Friday, November 26, 2010

Thanksgiving 2010

This is written the day after also known as "Black Friday". Yesterday we went to Carol's daughter's home in Tallahassee. Its about a 110 mile trip each way. Carol likes to get there early so as to have chat time with Joylene. We walked the dogs who cooperated by completing all of the duties hoped for. Tiny and Gizmo would be left home. They are quite loud and menacing if anyone comes to the door. Together they may weigh 11 pounds. Small but fearsome. Pillo comes with us. At three months he is not fully trained and not able to hold it for several hours. Besides, I thing Connor and Kyrsten are happier to see Pillo than us. Pillo is very good with them and showers them with kisses and attention. Connor at 14 months is so gentle with Pillo.

We managed to load the car with our contribution to dinner and the dog stuff and we were on the road before 8:30 AM. That is real good for us. November has been warmer than normal and we have had early morning fog lately. I was thankful that there was no fog. We live in the central time zone and they live in the eastern time zone. We always deal with the hour difference. I have to know whose time zone when they say dinner is at a certain time. I need to plan as I sometimes get woozy if I go too long without eating. I usually have a package or two of the Lance grilled cheese crackers in each vehicle. Yesterday we took the truck as its easier on my back than Carol's sporty convertible.

Our hosts had ordered a smoked turkey for the main course. They had mashed potatoes, a sweet potato souffle, string bean casserole made with home made cream of mushroom soup, cornbread stuffing, two kinds of cranberry sauce, gravy and Carol's candied sweet potatoes. We also brought Hawaiian rolls from the market. The candied sweets and string bean casserole were fantastic. The dark meat from the turkey was moist and tender. I also had a leg and that had the smokey taste. I enjoyed it. there were three homemade pies, pumpkin, apple and cherry along with a pumpkin custard. I skipped the sweet potato souffle as it had nuts. Needless to say, I did not leave hungry. In fact, I never ate another meal yesterday. I was not looking forward to the drive home on such a full stomach but I never did get drowsy.

Today it is 80 degrees in the city and a little less here on the beach. The weather is supposed to change overnight and we are fore casted to cool down to the high 60's or low 70's. We will see. They fore casted rain for today, but it is what we call "a chamber of commerce day". It is just beautiful.

I hope everyone had as nice a day yesterday, as I did.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Lowe's and Home Depot - Big disappointment

I recently had a sliding door and storm door installed. (previous post) The process was not without difficultly caused by a lack of attention to detail by both stores. Granted I only dealt with the stores closest to me here in Panama City Beach.

First I went to the local Lowe's near me and bought a storm door for the front of the house. I paid in full and was told that I would be contacted by an installer in so many business days. I waited and waited and finally went to Lowe's and asked for my money back. They were so surprised no one had called. I pointed out that the door was probably in their inventory and someone should have been on top of their installers. I was assured that they would get right on it. I said I would go elsewhere.

My next stop was Home Depot which was also nearby. I picked out the storm door and also the slider. I figured I would go through this process once and be done with it. I paid the fee to have the installer measure the opening and then the "right" size doors would be ordered, delivered and installed. I asked how long it would be for someone to measure. I was again quoted the number of business days. I waited and waited. How I miss my northern contractor. The local contractor who has a good reputation was working three doors away. I asked him if he could do the job. Yes, was his answer. I told him if Home Depot did not call by Wednesday the job was his. On the Friday, I received a call from Home Depot asking me if anyone had come to the house. Don't you know, I asked. Apparently not. I told him I was going a different way and would come in for my deposit. The next Monday I went to Home Depot and saw the manager. She told me no wonder no one came the order was cancelled the day after the order was placed and a Home Depot gift card for the amount was created. I assured them I did not have it. The manager gave me a cash refund on the spot. It did leave me wondering who got the gift card - an honest error or???

My contractor and I went to Lowe's (his choice) and we picked everything out. The screen for the slider was ordered and would be delivered in 10 days. The contractor showed up on the agreed upon day and did a great job. The screen came in but Lowe's ordered the wrong one. Lowe's is now supposedly ordering the right screen. I have no faith in either company. The good news is I now have a contractor here who I trust and who does good work.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Life is fragile

Every morning Gizmo and I head out the door long before the other dogs are moving. We have a set route around the complex. The majority of mornings Bill is out on his porch having a morning cigarette. He has a miniature poodle that is well trained and allowed to roam without a leash. The dogs play while we chat. Bill had been a care giver for several years and recently his wife went into a nursing home. Bill told me of several short trips he wanted to complete. Lately we talked about the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola. Bill had never been there. This morning he and I talked about trucks. His is a 2005 Ford F150. The last thing he said to me was that today had the makings of a fine day.

