We spent most of yesterday morning working in the yard and the afternoon trying to figure out what we were going to do next. We have too many tasks that need to be done, and Rick is already starting to panic that we are not working fast or hard enough. (Please note the blog up to this point for the number of tasks that we HAVE completed!) Last night, though, for the first time since we came last Saturday, we took a drive down to Weaver Park near the bay -- actually, St. Joseph's Sound, if you want to be technical. Unfortunately, the Park was holding an outdoor concert, so we bypassed the gazillion people and parked in the "other" big city park near the Marina. We walked out onto the pier and were able to watch a beautiful sunset over the water.
Before that wonderful sunset, however, we cleaned out the Florida room off the living room and painted the first coat of Pratt and Lambert's Ocean City Blue. The room is a pale blue, and the best thing about it is that the paint color separates it from the living room for the first time. Sadly, because we had to paint, we also had to take down all of the window blinds. This leaves the whole back of the house totally exposed, and that is not really a secure feeling right now, especially considering the house behind us.
As I mentioned earlier, the house behind our property (separated from us only by a chain-link fence) is unkept and the back yard is filled with rolls of insulation, an old pontoon boat, and God only knows what else. We saw a lock box on the handle of the back door, so I thought that the house was for sale or in foreclosure. Rick and I took a walk around the block last night, and much to our surprise, we saw that someone was sitting in the house watching a TV. OK, so the guy is just not into yard work...
However, today when we came home from Lowe's (our second home), I heard a lawn mower running. Sure enough, a man riding around on a standing lawn mower was cutting the grass in the neighboring house's back yard. Only lawn service people use that kind of mower. Then he came back and trimmed around all of the trees, using a blower to clear grass from the small patio in the back. As he turned his back to us, we saw the words Property Agent on the back of his shirt. Generally if a bank owns property, they will hire a service to take care of the lawn. Before he left, we saw the man take out a camera and take pictures of the back yard, the house, the pontoon boat, and the electrical meter!
I have no idea who we saw in the house last evening (a squatter, perhaps?), but the pieces of the puzzle all seem to fit that the house is in foreclosure. We hope that if it is we can get a nice, quiet family who will take care of the property and be good neighbors. The other options would be either that someone does own the house and is just a slob, or that the house is for sale and may end up as a rental. Too many possibilities exist for what may become of that property; consequently, Rick and I have renewed our efforts to find the money to put up a 6 foot privacy fence around our whole property.
We started today by adding a second coat of paint to the Florida room, using every last drop of the gallon to cover all of the walls. To escape from the paint smell, we went out in late morning to buy more paint and to find a Woodcraft store in the area to get stain for the vanity. We wanted to check out some other nurseries for our tree options, but we spent too much time at a store called Leaders. This store specializes in high-end wicker and rattan furniture. The is NOT the cheap junk found in most stores; this furniture must pass quality standards and the upholstery is all done in North Carolina, so at least part of it is American made. We wanted to see what kind of a sofa/love seat/chair grouping we could find for the Florida room that would match the new color on the walls. We found a pattern of green palm leaves, blue flowers, mauve accents (think Monet impressionism) that went well with the painted piece of drywall we took along. We had already selected the style of furniture that we wanted last year. As the saleswoman started added the pieces together, I wandered around the store. Then I saw it: a white bedroom grouping of louvered doors and glass over woven rattan that I had been seeking. The headboard was proportioned well, the nightstands had a drawer and louvered doors below, the dresser would be adequate for our clothes down here, the mirror was the right size for the bedroom wall, and it had a matching cushion-covered bench for the end of the bed on which to sit to put on shoes. (The current chair in our bedroom for that purpose is constantly covered with clothes that we intend to wear the next day since we usually have "work clothes" and "store clothes" going at the same time.) The bench even came with two louvered drawers in which I could store the bed linens.
"Rick," I said, "You have to come and see this."
As I started to walk toward the bedroom set, Rick later said that he knew exactly what set I had chosen. Although the quality is not up to Ethan Allen or Rick Anderson-made standards, it is not bad and will certainly suit our needs. The only problem: too many possibilities on what we wanted to buy from the store, and too little money to cover it all! We got a price for the whole Florida Room set and for the bedroom group, but we ordered nothing yet. I cannot make that commitment until we see if there will be any hidden costs with the windows and doors going in (other than the expected cost of all new window coverings!), and until we see how much the electrical updates will be in the kitchen.
Everywhere we turn, there are things to do and great possibilities that present themselves to us. Our task right now it to prioritize what needs to be done, what we can afford, what we really need, and what can wait until me have more time... and much more money!
Gladys became a little more beautiful today with another room painted, and she will get even better when we finally tackle the guest room tomorrow. For now, the styrofoam insulation boards are back up in the Florida room windows to give us some privacy, and our bedroom furniture includes Lindsay's old dresser and mirror, two ancient Ethan Allen end tables that serve as night stands, no headboard, and an old desk chair that Rick used in high school. The house's "decor" is early American marriage, and that is OK. How else can two old fogies like us feel like newlyweds again as we struggle to turn a beat-up old house into a beautiful southern home?
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Building for the Future
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| Rick digging Tongues behind the bushes I just cut down. |
Today in the mail we received an envelope from the City of Dunedin. I actually thought they were sending us paperwork for the permit we need to take out to put up a fence, so I was dumbfounded when I read a notice from the city saying that since we removed a diseased, nearly-dead Holly tree, we were required before September 31, 2012, to replace that tree with a 2 - 3" wide trunk and 8 - 10 foot high ornamental or shade tree. We also received a booklet of what trees were "approved" as replacement trees.
Now while I consider myself a "green" person who recycles and tries to keep the environment safe, and while I also really love trees and understand the city's desire to keep Dunedin green, at this moment buying a $150 - $200 tree is just taking "green" from our already tight budget. We have no choice, though, since the city inspectors will check to see if we have been compliant with their orders. We purposely did not buy a house in a gated community because we did not want all of the neighborhood restrictions, and now we find that the whole freaking city has more regulations than the most exclusive of addresses.
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| My cactus flower! |
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| Magnolia in bloom. |
Rick also was able to patch the holes in the wall in the guest room, and we hope to have that room painted before Stephanie arrives next Wednesday. The only drawback to her timing of her visit is that we received a call from Jeff telling us that his crew will be here to put in the new windows starting next Tuesday. Since they will take approximately four days to install all of the windows and doors, they will be here (and we will have to be home) during most of Stephanie's visit.
