Coast to Coast

It has been a busy and wild last two weeks. Mom and I went to Florida in the beginning of the month and then to Portland the last part. The first week we spent in Cocoa Beach, Orlando and New Smyrna Beach. When we arrived on Monday, we headed to Cocoa and really enjoyed the hotel and beach. The weather was great, a little hot, but not too bad. We spent a day at the pool and just relaxed. We walked the beach most every day and that is one of the things we really love. It is so relaxing to hear the waves crashing onto the shore and smell the fresh salt air. Hurricane Igor was approximately 1,000 miles offshore to the east but it had a huge impact on the surf. They recommended that you not swim because of the rip currents. Cocoa was not too crowded as it is a "Pay Beach" and most if it has hotels or resorts comprising its shore. Just north is Canaveral Beach and it is free but also more crowded. The sand is a light brown, and very soft and powdery. On Wednesday we headed for Orlando as we wanted to attend the Temple. We spent the night there and headed to New Smyrna on Thursday morning. Thursday was also back to work for dad. Mom drove as I spent most of the day on the phone. New Smyrna Beach is also great. With the exception of Gabe, all of you kids have been there. 

We really like the hotel and how it overlooks the ocean. Dad spent all weekend at the Edgewater Open House but we did walk the beach every morning before the show started. We were able to see the sun rise over the ocean. That is so incredible. You can see it getting lighter and lighter, and then, all of a sudden, it explodes over the horizon and there it is.

The turtles were also hatching and one morning we saw two trying to get to the ocean. One didn't make it. A seagull had it in its mouth. Mom went chasing after it to get it to drop it but no luck. The other was surrounded with people taking its picture (mom included). We don't know if it made it or not.  They are about 1-1/2" to 2" long.

We ate lots of seafood (no turtles) and most of it was very very good.

We came home for a day, did laundry and then headed to Portland. Mom has been looking at apartments and homes. We found a great home but it is too early for us to buy. We need to sell ours first! Mom is going to look at it tomorrow. It is a forclosure and needs a lot of work on it as the prior owners have vandalized. From what we can see from the outside and through the windows, it is a great house. Dad worked in the office all week, got a bit frustrated and then cooled down and had a good end of the week. Mom was a little frustrated with the housing picture but that also worked out by Friday.

On Saturday, we went to Mt. Saint Helen's. It was a great day, 80 degrees and sunny. It was a pretty good drive up there but well worth it. It is the 30th anniversary of the 1980 explosion that dramatically changed the landscape. After 30 years, it still looks a bit like the moons surface.

It is coming back and there is some green, but it still lacks trees and other vegetation. When we first saw it from a distance, it didn't look like much and we thought we were going to be dissapointed. Once we arrived at the observatory, Johnson Ridge, it was incredible. The entire top and side of the mountain is gone and the volcano dome is exposed. Incredible. When you come out, we will take you to see this, as well as the coast, and Mt. Hood and the Columbia River Gorge, etc. So much to see.

We are here until the 30th and then back home. They will install the new carpet on the 1st and then the house goes on the market.

This House is a Killer

We now have a beautiful new sump pump in the basement. Fortunately they were able to get in completely put in on Wednesday. Since we had a small leak in the basement wall, we had a drainage system and sump pump put in. As soon as they completed, I was able to build the final wall in the basement and get in finished. The basement is now completed except for the ceiling and floor. I just have eight tiles to put in the ceiling and Home Depot will install the carpet when we return from Portland on the 30th.

Mom spent most of Saturday removing the wallpaper murals from both upstairs bathrooms. So sad :(. They are now just plain old bathrooms. We rented a steamer to aid in the removal and it made it so much easier. Mom did most of the work, I only helped on the up high stuff. We were up till 12:30am painting but we now have both bathrooms upstairs finished. We had a huge list of things to do on Saturday, over 30 items, we were able to finish all but five. We were completely worn out. Thank goodness for a day of rest on Sunday.

Tomorrow we head to Florida for a few days of sun and fun. We are so excited.

The realtor was out this week and we signed the paperwork. It won't actually be listed until October 5th. They don't want to list until the new carpet is installed.

Week of Vacation???

I took last week off for vacation so we could work on getting the house finished and ready for sale. We did get a lot done but it wasn't as much as I had hoped. All that is left to do in the basement is to finish one end of the craft area with studs and drywall and then the carpet can be installed and it is finished. The bathroom is completely finished now and the main area is almost done. I just need to paint the support poles and put a little trim up. The reason for the delay in the craft area is because of a small leak in the wall. Hopefully they will get this fixed this week and I can get the wall built by week end. We have quotes on the carpet from Home Depot. We are also replacing the carpet in the living room as the realtor believes the red carpet will hinder the sale.

I cleaned out my shop area and threw a ton of stuff away. Gabe is getting all the extra chemicals I had for working on equipment and all the left over John Deere paint. I did get the frame for the 110 tractor that Gabe and I have been working on painted and the engine for it is completely together and painted. I am hoping to have the tractor put together by the end of this week if my part sarrive. I have been shopping for Deere parts all week on eBay and was able to find everything I need (except for a hood, too expensive). Hopefully all will arrive by this weekend. It is coming together well. The fenders is the last large piece to paint.

Mom began removing the wall paper mural in Nellie's old bathroom and is about 2/3 finished. It is taking a lot longer than anticipated. We hope we have enough paint to finish in there. Mom also wanted to wash the windows in the house. I helped her with the upstairs windows and the picture windows in the living room. It took all morning on Saturday but they are finished. She will work on the rest of the windows this week.

We still have so much to do here. We have settled on a realtor and will have them out this week. Our septic system is not working so we need to fix that and we still need to have the driveway and sidewalk repaired. We talked to a company yesterday that would mudjack and then refinish. There are some sections of the driveway that need to be replaced. Not sure if we will have refinished, replace, a mixture of both or nothing at all done!

I go back to work on Tuesday, after Labor Day. That will be the real break! On the following Monday, September 13th, we head to Florida for the Edgewater Open House. We will enjoy the beach. The first three and a half days are real vacation and then we begin working on the show on Friday morning and the show is Saturday and Sunday. We will then fly back home on Monday, wash clothes and pack and then to Portland on Tuesday. We will be there until October 2nd.

This past Saturday, Gabe and I took Brody, Connor and Zayne to the Royals game. Unfortunately, the Royals lost (as usual) but we had a good time. I am not sure if the boys knew who was playing or who won but they did enjoy the food and drink. Brody loved the salted peanuts and popcorn, Connor loved the cotton candy and popcorn and Zayne loved it all. Zayne had been to a game once before but it was a first for Connor and Brody. Connor and Zayne got a little bored at the end and fell asleep but overall it was a good time. The game went into extra innings so we did not stay for the fireworks. Gabe bought plastic batting helmets for everyone and a big #1 foam finger for Brody.

Grandma Georgie and Bud are coming on Sunday to spend the night and to pick up some of the stuff I had from the basement. They are heading home on Monday.