Time to Look Back

Well it's time to take a look back to see where we were and where we are now.  To the left is a picture of the "bedroom" in the lower level that we changed into a fame room.  This is the way the builders left the room in December of 2008 when the house was built. 

The next picture is what was a hallway to the bathroom.  Steve and I closed that up and made a closet out of it.  Everyone knows how much I like to build walls so this was a huge treat for me.  After it was finished Steve put shelves in the closet so I could take everything out of the guest closet upstairs and put it down there so I am a happy person. 

To the left is a picture after the drywall was hung and I must admit we did not do that.  Steve and I did the drywall at our other house and it was the worst job in the world.  It was heavy, dirty and just nasty.   NOW PREPARE YOURSELF !!!
Here is the room in it's finished state  Unfortunately I am a horrible photographer.  This room did not come without it's issues.  You can read about the table and chair issue in later blogs but we had to make sure the rug was centered in the room and the table was centered on the rug.  Then we changed the light fixture because the old one was not centered above the table so we got this one and that meant centering the light above the table, the table on the rug and the rug in the room.  It wasn't pretty. 

 

To the left is the framed in bathroom in the lower level. Again, this was the way the builders left the room in December 2008.  To the right side of this picture would have been the hallway that went to the game room which is now a closet.  We should have probably put one closet in the game room and another in the bathroom, kind of back to back.  Oh Well.  As you look down you will see the room after the drywall people where here.  What a mess.  As you recall, we were told that the bathroom had rough plumbing put in so when we cut off the pipe ends to hook up the shut off wales there was not water so we thought we had done a super job.  It was however odd that there wasn't a drop of water when we cut off the pipes so we went to the other side of the wall to learn that there was no water attached to those popes at all so we needed to call in the plumber.  Below is the finished room min us some decorations.   They will arrive after a trip to IKEA sometime soon. 



Now let's look back a bit to the work in the family room.  Steve and I vowed that we'd never, ever hang another suspended ceiling but here we are again.  Having all the utilities on the one side of the basement we knew that as soon as we had the ceiling dry walled we'd have a leak.  We didn't want a suspended ceiling but we thought it was best. 

Let's look back;

 

The first picture is looking  from the stairway to the workshop (door at the back of the picture.  The little nook to the left way at the back is where you will see our kitchen-bar handy work.  If you look carefully to the right you will see an opening that is the hallway going to the bathroom and the game room. 

The next picture is a shot from the bar looking toward the hallway leading to the bathroom and game room.  The next picture is basically the same shot but with some dry wall hung.  As you can see, a little dry wall will make a room look a little bit better but be prepared for a pile of junk you have to pick up.  It took us days to haul our left over dry wall and hunks of plaster. 

The next picture is a shot from the bar area toward the hallway that leads to the game room and bath.  The next picture is pretty much the same shot but with plastered walls.  You have no idea what a mess Steve and I had to clean up after the dry wall people Left.  Not only did they leave a huge mess but they sprung the closure on our storm door and scraped up the paint on the front door.  Being as mean as I can be I refused to pay the balance of the work until they came back and cleaned the front door off and fixed the storm door which they did but it still does not close properly. 

The next picture is pretty much as the first one, a shot from the bottom of the stairs all they way across the book to the door into the work shop. As you look at that picture you will see a nook on the left side which you will soon see is the kitchen-bar.  We wanted it to be a bar but it actually turned into a kitchen and a bar.  It will work well for placing food and drinks when we have a large group.   You will see as we go how much work Steve and I put into the kitchen-bar area.   

This nook is where you will finally see the bar-kitchen.  The door to the right is once again to the work shop. 

Finally, you will see a final shot of us putting up the suspended ceiling.  Again, we will never do this again.  We bought plastic track this time thinking it would be easier to deal with but although it was lighter forcing the plastic tabs into place was a horrible job.  If I could give some advice, stick with the metal tracks as they do not flex like this as you work across the room. 

