We have been busy working on fixing up our house. We finally got our new furniture we ordered for the veranda room, which is like a sun room/Florida room, etc. It's on one end of the house away from the bedrooms and seems to be where we are spending a lot of time relaxing, etc. It has windows all the way around.
We went furniture shopping because there wasn't much furniture in there except for a couple chairs and they were not the best. We settled on a reclining loveseat and a reclining chair. They have an overstuffed looked to them and are extremely comfortable for both of us. We have no trouble sitting back and dozing off, that's for sure. So after working hard all day, it's nice to kick back and relax.
I had to make a quick trip to Melbourne this week to help with Brynlee. Megan had to take her Mom to a new hospital to take (kidney) transplant education and Brandon was facing multiple trips to Miami, so I went on Wednesday so I could take her and pick her up from school. As it turned out, Brandon didn't have to go, but I was still a big help to them. And I played "elf" and wrapped some of their Christmas presents for them. So that kept me busy. I had planned to stay over for Friday, but they didn't need me, so I came home Thursday night.
Friday morning I was up early and the new "starliner" was launched over at the Cape. Brandon had said I might be able to see the launches from our house. I went out once it launched on TV and sure enough! I was able to see it for quite a while right from our driveway! We did have clouds, so once it got to the clouds, I couldn't see much more, but it was pretty cool and I know I will be able to see other launches.
Yesterday we went shopping for food and anything else I needed for our holiday comfort. We are going to Brandon's again and he is doing prime rib, so we aren't going to be doing the traditional holiday dishes. We are taking a veggie tray and some salads, so it will be a great dinner.
We are slowly getting things finished up around the house that we wanted to do. We were to have the outside powerwashed last week, but the guy messed up his schedule, so we got moved back to the 30th. No problems and we hadn't moved the motorhome out, so we are good. We also were missing the bathroom fan lights and trim rings. We looked all over for them and couldn't find them, but did find what they looked like. So I ordered them online. They came yesterday and Terry put them up. They were perfect, fit well and look great. Now we don't have those ugly fans mechanisms exposed. We have had a leaking sprinkler head and Terry has wracked his brain trying to figure out how to get that stopped. He was going to have an irrigation guy stop by to look at it. But yesterday he opened up under the house and found the shut offs! So he got that taken care of. He will still have the leaking valve replaced, but it's not an urgent need anymore.
We have been emptying out the motorhome of stuff we don't need so that we have room to pack stuff we have in the Texas place that we want to keep.
The weather has been pleasant her and we are enjoying our new home.
Till next time. . .
Dale
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Monday, December 16, 2019
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
New (to us) home! Polk City, Florida
It's been a trying month since we made the offer on the house. The owners had decided prior to selling that they would put a new roof on it and that was a great surprise to us. We had questioned the roof and told it would "pass" inspection, but we were going to have to look at it very closely.
We had our inspection done, which had to be delayed due to the roofers being lazy. Also, the roofers took the lightning rods off the house and didn't put them back on, so Terry was on that. Eventually they put them back up. The inspection yielded no surprises. The 4-T HVAC system is in great shape at only 3 years old is more than adequate to do the job. Roof is now new. Plumbing is all in good shape. We have 200 amp service at the lot which is good as well. Everything was in good shape.
The owners kind of lagged behind in getting it emptied out of their personal stuff and eventually hinted they would like some extra days after the closing. Our realtor reminded them they had signed a contract, so that was that. We still had stuff we had to clean out, but not nearly as much as we would have had.
We closed on December 2 and have been working since then. We moved the motorhome over the next day, the 3rd. She fits nicely under the canopy and once in, we can get three slides out, which is fine. This allows us access to everything inside.
In addition to working on the house itself, we take breaks and shop for items we need. I bought new bedding for the bedrooms and found lamps that go perfectly with the rooms. The large bathroom in the master had a handicap bench in the shower which was dirty, moldy and left stains on the floor. Terry finally got around to removing it yesterday and I started scrubbing the shower. Vinegar cleaned it up nicely and now the floor is sparkling white even where the discoloration was around the legs of the bench. It is a very large shower, so if we need a seat in there we can always add one.
We bought some new furniture for the "veranda room" but it won't be delivered for another week. The veranda room is like a Florida Room, but it was actually built as part of the house. It has windows all the way around.
