Milestone

Although we still did not get back to our proposed cement pad in the back yard, today proved to be a productive day.

The day started with me taking a terse call from Mike, the tile man.  Apparently he believed our threats to file formal complaints against him if he did not send someone to correct the poor install job on our shower.  He told me that Matt would be here on Monday between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m.  When I reminded him that he said Taurus was his best man and he would be sending Taurus in, he became defensive and said that Matt was as equally skilled as Taurus and was good at the details.  He said that Matt would be free next week while Taurus was stilled tied up in his current install.  OK.  Send in Matt.  At this point, I just want the shower done so I do not have to think about it or Mike any more.

We ventured out into the garage again today to clean off the second shelving unit and to organize where we will be storing our larger pieces of equipment. We worked until noon, but by that point we had the shelves set, the equipment packed away, and Rick's bike down from its storage point in the rafters. The pile of give-aways and lumber that will be going out to the curb is astounding; we will be glad to have it totally out of our way.

Although the shelves are full, they are now organized and
accessible.  The yellow seat of Rick's bike is off to the left.

Our whole goal was to be able to get the bikes down so we could ride them once again. I have not ridden my bike in more than a year and a half.  Last year I was so ill and so weak, I could barely walk.  Riding my bike would have been excruciatingly painful.  However, I am totally off the Prednisone now and my muscles have steadily become stronger in the past 15 months.

Today was a milestone.  Rick pumped up the tires (six in total since these are trikes!) and we dusted off the helmets and bike shoes.  I wanted to see if I could ride once around the block without undo aches or muscle strains.  We also were not sure how Rick would fare with his hamstring strain.  As it turned out, we went around the block twice!  While the distance was not long, it was enough for me to know that I can gradually work back into biking to the point that we will be able to go on the trail once again.  One reason we chose to live in this neighborhood was so we had access to the Pinellas Trail, and we cannot wait to be able to ride the .6 mile to the Trail and then still have enough energy to actually go DOWN the Trail.  Tomorrow we will try three or four times around the block.  I do not want to damage my muscles (a real possibility), so I will take this opportunity to slowly build up my stamina and my muscle strength.

This afternoon was spent battling a gazillion people at the grocery store -- and this is only Friday -- and spending half the afternoon with Edgepark, the supplier of my insulin pump.  Every three months I have to fight with them to send the supplies in a timely fashion to the right address.  Actually, this time the exchange went quite well.  I only had to have my insurance agent call them once, and I called them twice to get everything worked out.  Phew!  This one order will take care of our deductible for the year, so I am glad that we can once again say, "Change insurance.  We have met the deductible." I am just glad at this point that we have good insurance.

So all in all, this has been a good, productive day.  Our shower repair man is on the calendar, the garage is cleaned out, our bikes are down, my ride was successful (at least from my viewpoint), and my medical needs are covered.  I am happy with the progress and accomplishments that we have made today.

Promises, Promises

Today was the day we were supposed to possibly get our shower repaired, but once again that promise is one that has not been kept.  We were supposed to hear from Mike on Wednesday.  Yeah, right.  Today dawned clear and still no word from him, so Rick called him and left a message that said he needs to get the shower repaired by next Friday at the latest or we will be filing a formal complain with both the Better Business Bureau and with the Florida Licensing Board.  We have had it.  Our patience is gone, and we are both frustrated and angry to say the least.

Stephanie called last night and told us that she is having her knee surgery moved, so we made accommodations today to be with her while she is having the procedure.  That helped solidify our decision not to build the shed this year.  We really have neither the time nor the money to do so.  Instead, we will concentrate on getting the cement slab poured and letting that cure for the summer.  That way we know it will be set and ready for us in the fall. Stephanie is still coming down to visit us in February, so we are happy that she can come and rest for a while.  I hope the weather cooperates.

Today Rick promised that we could get our garage back into some semblance of order.  He kept his promise. The walls are all dried, so we were able to hang the ladders back up and also to hang the rakes, shovels, and other gardening equipment.  The tub with the excess lumber went next to the water heater for now, and then we started to tackle the shelves.  We soon noted that we needed boxes to hold all of the items that we have accumulated, and the best system we have found is the waterproof tubs from The Container Store.

By 10:30 this morning we were on our way to Tampa.  I love The Container Store. They have everything one needs to be organized, and their waterproof tubs are great for Florida garages especially when the humid summers arrive. For those of you not familiar with the Container Store, it is worth the time to check them out online.  We ended up buying four more large tubs, two smaller tubs, and four "men's shoe box" containers for little items.  The bill was enough to make one gulp, but it will protect our belongings, so they were worth it in the end.  Do it once, and do it right.

Once home, we dragged the garbage receptacle to the front of the garage and started to sort through our accumulations.  We now have waterproof tubs dedicated to painting, plastering, sanding, electricity, plumbing, spare parts, bike locks and chains, bike parts, and miscellaneous other items.  The hardest part was not the sorting but rather rearranging the height of the shelves on the storage units to hold our new tubs in the most space-saving manner.  We have worked our way through the first shelving unit with great success!

Tubs with labels help us keep items visible
and accessible.

Of course, we still have the other shelf unit to go, and we still need to find space for those items that we want to keep. Our huge garbage receptacle is filled to the brim.  Rick can hardly move it.  Eventually, we hope to get the floor space cleared enough so that we can get both bikes down and can actually ride them this year before the hot weather arrives.  Too much to hope for?  Nah. We just need to stay determined and to realize that having a shed for the "big stuff" like cement mixers and power washers really will be a welcome addition to our property next year.

