Sun in the Morning, Afternoon Thunder Storms, Temperature 89 Degrees
All The Furniture Is Here
First things first. This morning we needed to take Elvira to the shop for new brakes. Now, if I had taken Route 4 according to Google I would be in Orlando at Joshams Truck and Frame in about 45 minutes. However, there was no way I was ever getting back on Route 4 especially after yesterdays fiasco. We had to go to Jacksonville and it should have taken us no more than 2 hours and 45 minutes. Want to guess how long the ride was just one way? How about 4 hours and 45 minutes. Traffic and accidents on Route 4 was ridiculous. So, I was not about to take that route again. So, we went the round-about- way which only added 30 minutes. It is now my route of choice.
As for the afternoon, look who came with a delivery for us. True to their word, though Tuesday is not a normal delivery day, they made an exception for us.
In comes our bedroom furniture piece by piece. That’s AJ in the lead and Chris bringing up the rear.
The chest of drawers is in place and fits perfectly.
The dresser is in and in place.
Our bed is in place. It is interesting in that it has two drawers underneath at the foot of the bed. Now, all we have to do is make the bed.
One more item we purchased today, coasters. Can you guess what they look like?
and
That was our day on The Road of Retirement. We have all of our furniture. Well, let me correct myself. We have a kitchen table and chairs yet to come sometime in August. Be that as it may the house is for the most part complete. Now, as soon as Elvira comes back from the shop my attention will switch to her. Time to get ready for our sojourn to Jacksonville for three months. Life is good.
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.
Though we’re stationary for the moment, it will not be for long. Our continuing mission remains: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.
At 4 am this morning we received a phone call informing us that Barbara’s sister, Carol, had passed away. We learned that she was not feeling well and so was transported by ambulance to a local hospital.
The nurse who was with her stated she was talking to her, but turned away for a minute to do something. Not hearing Carol anymore she turned back only to find that she had passed away.
This was a sudden and totally unexpected loss and has hit Barbara and the rest of the family extremely hard.
Please keep my sweetheart and her family in your thoughts and prayers in the difficult days of adjustment that lie ahead.
Then, too, find someone you love and go give them a big hug and tell them just how much you love them.
Until today we’ve been going back and forth between Elvira and the house. We have a bed in the house but we didn’t have TV. So, every day after supper we would go back to Elvira to watch TV and then after our shows we would go back to the house to sleep.
Well, 8 am this morning the DISH installer arrived to setup TV at the house. Since we’ll still be on the road a good deal of the time each year we decided to stay with DISH for the time being. Now that we have a new account at the house we can cancel our original RV account and then add an RV account to the house account for only five dollars more per month.
An added benefit in terms of the install is that I finally found the access panel for the crawlspace under the house.
Up, up to the roof.
Our new antenna proudly pointing to the southwest and locked on to all three satellites.
Our TV is installed and working. We now have seventy seven channels from Sirius! Later in the evening we were able to watch the Grand Ole Opry from Nashville. It was as good as when we were there in person. The surround sound really brought it home!
Only one project for me today.
Once there was one, now there are two.
Time to take care of one more item, and I wasn’t about to do it.
We have three palm trees in front of the house and they do need to be trimmed from time to time. Not to mention they also grow huge seed pods, each is about four feet long and weights about twenty pounds. If they fall, well, you sure don’t want to be underneath them. Not to mention, when they open up you get pelted with acorn like nuts that do sting when they hit you. Not to mention the mess they make on the driveway. One other chore attended to.
Time for food. Now what should we look for today?
Today was pizza day! Off we went to find a really good pizza place. And we found one!
Sal’s Pizza! We give the pizza an A+ and have put this restaurant on our list of places to return to in the future.
That was our day on The Road of Retirement. As of today we are in the house lock, stock, and barrel. No more back and forth. I think I like it. Give me time and I’ll let you know. It’s different, but I can’t really explain it. It just is. I’ll leave it at 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.
Though we’re stationary for the moment, it will not be for long. Our continuing mission remains: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.
Warm, Humid, Overcast, Rain Showers, Temperature 91 Degrees
Continuing to settle In
I learned something new yesterday, and even today.
In Central Florida between mid-June and mid-October it is either hot, humid, and overcast or
the rain comes down in waves. And the thunder, I can’t remember a time when I’ve heard such loud boomers. They just keeping rolling on for a minute or more. Quite spectacular if I do say so.
Another thing I’ve learned about Florida. There are only two types of drivers. Those that go really slow and those that go really fast. And the slow ones are usually in the left lane while the really fast ones are constantly cutting in and out, and going at least 15 to 20 mph over the speed limit.
I digress.
The boxes just keep coming. Some from Kohl’s but the majority from Amazon. I have to break them down daily and take them to the dumpster. If I don’t do this daily by now the total of them would have taken over the living room.
Yup, some assembly required! We’ve developed a great system. I unbox all the pieces, Ms. Barbara checks and makes sure each item is present and accounted for. She then prepares the hardware I will need for each step and I then put the various pieces together step by step.
The first finished bar stool for our kitchen counter. We have one more to assemble tomorrow.
Our TV arrived today. DISH service will be installed tomorrow morning. I believe we (make that she) purchased the right size for our living room. I wanted to go bigger but was out-voted. Yup, she made the right call.
We decorated the guest bathroom. Did anyone even think it would not be turtle themed?
We’ve addressed a hundred and one other items as well. The AC has been serviced, We dodged a bullet here. It was off level and the drain was clogged resulting in a flood within the unit. The unit is now level and the drain is working properly. In addition some one messed with the wiring on the control board which would have resulted in problems down the road. That’s been resolved. Finally, inside I replaced the return filter and repainted the louvered door that goes in front of it.
I continue to pull nails and remove screws from various walls. Then of course, it is time to spackle and eventually touch up with paint. Thankfully, the former owners have left us paint for each room.
We put our new washer and dryer through their paces. Our laundry – a really full size load – was done in half the time it usually takes to do a load of wash in Elvira. Yipee!
Big News! We received word today that our bedroom furniture is to be delivered next Tuesday. We’re almost there.
Of course, I’m still adjusting to life in a house. One thing in particular I still can’t get used to. Now, for those of you who have used a toilet in an RV you’ll understand the next. I still keeping looking for the pedal next to the toilet to flush and refill the bowl! I guess old habits do at times die hard.
We’re also slowly finding what’s around us in terms of stores, restaurants, grocery stores, etc.
The other day we found this nifty little lakeside grill. It’s a step up from a fast food joint but not quite a full fledged restaurant. Be that as it may, the food was fantastic. I had a blackened fish boat and it was oh so delicious. Give credit where credit is due, Ms. Barbara found this place after searching the internet. We’ll be back.
Note the wakeboarder, in the mural on the water, and in the upper right corner. Why is this important?
Because, outside the Grill is a small lake. And, there is a cable system in place that pulls wakeboarders around the lake in a continuous circle. I almost wanted to try it but my knees reminded me of how absolutely foolish that would be! So, we had a wonderful meal and delighted in watching others having a ball going round and round on a wakeboard.
That’s what we’ve been up to on The Road of Retirement. We’re definitely keeping busy but so what. It sure beats sitting around with nothing to do. Next week, my attention turns back to Elvira. She has to go in for new shoes. Then when she comes home she’ll be scrubbed inside and out from top to bottom. Time to get ready to go back to Jacksonville for treatment in July. Thank you Lord for the blessings in our lives.
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.
Though we’re stationary for the moment, it will not be for long. Our continuing mission remains: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.
"On The Road of Retirement" 