Hot Air Balloons

Well, I don't have any pictures of the house to post tonight - it was a week of getting estimates to continue work outside - landscaping, irrigation, concrete work, etc. Still trying to get things done outside. We know that we will be doing the landscaping AFTER we get the irrigation done - so hopefully that will be around the first part of November. We'll have to wait and see what the estimate for the irrigation runs.

The only thing that Dan and I did around the house this weekend was move the shed. I mean we jacked it up using a fulcrum and lever and put concrete blocks under it, then put big pieces of PVC pipe and rolled it about 4 feet. Dan wants to work on getting the roots out from where we took the Royal Poinciana tree out and the roots were under the shed. Plus we wanted to move it back about a foot or so after we get it level. Just a lot of work. Anyway - after we worked on that we came in and took a shower (we were both VERY dirty) and then got in the pool for a little while to relax.

I spent this afternoon grading papers and getting everything ready for the grade book program at work. I also wrote lesson plans for next week. It took all afternoon to get all the papers graded, but at least I'm all caught up now. Hopefully I'll be able to stay caught up and stay ahead of the game with lesson plans. I don't like having to write them for the week over the weekend. We'll see.

Oh, in case you are wondering about the picture that I posted at the start of the blog tonight - there was a very small hot air balloon festival out at a local winery over the weekend - this picture was taken from our back yard of one of the balloons - there was probably 6 or 7 balloons that we could see. By the time I got in the house and got the camera and changed the lens this was the only shot I could get. Dan and I went out to the winery last night (well, late yesterday afternoon), but there were no balloons out there - in fact there really wasn't much of anything going on. But that's okay - we went anyway and I guess that was the important thing.

Well, I don't have much else to report tonight - so I'll sign off. Hope you all had a good week and I'll talk to you next Sunday!

Around the Pool

Okay, I know, I know. I said that I would post on Sunday - well, in my defense, today is sorta like my Sunday. We did not have school today, so it seemed like Sunday to me. So, at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. (Of course, Dan says that I have succeeded in messing his whole week up - but for an extra day off work, I'll mess with his "schedule".)

I decided to let you guys see what we have done with the pool area of the house first. (I don't have the before pictures. At the time that I took the before pictures my laptop was in Alaska and I downloaded them on my daughter's computer. I have hard copies of all the "before" pictures, but I don't have them on my computer - maybe I can get Melissa to email them to me so I can show you before and after.) I did want you to see what we have been working on.





The pool deck has been painted - it was a light gray with "swirls" of different colored paint on it - It is really pretty hard to describe how it looked.

We have also painted the entire house - it went from a gray to white with "bronze" trim and soffets and a burgandy front door (but that will be shown on a different blog). While the house is white, the porch area we painted blue to tie in with the pool and the canal.


This picture has already changed from when I took it this morning - We have added a shelf on the wall behind the chairs and I have put a lamp out side along with a different wall decoration along with some other decorative items - we think it looks much better - plus, I bought some different dishes for the table that brings a little more color there.

The door shown here goes into the guest bathroom.

The sliding glass doors "stack", so we can completely open up the back of the house.

I don't know if you can imagine what this looked like before - IF I can get the pictures from Melissa I'll post them so you will be able to see.

Anyway, we are really enjoying this area now. Today, we had a landscape guy come out and he is working up an estimate for us - not only for landscaping but also adding a stacked stone wall between the pool and the dock area and a patio area that would be Dan's outdoor kitchen area that will be done with pavers that will match the stacked stone wall. I'm sure this will have to be done in stages - and we will have to get the irrigation redone in the yard first. Our hope is to have all the outside done by the first of the year and then start on the inside of the house. Let's see how that goes.

Well, I won't stay on here that long tonight - have a few other things that I need to do before I go in and watch some football. Hopefully, you will enjoy the pictures and will see how far we have come.

Take care and I'll talk to you next Sunday!!!

So very busy!

Okay - I have not been a very good blogger lately. I have been so busy with work, the house, laundry, cooking, and all the other stuff that just gets in the way that I have not been on line in "like forever". I can't even show you pictures of all the changes that have taken place around here because Melissa has borrowed my camera.

Let's just say that we finally have a bed to sleep in (we are up off the floor and off the blow up beds!) and we are no longer sitting on lawn furniture in the living room. Carol and Neil came down today for a couple of hours and I fixed lunch - pulled pork, baked beans, potato salad, and watermelon for dessert. Carol had never seen the house, but Neil had been here right after we got here - in fact, it was the Monday that I had to go to the county office and fill out the paperwork for my job (don't get me started on that!). Anyway, so much has changed since then.

First, all the palm trees are down in the front yard, all the overgrown landscaping is gone - the pool has been rescreened. Dan has gotten all the maps off the wall in the guest bathroom and has painted the bathroom - also, he has installed the new toilet in that bathroom so it is now a fully functioning bathroom. Oh, BTW, the whirlpool tub is also now working - haven't used it yet, but it is definitely something that I will be doing in the near future. Two weeks ago we took my mom back up to Atlanta to start her packing her stuff - we bought my daughter's car (so I would have a way back and forth to work) and I drove back on Sunday so I could report to work first thing Monday morning. Dan stayed to help mom for a couple of days and load a truck with our furniture that was at her house and some of her stuff. Well, he was suppose to come home on Thursday, but had the truck loaded by noon on Wednesday and left then so he was home by Wednesday night at 10:30. Thursday I went into work, but took 1/2 a day Thursday and all day Friday so I could help Dan unload the truck and get things put away. Well, I didn't tell him I was coming home early on Thursday, so when I got here I found him in the swimming pool. Boy, was he surprised to see me!!! He looked like the little boy who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar - it was really funny! Anyway, we worked the rest of Thursday and had the truck unloaded except for two pieces that I just wasn't strong enough to help him with - a "hide-a-bed" sofa of mom's and our entertainment center. Anyway, our son-in-law, Justin came over after he got home from work and helped Dan with those two pieces and we fixed dinner for the kids. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday was spent putting things away. We even starting getting boxes out of the storage room and finding a place to put those things.

Anyway, to make a long story short, we actually have a house that looks like someone lives in it. Things are still going on - yesterday the painter came and pressure cleaned the pool deck - tomorrow he will come and paint it and then start to pressure wash the house getting ready to paint the exterior. Then we will check on the concrete work that Dan wants to do before having the yard graded, the irrigation system replaced, and new landscaping and sod installed - that should take all my pay through Christmas. MAYBE after the first of the year we will be able to start in the house with moving the walls, redoing the bathrooms and kitchen. Like I said - so MUCH to do!

School is school and I will let it go at that. It is a means to an end and I won't comment any more.

When I get the camera back I'll post some pictures - hopefully by next weekend. I will do my best to start posting again at least once a week and keep you up to date on all the changes that are going on - I'll try and post before and after pics. Also, on the last post in September I asked what you thought about the title of the blog - well, I think we will stay with what we have - as one of my friends said "We are never "there" in life" and that is so true - and the "there" now is the house done - that will be awhile! Once again, IF you know of anyone that wants a really nice 5th wheel have them email me - we need to sell the Montana!

I hope that you all are doing well and that you will stay with me - I will try to do better and blog every Sunday afternoon. In the meantime - take care and ------------------------

I'll talk to you Sunday!