Another Unwelcome Guest

We are safely home in Wisconsin, getting accustomed to our new life of being "retired folks" after so many years of work.  I am still teaching two classes, but they only take up two days a week.  That leaves us with long weekends to enjoy doing other things besides work.

We have started to take care of the yard here and other parts of the house that have been sadly neglected for the last couple of years.  Washing windows literally shed a whole new light on the interior of the house, and Rick has been working on cleaning up parts of the exterior also.

Our concern, of course, is the next unwelcome guest --  Hurricane Isaac -- that is heading toward Florida.  As it looks right now, it could make a direct hit on Pinellas Country.  While we are not terribly concerned about the house, thanks, in part, because of the new wind-resistent windows and doors that we installed, we are very concerned about the truck.

The truck is insured, but I mentioned to Rick that I would not put it past the insurance company to say that a hurricane is an "act of God," and, as such, any damage incurred because of the weather will not be covered. The only comfort I have is that Steve and Chris' trailer survived a hurricane a few years ago, so we pray our sturdy, heavy truck will do the same.

We are glad that we removed the holly tree in the back yard before these storms developed.  I would feel horrible if one of our trees fell on the house, but even doubly so if one of our trees fell on the neighbor's house.  At least all of the dead trees in the backyard are down.  I know that Michelle next door is concerned with our live oak tree, but it seems to be a tough, sturdy old giant, so I hope that it will weather the storm.  Our bottle-brush tree in the front yard, though, is another story.  That one already has lost four major branches in times past, so the rest of it may very well fall too. If it does, I hope that it misses the truck and the house.

Gladys as we left her.  I really wish that I had taken my hanging flowers down and stowed them safely inside.  I am sure
they will be long gone by the time Rick gets there in October.  If we get reports of damage, he may have to fly down early.

Beyond the wind, we also face the chance of flooding due to a storm surge.  Gladys is only 9 feet above sea level, and we are in Evacuation Zone E.  Zone E is the last and most inland zone, but a storm surge of something like 30 feet could still cause major damage to her.  (I will have to check online for the exact details of how large the surge would have to be to flood the neighborhood.)  While I am glad that Rick and I are safely in Wisconsin, I will tell you that if we were still in Florida, we would have packed up the truck and would be heading north at this very moment. I am concerned for the neighbors we have met also.

We received an e-mail from our Pastor in Florida stating that the church was not in the flood zone, and that people could take refuge there, but it was not equipped with beds, food, etc.  It would be a kind of bring-your-own-blanket short stay, if needed.

At this point, all we can do is pray that the good Lord will look after Gladys and all that we own down there.  We are watching the path of the storm carefully, and we can only hope that it veers away from land or really loses power as it touches land.  Only time and the grace of God will tell.

Decisions and Departures

Tonight is our final night in Gladys, and I leave both gladly because I miss family and friends and sadly because I enjoy this house and feel there is so much left undone.  However, reality tells me that we are out of money, and unless I go back home to make some more, our remodeling will be tight in the future.  Our flight home leaves tomorrow afternoon, so we are out of here and to the airport by 10:00 a.m.  We have options for the future of Gladys, and I will discuss that a bit later.

Plans have changed from our original scheme of leaving now and coming back in January.  Our trip to the granite store on Tuesday was very eye-opening.  We met with Mille, the owner's daughter, who showed us several slabs of granite that she thought might work in the kitchen.  She had chosen one in particular called Ivory Fantasy that she thought would work with both the cabinets and with the terrazzo floor. The granite has veins of grey intermixed with areas of cream and tan that will coordinate with the cabinets.  When we brought the sample home, we knew that Millie was correct.  The granite pulls the room all together rather than fighting both the cabinets and especially the floor. I even think that the blue walls work with it; however, the decision of whether to change the paint will have to wait until the new granite is installed.