OK, so the rest of the garage is still a
mangled heap of items that needs organization.
Now we know what to do tomorrow!

Never Ending Chores

Rick seems to be giving the Energizer Bunny a run for his money... he just does not want to quit today. He started the morning by sanding our very, very chilly garage walls.  While he was out in the garage, I was again inside keeping warm with indoor chores.

After the sanding, he dug out the rollers and primed the entire area.  The good thing about that chore was the fact that he used up two half-empty cans of primer, so two more cans can hit the garbage. He also finished one can of finish paint, so actually three cans are now off the shelf.  I love it when we can de-clutter an area, even if it is only a few cans at a time!

Just before lunch we took a trip back to the paint store for another gallon of Lemon Ice to finish the garage.  I tried to talk him into an accent wall color, but I did not get very far with that line of reasoning. :-)  Oh, well.  I guess if he is doing the work, he can select the paint. Of course, that means that one of the cans I threw out is now replaced by this new can.  Vicious cycle.

Lunch was quick with one treat.  This is strawberry season in Florida, so I ate little for lunch to save room for strawberry shortcake for dessert.  We still are not used to the changed seasons down here.  In Wisconsin, strawberries are not ripe until late June, finishing just as the raspberries get going in July.  Here, kumquat season just ended, and strawberry season is in full swing.  The berries were really juicy and delicious. Yum!

After lunch, he went back outside to paint the wall.  I am not sure if the primer dried or was just frozen to the wall, but somehow the finish coat of paint actually stuck where he rolled it.  Is the wall perfect?  No.  Is it good enough for a garage wall? Yes.  Do the garage walls look 100 times better since they are smooth and clean now?  Absolutely!  I am delighted that all of the old structures that the former homeowner Jim Scott hobbled together in the 60's are now gone.  We have a fresh slate on which to hang what we want where we want it.  We are hoping that if we can get a shed built yet this year, the garage will be a clean place into which we honestly can park our car some day.  (That, by the way, is a rare occurrence here in Florida. No basements mean that the garages usually take the brunt of the toys and tools that homeowners accumulate.)

Just a moment ago Rick was outside using the tamper to tamp down some of the dirt that we moved around yesterday inside the concrete forms for the shed.  Thankfully, he did not work long and is finally in the house for the day.

I got my exercise today dry mopping the floors, shaking rugs, and throwing in yet another load of laundry.  Tomorrow, perhaps if the weather gets above 50 degrees, we can work together outside in the yard.  While the cold fronts are nothing like the cold in the north, they are bothersome enough to make me not want to work outside. At least the sun is shining.

The Fun Continues

One thing that a homeowner can never claim is boredom due to a lack of tasks to complete. If a homeowner DOES claim boredom, either he is incredibly lazy or his house is not one that I would want to visit. Our work around Gladys never seems to end.

Rick "sits down on the job" while he muds the bottom
of the garage wall.

Yesterday morning Rick went back into the garage to work further on the walls.  Since there was not room for me to help in any way, I came indoors to seek out my next task.  As I walked into the Florida Room with the morning sunlight streaming in, the windows delivered a single message to me: wash me!  I can never understand how windows can get so dirty both inside and outside so often.

My unorthodox cleaning weapons: Windex
and a toothbrush!

Out came the paper towel, the Windex, and the cleaning toothbrush.  Toothbrush?  Yeah.  In addition to the windows themselves, I also needed to pay some attention to the tile that form the window sills for every room in this house. I love the tile, but the grout between each tile acts like a miniature dirt collector.  The only way to dislodge all of that dust and dirt is with Windex and a good old fashioned toothbrush.  After a couple of hours of labor, the insides of the windows were clean and the tile -- and grout lines -- were sparkling.  I still need to tackle the outsides of the windows, but that will have to wait until the weather warms up just a bit.  For our northern friends I am sure that temperatures in the 50s sounds balmy, but that is a bit chilly to wash windows around here.

Clean Florida Room windows provide a view of the south
side of our yard.

After lunch I helped Rick take down the old lumber rack and the 2 x 4 structures in the garage on which we had hooks hanging for brooms, tool racks, etc. With the structures off the wall, Rick was able to finish mudding the rest of the south wall in the garage.  With the cool, damp temperatures, the plaster will probably need two or three days to dry.

That's OK because Rick was already on to the next task: laying out the forms for the cement slab in the back yard.  That work will continue for probably the next week or two.  And then we will see if we can squeeze materials out of our almost-dead budget for a shed.  Time ... and retirement checks... will tell.

Lumber forms the layout of the slab for the some-day shed.

Crazy World

God watered my little mailbox flower garden for me last night.  We went to bed listening to pounding rain and thunder as lightening strobed across the sky.  Being from the Midwest, I am not used to thunderstorms in January; the one last night was a good one!  At least we do not have to shovel rain, unlike the poor folks all up the Eastern seaboard who are getting pelted today with 6 to 10 inches of snow.  Another storm is forming across the Great Lakes, so I think that Stephanie will see snow from that front before it, too, races toward the East coast.  Ah, winter!  I am glad that I am where I am.

Lush palm trees offer shade at the Marina.

Yesterday afternoon Rick and I took a short drive down to the Marina just to get out for a while.  We sat on one of the benches and watched the palm trees sway in the ever-increasing winds ( a preview of our 25 - 30 mile per hour winds today).  The air was warm and the sun was welcoming.  I have attached two pictures: the first is of the palm trees right above us, and the other is of a tree with St. Joseph Sound in the background.  I will take this over snow anytime.

Storm clouds from the west foretell of coming storms
behind the pines at the Marina.

