Dead Before Halloween

Rick and Stephanie got an unexpected opportunity to visit Gladys this fall, so they flew down on October 26 (which is teachers' convention for Rick) using some of the free accumulated miles we all had.  Since the Governor robbed Wisconsin teachers of bargaining rights in an effort to break the unions, (unfortunately, he was pretty much successful in doing so), teachers' convention was cancelled this year, but most schools had some semblance of a contract that allowed the teachers time off.  Rick figures this is the last time this will ever happen, so he used some personal days and the convention days to make a five-day trip to Gladys. Sadly, I could not afford to be away from my students for that long since the college does not have a teachers' convention in the fall, so I stayed home while Stephanie enjoyed a few days in the sun.

This was Stephanie's first time to see Gladys, and she got a taste both of beautiful fall weather and of some of Gladys' bad habits.  Rick had the water turned on for Gladys on Tuesday, October 25.  By the time that they arrived late Wednesday, Gladys had peed on herself again!  The water connection leaked where a bathroom sink will someday go in the main bathroom, and Rick and Stephanie arrived to a three-foot puddle.  Stephanie learned the first rule of visiting Gladys-- always know the way to Lowes or Home Depot.  After some work, Rick was able to pretty much abate the leaks although he said that he has a bucket installed under both bathroom sink connections.  Leaking sinks will not be a problem once they leave because we again will turn off the water to the house, but this certainly is a problem that we will have to solve once we return in June 2012.

Workman cutting trunk of the tree.

While they were down there, Rick and I decided that we needed to have the leaning tree in the back yard removed, hence the name of this blog.  The tree is down and dead before Halloween which is much sooner than we thought we would be rid of it.  The roots were half out of the ground, the tree was not healthy, and it grew around our electrical wires so that if it fell, the wires would go with it. It also dropped dirty, huge pods all over the yard.  We spent $500 to get it taken down, but it was certainly worth the hassle.  I have attached a few pictures of the process.

Grinding up the exposed roots and stump.

We hired a firm that was recommended to us, and they did a great job.  Rick said they very carefully dropped the tree, hauled the lumber away, and as the photos show, they also ground up the stump -- including all of the exposed roots that caused all of the problems in the first place -- and smoothed out the yard.

No tree! Now we have room for a lanai... someday.

Now that the yard is smooth, we can someday remove all of the stepping stones and pour a large slab foundation for a lanai.  We would like to have a screened porch that goes from the end of the Florida room to the end of the garage.  Someday...  Unfortunately, the other tree in the picture above also needs to be removed since it is 90% dead and fairly rotten.  We found evidence of termites near it in the summer, and it also will threaten the house if it falls.

Flower buds on the giant cactus

Stephanie sent a couple of other pictures just to show me what I am missing in the fall.  The first is of the 20 foot cactus in the back yard that has suddenly decided to bloom again.  Naturally, it will come into full bloom when we are gone.  It was just starting to bloom when we left in late July, and now the fall show of bright pink blossoms will again be enjoyed only by the neighbors.

Hibiscus in bloom.

She also said that my hibiscus on the south side of the house was beautiful, and she sent evidence of that too.  The hibiscus, at least, was kind enough to bloom all through the summer, so at least I got a chance to see those blossoms. The blossoms are usually quite large, and against the green foliage, they make quite a show.

They have had a fun time down to see Gladys.  Steve and Chris are down there also, so they have been able to see their house and to enjoy some time with them on this vacation.  Rick, of course, does not want to come home.  I do not blame him.  He said that the temperature should reach 77 today; the temp was 33 here in Wisconsin when I went to church this morning!  We can both smile though, because a very bad winter is predicted, and in the past two days, the East Coast has been hit with a terrible early snowstorm.  Parts of Massachusetts have received 24 inches of heavy, wet snow.  I'll take my future winters in Gladys any day!

I wish I could say that I would post again around Easter time, but I doubt that we will be able to fly down at that time.  Rick does not get much time off, and neither do I.  This will probably have to suffice until next summer.  I hope that Gladys has a safe, snug winter.  I cannot wait to see her in late spring!

A Tale of Two Homes

We are home -- in Green Bay, that is.  For now, this still seems to hold the title of "home" more than Gladys does, although as time goes on and we begin to split our year into six months in each place, that may change.

Our second day of travel toward Wisconsin began with a planned later start.  We were up at 5:00 a.m. (now in Central Time) and went down to the hotel lobby for breakfast.  Unfortunately, this was not a breakfast that Julia Child would have raved about.  The eggs were powdered, the formerly-frozen French toast sticks were reheated -- and now almost cold --  fossilized planks, and even the sweet rolls, according to Rick, were less than spectacular.  Ah, well... at least no one forced us to try the grits!

We got off to a good start from Athens, AL, and soon crossed the border into Tennessee.  We agreed that Rick would drive through Nashville, and I am so glad that he did.  On the way down to Florida, we were blessed with sunshine all the way, and up to that point in our return trip, the sun had also been with us.  Then Mother Nature remembered that she had not washed our truck in a while.  Just as we got to the southern part of Nashville, the rain started.  The more we got into the unfamiliar city, the harder the rain fell.  We soon found ourselves in the middle of a good, old-fashioned cloud-burst, gully-washer of a storm.  The windshield wipers could not keep up with the waterfall, so our visibility was approximately 2 feet in front of us.  The rain beat on the truck so hard, I thought that it would wash the paint off.  We could not hear the directions coming from the GPS system, and reading signs was impossible.  Naturally, we were in very heavy traffic since this was in the very middle of Nashville.

How we managed to navigate through that city still amazes me, but somehow we made the right turns, and we did not hit anyone or have anyone hit us.  Of course, once we were through the worst of it, the rain began to subside.  Go figure. An hour north of Nashville, the sun came out and the day turned hot.

We changed roles driving every few hours, getting out to stretch and to use the restroom, so by noon we were through Tennessee and Kentucky, and we entered Illinois.  Other than California, Illinois has to be the longest state in the nation to try to drive through.  (OK, I admit that Texas is large, too, but Illinois seems to go on forever.)  About mid-way through the state, our second "event" of the day happened.  I was driving, the sun was beating on me, and I mentioned to Rick that I was really hot.

