Happy Friday Amigos,

Welcome to the next edition of JM’s Weekly Roundup. A quick hit of what’s new at La Matera and a few things that’ve popped up on my radar lately.

This one’s a little more personal than usual. I’ve been heads down the last few weeks wrapping up something Bobbi and I started a long (read: long, long, long) time ago.

TL;DR:

• JM’s House Renovation: Why we’ve been a little quiet and what I’ve been up to.

• Book of the Week: Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! — one I keep coming back to.

• Brands I’ve Been Digging: DeWalt tools and Bobcat (should probably sponsor me at this point).

• Belt Spotlight: The El Ahmun Woven Belt — an underrated favorite, especially for date night.

• Weekend Wisdom: “Real success is how many people thank you for theirs.” – Jay Yang

1. JM’s House Renovation – Why We’ve Been Quiet

If you’ve noticed things being a little quieter from me lately, this is why. Bobbi and I have been heads down finishing up our house renovation — a project we started back in 2020 when we bought the place. I’ve personally done about 98% of the work on this place, everything from plumbing & electrical, pouring concrete to adding roughly 1,200 square feet and just about everything in between. It’s been a fun, occasionally maddening, but mostly fun renovation, and thanks to YouTube University, everything is mostly square and up to code.

Like most good renovation stories, we’ve been perpetually 90% done for about five years. Mostly because I have a bad habit of getting a project almost finished… then immediately starting some wild new one before wrapping up the last 10%.

The last few weeks, I finally took some real time to recharge, slow things down, and focus on crossing the finish line. It’s been equal parts exhausting and incredibly rewarding.

If you really want to nerd out and see how far things have come, Bobbi and I actually started a YouTube channel during the reno years ago, and it’s a fun time capsule of progress (and chaos):
https://www.youtube.com/@bobandjm517/videos

Here’s us Day 1 with the keys in hand, and one from a few days ago during an epic Hill Country sunset. Somewhere between the 2x6s, the cans of paint and a couple little additions to our family during that time, life got really good.

2. Book of the Week – Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!

When I’m in full-on construction mode, I’m either listening to George Strait Radio or I’ve got an audiobook rolling nonstop. Over the last couple weeks, I revisited Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! and it reminded me why I recommend it so often.

It’s funny, curious, and full of stories that celebrate tinkering, problem-solving, and not taking yourself too seriously. Perfect listening if you’re building something, whether it’s a house, a business, or just trying to figure things out as you go.

3. Brands I’ve Been Digging – DeWalt & Bobcat

This one made me laugh a bit.

Somewhere 20 years ago, I bought my first DeWalt drill. Fast forward to today and I apparently committed to the ecosystem because I now own what feels like every yellow tool known to man, all so I can keep using the same batteries.

And then there’s Bobcat. At this point, they should probably sponsor the house renovation. Between moving dirt, clearing land, and generally pretending I know what I’m doing, that machine has earned its keep. Millie agrees.

4. Belt Spotlight – El Ahmun Woven Belt

In the middle of all this reno chaos, Bobbi and I snuck away last Friday night for a date night mostly just to get out of the house for a few hours.

I reached for the El Ahmun Woven Belt, and it reminded me how underrated this one is. It’s easy to overlook on the site, but you really shouldn’t. The color palette is subtle, refined, and it’s one of my favorite belts when I want to clean up a look without overthinking it.

If you’re looking for a belt that dresses up incredibly well and still feels relaxed, this is a sleeper hit.

5. Weekend Wisdom – A Quote That Stuck

When I’m not listening to 90’s Country or Audiobooks, I do find myself bouncing through podcasts. I heard this line recently and it stuck with me:

“Real success is how many people thank you for theirs.” – Jay Yang

It’s a good gut check. Whether it’s family, work, or the people you cross paths with along the way, leaving things better than you found them still feels like the right scoreboard.

That’s it for this week. Thanks for sticking with us while I’ve been covered in dust and half-finished projects. Appreciate you being here, as always.

On to the weekend.

Cheers,
JM

Jon-Mark Craddock
CEO

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Originally sent through JM's Substack on 2026-01-16.