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| Rick resting after constructing the vanity. The drawers are stacked in the background. |
My goal tomorrow is to NOT go to any stores and to NOT spend any money. I want to devote much of my time to scrubbing the tobacco stains off the guest room walls so paint will adhere to it, and I know that Rick will want to stain the vanity.
We have had our mail forwarded here from Green Bay, so today I got the monthly notice of our investments. As anyone with stocks knows, the market has not been kind the last two months, so we have lost an astonishing amount (at least according to MY meager budget) in the last month alone. This Old House TV show always talks about the value of "sweat equity" in a restoration, and while we may not have the money to do everything we want here, we are willing to do as much as we can to make Gladys a snug, beautiful, welcoming home. Sweat is something we have been doing profusely, so we hope that the equity part will come about as the weeks progress.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Disappointing Day
Today turned out to be a terribly disappointing day. We had planned on meeting with the kitchen cabinet guy, letting the pest control people in for the semi-annual treatment of the property, and then getting some painting, scrubbing, assembling, or digging done before the day's end. Sadly, we accomplished little instead.
The day started out well. We got some paperwork needed for the window installation notarized so the installation can commence next week. We then talked to the city planning office about a permit to build a fence. (For those of you new to the blog, in Dunedin you need a permit to do anything short of changing the toilet paper roll!) Next we went to Dunedin Plumbing to find out what we needed to do to get the shower remodeled in the master bathroom. We learned that we probably cannot afford to do ANYTHING this year with the shower... we may keep what we have and just cap off the new wall at this point. We also learned that we cannot change the position of the water heater from our not-yet-enclosed laundry room, and that a soft-water system is not in our near future. This is where the disappointment started. Money, as usual, is the problem.
By 10:00 a.m. we were back home in time to meet with Michael, the cabinet contractor. That is where the disappointment substantially increased. He brought in a sample of the cabinet he proposed, a beautifully constructed maple cabinet in a honey-blonde finish.
"Can I get this in white?" I asked.
"Ah, no," he replied. "This cabinet only comes in this and a darker color."
My mental picture of my beach-front white cabinets against a robin's-egg blue background crumpled before my eyes. I am not a great fan of the 1950's blonde furniture, and these cabinets were just a shade or two darker. I was so disappointed that I wanted to cry. Michael went on to explain that the white cabinets are only available in a lacquer finish that will crack over time, leaving a pencil-like line at all of the joints.
However, that was not the end of the disappointment. We went on to plan the rest of the cabinets, deleting some of the features we did not want and adding some slide-outs and other things that we wanted, all the while keeping the budget in mind. Rick had mentioned this morning that counter space was limited in our current set-up, and in looking at our original plan, we did not gain too much more. Michael suggested getting rid of the kitchen desk to gain more cabinet and counter space. While I really like and use my desk in the kitchen at home, we could gain four more cabinets and another six feet of counter space by deleting the desk. So with a sad, sad sigh, my heart was further broken as the desk disappeared from the plan. Rick promised me a desk in the spare bedroom, but being stuck in the back corner room is not the same as being in a sunny kitchen. I will adjust, but the rest of my mental image of my bright Florida kitchen disappeared forever.
Further disappointment arrived when we reviewed the electrical set-up in the kitchen. The plug for the refrigerator that we paid a fortune for last year needs to be moved 6 inches to the right, and the plug for the stove also is not in the right place. We have to move the upper outlet next to the stove, and we have to add at least four other outlets (all in concrete walls!) to bring everything up to code.
After a brief lunch, we met with the pest control guy who sprayed the house for bugs. He told us that the flying white bugs we noted in the backyard as the trees fell down where, indeed, flying termites. Then I asked him to look at a mysterious hole in the side yard which I told Rick was probably a snake hole. Rick insisted it was not, but the pest control man equally assured me that it probably WAS the abode of a black snake.
"But don't worry," he said with a smile. "Black snakes are good because they eat lizards and fruit rats and other nasty things." Yeah, right. And he thinks a black snake is NOT a "nasty thing"?
By the time the pest control man left, we were at late afternoon. It was still too hot to work outside (so scratch the digging idea), too late to start to assemble the bathroom vanity (scratch assembling), too late to start washing down the guest room walls in preparation for fresh paint (scratch scrubbing), and I was too disappointed to try to be creative with a paint brush in the Florida room.
Rick suggested we go to the store to buy curtain rods for the master bedroom. I had bought thermal insulated curtains from Plow and Hearth for that room last year, but had not taken them from the package yet. We found two rods reasonably priced at Sears and came home. While Rick worked on putting the rods up, I went into the spare bedroom to iron the curtain. More disappointment. One of the panels had some darker threads woven into the white curtains, so there were actually four "lines" in one of the panels. Additionally, the panels did not iron worth crap. They still looked wrinkled when I was finished with them.
We hung two of the panels on the rod Rick had put up and immediately noticed the rod start to bow even though the curtains were not that heavy. Chalk up disappointment number six of the day! Rick called Plow and Hearth and arranged to have the curtains sent back. Then he took down the rod, we repackaged it, and returned that to Sears.
I want to cry. My kitchen plans are changed, and it will take me a while to get used to the new look and new plans for the room. Black snakes have moved into my southern flower garden, and termites are in the air. Nothing seemed to work out as planned today. I cannot even say that it was a productive day where I completed a single task beyond making dinner and washing the dishes.
I know that I should not be so ungrateful. The cabinets Michael proposed are made very well, and I am sure that they will still be bright, new, and very functional in the room. The revised cabinet plans also are going to give me lots of storage space and counter space to use, so in the end that too is probably a good thing.
Black snakes DO eat other pests, and they are more afraid of humans than (supposedly) humans are of them, and I still have the old shades in my bedroom, so the windows are covered for the evening.
I am going to bed. I hope that when I wake up tomorrow, I will do so to a better day.
The day started out well. We got some paperwork needed for the window installation notarized so the installation can commence next week. We then talked to the city planning office about a permit to build a fence. (For those of you new to the blog, in Dunedin you need a permit to do anything short of changing the toilet paper roll!) Next we went to Dunedin Plumbing to find out what we needed to do to get the shower remodeled in the master bathroom. We learned that we probably cannot afford to do ANYTHING this year with the shower... we may keep what we have and just cap off the new wall at this point. We also learned that we cannot change the position of the water heater from our not-yet-enclosed laundry room, and that a soft-water system is not in our near future. This is where the disappointment started. Money, as usual, is the problem.
