Trees, Troubles, Walls, and Washers

I spent all of this morning trying to clean up the debris from our tree-trimming venture of last evening.  Steve (Rick's brother) told me that the city will pick up yard waste if I cut it and bundle it into not more than 4-foot lengths.  I spent the entire morning in muggy, low 90-degree temperatures cutting, sawing, and bundling the trees into stacks that could be carried out to the curb.  The bugs spent the morning trying to eat me from the ankles up. We also had four or five palm fronds (like the kind that the slaves used to fan Cleopatra in the old Elizabeth Taylor movie) that were either lying on the top of the concrete patio table in the back yard or were pushing against the old fence that is trying to fall down, so those were added to the stack.  I looked like Pigpen from Charles Schultz's Peanuts cartoon strip by the time I was done... dust and dirt all over!  However, the back yard is beginning to look a little better, and we have successfully removed the rat highway from the backyard trees onto our roof -- and ultimately attic.

The pest control man set traps last night, and soon after that we heard one of the traps become very activated.  Rick checked it out this morning, and we have our first victim waiting to be disposed of by the pest control people.  We still have a few other little holes in door frames and soffits to fill, but then we just have to wait for the traps to do their job. I am amazed by people's attitudes toward the rats.  The pest control man said that everyone has them from the lowliest shack to the multi-million dollar mansions on the beach.  Floridians treat rats in the attic with the same attitude that we treat squirrels in the yard in Wisconsin.  

While I was outside working, Rick was busy in the master bathroom trying to repair the wall behind the still-not-replaced toilet.  The floor refinishing man, Barry, is coming in on Monday, so by that time we have to have both new toilets installed, and all of the furniture moved to the garage.  We are taking our upholstered furniture (just the couch and one chair) over to Steve's house. (Thanks Steve and Chris!) We  may take our new TV over there also so the rats do not have a feast on the cords.

This afternoon saw us ripping down the master bathroom wall that held the old pocket door and part of the other wall.  We did this so that the floor under the wall can be refinished, and we can possibly move the wall a foot to give us a little more "wiggle room" when we step out of the shower. Our concern is with Dunedin's permit-happy officials.  In this town, you need a permit to take down a wall or to put up a wall.  The trouble with that is that if we pay $173 to get the tear down permit, we must put up the wall within six months or purchase another permit when we get around to putting up the wall next summer.  The money that a person spends on permits in this town could buy a heck of a lot of drywall!  We chose to play dumb and not get a permit... yet.

Late this afternoon, BestBuy delivered our new washer and dryer.  We had not intended to buy new appliances this year, but the washing machine turned out to be less than efficient, and the dryer was so bad that the electrician told us, "You can do what you want, but I wouldn't use it."  We did not buy the top of the line or even the Bosch that we originally thought we would get down here.  Instead, we followed the suggestion of Consumer Report and bought a pair of LG appliances.  We need them desperately because we are like babies: we go through at least two if not three outfits a day.  If we sweat one out, we change and go on to the next.  If we want to go to the store, the dirty clothes get tossed for something a little more presentable.  The problem with the new front loading set is that they are wider than the old fashioned machines, so we are now second-guessing how we can build in the laundry room and still have room to function. 

Our "temporary" bedroom --such luxury!

This is the planning stage, and considering that we have only been in the house for nine days, I think that we are doing quite well. Once the floors are done this next week, we can start to really move into the spaces that we want to be permanent. At this point we cannot use the master bedroom because of the glue trails on the floor, and the kitchen and bathroom are  in semi-chaotic disorder.  But eventually this house will respond to our efforts and tender-loving care.