Today started with a fun Facetime call from Owen who was thoroughly enjoying his breakfast.  He is growing so big that Chris will soon have to take a second job just to feed the child!  We miss them all terribly and wish they could visit.  We are looking forward to seeing Stephanie in a few weeks.  I hope the weather holds out and that she can spend some time relaxing for a while.

Rick's next project is skim-coating the garage walls and painting them.  We went to the paint store yesterday to get some more Lemon Ice to put on the walls.  He started with the back and side walls since we have too much junk in the garage for him to do more than two walls at a time.  We both really wish we had the money to put up a shed, but that probably will not happen until next year.  Maybe we need to start to buy Lottery tickets. (Sadly, statistics show that Floridians are one of the highest purchasers of tickets but that they have one of the lowest winning rates.  Go figure.)

Rick sands the plaster before he adds paint.

Temperatures cooled after lunch, so a sweatshirt
helps him keep warm as he paints the wall.

Today he finished painting the back wall and is currently working on the side wall.  There is not enough room for me to work with him, so I gladly am staying out of his way.  Our goal is to finally get the garage organized enough so we can get both bikes down and actually ride them again.  We want to do that before it gets too hot outside (generally by mid-March) to ride comfortably.

Our crazy clock won't hang straight.

Yesterday the mailman delivered the wall clock that we wanted for the Florida room.  The old clock was ancient and finally gave up telling accurate time.  We debated on whether we should keep the new clock, though, after we hung it.  As you can see by the picture, the bezel is not in the frame straight.  When you look at the clock, the whole frame is off kilter to the right.  If the frame is hung straight, then the clock face is crooked.  At first glance, the clock makes me dizzy; however, we have decided to keep it.  Perhaps we are still under the influence of our visit to the Dali museum.  If he can have a melting clock, we can have one that's a little off balance.  It perhaps reflects the current state of this crazy world.

Too Many Choices, Not Enough Money

The title says it all.  We have several ways to turn to for our next remodeling project, but very limited funds to support any of them.  And perhaps, after today, we will do nothing.

The day did not start well.  I awoke at 7:16 a.m. feeling very warm.  "Hot flash," I told Rick.  That is the last thing that I remember until 7:46 a.m..  During the "missing" half-hour, Rick took my blood sugar three times and fed me three boxes of apple juice and a glass of orange juice.  I vaguely remember the orange juice at the end, but nothing before that.  Apparently, my warmth was not due to hormones but rather due to a 22 blood glucose level.  That is a bit below the 80 - 100 normal range.  Needless to say, had I not been able to drink what Rick was giving me, he would have had to call the Rescue Squad. Not a good way to start the day... for either of us!

I have felt awful the entire day as my body fought me with high and low blood sugar counts, but this whole episode, like most near-death experiences, brought something home to us: life is too short to do nothing more than remodel this house.  There are many places we can go to relax and enjoy ourselves that doe not cost a fortune.

We had talked about going to Shark Valley in the Everglades and to seeing the Edison/ Ford Complex in Fort Meyers.  The problem with that idea, though, is that the hotels in southern Florida are very expensive, and the costs of seeing anything at the Edison/ Ford Complex will run us well over $125.  OK, we're cheap.  Do I want to spend money seeing Edison's house, or do I want to have a new light over my dining room table that I will enjoy for years to come?  Ah!  My practical nature says, "Buy the light."  However, we both admit that we have been working too hard on this house, and that we need to find activities that are close to home and that we can enjoy for little or no cost.

One project that will not cost us any more money is getting our shower finally finished.  I mentioned in the last blog that Mike was supposed to call us on Wednesday, but that I was not going to hold my breath waiting for his call.  Sadly, I was correct.  No call on Wednesday, so Rick texted and then called him this morning.  His latest promise:  his man Taurus is still working on a major job, but we are "the next job on his list."  The new timeline is that Taurus will finish this current job Friday or Monday of next week, and that he should get to us by Wednesday by the latest.  Yeah, right.  Do I believe him?  Not for a minute.  But I'll keep you informed.  Keep breathing, folks.  I am.

I am happy to report that my flower garden around the mailbox is thriving and doing well.  No dogs have bothered it; in fact, the only critter that has ventured into it was a squirrel that I chased out before he could start to dig.  I will continue to water the flowers and hope that they do well for the season.

As for our list of possible projects: a slab on which to build a shed next year, concrete pads on which to store our garbage and recycling bins, a truckload of dirt for the back yard to even the yard, pavers on the north side of the house (perhaps even under the just-mentioned bins rather than concrete), pavers for the sidewalk, or landscaping in the front and back yard. After today, we don't know if we will be doing anything more.

Instead, we might visit nearby sites like the Sunken Gardens or Heritage Village. They are relatively free, we can be in our own bed each night, and admission fees are minimal or free. We enjoy picnics in the park, and those are inexpensive pleasures, too.

Right now, Rick is working on one project that we already have materials to finish.  He is using the left-over joint compound to skim coat the garage.  We might have to buy a gallon of paint once the walls are smooth, but that will allow us to have a good looking, non-chipping clean garage interior. We also will get rid of the large tubs of joint compound and to finally have room to get our bikes down.

Riding on the trail is something we have not done in over a year.  If my muscles are strong enough to bike again, that will be a free activity that we both will enjoy again.

Small Successes

We actually accomplished more than I had anticipated today, so I guess this day has been a success.

Rick started the day by calling Mike, the tile guy, who said that Taurus was finishing a job this week and could probably get to us early next week.  Something told me that we would not get the shower repaired this week.  It had better be done by next Friday, or I will have words with Mike myself.  We have guests coming in five weeks, and I want a working shower long before that time.  At least we have made contact again.  We'll see if he follows through on the latest promise.

