In talking with Lindsay today, we learned that the temperatures and humidity in Green Bay, Wisconsin, were far greater than what we were experiencing here in Dunedin. We actually have not found the temperatures to be that hard to deal with. Yes, it does get hot and muggy here, especially after a good rain storm. We have learned that early morning (7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.) is the best time to do attic or outdoor work. If we miss that window of cooler weather, than after 7:00 p.m. is the next best time to be outdoors. We had rain on and off all day today, so most of your time was inside.
Unfortunately, we broke the above-mentioned time rule by being outside in late morning prying up the rotting landscape timbers surrounding the long-dead flower garden at the front of the house. Steve, the Pest Control man, finally made an appearance today to discuss termite treatments. When he saw the rotting timbers, he suggested that we might want to get them away from the house as they were prime abodes for a variety of unsavory creatures including black snakes. Right. Snakes. That was the start and end of that decision. As soon as Steve left, I started to pry up the landscape timbers.
Naturally, under the very first one that I moved, I found a teeny-tiny (probably 3 inches long and about as thick as a strand of spaghetti) black snake. He quickly slithered away, and that was fine with me. Rick came out to help, and with a lot of sweat equity and a good ol' Sawsall, we were able to disrupt the humble abodes of slugs, roaches, and a gazillion geckos. The timbers now rest at the side of the house and they will get dragged to the curb for pick-up on Tuesday since Monday is a holiday.
The other reason for the title of this blog has to do with insulation. Gladys got a new hat today! We had 10 1/2 inches of R-30 insulation blown into the attic this afternoon, so that really should help to keep things both cool in the summer and snug in the winter. The insulation man said that the product should pay for itself in about 2 years, so we are happy for that. Of course, what really would help keep the cool (and warm) in this house would be all new windows, but our budget is about $15,000 shy of that goal right now. Maybe we can tackle part of that problem next year.
We went back to the paint store this afternoon to pick up more paint samples. Lord, we are such creatures of habit! We ended up choosing almost the same color palette that we have in Green Bay -- yellows, sienna, tans, and browns. All of those colors are reflected in the terrazzo floors, but when we got the samples home, we just laughed at ourselves. We will have to see if I can put a tropical flair to all of this through accent pieces... someday. Lindsay has convinced us, though, that the guest bedroom should be lavender, and we have some blue-green shades picked out to match the coverlet in our bedroom. The master bath will be a darker shade of the blue-green in the bedroom, and the other bathroom will end up being any color as long as it is not pink! At this point, however, none of the walls are ready for painting. The former owner had pictures hanging everywhere, so we have curtain-rod holes, nail holes, strange dents and bumps, and even screw holes to smooth in or out. Most of the walls will have to remain as they are until next year.
We talked to Stephanie yesterday and are excited that she may be able to fly down for a short visit within a few weeks. We promise not to make her work if she promises not to help us paint. (For those of you who do not know, our Stephanie is a brilliant, wonderful young woman who is the world's sloppiest painter. Ask her to calculate something, and she will give you the answer in minutes. Ask her to paint a wall, and all mayhem ensues.)
Maybe by the time she comes we will have a kitchen sink and a fairly manageable kitchen again. This "camping" mode does get to be a bit old. I can survive without a dishwasher just fine, but being able to stand up rather than to lean over a bathtub as I wash dishes in a dishpan certainly would be a luxury again. In typical Florida fashion, the shipping company sent a man today to pick up the cracked kitchen sink that we refused to accept yesterday. He was 70 years old, a heart patient, and came to pick up a 150 pound sink all by himself. Thankfully, Rick and I were able to help.
I worked for a while on the Cengage work this afternoon, and Rick was busy with sanding plaster in the kitchen among other things. A short walk this evening was interrupted by thunder and the realization that something (a rat?) had eaten out the end cap on one of our top roof vents. Rick went on the roof to seal that up again just as the sun set and the thunder rolled in.
We ARE making progress, and we are both thankful that our weary bodies at the end of the day are evidence that each day Gladys gets better.
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