September 30, 2021

Temperature 89 Degrees

Off Into The Sunset

What a wonderful night we had last night. The three of us played a variety of card games until the wee hours of the morning. We had so much fun. I mean, we laughed so hard at times that the tears were streaming down our cheeks. We’ll remember this night for a long time to come.

Come dawn’s early light we were definitely moving slow. There were, however, a few small items that needed to be taken care of.

There was our signature turtle which needed to be mounted on the front of the house. Adam had it mounted within about fifteen minutes. Which now begs the question, do we still call our home Elvira’s Roost? Or shall it now be known as The Turtle House? We’re not sure what name we are going to pick. Time will tell.

Then Adam mounted our plaque on the wall in the living room. We’re thinking of hanging other pictures around it. But quite truthfully, I like it just as it is, the center of attention on the wall.

All planned projects have now been completed. Adam’s week of vacation is over. Which means the time has come. It is time for him to head back to West Virginia.

Time to get the last few items in the truck.

Time to say our goodbyes.

Then he rode off into the sunset. He has a sixteen hour drive ahead of him and he will probably drive straight thru stopping only for a nap or two along the way.

What can I say? We had an absolutely fantastic week together. The house already seems so empty without Adam’s presence. Times like this with family are the most precious in the world. We are already looking forward to his next visit. I’ve also heard we’re going to be having a lot more company in the coming months. Bring it on!

Thanks for taking the time to read our blog.  We always appreciate your company, your comments, and your suggestions. Remember, take time to stop and smell the roses and live each day that God gives you to the fullest.

September 28, 2021

Temperature 90 Degrees

We’ve Made The House Our Own

Tragedy Averted With Elvira

Well, the house is now ours – sort of.

The kitchen faucet was the last to be changed out.

We chose to install a Moden single lever with a pull out dispenser.

Our plumber, Adam, hard at work. There was one wrinkle in this installation, the new supply lines did not match up with the old shut off valves. New valves were thus the order of the day.

Proton, the ever present supervisor on the job!

Our new faucet with matching water dispenser installed alongside of it.

One more project, but I would not be present for this one. Elvira was scheduled for some repairs and upgrades. Thus, off I went to Talin RV in Brooksville.

The last several days I had been smelling something weird inside the RV. However, I could not quite put my finger on it. Guess what we found? This is the old 50 amp transfer switch, at least what is left of it. The one corner was completely melted and the whole switch was close to catching on fire. We caught it just in time. There is now a new

PowerMax 50 amp switch installed. Tragedy averted.

Then it was on to the big upgrade.

Time to install a new A/C unit. The back one was the original and it had finally just given up the ghost. The front one was just over a year old. So, the front went to the back and a new Penguin Low Profile 15,500 was installed in the front.

The old Dometic 5 Button Thermostat was also replaced with

a new Dometic 10 Button. This is really nice in that it can be set just like your home thermostat on Auto and will cycle, depending on inside temperature, between either the heat pump or the AC. Also, if in heat pump mode and the temperature falls below a pre-set outside temperature it will automatically turn the propane furnace on. I think I’m going to like it a lot.,

Now, while I was away, remember that last project?

Since neither of us is really into gardening the decision was made to put rubber mulch down in the front garden area. I would say that Adam did a fantastic job!

That is were we are at on The Road of Retirement. The house is now our own. But more projects are still planned for the future. Which one will come first, we don’t really know. The bottom line, though, is that we’ve made the decision to call this our forever home. No more thoughts of reselling next year. Regarding Elvira, I believe we are finished for now with major upgrades. Time to just use and enjoy. Which we will next year. That, you can count on.

Thanks for taking the time to read our blog.  We always appreciate your company, your comments, and your suggestions. Remember, take time to stop and smell the roses and live each day that God gives you to the fullest.

September 26, 2021

Temperature 85 Degrees

Wakeboarding on Lake Myrtle

Once we knew our son Adam would be coming down we began to kid him with we’ll be taking you to a restaurant were you are going to get soaked. He was absolutely stumped as to what we were referring to. He kept thinking he would be dropped into a dunk tank. Oh little did he know what he was in for.

Yesterday was the day of reckoning.

With the sun shinning bright and the temperature’s in the high 80’s off we went to Elite Cable Park and Tantrums Lakeside Grill.

Elite Cable Park opened in July of 2019. Per their press release: Elite Cable Park will draw wakeboarding enthusiasts, professional competitors, and world-renowned competitions to Auburndale, Florida. The park situated on Lake Myrtle, a beautiful 76-acre freshwater lake, is staffed with experienced coaches offering lessons in wakeboarding, waterskiing, and other watersports of all skill levels.