"You're just having a hot flash," the smart-aleck replied.

"I don't care, " I said. "Turn the %$#& air conditioner down."

He obliged, but the truck didn't.  No matter what buttons he pushed, the air conditioner, which was NOT functioning, did not go on. He worked on the buttons and switches for about half an hour, checked the manual, and then began to fret about the fact that a new compressor could cost us a $1000 to fix.  None of this was making me any cooler.  We rolled down the windows and began to "enjoy" the 88 degree Illinois air.

When we reached Campaigne, we decided that since the GPS said we would be in Rockford -- our destination -- by 4:00 p.m. we might as well just push our limits a few more hours and drive home. The temperatures were not getting any cooler, and we did not want to face another day with a hot ride in the car.  We cancelled our hotel reservation, and continued on with Green Bay as our destination. With sore muscles and flat butts, we arrived home before 9:00 p.m. after approximately 14 hours in the car. 

I have no idea if the long drive left us so exhausted or if the bed really is that much more comfortable than the air mattress we have slept on for the past eight weeks, but when we hit the pillows a little over an hour later, that was all I remember.  The bed felt SO good that I was out cold for the night.  I am sure Rick snored, but even that did not keep me awake.

Side note: ironically, when Rick moved the truck in the driveway this morning, the air conditioning came on as if to apologize for its misbehavior the day before.  We hope that indicates that we just had a switch go bad on us.  We will find out when we take the truck in on Monday.

I beg Charles Dickens' forgiveness for altering the title of his famous work for the title of this last blog, but I now find myself trying to make a transition between two totally different worlds.  We have lived in this home in Green Bay for the past 21 years, and we have done extensive remodeling in that time.  I know every nook and cranny, I know where everything is stored, and we have worked very hard to make this home the best that it can be.  This home is a modest ranch house, but it seems like a luxurious palace after living in Gladys.  I have granite counter-tops in the kitchen and bathrooms, a dishwasher in which to place dirty dishes, Kohler fixtures everywhere, a Miele washer and drier in the basement, and beautiful tile in the newly remodeled bathrooms.  And this place seems so BIG!  We have a two car garage and a full basement that actually seems fairly empty since we took most of the furniture from there to Florida.  The landscape is green and lush (although a bit overgrown), and we each have our own home office from which to use our computers.

Gladys is a work in progress.  She shows great potential, but she also promises a tremendous amount of work.  We have only known her a couple of months in somewhat adverse weather conditions, but we know the true opportunity she presents.  We have made great strides in her infrastructure this year -- a new electrical panel and updated wiring in places, a new heat exchanger and air conditioner, all new insulation in the attic, removal of pests and termites, refinished terrazzo floors, and fresh paint in two rooms.  We know that doors and windows will be expensive upgrades that face us yet, as well as walling in a laundry room and moving the master bathroom wall.  All of those things must wait for a renewed budget and recovered energy.  She will be a beauty in time, and only when we finally have time to spend six months of the year in her (three years from now) will we really know what it is like to live in Florida. 

We hope that Gladys will become as much of a home to us as Green Bay is.  Right now Green Bay also means family, work, and responsibilities.  We have been blessed to have Lindsay and Christopher in town to watch over the Green Bay house, but since they just bought a home of their own, we know that we cannot keep imposing on them to care for our home next summer also.  Green Bay also means the responsibilities of work and paychecks so that we can maintain two homes.  This world is the familiar world of reality while Gladys still seems to be "playing house" without having to worry about the work side of life.  Gladys is "vacation" yet (even though we worked our butts off!) while Green Bay is structure and reality. 

We are caught between two cultures, so we will be interested to see how this will change as the years go on.  Will we reach a point where Gladys will be as much "home" to us as our home in Green Bay the more we make her our own?  Will both places become vacation homes after we both retire?  Will we be able to afford both homes once we retire?  All of those questions remain unanswered right now.

For now, Gladys is still an adventure with lots of unknowns.  Green Bay is welcoming, familiar security.  Eventually, I hope they both will become places that we can call "home".

I finish this blog with a bit of regret, but check on it again in June 2012 when we start Year 2 in our transformation of Gladys from a worn-out old lady into a grand old dame!

Greetings from Athens

I wish that the title referred to a sun-kissed city in Greece; unfortunately, the Athens we currently find ourselves in is in northern Alabama.  If you remember, the last time we came through this state, we followed a genuine horse's ass down the highway.  This time through we were spared the view of the equestrian behind, but happily we once again were blessed with sunshine while we drove.  Strangely enough, the sun is still brilliantly shining, but we can see pouring rain through our hotel window.

We spent most of yesterday packing what we wanted to take home into the truck.  Then we thoroughly cleaned the house, and we made sure it was ready to close up for 10 months.  We got to bed by 9:30 p.m., but I tossed and turned until after 11:00.  Rick was out cold and his snoring sounded like a full wood shop at peak production.

The alarm went off at 3:00 a.m., and by 3:30 we were out packing the truck.  We sadly left Gladys, but we got away before our goal time of 4:00 a.m.  After a couple of blocks we had to turn around and reset the thermostat from 79 to 80 degrees which meant that our new departure time was back to 4:00 a.m.  The City of Dunedin will come on Monday to shut off the water and to pick up our garbage can.

We made good time getting out of the Tampa area, although driving in the dark is not our favorite way to travel.  Rick drove the first 2.5 hours, and then we switched drivers as we reached northern Florida.  Getting around Tallahassee was painless.  We switched drivers again because I was having trouble staying awake and all went well until we crossed the state line into Alabama.

Then the phone rang. 

Since Rick was driving, I picked up the phone only to hear the voice of George K., our insurance agent for Citizens' Insurance.  For those who do not know, once Hurricane Andrew blew through Florida, all of the insurance companies abandoned the state.  People could not buy houses because they could not get any company to insure their purchases.  Finally, the state of Florida had to step in to insure homeowners, so they developed Citizens' Insurance.  George has already solved one small problem for us, but this time he delivered a bombshell.