Once that was done, Rick started our tasks by getting up on the roof and trimming back the dead fronds and seed pods from our palm tree.  We have garbage, recycling, and yard waste pick up on Monday, so we wanted to get the debris out to the curb so it would be hauled away before it could harm our grass.

The palm looks better with the dead fronds gone.

I love the palm tree and plan on planting more in the future; sadly, this palm tree is probably on its last legs.  While he was trimming the dead fronds, we noticed that the tree has a crack in the trunk just above the roof line.  That is also the point at which it is leaning toward the house.  Not good.  We need to have Jeff Boen come in and check the tree. The city arborist, Art, had warned us earlier that the palm tree was old and weak, so removing it before it falls on the house in a storm this summer might be in our best interest. One more place to spend money.  With Gladys, that particular activity never seems to end.

The crack in the trunk of the palm makes us wonder
if we should consider taking it down before it falls.

After the palm tree was trimmed, we started working on the flower garden around the mailbox post.  We want to add a border and flowers so our lawn service man does not damage the post with his weed trimmer.  I had laid out the edger pattern last night, so this morning involved digging the perimeter, removing dirt, adding paver base, and putting in the edger stones.  This garden is a bit tricky because it slopes down at about a 20 degree angle from back to front.  We wanted to have the pavers high enough in the front to hold in the mulch when we get the downpours for which Florida is famous.

As we were working on the garden, our neighbor Frank drove by. "That's a big mistake," he said.  "The people with their dogs will come by, and the dogs will pee on it and kill all of the flowers."  He is probably right, but for now the flowers are pretty.  I do not understand why people have to be so inconsiderate.  I would never think of doing anything to harm my neighbors' properties, so why would they let their animals destroy mine?  A little courtesy would go a long way in this world. I hope that the flowers survive.

Near noon we were in the car to pick up paint for the bathroom ceiling, mulch for the garden, lunch at Arby's, and bread for our dinner this evening.

When we returned home, we added mulch to the garden in an attempt to hold some moisture in around the flowers.  Rick hates mulch because he thinks it will promote termites, but out at the curb, let them have at it.  If they can eat an aluminum and cement mailbox, so be it.  At that point, I am moving out of Florida!

Yellow daylilies and red salvia add a bit
of color to our landscape.

Rick's next task was to paint the bathroom ceiling.  The original paint we put on was not right, so he tried priming around the edge yesterday. That did not work since the primer was old and had turned to a pale yellow -- probably from the rust on the can.  A new coat of paint worked wonders today, though, so the bathroom ceiling is now all one shade of fresh white.

Tonight we are dining with Steve and Chris because their daughter, Theresa, is in town for a few days. We have not seen Theresa for quite a while, so the evening should be fun.  I hope that sometime soon she will be able to come over to view our house, too.

We finished a lot of little tasks today that all took time and money.  Our next choice will be where to expend our energies next, especially considering that we have little money left with which to do much more.  Perhaps skim-coating and painting the garage should come next.  We have the materials for that, and I would love to see the tubs of plaster disappear onto the walls.  Certainly, pouring a foundation for a shed is also in the running, although that will cost us money for the forms, the rebar, and the cement.  We would love to do pavers and cement on the north side of the house, and then there are the pavers that we should do in the front to finally finish the sidewalk.  But the sidewalk cannot be built until we remove the palm tree and regrade that area of the front yard... and so the list goes on.  As I said, with Gladys, the spending never ends.

Tough Week

This past week has been a tough week.  Let's just leave it at that.

Our one accomplishment of the week was getting the old mail box taken out and the new one installed. I wanted to wait until I had a flower garden dug out around it and flowers planted before I put in pictures, but we did not get the flowers until today and had no time to plant them this past week.

We had to replace the mailbox due to three things: rotten wood, termites, and an over-zealous yardman with an extended string on the trimmer.  The old wooden mailbox post was not in the greatest shape to begin with since both rot and an infestation of termites had done damage to the original structure.  To add to that, the man who trims our lawn each week has taken the guard off of the trimmer.  He likes to take wide sweeps with the trimmer which results in him hitting the mailbox post and any other structure in the vacinity.  That is why we do not allow him to trim anywhere near our new fence!

Earlier this week, we finally took the old post out.  Rick attached the new post to the metal spike that we had purchased earlier.  Then he dug a deep hole and stuck the spike and part of the new post down the hole.  In went two mixed bags of cement, with a third bag going down the post for good measure.  The result is a new black mailbox on the pole.

The post actually is straight... my picture is crooked!

I'll add flowers in a small garden around the post
before the lawn service has a chance to trim around
the new metal post.

I debated on what kind of flowers to buy in the garden I wanted to put around the pole.  I finally chose some yellow dwarf day lilies and some red salvia. They will get planted after we dig out the garden tomorrow.

The only other thing worth mentioning this week was going down yesterday to St. Petersburg to the Dali Museum.  The Museum is holding a joint Dali/ Picasso exhibit.  Our nephew Jon came along, and we were treated to a wonderful sunny day.  The museum itself is in a phenomenal location next to a Marina on the Gulf, so the views from the Museum are almost as spectacular as the Museum itself.  We were a bit disappointed in the docent who gave the tour this time, but we were instrested to see the comparison of some subjects painted both by Dali and by Picasso.  I am not a great fan of Cubism, so I have to admit that I prefer Dali's weird interpretations to Picasso's even more weird (in my opinion) of similar subjects.  While I like some of the early works of both artists, the later works fit neither my tastes nor my decor.  My tastes really don't matter, though, since I could not afford even a simple sketch from either artist.

