indecisive at times, so when it came to narrowing down the vendors, I did the best I could, but I still ended up with about 20 different appointments while they are here.  This will include tasting wedding cakes, talking with florists and for the first time ever…. I will try on wedding dresses, which I am sure will feel very strange.  We will also look at possible rehearsal dinner sites, and let William’s parents see the reception site.  So… things are finally start falling into place, which would be nice because that we mean we would have the majority of the wedding planned a year in advance.  I will try to keep everyone posted on how things go. 

In the meantime… progress continues on the house.  I have posted new pictures of the cabinets that went in today!  I was very pleased with how they look.  I will say that the pictures do not do the cabinets justice.  The color is actually a bit darker than the photos make them appear, but it will have to do for now.  This phase is very exciting because when you pick out colors and finishes at the design center, you still don’t quite know what it will look like in the house, so to see the choices come to life is great!  I am very anxious about the paint since you don’t know the true color until it is on the wall and it dries, but I am sure it will turn out fine.  The paint should be done by the end of the week, so I will post more photos then.  You can always check to see new photos on my flickr page.  The link to my flickr account is on the sidebar on the right side of the page.     

Update on House Construction

Kyllan 2 Comments

After a delay in the construction at the framing stage, the house is finally making progress again.  The insulation was put in on Friday and the sheet rock is set to begin next week, so things should go much smoother and faster now.  I am in the process of preparing documentation to turn in to the mortgage company this week so that we can have a smooth closing.  🙂 The tentative closing is scheduled for August 30th, so hopefully that will stay the same.  Once the sheetrock is up, I will post more pictures.

Thanks to everyone who is checking out the site.  William says I don’t post enough, so I will try to post more often.  If there is something specific you want to know about…Let us know!  

Get flickr Accounts!!! Maybe Skype

William 2 Comments

I guess the lack of post this past week shows just how slow it was. Progress was made in the lab, but nothing you would want to hear about. The power was out for several hours on Saturday, but that is normal here. I was hoping to have several photos to post from my trip to Dallas, but my camera stopped working after the first couple of pictures. I did manage to get a couple of the house and Kyllan got a shot of her toes while trying to fix it. She employed the “slap it really hard” technique. This was the only way I got the few pictures of the house. It only provided temporary results. They are on my flickr account. I didn’t post them because most of the work was wiring and plumbing so you don’t see much progress. (Que Kyllan saying, “What’s taking them so long?”)

I added Skype buttons to the site’s sidebar. I think Skype is great. After I get done convincing some of you use flickr, (Kim P., Kim N., Neil and Jamaal) I will start trying to get you guys on Skype. If you are not familiar with skype, think of it like instant messenger for voice. I know, most IM clients have a voice function. Skype is really a VoIP service. It is voice and webcam first, chat second. The others are visa versa. I won’t go into all the technical stuff. I think Skype is much better than the other options out there. eBay buying them for $2.4 billion says so too. Mom & Dad, you have no choice. Everyone else, take your time. I guess you don’t like sharing photos with friends and family. I understand. Trying things like flickr and Skype is quick and easy can be scary. Your parents want to see pictures of thier grandchildren and do video calls while the kid sits on your lap are happy talking to you on the phone long distance and hearing the kid in the background.

Oh yeah. Here is a picture of the new camera. Well, the new camera box taken with the new camera. I hope you guys have a good 4th of July. I’ll probably end up in the lab. Maybe I’ll go see the new Superman movie.

New Camera

Cody Family Reunion- Memphis, TN

Kyllan 1 Comment

This past weekend, William’s parents invited me to Memphis, TN for the Cody Family Reunion. I got the opportunity to meet both of William’s grandmothers (from his mom’s side and his dad’s side) and well as several aunts, uncles, cousins, and family friends. I already feel like part of the Cody family. My favorite part of the trip was getting the opportunity to visit the National Civil Rights Museum, which was constructed around the former Lorraine Motel (site of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s assasination). The museum does a wonderful job of telling the story of the Civil Rights Movement and prominent persons involved. The exhibits are extremely well put together and provide great historical experience. During the trip, we also visited Beale St. and some other tourist attractions. William took lots of pictures that I am sure he will post after he gets some R&R after the long drive back to New Orleans from Memphis.

To top of the weekend, I returned back home to Dallas to find the house framed! Below is a view from the front of the house. As always, you can view more construction photos on my flickr site.

Front View of Frame

We have a foundation!

Kyllan 3 Comments
The finished product!, originally uploaded by Kyllan.

On Friday, May 12th, the slab pour took place making me one excited person! I watched the process for about 2 hours and it was very interesting and educational to observe. I was also able to meet a few new neighbors and talk with a few others I had already met. The slab will dry over the weekend, and they should be set to frame next week. So… the excitement begins and the house starts to take form. Check out my flickr site for more photos!