We had multiple light switches in rooms that didn't seem to work. We thought they went to outlets, but had problems locating them. I had emailed the manufacturer, Jacobsen, and the gal sent me a floor plan which showed where all those light switches were ! Ta Da! So now I have lamps on those outlets so everything is working.
It's all been a work in progress, but fun at the same time. We have lots to do here and we plan on moving on to Texas after the first of the year, so we need to make a list!
I am posting some pictures but still have much to do.
We had our inspection done, which had to be delayed due to the roofers being lazy. Also, the roofers took the lightning rods off the house and didn't put them back on, so Terry was on that. Eventually they put them back up. The inspection yielded no surprises. The 4-T HVAC system is in great shape at only 3 years old is more than adequate to do the job. Roof is now new. Plumbing is all in good shape. We have 200 amp service at the lot which is good as well. Everything was in good shape.
The owners kind of lagged behind in getting it emptied out of their personal stuff and eventually hinted they would like some extra days after the closing. Our realtor reminded them they had signed a contract, so that was that. We still had stuff we had to clean out, but not nearly as much as we would have had.
We closed on December 2 and have been working since then. We moved the motorhome over the next day, the 3rd. She fits nicely under the canopy and once in, we can get three slides out, which is fine. This allows us access to everything inside.
In addition to working on the house itself, we take breaks and shop for items we need. I bought new bedding for the bedrooms and found lamps that go perfectly with the rooms. The large bathroom in the master had a handicap bench in the shower which was dirty, moldy and left stains on the floor. Terry finally got around to removing it yesterday and I started scrubbing the shower. Vinegar cleaned it up nicely and now the floor is sparkling white even where the discoloration was around the legs of the bench. It is a very large shower, so if we need a seat in there we can always add one.
We bought some new furniture for the "veranda room" but it won't be delivered for another week. The veranda room is like a Florida Room, but it was actually built as part of the house. It has windows all the way around.
We had multiple light switches in rooms that didn't seem to work. We thought they went to outlets, but had problems locating them. I had emailed the manufacturer, Jacobsen, and the gal sent me a floor plan which showed where all those light switches were ! Ta Da! So now I have lamps on those outlets so everything is working.
It's all been a work in progress, but fun at the same time. We have lots to do here and we plan on moving on to Texas after the first of the year, so we need to make a list!
I am posting some pictures but still have much to do.
This first picture is the spare bedroom and the one below is the master.
It's been a lot of fun getting this set up the way we want. We still have a ways to go, but it's coming around.
Till next time. . .
Dale
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Offer Time!
So Monday, November 11th, we met with the real estate agent and went
through a property we had looked at previously in Mount Olive Shores.
This is a motorhome community. . . you must have a motorhome to live
here and it must be a Class A. No problem there.
I'm
sure we haven't seen every port home there is in central Florida, but
we've seen a lot of them. We really wanted to be in a community so that
we were surrounded by like-minded people and would feel more secure. We
will not be stopping our travel and we wanted to find a place that we
could "leave" and travel around a bit. We wanted to be "close enough" to
Brandon and Megan and Brynlee, but not "too" close. We wanted to be
within an easy distance to a major heart hospital and good cardiologists
for Terry. This place is centered between Orlando and Tampa. We wanted
to be inland enough to not be impacted with every storm that comes
through.Many of the communities have small RV lots that you pay anywhere from $40,000 up to over $100,000 and all you get is pavement. You normally cannot put much else on the lot except your RV. Some do have "casitas" but none of them we looked at would have room or space to put everything we want to bring. Most had fees of at least $250 a month for amenities, all of which included golf, which we do not play.
So back to this particular property. It is in a motorhome community. . . not a lot of activities, but some. No big hall, but a smaller version. Friendly RV'ers. It's gated and the gates are closed all the time. You must use a code or a clicker to get in. The house is a manufactured home, a Jacobsen. They are made in Tampa. It is about 28' x 48', two bedrooms, two baths, large living room, dining space, large eat-in kitchen, and a sunny Florida room that spans the entire back of the house. It has brand new replacement Pella windows, all new flooring throughout, and the entire interior has been repainted. It comes furnished. The owners decided also to put a new roof on and it will be done this next week. Outside is a two-story shed with workspace for Terry. There is a 55' RV port on the far side of the drive and between that and the house is a shorter carport where MinnieMee will live. It is large enough and long enough to park both cars and our cargo trailer.
