One of the great things about locally owned independent businesses is the degree to which they do community.  Independent businesses are integrally tied to the community that they are in and as such those owners tend to be great stewards of community.

One business that exemplifies this is The Frame Gallery.  Greta Watkins the owner of The Frame Gallery has, more than anyone else, inspired and created the downtown renaissance in Bryan.  She has worked tirelessly to make First Fridays and the Art Step the huge success that they are.  Twenty years ago, downtown Bryan was as far from cool as one could get, now it is an amazing center of community, commerce and art.  I seriously doubt that this would have happened if not for Greta.

The Frame Gallery at 216 N. Bryan Ave. is the heart of downtown.  On First Fridays the place is hopping. Greta’s husband, Randy, and his band are set up playing some excellent mell

As a community, we are very fortunate to have the stewardship that Greta Watkins provides, as well as the unique personality that she brings to The Frame Gallery. ow jazz, the walls are covered with incredible local art and the place is elbow to elbow with the fine people of our community.  It is a scene not to be missed, and so very different than other times at The Frame Gallery.  I love to slide into The Frame Gallery on a hot afternoon when the crowds are not as imposing and spend some time enjoying the visual talents of the artists of our town.  Greta’s portraits of Brazos Valley personalities are some of my favorites.

Layout

Finally, it is time to start laying tile.  Your surface is prepared and you have your layout on paper. Now you need to get the layout onto the surface to be tiled.  This can be done using a chalk line to snap lines indicating where the tile goes.  It is not necessary to snap a line for every row but it is a good idea to mark a starting row and then mark about every fourth row in both directions. It is best to mark the lines of the edge of the tile that will be closest to you as you are tiling.   To preserve the marks you can lightly go over them with a clear acrylic spray from a can.

Tile is set into either a ready to spread mastic or a thinset mortar that is mixed as you work.  We prefer to work with Thinset, as it has a better bond and is more flexible to environmental conditions and size of project.

Mixing

It is important to pay attention to The details of mixing thinset mortar; this will determine the strength of the bond that holds the tile to the substrate. We recommend using a polymer modified thinset.  This is especially important here in the Brazos Valley where our clay soils cause foundation movement.  If you are mixing large batches of thinset, it is a good idea to use a five gallon bucket and a paddle made for mixing mortar (not paint) chucked into a ½” drill.

It is important to maintain a clean bucket and paddle.  Old dried or drying thinset can act as a catalyst and cause the fresh batch to setup more quickly than you want. Always use clean water to mix thinset and grout.

Add the water first and then the dry mix.  Mixing it until it is the constancy that you want. It should be something like cake frosting, stiff but easily spreadable. Try not to get crazy with the paddle; you want to avoid mixing in too much air as this will compromise its bounding strength.  Now it’s time to let it slake (rest) for 10 minutes.  This allows any remaining clumps to absorb moisture and dissolve into the mix. Mix one more time and you are ready.

Spreading

Now that your thinset is ready,  and work surface is clean, you’re ready to start laying some tile. But wait, temperature is important when setting tile.  Ideally it will be between 65° and 75° but here in the Brazos Valley we sometimes have to push the envelope.  In both cooler and hotter temperatures you will want to spread less at a time.  Also try not to work in direct sunlight as this will cause the thinset to harden too quickly. Never try to set tile when it is freezing. 

You will need the right trowel for setting the size tile that you are working with. If you are setting tile that is between 4” and 8” Use a ¼”X ¼” notch. If your tile is between 8” and 16” you will need a ¼” X 3/8” Trowel and if your tile is larger than 16” you will need a ½”X ½” trowel.

Start by spreading thinset onto the work surface using the unnotched side of your trowel. Spread an even layer about the thickness of your notchs. Spread the thinset with a low angle pressing down to force the material into the pores of your work surface. Now using the notched side of the trowel you will rack groves into the thinset.  Hold the trowel at about a 45° angle. Maintaining a constant angle is important. Uneven ridges will result in uneven tile. As you start out, it is a good idea to not spread too much at a time. Not only will this prevent the thinset from drying too much before you have set to it, it will also help you keep the ridges more consistent. As you reach longer distances, it is harder to maintain a consistent angle.

Setting

Remember to work your way out of a room. Tile needs at least 24 hours before being walked on. Most of the time you will want to set full tiles before beginning to work on cut tiles.  As you lay tile it is a good idea to use a thin margin trowel to remove thinset from the grout lines before you set then next tile. It is far easier to do it before you lay the tile than after. You do not want the thinset to show through the grout.  And, a thinner grout line that has thinset in it will crack more easily. When thinset gets on the surface of the tile have a damp cloth handy to wipe it off right away.

Next time: grouting.

Here is a great story of the American Dream played out right here in College Station.