A side-view of one of Dali's famous works reveals a pixilated
portrait of Lincoln.  The frontal view of this painting simply
shows a nude woman looking out a cross-shaped window out
to the Mediterranean Sea. Ah, Dali!

Our pastor announced this morning that he is retiring at the end of June.  I cannot blame him.  He had a heart attack just before Christmas and three by-passes to save his life.  He said that the heart-attack did not cause his decision since he is almost 68 years old and had been thinking about retirement for a couple of years already.  I do not blame him.  He and his wife want to travel and to see family, so I wish him the best.  I am sad that he is going since we both like him and his wife, but I understand his reasoning.  Life is short, and he has more than worked long enough.

So life goes on.  The Packers lost the game a few minutes ago, and that is just about how crappy this whole week has been.  One disappointment after another.  We are supposed to hear from Mike the tile guy this next week about getting our shower fixed, and honestly, I don't expect he will keep his promises so I don't expect next week to be much better.

Finished Fence

We beat the afternoon rain today by getting outside early to hang the fence gate.  Rick started by adding the hinges to the gate itself.  Experience from the last gate helped us add the hinges more quickly than we did for the south gate.  Once the hinges were added, we simply had to prop the gate on 2 x 6 cut offs and hang the gate.  The latch on the other side fit fine where the hinges would not have fit.  The gate now opens to the right instead of to the left, but it works just fine that way. By the time 10:45 a.m. rolled around, the gate was finished.

Rick models the latest in work-wear as he emerges
from the back yard through the new north gate.

The side yard is wide enough to let the
garbage and recycling bins roll through.
Pavers are a future project for this area.

The fence is complete!  We never thought we would get it finished this early, but we were glad that we did.  The key, for us, was having the cement mixer which allowed us sometimes to put in three posts a day, and having a yard that was relatively free of large roots.  We ran into a few that gave us pause, but on the whole the task was not terrible at all.  We are pleased with the results as we look forward to many years of privacy in our back yard.

The southeast corner of the completed fence.

The south side and gate of the fence.

As the pictures show, our next task is to bring in some black dirt, to level the back yard, and to start our landscape plans.  That may take a year or two, but in the end we hope to have a bright, functional space that we can live in and enjoy.

Immediate plans (after the fence is inspected and approved) are to add edging and stone under the fence itself to protect the fence from weed-wackers and anything else that might damage it.

The back and northeast corner of the fence.

The north side of the fence and the new north gate.

We have three bags of cement left so that we can replace our current leaning mail box with a new, solid, cemented-in post.  I plan to edge around the mailbox post and to add both stone and flowers so the lawn service man does not chip the pain off the new post.  A black post with some red or yellow flowers around it would add much needed curb appeal to this house.

We also want to plan a backyard shed.  We are out of remodeling money for this year, but a shed might be the major project for next year.  The back yard will evolve slowly, so stay in touch for the results.

Last Post

Cooler temperatures have hindered some of our outdoor activities lately, as has waiting for our digging permit to be approved.  We finally received that approval late Friday afternoon, so our fence-building plans were again active.

We originally had planned to have the gate on the northwestern corner post on our property, swinging into the back yard against the newly-erected fence.  On Friday we took the time to build the gate, making sure it was 46 inches wide which would give of clearance to swing past the HVAC cement hurricane pad on which the unit rests. When we were carrying the new gate into the garage, I asked Rick to put it up next to the post (seen on the right in the first photo below) just so I could see how it would look.  He grumbled but agreed.

I am glad that we did because upon doing so, we discovered that the hinge would not fit on the corner post with the fencing panels in place.  Oh, oh.  Back to the drawing board.  We knew that we could not just have the gate swing outward from that post because it would then swing into our neighbor's yard.  That is not allowed in Dunedin.  We thought about having the gate swing outward toward the front of the house on the not-yet-erected post that would connect the final panels to the house wall.  The problem with that is that we would have to move the planned sidewalk around the side of the house way out and down the driveway to accommodate the swinging gate.  That option, too, was not a good idea.

Rick finally proposed making the last wall wider so the gate could attach to that final post but swing inward in front of the HVAC unit and pad.  Of all the choices, we chose that alternative as the best.

On Saturday, Rick dug the last hole and we put in the final post (yeah!).  We had to build the wall wider than our original plan, but I am happy that we did.  By making that wall wider, it completely hides the HVAC unit from the front of the house even if the gate is open.  The house looks so much better without the pipes and wires of the HVAC unit visible from the street.

The HVAC unit now "hides" behind the newly erected fence panel.

The last post and panels complete the walls of the fence.

On our way to church this morning, we made a bagel stop and then went to Home Depot to pick up yet another gate kit.  We needed that to rebuild the now-too-wide gate.  After church and lunch, Rick disassembled and then rebuilt the north gate, changing it from 46" to 42" wide.  That opening still will be wide enough to move things like our garbage cans from the back yard to the curb. We now are ready to hang the new gate tomorrow.

Why didn't we do that today?  First, we wanted to let the post's cement harden for one more day.  Secondly, we wanted to watch the Packers- Cowboys playoff game which started at 1:00 p.m. EST.  Happily, Green Bay won, so they are off to Seattle next week.

Today was the first day this week that the weather rose into the high 70s again, so we took advantage of that fact and opened the windows in the house to let the fresh air flow in.  The sun was shining in the Florida room windows, so I am sending this picture to all of my family and friends in the north who begged us over the holidays to send some warmth and sunshine their way.  This is the best I can do, folks.