The new granite: Ivory Fantasy

The granite company was willing to hold our new sink and the granite replacement until January, but Rick had a different idea.  He decided to come back October 27 and have them come in on October 29 to take out the old granite and to put in the new. He can buy and install some of the baseboard that we did not have time to complete, and giving the granite people access to the house will allow them to finish this job before the end of the year.  They can get us off their books, and we can have a completed kitchen before we return for the new year.

We started today in a most enjoyable way.  Rick pumped up the tires in our bikes, and we actually took a ride before the heat and humidity became too much to bear.  We had fun; I cannot wait until we can go out each morning in January and ride the Pinellas Trail.  After all, that was one of the reasons we chose to buy a home in this town. (Thanks for the Trail discovery, Steve and Chris.)

One of the most relaxing things we have found to do in the evening is to go down to the waterfront, watch the boats come in, and watch the sunset over the bay.  Tonight was our final night of being able to do that.  We went to the Marina; unfortunately, there was not much of a breeze tonight and the sun was very intense. However, that did not stop us from watching a "sunset cruise" full of people leave the Marina (playing the theme song of Gilligan's Island as it went out for its own three-hour tour!) We both will miss this part of Florida.

The guest bedroom ready for me when Rick snores me
out of our bedroom!

Gladys has once again undergone a transformation. The bedroom had new furniture and a new coat of paint.  The master bath has undergone a complete face-lift with new "bling" in the faucet and lighting.  The guest bedroom has the old furniture and dressers from the master bedroom, and a totally new color along with blinds in the windows (no more left-over crummy curtains).  The living room sports new front doors and a new, Anderson-built cherry TV stand. The Florida room has all new windows -- as does the rest of the house -- and light blue paint.  Finally, the kitchen has cabinets, a new microwave, and will soon have new countertops, too.

We still have to put in a fence, paint the house on the outside, add shutters and a little landscaping, replace the tree, finish a new porch in the front and do something with the uneven sidewalk, enclose the laundry room, remodel the main bathroom, and (dreaming here now, folks) put down a concrete slab and enclose it to make a lanai.  We certainly do not have the budget to do everything we would like to do to complete the house, so we have been discussing options.  Interest rates are good right now, so we may just refinance at a low rate and get enough to finish the house before we are too old to enjoy it.

Gladys has gone from a sagging, dilapidated, dirty-faced old hag into a clean, tight, light-filled home.  She looks pretty good in her variety of prom dresses, and as we return in January, we will continue to dress her up even more. I leave Gladys somewhat sadly for now. She truly has become my second home.

Sleepless in Dunedin

What was supposed to be a day of great joy turned into a day of deep disappointment once again.  The first great disappointment of this summer was when I could not have the white cabinets that I wanted for the kitchen.  In hindsight, I should have said, "Thank you very much for your time," and dismissed that contractor.  I didn't, and in the end I now have cabinets that are honey-colored but acceptable.

Monday the granite people came to install the kitchen countertops.  We were told that since Dunedin is 30 miles from St. Petersburg, where the store is, that we would be their first customer of the day.  Millie, the daughter of the company owner who schedules all of the jobs, told us that since the workers would need time to load the granite and drive to Dunedin, they probably would not arrive until somewhere between 10 - 11 a.m.  OK, no problem.  By noon when they still had not arrived, I called the company.  We learned that they were delayed at another job and would not be to our house for another hour.  That "hour" turned into two more hours as they did not arrive until 3:20 p.m.

The new countertop.  We are not sure of the color with the floor.

The stove is straight.  Note that the right-hand top of the
backsplash curves inward!

They worked hard, but we grew concerned as they started to do things that we did not like.  The sink seemed misplaced and when I questioned losing so much of the undermount sink under the countertop, the installer ended up cutting into the plaster wall at one end of the countertop to position the granite correctly.  Rick warned him that he had to triple-check where he was positioning the template so he could drill the holes for the faucet.  He seemed to have a "good enough" attitude which resulted in him drilling all three holes incorrectly, chipping the expensive cast-iron Kohler sink in the process.  Two of the granite pieces were cut wrong, so one installer tried to grind one down. The result was a backsplash piece with one very crooked side.

