The weather is beautiful here! It is getting a bit too warm for an afternoon walk so I'm trying to get out earlier in the day.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Morning Walk
The weather is beautiful here! It is getting a bit too warm for an afternoon walk so I'm trying to get out earlier in the day.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Hauled Into Court
Today I'm sharing one of Mom's memories. I don't remember ever hearing the story before so I assume that it happened after I'd left home and perhaps when I was living in Western New York. For anyone that is younger than I, there was a time when long distance phone calls were quite expensive and Mom and I didn't always stay in touch as well as we should have. I can't imagine what I'd think if I saw her name on a list of court summons' in the newspaper!
Now something you need to know about Mom is that she is the most law abiding person I know. She may not agree with a law, in fact there are several that she thinks are just plain stupid, but she will not break or even bend a rule. (Well at least not intentionally. She was known for missing one-way street signs.) She has never jay-walked, no rolling stops, the speed limit is the speed limit and who would even think about cheating on their taxes!
Back before the county wide trash burning plant was built each town had their own little landfill and by law you could not dispose of your trash in one of these landfills unless you were a resident of that town. Mom has had curbside pickup of her trash since she moved into her home in 1964.
Imagine her surprise and shock when she received a summons to court for illegally dumping her trash in the next town! And they had evidence against her, an envelope with her name and address on it!
So she went to court and when she saw the envelope she recognized it right away. It was from a financial transaction and it had contained a check. So she took it to the bank, deposited the check and tossed the envelope in the trash can at the bank. She explained to the judge that she saw a trash can and she used it!
Case dismissed!
Now something you need to know about Mom is that she is the most law abiding person I know. She may not agree with a law, in fact there are several that she thinks are just plain stupid, but she will not break or even bend a rule. (Well at least not intentionally. She was known for missing one-way street signs.) She has never jay-walked, no rolling stops, the speed limit is the speed limit and who would even think about cheating on their taxes!
Back before the county wide trash burning plant was built each town had their own little landfill and by law you could not dispose of your trash in one of these landfills unless you were a resident of that town. Mom has had curbside pickup of her trash since she moved into her home in 1964.
Imagine her surprise and shock when she received a summons to court for illegally dumping her trash in the next town! And they had evidence against her, an envelope with her name and address on it!
So she went to court and when she saw the envelope she recognized it right away. It was from a financial transaction and it had contained a check. So she took it to the bank, deposited the check and tossed the envelope in the trash can at the bank. She explained to the judge that she saw a trash can and she used it!
Case dismissed!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Snail Kite
I was sitting out in the screen room today and saw a large bird on the roof across the street. It had a red beak and red legs which I found unusual so I came in to grab the camera and of course while I was inside it flew away. I came back in and grabbed my bird book and think it had to be a Snail Kite. I told John what I'd seen and said he'd seen a pair of large black birds earlier.
It came back and this time I had the camera handy but he really didn't want his picture taken. This was the best I could get.
The Snail Kite is on the Federal Endangered Species list so I am pleased to see them here. I don't know if they are attracted to the golf ponds or the Econlockhatchee River. Perhaps they'll be back tomorrow.
It came back and this time I had the camera handy but he really didn't want his picture taken. This was the best I could get.
The Snail Kite is on the Federal Endangered Species list so I am pleased to see them here. I don't know if they are attracted to the golf ponds or the Econlockhatchee River. Perhaps they'll be back tomorrow.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Dining Room - Before and After
A small room that took too long! I still have some trim left that I'll catch when I start on the hall.
We took down the chain that pulled the light off center, changed the door and drawer pulls, cleaned the blinds and added an "etching" to the mirror. Another room with white on white that doesn't show up in photos well.
1984 Twin Homes of Merit
We took down the chain that pulled the light off center, changed the door and drawer pulls, cleaned the blinds and added an "etching" to the mirror. Another room with white on white that doesn't show up in photos well.
