San Angelo Friends of the Environment

One of the many things we enjoy about living in San Angelo is the opportunity to recycle. We find that once we get into recycling, the amount of trash we set out by the curb is greatly reduced. This morning, for example, we only had half a bag of garbage to be collected.

The recycling center in San Angelo is operated by the San Angelo Friends of the Environment (S.A.F.E.). This is a busy place. Every time we go, people are busy dropping off all their recyclable goods, and the list of items the center will take is pretty extensive. A list of allowable items is available at http://saferecycle.netfirms.com/recycling.html.

Many years ago, I bought several garbage cans and labeled each one for the recycled product it holds. Now, as we use an item, we immediately put it in the appropriate can. We normally take items to a recycling center once per month; however, with all the boxes we used in our move, we have made many trips to S.A.F.E. since our arrival here. However, we now seem to be getting into our routine, so our trips there will be greatly reduced to probably once per month or so.

Our normal items to recycle include -- but are not limited to -- aluminum cans, tin cans (food cans), #1 and #2 plastic, newspapers, cardboard, and glass. However, the recycling center takes much more. This morning, for example, we left an old stereo system there. They also take batteries, used oil, and many other items.

Each item we recycle saves that much space in a landfill.

This post is dedicated to my good friend and defender of the earth, Steve.

San Angelo Colts

After almost a month of unpacking and working on our new house, we needed a break. We decided a night out watching the Colts was just the thing.

The San Angelo Colts are members of the South Division of the North American Basebal League. Other members of the division are the Rio Grande Valley Whitewings, the Edinburg Roadrunners, the McAllen Thunder, and the Yuma Scorpions. The Colts currently lead their division. The NAL is an independent professional baseball league that was formed in the fall of 2010. Teams play a 96 game schedule, and the level of play is comparable to that of AA or AAA teams.

The Colts play at Foster Field on the campus of Angelo State University. It's a very good facility, and we enjoyed the night out. We decided to go out on "Thirsty Thursday" for the $1 beer specials. Although it was a bit warm for the first hour or so, once the sun began setting, the night began to cool somewhat and the evening was enjoyable. Activities are scheduled throughout the night to keep the audience entertained, and the quality of the play was good, although 3 errors were recorded during the game. Unfortunately, the Colts lost a 6-2 lead during the last inning and fell to McAllen, 9-6.

What a Difference 2 Weeks Make

In a recent blog entitled "Settling In" posted on June 30, I included a picture of our house just after the yard had been hydroseeded for Bermuda grass. I want to post that same picture again with another below it showing what the yard looks like 2 weeks later. You'll notice also that the drive is cleaner, as is the curb area. We have several houses under construction our here, including 2 to our immediate south and 1 across the street, so in the early picture, debris from their work was still in the street. I have since cleaned that up.



Just after seeding



After 2 weeks of intensive watering

The back yard is rather large, and it has some barren spots I'm working on. Donna and I got out yesterday and pulled weeds from the extreme back of the lot. There were some bull nettles we were cautious about and were careful to protect our hands and arms from. But another weed caught us off guard. We were less cautious about it and ended up with some discomfort on our arms and hands. Donna had welts, and my fingers swelled somewhat. I'm not familiar with the weed obviously, but will look it up later to determine what it was.
Because of the drought, lawn watering is restricted in San Angelo. You are allowed to water your lawn only once per week. Because we have a new house with a newly seeded lawn, we have an exemption for one month. At the end of that month, we then must cut back to one week. However, my yard should be established by then (July 28) and only 1 to 2 months of extreme heat remain after that. It should survive as the fall comes on.

All of West Texas is dry. The town of Llano has a supply of only 30 to 60 days of water available. Their only source of water is the Llano River, and it is drying up. Robert Lee, a small town just north of Angelo, also has a shrinking source of water. They use E. V. Spence Reservoir as their water source, and that lake level is down to only 1%. O.C. Fisher, the formerly large lake on the outskirts of Angelo, is also down to 1%. Twin Buttes, another lake on the outskirts of Angelo, is down to 11%, while O. H. Ivie is at 24%. Lake Nasworthy, where Donna and I stayed in our trailer while waiting for our house to be completed, is at 82%.

We need rain. We have a 2-year water supply remaining, and our restrictions are being tightened regularly and water rates are being increased in order to find and develop new water sources. We look forward to the coming of fall and cooler temperatures.

Still Settling In

One of these days, we'll be settled in the house. By and large, things are going well. Grass is now spread throughout the yard -- both front and back -- with a few splotches here and there that have not received good water from the sprinkler system. For the most part, though, the yard is coming along well.

We still have pictures to hang. That is not something I enjoy doing, but I am ready to get some pictures on the walls. At this point, we are simply waiting for a couple of more deliveries to be made so that we can get a true picture of space and appearance.

