Kitchen Done!

The kitchen is done - for now. We still want to put in new flooring. So what took so long?

• Cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning.
• Removed the old toaster oven.
• Ceiling needed three coats to cover the yellow strip.
• Ceiling register spray painted.
• A zillion holes filled and sanded.
• Deglosser applied. (The fumes made me so ill that only one half got done. Didn't seem to do anything and the side without came out fine.)
• Ceiling light fixture replaced. (A job that should have taken a few minutes took over an hour but we won the battle!)
• Cupboard doors removed. (There are 24 doors and 8 drawers. Since I could only lay out 12 doors at a time I only worked on one side at a time.)
• Primer, followed by 2-3 coats each of three different colors of paint. (I spent a lot of time watching paint dry before I could start on the next color.)
• Door handles spray painted. They were so old that several broke so we ended up ordering new ones.
• Blind replaced.
• New valance made.

TaDa!

1984 Twin, Homes of Merit

My Day Off

I took the day off from painting on Tuesday and we went to Blue Springs State Park. We waited too long to go so we missed the manatees this year. So we decided we'd finally take the St John's River cruise. Turned out we needed a reservation so lesson learned. Still, it was an enjoyable day walking the boardwalk and we brought a picnic lunch.

Instead of the Manatees we saw these creatures swimming along.

The kids were having a great time. There is a place further up the spring that you can get in with an inner-tube and float down to the swimming area. I think my grandkids would really love doing that! 

That is if this sign doesn't scare them out of the water!

Yesterday was back to work. The new hardware came today so the kitchen is finally done! The ceiling tiles are in for the guest room. Initially we decided we couldn't make them work. After rethinking it we may have come up with a solution. So tomorrow we have to pick up supplies and we'll try and put up the ceiling over the weekend. If this doesn't work I'm seriously thinking that poster board is a viable option!

Painting and Hammering

Yesterday I was in the front room painting the kitchen cupboard doors.

What? Doesn't everyone have a bed frame to paint on in their front room? I figure guests might as well see what they're in for the minute they walk through the door!
(Actually, when we tore the guest room apart we had to put the bed someplace. The boards are from the built in bookcase that was torn out. I thought it was sheer genius on my part to lay them out so that I could paint 12 doors at a time.)

Anyhoo, I'm sitting there painting and I hear hammering just outside the window. I looked out and there was a woodpecker just going to town on the palm tree. He's been a fairly regular visitor but very camera shy. I ran for the camera anyway and he actually stuck around!

Yeah - my life hasn't been too exciting of late but I'm not complaining! The weather has been perfect and I'm quite content to stay here and work until it gets warm in Snowville.

What's that? You want to see how the kitchen is coming? Here's a peek. I'll put up before and after pics when it's done. I'm waiting on new hardware and the trim is taking me forever. (You'll just have to pretend that I was able to crop the floor out. That's a project I'm saving for the fall.)

1984 Twin, Homes of Merit

Super Moon

Six years ago I had been visiting my sister and started for home near sunset. As I headed down a country road toward the highway I was absolutely blown away by the full moon. It was absolutely huge. It hung just over the tree line and I felt as if I could reach out and touch it. I was so amazed that I pulled over to the side of the road and sat there to watch it for awhile. I couldn't understand why it seemed so close and so big and for just a moment there was fear. After the moment passed I was simply filled with awe.

I now know that what I saw was something close to a "Super Moon." The last time the full moon occurred when the moon's orbit was it's closest to earth was in 1993. But in 2005 the alignment was close enough to wow me.

With this memory I was excited about moonrise tonight. We set out down the street a little before the official moonrise time here of 7:51. The appointed time came and went and we walked some more as the last of the daylight waned.

It wasn't long until the bugs started biting so we walked home and got the golf cart and headed to the other end of the street. We could see the glow of the moon peeking through the trees. It was bright and pretty but no where near the memory I have and therefore disappointing. I took 50 pictures and they are all duds. My little Kodak just does not do night time photos. I did try and get some to the tree line in the pictures. What do you think, is there a dog on the moon?

I guess I'll hang on to my memory and maybe I'll have the chance to see another Super Moon that lives up to it.

St Augustine

On Tuesday I took a break from painting and headed north to St Augustine to meet up with a couple of blogging friends, Becky Wiseman and Denise Barrett Olsen. Denise took us on a walking tour and we had a great time. It was so much more fun with our own tour guide!

The recently refurbished drawbridge.

The lions that guard the bridge were 

placed back at the foot of the bridge that day.

I loved the Presbyterian Church.

The stained glass is beautiful. 

Two varieties of azeleas. I really liked the 

light pink but didn't get a good picture.

The tour we didn't take.

Another church. There are many in St Augustine.

There was so much more that we got to see but I didn't take a lot of pictures as I was just having too much fun!

Florida Sandhill Cranes

The golf course here has many water hazards and the largest of these is home to some Florida Sandhill Cranes. They stand about 3 1/2 feet tall and will let people get fairly close. They are something to see walking down the street. I have seen them fly but usually they seem to just stroll along and occasionally stop traffic. They are in no hurry and seem to know that they have the right of way!

 

OTV Launch

There are several rocket launches from Cape Canaveral every year. On Saturday we watched the launch of a Atlas V rocket carrying the Orbital Test Vehicle. I am my mother's daughter, I love anything having to do with flying and space.

The launch was originally scheduled for Friday but delayed due to weather. We followed the launch both days via webcast on the United Launch Alliance site. Just before the launch we turned on the TV because the website is on a slight delay. Just like with Discovery, after we watched the lift off we walked out to the driveway and watched. When Discovery launched all the neighbors also walked outside and lined the street. For this launch we were the only ones on our stretch of road looking to the sky. Not as spectacular as the shuttle launch but cool to see all the same.

Discovery is scheduled to land on Wednesday. I doubt we'll be able to see it from here but if we don't drive over to Titusville we'll sit outside and watch for it anyway. Then there is another rocket launch scheduled for Friday.



[Picture of the OTV from Wikipedia]