1984 Twin Homes of Merit
Sunday, April 10, 2011
The Ceiling
My nephew was certain that we could find replacement ceiling sections. The ceilings here were installed differently than the ceiling in our other house. Here the ceiling is a 4' wide panel and was put up before the walls. There are "decorative" strips where two panels meet and also every 16" to hide the staples that hold it up. Because the ceiling went up before the walls the panels on each end of the room extend into the next room. So we couldn't take down these end strips without messing up the ceiling in the closet (which wasn't too big a deal) and the bathroom (which was a big problem.)
Since I couldn't find ceiling like what we have I looked for alternatives. We could sheetrock the ceiling but they panels are awfully heavy for me to help with. The ideal solution seemed to be a dropped ceiling but the cost was high and by the time we dropped it enough to be able to slide the panels in it would have been down to just over 7' and we felt that was too low.
Finally I found lightweight 16" tiles that looked like something we could manage. I ordered them and moved on to other things. When they came in we picked them and looked them over but I didn't want to start on the ceiling before I finished the kitchen. They looked nothing like the strips of ceiling we had left and we were stuck on how to make the two types of ceiling work together.
It finally came to me that we could simply lower the entire ceiling 1/2". John and I have been married 27 years so you'd think we'd communicate well. We don't process information in the same way and I could not explain to him what I wanted to do in a way that made sense to him. After much frustration with each other we were both envisioning how we might make the tiles work. My idea to cover the old ceiling would work but John had to revise my plan for leveling out the rest of the ceiling.
John did the work. I passed him tiles and tools. We worked together to cut tiles as needed. We made a few mistakes and dinged a few tiles but in the end we got it done with a few tiles to spare.
John had spray painted the ceiling register. He put up the old fan and we agreed that it didn't look great with the new bright white ceiling.
We had just a little more work to do. We put up molding and a new fan. Add new curtains and a bed and we finally have a guest room!
It still needs decorating and new carpet but the hard work is done!
1984 Twin, Homes of Merit
Since I couldn't find ceiling like what we have I looked for alternatives. We could sheetrock the ceiling but they panels are awfully heavy for me to help with. The ideal solution seemed to be a dropped ceiling but the cost was high and by the time we dropped it enough to be able to slide the panels in it would have been down to just over 7' and we felt that was too low.
Finally I found lightweight 16" tiles that looked like something we could manage. I ordered them and moved on to other things. When they came in we picked them and looked them over but I didn't want to start on the ceiling before I finished the kitchen. They looked nothing like the strips of ceiling we had left and we were stuck on how to make the two types of ceiling work together.
It finally came to me that we could simply lower the entire ceiling 1/2". John and I have been married 27 years so you'd think we'd communicate well. We don't process information in the same way and I could not explain to him what I wanted to do in a way that made sense to him. After much frustration with each other we were both envisioning how we might make the tiles work. My idea to cover the old ceiling would work but John had to revise my plan for leveling out the rest of the ceiling.
John did the work. I passed him tiles and tools. We worked together to cut tiles as needed. We made a few mistakes and dinged a few tiles but in the end we got it done with a few tiles to spare.
John had spray painted the ceiling register. He put up the old fan and we agreed that it didn't look great with the new bright white ceiling.
We had just a little more work to do. We put up molding and a new fan. Add new curtains and a bed and we finally have a guest room!
It still needs decorating and new carpet but the hard work is done!
1984 Twin, Homes of Merit
Saturday, April 09, 2011
Learning New Skills
We bought this place based on digital photos and a walk through by my sister-in-law. This is the only picture we received of the guest room.
We were told that there was a stain on the ceiling. So I figured some primer a little paint - no problem.
When we finally got down here back in July this is what we saw.
Sure, we can paint that. But wait....... here is the view from the other side of the room.
It was worse than it appears in the picture. We knew that replacing a section of ceiling was in our future. In our other house John had to replace a floor and we worked on some walls but we'd never tackled a ceiling.
When we finally got down here at the end of January we looked it over again. The ceiling was resting on the shelving unit so it would have to come down. While we were puzzling out how to take it apart we noticed some water damage near the floor on the shelving unit. We also discovered that the shelves were glued to the wall. So we decided to put off repairs and figure on hiring someone to do the repairs for us.