By 10:00 a.m. we were back home in time to meet with Michael, the cabinet contractor. That is where the disappointment substantially increased. He brought in a sample of the cabinet he proposed, a beautifully constructed maple cabinet in a honey-blonde finish.
"Can I get this in white?" I asked.
"Ah, no," he replied. "This cabinet only comes in this and a darker color."
My mental picture of my beach-front white cabinets against a robin's-egg blue background crumpled before my eyes. I am not a great fan of the 1950's blonde furniture, and these cabinets were just a shade or two darker. I was so disappointed that I wanted to cry. Michael went on to explain that the white cabinets are only available in a lacquer finish that will crack over time, leaving a pencil-like line at all of the joints.
However, that was not the end of the disappointment. We went on to plan the rest of the cabinets, deleting some of the features we did not want and adding some slide-outs and other things that we wanted, all the while keeping the budget in mind. Rick had mentioned this morning that counter space was limited in our current set-up, and in looking at our original plan, we did not gain too much more. Michael suggested getting rid of the kitchen desk to gain more cabinet and counter space. While I really like and use my desk in the kitchen at home, we could gain four more cabinets and another six feet of counter space by deleting the desk. So with a sad, sad sigh, my heart was further broken as the desk disappeared from the plan. Rick promised me a desk in the spare bedroom, but being stuck in the back corner room is not the same as being in a sunny kitchen. I will adjust, but the rest of my mental image of my bright Florida kitchen disappeared forever.
Further disappointment arrived when we reviewed the electrical set-up in the kitchen. The plug for the refrigerator that we paid a fortune for last year needs to be moved 6 inches to the right, and the plug for the stove also is not in the right place. We have to move the upper outlet next to the stove, and we have to add at least four other outlets (all in concrete walls!) to bring everything up to code.
After a brief lunch, we met with the pest control guy who sprayed the house for bugs. He told us that the flying white bugs we noted in the backyard as the trees fell down where, indeed, flying termites. Then I asked him to look at a mysterious hole in the side yard which I told Rick was probably a snake hole. Rick insisted it was not, but the pest control man equally assured me that it probably WAS the abode of a black snake.
"But don't worry," he said with a smile. "Black snakes are good because they eat lizards and fruit rats and other nasty things." Yeah, right. And he thinks a black snake is NOT a "nasty thing"?
By the time the pest control man left, we were at late afternoon. It was still too hot to work outside (so scratch the digging idea), too late to start to assemble the bathroom vanity (scratch assembling), too late to start washing down the guest room walls in preparation for fresh paint (scratch scrubbing), and I was too disappointed to try to be creative with a paint brush in the Florida room.
Rick suggested we go to the store to buy curtain rods for the master bedroom. I had bought thermal insulated curtains from Plow and Hearth for that room last year, but had not taken them from the package yet. We found two rods reasonably priced at Sears and came home. While Rick worked on putting the rods up, I went into the spare bedroom to iron the curtain. More disappointment. One of the panels had some darker threads woven into the white curtains, so there were actually four "lines" in one of the panels. Additionally, the panels did not iron worth crap. They still looked wrinkled when I was finished with them.
We hung two of the panels on the rod Rick had put up and immediately noticed the rod start to bow even though the curtains were not that heavy. Chalk up disappointment number six of the day! Rick called Plow and Hearth and arranged to have the curtains sent back. Then he took down the rod, we repackaged it, and returned that to Sears.
I want to cry. My kitchen plans are changed, and it will take me a while to get used to the new look and new plans for the room. Black snakes have moved into my southern flower garden, and termites are in the air. Nothing seemed to work out as planned today. I cannot even say that it was a productive day where I completed a single task beyond making dinner and washing the dishes.
I know that I should not be so ungrateful. The cabinets Michael proposed are made very well, and I am sure that they will still be bright, new, and very functional in the room. The revised cabinet plans also are going to give me lots of storage space and counter space to use, so in the end that too is probably a good thing.
Black snakes DO eat other pests, and they are more afraid of humans than (supposedly) humans are of them, and I still have the old shades in my bedroom, so the windows are covered for the evening.
I am going to bed. I hope that when I wake up tomorrow, I will do so to a better day.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Clearing the Jungle -- Part II
After I posted the blog last night, I settled down and took another look at the glass bowl that we resurrected from the back yard. Years of being addicted to Antiques Roadshow has taught me to always look for some kind of identifying mark on any glasswork or pottery. Much to my surprise, I actually found the number 36 and the words Arcoroc France molded into the glass. An investigation online (whatever did we do before the Internet?) told me that we had found a bowl made by a very famous glass and dish maker in France. We have the diamond and star pattern, and currently one auction at E-bay is starting the bidding at $14.00. Other sites have the same bowl offered for between $9 - $12 dollars. Who would have guessed? I thought the bowl looked similar to the ones my mother told me she bought early in her marriage at Kresge's for 29 cents! I guess Gladys really did give us a nice gift.
After a very restless night, we awoke this morning to the prayed-for good weather since Boen Tree Service was coming today to remove our trees. We had an almost dead Holly tree that Jeff from Boen told us last October should be removed "before the next hurricane season." Since we are now IN the next hurricane season, we felt that removing the tree before it fell on something would be a responsible thing to do.
Before the tree people came this morning, I moved two small plants that were growing next to the patio. I have yet to find them in my garden books, so I am not sure what they are, but they seem happy in their new home behind the garage.
Along with the Holly tree, we also contracted for the removal of seven Brazilian Pepper Trees and Wild Cherry trees. As the pictures show, the crew of four did a fantastic job of removing the invasive or dead trees and transforming our back yard. In the course of removing the contracted trees, we also ended up removing the palm tree next to the patio that was fighting with the Live Oak tree for space and sunlight. Additionally, we gave permission to take down a Queen palm that we did not even know we had (that was tangled in the electrical wires and would have been removed anyway by the power company) and a thorny, almost-dead orange or lemon --citrus for sure -- tree hidden in the middle of the "jungle" we called a back yard.
