Decisions, Decisions

Today was a good day because we made some important and welcome discoveries.   We have long spoken about going into Tampa Bay Millwork which is adjacent to the Home Depot in Palm Harbor, and today we took the time to actually go inside.  We made the following discoveries:

1. They are a custom cabinet shop with exceptional workmanship and results.
2. They provide everything from cabinets and doors to baseboard and staircases.
3. They offer a variety of doors that cannot be found in big box stores like Home Depot or Lowe's.
4. Their prices are equal to or even less than the big box stores, and the quality is much better.

What a find!  We ordered a fire-proof door for the entrance between the garage and the laundry room in a two-panel with wainscot pattern that will blend beautifully with our coastal cottage decor.  We may use the same doors to replace the delaminating doors in the rest of the house also.  We have to wait to see how much our remaining remodeling budget covers. We are excited to get a door that will function as fire-proof but will still look good when viewed from the kitchen.

While we were there, Sonya, the decorator we were working with, offered to show Rick the shop after he had mentioned that he used to teach Tech Ed.  During the tour, we saw some beautiful cabinets, and she mentioned that they do a lot of CNC work.  Rick commented that he used to do CNC with the students all of the time and really enjoyed it.  Sonya replied,"You know, we are always looking for qualified CAD draftsmen and CNC operators.  If you get bored with retirement, you can come and work here."  Rick is tempted, but not enough to go back to work... yet.

Speaking of work, I learned today from our tax consultant that not only will I have to pay state and federal tax on the money I made completing my Cengage contracts, but I also will have to pay both my share and a company's share of Social Security on that pay since I am self-employed.  Yikes!  That leaves me with about $2.00 an hour in pay.  With deep regret, I had to send an e-mail to Beth, the editor I work with at Cengage, and tell her that I could not sign any more contracts.  I will miss the work, and I will miss working with Beth even more. Cengage had a gem in her, and I hope they realize that.  So now I guess that I am truly retired. 

We have been collecting birthday, Christmas, and anniversary money to buy a beach umbrella, so even though our remodeling funds are tight, we have enough saved for an umbrella.  Rick looked online today and ordered a bright red umbrella for our escapes to the beach.  We really liked the blue umbrella the company had for sale, but all of the rental umbrellas on the beach are blue, so when I leave, I don't want someone thinking I am walking off with a rental umbrella.  The red one will definitely stand out at the beach, and I know I will be able to find Rick if I go off for a stroll without him. Also, the red will match the color of my skin if I forget sunscreen (fair-haired, blue-eyed, fair-skined ladies like me burn like a marshmallow that falls off the stick into a campfire). The umbrella and I might as well glow together!

Another discovery of the day was that we do not need to pay an HVAC company $300 to add air and heat to our laundry room.  Once again, advice from an expert and a trip to Home Depot resulted in us having all of the materials that we need (at a cost of approximately $50) to do the job ourselves.  That task and adding lights to the room are on the agenda for tomorrow.

The decision to buy the door from a quality millwork shop was easy.  The decision to not accept another contract at Cengage was sad, but practical.  And the decision to complete the HVAC work ourselves took a little more thought, but choosing to save $250 was a no-brainer.  

I do not envy anyone who is building a new house and has to make the hundreds of decisions that go into such a process.  At least the floors, layout of the rooms, and other basics were all done in Gladys when I was just six years old.  The decisions we make now are bound by safety and practicality first, the budget second, and our style and taste third.  So far I think that we have done OK.  People who walk into Gladys used to say, "Oh, Geeze" because of the disrepair and filth, but now they say, "Oh" and comment on the shiny floors or on the open floor plan.  Gladys gets better each day, and we hope that the decisions we continue to make for her will be enjoyed by us, by our children, and by our grandchildren for years to come.