The girls drive to FL by themselves!

It is Sunday, January 04, 2009; Alex and Leah left for Fort Lauderdale at about 8:30 AM CST; should be arriving there, God willing, between 9:30 and 10:30 PM EST.

I had asked my boss’ opinion on Friday about me staying one more week up here in ‘the Bluff’; since I received no feedback at all by yesterday afternoon, I decided his silence was loud enough and I had to return with the girls and Jan would stay up here one more week. However, at about 7:30 PM last night I got a message from him apologizing for not answering before and saying that it was OK with him for me to work from here next week. So, I and Jan get to stay for one more week and Alex and Leah went back to the Florida home to go to their respective schools…

After we decided this last night, we went out to grab a bite at the Pizza place that replaced the Down Yonder; as we walked in there were Stuart, Terri and Hank Daniels; after a brief conversation they left, but not before inviting us to go watch the Dolphins game with them; and so we planned. However, as we were getting ready to go watch the game, the DirectTV guys called saying they were on their way to install our TV feeds.

While waiting for the installers, Jan and I hung the drapes and window treatment in both Alex’s and Leah’s rooms; good team work.

The guys got here at about 1 PM and, as I write this, they are still working on it and I am following the game via the NFL web site; it is half time and we are down 3-13.

This morning the temperature climbed up to the upper 60s; almost shorts & t-shirt weather; as of now is 52!

End of 2008; begining of 2009...

… and so it was that 2008 came to an end. The Temperellis (Mike, Nancy, Jesse and Rocky) left early Tuesday morning heading back down to Florida. We had a great time. They made it down uneventfully, except for a small glitch (a 2-hour traffic jam caused by a wreck) around Orlando.

Paul Bradley, a VP of Sales for PayCargo who works out of Nashville, came to work with me; we had a very productive day in which we exchanged ideas and agreed on PayCargo critical success factors…

Pat Ross invited us to come over to her house (about ¾ mile away – closest neighbor) for end of year celebrations; we will be there.

The elevator doors were installed (no more falling through shafts!) along with some of the railing on the stairs, and the replacement of some exterior fixtures that had been damage by staining; and, in the typical fashion of two steps forwards and one step backwards, as we were leaving for Pat’s, I dropped a frozen roast beef in the sink to defrost for the New Year’s day dinner and the sink fell off; I mean, it became completely unglued and unhinged from underneath the granite slab. Jimmy will be here today to fix it…

At any rate, we went to Pat’s and had a great time; I don’t know yet most people’s last names but Danny & Donna and DJ, Sammy & Nancy, Hank & Terry, Fireman Dan and Claudette were there, along with us and Pat. We made some Glühwein (spiced wine – German style) and took it to Pat’s; people experienced the sensation of warming up from within!

On January 1st we called my mother (her 80th birthday); we also hung drapes in the basement, built a standing coat rack, assembled a bench for mud room, installed a dead bolt on an outside door, built a fire pit.

We are starting to plan the return to South Florida… and so begins 2009!

After Christmas...

After a tumble of 22 ft down the elevator shaft, Lola seems to be OK; we will take her to the vet once we are back in Florida…

As I mentioned before, Spence & Marcia Price, Leah’s Godparents, came to visit us; they arrived on the 25th and left today, the 29th. Mike, Nancy & Jesse Temperelli came on the 26th and will leave tomorrow.

On Saturday we all caravanned to the Fall Creek Falls State Park, with all five dogs; Alex, Leah and the Temperellis hiked down to the bottom of the falls; wiser and older folks (Prices and Rodríguez) did not do the hike… Saturday evening the grown-ups went to a neighborhood party hosted by Mary Newman in the Newman’s log home; met lots of people; heard lots of stories; learnt a thing or two about country living; had a great time!

On one of these past days, while I was working, I looked out one of the office windows and saw what I thought was a coyote on our driveway; Jimmy Hale, our builder, was with me and he said that was no coyote (too big); he thought it was a big dog; it was big indeed, bigger than Pancho and with a collar that looked like a transmitter/research one. Later, at the party, I learnt that the county Sheriff owns some wolves and that even though they are expected to be kept in pens, they are left to roam around; I was told that most likely that was one of the sheriff’s wolves because they had been sighted in the area before…

Yesterday, Temperellis went to their lot near Altmont; they timed the ride and, even though it’s only about 35 miles away, it actually takes about 1 hour door-to-door. They were very excited about what they found and also about spending time there. Meanwhile, the rest of us – except Jan who stayed with the dogs – went to the Jack Daniels distillery. We all had a great time. Also yesterday, Mary Newman went back to Florida...

Today the work re-starts at the house; stone masons are expected; the elevator people come on Wednesday; electricians may be back tomorrow along with plumbers…

GO FINS!

Boxing Day...

Ok. So, it is the day after Christmas (a.k.a. Boxing Day North of the border) and there is a warming trend and we have 50.4 ˚F at noon time. It is wet and cloudy. Oh well…

Here is a recap of the happenings of the last three days:

·         The plumbers hooked up the pipes and the garbage disposal to the main kitchen sink and the ice-maker in the kitchen bar.

·         The glass and mirror people showed up to install the shower glass enclosures in the master bathroom and, I believe, the mirrors in the kitchen bar.

·         Sears showed up and fixed the fridge.

·         Jimmy and his sons set up the mantle on the fire place and then installed a TV above the mantle.

·         The stone people finished the installation of all the granite counter tops (with big help from Jimmy and his people), the veggie sink in the kitchen, and the sinks in the master bathroom. The only setback was that a big mirror for the back of the bar in the kitchen was cut about ½ inch off center; has to be redone; will be redone by the week of January 8^th…

·         Chris went back home today (he had been staying with Jan for the week). He helped and accompanied and provided a great deal of peace of mind to me. I am indebted to him.

