Lazy Days

I have to admit that NOT having to get up in the morning and think about working on the bathroom is a welcome relief.  So why haven't I posted the completed pictures?  Sadly, the room is not completed yet!

When we brought the Swanstone home, we were excited that we had all of the pieces to finish the room.  We had painted two coats of (smelly!) primer on the walls, just as the Swanstone people told us to do.  However, before we tried to glue the Swanstone to the walls, Rick decided to double-check with the Benjamin Moore paint company to be sure we had used the correct primer.

Yup, the primer we used was fine, but the Moore folks did some research and told us that the primer was not a strong or hard enough surface to which we could glue 60 pound panels of solid surface material.  Their advice was to add two coats of topcoat paint, and then to let it cure for 28 days before we tried to glue anything to the walls.  Sigh.  OK.

So yesterday we bought paint and Rick added a morning and a late afternoon coat of topcoat paint to the walls.  Now, once again, all we can do is to sit and watch the paint dry.  Although the waiting is driving Rick nuts, he will just have to adjust his time schedule.  I am not going to glue panels to the walls only to have them slide or fall off because we did not have the patience to wait for the paint to dry.  We'll finish the job after Christmas.  No one will be here for the holidays, so having an incomplete bathroom is no big deal.

The good news is that we will have the countertop and sink installed on Friday, so except for the tub, we will have a fully functioning bathroom again.  I can plug in my electric toothbrush,  I can have a countertop on which to rest my hair dryer when I dry my hair, and (most importantly), we will have a functioning sink again.  Hooray!

In our newly freed time, we have been busy cleaning the house, running some errands, and remembering how to relax.

A nocturnal visitor is digging up the yard.

One place we visited was the University of Florida Extension office at the Florida Botanical gardens. We went there because something has been digging holes around the back of the house and along parts of our fence.  We know that cats are invading the dirt patch in the front yard, but that will end as soon as we put down pavers after the holidays.  The backyard, though, is a different story.

The man at the extension desk said that the holes were not dug by ants or other insects, were not typical of a dog or cat, and were not tunnels normally left by moles, voles, or snakes.  Great.  That is all good news.  Since the holes were dug by something that is nocturnal, he figured, as we had guessed, that we probably have a neighborhood armadillo that is digging for grubs in our yard.  Well THAT is certainly something we did not have to worry about in Wisconsin! Uck. To that end, we went out and purchased some chicken wire that we are going to stake around the prime digging areas in an effort to prevent him from ruining our yard.  We have not staked it yet since we finally got rain yesterday, and the places where he digs are quite muddy.  That will be a job for tomorrow.

An egret wades in the water of St. Joseph Sound.

This morning we drove down to Edgewater Park in Clearwater, parked the car, and took a long walk along St. Joseph's Sound.  The temperature was in the low 70s, and the sun was shining brightly.  A light wind was coming from the north, so it was a perfect walking day.  Along the way we enjoyed views of Clearwater Beach across the Sound, and we paused to watch an egret hunt along the shoreline.

Off shore, a darker patch of water indicated a school of mullets were swimming north parallel to the shoreline.  They were constantly jumping out of the water, sometimes two or three at a time.  As a sea bird soared above them, they became even more agitated.  I thought that the turbulent water betraying where the fish were swimming was interesting.  We knew the fish were there, and apparently so did the birds.

The World of Cats is complete!

When I came home, I finished the puzzle that Chris had lent me.  This one was fun with all of the colors but a little challenging because of the irregular puzzle pieces.  I am glad to have my desktop back, though, as I might do some sewing before we leave for Wisconsin.

We have many hobbies to keep us busy.  In addition to biking -- which we have not done much of yet -- and walking, we also have reading, weaving, sewing, and basket-making to keep us occupied.  I would rather do any one of those than to have to get up each morning and go to work.

The inside of Gladys is almost finished, and that will give us time to pursue other interests.