"I just got a letter from Citizens', " he said, "and they have cancelled your homeowner's insurance."

"What?"  I said not too calmly. "Why did they do THAT?"

Apparently the inspector at the time of closing did not sign one form at the right place on our four-point inspection form, so Citizens' decided to cancel our policy.  George told us that we might have to have a new inspection.  I informed George that we were on our way back to Wisconsin, that he had all of the signed paperwork in front of him, and that we were not going to pay for another inspection on a house that was already approved.   He looked around our file and actually found the paperwork.  By that time Rick had pulled off the highway, took the phone, and reiterated what I had just said. George said that he would check back with Citizens' and would call us back.

This is hurricane season, and there is no way that a person can own a home on the coast of Florida and not have insurance. 

Thankfully, George called back and all is well.  He pointed out to the head office that our forms were indeed signed and he assured us that our insurance was intact.

If I started this day a bit sleepy and groggy, that jolt of adrenaline did wonders to wake me up. We made it safely to our destination in northern Alabama.  Tomorrow our goal is to drive as far as northern Illinois, and we should be back in Wisconsin, in our fully insured winter home, by mid-day on Sunday.

Deadline Approaches

Once again we find ourselves with too little time and too much to do.  Tomorrow is our packing day, and we must have everything ready to go by 8:00 p.m. We plan to be up at 3:00 a.m. on Friday with the hope of getting out of the Tampa area before 4:30 a.m.  If we can get on the road early, then we will be able to make our way at least to Tennessee before we stop for the day.

We have SO much to do yet!  We ran out of time, so we will not be able to put together our bathroom vanity. That will have to wait until next summer.  We must pack food, medications, clothes, and tools before tomorrow night.  We have to pack all of this into the truck so that when the alarm goes off at 3:00 a.m., we can be out the door by 4:00 a.m. at the latest.

I just plugged in the cooler so that will be ready for our food.  Before I go to bed tonight, I want to stage my medication and clothes for trip home.  Laundry is at the top of my list tomorrow, and then just deciding what goes and what stays.

This summer has taught me that I did not pack enough "good" clothes, I packed too many pairs of shoes, and I need to pack less shirts next time around.  I plan to leave most of my "work" and "paint" clothes for the summer here.  If Lindsay and Chris get their new house, I will need my winter work clothes anyway to help them with whatever task they need assistance to complete. 

We still need to measure and put in insulation boards in the windows.  We also want to measure all of the rooms so we have accurate figures to work with during our time in Wisconsin. We wanted to replace two boards under the walls before we leave, but that may not happen this year.  Then preparing is just a matter of getting everything into the truck, getting the bikes into the house, and making sure that everything else is covered and ready to rest until we return.

This may be the last time I write in this blog from Florida.  I will try to add at least one more post as we complete our journey home.  Home.  What a complex word that had become.  Wisconsin always has been and always will be home, but we are leaving a part of our hearts and minds here in our southern home, too.  Gladys has come a long way, and I have a feeling that we will be happy to come back next summer to enjoy her more genteel ways as we continue to make her a grand old lady.

Finishing Tasks

We are quickly working through our list of last-minute jobs that we want to complete before we head for home.  We worked all of yesterday morning and part of this morning to finish the caulking of the soffit vents.  They may not yet look pretty, but for now they will do because they will seal out the roaming fruit rats.  We think that we have at least solved our critter problems... no more rats and no more termites (as of Wednesday when they come out to treat for subterranean termites, too).

Rick cut branches away from the rooftop yesterday, too.  I swear that if all the people left Florida for a year, this whole state would quickly revert back to the jungle.  If you have even seen pictures of ancient Mayan ruins with trees growing through temple roofs, you know what I mean.  We trimmed one bush just before we tented the house, and it grew back two feet!  I could not believe it when I trimmed them again.  I am scared to death that if we are gone for 8 months, we will not be able to find the house when we return.

We did some touch-up paint of the house where some paint had started to peel away from the stucco (due to poor prep); however, we were disappointed to see that the touch-up was not an exact match.  It is slightly darker than the faded paint on the house, but again for now it will do.  We eventually want to paint the whole house, but we may not be able to do for a few more years when we can finally be down here in the cooler fall and winter months.

We have a couple more small indoor jobs to complete, and then we will tackle the job of packing.  Since we worked hard this morning, we took showers before lunch and then treated ourselves to an afternoon out.  Rick wanted to go to a winery in St. Petersburg and the drive up the beaches on the way home.  The Florida Orange Groves Winery is a quirky little place that has perfected fruit wines to the point of winning national and international awards.  We bought four bottles of wine: a blueberry, a raspberry, and two bottles of Hurricane 5 (a delicious blend of five different fruits).  We'll drink them this winter with fond memories of the day.

A day at the beach.

People can rent beach umbrellas and chairs, but we could not find an attendant to find out the price.

A Florida beach on a Tuesday afternoon.

On the way home, we found two wonderful public beaches: Maderia Beach and Pinellas County Beach just south of Clearwater Beach.  The first beach was white sand and great Gulf breezes.  The second beach was mostly crushed shells, but it is closer to our house and much bigger.  The attached pictures are of that beach.  We will definitely make time next summer to visit more than once.

A friend of mine bought a house in Clearwater (just south of here, sort of like how Ashwaubenon is to Green Bay) in 2006.  I looked up her property, and although it is a beautiful house in a great neighborhood, I was sad to see that she paid over $200,000 for the house, and it is now valued at $110,000.  Property continues to lose value here in Florida, but in the long haul I feel that our children will be able to make a nice profit someday if they choose to sell Gladys.

A Clean Coat of Paint

Dining room wall with white patch from the old air conditioner.

The past two days have been spent dolling Gladys up a bit more with a clean coat of paint in the living room and dining room.  As the pictures show, we started in the dining room with a wall that showed where the old room air conditioner once hung between the dining room and the garage.  A failed color swatch also had to be dealt with.  The pictures show how a once eye-sore of a wall turned into a wonderful backdrop for our new dining room furniture.

