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We did find a new comforter and
blanket for the master, which
Katia and Natasha really
appreciated. |
I know, not exactly the most intriguing or clever title, but this blog will really be all over the place. It's been over a month since my last blog and a lot has happened, just nothing that would be a real headline grabber. It's kind of amazing how busy you can be but still not really be able to check off a major accomplishment. I guess in that spirit I'll start on the latest with the house. The best news is that I feel pretty confident that I have tracked down the last of the tub leaks that have damaged our kitchen ceiling. Even though any major kitchen renovation is well down the list and out in the future, I will take time now to repair the plaster and repaint the kitchen ceiling, hopefully for the last time. I worked in the downstairs bathroom as well, repairing the missing tiles and fixing the molding near the floor. I'm looking at a more permanent repair to the walls, perhaps replacing the tiles with something newer, cleaner, and more appealing. The room also needs paint on the ceiling, and a coat of something above the tiles but below the ceiling. The guest room project has stalled, mainly for a lack of time. I mentioned last month, the major repair/construction is completed, we've just stalled on selecting things like curtains and a comforter. I did a major cleanup of the windows and sills including climbing out on the porch roof to get the outside of the old windows.
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| We had the boardwalk to ourselves. I love the off season. |
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It was a bit chilly on the balcony. I surprised Cindy with some
hot chocolate. |
Our
big, late winter snowstorm ended up messing up our spring break vacation. The
Union - Endicott School District used up all their snow days and had to shave a day of spring break. I had already been approved for leave that week so our plans for traveling south became limited by time. In the end, we saved some money and "only" went to south New Jersey and stayed in
Wildwood. If you haven't been there, you should know that Wildwood is kind of the quintessential New Jersey beach town with a long boardwalk, numerous amusements, and endless t-shirt shops. While that may not sound all that appealing, especially for a couple in their 50s, it does have a certain charm and it is just 5 minutes from
Cape May, a scenic wonder with beautiful Victorian architecture, excellent restaurants, and a feeling that you are much further from home than you actually are. Interesting as well is that the beach in Wildwood is unique. First of all it is free, which is unusual for New Jersey. Also, it is growing!They actually have so much sand they were working on a project to remove some and send it on up the line. Amazing when you consider that most beach towns are struggling to save their beach while the Wildwoods are trying to figure out what to do with all that sand!
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| Our new couch. I'm watching the cats carefully. |
Back on the home front, we finally had our new couch delivered. We had ordered it back in the fall and they told us it would be a few months before it arrived. Well, it arrived in a few weeks and we just weren't ready for it. We were getting increasingly desperate phone calls from the salesman that sold us the couch wondering when we were going to pick it up. The problem was that I wanted to donate our 20 some year old couch to a friend in need and we had to get that done before the new one could be delivered. Easier said than done. First, it was HUGE, and knew they struggled to get it in the house, and we would struggle to get it out. Also, upstate New York winter weather is not conducive to uncovered couch delivery. Finally I got a helping hand and pickup truck from a brother firefighter at Prospect Terrace. A break in the weather arrived and we got it done. Then,
Olum's arrived later that some day and I watched their THREE delivery men struggle with a smaller couch. Even the professionals realized what a tight fit that front door is.
Final accomplishment of note (by me) was the cleaning of the garage. I also donated an old window air conditioner which freed up some space in the garage. This allowed be to better stow the snow blower for the season, but not before repairing the electric starter (YAY!). Turned out it was just loose and not engaging the fly wheel properly. I was afraid I had burned it out cranking on it when I stupidly forgot to put the key in. Anyway, I got all the old leaves out of the garage, swept up, stowed the snow tires for the Charger, and pulled out old storm windows and a rug that will go in the trash. My garage is not longer an embarrassment to the neighborhood. Cindy continues to work on the less glamorous but no less important jobs of daily maintenance, cleaning, and the unending task of switching our clothes and home for the different seasons.
In the immediate future is yard work, including getting the chain saw out, chopping roots, and seeing if I can coax another season out of that old mower.