Fresh air mixes with sunshine in our Florida room.  The air
smells so good!

Tomorrow we will hang the gate and thus complete our major project for this winter.  The fence-building actually went better and faster than either of us had imagined; however, we will both be happy when it is completed and approved by the city inspectors.  Then, just maybe, we can relax.

South Gate

The name "south gate" brings up images of a shopping mall in Milwaukee, but in reality the title of this blog refers to the completion of our first of two gates in our fence. We completed that task yesterday.

We fully had intended to both hang the gate and to add the final post on the north side, but we inadvertently let the digging/ utilities permit lapse, so we have to wait until we get the new permit approved before we can dig again.  I often wonder why forms from the government always put the expiration dates in about -2 point type or else hide the important information in the midst of copy-dense paragraphs.  At any rate, we have a new permit issued and it looks like the utilities were re-marked today while we were out running errands.  Perhaps we will be able to dig our last hole tomorrow!

Since we could not dig yesterday, we concentrated on the south gate.  The gate kit came with two different sizes of screws along with a chart to tell which packet of screws to use depending on the type of gate being installed.  When we found our brand and size of gate on the chart, the box instructed us to purchase a particular type of screw.  Unreal. We paid a fortune for the gate kit, and they provided two sets of screws that did us absolutely no good.  Off we went to Ace Hardware to buy screws.  Of course, the metric screws that the instructions called for were unavailable, so we chose the next best thing.  Upon arriving home, we discovered that the screws were usable albeit a little long.  Rick inserted seven of the eight necessary screws.  The last one fought us.  The Nylock nut would not go all the way down, and when Rick added force to it, the screw broke.  These are supposed to be very strong stainless steel screws, and one broke. We could not believe it and nither could the man at Ace Hardware when we took it back.

Back to Ace Hardware Rick went to get a replacement.  We needed eight more screws for the other gate, so we bought one long one and eight shorter screws for the next gate project.  Back home, Rick tried to put the long screw in, and again it broke!  Frustrated, Rick put one of the shorter screws in to finish the gate, and we returned to Ace Hardware a third time to get our money back for the two broken screws.

If we had not had to waste two hours making return trips to the Hardware store, we could have had the gate hung before lunch.  As it was, we paused for lunch and then went out to hang the gate.  In the end, everything worked out well, although the instructions called for a 3" allowance for the gate, and we found that 2 3/4" was still too much.  The gaps on either side of the gate are a bit more than we would have liked, so when we hang the north side gate, we will only allow a 2" margin.  The gate now finishes the south side of our structure, so we are happy for the security and the privacy.  Can anyone walk into the back yard?  Yes, but a fence does act as a deterrent, and what cannot be seen also does not tempt others to take.

Our new gate as seen from the back yard.

The new gate as viewed from the front yard.
Now one sideof the yard is private and secured.

Yesterday afternoon we ran more errands to try to find furnace filters and a new bulb for the burned out bulb in my oven.  During the search, we returned to Ace Hardware two more times.  That is a record: five trips to Ace Hardware in one day!

Today was an equally productive day.  We slept late since we knew the day was going to dawn cold enough to pause our outdoor building plans.  The wind was up this morning resulting in a 25 degree wind chill factor.  Florida is starting to feel like late fall in Wisconsin!  Once up, we cleaned the house, changed the linens on the bed, and started two loads of laundry.  We visited with our insurance agent to deal with opting-out of offered homeowners' insurance, got the name of someone with whom to set up a trust for our two houses so our daughters don't have to pay probate on them once we are gone, and received a tip on a new doctor.

I am very displeased with my current general practitioner down here.  When I fell and dislocated my shoulder in mid-December, I was told that I could not get in to see him until January.  He is in a solo practice and never has time to see patients with urgent care needs.  Rick researched medical groups where more than one doctor was available, and the recommendation we got this morning mentioned one of the groups Rick had considered.  We took a trip to their office and left with appointments to establish with a new doctor.  I am looking forward to the change.  The new doctor is further away in Palm Harbor, but the office staff seems efficient and the doctor gets good reviews.

Overall, this has been a productive day.  As the afternoon wears on, the temperatures are starting to fall from their mid-fifties high today, so I soon will be warming up a big pot of white chicken and wild rice soup.  On a cold day, there is nothing so good as old fashioned hot comfort food, and chicken soup is near the top of the list.

Two Down, One to Go

We almost got away from our fencing obligations yesterday, but then Rick caved in to the pressures of guilt by digging two post holes in preparation for today.

Yesterday started out well and fence-free.  We agreed to help our nephew Jon set up a classroom full of computers for his school in Seminole.  All started well until we ran into some licensing issues, so our cyber adventure was halted just before lunch.  All was not lost, however, since we had a chance to see Jon and to have lunch with him at Culver's Restaurant.  We really had an enjoyable morning just doing something different, and we will be happy to return to help him again if he can get the computer issues resolved.  He is new to teaching and to computers in classrooms.  We have been there and done that, so we were not surprised that he encountered a few more hoops to jump through before his computer classroom can be set and ready for the students.

After lunch, we ran some errands and then returned to Dunedin.  With "nothing to do," Rick decided to dig the next two holes for our fencing project.  We had one panel to finish on the north side, and one pole to complete the wall on the other side of the gate on the south side.

Speaking of the south side, we were not to happy to see that while we were gone north, our neighbors wrapped some Christmas lights around two of our fence posts for the holiday season.  When I saw them, I immediately went to their side of the fence and removed them.  I suspect that they may have hung lights all along our fence (based on dirt and dirty fingerprint patterns), but I have no proof and the aforementioned evidence may actually have been OUR dirty fingerprints. No harm was done --this time-- but we do not want them to hang ANYTHING on our fence and certainly not hot lights that can potentially burn holes into our fence posts!