The bar took us several weeks to complete.  We bought standard cabinets and put them together to form a kitchen-bar.  We kind of missed the mark on the bar look but once we get all the bottles up and items on the wall it will look more like a bar.  Keep in mind that Steve and I have done cabinetry work before and we're not sure it we liked it or not.  The most difficult part was getting the corners square.  We did run into one small issue when we put the trim in but we'll  keep that a secret.  The next picture is Steve putting the cabinet doors on again and adjusting them so everything was in line.  With these cabinets these adjustments can be difficult to say the least.  We have them all aligned. 

The next picture is Steve placing the sink unit into place. That was not really a big deal, at first.  As the process continued we found that we had to make a couple additional notches in the bottom of the cabinet to accommodate the plumbing pipes that cam out of the floor.  That was an easy fix and we're glad we did that because had we left it as is the counter top would not have fit in properly.  I guess one issue leads into another if you don't do things correctly from the start.  We took that cabinet out a few times in order to get it into the corner and made it line up with the walls and fit around the popes.  Let's just say, the plumber came back and hooked up the bar sink and faucet.   

 This was the difficult part.  We did not want an empty corner so we bought a lazy susan  for the corner.  It was a piece of junk and made squaring up the cabinets a real trick for us.  Just when we got the other cabinets lines up the lazy susan would shift a tiny bit and throw us off.  That plus the pitch of the floor to the drain made for some tense moments.  Believe me, susan is not going anywhere. 

The next part was to put a wall behind the cabinets.  Steve wanted to build the wall first but I told him that if the counter top is not exactly square of the susan threw us off we'd have more issues.  We then had to worry about the counter top that would create the bar part.  It has quite an overhand to it so it was a trick figuring out how to make sure it was stung enough so it did not tip down when people where sitting there.  I did not want braces under it so we built a wall, my favorite thing to do you know.  After we got done with that and placed the top on believe me it is not going to tip anywhere and that wall will never be moved again without explosives. As you can see in the next picture Steve and I put very nice quality plywood onto the front of the bar so we could place the tiles on without them bubbling up or not meeting up nicely.  We were so proud of ourselves to get that put up and everything lines up just great and we were ready for the tiles.  What an exciting time.   

 

 

 Now it was time to place the tiles on and put the finishing touches on things.  Steve went down one night while I was watching television and places all the tiles on an angle just to mix things up a bit.  I went down to see a very fine job.  It really looked nice as you can see below.   We left the work site for the night and came down the following day to check on things and to do some work.  Something looked wrong with the front of the bar.  AS it turned out, all the white tiles fell off the front of the bar directly under where they were supposed to be stuck.  Steve was not so happy,  I just grinned.  It was odd, the black tiles stayed on but the white tiles just fell off.  We pulled off all the white tiles and used some super glue stuff to put them back on.  Believe me, they are not going to come off anytime soon. 



The final picture is the finished project minus the light fixtures we hung over the bar.  That was not an easy job putting up an "S" shaped fixture on a grid ceiling.  As usual, Steve figured it out with some naughty words but it's done.  We have more cabinets in this kitchen than we have in our entire house in Florida.  Behind the bar are several banks of drawers, countless cabinets, Susan and two under counter refrigerators.  The refrigerators did not fit under the counters as we planned so we had to build bases for them to sit on.  They really turned out nicely.  More finished pictures of this area are still to come. 

 

KIND OF THERE

 

Just when Steve said he would not mess with a suspended celling again here he is again this time taking it apart.  We had to put lights above the pool table and as you all know, they have to be centered and centered they are.  We had to measure from the wall in hopes it was straight and then punch holes in the tiles to put in the lights.  Of course each one hit right where the braces crossed.   Each hole was ending up in the same spot on all three tiles then it dawned on us , each tile is square and we wanted them spaced equally across the table so of course they'd end up in the same spot on each tile, Duh !.  The next picture is a  bit premature.  Steve and I continued our running tournament from our old house with a score of about 280 tor Steve and 3 for me.  I really stink at this but I can beat him at backgammon any day, any time.  .  There is a story about the sconces on the wall.  They were kind of a last minute decision so we thought, Oh shoot let's do it.  We made our five hundredth trip to Menards to get them and tried to figure out what wall we wanted them on.  We finally agreed but I wanted them to come on with the lights over the pool table and not with another switch.  We have so many switches I can't remember what they are all for.  As usual, Steve went along with it as he usually does so we punched holes in the wall and ran the wires from what will eventually become a small home theater.  Steve wanted to tack the wires to the studs and I said no, that was not to code and eventually when we fix up the other side of this wall I will no doubt hit the wire and kill myself.  He let me drill the 7 holes in the studs to string the wires through.  Unfortunately, my holes are not on a nice level line but go up hill from the right sconce to the left one but I got them done.  Steve did the first one and pulled the insulation out and wrapped it around the drill like cotton candy.  It was cute and a bit funny.  We strung our wires as I wanted and you can see the results.  We really love them.   The next picture is from the sconce wall to the bar.  our can see that things turned out fairly well if I do say so myself.  The wall next to the shop door will hold my autographed poster from Amy Grant along with a picture of Amy when she came to our house for a meet and greet.  She really is a lovely and sweet woman.  The next poster will be two that I bid on at the Council for the Performing Arts auction both signed by The Lettermen.  Next to that will be a photo of Steve and I with Tony Butala (The only original Lettermen still in the