Now that the trees are gone, so is some of our privacy from the junky back yard of the house behind us; however, we now have a clean slate on which we can plant and build the backyard that we really want. Once the tree people were gone, Rick and I tackled what was left. We want to eventually prune the remaining Cleyera shrubs down to about 6 feet so they are a manageable size while still giving us some privacy. Rick spent over 2 hours digging up about 10 feet of Sansevieria trifasciata (Mother-in-Law's Tongue) that has tried to take over the back yard. We still have another 30 feet or so of that to remove.
Gladys also gave us another buried treasure. As I was working toward the fence line, I spotted the cement head of a deer looking up at me. Both ears were missing, but the steel rods that once supported the ears were still present, giving the deer a rather horned, Satanic look. When I tried to pull the head up from the dirt, I felt great resistance. Further tugging revealed the statue in the picture, a reclining deer that was literally buried up to its neck. While I should be grateful that Gladys keeps presenting me with gifts, I would have preferred more glassware to the cement statue that will go out with Thursday's trash. Hm-m-m. Today is Steve and Chris' wedding anniversary. Maybe Rick can be the cheapest little brother on the planet and leave them the statue as a 41st wedding anniversary gift. (Just kidding... I promise the Dunedin landfill will be the final resting place of this dear little deer.)
Happily, tucked way back in the northeast corner of our property is a wonderful magnolia tree that we also did not know we owned. Now that all of the Pepper trees are gone, the magnoila might actually get enough sunlight to bloom! We eventually would like to introduce some other flowering shrubs along with some other perennials to bring some color to the back gardens.
And speaking of blooming, I might actually get to see the giant cactus in the back yard bloom. Each time I have been down here, the cactus had buds, but we always left before we had a chance to see the flowers actually open. The cactus now has full sun, and Rick counted 9 buds on the cactus arms, so I will have to include pictures if I actually get to witness the cactus bloom.
Will the garden be done this year? No way. We are trying to stretch the budget to include kitchen cabinets and a new fence on the south side of the house this year. We have no money left for frills like flowers and shrubs. Those will come in time, but until we have some discretionary money to spend on such things, we will have to rely on God to fill in the greenery left in the back yard.
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| The Holly tree coming down. |
Before the tree people came this morning, I moved two small plants that were growing next to the patio. I have yet to find them in my garden books, so I am not sure what they are, but they seem happy in their new home behind the garage.
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| The back yard before |
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| ...and after. |
Now that the trees are gone, so is some of our privacy from the junky back yard of the house behind us; however, we now have a clean slate on which we can plant and build the backyard that we really want. Once the tree people were gone, Rick and I tackled what was left. We want to eventually prune the remaining Cleyera shrubs down to about 6 feet so they are a manageable size while still giving us some privacy. Rick spent over 2 hours digging up about 10 feet of Sansevieria trifasciata (Mother-in-Law's Tongue) that has tried to take over the back yard. We still have another 30 feet or so of that to remove.
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| Our latest gift from Gladys. |
Happily, tucked way back in the northeast corner of our property is a wonderful magnolia tree that we also did not know we owned. Now that all of the Pepper trees are gone, the magnoila might actually get enough sunlight to bloom! We eventually would like to introduce some other flowering shrubs along with some other perennials to bring some color to the back gardens.
And speaking of blooming, I might actually get to see the giant cactus in the back yard bloom. Each time I have been down here, the cactus had buds, but we always left before we had a chance to see the flowers actually open. The cactus now has full sun, and Rick counted 9 buds on the cactus arms, so I will have to include pictures if I actually get to witness the cactus bloom.
Will the garden be done this year? No way. We are trying to stretch the budget to include kitchen cabinets and a new fence on the south side of the house this year. We have no money left for frills like flowers and shrubs. Those will come in time, but until we have some discretionary money to spend on such things, we will have to rely on God to fill in the greenery left in the back yard.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Clearing the Jungle
Although we have only been here for three days, we both admit that we feel like we have been here for a month. We continue making progress inside the house in putting things in their place, so each day Gladys becomes more like home.
I forgot to mention last time that Chief Running Water made the trip to Dunedin as well. The first time I did dishes, I also got my feet washed! As I scrubbed dishes in the sink and dipped them in the other sink to rinse them, water was making its way out of both drains and onto the floor. Rick came into the kitchen and said, "Where is all of that water coming from?" Dah... since the sink was the only logical place, it did not take him long to find that both drains were not tight, thus I got my feet washed as well as my dishes! A little attention with a wrench fixed the sink problem, but our woes were not quite over. The drains were tight, but water continued to drip on the floor. The secondary culprit was a new dish draining system I thought would work for Gladys. Unfortunately, there was a weep hole by the silverware that drained onto the counter and onto the floor. Chief Running Water reigns again! Those in our family know that plumbing, water, and Rick are just not a good combination!
Today when we were out shopping for fun things like door knobs and paint, we drove through a residential neighborhood. We both did a double-take as a huge male peacock came strutting down the driveway to check out the vegetation by the mailbox. A peacock! Only in Florida...
We had to pick up doorknobs today because Jeff, our contractor, said that he is only waiting for one more door to come in to complete our order. He hopes to start putting in our new windows and doors on Thursday or Friday of this week. He said the crew will take 3 - 4 days to put in all of the windows and doors, but when they are finished we should have a much safer and more quiet house. We had to buy five doorknobs-- one for each of the two back doors, one for the not-yet-built door into the not-yet-built laundry room, and two for the new double doors that will replace the single front door and leaking floor-to-ceiling window in the living room area of the house. We learned that with double doors, one door will have a working doorknob and deadbolt, but the other door will just have a "dummy" non-working knob. The problem: Schlage does not make a "dummy" knob, so if we want one to match, we have to buy the full $139.00 working doorknob and then just use part of it.
Part of our job today was getting the doors on the giant white cabinet that Rick built for our master bathroom. I have attached a picture to show how it presently looks lying on my bedroom floor. We need to add the handles yet and the "feet" to raise it off the floor. Then we can pray that when we set it upright, we will have room to clear the ceiling when we do so. We have to move it somewhere tonight because I do not want to have to walk around a giant white "coffin" in the middle of the room when I want to use the master bathroom in the middle of the night.