Today we started on the north side of the property.  That post was fairly easy, although I have to admit that I thought the actual fence would go out just a bit more.  Measuring an area and envisioning where the fence will go is different than the reality of seeing the post and wall erected.  I wish that we had a few more inches of fence going toward the front of the house (west), but I guess it is impossible to stretch a vinyl fence.  Eight feet is eight feet.  At any rate, the last full panel is now complete on the north side.

The last full panel allows the fence to come just a little bit
further than the HVAC unit.  I will be happy to get that
behind the fence and out of view from the street.

We had already turned the corner on the south side of the property, so our last post had to go toward supporting the final small section against the house and toward providing a place for the gate latch to reside.  This post was a bit tricky because we had to leave enough room for the full 5' 6" gate while still being far enough from the house to avoid the gutter drainage pipe that we installed last year.  Thankfully, Rick dug carefully and we never hit the drainage pipe (although I suspect that we were very, very close).  In the end, the brackets were screwed to the wall, the panels were in place, and the post was secured in the ground with lots of cement.

The last post and panel on the south side
complete the opening for the gate.

We will wait a few days for the cement to cure well and then go back to hang the gate.

Once we hang the gate, the south side will be complete.

On the north side, we still have to dig one more hole for one more post.  That post, like the one we did today, will hold the panels next to the wall and will support the latch side of the north-side gate.  Two posts down, and one to go.

We both thought that getting active again really felt good. Although Rick's leg and my shoulder did not bother us today, we are both a bit stiff tonight. (Couldn't be old age, could it?)  My neck hurts way more than my shoulder, and I wonder if my head bouncing off the ground when I fell a month ago did not give me a little whiplash.  At any rate, a little heat and a rest on the sofa are in order for this evening.

We are pleased with our progress today.  I think that both of us are ready to be finished with building this fence.  Then maybe we can turn our attention to a little landscaping to make Gladys as beautiful on the outside as she is on the inside.

Happy Anniversary?

Sometimes a couple has a wedding anniversary that is so good, it is unforgettable.  Yesterday was our 39th wedding anniversary and it, too, was unforgettable, but not necessarily because it was so wonderful.

Due to airline prices, we chose to fly back to Florida yesterday.  It turned out to be a long, long day.

6:00 AM (CST): The alarm woke us up to a winter wonderland.  We wondered why the only time we saw snow this trip was on the drive home from Milwaukee on December 16 and yesterday morning, when we were set to drive back to Milwaukee to catch our flight.  No snow at Christmas time.  Just snow during our travel times.  The area had 4 - 6 inches predicted.  At 1:00 AM the ground was still bare, but by the time we arose, we had a good two inches covering the roads and landscape. A white Christmas would have been fine; a white new year I could have done without.

7:00 AM (CST): We were packed, the house was shut down, and we were on the road.  The white-knuckled drive from Green Bay until just south of Fond du Lac was snow-covered and slippery.  As we drove further south, the snow turned to rain so the roads were wet without (thank God) being covered with ice as we had feared.  We spent some time in Mayfair Mall, had a quick early lunch of Mall-grub, and were on our way to the airport.

11:30 AM (CST): We arrived at Mitchell Field and returned the rental car.  Our flight was not due to depart until 2:55 PM, so we had plenty of time to kill before they called our flight.  Since we both had pre-TSA approval, getting through Security was simple.  We were carrying two pounds of sealed, aged Wisconsin cheddar cheese which we thought might be questioned; however, our bag was scanned and approved with no questions or problems.

2:55 PM (CST): We were glad to spend the time in the airport rather than battling the elements because rain mixed with freezing rain and snow continued to fall from the sky.  Nearly on time, we were called to board our flight.  Within half an hour, we were loaded and ready to roll.  So far, so good.

3:30 PM (CST): The pilot taxied the plane out to the runway and then announced that we were being routed into an area where freezing men on giant lifts could de-ice the wings of the plane.  He told us that the de-icing would take about 45 minutes. It did.

4:15 PM (CST): After the wings were de-iced, the pilot announced that we were cleared for take-off.  We taxied for a couple more turns and down a couple more runways until we were poised for take-off. Down the runway we rolled, gathering momentum... for a moment.  Then we did not accelerate anymore.  Rick said, "Oh-oh.  We're not taking off.  We're not going fast enough."

4:20 PM (CST):  My husband is so smart.  As the plane decelerated, the pilot announced that a warning light had come on and that they had to get the plane checked out.  The good news, he told us, was that a mechanic was at the airport, so once we had the problem fixed, we shortly would be on our way.  Yeah, right.  The mechanic came aboard, and after about 20 minutes, the pilot again was talking to us.  He explained that we would be taxing back to the terminal because the mechanic had to shut down the whole plane.

4:45 PM (CST): We were told to de-plane and to take all of our luggage with us.  This task, of course, took another half hour as we had 132 people on board.  Since lunch had been early, we were hungry as we waited for news on the plane, so Rick went to Auntie Anne's Pretzels and bought us each a big pretzel to munch on.  Such a romantic, gourmet dinner for our anniversary!

5:20 PM (CST): The desk attendant announced that we would soon be re-boarding the plane.  Uh, oops, what?  OK.  The desk attendant apologized a few minutes later as he announced that when the mechanics started the plane, ANOTHER warning light came on.  Not good, however, the news was still better than learning about those idiot lights blinking at 30,000 feet!