Our nephew came down on vacation and had a day to come and look things over. He didn't hesitate on how to take down the shelving. A few good swings of the hammer and down they came, along with a section of wall board.
It was obvious that the wall board on both sides of the window would need to be removed too. We had gone from a ceiling in need of paint to a wall that needed to be rebuilt, something else we hadn't done before. By the time our nephew was done ripping things apart, this is what we were left with.
He made us a list of lumber on other supplies we'd need and promised to be back in a week to help us put it back together.
I called around and couldn't find replacement ceiling sections. The lumber we could get in the car but not the wall board so we rented a truck. As long as we had a truck we also picked up a couple of other things we couldn't get home in the car. We cleaned out the room, cut the wall board that he had cut zigzag and waited for his return.
He and John sistered in the lumber and the structure was repaired surprisingly quickly. He was flying out the next day so we were on our own.
We got the wall board up and without anything to put on the ceiling I went ahead and painted.
Tomorrow, The Ceiling
1984 Twin, Homes of Merit
We were told that there was a stain on the ceiling. So I figured some primer a little paint - no problem.
When we finally got down here back in July this is what we saw.
Sure, we can paint that. But wait....... here is the view from the other side of the room.
When we finally got down here at the end of January we looked it over again. The ceiling was resting on the shelving unit so it would have to come down. While we were puzzling out how to take it apart we noticed some water damage near the floor on the shelving unit. We also discovered that the shelves were glued to the wall. So we decided to put off repairs and figure on hiring someone to do the repairs for us.
Our nephew came down on vacation and had a day to come and look things over. He didn't hesitate on how to take down the shelving. A few good swings of the hammer and down they came, along with a section of wall board.
It was obvious that the wall board on both sides of the window would need to be removed too. We had gone from a ceiling in need of paint to a wall that needed to be rebuilt, something else we hadn't done before. By the time our nephew was done ripping things apart, this is what we were left with.
He made us a list of lumber on other supplies we'd need and promised to be back in a week to help us put it back together.
I called around and couldn't find replacement ceiling sections. The lumber we could get in the car but not the wall board so we rented a truck. As long as we had a truck we also picked up a couple of other things we couldn't get home in the car. We cleaned out the room, cut the wall board that he had cut zigzag and waited for his return.
He and John sistered in the lumber and the structure was repaired surprisingly quickly. He was flying out the next day so we were on our own.
We got the wall board up and without anything to put on the ceiling I went ahead and painted.
Tomorrow, The Ceiling
1984 Twin, Homes of Merit
Friday, April 08, 2011
Sugar! Sugar! Fudge!
My mother taught me to use sugar and fudge in place of swear words and boy have I been saying them alot! I'm still working on the dining room. Somehow I managed to wrench my back. I think I must have twisted when I was trying to reach the highest part of the wall. It's a bit better today and I know from experience that it should be fine in a day or two.
I mentioned before that I bought the wrong color paint for around the mirror. Here's that photo.
It's a pretty pastel green but I wanted sage and the pastel just wasn't working for me. So off to Home Depot and Holy Cow - the line in the paint department snaked all the way around. One of the men in line told me not to despair, the folks at the front were waiting for the paint shaker to finish and they had several people working so the line was moving fairly quickly. I stood in line and John went off to pick up some caulk. My turn finally came and the clerk went to find the base she needed to mix my paint. Meanwhile John had been checking out the paint returns that were marked down and found a color he thought was close and brought it over. The clerk and I looked at it and agreed it was darker than the color I'd picked and it was semi-gloss, while I wanted satin, so I told John to forget it, I was not buying the wrong color again! It was then that the clerk informed me that they did not have the base I needed. Sugar!!!! She said that for $1.00 I might want to try the can John was now returning to the shelf. A DOLLAR? You bet I'll try it for that price. John retrieved it and we actually spent less than $3.00 - a first for a trip to a home improvement store.
I put it on the wall and it didn't look too bad - until it dried. Sugar!!!! It said dark army green man cave to me and I certainly wasn't having that!