Our work after dinner was to "clear the jungle" in the backyard in preparation for the workers to take down the pepper trees tomorrow. We had a huge growth of cuphea ignea, better known as cigar plant or cigar flower, under the palm that we have in the back yard. Each year the bush spreads a bit more, so we had to trim it all out for the landscapers to get to the pepper trees. The pictures show that the shrubs were defeated in the end, but we both sweat out our outfits, and we both drank 32 ounces of water in and hour's time. We had to wear long pants or the bugs would have eaten us alive. I understand from Lindsay, though, that the bugs everywhere this year are super-sized.
While we were clearing the bushes out, Gladys once again gave us a present. This time it is a lovely little 4" glass bowl that we found buried in the dirt under the bushes that we removed. I sometimes wonder if some mischievous children lived here and pitched dishes and flowerpots into the brush when they did not get their way. I found a buried flowerpot last year, and now Gladys presented me with this little bowl. Perhaps that is her way of saying "thank you" for trying to spruce up the back yard.
I forgot to mention last time that Chief Running Water made the trip to Dunedin as well. The first time I did dishes, I also got my feet washed! As I scrubbed dishes in the sink and dipped them in the other sink to rinse them, water was making its way out of both drains and onto the floor. Rick came into the kitchen and said, "Where is all of that water coming from?" Dah... since the sink was the only logical place, it did not take him long to find that both drains were not tight, thus I got my feet washed as well as my dishes! A little attention with a wrench fixed the sink problem, but our woes were not quite over. The drains were tight, but water continued to drip on the floor. The secondary culprit was a new dish draining system I thought would work for Gladys. Unfortunately, there was a weep hole by the silverware that drained onto the counter and onto the floor. Chief Running Water reigns again! Those in our family know that plumbing, water, and Rick are just not a good combination!
Today when we were out shopping for fun things like door knobs and paint, we drove through a residential neighborhood. We both did a double-take as a huge male peacock came strutting down the driveway to check out the vegetation by the mailbox. A peacock! Only in Florida...
We had to pick up doorknobs today because Jeff, our contractor, said that he is only waiting for one more door to come in to complete our order. He hopes to start putting in our new windows and doors on Thursday or Friday of this week. He said the crew will take 3 - 4 days to put in all of the windows and doors, but when they are finished we should have a much safer and more quiet house. We had to buy five doorknobs-- one for each of the two back doors, one for the not-yet-built door into the not-yet-built laundry room, and two for the new double doors that will replace the single front door and leaking floor-to-ceiling window in the living room area of the house. We learned that with double doors, one door will have a working doorknob and deadbolt, but the other door will just have a "dummy" non-working knob. The problem: Schlage does not make a "dummy" knob, so if we want one to match, we have to buy the full $139.00 working doorknob and then just use part of it.
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| The giant cabinet that hopefully will fit in the bathroom! |
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| Clearing the bushes around the palm tree. |
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| We also trimmed drooping fronds from the palm tree. |
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| Our gift from Gladys. |
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Taking Inventory
Yesterday (Saturday) started with rain as was promised by the weatherman on Friday evening. We were able to get off to a fairly early start, although this time the sun was actually up before we hit the road. As we drove south, we drove out of the rain. Once we turned onto Highway 580, we felt like we had arrived "home" again.
Our first view of Gladys was with the sun shining and temperatures in the low 80's. She had three huge dead palm fronds lying in the front yard, and one was hanging from the front rain gutter, so "not lived in" was sadly evident. We were spoiled this whole last winter because Steve and Chris checked on the house often, taking care of the little issues that made it looked uninhabited.
We worked very hard and had all of the trailer unloaded by 12:30 p.m. Rick had sweat out his first shirt of the summer, and I have to admit that I was none too dry either. The house was piled with tubs and boxes, but all was safely inside in case the weather turned on us. We learned today that Dunedin has received six inches of rain in the last five days, but we have not seen any rain at all since we arrived.
We worked all day opening tubs and boxes and trying to find places for everything. What was not in one box we found in another. So far we had not noticed that we are missing anything that we intended to bring. In fact, I found more kitchen items than I though we had down here, so I have now started a tub of items that I want to take BACK to Green Bay in May. I also have an abundance of shoes and underwear down here, so when I go home in August, I need to take better inventory of what I am leaving behind.
Today we awoke to a disaster of empty boxes and scattered items, but we spent the day trying to put things into order. The additional glass dishes, bowls, and casserole dishes I brought down have left me short of storage space on my kitchen shelves, so my new shelf unit I bought for the laundry room now is located next to the refrigerator, holding our food.
And speaking of refrigerators, ours has us concerned. When Rick and Stephanie came down in October, they noticed that the refrigerator took a long time to cool down. Today we noted that the thermometer in the 'fridge still was not down to 40 degrees after being on for 24 hours. We did a quick look at new refrigerators, looking for a white model with a bottom freezer and no ice water in the door. OK, OK, I know that I am old fashioned. I don't want to give up half of the 'fridge inside the door for an ice water distribution system. I also don't want stainless steel or a side-by-said construction. Give me a one-door upper door that does not leak because two doors are involved. Give me a white box with a freezer in the bottom that is cabinet depth so it will fit in this old house's old kitchen space!
We came home at noon discouraged because what we were seeking was both scarce and priced at approximately $2600. Strangely enough, when we sat down to lunch, the temperature still read above 40 degrees in the refrigerator, but the milk and yogurt were cold. Hmmm, maybe the refrigerator was not the problem. Maybe we just need a new thermometer!
We know that the refrigerator will need replacing, but at least we feel the the food currently is safe to eat. Side note: an outbreak of e-coli is in the news, so while the refrigerator may not be to blame, we still have to be careful what we buy and how we prepare the food. So far... so good, but I do have second thoughts about buying much at the Farmer's Market this year.
This afternoon we did find a refrigerator at Lowes that I would be very happy with, and Rick likes the price-- with sales, we can buy it for less than $1000.
As I look around the house tonight, I see that Gladys is starting to seem like an orderly home again. Rick not only put together the small shelving unit for the kitchen food, but he also assembled our new cherry cocktail table for the living room. We also have set up the white cabinet he made for the master bath, but that needs doors and shelves installed yet.
We took a truckload of broken-down boxes to the recycling center. Both bedrooms now have queen-sized beds set up, although the guest room still needs walls scrubbed and painted, new curtains, and all new woodwork. We still have to move the bikes from the Florida room back to the garage, but we need to put tools away so we have room for them first! The weather was in the low 90's today, and the humidity is very high. That kept us from working out there today. Welcome to Florida!