Dining room after the paint was completed.

Completed dining room with table added.

The former owner of the house, Jackie, had pictures hung everywhere.  Many were religious scenes and pictures of Jesus, and many were unknown because when she changed the art in the house, she never removed the old nails.  In the living room wall pictured here, we patched 24 nail holes. 

Living room with "patches" and selected color in painted swatch.

(In the Florida room, I removed 36 plastic wall anchors just above the windows where various curtain rods had hung over the years.  Again, when the draperies changed, the old anchors were just left while new ones were added to the walls.)

A brighter, cleaner living room and hall!

The old yellow (which really was more tan than yellow) was replaced with our new, bright, sunny yellow.  The pictures show how the dull rooms were brightened in the end.

Rick and I have discussed this decision for the last two days, and we have decided to return to Wisconsin early.  Lindsay is in the process of looking for a new house, and we want to be there if she chooses one and has a home inspection.  Additionally, our work is almost complete with the paint now on the walls, the summer humidity has really come in within the last week, and our money is gone.  So it is time to head north.  Tremendous storms delayed our scheduled termite treatment for Gladys yesterday, and they have been rescheduled for next Wednesday.  We will use this next week to do some last-minute tasks, and then we plan to head north on Friday, July 29 (Stephanie's birthday!).  We will be home no later than Sunday.

Pinellas County, were Dunedin sits, is known as the lightening capital of the United States, and we know why.  Yesterday we had probably the biggest thunderstorm that I have ever seen in my 57 years.  The lightening was literally in our neighborhood, and the house shook with the noise of the lightening more than once. My friend Rose would have loved it here as she says she feels snug in her house whenever storms come through.  Tonight, we again have the thunder and lightening rolling in, so I am not going to stay on this computer any longer.  Have a great day!

Delights and Disappointments

As I think I related earlier in this blog, my Grandfather Will always said, "If you buy something cheap, you get something cheap."  We found that out yesterday when we went to install the new kitchen sink.  We really TRIED to buy a good sink from Kohler, but when that came through damaged, we had to send it back.  We then figured that we probably will be replacing the sink in a couple of years when we get around to finishing the kitchen, so why not go inexpensive now and wait until we have the money to buy something good later.  (Re-read Grandpa's saying above...)

A faucet and sink!

Not great, but functional...

We bought a really inexpensive (euphemism for "cheap") acrylic sink that, unfortunately, transmits light if we hold it up to a bright bulb.  We put it in, vowing to be careful with sharp knives and other poking implements.  The installation went fine which was a miracle in itself since Chief Running-Water was in charge.  (I should not tease... he actually has gotten quite good with plumbing through the years.)  However, because the sink was manufactured with less than strict quality control, one of the strainer cutouts was a little bit off kilter. We used silicone caulk, as suggested, and watched as the sink strainer dripped down the pipes onto the floor.  This was on Sunday.  We washed dishes standing up, using the dishpans in the new sink, and quickly poured the water down the drain.  Minimal leaks. 

A sink, a refrigerator, a stove... a functioning kitchen at last!

Yesterday, we went back to the store, got some not-recommended-on-acrylic old fashioned plumber's putty, and Rick reinstalled the strainers.  Alleluia!  No leaks.  I now have a working refrigerator, a functioning oven and stove top, and a working sink installed in a counter-top.  While the kitchen will not appear in the pages of House Beautiful, it will suit our needs for the next couple of years since we will only be down here a couple of months each summer.

We also talked with a cabinetmaker here in Dunedin about getting the vanity Rick made spray painted.  I know that it kills him to paint cherry wood, but we both agree that a painted vanity will look better than a stained one in the main bathroom.  The cabinetmaker gave us a "guesstimate" of $300 to paint it.  We are considering our options, but neither of us feel that painting white by hand will work.  We would end up with too many brush marks, and it would be a shame to ruin such a nice vanity with a poor finish.

Today we started the day well.  The gutter installer came to caulk the leak we discovered in our problem corner in the house.  The leak may have been caused by the tenting of the house last week.  More leaks.  Did I mention Chief Running Water?  Anyway, that went well.

Rick also called Tim about coming in and cutting our lawn weekly. It just grows too fast and looks terrible if it is not cut that often.  Steve and Chris' lawn only needs cutting every other week, but not this lawn!  We do not want the house to look not lived in when we are gone, and two weeks' growth makes this house look like it is abandoned.  So more money must be budgeted for that.

We would both feel much better if our trailer would sell.  That would allow us to replenish our savings and still have some "slush" for windows and other repairs next year.  We'll have to see if some Snowbirds want a good trailer to come south in for the winter.  Anyone want a really nice trailer for less than 1/2 price?

The really disappointing side of today was when we learned that the original company who said that we did not have termites in the house at the time of the inspection refused to compensate us any money for the tenting.  They said that their report was just verbal and that they were not liable for anything.  Rick became very upset and had a bad day, but in the end we got our revenge.  Although we will not get any money from them, we let our real estate lady, Jen, know of the whole situation.  She was shocked to learn that they would not accept liability, so she probably will never use them at an inspection again.

Front of napkin holder

Back of napkin holder..island view!

My first vase for Gladys!

For some fun this afternoon, we went to Art from the Heart to pick up the pottery we painted.  I really like the fun vase that Rick painted, and he said that he really liked the napkin holder I painted. You be the judge.  I guess we "artists" are always more critical of our own work! Once again, neither piece will ever be auctioned off at Southby's, but they are fun and functional, so they will always be a part of Gladys.

Blue and green with yellow polka-dots!

We are going to try to get the living room and Florida room plastering finished this week.  When Rick went to use the sander this morning, the darn thing fell apart.  He said that the hook and loop disk on the bottom fell apart. We found a new one at our second home -- Home Depot -- so tomorrow we will be back in business.

On a funny side note, I have a pair of white clogs that I slipped into before we went to the pottery shop today.  As I got out of the truck, I almost fell off the shoe.  I said to Rick, "I don't know what is going on.  This shoe is really uncomfortable."  He looked at me and started to laugh. 

