Two Weeks Later

I headed out to Florida with Roxy on the 21st and Reed and Luke headed off to boy scout camp for a week. My friend Heather was there waiting for me as she had gone over early to be there for a mattress delivery. Keep in mind that it is 95 degrees and there is no air in the house. By the time I arrived, she had even cleaned the toilet. Now that's a true friend! Since we were there last, the entire yard had been trimmed, palm trees groomed (all 19 of them), and things were really starting to take shape. Or so I thought...

 

 

 

 

The guys who were doing the yardwork gave me a really great deal but they also weren't very reliable and in the end we had to get someone else to come in and finish hauling some of the debris away. They were doing that today so I will post some photos the next time we are there.

 

My friend Laura had purchased a cabinet for her shop and wasn't going to use the doors so she was kind enough to give them to me. They have since become the new gate to our courtyard. Thank you Laura!

 

doors before

 

new gate

 

 

 

 

 

 

Megan and I got the kitchen painted, including all of the brick. The after photos really don't capture how great it looks but trust me, it is like night and day! 

 

 Before

 

 

During

 

 

 

after

 

 

This photo makes it look yellow which it is not. It's more of a taupie sage.

 I will take some better pics when it's finished.

 

 

We played around with the cabinets we bought on Craigslist. They are going to work out great. We have more than enough to do the kitchen. They will be painted and glazed on another trip.

 

Sooo... while I was working on some projects I couldn't find the drill. I called Reed to see if he knew where it might be. We had purchased two new drills along with a bunch of other tools the first time we came out. It didn't take long to realize that someone had climbed in through a window and stolen a bunch of things. Drills, extension cord, hose, level, trash bags, hose sprayer, etc. etc. Megan and I went around checking and locking all of the windows and adding locks to a couple of old ones that didn't close properly. This was really disheartening and not the way I wanted to start this project but lesson learned. On a positive note, I have somehow managed to find some really great guys for plumbing, air, electric, framing, roofing, tile, and windows. Friday I had six trucks there from 8am to 8pm installing three new AC units. Yaaay!! So much easier to work with a little cool air. Sunday was the day for some electrical work and my day to powerwash the courtyard. I couldn't wait to get started.

 

 If you remember, I trimmed the courtyard last time we were here. 

 

 

This is the courtyard partially powerwashed

 

and after

 

Right in the middle of powerwashing, I headed for the garage for more gas only to hear a strange sound when I turned the corner... here is what I saw

 

I called my plumber but he was out of town, then the electricians who rushed  back to see if they could shut it off, then the city who said they don't come out on Sunday, then another plumber, none of which had a tool big enough to shut it off. After calling the city a couple more times, they finally came out and turned off the water. This meant that I had no water on the property at all. Monday morning my plumber came out and capped off the leak. I was able to get the guy from the city to leave me his big tool (get your minds out of the gutter) so we can turn it off and on as needed for the next couple of weeks. Reed and Luke arrived at 2:30am on Monday. Reed worked on putting the grill together, adding indoor lights and outdoor motion lights, and even took Luke to the Boardwalk for a much needed fun day! On the 4th, Megan came over and we had grilled chicken, corn on the cob, pasta salad, and water melon. All of the neighbors were out grilling and shooting off fireworks. Luke had a ball playing piro with the neighbor boy Stiles. This would be our first night staying at the house. I will fill you in next time.

 

Thanks for stopping by,