I went to take trash out this afternoon and smelled smoke. I then saw the emergency equipment and went to investigate. Smoke was pouring out of the back of his house. I went closer and saw the firemen giving CPR. Soon after they covered his body. He did not make it. The dog also was lost.

I will miss seeing Bill in the morning. He was a fine gentleman and I always enjoyed talking to him. Rest easy, Bill.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Apalachicola

Carol and I have been back in Panama City Beach for almost two months. We have talked about a day trip to Apalachicola the past two weeks. We decided that we would go Tuesday the 9Th. Apalachicola is a quaint fishing village. Apalachicola is especially noted for their oysters. The Apalachicola River empties into the bay and the movement of the tides and the influx of fresh water produces a pure wonderful tasting oyster. As long as I have been coming to the Panhandle, I have been coming here for the oysters.

Papa Joe's is off the main drag. so to speak, and I found it by accident. This is where a number of locals come. We went for lunch. We chose to sit at the bar. We ordered drinks, and I asked for a dozen on the half shell while Carol read the menu. She ordered the house salad with grilled grouper. When I was asked what my main course would be, I said another dozen. The oysters were of good size, ice cold, sweet and served with a wedge of lemon and a small cup of horseradish. Cocktail sauce was available. Carol's lunch was superb. The grouper looked like a picture in a food magazine. As I finished my second dozen which was really 14 to an order, I was asked if I wanted a third. I had to admit I was running out of gas, so I settled for 1/2 dozen and received 8 oysters. It was well worth the 90 minute drive on a brilliant sunny day. Below is a picture of Papa Joe's. The building sits well back from the road and if you don't know its there, it is easy to drive by the gravel driveway.

After lunch, I drove a short distance to the docks where a number of fishing boats are tied up. Across the canal is a small pile of oyster shells. They are crushed and used for a variety of uses. A popular use that I am aware of is for driveways. The shells are visible in the background. Some of the fishing boats are also pictured.



We then went into the small village. If you saw Ulee's Gold, you may recognize the restaurant below. It was in an early scene of that movie. There is a large poster in there that Peter Fonda signed.

We went into an old time soda fountain for a scoop of ice cream. They still make the fountain drinks just as it was done when I was a small boy in Greenville, RI. We both choose cherry vanilla ice cream. A perfect finish to our day trip before heading home.

One last picture of Carol as we walked to the truck.




Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Upgrading the Florida Home

Carol and I will have owned this home 2 years this coming March. We bought the house fully furnished. We have made a number of changes to the furnishings. First we changed the bed to a king with a memory foam mattress. We each bought a desk at the same time we bought an entertainment center. Originally the second bedroom was an office. All that stuff was donated. We put a queen fold out couch and a long table for Carol's sewing machines. Recently we changed the dining table and chairs and replaced the coffee table and end tables. I am happy to say that all the old furniture and the stove either went to Goodwill or Habitat for Humanity. Please understand there was nothing wrong with the stuff, it just wasn't our stuff or style.

Recently I have been looking at the outside of the house. When I watch TV at night I sit near what was kind of French doors. The were in poor shape and I could see daylight in one corner. Additionally, there was no way to add a screen for air circulation. Also there was no current storm door in the front. A local contractor was working on the street and I asked him if he could do some work for me. We all went to Lowe's and picked out the new slider for the back of the house and a storm door for the front. Below is a before picture of the rear entry way. You can see that there was rust on the door and it generally looked "shabby". There was also some rot. The next picture is after the slider was installed. Oddly Lowe's had to order a screen door. You would thing they would be in stock.



Below is a picture of the front door. It is functional but no real eye catching appeal. With an interest in staying within a "I can pay for this in cash" budget, we opted for just a storm door with a hidden screen.
The screen is in the top of the door and pulls down as you lower the top panel. If you look closely you will see a small portion of screen at the top. The lower white bar is the frame for the top panel and when the screen is fully closed that bar aligns with top bar.

The final piece to yesterdays change were new outdoor lights on either side of the garage door. The old lights (sample below) were dull and really added nothing to "curb appeal".


Below is a picture of one of the new lights. The brass matches the brass on the front storm door. This in my opinion gives the front of the house a "fresher" look. Now the brass house numbers look dull. Do I get brass polish or just buy new numbers.



We have recently planted some flowers in front and want to add some more. I have one more front project. I need to replace the eyebrow windows in front. And maybe a spiffier front door. Carol is out looking for the "RIGHT' curtain rods for the slider and dining area window. We have the fabric for the curtains. We still have a couple more "wants" but they will have to wait.