As we walk from room to room, we take inventory of what needs to be done in each room. We know in this first week alone, we will make arrangements tomorrow to have every window and door in the place replaced with hurricane proof windows and doors. We have Boen Tree Service coming in on Tuesday to remove a termite-ridden, almost-dead tree in the back yard. While they are here, they also will remove about seven other small trees. We have paint picked out for five of the six remaining rooms that need paint, so perhaps this week we also will be able to paint the Florida room its new blue/green color.
Last year we spent the majority of our money trying to make Gladys' electricity and heating/cooling systems safe. This year we will concentrate on making Gladys snug and secure. In the process, we also will be giving her new cabinets and a fresh coat of paint. After all, what woman does not like extra storage areas and a new application of make-up to look gorgeous?
Our first view of Gladys was with the sun shining and temperatures in the low 80's. She had three huge dead palm fronds lying in the front yard, and one was hanging from the front rain gutter, so "not lived in" was sadly evident. We were spoiled this whole last winter because Steve and Chris checked on the house often, taking care of the little issues that made it looked uninhabited.
We worked very hard and had all of the trailer unloaded by 12:30 p.m. Rick had sweat out his first shirt of the summer, and I have to admit that I was none too dry either. The house was piled with tubs and boxes, but all was safely inside in case the weather turned on us. We learned today that Dunedin has received six inches of rain in the last five days, but we have not seen any rain at all since we arrived.
We worked all day opening tubs and boxes and trying to find places for everything. What was not in one box we found in another. So far we had not noticed that we are missing anything that we intended to bring. In fact, I found more kitchen items than I though we had down here, so I have now started a tub of items that I want to take BACK to Green Bay in May. I also have an abundance of shoes and underwear down here, so when I go home in August, I need to take better inventory of what I am leaving behind.
Today we awoke to a disaster of empty boxes and scattered items, but we spent the day trying to put things into order. The additional glass dishes, bowls, and casserole dishes I brought down have left me short of storage space on my kitchen shelves, so my new shelf unit I bought for the laundry room now is located next to the refrigerator, holding our food.
And speaking of refrigerators, ours has us concerned. When Rick and Stephanie came down in October, they noticed that the refrigerator took a long time to cool down. Today we noted that the thermometer in the 'fridge still was not down to 40 degrees after being on for 24 hours. We did a quick look at new refrigerators, looking for a white model with a bottom freezer and no ice water in the door. OK, OK, I know that I am old fashioned. I don't want to give up half of the 'fridge inside the door for an ice water distribution system. I also don't want stainless steel or a side-by-said construction. Give me a one-door upper door that does not leak because two doors are involved. Give me a white box with a freezer in the bottom that is cabinet depth so it will fit in this old house's old kitchen space!
We came home at noon discouraged because what we were seeking was both scarce and priced at approximately $2600. Strangely enough, when we sat down to lunch, the temperature still read above 40 degrees in the refrigerator, but the milk and yogurt were cold. Hmmm, maybe the refrigerator was not the problem. Maybe we just need a new thermometer!
We know that the refrigerator will need replacing, but at least we feel the the food currently is safe to eat. Side note: an outbreak of e-coli is in the news, so while the refrigerator may not be to blame, we still have to be careful what we buy and how we prepare the food. So far... so good, but I do have second thoughts about buying much at the Farmer's Market this year.
This afternoon we did find a refrigerator at Lowes that I would be very happy with, and Rick likes the price-- with sales, we can buy it for less than $1000.
As I look around the house tonight, I see that Gladys is starting to seem like an orderly home again. Rick not only put together the small shelving unit for the kitchen food, but he also assembled our new cherry cocktail table for the living room. We also have set up the white cabinet he made for the master bath, but that needs doors and shelves installed yet.
We took a truckload of broken-down boxes to the recycling center. Both bedrooms now have queen-sized beds set up, although the guest room still needs walls scrubbed and painted, new curtains, and all new woodwork. We still have to move the bikes from the Florida room back to the garage, but we need to put tools away so we have room for them first! The weather was in the low 90's today, and the humidity is very high. That kept us from working out there today. Welcome to Florida!
As we walk from room to room, we take inventory of what needs to be done in each room. We know in this first week alone, we will make arrangements tomorrow to have every window and door in the place replaced with hurricane proof windows and doors. We have Boen Tree Service coming in on Tuesday to remove a termite-ridden, almost-dead tree in the back yard. While they are here, they also will remove about seven other small trees. We have paint picked out for five of the six remaining rooms that need paint, so perhaps this week we also will be able to paint the Florida room its new blue/green color.
Last year we spent the majority of our money trying to make Gladys' electricity and heating/cooling systems safe. This year we will concentrate on making Gladys snug and secure. In the process, we also will be giving her new cabinets and a fresh coat of paint. After all, what woman does not like extra storage areas and a new application of make-up to look gorgeous?
Friday, June 8, 2012
Weary and Weather
Exhaustion seems to be a common theme tonight, so this blog will be short.
We started the day at 3:30 and were on the road by 4:04 a.m. Rick drove first since we had to drive through Nashville. While the weather gave us problems last time, our navigation systems gave us problems this time. Before we left Wisconsin, Rick uploaded the latest maps on Victoria (our Garmin system). In doing so, however, he erased her "memory"of the route that we like to take to get to Florida. In Nashville, Victoria kept trying to take us on an eastern route so we would go through Atlanta. She "recalculated" so much that we finally unplugged her. While going through Georgia is the shortest way to get to Florida, we have been told by numerous people, including our friend Paula who used to live in that fair city, to avoid Atlanta at all costs. In the middle of Nashville we got mixed messages and the physical AAA maps did not go far enough to give me clear answers. Rick's demands of needing an answer on which way to turn two seconds before we needed to take a turn resulted in a minor melt-down on my part and a very, very, very crumpled map of Alabama. Eventually Rick's sense of direction got us turned around and back on the main route, but our trip through Nashville is far more stress than anyone wants or needs before 4:45 a.m.
After Nashville, we changed drivers for a little while, but I was not feeling well, so Rick took over again and navigated through most of the state of Alabama. Once again the weather was beautiful, although watching the sunrise through the bug-splattered windshield of a truck is not my idea of a perfect way to begin the day.