The granite itself is beautiful... but something other than the
installation still is not right. 

After they left at approximately 7:30 p.m. with the promise to return tomorrow with the other pieces cut correctly, Rick and I continued our inspection of the countertops.  We found seams that were incomplete, places that were not level, and caulking that looked terrible.

Rick could not sleep and got up at 12:45 a.m..  I could not sleep and got up at 1:30 a.m..  We talked until about 4:30 a.m., and I told Rick that I wanted the company to come in and to remove all of the granite, that I would rather have a cheap plastic laminate top than to keep the granite installed the way it was.

This morning we called the granite company, told them to put our job on hold, and that we were very displeased with the results.  I hate the granite and the job that they did.  What was supposed to be the crowning glory of the kitchen turns my stomach as I walk into it.

The owner of the company and his daughter came out to our house.  He ordered us a new kitchen sink to replace the one that they ruined, and he offered us three very fair choices.

• He could remove the granite and give us a full refund of our money.
• He could replace or repair the granite that was bad, making design modifications as we requested with no further charges.
• He could remove all of the granite and start from scratch with new granite and installers.

I am not sure what I really do not like about the granite beyond the poor installation.  The color, in the evening, seems to go yellow and really fight with the color of the cabinets.  The owner's daughter thought that the granite fought with the terrazzo floor pattern.  A neighbor came in and immediately said, "That blue wall color really clashes.  It has to go."

After he left, I took a manila folder and put it next to the kitchen wall. The granite immediately looked better without the blue (which really was designed to go with the white cabinets that I do not have). We went out, got some paint samples of tans and off-whites, and tried a few on drywall sheets. We think that we have found one that might work, but we are not going to do anything until we see the granite people tomorrow.

We are going to the granite company early tomorrow to look at other samples for the kitchen.  If I do not find any that I think will go better with the cabinets, I will stay with what we have.  Perhaps the change in color will be enough to draw everything together.  Perhaps we need to move on to something different.

We have a time urgency right now because we only have four more days in Florida.  We fly home this Saturday to become immersed in our "other life" in Green Bay.  The granite people are doing us a huge favor by taking care of this problem without charging us more money.  I really do want some kind of granite; in this climate, it will not rot or get eaten while we are gone, and it even holds up well to water should a hurricane try to give Gladys swimming lessons.

I told Rick we are not going to do anything else this summer as it really seems to be jinxed.  I have to remind myself of the myriad of things that DID go right-- or were easily corrected.  Last night I was ready to throw in the towel and to put Gladys back on the market.  That, of course, would be foolish in so many aspects. I hope that after a good night's sleep tonight, the sun will shine on us tomorrow and give us a better day.

Deals and Dali

We took yesterday off from remodeling, and it felt SOOOO good to do so!  But before I get into our adventure, I will share some good news.

We were told by our insurance agent George and others that if we put in new hurricane-resistent windows and doors, we could get a break on our insurance; however, we had to jump through numerous hoops to see if Citizen's insurance would give us any break on the bill.  George was not overly optimistic, but we gave it a try.  Yesterday we received a notice that our insurance rate will be reduced by $630 each year, and we will receive over $400 back this year now that the windows are in.  We are waiting for a $230 rebate from Progress Energy for the windows and doors, too.  I wondered where the $30 at the end of both came from, but Rick said that was due to the square footage of Gladys.

Now on to our adventure.  For those of you who look at the pictures before you read, you will see that we took the day off, drove to St. Petersburg, and visited the Dali Museum.  Although the venture was expensive, we had a wonderful time.  The new Dali Museum itself, as you can see, is an architectural wonder.  The building certainly fits Salvadore Dali's weird art, and it reflects his love of Buckminster Fuller's geodesic dome and his fascination with mathematics and science as reflected by the helical staircase that takes visitors from the main floor restaurant and gift shop to the third floor galleries.  The gardens also were magnificent.  The Museum is on the waterfront, and the gardens were works of art themselves, both with the placement of trees, boulders, and flowers, and with Dali's art scattered throughout.