"Look at your shoe!" he said.

The blow-out!

I looked down and discovered that the whole shoe had separated. "What the heck happened?" I exclaimed.  The stitching had come undone, and the whole top part of the clog, almost to the toe, had blown apart!  I have no idea how it happened, but I do not remember the shoe being like that when I put it on today.   Although this was not as major as a tire blowing out on the truck, it did force us to drive home so I could change footwear.  Weird.

Another weird thing is the weather.  Stephanie called from Rochester, MN, and said that the actual temperature was 102 and that the heat index was 138 degrees.  She said the radio and TV had warnings all day that if anyone knew someone who did not have air conditioning, they should go and check on them or rescue them.    As she was taking to me, I checked the temperature here in Dunedin.  We had reached 94 during the day, but at the time we talked, the temperature here had dipped to 89.  Wisconsin has been hotter than Florida for the last three days.  I think I'll stay here.

We are both glad that we now have a functioning kitchen, that we have nice weather, and that we no longer have to deal with contractors.  We are making final plans on what to get done and what can wait until next year.  This has been a stressful time with lots of decisions, some stress, some fun, and great accomplishments thrown in for good measure.

Florida Colors!

I am happy to be home again where everything in the house (except for Rick and me) is dead.  Those of you who have been following this blog will know exactly why I am saying that.  No rats, no cockroaches, no termites... nothing!  (Imagine me smiling.) Maybe I am just getting macabre here in Florida.  When I am really angry lately, I find myself killing off the vegetation in the back yard, but I guess that is a healthy outlet since the flora in our yard really needs attention.

Dining Room and Baker's Rack

The paint swatch and former air conditioner hole will be painted.

Note the wine classes hanging from the top!

We have worked the last two days on getting things settled.  On Friday we picked up our new, crazy dining room set and "baker's rack."  This also is called a "pie rack" because traditionally pies were cooled on wire racks like this.  However, if you look closely you will see that the chef must have a drinking problem because this rack holds six bottles of wine and we have 14 wine glasses hung from the top!

Rick working on north wall.

It IS a bit bright!

Rick working hard not to be blinded by the color!

South wall finished. 

North wall with black refrigerator.

South wall and east wall -- with stove.  I can cook again!

Rick also spent the last two days painting the kitchen ceiling and kitchen walls.  We decided on a lime-sherbet green, and as we finished, it seemed overwhelming.  I assured Rick that once we had white cupboards in it (about three years from now) and white appliances (the black refrigerator will be replaced someday), the green walls would become "background" and would be just fine.  I am enclosing lots of pictures to show you the progress and final -- although temporary -- results so far.  We still have to move the 2 x 4 temporary counter top holder and make-shift sink arrangement into the kitchen.  I cannot wait to be able to stand up and do the dishes! 

The counter top will be our project tomorrow after we finish taking down our dilapidated fence.  We started taking it down last week because we had to get it away from the house so the pest control people could tent the house.  The fence is a hazard.  Boards are missing, staples are rusty and sticking out every which way, and the posts are rotten on the bottom.  Our neighbors, who have two small children, are delighted that we are disposing of the fence.  We cut each section into four pieces and stack them on the curb. We knew it was really bad because the "magic curb" didn't even work on this junk!  Last week we got rid of the first four panels, and this week we hope to get rid of at least three more.  Then next week, we can do the final two sections.  If the neighbors will let us put some of the fence into  their garbage, we might be able to get it all out this week.  Public works are great here in Dunedin, but people have to guess at how much "extra" garbage they can put out to get taken with normal pick-up.  If homeowners put out too much, then the city will come and get it with a "claw" truck and add a charge to the homeowner's garbage collection bill.

Slowly Gladys is starting to turn into a very nice old house.  She has fought us numerous times, but she finally has settled down and seems to now cooperate as we are trying to doll her up into a wonderful home once again.  My friend Rose reminded me that we were trying to dress Gladys for the prom, but first we had to be sure that she was wearing clean underwear.  We think that the underwear (electricity, plumbing, HVAC, termite control, pest control) is now new and neat, so now we can start to add the more colorful, clean, outer layers.

The Tent is Down!

Drywall between living and Florida room.

The weekend saw Rick putting up drywall between the living room and the Florida room to try to marry the two spaces together.  At first I thought that we would frame the walls with wood like the wide doorways in the old house I grew up in, but Rick suggested just putting drywall in to de-emphasize the walls, and I think that was a great decision.

We have tried to take the last two days to get a little relaxation after a very rocky start.  We knew that the Bay Area Termite and Pest Control people were supposed to be at our house by noon on Tuesday, so I packed up a few things on Monday and Rick assured me that we would have all of Tuesday morning to finish packing what we wanted to get out of the house before they tented it for termites.

Tenting starts as we finish packing inside!

The tents go up.

We got up at 7:00 so we would have plenty of time to strip the bed, do the laundry, finish packing the food, and then we got the phone call: the Pest Control guys were 10 minutes away, and the clock was only reading 8:30 a.m.!  We did a very quick scramble to finish packing the food and getting the final items into our suitcases.  We were still scrambling to get everything into the truck as the guys were already on the roof putting tarps over the house.  I left laundry in the clothes hamper, dishes in tubs that we intended to remove from the house (but didn't), and everything in an unsettled state.   By the time we drove off, our house was completely tented, and we were on our way to two days of "relaxation."

One of the things we had planned on doing was to visit a little shop here in Dunedin that allows people to paint their own pottery.  Because I, butter-fingers that I am, dropped and broke our camper's napkin holder, I chose to paint a new napkin holder. I talked Rick into painting a flower vase for me since I do not have a vase here in Florida.  I will post pictures of the finished results when we pick up the pieces next Tuesday after they are fired.  Although the pottery and studio fees were pricey, I could not believe how good it felt to do something creative beyond the realm of remodeling.

After lunch, we toured some of the quaint little shops of the city.  One of the shops that we visited was an upscale consignment shop.  I love to look at all of the unique merchandise in these shops, and this shop was outstanding.  The woman who worked with us told us that many people buy condos in Florida, fill them with furniture, and then decide that Florida is not for them.  They need to sell the furniture, so much of it ends up in consignment shops.