Adam now knew what we meant when we said he was going to get soaked. First stop at the park was for the necessary gear.

With his gear in hand it was off to the starting dock.

How exactly does one go wakeboarding on the lake?

At cable parks, riders are pulled by an electric cable track rather than a boat. Riders become attached to the cable system by a tow rope. Elite Cable Park has eight cables running at the same time, allowing riders to easily enter and exit the system.

OK, time to get down to business.

It really looked quite simple. Take a seat, put your wake board on and then turn and put it in the water, grab the cable and away you go. I mean, there were six and seven year old kids zipping around the lake like pros.

Truth be told, it was anything but easy! Adam spent the first two hours going not much further than a few feet from the starting docking. It was sit down, put the board in the water, grab the handle, and in six or seven feet he would plant his face in the water or fall over backwards. So, swim back and do it all over again! But he never gave up.

And then it happened! He was up and wakeboarding around the lake. In total, he spent five hours at the lake having the time of his life. It’s a shame I can’t attach videos because they would really give you a true sense of the whole experience. I know one thing, this is something I could never, ever do.

That was our day yesterday on The Road of Retirement. What a fantastic way to spend the day as a family. Adam had a blast. I had fun watching him and taking pictures. Ms. Barbara took some pictures as well. It’s been such a wonderful time having Adam here. We are sure going to miss him when he has to return home. Now I know why we settled in Florida and not Arizona. Time with family is so very precious and living here allows us that.

Thanks for taking the time to read our blog.  We always appreciate your company, your comments, and your suggestions. Remember, take time to stop and smell the roses and live each day that God gives you to the fullest.

September 25, 2021

Temperature 90 Degrees

The Calvary Has Arrived

Last Piece of Furniture

Projects and Then Some

Well, the Calvary has arrived. Meaning, my son has come down from Maryland to assist me with some projects. More about that later.

However, before he arrived we received our last piece of furniture from Rooms To Go.

Thankfully, I did not have to put it together. It was their responsibility. We now have all our furniture.

Back to the Calvary.

We had a wee bit of stuff that was in storage in Maryland. Adam loaded up his truck and trucked it down to us. Suffice to say, I’m thankful we have an overly large storage shed. In time I’m sure we’ll go through it all and decide what we are going to keep and what we are going to get rid of.

The real reason, though, that he came down was because I had some plumbing projects that needed to be done. Many, many years ago he was a plumbers apprentice and, thankfully, he has not forgotten his trade skills.

The first project was replacing the old toilet. Oh, all that stuff on the seat – that was yet another project. Regarding the toilet, it was leaking around the base and it was too low. We decided to change it out for an ADA toilet. Translated, we decided to install what is known as a chair height toilet. This type of toilet is a good two inches higher than standard thus making it easier for those with bad knees – meaning the two of us – to stand up from. Ah yes, another sign of getting old.

The plumber at work.

Out with the old. This is when we discovered why it was leaking, the wax ring was no more.

The new toilet installed, it just needs a tank top and a toilet seat. Now, this is where things should have stopped. However, this is where things began to snowball.

We had also planned to install new bathroom faucets.

But after installing the new faucets we decided that the old sinks were just plain junk. They were cheap plastic sinks that were yellowed and old. They were probably the original sinks that came with the house.

So guess what we did? Yup, we pulled the old plastic sinks out

and installed new porcelain sinks with the new faucets. They really look and are so much better than the original sinks.

The finished bathroom off of our bedroom. We still have to install a medicine cabinet above the toilet. Oh, for the record though I have been referring to we in terms of doing this and that, Adam has really done all the work and I’ve played the part of gopher. I have to give credit were credit is due.

Remember all those parts on the toilet seat in an earlier picture? They were used to lower the shower head down to where we could actually grab it. Before, you had to be at least six feet plus to get to it!

Less I forget, our ever present supervisor.

That is where we are at on The Road of Retirement. There are still more projects to complete, such as replacing the kitchen faucets and we have some projects outside to attend to. But, we have something in store for my son that we’ve been looking forward to for weeks. The only thing we’ve told him is, we’re taking you to a restaurant were you are going to get soaked. More about that tomorrow.

Thanks for taking the time to read our blog.  We always appreciate your company, your comments, and your suggestions. Remember, take time to stop and smell the roses and live each day that God gives you to the fullest.