Waiting

Unfortunately, I don't have much in the way of new pictures because what we are doing now for Gladys is just the little stuff.  Today Rick put a second coat of paint on the trim pieces for the pocket door while I primed the ceiling around one of the can lights in the laundry room.  It seems that the rim on one of the cans did not quite cover the hole in the drywall  that --ahem -- was cut a bit too large. I promise that the identity of the person who did the measuring of that portion of the ceiling will go with me, someday, to my grave.  Let's just say that the ceiling is now patched, primed, and painted, so it looks much better.

We are trying to finish some of the small projects around the house while we are waiting for the tile to come in.  Kevin at ProSource, the tile shop, said it might make the delivery truck last Thursday, but we did not hear from him on Friday.  Today (Tuesday) is the other day that they get deliveries from the warehouse, but we are still waiting to hear from him today also. Maybe tomorrow...

I took some time this morning to go outside and to give one of my bushes a badly needed reshaping.  Sadly, I discovered that the hedge clippers I brought down last year (and stored in a supposedly watertight tub) was badly rusted to the point where I could barely open it. The saltwater in the air in Dunedin is highly corrosive to anything metal, which is why we store most of the tools in the air-conditioned, humidity-controlled house.  Rick sprayed the hedge clippers with some lubricant, but I need to find some kind of rust remover to make it functional again.  I was able to finish the trim job; however, with the way things grow down here, I worry about what it will look like when we return in the fall.  I will have to talk to Kenny and Shell, who cut our grass, to make sure that they trim it while we are gone.

We also called Barry of the Finish Line Floors to see how much we will have to pay to get the terrazzo polished where the put in the new front doors and where we took out the old kitchen door.  He promised a call back today, but that is another call for which we are waiting.

Our major point of discussion right now is whether we should take some time off and go to Epcot and Disney World.  Disney always has good discounts for Florida residents, and we could get tickets at an almost reasonable rate.  Those of you who have visited any major park -- Disney, Sea World, Universal Studios, Six Flags, etc. --know what I am talking about.  Admission prices are astronomical (to say nothing of what they get for food inside the parks), which is why I said that Florida residents can get tickets that are "almost" reasonable. The practical side of us says that with the money, we could put in a cabinet or two or some interior doors.  The child side of us says that we are tired of pouring every cent we have into this remodel, and that it is time to take a vacation and to enjoy some of the amenities that Florida offers us.

Disney World is only an hour and a half away from Dunedin, so that is an easy drive -- until we get to the traffic jams around Disney World, of course. We would probably only go for a couple of days right now, but if we bought the seasonal pass, we would have the option of going back multiple times in the next year. We are both tired of doing nothing but working on this house; I think its time for a break.  My 59th birthday is this month, so maybe I will go spend it with Mickey.  After all, he is older than I am!

Our walk this afternoon took us through the neighborhood and into Hammock Park.  Hammock Park is a huge city park that has been purposely left "natural" for many acres so people can walk the trails and enjoy Florida as it once was... minus the wild alligators and deadly snakes that the early settlers encountered.  We hiked one short trail and then branched off to another trail that was supposed to lead to a lake. Unfortunately, we learned that it dead-ended into a pile of debris and cut vegetation about 500 feet from the actual lake. Ah, well, we enjoyed a shaded, serene walk anyway.

We did cross one creek in the park and were entertained by a determined little ibis who was busily wading and fishing for bugs in the water.  I wish that I had had my camera along. For now, you'll just have to go online and look up pictures of ibises on your own.  Sorry about that!

We are not sorry that we spent the money to purchase Gladys, and we certainly are enjoying the weather and the break from the horribly cold, snowy winters that our daughters are enduring in Minnesota and Wisconsin.  We have worked really hard so far, so perhaps now we are to the point where we can slow down and enjoy other things that Florida has to offer.