Dining room table and chairs with "crap" on it.

While we were in there, we found a glass-topped dining room table and four chairs that I really liked.  Rick was not sold on it at first, and even less enthusiastic after finding three scratched on the table top.  We left the shop and visited two other furniture stores looking at glass-topped tables. Nothing we saw thrilled us, and the prices on some were too high. Additionally, none of the sets we looked at had chairs that were as comfortable as the chairs in the consignment shop.  Then we found that Kane's, one of the furniture stores, sold new glass table tops for a reasonable price.  We went back to the consignment shop and did a little price haggling.  The owner was willing to come down on the price of the already-reduced set.

Back of the dining room chair.

The funky table, which has wrought-iron legs and a tin insert under the table to match the tin chair backs, comes with four chairs.  The upholstery on the chairs is a tan suede-like fabric that looks brand new.

Baker's rack with some of the "crap" removed.

Standing next to the table was a matching baker's rack.  Rick was totally turned off to the rack although we would have room for it in Gladys.  What was hard to see was that the rack had a matching tin medallion and room for six bottles of wine and hanging wine glasses.  There was so much "crap" (Rick's word) on the rack that no one could really see what it looked like.  I started to remove some of the items on the rack, and the clean, more simplified rack emerged.  Although it does not have great deal of practical value, Rick reasoned that this was a unique set and that we would never be able to find a matching piece to go with the table.  The price was right, so we bought it also.  In all, we probably saved 40 - 50% of the cost of the set if it were new.  The colors will coordinate well with the tans of the terrazzo, and we are excited to finally have a dining room table!

The only rat left in Gladys.

Before we left the house earlier this week, we received a "house warming" gift from Steve and Chris.  Rick called them tonight and told Steve that we had a problem:  all of the rats were dead due to the poison gas they pumped into the house except one.  When Steve asked how that could be, Rick told him the rat appeared to be stuffed!  The joke turned out to be on them, too.

Gulf waters between Dunedin and Clearwater Beach.

The one good thing about being in a hotel is that this one is in Dunedin, and it is right on the Gulf.  I have added one final picture: the view that we have from the window of our third-floor hotel room.  We get to return to Gladys tomorrow afternoon, and I must admit that it will feel good to be home again.

Observations on Dunedin

We had a fairly relaxed day today (for once) while still accomplishing a major feat: we finished sanding the kitchen ceiling by finally figuring out how to attach the orbital sander to our shop vac.  Hooray!  The ceiling is now ready for primer and paint, and then we can get around to painting the walls.

Why is painting a kitchen so important?  Well, we have worked for four weeks solid, had numerous set-backs, enjoyed a few triumphs, and spent all of our budget.  Yet save for the fact that the living room no longer has bordello-purple curtains and a pool table in the center, we feel we have very little to actually show for all of our time and money. Psychologically, we need to see a change in this place that is not buried behind a wall somewhere as are the new electricity and HVAC.  Yes, the floors make me smile every day, but we need something more. 

Both Rick and I want to see a lime-sherbet color on the kitchen walls as we visualize white cupboards and stone counter-tops (someday).  Right now, I will settle for  actually having our make-shift counter-top with a kitchen sink in it in the kitchen so I can stop doing the dishes in the bathtub. Maybe by next week at this time, we will be able to see those results.

When one works hard, even small things become major events.  We discovered a new, faster way to get to Home Depot without going on Main Street or Hwy. 19.  Now we can get to our destination with far fewer stop lights and less traffic. Celebration!

Rick and I play a game each time we venture out in the truck.  We play "Count the Cops" because each time we drive around Dunedin, we always see at least one or two police officers.  Our record is eight officers in a 20 minute ride to Clearwater's Home Depot.  Steve told us that he rarely sees police cars, and we have yet to go out and not see generally at least two or three.  Maybe they patrol more in the summertime.  Maybe Steve told them we would be in town. Who knows?

Speaking of the truck, we both are really sick of it.  Yes, it has been a lifesaver each time we go to Home Depot or Lowes -- which is a daily occurrence -- but it also is a pain in the butt to park.  People are very friendly and generous in this city, so we have never had any real hassles or confrontations, and I guess parking at the very edges or back rows of parking lots is good for us because we walk a long way, but I really miss buzzing around in my little SUV.  The truck also does not get the greatest gas mileage, but at least it is reliable.

We are getting used to the culture change.  While having rats in the attic or termites eating someone's house in Wisconsin would declare to the world that the person lived in the slums or was lazy and neglected his home, when people hear about those things here in Dunedin, they say, "So?  What did you expect?  This is Florida!" Million-dollar mansions on the coast have rats, and every other house in Dunedin seems to be battling termites.

The neighbors are some of the most friendly people we have ever met.  They wave when we walk by, talk to us without waiting for an invitation, and genuinely are nice people.  I think I know the names of more of my neighbors here in Dunedin than I do after living in our house in Green Bay for the last 20 years. 

The wildlife, both good and bad, is incredible in this state.  We have seen such a variety of birds (thanks, Steph, for the book on Florida birds!), and we enjoy the new sights each day.  Christmas hint to our daughters:  we need a book on Florida flowers and trees so I know what is wonderful, what is weed, and what is poisonous in our overgrown jungle of a back yard.

I just asked Rick for his impressions of Dunedin, and he replied, "I have not had time to get to know Dunedin."  He is right.  We both hope that on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, as we are out of the house while it is being tented for termite elimination, we will get to explore the city in more detail.

Timing is Everything

On Wednesday evening, Rick and I watched a Through the Wormhole television program that focused on our "sixth sense."  The show very convincingly showed experiments that seemed to confirm that people have an intuition or a sixth sense that allows us to anticipate certain things.  Data from an ongoing experiment with people across the globe showed, for example, that people's anxiety levels escalated dramatically SIX HOURS before the first airplane struck the Twin Towers on 9-11.  And we all know that feeling of being watched before we discover that someone is staring at us, or of being "spooked" when we are in danger.