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Southwood Learning Center

In 1981 an Indian family decided to leave all they knew behind and chase the American Dream in College Station, Texas.  They brought their children, some savings and lots of hope for a bright future.  Of all places in the world, why College Station, Texas?

The gentleman had a brother who was a professor at the amazing institution known as Texas A&M, which possibly had a position open for him.

Once the family moved here, circumstances changed and the opening at the university was no more.  What to do?  A young family, a new country, young kids and disappointment looming in the horizon.  What to do, what to do?

The wife had been a teacher, once upon a time in India.  Her passion had always been children.  She had patience, love and a desire to teach, perhaps she could once again work in a school.  The elementary schools were not an option, too many differences in teacher requirements.  She volunteered at a local preschool while the husband looked for a new job.

One fine day as they were driving by a quiet street, they saw a “For Sale” sign on a daycare center.  “Let’s inquire” they both thought, “we have nothing to lose.”  They did and though the center only had 8 kids they decided to jump in with both feet and started Kiddie Castle Children’s Center.

The couple worked diligently to provide a warm and nurturing environment that felt like home for all their children and families.  They worked tirelessly to improve their curriculum and eventually began a Montessori curriculum.  This was an internationally recognized approach that allowed children the freedom to move at their own pace and reach levels typically unheard of in other curricula.

It was hard work, many hours with the whole family working every moment they had to make a go of the new business, even the children pitched in after school.    The first few weeks and months were grueling.  There was excitement paired with fear, what if this did not work?  At first, there were many dark clouds, but with prayer and continued efforts the school began to grow and expand until there were several schools including Southwood Learning Center.  The American Dream had become a reality.

This is the story of how my parents Syed and Muneer Hyder came to this country and established themselves and their business over a 30 year period.  Today, my parents are somewhat retired and have finally decided to slow down a little, but the original Kiddie Castle is still in business as is Southwood Learning Center.

I get to contribute to the history as the proud administrator of Southwood Learning Center.  Times have changed with new theories on child rearing and classroom management, but we still follow the century old Montessori curriculum and we still believe in children having a nurturing environment that allows them to explore the world around them in a safe and fun way.

It is exciting to see what can be accomplished in this country with a dream, hard work and opportunity.  It is even more exciting to be a part of it all.  How fortunate am I to be a part of this legacy and I look forward to many more years of working towards keeping the tradition of good education and a family atmosphere alive in Southwood Learning Center.

Bravo Valley Museum

I have fond memories of collecting fossilized sharks teeth from the banks of the Brazos River on an outing with The Junior Museum of Natural history, now the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History.  The museum is a real treasure for the Brazos Valley. If you have not discovered this treasure we encourage you to do so.  This museum is not just for children but it is always more fun to bring a child with you.

The Museums director is Dr. Deborah F. Cowman. The Museum’s mission is to preserve and protect natural and cultural history, to promote science education, and to encourage responsible stewardship of all natural and cultural resources. It accomplishes this through: 1) the preservation of artifacts and natural specimens; 2) the presentation of exhibits and educational programming; and 3) cooperative partnerships with arts and cultural organizations, community oriented entities, and academic institutions throughout the Brazos Valley.

The Junior Museum of Natural History was founded by the American Association of University Women in 1961 for the express purpose of providing object and activity-oriented natural science education to young people. All efforts were volunteer and extensively involved the Department of Biology at Texas A&M University. From its beginnings, the Junior Museum of Natural History aggressively reached out into the Bryan schools. Its first home was, in fact, in the Brazos County Courthouse in Bryan.

In 1970, the collections increased several fold when the Texas A&M Museum Collections were orphaned. Important acquisitions included a collection of Pleistocene mammals, local archaeological material, and two historically important local botanical collections from 1883 and 1897.

In 1979, the museum moved to the Brazos Center. In 1993, the name became the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History to clarify the museum’s role in the community and to focus collections, exhibits, and programs on the local area. In 1991, a new 9,400 square foot museum was built next to the Brazos Center on land donated by the County.

The Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History is staffed by paid professionals, interns, and volunteers. Programs are provided to area schools and preschools. There are spring, summer, and fall nature camps, with special programs on- and off-site for adults as well as children. Educational exhibits are changed quarterly.

Tile Prep

CONCRETE  SLABS

Cleaning

If you are setting tile to a concrete slab, you will want to make sure that the surface is clean and dust free. In new construction concrete is seldom covered to protect it from drywall mud, paint, and other debris.  So, depending on where you are laying tile, this could be a fairly involved process. Most residues can be mostly removed with a floor scraper. To remove concrete residue such as small pieces or drips stuck to the slab use a cement brick, a coarse stone with a handle. Always mop the concrete before beginning to get as much fine dust up as you can.