The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL

We decided to eat lunch at the Museum.  Their offerings are strictly Spanish fare, and the prices are, naturally, unreasonable.  We dined outside under a canopy with a wonderful breeze blowing off the water.  Rick said at that time that he heard a soft bee-eee-eeee-eeee-eeeeee sound.  Being outside and preoccupied with trying to eat my salad, I did not notice.  However, after we were in the museum again, I was wandering upstairs and said to Rick, "Do you hear that eeeeeeeee sound?"  He told me he did, but figured it was the air conditioning or something else in the building making the noise.  It was not too loud, but it was persistent.  Then it occurred to me what it might be.  I touched my insulin Pod, and the pitch of the sound changed.  Crap!  I told Rick the beeping was ME and that I had to go and replace a Pod.  Of course, changing a Pod in a restroom is not ideal, especially since the two alcohol wipes I had with me were both dry, and the position of the Pod was not the most ideal location.  At any rate, I changed the Pod, guessed at how much insulin I should take since my lunch bolus was interrupted, and we went on with our day with Dali.

Rick standing in Dali's signature mustache on the Museum
grounds.  The masts of sailboats can be seen at the far left.

Relaxing on Dali's melting bench as time also melts away.

The top of the helical staircase inside the Museum.

Dali has two museums dedicated to his work-- this one, and the one he started with his private collection of works in Spain.  If you come to Florida, plan to spend at least one day at the Dali Museum.  Take the tour or rent the headphones for the audio tour so you can at least BEGIN to understand the weird images before you, and enjoy the views both inside and out.

Yesterday after we came home, we decided to tackle the paperwork that seems to breed in corners when we are not looking.  Having two houses and keeping track of mail, forms, receipts, bills, etc. can become overwhelming.  As we had papers scattered all over the house, someone knocked on the door (of course!).  Standing on the porch was Rick's old colleague Mike who lives in Dunedin.  He just stopped by to see the house.  Wonderful.  The place looked like an unnamed hurricane had just blown through, so we got to show our unannounced guest Gladys at her worst.  Ah, well.  He was very gracious and commented that she was, after all, our vacation house.  We're remodeling, for Heaven's sake, so at this point, she's still a mess.  That is why we are not inviting any guests yet except for Stephanie and Lindsay.  They, at least, grew up with the constant chaos of remodeling, so this place is nothing new to them.

I learned yesterday that of the four classes I signed up to teach in the fall, I will be teaching only two.  I knew that one of them -- a 7:30 a.m. writing class -- was not going because not one person signed up for it!  A second class filled above 12 students (16 at last glance) at the last minute, but either one of the full-time people needed it for their schedules for full work-load or the powers-that-be decided to assign it to another adjunct.  I actually am OK with that since I have never taught the class (English Composition I) before, and it would have been another prep.  Additionally, it met on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday while the two classes I DID get only meet on Tuesday and Thursdays.  I am happy about that because that will give me Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays both for prep and correcting and to work on my Cengage Publishing work also. (If you are reading this, Beth, smile.  I promise I will meet the deadlines now!)

Our new microwave that no longer
clutters up the countertop!

Today's activities included sending our old kitchen faucet to Lindsay via UPS and picking up and installing the new microwave above the range.  I wanted to paint the interior and possibly the exterior of some of the doors and finish organizing the paper storm, but those jobs will have to wait until tomorrow.

A roseate spoonbill standing on a branch
watching people walk by on the
Pinellas Trail.

This evening, Rick and I went out after dinner to Weaver Park, a beautiful little park perched at water's edge.  Watching the sunset from the pier is very relaxing.  We took along our Kindles to read and two lawn chairs since there was a gorgeous breeze blowing in from the water.  While we were sitting in the shade in the park, I saw a large bird in a nearby tree.  "Look, there's Eddy," I said, referring to an egret. Then I looked closer and said, "Hey, his back looks almost pink."  Just as I said that, the bird raised his wing to peck at some insect the was bothering him.  The underside of his wing was a brilliant pink/red/orange -- almost neon in color. "That's a roseate spoonbill!"  These birds are rather rare in this area in the summertime, so we were thrilled to see him.  Unfortunately, we only had Rick's phone to take pictures, so I take no responsibility for the photos.  Actually, seeing him what quite a treat.