We did a quick diesel fuel stop in Dothan, AL, and then crossed into Florida. We ate lunch at the Florida Welcome Center, and I took over the driving. I actually enjoy driving Highway 10. It is flat, straight, and not overwhelmingly boring. Ironically, after a trip with wonderful weather, today is relatively cool (high 70's) and the only time true rain threatened is when we entered the "Sunshine State"! The rain fell before we arrived as evidenced by the puddles we see everywhere here in Lake City, but none has fallen since we arrived here.
Sadly, the weather is not promising for tomorrow when we make the last 3 1/2 hour journey to Gladys. Due to storms over the unusually warm Gulf of Mexico, rain is predicted for Pinellas County for the next 10 days. Thank heavens we have a garage door that actually works this year. We can, if need be, back the trailer up to the garage and unload the goods into the house through the garage.
After dinner at Steak and Shake this evening, we went for a short walk and then returned to the hotel room. We turned on TV, and both of us promptly fell asleep. I can hardly keep my eyes open, so I apologize for this rather bland entry. With what energy I have left, I feel excited to finish this last leg of the journey so we can reunite with Gladys before noon tomorrow.
We started the day at 3:30 and were on the road by 4:04 a.m. Rick drove first since we had to drive through Nashville. While the weather gave us problems last time, our navigation systems gave us problems this time. Before we left Wisconsin, Rick uploaded the latest maps on Victoria (our Garmin system). In doing so, however, he erased her "memory"of the route that we like to take to get to Florida. In Nashville, Victoria kept trying to take us on an eastern route so we would go through Atlanta. She "recalculated" so much that we finally unplugged her. While going through Georgia is the shortest way to get to Florida, we have been told by numerous people, including our friend Paula who used to live in that fair city, to avoid Atlanta at all costs. In the middle of Nashville we got mixed messages and the physical AAA maps did not go far enough to give me clear answers. Rick's demands of needing an answer on which way to turn two seconds before we needed to take a turn resulted in a minor melt-down on my part and a very, very, very crumpled map of Alabama. Eventually Rick's sense of direction got us turned around and back on the main route, but our trip through Nashville is far more stress than anyone wants or needs before 4:45 a.m.
After Nashville, we changed drivers for a little while, but I was not feeling well, so Rick took over again and navigated through most of the state of Alabama. Once again the weather was beautiful, although watching the sunrise through the bug-splattered windshield of a truck is not my idea of a perfect way to begin the day.
We did a quick diesel fuel stop in Dothan, AL, and then crossed into Florida. We ate lunch at the Florida Welcome Center, and I took over the driving. I actually enjoy driving Highway 10. It is flat, straight, and not overwhelmingly boring. Ironically, after a trip with wonderful weather, today is relatively cool (high 70's) and the only time true rain threatened is when we entered the "Sunshine State"! The rain fell before we arrived as evidenced by the puddles we see everywhere here in Lake City, but none has fallen since we arrived here.
Sadly, the weather is not promising for tomorrow when we make the last 3 1/2 hour journey to Gladys. Due to storms over the unusually warm Gulf of Mexico, rain is predicted for Pinellas County for the next 10 days. Thank heavens we have a garage door that actually works this year. We can, if need be, back the trailer up to the garage and unload the goods into the house through the garage.
After dinner at Steak and Shake this evening, we went for a short walk and then returned to the hotel room. We turned on TV, and both of us promptly fell asleep. I can hardly keep my eyes open, so I apologize for this rather bland entry. With what energy I have left, I feel excited to finish this last leg of the journey so we can reunite with Gladys before noon tomorrow.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Time and Money
When I teach the unit on conflict to my Oral Interpersonal Communication students, we note that the definition of conflict includes an expressed struggle between two interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals in obtaining scarce resources. The students learn that the two most scarce resources are what the title to this blog alludes to: time and money.
Although Rick and I are NOT having a conflict, we do find ourselves concerned about both of these resources. The most urgent right now is time. My darling husband, the super-planner, had our U-Haul trailer that we were going to load with goodies and pull to Gladys set for pick-up at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 7. (Side note: Happy Birthday, nephew Steven!) He has had this trailer reserved for June 7 since last October. Did I mention he was a super-planner? On Tuesday of this week, Mr. Ants-in-His-Pants gets the great idea that we should get the trailer on Wednesday (since he did a drive-by of the U-Haul place and saw that they were loaded with trailers) and then we could get an early start on driving south on Thursday.
He went in Tuesday afternoon to talk to the woman behind the U-Haul counter who plugged his request into the computer. Yup, he could have the trailer on Wednesday, and the computer said that it would only cost us $400 MORE to get it early. Ha! Note from the blog title that the other scarce resource is money. Thankfully, the U-Haul woman called her dispatcher, pulled some stings, and got us the trailer a day early at the agreed-upon October price. Rick's time-urgency was briefly satiated.
We spent all of Wednesday loading the trailer and setting the Green Bay household into "hibernation" mode. As much as I tried to eat out the refrigerator, Lindsay and Chris still went home with a cooler full of food with our blessings. (I hate to waste food except for the mysterious bottle of something that expired in 2010 that Lindsay found lurking in the refrigerator door. Thank heavens today was garbage pick-up day at our house!)
This morning (Thursday), we were up with the birds and on the road by 4:45 a.m. We found that if we take three-hour driving shifts, we can make it to our destination without undo fatigue on any one driver's part. For those of you who have never done so, please note that Illinois seems to go on forever when one tries to drive it all in one day. I swear that if a woman gave birth to a child in northern Illinois, the kid would be ready for kindergarten by the time she drove to the southern tip of the state.
Thankfully, we are now in Clarksville, TN. We drove approximately 12 hours today with no problems. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, but my butt may never recover from sitting in the truck that long.
The good news is that although we saw 7 dead deer, none of them died from direct contact with our truck. We passed more police officers than I cared to count, but we did not make anyone's personal acquaintance on the way. We changed drivers and took bathroom breaks every three hours, and (knock on cement) all of the tires on all of the vehicles are still inflated. We actually made good time in getting to our hotel for the evening, and although filling the truck with diesel always gives me heart palpitations, we actually could fill up for $3.69 gallon. Putting in the charge card twice because the gas station had a maximum $95.00 charge limit nearly killed us, but then we reasoned that it could have been much worse had diesel remained above $4.00 a gallon.