group) Next to that will be a vinyl Lettermen album I have with the three original Lettermen on it.  I might even look for an Amy Grant album. 

 

Along with that will be autographed tickets from Gunner and Matthew Nelson, the sons of Ricky Nelson.  Steve had them autographed for me while I was in Florida and missed their concert.   We plan to put all the posters between two layers of Plexiglas so they don't get touched at all. The first Lettermen poster cost me $350 at; the auction but I also have several bottles of personally autographed Tony Butala wines that I won't let anyone drink.   Now the goal is to get Barbra's pictures personally signed by her.   I will get that done before I die, or she does. 

 

The next picture is a temporary "setting" of the furniture.  We've put the two sofas so many different directions you have no clue. Yesterday we spent six hours or there about at IKEA and let me say that we could hardly get all the stuff into my car.  We had our niece Jodi with us who also hit the store pretty hard.  Steve and I bought a bunch of things to hang up in the room along with a television stand which we put together tonight along with a coffee table.  We still have two ;box shelf units to assemble for the game room.  That should be a hoot.

 

So having a new television stand down there meant we needed a new television.  I told Steve I thought it was stupid to put the new television down there so let's put the new one in the living room and the old one from the living room down there.  The old one is a plasma and my God it weighed a ton.  We dot it down stairs and put the new one together in the living room.  Tomorrow we will run 100 feet of television cable across the entire basement then down the wall to the old television.  I will be in charge of fishing the cable behind the wall because seeing cords makes me nuts.  That will be an all day job.  I forgot, all of my life I have wanted a sofa table behind a sofa.  We also have one of those to assemble and put behind the sofa.  I am so excited.  I also wanted a large vase with sticks in it.  May sound funny but you will see shortly how it looks.  WE found the neatest wine racks that we will put on the wall and Jodi made us buy all sorts of different kinds of glasses because we certainly could not serve a drink in the wrong glass.  We already have tons of glasses down there so we'll have to figure that out.   Stay tuned to this blog posting for final pictures. 

 

 And the Unveiling

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 



Watch our Donald Trump

What a Friday I had working the floor at Century 21 Integrity Group.  You will notice that I started this post out with a huge plug.  I was on the floor that day from 9:00 until 1:00 when Chris told me that there was a call on the machine.  I listened to the message and made contact with the potential buyer and scheduled a showing at three properties all within a block of each other.  Thank God Chris was with me because it was a huge showing and being my first large sale, I needed the support.  We toured all the units when the man told us to write on all of them and he would email me the offers.  He did just that so I began to write and re-write the offers with Chris' help.  On the first presentation the owners accepted the offers but we had to clean up one or two minor issues. 

Last week the buyer came to inspect and all was well there.  We are on the path to closing hopefully on August 1st. 

Above you will see me with my very first commission check from Century 32.  I was thrilled with it.  My next one will be three times as much but I would have been happy with $5 just so I made my first sale.  My little cottage on the lake finally sold (Thanks to Denise) who could sell s---- in a bucket.  She is just fantastic at selling real estate.  I don't know what her secret is but she is busy all the time and is just a nice person. 