6:15 PM (CST): The desk attendant announced that our plane was grounded but that the airline was looking for another plane to take us to Tampa.  We all breathed a sigh of relief as none of us really wanted to board a plane with mechanical problems.  I asked others standing around us if they wanted to share the price of a cab to Tampa but had no takers.

7:00 PM (CST): We were told that a plane was coming in from Las Vegas, and that we would be able to take that plane to Tampa.  We were moved to another gate so we would not be in the way of other passengers who were booked on flights that WERE leaving on time.  We were told that we would be taking off at approximately 8:00 PM and arriving in Tampa at 11:40 PM (read: 12:40 AM EST).  Rick called the SuperShuttle to tell them that our plane was delayed and that we would not be arriving until after midnight.  They assured him that SuperShuttle ran 24/7 and that an agent would be on duty until at least 1:00 AM.

7:15 PM (CST): Rumors started circulating that we would get a voucher from the airlines, and soon after that, we were told to line up in two general alphabetical lines (A-L to the right, M - Z to the left) to receive our vouchers.  We learned that if a plane was delayed due to mechanical problems for more than two hours, the airline would give each paying passenger a flight voucher.  We each received a $200 voucher for future flights.  That action probably quelled the mob mentality that was starting to brew among the hungry, irritated, exhausted passengers.

8:00 PM (CST): We all boarded the plane (again) and were then sent to get the plane de-iced (again).  Finally, we left the ground.  Applause broke out among the passengers.  The pilot said, "Think of it this way.  You got two plane rides today for the price of one: one around the airport on the ground and now this second one in the air." Weather across the eastern half of America is crappy right now with snow in the north and severe storms in the south.  Rick predicted turbulence, and once again he was correct. I hate it when he is right in these circumstances.

12:30 AM (EST): We landed to a clear, humid, 80 degree early morning in Tampa.  We were home free... or so we thought. The Phase Two of the Hassle (the SuperShuttle Phase) began.  The clock was approaching 1:00 AM by the time we got to the SuperShuttle check-in.  The surly, tired agent was less than helpful, and after three encounters with her, Rick was fed up.  People had been waiting for over 1 1/2 hours for a Shuttle pick-up, and we had no patience to wait much longer.  My blood sugar plummeted to 45 and then down to 31 (normal is 80 - 120).  Rick was starting to panic, so he said "to hell" with the SuperShuttle since they had not even booked us onto a future Shuttle and went to check on a car rental.  We were told that a car would cost about $65 at Hertz. I did not want to pay that much, so we went back to the Shuttle area to see what a cab would cost.  A cabby quoted us "about $55" which, of course, turns into $100 by the time the actual destination is reached.

1:30 AM (EST): We returned to the rental car area only to learn that Hertz (advertised as being open 24 hours a day) had actually closed at 1:15 AM.  Expletive! Expletive!! Expletive!!!  We went to Avis since they were the only manned counter and got a car for twenty dollars more than Hertz.

2:00 AM (EST): We were on the road.  How Rick drove home is beyond me because I was totally wiped out by that time.

2:30 AM (EST):  We arrived at Gladys and did just enough unpacking to get the cheese into the refrigerator and the essential medications out of the suitcase.

3:00 AM (EST): Twenty hours after our journey started in Wisconsin, we were finally able to fall into bed.  I don't remember hitting the pillow, and if I kissed Rick "good night," I don't remember that either.  Happy Anniversary!

We dragged ourselves out of bed by 7:00-ish this morning so that we could get the rental car back to the airport before the Sunday morning traffic started to get heavy.  Rick had made an early-morning run to the grocery store, but we returned to get items for lunch and dinner today.  And what did we do with the rest of the day?  See below.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to you all.  I know that 2014 was better than 2013, so I am hoping that 2015 will continue the trend.  Although we had a green -- or was is dormant-grass brown? -- Christmas, we awoke this morning to a light dusting of snow.  Go figure.  Just when we are about to leave Wisconsin, the weather will try to turn nasty again.

The next couple of days will put us into the prep-to-leave mode. Already items we want to take back to Florida cover the twin bed in the guest room, and Rick has started his helpful but infamous check-off list.  Naturally, the "big" items like medications are easy to remember, but the little items like sunglasses sometimes take a note to remember.

We both needed this time off to heal from our various injuries.  Rick has probably done way too much driving in the past few days, so that may have set him back rather than helped him heal.  My shoulder is better, but my neck is still sore from when I bounced it off the ground during my fall. At my doctor's office yesterday, one of the staff suggested a chiropractor if I continue to have pain.  She said that I may have whiplash, and that making sure the neck is aligned might be a good thing.  If it continues to be painful, I may consider that option.  I am hoping the sunshine and warm weather may alleviate some of my aches and pains.  I KNOW that the added activity when we get back to Florida will help.

The weatherman this morning said that "measurable" and "shovelable" snow is predicted for Saturday. (Only in Wisconsin is "shovelable" actually a word!) Although our flight is not scheduled until 2:55 p.m., we will leave here early to beat the snow which is supposed to come down mostly in the late morning or early afternoon.  Thankfully, we have many retired neighbors around our house, so we know that everyone keeps an eye on our property while we are gone.

We look forward to getting back to Gladys.  We certainly will miss being with family and friends, but we are looking forward to being able to walk outside, to sit on the beach and read our Kindles, and to plant some flowers once our new fence is completed.

Last nigh we watched the ball drop on Times Square to bring in the new year.  It was only 11:00 p.m. Central Standard Time, but that was OK.  "It's midnight at Gladys," I said, and that was good enough for us.  Happy New Year.