What's done is done

We bought this house 11 years ago. It has been a good house. I could go on for hours about how much happiness this house has brought, how it has seen us through good and bad, how it has allowed so much... and it is all true. This is a good little house. But when 'we' moved in, 'we' were two adults and a cat. Now 'we' are four people, two of whom are growing at a rapid pace, and a cat and a dog.

This year-long remodeling project brought into clear focus how impossible it would be to remodel the main house, how long it would take, how much strain it would put on the family. And, yes, it helped us realize how much things cost when you are paying for the paint and the caulk and the dumpster and the people to drive out and then NOT be able to work because of rain... and all those little things.

We bought a bigger house. Yes, we did.

We done did it

final inspection. today. it's over!

Bye Bye Rocket Fan!

I sold the Rocket Fan on Craigslist for $60... not bad! The people who bought it were so nice, and not at all bothered by the fact that it was NOT going to light up their boys' bedroom (which they had just decorated all in rocket-themed stuff!)

Fifth of July

It's been a long productive day. Jimmy did some painting yesterday a.m., then cleaned out the bandroom and shop-vac'd it this a.m. I cleaned the outer windows, except the one with the wasp nest. Joe (and Sammie) came over and we began the flooring project. It is almost done! Photos to come.

Third of July

We got a lot of painting and cleaning done on the 3rd of July. Jimmy worked on the details and trim, I cleaned windows. Nicest part was that we were in the air conditioning!!! The kids came out for photo time. Don't think for a moment that they actually helped!

Whooooo's There?

Last night I took out the trash at dusk and heard LOUD screech owl sounds coming from the tree across the street. I went over and listened for a minute, then came back to the house to get Jimmy & the kids. We went out to the tree and heard nothing... then, TWO owls came swooping out of our neighbor's oak, over to our pine, then into another neighbor's oaks.... WOW!!!

The Miracle of Air Conditioning!

Today Matt came by to finish the electrical outlets and install the switches. He also installed the AC unit and the ceiling fan! Woo hoo!!!

Jimmy took out the rocket fan from Julian's bedroom and replaced it with a boring old white fan, and we are all happy. Just posted an ad on Craigslist for the rocket fan. Good riddance!

Levee

If it keeps on raining... the levee's going to break.

Julian's Post

julian jimme tina maddie rice licu brayr

Stink-O-Rama

Stinky. When an animal crawls under your house and dies... it's stinky.... and there are a lot of flies coming out of the tiny crawlspace... and NO! I'm not going down there, on my belly, to drag out the carcass!!!

Termite Doomsday

Thursday, June 11 — It had been on the calendar for months... the week when everything would be perfect and we could tent the house. My folks took the kids for a long weekend (which included a trip to Alexander Springs); the animals were boarded; the medicines, food, and toiletries stowed in gas proof bags; and finally, Jimmy and I moved in with my grandparents.

It was hard to take poor Laika to be boarded, just days after she lost her brother and litter-mate, whom she had never been apart from for more than a few hours.

Saturday a.m. they called and told us we could come back in, so I had a day all to myself, to clean and clear my kitchen... special thanks to Graham Parsons and Paul Westerburg for some excellent tunes to clean by. I threw out a canister of 19-year-old cocoa!!! Whoa!!! Also threw out about a million expired vitamins and medicines....

Rookie Rice

RIP Rookie Rice

Jan 20, 1999 - June 8, 2009

You were a good, loving, gentle boy.
You will be missed.

Trimming the Pecan

A crew came out and trimmed the Pecan tree yesterday. They have been all through the neighborhood this month, trimming everything.

Some little pecans are starting to be seen....

Break

The rain started maybe the afternoon that the stucco work was finished, and it continued up until this week. A slight break in the weather pattern brought us a few sunny days for painting /priming, both inside and out.

No, it's not done.

Yes, it is raining.

The Tacoma

Jimmy's hot new wheels. We both got choked up when Kenny drove the GMC one out of our driveway.... :-(

Stucco Complete

The stucco is done. Now we are having a monsoon.

California Influence

Last month we were in San Diego for a few days. Saw these interesting doors on the side of the mission at San Juan Capistrano. I'd like to recreate these for our garage. I like the waves.

A lot has happened. While we were gone, the stucco guys finished the outside of the bandroom. We came back and finished the insulation (or rather, Joe did), passed inspection, had the drywall installed and textured. Bought a new truck and sold the old one to our drywall man, Kenny.

The Pecan Tree in Spring

February

Early March

Late March

Bluest House on the Street

Our house is blue.

The Blue Grotto.

New Blue, Goodbye Beige

Today we started painting the house. Got a little rain, which slowed the process.