·         Jan and the girls went to Sam’s and the damage was so bad that the manager came out to thank them for their business!

·         We set up some of the living room furniture and had our 1^st fire!

·         I hung up mirrors in two of the five bathrooms. Also put up fixtures (towel bars, TP holders, etc.)

·         Cleaned and set up the kitchen

·         Had a small gathering in Christmas Eve

·         Opened presents on Christmas Day; spoke to close friends, my parents and Kiki & Tini.

·         At 3:00 PM Christmas Day, the main pipe that brings water from the filtration systems into the house busted. There was water gushing out like fire hydrants; after 3 hours the plumbers came and fixed it.

·         At about 5:30 PM, Lola was exploring and fell through the elevator shaft onto the top of the elevator; then she bounced and fell to the bottom of the shaft and got wedged between the back of the elevator and the wall; all together about 22 feet. I had to open a whole in the wall to get her out; did it!

·         Uncle Spence and Auntie Marcia Price, Leah’s godparents, arrived at about 6:30 PM.

·         We had a great turkey breast dinner.

·         Today, the Temperellis (Mike, Nancy and Jesse) arrived at about 5:30 PM; we celebrated Nancy’s 39^th J birthday with a great pork dinner…

All is well that ends well!

2nd Day: we are staying!

As we started to get up and active we discovered there was no water in the house; after some research it was apparent some pipes were frozen over night (it went down to around 6 ˚F last night). The pipes were supposed to be insulated and protected but were not…

Plumbers have been here all day long heating the pipes in many areas and have come to the conclusion that one of the pumps, the one from the cistern to the filtration system, burned out; reason unknown yet! As of now, we are waiting for our builder to assess the situation and (a) see if it is indeed a burnt pump; and (b) how long this would take to fix. If it is more than one day, we are packing and going back tomorrow…

As it turned out, there was no damage to any of the pumps; only a great deal of frozen water in the pipes; it took until 5PM to thaw them out; we are staying… YES!

We finished the day with the installation of the main kitchen sink under the counter; tomorrow the plumbers come back to hook it up. Additionally, Jimmy’s sons helped the plumbers install the water line into the freezer’s ice maker. We now have ice; civilized drinks are possible; making more progress!

Sometimes one either forgets or takes for granted little things: we were able to shower today!

Went to bed around 9:00 PM…

Alex, Leah, Lola, Bo, Pancho and I left for ‘the Bluff’ at about 4:15 AM on Sunday, December 21, 2008. The car (the Escalade) was loaded to the hilt, including the top rack and an extra-grill attached to the rear hitch. After a bit of uncertain start with the cargo on the top rack coming loose and Bo being anxious (bothering her sister Leah), we got into a good driving groove and eventually made it here at about 5:15 PM EST (4:15 PM CST – Local).

Jan was very happy to see us and us her; she’s been here the whole week with Chris and tremendous progress has been made; but it has not come easy. Anxiety, uncertainty, last-minute changes have been the daily ‘agenda’…

When we got here it was cold, about 27 ˚F; we unloaded as much as we could and put it all in the garage. Later, as we were trying to find our air mattresses in the garage, Pancho saw and sought the opportunity to escape, and SO HE DID! It was dark already and we were all in inside clothes; by the time we grabbed jackets and shoes, he had take off and disappeared into the wilderness.
Jan, Chris, Lean and I went out to look for him while Alex stayed behind just in case he returned on his own. Leah stayed on foot while Jan Chris and I jumped on the car to see if we could find him and then entice him to come to the car; no avail! As it turns out, after he roamed for a while and satisfied his curiosity he came back on his own! Dirty, cold and wet, but in one piece!

Sleeping was OK; we all used air mattresses: Jan and I each in one, in our bedroom, Alex and Leah upstairs and Chris took the basement (to avoid the early morning stirring) as I am causing right now... It is about 6:50 AM CST and about 6.9 ˚F!

This is clearly work-in-progress, but the key word is ‘progress’…

Will report again tomorrow…

Leah, Dad, Hawk's Bluff, Unique week-end...

So, Leah and I went this past week-end to Hawk's Bluff. We left our house in Sunrise at around 6:30 PM EST. Stopped briefly twice, for refueling and bathroom breaks an got there at 6:oo AM EST (or 5:00 AM CST).

Melissa and Ralph, from the Way Inn, had room 19 open, with a light, and warmed up waiting for us. Although my co-pilot had slept on and off (more on than off) on the way up; we both hit the hay immediately for a nap...

Got up about 7:30 AM, grabbed a couple of biscuits with bacon and egg at the Way Inn little store and header for the house. There has been progress, but I am afraid that not enough for it to be finished for this coming Saturday.

The interior work is progressing aggressively but there is till lots of work to do...

After being in the house for about one hour, Leah and I went to Dee and Phil's house and visited with them, warm and nice, and the Perez (they all had had an ugly battle with Seagram's the night before and were still trying to understand which way was up...)

Later, we went to Cookeville and had lunch at Sam's club; on our way home stopped by the Sparta Wal-Mart (obligatory stop) and got back to our hotel room in tome to watch, in total, the severe and humbling whooping the Gators gave Satan and his Crimson (now black-and-blue) Tide...

We left our house at precisely 10:00 AM EST Sunday morning and pulled into our Sunrise driveway at 9:00 PM EST. We made the 810 miles in 11 hours, an average of 73.6 MPH (including two stops!)

Jan and I are going back this Saturday; we reserved two rooms (one for us and one for Chris) at the Way Inn for Saturday since the floors may still be fresh; I will be coming back on Sunday (flying) and Jan stays... We are having the phones installed on Monday, the alarm on Tuesday and the Satellite TV on Friday.