After the closing on the lake house Denise and I went back to the office and rang the bell hanging on the wall.  From what she says it is a sign of good luck.  I think she was correct.  I will ring the heck out of it in August.  

If you know anyone who would like a great realtor that would be me.
Brian

Add caption

Let the Games Begin

 

At long last we are able to do some decorating in our basement.  We purchased the table and chairs from Amazon in spite of the customer review which were correct. 

 

 

The table and chairs arrived in packages that could have been launched into space.  We were excited to open the boxes after we recovered from hauling this downstairs.  We put the table together without any issues and then thought we'd put together a chair to see how it looked.  We used a razor knife to cut the hard cardboard corners off the box and to remove the layers of tape.  We put the box on the floor labeled "this side up".  Steve took the razor and slit the tape and we happily opened the box. WE took one look and said "the plastic is cut".  Well, as it turned out, when Steve cut the box open he also cut the plastic surrounding the seat cushion AND also slit the seat cushion as well. 

 

 

Steve was more angry than I was.  What were we to do.  There was no sense getting angry about it.  I wrote to Coaster and told them that I thought the labeling was poor and the cushion should have been packed with the fabric side down.  I told them that I expected to hear from them but up to this writing, nothing.

 

 

I ordered another chair which came pretty quickly.  We proceeded to put another chair together without incident and then the next. The "next" went together as planned however the caster would not go into the hole even with a hammer.  So, we took the base from the chair with the slit cushion and used that to make one chair.  Then our new chair arrived and we proceeded to assemble it.  By this time we were pretty good at it and made quick work out of the last chair, BUT, as we went to attach the arm to the side we learned that they drilled a huge hole about two inches higher than where it was supposed to be.  We thought the arm would cover it but , NOPE.  We then took the back from the chair with the slit cushion and used that to get the fourth chair assembled.  So now we have a chair with four wheels instead of five, a slit cushion and a back with a drill hole in the wrong spot. 

 

Let's just say that Coaster Furniture got another  note from me, this time it was not so nice.  The long and the short of this story is "believe the reviews on Amazon'.  Everything they said about this table and chair set was correct and perhaps worse than the review.  I will write a review as well.   All in all, it turned out pretty well.

 

 

New Villagers

There is nothing Steve and I like better than when people come down to The Villages to visit us.  There is always so much to do and certain people like different types of entertainment so it's always a thrill.

Over the Jefferson spring break some of our Fourth of July 2012 friends came down to visit us.  They drove all night which makes me tired just thinking abut it.   They arrived exactly on time in spite of what I suspect were countless bathroom breaks plus the removal of one driver's bra because she can't drive a car with a bra.  From what I understand, this person removed her ladies foundation and was swinging it around during a fueling stop while on the way down.  After getting to know her much better over the week, this did not shock us at all but we had many good laughs over it. 

The trip started with me going to the Golf Cart store to get the "whale", a four seat cart with a top speed, without afterburners, of 9 miles per hour.  The shop did not have my reservation which I had made months before their arrival.  Not only did they have the wrong day they had me picking it up in Spanish Village about ten miles away.  I was furious.  I don't usually lash out at people but this man made me angry.  He kept telling me that they were over booked and didn't I feel sorry for him?  I said I didn't care about him, I had the order for that day and wanted a cart.   He kept on about us picking up a cart in Spanish Villages at which time I told him to go and get the cart since I didn't order it there.  Again, he asked if I felt sorry for him that they were over booked.  I said again, NO, I don't care about that, give me the cart I ordered.   After about thirty minutes of telling him I could care less about him, they gave me, what I think, was the worst whale in the fleet.  I told this jerk that I'll remember this when I trade my second cart in on my third.  Steve and I took the whale to Trish's parents house where the ladies were waiting.  As I recall, Trish's mother took them to the pool with a bottle of something and then the girls were to come to our house.  Later in the afternoon we got a call that they were lost.  Steve asked where they were only to learn that they were not even close to getting to our house.  We took off on our cart to get them not disclosing that we also got lost finding them.  We got together and lead them to our house where we chatted, had dinner and went to Sumter Landing to dance.  Yes, dance ????  Everyone had a good time doing the wobble and the spaghetti dance.  It was nice to see one of my long time friends out on the dance floor cutting a rug.  I sat back, drank and took pictures. 