So I dumped some of it into a jar and tried adding white to lighten it. When that didn't work I poured some white and started adding the dark green to it until it seemed right. I got it on the wall, it took in one coat and while it was a bit darker than the color I'd picked I liked it and was happy to have that done. It took five coats of white paint to cover the molding around the mirror. When it was done I was excited to remove the masking tape and see how it looked.
Fudge!!!!!!!
The back of the molding now shows up like a sore thumb. It better not take five coats! And I suspect I'll have another place to use that caulk we just bought.
I'm nowhere near done with the dining room that I was certain would only take 3 or 4 days.
So back to work I go.........
I mentioned before that I bought the wrong color paint for around the mirror. Here's that photo.
It's a pretty pastel green but I wanted sage and the pastel just wasn't working for me. So off to Home Depot and Holy Cow - the line in the paint department snaked all the way around. One of the men in line told me not to despair, the folks at the front were waiting for the paint shaker to finish and they had several people working so the line was moving fairly quickly. I stood in line and John went off to pick up some caulk. My turn finally came and the clerk went to find the base she needed to mix my paint. Meanwhile John had been checking out the paint returns that were marked down and found a color he thought was close and brought it over. The clerk and I looked at it and agreed it was darker than the color I'd picked and it was semi-gloss, while I wanted satin, so I told John to forget it, I was not buying the wrong color again! It was then that the clerk informed me that they did not have the base I needed. Sugar!!!! She said that for $1.00 I might want to try the can John was now returning to the shelf. A DOLLAR? You bet I'll try it for that price. John retrieved it and we actually spent less than $3.00 - a first for a trip to a home improvement store.
I put it on the wall and it didn't look too bad - until it dried. Sugar!!!! It said dark army green man cave to me and I certainly wasn't having that!
So I dumped some of it into a jar and tried adding white to lighten it. When that didn't work I poured some white and started adding the dark green to it until it seemed right. I got it on the wall, it took in one coat and while it was a bit darker than the color I'd picked I liked it and was happy to have that done. It took five coats of white paint to cover the molding around the mirror. When it was done I was excited to remove the masking tape and see how it looked.
Fudge!!!!!!!
The back of the molding now shows up like a sore thumb. It better not take five coats! And I suspect I'll have another place to use that caulk we just bought.
I'm nowhere near done with the dining room that I was certain would only take 3 or 4 days.
So back to work I go.........
Thursday, April 07, 2011
A Day at the Beach
We took the day off today and headed to Canaveral National Seashore. I wanted to see Space Shuttle Endeavour on the launch pad and by going to the beach we got to see it and saved $80. Don't get me wrong, I've been to Kennedy Space Center and we do plan to go again but for right now I'm still pinching pennies!
There were very few people on the beach, a few fishermen and a couple of sunbathers. We have always loved walking a beach and this was the first time I had tried since my last two surgeries. I wrenched my back yesterday and between the foot and my back it was not the pleasurable experience I was looking forward to.
I did take my sandals off to try walking barefoot in the packed sand at the waters edge. That was no better and the water was cold. Hopefully next time will be better!
We went back to the car and drove further down the beach. We took our chairs and picnic lunch and just sat watching the waves, people and the birds. I was entertained by a couple of pelicans but they were camera shy.
Then this guy came strutting along. Actually the couple just south of us were feeding him so he was happy to hang around.
We took our time driving back and explored Titusville a bit. After we got home and unpacked the car we headed out again for milk shakes. I had fun people watching. There was one little girl there, about four, who was just cute as a button. Someone had painted a mask on her face in bright pink and tangerine. She chose a tie-dyed t-shirt in orange, pink and bright blue over which she added a purple plaid sundress. She completed her outfit with Dora knee socks and cute flowered sandals. Next time one of my granddaughters picks something outlandish to wear I'm just going to smile!
For me it was quite exciting to see but my
camera just isn't up to long range shots.
camera just isn't up to long range shots.
Vehicle Assembly Building.
Wild flowers on the dune.
We went back to the car and drove further down the beach. We took our chairs and picnic lunch and just sat watching the waves, people and the birds. I was entertained by a couple of pelicans but they were camera shy.