Floating

Use at least a 4-foot straight edge to check for high and low spots.  Mark these spots. The low spots can be filled with self-leveling cement made for this purpose. Check the floors again.  If there are persistent high spots, a different cement will need to be used to float them out.

If there are cracks in the slab, a crack separation membrane can be put down.  This is a mesh material that helps prevent the tile from cracking. Tile is brittle and here in Bryan and College Station our clay soils move a great deal. So, no one can guarantee against tile cracking, but a crack separation membrane will help hedge the bet.

Wood Sub-floors

It is important to make sure that floor joists are spaced, at the most, 16” on center and that they are properly sized for the span that they are crossing. Deflection in your joist or subfloor will cause the tile to crack.    Wider spacing will require additional sub-floor or bracing.  As joists on 16”centers are most common, we will proceed with that assumption.  There will need to be a minimum of a 1 ¼”sub floor consisting of a layer of tongue and grove plywood and cement backer board.  If the area is to be wet there will also need to be a shower pan.  Plywood sub-floor should be both glued and screwed to the joists.

Clean Floors

All previous flooring and debris will need to be removed before putting down cement backer board.  The floor will need to be checked for high and low spots using a straight edge that is at least four foot long.  Floors can be straitened using a self-leveling compound or by carefully shimming the plywood sub-floor.

Backer Board

When putting down cement backer board, it is a good idea to dry fit the entire floor before beginning to set the backer board to the plywood. Leave a 1/8” gap at all edges.  Once everything is dry fit it is time to put the backer board down.  Start by spreading thin set and scratching it with a ¼” by ¼” notched trowel. Set the backer board into the thin set and screw it according to the recommended screw pattern using the recommended screws.  Use a straight edge as you go to insure that the backer board is going down smoothly. Using mesh tape and thin set, float all of the seams between pieces of backer board.

Walls

Demolition

In the Brazos Valley interior residential walls are almost always wood studs with 1/2 inch drywall. In homes built before 1960 tile will often have been set to what is called a mud bed.  A mud bed is a layer of cement over felt paper with mesh in it.  This layer was typically between ¾”and and 1” in thickness. Starting in the late 60s it became very common to set tile directly to drywall.  When demolishing old tile it is always a good idea to get all the way down to the studs.  Once the studs are exposed use an 8 foot straight edge placed on the surface of several studs at a time to check for straightness. If the studs are bowed, take the time to straighten them. It is also a good idea to check corners for square so that adjustments can be made prior to the tile going on.

Backer Board

Once your framing is straight, you are ready to start preparing the substrate.  The first layer should be  30 # felt paper attached to the studs working your way up from the bottom overlapping each subsequent row The concrete backer board should be put on with noncorrosive screws placed every 5” on the studs. Take your time to make sure the screw set neatly with no part protruding from the backer board.  Leave a 1/8”gap between boards.  Tape the boards with fiber tape and float with thin set. Also float over the screws.

REMODEL SHOWER

Tile is a finish that many homeowners are willing to tackle on their own as a remodel project.  While getting tile down is not difficult, a quality tile job requires a lot of attention to detail and a fair amount of finesse.  Most of our clients who have laid tile in the past are happy to let us take on the task now.  Nonetheless, tiling can be fun and provide a nice sense of accomplishment.  In this series of blog entries, we will try to help provide information that can be important when looking at a tile job.

It is a good idea to make your layout a part of the design process.  We like to map the layout on the computer but it can also be done on a piece of graph paper with a pencil.  Proper layout that avoids tiny pieces of tile and considers major sight lines helps create a sense of craft.

Materials

Before you can start the layout process several decisions will have to have been made.  Obviously the tile will have to have been selected.  Many tiles come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  The width of the grout lines will need to be known.  Also are their accents or trim pieces that will need to be worked into the layout.

Starting point

Start your layout from primary place that the tile will be seen.  Center your pattern on the most prominent spot.  This is often the in front of the primary entry into the room, or the wall that is most commonly seen.  In a bathroom consider that the most commonly seen tile may be from a reflection in a mirror. Try to arrange full tiles in this area.  Now extend your pattern in all directions adjusting to avoid sliver cuts.

Trim

NEVER tile to the base board pinching it in behind the tile.  This will create a condition that encourages rot. It changes the scale of your base trim making it look too narrow.  Also do not fail to cut your door jambs and casings up so that the tile can slip under them.  These are telltale signs of a poor job.  Sadly this is often found in work done by low end “professionals.”

Often shoe mold will create an extra generous coverage for tile at the intersection of the wall.  We prefer to tuck the tile under the baseboard and eliminate the shoe mold.  This requires a tighter job that will take a little more time, but we think that the clean lines are worth the effort. Shoe mold tends to get scuffed and catch a lot of spills that would otherwise be caught by a mop.