After the dancing the girls came to our house for a bit before we led them back to Trish's parents for a night of good sleep.   I believe the next  day we had tickets to a polo match.  The weather was kind of threatening but we took off anyway.  This time we drove in the car as the horses would have died of old age had we taken the whale to the match.  The girls had never seen a polo match before and we'd seen one.  They asked us what some of the terms meant so I told them what I thought which was wrong and made them look silly. 

The highlight of the match was really not the horses or the match but the divot stomping and the cheerleaders.  I am still not sure if these old "bags" are serious about their cheers but it they are, they all need to get to the local home ASAP.  The one cheer contained the words, "Who's going to win the match, WE DON'T KNOW"  It became the motto of the trip.  For example, "what are we having for dinner, WE DON'T KNOW.   I don't think the girls will ever get over it.  

We did the usual trips around The Villages while the girls played pickle ball.  Laura was a good sport and would partner with anyone who asked her.  I think the one lady just stood there while Laura ran around her.  The description was a hoot.   

Then it was back to the square for more music and dancing including Steve who is actually a very good dancer.  I'd need to smoke crack before I'd take my a--- out there and wobble.  There were a lot of drinks going around and we had a great time. 

Laura being a rather competitive person was looking for someone to geocache with her so she got our friend Jimm and my Steve to go with her.  They used my Garmin which I guess didn't go so well but I think they got within a few feet.  Then Laura brought over her GPS and it would take them right to the prize,  I think they may have had to hop some fences to get to the prize but I stayed home with Vickie who grilled all the burgers that were ready when the hunters got home 

Then we were out to dinner and discussed where we'd go tonight for music.  I suggested we go to see Petrina but I needed to talk to them about this before we went. I had to delicately tell the girls that Petrina sings at the Waterfront on Thursday however, it was loud and the crowd was of a "different" sexual orientation.  We all had a good night.  It was packed as usual but the girls did get to wobble and I think Vickie got pinched.  The girls were texting their families back in Wisconsin that Steve and I took them to Lesbian night at the hotel.  Which I guess we did.  You have to admit, it's something they'd never done before. 

We had a blast there as well and went home to play the Wii.  Again, Laura is very competitive and beat the hell out or most of us.  She seemed to have a bit of an issue with rowing but once she got it, watch out. 

In any event, I can't recall all the chronology of this but we did have a great time.  Ate a lot, drank a lot, and the most important thing, we laughed a lot.  We are going to get together sometime this summer to cook out.  It should be wild. 

Below are some of the many pictures we took.  Enjoy

WHY ARE THEY GREEN?

As everyone knows - in many states - Steve and I hang out at the Pine Cone in Johnson Creek.  It has gotten to the point where they know what time we get get there and leave a table dirty until we arrive so there is a spot for us.  Sometimes they even announce over the PA systems, "The boys are here, the boys are here".  It's really quite pathetic when you think about it rationally. 

After Steve eating hundreds of eggs up there and me chowing down thousands of dumplings, we have gotten to know most of the servers, and like all of them but the two above are very special to us.  Anna on the left and Sharon on the right came down to The Villages to spend a few days with us and boy did we have fun.  Drinking, dancing, drinking, eating, drinking, shopping, drinking, sleeping.  Drinking!  Anna and Sharon are two of the most agreeable guests we have hosted over our 19 years living in Florida during the winter. 

One might ask, why the people in the picture above have a hint of green to their faces? Well, it's because we went to Sumter Landing on St. Patricks Day and they drank green beer but most of all, with all the green stuff around the landing it was difficult to take a picture that was not green.  Or course we at some more and had a lot of laughs. 

During their stay with us we learned much more about The Cone and some of the people who Steve and I know a little but we know them better now. We also learned that it's difficult for a server to serve a server.  The reviews of the countless servers we had during the many lunches and dinners was fun to listen to.  I guess it was Anna's and Sharon's way of getting back at the people at the Cone who have done them wrong.   They were not rude but it was fun to listen to the comparisons between the Cone and Olive Garden.  That didn't sound right did it.....?  

We also learned about Socks, let's just say that Socks is a very special person in Anna's life and it's a hoot teasing her about Socks. 