I do not know if watching the program influenced me or not, but I awoke Thursday morning, and my first thought was, "Something terrible is going to happen today."  It was just a feeling of dread, not based on any facts or interaction with anyone.  I will spare everyone the details, but we actually had four irritating, rotten, unanticipated things happen to us that day, and by the end of the day Rick was ready to put Gladys on the market and to drive back to Wisconsin. We eventually were able to work things out, but it took us the whole day to do so.  We did nothing but solve problems and thus did not make much progress on the house.

Dunedin is permit happy. You have to have a permit to do almost everything on your house short of painting and washing the floors.  Most people just make sure that if they do home improvements, they do it under the radar.  If people hire work done, however, then the contractor must apply for a permit that the homeowner pays for.  These permits are not cheap.  They usually range from $75 - over $200.

Today was a better day even though we woke up to torrential rains.  We were anticipating the gutter inspector coming yesterday, but she never showed up.  We anticipated the HVAC inspector to come today, and he showed up on time.  He did NOT pass the HVAC permit because Arthur Air messed up how they put the breakers in our electrical panel, so now he will have to come back on Monday.  Instead of putting the 25 amp breaker in for the air handler, the technician took out our 30 amp water heater breaker and put in the 25 amp breaker in its place.  So the water heater had our 25 amp breaker, and the air handler had the water heater's 30 amp breaker.  The inspector let us know that Arthur Air was not a good company.  He never said anything, but his facial expressions and his body language said it all.

When he learned that they did not pull a permit for the work until after it was done, he told us that the company will have to pay four times the normal permit fee.  He also almost giggled when he found the electrical screw up.  He told us that we could call them, or he would do it.  We told him that we have gone five rounds with Arthur Air already, and that Arthur Air did not like to even take our phone calls.  He said, "Oh, they'll take MY call, I assure you.  I'll give them a call."  He must have called because Arthur Air sent technicians out this afternoon to correct the error.

The rains continued to pour down, and the inspector noticed that we still had the permit on the window to be signed off for the gutters.  He called the gutter inspector, and she happened to be in the neighborhood, so she was at our house within 10 minutes.  She had to use mirrors to check to see if the gutters were installed correctly, and she certainly did not need a hose to see if the water was flowing correctly!  She got drenched, but at the end of the day, we now have a sign-off on the gutter permit. 

Timing is everything because our newly-installed gutters kept Gladys from wetting herself again.  Dunedin actually got 5.6 inches of rain today, but the back door and garage door did not leak one drop, and the front doorway was not hidden behind a waterfall. Yeah! City streets flooded, our backyard flooded in two low places, but Gladys stayed water-tight.

After dinner this evening, we took a short drive to Steve and Chris' house just to make sure that it weathered the storms well.  It did.  The mulch out front was a bit up on the front porch where it must have floated over the edge, but we saw no standing water and no damage to any of the landscape in the back.  Ironically, on the way to their house we saw a bunch of wildlife splashing in one of the roadside ditches.  We both did a double-take because one of the birds was a roseate spoonbill, a strange-looking bird with pink feathers on its wings and a long beak that ends in a spoon shape.  It is never seen this far north.  But there he was, having the time of his life in a ditch on Virginia Street.  See, Steve and Chris.  You miss all of the summertime fun!

When we weren't interacting with inspectors today, Rick changed out the rest of the switches and receptacles in the house.  We now have electrical fixtures that should not burn down the house, and the rains have subsided enough that we probably will not float away tonight.  Florida just continues to baffle and amaze us each day.

Termites and Gutters

Rick started working yesterday on some rotten soffit and fascia boards in preparation for Designer Gutters to come today to put up much-needed rain gutters on this house.  When he opened the first "bad" spot, we were greeted by a million little ants that seemed to be dragging larvae around some very chewed up wood.  The damage to the wooden roof rafters was extensive, going back at least a foot on one of them.  We could see where someone had tried to cobble together a 2 x 4 scabbed on to the rafter to support the roof. Gladys keeps coming up with all of these lovely surprises!

At the same time he was working on the roof, Conrad from Bay Area Pest Control came to help us try to locate a very dead and very stinky rat.  I asked him to look at the roof rafter, and I watched a pained look come across his face as his shoulders slumped.  "I am afraid," he said, "that you have a very lively colony of dry-wood termites, and where there is one colony, there are others."  Great!  Undesirable Florida wildlife: cockroaches -- check; rats -- check; snakes -- check; termites -- check.  The only thing we have not come across yet is an angry armadillo or a fat alligator in the back yard!

Conrad told us that the best thing to do was to get the entire house "tented" and fumigated.  He assured us that the fumigation would take care of not only every termite, but also of every other bug or rat that happened to be alive within the walls of Gladys.  Strangely, we had gotten a bid earlier in the day from Conrad's company for prevention of subterranean termites.  They wanted $899 for that, and now Conrad was telling us that  the tenting would cost us another $1000.  Gladys is a tough old broad, but having all of these treatments to keep her going really is starting to wear on both our budget and our psyche.  We would have to pack up -- once again -- and leave the house for three days.  That would be find and dandy if we had others in town who could put us up, but right now our only option is a hotel. 

We feel we have no choice.  The termites are here, even though our house inspector in March told us that the house was termite free, and we cannot let them just consume Gladys from the inside out.  We have to take action.  We told Conrad that if we had to do the tent, then we could not afford to do the subterranean termite treatment two.  (Wouldn't you know that even the $#%@ termites come in two species!)  He went back to the company, talked to the boss, and came back with a deal to have both treatments done at a reduced rate since the subterranean drilling had already been done once in the past for Gladys.  Conrad said he could see where someone had drilled the treatment holes in the front porch and back cement slab, so someone tried to protect the house sometime in its history.

So, next week we will be out of the house from Tuesday through Thursday, living once again at a hotel in Dunedin.  We will try to use the time as relaxation time to catch up on a little reading and to try to explore this wonderful, quirky city.  By the way, Conrad never did find the smelly rat carcass.  The bad part about having 10.5 inches of new insulation is that when something dies, it is not easy to find.  The good news is that Mother Nature takes care of such things in a matter of days in this heat, so whatever dies in the attic soon becomes mummified.