Our hotel is conveniently located near the highway, gas stations, and blissfully, several restaurants within WALKING distance. I think I would have rather starved than to climb back into that truck tonight. We spent a little more money than we would have liked on dinner, but I have half of mine in a styrofoam box in the refrigerator for lunch on the road tomorrow.
Clarksville, TN, is next door to Fort Campbell, home of the 101st Airborne Division. Helicopters, uniforms, and lots of people. There is more traffic here than in downtown Manhattan. When we asked about the traffic, we were informed that one of the major events in the area this weekend was the Country Music Awards in Nashville. Timing is everything! We know that traffic is miserable in Nashville even on the weekends, so we had to come up with alternate plans.
We have agreed to get up tomorrow by 3:30 so we can be on the road by 4:00 a.m. We have an hour's drive to Nashville which we want to traverse before the Friday morning rush hour. The last time we drove through Nashville, we almost drowned in a terrible downpour, so at least the weather is supposed to cooperate tomorrow. Driving through Nashville will probably take an hour and a half, so we hope to get there by 5:00 and through the area by 6:30 at the latest. Barring any major construction or major accidents, we should be on our way in reasonable good time.
Rick just said that with bathroom and lunch breaks, we will ONLY put in about 9 - 9 1/2 hours in the truck tomorrow. Our destination is Lake City, FL, which will leave us with just a short jaunt to Gladys on Saturday.
So far... so good. The timing worked in our favor so far, the money is slipping out of our accounts at an expected rate, and we are looking forward to a good summer in Gladys. Our plans are ambitious... removal of eight trees in the back yard, all new windows and doors, a remodeled master bathroom, new paint in the kitchen, Florida room, master bath, master bedroom, and guest room, and (if the money holds out) perhaps new kitchen cabinets before we leave. We have nine weeks to make these transformations, so the question is what will disappear first: time or money?
Although Rick and I are NOT having a conflict, we do find ourselves concerned about both of these resources. The most urgent right now is time. My darling husband, the super-planner, had our U-Haul trailer that we were going to load with goodies and pull to Gladys set for pick-up at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 7. (Side note: Happy Birthday, nephew Steven!) He has had this trailer reserved for June 7 since last October. Did I mention he was a super-planner? On Tuesday of this week, Mr. Ants-in-His-Pants gets the great idea that we should get the trailer on Wednesday (since he did a drive-by of the U-Haul place and saw that they were loaded with trailers) and then we could get an early start on driving south on Thursday.
He went in Tuesday afternoon to talk to the woman behind the U-Haul counter who plugged his request into the computer. Yup, he could have the trailer on Wednesday, and the computer said that it would only cost us $400 MORE to get it early. Ha! Note from the blog title that the other scarce resource is money. Thankfully, the U-Haul woman called her dispatcher, pulled some stings, and got us the trailer a day early at the agreed-upon October price. Rick's time-urgency was briefly satiated.
We spent all of Wednesday loading the trailer and setting the Green Bay household into "hibernation" mode. As much as I tried to eat out the refrigerator, Lindsay and Chris still went home with a cooler full of food with our blessings. (I hate to waste food except for the mysterious bottle of something that expired in 2010 that Lindsay found lurking in the refrigerator door. Thank heavens today was garbage pick-up day at our house!)
This morning (Thursday), we were up with the birds and on the road by 4:45 a.m. We found that if we take three-hour driving shifts, we can make it to our destination without undo fatigue on any one driver's part. For those of you who have never done so, please note that Illinois seems to go on forever when one tries to drive it all in one day. I swear that if a woman gave birth to a child in northern Illinois, the kid would be ready for kindergarten by the time she drove to the southern tip of the state.
Thankfully, we are now in Clarksville, TN. We drove approximately 12 hours today with no problems. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, but my butt may never recover from sitting in the truck that long.
The good news is that although we saw 7 dead deer, none of them died from direct contact with our truck. We passed more police officers than I cared to count, but we did not make anyone's personal acquaintance on the way. We changed drivers and took bathroom breaks every three hours, and (knock on cement) all of the tires on all of the vehicles are still inflated. We actually made good time in getting to our hotel for the evening, and although filling the truck with diesel always gives me heart palpitations, we actually could fill up for $3.69 gallon. Putting in the charge card twice because the gas station had a maximum $95.00 charge limit nearly killed us, but then we reasoned that it could have been much worse had diesel remained above $4.00 a gallon.
Our hotel is conveniently located near the highway, gas stations, and blissfully, several restaurants within WALKING distance. I think I would have rather starved than to climb back into that truck tonight. We spent a little more money than we would have liked on dinner, but I have half of mine in a styrofoam box in the refrigerator for lunch on the road tomorrow.
Clarksville, TN, is next door to Fort Campbell, home of the 101st Airborne Division. Helicopters, uniforms, and lots of people. There is more traffic here than in downtown Manhattan. When we asked about the traffic, we were informed that one of the major events in the area this weekend was the Country Music Awards in Nashville. Timing is everything! We know that traffic is miserable in Nashville even on the weekends, so we had to come up with alternate plans.
We have agreed to get up tomorrow by 3:30 so we can be on the road by 4:00 a.m. We have an hour's drive to Nashville which we want to traverse before the Friday morning rush hour. The last time we drove through Nashville, we almost drowned in a terrible downpour, so at least the weather is supposed to cooperate tomorrow. Driving through Nashville will probably take an hour and a half, so we hope to get there by 5:00 and through the area by 6:30 at the latest. Barring any major construction or major accidents, we should be on our way in reasonable good time.
Rick just said that with bathroom and lunch breaks, we will ONLY put in about 9 - 9 1/2 hours in the truck tomorrow. Our destination is Lake City, FL, which will leave us with just a short jaunt to Gladys on Saturday.
So far... so good. The timing worked in our favor so far, the money is slipping out of our accounts at an expected rate, and we are looking forward to a good summer in Gladys. Our plans are ambitious... removal of eight trees in the back yard, all new windows and doors, a remodeled master bathroom, new paint in the kitchen, Florida room, master bath, master bedroom, and guest room, and (if the money holds out) perhaps new kitchen cabinets before we leave. We have nine weeks to make these transformations, so the question is what will disappear first: time or money?
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