Then there was poor Sharon.  The day after they arrived we had to pick up their golf cart so I told Sharon to hop in our cart and we were off to the plaza to pick up the cart.  We arrived, I signed and then I shoved Sharon into the golf cart that had it's rain and wind enclosures down.  She looked like a tiny Pope in the Popemobile.  I'm not sure Sharon had ever driven a golf cart before but like pushing a kid into the water to learn to swim, she had to learn. I told her to follow me which she did. Wht a good sport.  

The best part of their trip was to see how Anna takes care of Sharon.  She helps Grand Ma Ma text, take pictures, make calls and guides Grand Ma Ma around to make sure she doesn't get into trouble and from what we've heard and the pictures we've seen, Grand Ma Ma can be a handful but we love her and their warming up her bed in the home as I write this.  We love you Anna and Grand Ma Ma.   Anna, don't change your SOCKS!

  

Happy 60th Birthday Freddie

When I think of old, I immediately think of our dear friend Freddie shown at left.  As you can clearly see, he is attempting to make gorgeous me even better, which even Freddie can't do. 

During our stay in Florida this winter Steve and I were pretty busy including hosting Freddie's 60th birthday party.  Steve and I chose TooJays in The Villages to cater it as we eat there quite often plus they did a great job on Jimm's party that we hosted a year ago. 

TooJays treated this like it was a wedding, inviting Steve and I the opportunity to come in and taste the food and make our choices.  The way I see it, as long as I don't have to cook it, it's safe to eat.

I must say that the best part of the party again was the opportunity Steve and I were given to meet up again with Freddie's and JImmie's vast circle of friends, some normal, some not so normal but nice folks nonetheless. 

Steve's job was to make a disc of "group appropriate" music which I knew would be a nightmare for me.  We can agree on most anything but not music.  I just thank God I was busy enough to not have to listen to it. 

After the party there was a short thunder storm so Steve and I went home then met up with the guys again and ate again.  The server was hitting on me and a little handsy.  It just goes to show, even young people can have dubious taste at best but it was flattering to know someone was stupid enough to think I was of interest. 

Little Lanai In The Villages

Little Lanai in The Villages

As many of out regular readers might recall, when we purchased our villa in The Villages we bought it with a dreamcicle colored kitchen  a Pepto pink bathroom, and odd yellow in the guest room and a padded headboard in the master bedroom.  The kitchen cabinets were a nice oak when the house was built and they wee quickly shabby sheiked which made them dull, dry and they had black blobs on them.  They will be replaced next winter.

The lovely lady who sold us the villa under spectacular terms had a bout of claustrophobia so she tore out the screen enclosure between the lanai and the birdcage which houses our pool.  Feeling that nature and the great outdoors is over rated, we really didn't care too much but as we lived here longer and longer we just needed more usable space so we decided to actually enclose the lanai with more than just the screens that were originally there and make a year round room out of it. 

I checked around for a contractor and found a good one.  Having been burned during the building process of our house in Jefferson I was very uptight about mechanics liens and stuff like that.  Finally the owner told me to relax, it would be fine.  After five or six revisions of the plan we finally got it.  Being a Judy Judy fan, Steve and I read every single word of the contract.  I noticed that the windows were not tinted so we had to change that.  Finally we were ready to go. 

We got down here with hopes they'd get going on it soon but NO.  They finally came to measure and told us that if the windows came in on Thursday they'd start Friday.  Well, that was three weeks ago and they just started this week.  Within five minutes the old frames and screens were torn out.  The new lanai has been framed in with all new aluminum and the gorgeous tinted windows are here with a door that could hold back a prisoner.  

We were so excited that we went out and bought a pressure washer so we could clean the screens and siding and a spot on the pool deck that gets moldy a lot.  I even helped out.  

They came on Thursday and got it all framed in and told us the inspector had to come and sign off before the windows could go in.  Well, that didn't happen so no work was done today either.  We're hoping for tomorrow.   After it's done we will make it a small den-family room.  Steve put in a new fan with a light and we're eager to get to the Beyond (Bed, Bath & Beyond) to spend some money.  We just love it there. 

Watch as the room continues to take shape.