He even stopped right in front of me and posed.
We took our time driving back and explored Titusville a bit. After we got home and unpacked the car we headed out again for milk shakes. I had fun people watching. There was one little girl there, about four, who was just cute as a button. Someone had painted a mask on her face in bright pink and tangerine. She chose a tie-dyed t-shirt in orange, pink and bright blue over which she added a purple plaid sundress. She completed her outfit with Dora knee socks and cute flowered sandals. Next time one of my granddaughters picks something outlandish to wear I'm just going to smile!
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Storms and Mess
My sister pointed out that I haven't posted anything in awhile. Since she asked ....
While I was still working on the kitchen the ceiling tiles for the guest room came in. We picked them up and looked at them but decided one mess at a time. So as I worked on the kitchen we read the directions and held up tiles and decided we were pretty much screwed, there was no way that we were going to be able to make them work.
It was probably just as well that they came in while I was in the middle of something else. After looking things over we came up with solutions so we made a list and back off to Lowe's we went where they were more than happy to take more of our $$$. (Trips to Lowe's almost always mean stopping someplace for lunch.) According to the instructions it should have taken us 5-7 hours to install the ceiling but of course you all know us - it took one day to prep the room to make them work and two more to get them up. Frustration ensued but we're still speaking to each other and we have a ceiling. I'll write more about the guest room later. John has been wanting me to share some pictures but..........
the bed is still in the front room. I used the frame to paint molding and then I moved on to the dining room cupboard doors. I'm not close to finished with the dining room but the bedframe works out so well for painting the doors that I had John take down the ones from the bar and laundry room. Once they're done we can move the bed back to where it belongs.
Somehow I managed to buy the wrong color paint for the dining room :-( At least it's a small area to repaint.
We really needed rain and boy did we get it last week! I like a good thunderstorm but the one we had Wednesday made me a little uneasy, probably because we were under a tornado watch all day and I don't ever recall seeing the radar on the TV move into the pink range before.
It doesn't really show up well but we got some good sized hail and boy was it loud on the metal carport!
John hasn't been idle. When he hasn't had to help me with one project or another he's been out raking and cleaning up from the storm and the big trees out back that seem to shed leaves constantly. He ran out of room to store bags on the driveway and has more out back waiting for pickup later in the week. I think he's at 13 bags and he's not done yet!
So that's the latest boring update. As soon as I'm done painting doors and have the guest room put back together we'd like to take a day and head over to the coast.
1984 Twin, Homes of Merit
While I was still working on the kitchen the ceiling tiles for the guest room came in. We picked them up and looked at them but decided one mess at a time. So as I worked on the kitchen we read the directions and held up tiles and decided we were pretty much screwed, there was no way that we were going to be able to make them work.
It was probably just as well that they came in while I was in the middle of something else. After looking things over we came up with solutions so we made a list and back off to Lowe's we went where they were more than happy to take more of our $$$. (Trips to Lowe's almost always mean stopping someplace for lunch.) According to the instructions it should have taken us 5-7 hours to install the ceiling but of course you all know us - it took one day to prep the room to make them work and two more to get them up. Frustration ensued but we're still speaking to each other and we have a ceiling. I'll write more about the guest room later. John has been wanting me to share some pictures but..........
More mess.
Somehow I managed to buy the wrong color paint for the dining room :-( At least it's a small area to repaint.
We really needed rain and boy did we get it last week! I like a good thunderstorm but the one we had Wednesday made me a little uneasy, probably because we were under a tornado watch all day and I don't ever recall seeing the radar on the TV move into the pink range before.
It doesn't really show up well but we got some good sized hail and boy was it loud on the metal carport!
John hasn't been idle. When he hasn't had to help me with one project or another he's been out raking and cleaning up from the storm and the big trees out back that seem to shed leaves constantly. He ran out of room to store bags on the driveway and has more out back waiting for pickup later in the week. I think he's at 13 bags and he's not done yet!
So that's the latest boring update. As soon as I'm done painting doors and have the guest room put back together we'd like to take a day and head over to the coast.
1984 Twin, Homes of Merit
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