We have a Geek Squad consultant coming Tuesday to look at our house. We have audio wiring available in 3 rooms: living area, master bedroom, and patio. We want to be able to get music from various sources (stereo, computer, Internet, etc.) to all rooms. We are also looking at a new TV system with home theater in the living area. Until we set up this entertainment center, we probably will not hang pictures.

I continue to work on the garage. It is still half full, but we are able to park the truck in the garage, and we like that. I recently stripped Donna's hope chest and then put new stain on it. It has been in the garage since we moved in, but we are now able to bring it inside, and that will free up some garage space.

I picked up some storage cabinets at Lowe's this morning, and I will be setting those up soon. Many of the "loose" items cluttering the garage will be able to be stored in those cabinets. We also have a few items that we will take to our daughter soon. So, progress is being made.

As we become more settled in our new house, my attention will begin turning to San Angelo and how we occupy our time here. This is really a wonderul, active town, and I look forward to sharing it with my friends. We are also planning a trip in August to the Davis Mountains, the coolest place in Texas during the summer.

Good Eats -- Lowake Steak House, Lowake, Texas

For our anniversary, Donna wanted a steak. In West Texas, that usually means a trip to Lowake Steak House in the small community of Lowake a few miles south of Rowena, Texas, on FM 381.

Lowake Steak House is a legend in West Texas. John Zentner opened the restaurant in 1946 and operated it for several years before moving to San Angelo. Today, Lowake Steak House is run by another family, but Zentner's Daughter Steak House in San Angelo is still run my John Zentner's daughter, Betty.

This was our second trip to Lowake Steak House, which sits by itself at the edge of a field near the very small community of Lowake. The building is old, but it is full of character.

We ordered the KC Steak for 2, which is more food than we could eat. The meal comes with one visit to the salad bar, a baked potato, and Texas toast.

The steak was served on a single platter in the center of the table. The platter held 6 steaks, all about 1 inch thick and cooked to our order (medium for Donna and medium well for me). We could not eat all of the meat, so we asked for a doggy bag.

Settling In

We are settling in our new home.

Over the past week, we've made pretty good progress.

For the first few days, boxes were stacked everywhere, and the garage was completely full. Much that was in the garage was old furniture we really did not want to keep. I called a used furniture store, and the owner came out and we were able to reach a deal. We sold him our old sofa, 3-piece entertainment center, computer hutch, coffee table and 2 end tables, 2 night tables, 1 TV, and my riding mower. This freed up quite a bit of room in the garage.

The next day, I purchased 2 sheets of 4 x 8 plywood and began adding some flooring in the attic for storage. We then were able to move some items into the attic for storage. We still have quite a few items in the garage, but we are now able to park the pickup in the garage.

I went to a discount office furniture store downtown and found a nice used desk for the office as well as 3 new mohagany book shelves. I've spent the last couple of days setting up the office and unpacking books I've not seen in years. It's a delight to have all my books out again. I look forward to reading works I've not read since my college days.

The sprinkler system was completed Monday morning. That afternoon, the lawn people came and sprayed the yard (hydroseed). I began watering it Tuesday morning. We are looking forward to getting grass growing. Unfortunately, San Angelo and most of West Texas is in the midst of a severe drought, so once my yard gets established, I will only be able to water once a week, if that much. We had gutters installed on the house during construction, and I will purchase some rain barrels soon to catch water when it does eventually rain. That will help some; at least I'll be able to water plants.

Front of house; yard has just been hydroseeded

We still have some boxes stacked around, and I need to find a solution for my tools. I do not have a shop in the yard; I've not decided whether to purchase one or simply to use the other half of the garage.

But we are beginning to get back into our routines, so life is returning to normal.

Moved In

Just a brief update on our house.

We closed yesterday at 2:00 and immediately began moving in.

First, we packed up the trailer, left Spring Creek Marina and RV Park, and put the trailer in storage. Boat races are to be held at the lake this weekend, and we did not want to be around for that circus. It was time to leave.

We moved a few items in yesterday and spent our first night in our new house. After nearly 6 weeks of living in the trailer, it was nice to take a real shower (me) and a real bath (Donna).

Today, we began moving in earnest. I had secured a trailer for moving from our storage facility, and made 3 loads before just giving out. I have 1 load to get tomorrow -- maybe 2 -- and then we will be completely moved in. Of course, the place is a wreck and the garage is full, but we are in our home.

All utilities were on when we arrived. This morning, Suddenlink arrived to connect us to the Internet and provide cable TV. Haverty's brought our new living room furniture. Furniture Row brought our new bedroom furniture. And Best Buy delivered our new refrigerator. So, we are in pretty good shape.

Now comes the tedious part -- just going through all our boxes and deciding where things go, what to keep, and what to throw away.

But, we are home.

Forgive me if my postings are not as regular as the past few weeks, but we do have much to do.