Little Tasks

Yesterday was a wild and stormy day with high winds, thunder, lightening, and lots of rain.  It was the perfect opportunity to take the day off, and that is exactly what we did. Ah, springtime in Florida!  We were invited over to Steve and Chris' house for dinner (thank you!), and when we returned home, we found a package on our front porch.  It was a birthday gift for me from Lindsay and Chris: four wonderful votive cups etched with palm trees.  They match the glassware that my friend Bonnie bought us last year, so I am thrilled to have them.  The pictures I took are not great, but I attach them for you to see my lovely gift.

My birthday gift from Lindsay.  (Gladys loves it, too!)

With the stormy season arriving, we love to have a good
supply of candles available.  We lose power often in the springtime.

Yesterday's strong storms left everything soggy and muddy outside this morning, so our attention turned to the inside.  Rick is coming down with a horrible cold, so he is pretty wiped out today.  Of course, being awakened by thunderstorms and torrential rains at 4:33 this morning did not help either of us.  For whatever reason, the lightening set off a mini power surge that affected the microwave and my cell phone.  All of the other electronics (including Rick's cell phone) were fine, but my cell "blipped" like a message was coming in and turned on twice between 4:33 and 4:40.  The microwave also was telling me to reset the clock when I arose this morning.  Strange...

We started the day in "good" clothes as we ventured south to a Toyota dealer to buy a new oil pan for the car.  The dealer here in town ruined the old one by over-tightening the plug, so now we need to replace the whole pan.  Be certain that we will hire someone else to do the work and never set foot in that particular Toyota dealer again.

After that, we drove even further south to Carroll's Building Materials in St. Petersburg.  They sell stone, pavers, sand, and gravel.  We picked up a bag of white river rock stone to see how we would like it as a filler stone next to the house.  We also learned that while one small bag cost us $4.10 with tax, we can get a half a yard of it dumped into the back of our truck for only $60.00.  If we decide to go with that, we will definitely buy it in bulk and save a fortune.  They also sell a paver base that will work well with the edge stones that we want to put down around the house.

Once home, I took care of washing the windows on the south side so we could put the screens back on the windows. Even the screens fought me.  The first two popped in fine, but the larger screen for the guest bedroom was awkward.  As I turned it, the sharp corner of the frame caught me a scraped a line all through the palm of my right hand.  Of course, I immediately began to bleed all over everything. Did you ever try to put Band-Aids across the palm of your hand?  I have three creatively placed bandages that miraculously are holding a layer of Neosporin in place.

I had hesitated even to install the screens since we have one more coat of paint to put on the soffits, but I wanted to apply some Kilz paint in the main bathroom closet over some mildew that came through our new paint.  The Kilz will take care of the mildew, but it is an oil-based paint that really smells awful.  Hence, we needed the screen back on the bathroom so we could open it and air the place out.

After lunch, we ventured out once more for a quick trip to the bank and a stop at Home Depot to look at some while marble chips that they have on sale for $2.50 a bag.  We looked at it and decided against it because one reviewer online said the chips are coated in a white "dust" that soon washes away leaving the stone either grey or black.  Since those two colors are not part of our palette for Gladys, we ruled that stone out.  We also were not particularly happy with the sharp shards of some of the pieces.  While the other river rock had some dark brown, tan, and even a few grey stones in the mix, the mix was all rounded stones.  We liked that much better.

Decisions, decisions.  They are hard to make because most cost us lots of money, and we must live with whatever we choose for a long time.  That reminds me that have taken some "close up" pictures of our new rug to show you some of the detail. It really is a pretty rug, so that is one decision about which we are pleased.

The corner of the rug in front of the TV.

Palm fronds are a part of the design that
really attracted us to this rug.

One other observation: within the last two days, someone has gone onto the roof of the house behind us and removed all of the leaves that have been sitting on it for the last three years.  They also removed all of the branches that fell on it this past summer.  Now at least the roof can dry out and will not further deteriorate.  Maybe my complaints to the men who were at the property the other day actually is bringing about some results.  Sadly, the roll of insulation still remains in the back yard; for now, I am just happy not to have to look at the rotting leaves anymore.

Large rust and tan blooms pull our color scheme
out and add visual interest to the room.

I just noticed another sign of spring: I can hear the annoying song of the ice cream truck that routinely drives through the neighborhood each spring, summer, and fall.  The seasons are changing, and I think that everyone is glad to leave winter behind.