Starting your job with a good preplanned layout is the first step in creating a quality tile job.  This will also allow the job to flow much more smoothly. So start dreaming about a tile job that you would like to do.  Then again you can always call us to do the work.  Knowing the essential elements of your job will help create a deeper appreciation of a good job.

Classy Girls’ Cupcakes was created by two teachers with a love for sweets!  We were hired as teachers the same year in College Station and our friendship grew because of our shared love of baking and tasting!  In the summer of 2010 we took a girls trip to the northeast  and enjoyed cupcake tasting at Magnolia Bakery in New York City and *ndulge Cupcake Boutique in State College, Pennsylvania.  Our favorite cupcake of all time is Red Velvet, so whenever we order it’s always one red velvet and one other flavor, and then we split them.  I don’t know if we have ever eaten a whole cupcake of one flavor, when we are together. Classy Girls’ Cupcakes of Aggieland was created because two girls could not find any cupcakes in town that would satisfy our cupcake craving! (at that time there were no cupcake shops!)   In the fall of 2012, we started baking cupcakes to sell by friend requests.   Through word of mouth and a Facebook page, we have sold over 1,000 cupcakes since October.   

We both teach 5^th grade math in College Station, and we naturally incorporate cupcakes into our lessons whenever possible.  Cupcake recipes and different combinations of cake flavors and icing are topics that help us teach fractions and possible outcomes.  Talking about cupcakes makes for a great audience! The kids love it and are our biggest fans!  We couldn’t do it without our support team!

Much of our time in the kitchen is spent tweaking recipes to find the best tasting ones.  We have perfected our classic flavors, red velvet, chocolate, vanilla, and carrot cake.  As the seasons change, we add in flavors specific to the season.  In the fall, we made a sweet potato bourbon cupcake with a bourbon glaze, our classic carrot cake, and a cappuccino cupcake with whipped topping.  Many have said we have the best icing they have ever hadJ  We have a lot of cupcake tasting experience and that is why we use the freshest and highest quality ingredients.   We know what tastes good!

Not only do we change flavors as the seasons change, but we are always up for a challenge by customer’s request.  We have incorporated Pop Rocks into cupcakes, hot pink and zebra theme, and purple filling for the Lady Cougars.

The best part of this business and experience is that we are doing what we love and our friendship has grown.  There have been many late school nights in the kitchen doing some “cupcake bonding!”  We are very happy about what has occurred the past few months with CGC and are excited to what God has in store for our future.

“We are two teachers caught between a chalk board and a spatula.”  Rebekah and Hilary

Please visit our Facebook page at

We have photos of us and more importantly our cupcakes!

We post information about our locally owned independent businesses and nonprofits because we believe in them. We recognize that they reflect the unique character of our community and that in this, and so many other ways, they serve our community well.  These local organizations make decision here in the Brazos Valley as integral parts of our community.  This is a very different than when the primary decisions for an organization are made from corporate headquarter located a long way from here.  And it does not hurt that these organizations return up to three times more revenue to our community, making them a great economic stimulus.

As we seek information about these organizations, we try to make it clear that we are more interested in who they are than what they do.  It is the human interest that allows us to feel a sense of connection.   When we got information on Project SERVE we thought ‘what a great organization,’ but the information was what they do and not who they are.  We knew that there had to be a great story behind this wonderful organization.  We were right. And here it is in their own words.

Project SERVE came to be when three stay-at home moms, Dawn Ament, Holly McBerty, and Bethany Wright came together with a vision of how to help families find volunteer opportunities. Before any of them knew each other, Holly reserved times throughout the summer when families could go to the BV Food Bank to help fill backpacks or senior packs. Dawn and Bethany found out about this through word of mouth and started taking their children to help and at this point met Holly. This became such a popular event for families, Holly had to turn people away! It was at that point that Dawn emailed Holly to see if she was interested in finding a way for more families to serve, since the interest was there. They both agreed they did not want to turn away volunteers! In the last community Dawn lived in (she moved back to CS three years ago from a town outside Indianapolis), she had a friend who would periodically organize events for families. With this in mind, she told Holly of her vision to organize an event a month. We joke that Bethany was standing at the right/wrong, place at the right time, but we quickly brought her into the conversation because we knew she would be a great asset to our team, and she agreed to meet with us. We had a few meetings and brainstormed (and agonized!) about what our mission, goals, and focus would be and who we could serve. Then, we brainstormed some name ideas and finally Project SERVE was born. Our first service project kicked off in December 2012. We started by emailing our friends and family to join our email list. The first month we had about 50 members and were thrilled. Word of mouth has helped to spread the word, and we are now over 200 strong. We only hope to keep growing as the more volunteers we have the more people we can help. We truly believe God has brought us together to do great things in the Brazos Valley!

We hope our friends around the Brazos Valley will cross post this to help publicize the good things that Project SERVE does for us.