Jimmy raked and tore out the overgrown. Julian helped mulch the front planter, nearly unloading the truck single-handedly!

Wheeeeee!

Passed electrical inspection with flying colors. Thanks, Matt!

Have narrowed the paint choices down to 2 or 3. Tomorrow we say goodbye to the yellow/beige of the last 11 years.

Finishing the Front Door

Today we urethaned the outside of the front door with a marine varnish. Shiny, to say the least. Used a polyurethane on the inside. Nice, dried fast. Also installed the new door handle and deadbolt.

Inspections & Door Framing

We've done two inspections for electrical and about three for construction. Our next electrical inspection is tomorrow and hopefully we will be clear for insulation and drywall.

At this point we are cleared to stucco the outside of the building, pending the door being framed out and finished. Joe worked on that today though I'm not sure if the framing is completely done.

The Amaryllis Show

Photo by Julian.

Yard Work

Also hired a guy named Gil to do some trimming on the pine tree. It looks better but man is it dropping the sap! Don't stand still or you'll be combing it out of your hair!

He also helped us hang the staghorn which had been on the ground and had gotten the worst of the January freezes. Here's a little friend we found in there.

Matt the Electrician

We hired an electrician through a friend's referral and have really been pleased. Matt has worked his rear end off in the Florida heat, digging and cutting through concrete and doing whatever the inspector asks. Here he is cutting through the patio.


Digging the trench between house and bandroom.



Has to be 18 inches from surface!!

Windows

We are very pleased with the work that Bella Glass did last week
on the 9 fixed-pane windows.

Here's our little orphan window. Joe was hesitant to remove the old wood,
so we'll just fill it with putty and stucco it in.

the Main House

We have also hired another handyman, David G., to do some work on the main house. His first task was to finish the windows Jimmy and Lou replaced over the years. Trim them out and caulk it all nice. He did this on Monday the 9th, then spent the 10th through 12th pressure washing and caulking and patching and fixing some of the unfinished work that our crappy soffit guy left us with. Next week he will start painting!

The Return of Joe

I've been negligent in my records-keeping on this project. More "doing" than "writing about" these days ... but here I have a lull on a Sunday so I'm filling in the blanks.

Last Saturday Joe returned, and he brought Kevin. The two of them finished the furring strips, including the horizontal piece between each; they finished framing out the front windows; they drilled ventilation holes in all the crossbeams; they loaded up all the tools no longer needed; they swept the bandroom clean and neat and took all the trash either to the curb or the back of their truck. Nice!!!

Resuming Progress

There has been a slow trickle of progress so far this year. We completed the hurricane-strapping part of the process. This morning we passed (building) inspection.

Our zoning hearing was cancelled and the case closed (thank you thank you thank you).

The electrical is underway.

We hired Bella Glass to do the fixed-pane windows. They framed everything in Monday. Monday night Jimmy and I primed all the wood & trim. Tuesday they cut and installed the glass in the 8 fixed-pane windows. It looks great.

Red Cap Plumbing took care of three dripping faucets and capped the pipes that used to run into the side of the bandroom, then pulled all the nasty rusting pipes off the wall (except in one spot that we will have to break and patch).

We hired a carpenter to finish framing in the door. Once that is done, we can stucco the outside and paint.

Got a little more to do on the furring strips.

Things are getting done.

Thinning the Palms

I know I've said that Ricehouse runs on Starbucks, but sometimes Ricehouse gets a lot done by channelling the power of PMS! I tore the crap out of the palm trees, ferns, etc. the other day, revealing a green wall in desperate need of pressure washin'!

Semi Complete

Okay, the front door is looking semi complete.
I forgot to mention the new light fixture.
Check out the cool Gasparilla flag we found Saturday!

Now we need to urethane the door and paint the whole house!

Feline non Gratis

Bre'r is not happy that the dogs have been spending so much time inside.
He has "expressed" his feelings in a totally disgusting way.
Now, he will spend some time outside....

Parkesdale Farms

Get those strawberries while they're ripe!

GCP rides again!

Gasparilla Childrens' Parade!!!

Week End

Can you see the frost on the handrail?

It's been a good cold week. Freezing temps at night, flannel sheets on the bed. The dogs turned 10, or 70 in dog years. We have some ideas about bettering our house that shouldn't be too expensive or work-intensive to achieve. Encouraged.

I've been having flashbacks to 1977 — me in second grade, doing a mock election, watching the Carter innauguration on tv at school, some folks being really happy, others being really depressed, frost and snow on the ground. My kids are reliving the winter of 77.

Painting the Porch

Jimmy's painting the porch today with a little help from rent-a-kid.

Front Door

Joe put the door in Saturday & trimmed it out on Sunday.