We both admit that although we are ready to return to Wisconsin, we will miss all of the countless little things that make Gladys and Florida very, very special.

Baby Steps

After running into our remodeling ventures this summer at full speed, our pace of accomplishments now seem to be coming in baby steps.  Yet, as any good toddler will prove to the world, even those little steps can carry a person quite far.

Our new green doors! (No Packer jokes allowed...)

As promised, I will start with the inclusion of pictures of our newly-painted green front door.  We still have to paint the doors white on the interior side, but we are both pleased with the exterior color.  As Steve and Chris so rightly commented last year, Gladys was lacking a bit in "curb appeal."  Hopefully with the hanging flowers (which are fading horribly in the hot Florida sun!) and a touch of color on the front door, her appearance is starting to improve.  (After all, what woman does not look better with a little make-up?) Now add some matching green shutters -- next spring -- and a few colorful flowers, and Gladys may even be an old doll that is worth a second look!

Imagine green shutters and colorful bushes in front...
someday Gladys will have what every house seeks:
curb appeal!

I started the day with every intention of getting the doors painted on the inside.  I got as far as sanding the door frames before Rick called me out to the garage to hold the ladder and to call 911 should he topple from it.  He fished the rest of the wires through the garage and hooked them up to the electrical panel (which was another reason to have someone handy to call 911.)  Since I am calmly writing this, you can figure out that all is well.  The wires are now snugly nailed to the rafters and secure in the electrical panel.  I have power to all of the outlets in the kitchen, and once the countertops and sink are installed next week, I will be able  to use both the dishwasher and the garbage disposal.

Since we now have power to the microwave switch, we ditched our earlier decision to wait until January and decided to go out and get the over-the-range microwave.  Rick figured out our budget and said, "What's another $200? We are so on the edge right now that buying the microwave is not going to push us one way or the other."  So off we went to hhGregg to buy the microwave.  We can pick it up at the store on Saturday, so I am sure that I will be able to cook something in my new microwave by Sunday morning.  Truthfully, after waiting for so long to get this kitchen put together, I think that both of us just want it finished before we leave for Wisconsin.

Another project that I started -- but probably won't finish before we leave -- is to make some scatter pillows for the bedroom.  I purchased a yard of material that matches the bench cushion in the bedroom.  I have the pillow forms, but when I rolled out the material, I found a filthy dirt stripe where it was rolled on a cardboard roll for shipping.  I had to serge the edges to prevent raveling, and then I threw it in the washer.  The washing-machine gods heard my prayers because the material came out in a clean, intact fashion.  It needs a touch up with the iron, but that will come as a part of the sewing process.

My next challenge, of course, was where to put the sewing machine.  The glass dining room table did not seem like a good idea, and the cocktail table was too low.  The end tables were not big enough, so we ventured to the store to find some kind of foldable sewing table.  I felt like Goldilocks.  Some were too large, some were too heavy, some cost too much, and most were too cumbersome to put up or to flimsy to stay up.  In the end, I compromised with something that is sturdy and minimally acceptable.  As time goes on, I will look for something else.  For this year, my wonderful dresser-turned-sewing-table will have to do.

My "sewing table" in the guest bedroom.

We still have a multitude of small jobs to finish, and we both are of the attitude that if we do not get something completed this trip, we can always wait until January.  We are too tired, old, and winded to continue to race through the remodeling, so toddling along with small accomplishments each day is a welcome relief.  We actually may rediscover why we decided to come to Florida (Rick is looking at ads on his computer for beach umbrellas), and I have a new book I just downloaded on my Kindle waiting for me.

If he were still with us, today would have been my father's 98th birthday.  Happy Birthday, Dad! Happy August, everyone!