Now on to good news.  The soffits are fixed, the rotting fascia boards are replaced by sound boards, the roof rafters are repaired, and Gladys now has gutters!  I almost want it to rain just so we can see how the gutters handle the downpours that we get here in Florida.  We won't have a waterfall at our front or back doors, and we may save the back door from totally rotting away before next year.  This house should have had gutters 51 years ago when it was built.  The contractors do not mess around down here.  While 4" gutters are standard in Wisconsin, here we have 5" gutters (and we would have had 6" gutters if we had had a tile roof).  We have guards to redirect the waterfalls away from the corners, so bring the rains on.  We want to see what this thousand dollars really bought us.

The other good news was that I really gave the polished floors a badly-needed scrubbing today, and they came out shining like a mirror on a sunny day.  They were easy to clean, and they look great.  I am happy with the results.

Arrangement A

We are trying to figure out living room furniture arrangements.  Attached are two pictures.  Which do you like best?  Please e-mail me at saa1376@new.rr.com to cast your vote for arrangement A or B.  Oh, don't mind the yellow square on the wall.  We are trying paint colors, and that is the yellow that the room ultimately will become once we have the free time to stop repairing and to start painting.

Arrangement B

Bombs Bursting in Air

We had a wonderful picnic tonight on the waterfront where we had a chance to enjoy the weather and the views while we finally started to relax.  We actually took time to watch Giant Egrets hunt for fish on the shore and to read some of the magazines that have been collecting dust on our tables.

Tonight, we just stood in our driveway and watched the fireworks going off in the night sky in all directions.  We could see Clearwater's higher fireworks to the south, the neighbors across the way where numerous households seemed to be trying to outdo one another as they set off fireworks over the lake, and others to our north, east, and west. The bombs are bursting in the air in all directions, and if we had not started to get eaten alive by mosquitoes, we probably still would be out enjoying the show. Either fireworks are inexpensive and not as regulated as they are in Wisconsin, or people spent a heck of a lot of money on lots of illegal fire power. Something tells me this is not going to be a peaceful night!

Happy 4th of July!

We are both trying to take some much needed time off today, although Rick already has been making noise about sanding the kitchen ceiling later.  Rick now is on the couch making a snoring noise... and that is OK, too.

Our proposed color palette for the house.

We continue to make progress and decisions on the house.  I mentioned in the last post that we had bought paint samples of the colors that we picked out to coordinate with the floors.  After painting 2' x 2' samples on the walls, we have decided to reject them all.  They are gorgeous, they all coordinate beautifully with the floors, but they all say, "Autumn in Wisconsin" rather than "Sunshine and Florida."  I decided to look at some tropical art for inspiration, and we are now back to traditional coastal teals, green, yellow, and blue.  The picture on the right shows (left to right) the dark teal from the master bath, the lighter teal for the master bedroom, the "serenity" blue for the Florida room, "lemonade" yellow for the living room, dining room, and hall, and "tropical paradise" green for the kitchen. The colors are a little brighter than the picture shows. With white cabinets and woodwork, we think those colors will all be bright and "cool" for this house.  We will accent with pillows, flowers, and vases while adding the tropical orange for spice to the whole scheme.  Lindsay convinced us to go with either lavender or a coral color for the guest bedroom.  I think that a choice of bed linens will ultimately determine that decision.

Patio as viewed from the house.

Patio from the back yard.

I also mentioned last time that after digging up the landscape timbers in the front yard, I found a tiny little snake.  Duh!  Think further, Sherry.  If you find a baby, mama has to be around somewhere...  Yesterday I was excavating more of our backyard patio.  I discovered lots of buried 2 foot square patio blocks under about an inch of dirt and grass, so what started as an approximately 6 x 8 foot patio actually ended up being a 12 x 12 foot patio nestled under the shade of our overgrown vegetation.  The pictures shows that someday this will be a great place to relax.  Side note-- I also found a circular something buried that turned out to be the flowerpot that is now sitting in the middle of the concrete table.

As I removed the dirt from the patio blocks, I put it in a five gallon Home Depot pail and carried it to the front yard to dump into the indentation left by the recently-removed landscape timbers.  I dumped the first pail and smoothed the soil to transition from the raised flowerbed into the front lawn.  No problem.  I did that with the second pailful also.  As I approached where I would dump the third pailful, I saw the black dirt start to slither-- just like the big black snake that it was!  Hellooooo, mama!  The snake was probably two feet long (I did not stick around long enough to measure it), and it was on the move.

I moved, too, right into the house.  I did not scream; I just said, "Rick, there is a big black snake out in the front yard, so I came into the house."  Rick, who has a true phobia of snakes, did not venture outdoors to investigate.

Apparently the snake hangs around the neighborhood which is a good thing since black snakes eat fruit rats. Our neighbor Jim told us today that yesterday morning he had found the snake sunning itself on his front porch.  When he opened the door, it did not move.  He finally had to throw a shoe at it to get it to leave its warm, sunny rest area. Black snakes do not like or bother humans, so they actually are good to have around.  They just give me the willies and they freak Rick out.  Ah, the wonderful wildlife of Florida!

We also thought that with all of our attic work, we had driven out the rats, but as I mentioned last time, we saw that at least one had gnawed his way into the attic through the roof vent.  We set traps last night, and we know that at least one is up there, but we have yet to nab him.  I still think that I should have had my friend Rose's husband, Jack, teach me how to shoot an elephant gun.  I may not be an accurate shot, but an elephant gun ought to do the trick! (And I would add more ventilation to the attic in the process...)

Our path from the back door of the garage to the back yard.

While further exploring our back yard, I discovered that the four patio block stepping stones that take one into the back yard also had some hidden friends.  I now found three more stones in that path, and one more stone in the path that leads around to the side of the house.  Gladys continues to reveal her secret past.

With luck, we will be able to pack a little picnic and enjoy some time in a park later today.  Happy July 4 to you all!