Sunday, September 26, 2010

New Furniture in Galveston - Chapter Five

Lining it up ...



Squeezing it through the door.



Into position ...



and NEW (old) sofa on the 3rd Floor in Galveston!



After the movers had been paid and given Cokes and ice water, Jerry stood back and looked at the room and said ... "I think the purple looked better".

Gotta love that! Needless to say, we'll be addressing that design problem with THROW PILLOWS! And, if we live long enough to replace this set of furniture, it WILL be a sectional.

New Furniture in Galveston - Chapter Four

And now, after all of that, they were only 50% of the way finished! Here's the Houston sofa being prepped for transport.



Headed up the rails ...



... being pushed by Raul and pulled by Jerry & Ernesto



Getting close ...



Brute strength to hoist it over the 3rd floor balcony rail.



Onto the balcony without a scratch!



See chapter five for final photos.

New Furniture in Galveston - Chapter Three

The fun begins ...



... tipping point ...



On the rails & RAUL's HEAD!



Getting closer ...



Masking tape and a prayer!



Holding on tight ...



Success!

New Furniture in Galveston - Chapter Two

Going to miss the purple!



Ready to move ...



Strategy session.



Out the door ...



... and over the ledge!



Into position ...



See chapter three for the conclusion of getting the old sofa out!

New Furniture in Galveston - Chapter One

Recently, we ordered some new furniture from Restoration Hardware ... sofa and chair for the living room and new bedroom furniture to replace what Jerry had bought in 1980. In keeping with tradition, our Houston "cast-offs" generally get moved to Galveston.

I've LOVED my plum colored sofa & chair - with the wild print accent chair - but 14 years and one major hurricane and it was time to go. So we made arrangements to switch it out, knowing it was going to be a challenge. Not even fourteen years could erase the memory of replacing the original sleeper sofa that came with the townhouse!

The compact design of our place prevents anything large (and some normal sized objects) from being carried up the stairs because of the low ceiling on two and the tight turns around the stairwell. Enter Raul & Ernesto.

Step one - clear the decks.



Step two - remove the door.



Gotta love the open air concept in 100% humidity with temps in the HIGH 90s.



Step three - 32' ladder, secured to second and third floor balcony railings.



See chapter two ... when the excitement begins.

The Boys and the Beach

Two weekends ago, we made it back to Galveston and the boys enjoyed their time on the balcony ... Ike & Elvis



Denny & Ike ...



They recently replanted the back landscaping and it's coming in nicely with the new/working sprinkler system to keep them alive through the hot summer.



Here's my little friend the Osprey. I hadn't seen him the last trip and thought he might have hooked up with another Osprey and moved on, but we had some torrential rains that weekend and there he was - perched on top of his sailboat mast in the middle of a howling storm!



Here's a close up I shot later that evening.



He's a big bird!



Look at this bird's yellow feet. What was Mother Nature thinking?

Saturday in the Park

I haven't posted in quite a while - both for good and not-so-good reasons. Computer melt-down, four copy/design projects with tight deadlines for a new client, KSC events galore, 3 week manufacturing delay on the new Dell laptop. It's just been crazy!

So I'm catching up today with some photos from a few adventures.

Brady has started to play soccer - he's 3 - and we went out to his first game at Challenger Elementary School in Pearland on Saturday, September 11. Kim brought the twins and we camped out, away from the other spectators, under a shade tree. Here they are in their massive, double-stroller.



Kaden, not expressing any interest in the game.



Karsyn, napping and wondering why it was so hot.



Coach Brewer, working on drills with his little soccer players.



Jerry discussing the importance of wearing his official soccer jersey during the game. This was a long discussion and involved changing shirts several times!



After the big game, we stopped by Sonic for ice cream and then headed back to the Pearland Brewer's house for a visit. Kaden is now eating cereal.



Brady was turning flips and entertaining us all!



Those of you who receive this via email, may need to click the following link to access the blog site to view the video clip. LINK: http://nanbrewer.blogspot.com

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Farewell, Mary Louise

Last Saturday, my Aunt Mary Louise passed away ~ she was my father's youngest sister. It seems strange to take photos at a funeral, and even more strange to post them on a blog, but the "Pasadena Bonuras" don't see the "Beaumont Bonuras" very often, so here goes ...

After the service and before the Interment, we met at the McDonalds for coffee. This is a photo of my Dad and his brother Joe Lee. Joe Lee is his only remaining sibling. Also pictured (partially) is my sister Suzanne.



Kent, Mary, my Mom (partially visible) and the side of Anna.



Here's the group at the graveside ~ it's been a while since this crew has been in the same place at the same time. For those of you who were at the service, and KNOW that I took the photo with Ed in the group and he took the photo with me in the group, I'll confess to removing myself from the other photo and inserting my mug into this one (via PhotoShop). Ahhhh, the wonders of technology.



Chris & Dad ...



Cousins ... Jody, Jay & Suzanne ... with extras.



Jay & Ed



Uncle Joe Lee & Ed



After admitting how strange it is to post funeral photos, I'll explain these ...

On the way to Beaumont, we were all trying to remember the exact dates that people had passed away and no one seemed to have written them down. I shot these photos so we can all "document" the dates.

Grandpa Bonura's marker ... he lived just shy of 100 years. It is remarkable when you think of the world changes he experienced in his lifetime.



Grandma Ruby's marker. I can't believe she's been gone for 30 years. Seems like yesterday that she was sitting at the kitchen table - at the old house on Van Buren -with Mary Louise, smoking cigarettes and cooking.



My Dad's mother, Annie, passed away when he was only three years old and he was raised by Grandpa's second wife, Ruby, who was the only mother he really knew.



Godspeed, Mary Louise. You will be missed.