Happy Birthday, Doc!

Wednesday night date

Doc and I are trying to keep Wednesday nights open for exploring the area. We’ve been here four Wednesdays, and felt too tired to go out on the third one. Therefore, we had to go someplace last night.

I selected a couple of addresses and packed a picnic supper. When Doc came home from work, we plugged the addresses into the GPS and took off. We ended up having our dinner in a wilderness park. This park definitely has future potential for us. There are equestrian trails, hiking trails, bike paths, many shelters for picnicking and gatherings, an education center, and cabins and tent sites for camping. Wildlife is supposed to be plentiful, too; we did see a small representation of that wildlife.

We left there to check out another beach. The sky was clearing and promised a good sunset.

We found the small beach, as did many other people. Everyone began arriving after us and staked out their sunset-viewing spots.

While awaiting the sunset, I wandered around to check out the landscaping. I like the grouping of seagrapes, oleander, and palms.

The gaillardia (Indian blanket) was pretty, too. It always reminds me of Texas.

As for today, there are a few more – ugh! – boxes to tackle.

Another busy weekend

My previous post was titled, “I’m a slacker.”  Well, perhaps I haven’t been a slacker around the house and the apartment, but I certainly have been slack about updating here.  Honestly, trying to get the house ready for the market is time-consuming!

I left the apartment Thursday morning for a doctor appointment near our house.  It was a bit frustrating that the doctor was running late (and I drove 131 miles to see him!) and he ended up not being able to see me; instead, I saw the nurse practitioner.  No problem – she doesn’t fuss at me for my weight like he does (I did manage to lose 4 pounds!).  Got my prescriptions refilled and left.

From there, I went to the Public Library to retrieve my house keys and to use the computer and printer.  I had dropped my house keys there on Sunday afternoon while picking up a book on hold.  Fortunately, someone bothered to pick them up and turn them in.  I left there, ate lunch, ran a few errands, and then picked up 3 gallons of paint.  (The Realtor suggested – very strongly – that not everyone would appreciate the bold colors we had painted the kitchen and Doc’s music studio.)  The painter arrived Friday morning and got to work.  The pool guy came and presented a repair estimate (another pool guy is coming this week for a second opinion).  The termite guy came and inspected and renewed the bond.  The carpet guy came and presented his estimate (eeek).

Too many people, too much commotion, and too many dollar signs floating around – by the time everyone left, I found a place to take a nap.

Doc arrived sometime after that and we left for the softball game.  We were driving right into the sunset, but it was worth it.

We won the game, too, by the way.

On Saturday, we cleaned.  I cleaned inside while Doc power-washed the walks and drive and began to clean out the garage.

We attended church on Saturday night and Sunday school the next morning.  Then we packed up the cars and came back to the apartment.

Friends of ours from church were vacationing near here this weekend and wanted to stop by for a visit and to see our “new place.”  Of course, all they could see was disorganization and boxes (which are rapidly dwindling in number, by the way).  We live fairly near a Greek community and decided to have dinner at an authentic Greek restaurant.  Yum!  My friend and I had the Papoutsakia (stuffed eggplant). Her husband had grilled fish and Doc had a good ol’ rib-eye steak.  The portions were huge – we stuffed ourselves silly.  An online search had turned up a coupon for free Baklava, so we indulged and stuffed ourselves sillier. 

Now it’s Monday.  Laundry, bills, and boxes await.

I’m a slacker

I realize that my blogging has sort of slacked off a bit lately.  I have all sorts of excuses but one really good reason: time.  This week has especially been a busy one.

Doc and I have been traveling back and forth between the house and the apartment since our move.  That driving is getting old.  We’ve been driving over separately, and this coming weekend should be the last time we take two vehicles.  We do still have to go back for at least two three more weekends after this one.

Tomorrow morning, I leave very early to drive back because of a doctor appointment.  I know he’ll fuss at me for not losing any weight, but that’s been the least of my concerns lately.  Then, I’ve got to stop and pick up the keys that I managed to drop on Sunday afternoon.  Never in my life have I lost a set of keys…until Sunday.  I kept telling myself that I should connect the two separate key rings, especially with my bad habit of putting them in my jeans pocket.  On one of my errands before leaving town Sunday, I pulled out my car keys and neglected to notice the other keys that fell.  I was an hour away when I stopped and noticed they were missing.  I spent half an hour on the side of the road calling every place I had been.  Thankfully, someone bothered to pick up my keys and turn them in.  Thankfully, too, God does look out for His children.

Then, the busyness begins on Friday morning!

• The painter will be at my house first thing in the morning to repaint the front doors, my kitchen wall, and the “music studio.”  A couple of years ago, Doc and I painted that room in a color called “Ink” – it’s the color of fountain pen ink – and created a soothing place for Doc to practice his trombone, guitar, and just mellow out with his music.
• The termite inspector will be there to renew the termite bond and give the house a “booster;” otherwise the pests would be eating their way through the state.
• The pool guy will be there to inspect the pool and make sure all is well.
• The carpet guy will be there to clean some rooms and replace carpeting in others.
• The house inspector will also be there to point out what else we can do to make the house perfect for the market.  The house is less than five years old, so hopefully he won’t find too much wrong.
• I’m sure I’ll see the Realtor at some point that day, too.

With the poor housing market in Florida, we aren’t expecting to sell at a huge profit; we just hope to sell.  I just hope the cost of preparing and marketing the house doesn’t send us into a hole.

I’ll be back on track soon.  Have a great weekend!

Baskets in the kitchen

I received a lot of great suggestions for my kitchen storage problem.

The main problems are:

• I have too many spices and seasonings
• I have zero available cabinet space
• I have no usable countertop space
• The option of the space beneath the sink is a bit gross to me and the space on top of the cabinets is a bit high – I’d be up and down the stepladder regularly (which might help with weight-loss, exercise, and toning a few flabby muscles!)…hmm, that might become the best option…

I like the idea of a decorative basket for storage, although placing it on the counter top wouldn’t be a practical solution since there is very little countertop space available.

I already have a large assortment of baskets that were previously displayed in the kitchen and elsewhere throughout the house. I used to do a lot of basket-weaving and kept at least one of every basket type I ever made. Hiding things in them was a bad habit of mine. The photos below show how I had some of them displayed in my kitchen.

I like the idea of using the treasure chest-type baskets (with hinged lids), and since I don’t own any of those, I’ll have to do a little shopping. Perhaps I’ll have that accomplished in the next week or two. Right now, all of the little containers are overflowing a large storage bin that I’ve tucked up under a counter – but everything didn’t fit that, so a few containers still “decorate” the countertops.

There will be more to come on this in the near future. Meanwhile, this week will be busy with trying to finish up the unpacking (that may not get done as I will only be in the apartment for three days this week). Early Thursday morning, I’ll be heading back to the house: the Realtor will be there with a few workers (carpet guy, painter, home inspector, and hopefully a pool guy). We’re going to make sure that everything is in tip-top shape, especially since the Central Florida housing market is so stinky right now. I also have another [routine] doctor appointment. Then I’ll be hurrying back to the apartment on Sunday afternoon. Friends of ours will be vacationing nearby and want to visit our new place.

Meanwhile, I’ll be doing laundry and unpacking a few more boxes today.