So we went back to take another look and we made an offer. The owners countered, splitting the difference between their asking price and our offer and we accepted. We wanted a quick closing as did the owners, but they wanted the roof on. That was not a condition but they were told it needed done, so they did it. Also, we are having inspections done and the week after next is Thanksgiving week, so not a lot will happen then. So our closing is set for the Monday after Thanksgiving. Whoo hoo. We will have it before Christmas, but I hesitate to say "in" it because we have a lot to do. But Phaeton Place will be parked right out the door in her spot under the canopy, so we will be staying in there till we get things fixed up. They left it furnished, but we will undoubtedly be sorting through what was left and pitching/donating what we don't want. But the upside of that is that we have no furniture and no home furnishings to put in it, so we will use what's there till we replace it.
It will be quite some time before we get all our stuff here. We're debating how to do that and the jury is still out on that one. But since we are spending about $3000 a year on storage, the sooner the better. And we have a few things to bring over from the place in Texas. Not sure when/if we will keep that place, but I doubt that we do. For now we are thinking we will head over there sometime after Christmas. There are some things we could take out now.
I'm wanting to get Mom down here. She is excited about it and would love to come. She wants to escape the cold up north. So we're trying to decide when that could happen. We have plenty of room for her and she would love the area.
So until then, we wait. We had some documents to sign and we have to take our trust in to the title company Monday for their perusal. We were never in this area of central Florida much, so we try to go somewhere everyday and look around. It's been fun.
Till next time. . .
Dale
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Closing a chapter. . .
When we first started fulltiming, we were owners/managers of 10 apartments, five duplexes to be accurate. One we didn't rent, but stored some stuff there and let the kids hangout there when they were in the area visiting family.
Over the last few years, we have sold four of the duplexes, but held on to the last one which is where Terry's parents lived for the last years of their lives. Today we signed a contract on that last home and we have been in the process of getting it emptied out since we have been here. Actually I started the process last summer, while Terry was sick, and got lots of stuff boxed up. We have had a few garage sales and more to come, but Terry's health has again changed somewhat and he hasn't been able to help much of late. That's okay, because I had 50 years of records/taxes/papers of his parents to shred and 40 years of ours. Why did we keep this stuff so long?
I had been shredding regularly and burned up my large shredder, so I bought Walmart's heaviest duty one. It did not last a day. I returned it and bought a Bonsai Shredder off Amazon and it was delivered the next day. It performed flawlessly and with a 60-minute run time, it never shut down on me. I actually have another much smaller shredder which is about 15 years old and it continues to run, so I could alternate between the two. All told, I took about 33 bags of shredded paper of 33-50 gallons each. I know I could have taken the boxes of papers to a commercial shredder, but I found Terry's parent's marriage license and Terry's original birth certificate, so I wanted to go through it all. Proud to say I finished the other day and we took all those bags to recycling, so now I can concentrate on other things.
Some of the furniture was promised for pickup after the kids all left and the families came and picked up all their stuff. I still have several pieces of furniture to go and I'm hoping to get it outside at my next sale. I have several offers of help to do that so I don't think it will be a problem.
We will be having to put a small amount of stuff in storage and we planned to get a unit big enough for Li'l Red as well. MinnieMee is already safely tucked into storage. If we buy a house elsewhere (and Florida is sounding pretty good), it will have to have space for all the "stuff." Are we buying a house? Not yet. We have decided if we do, it will be in Florida because that is where son Brandon is and they have some good heart hospitals there. Since Terry cannot breathe in cold air, we couldn't choose Virginia, where our daughter lives; but we will be able to visit and they can always come to Florida to visit us! Indianapolis is just not some place we want to be in the winter even though Terry's doctors are there. He needs warm air year around. We have some decisions to make. But. . .one step at a time.
We are doing well. Terry tried that new heart drug Entresto and they won't be calling him to give a glowing review. One of those "rarely mentioned" side effects laid him up pretty good and he had to quit it. So now he is trying to get back to his "normal" and that is taking some time. He is sleeping better than he has in two years and once he is rid of the side effects, we are hoping for his "normal" to return.
Till next time. . .
Dale
Over the last few years, we have sold four of the duplexes, but held on to the last one which is where Terry's parents lived for the last years of their lives. Today we signed a contract on that last home and we have been in the process of getting it emptied out since we have been here. Actually I started the process last summer, while Terry was sick, and got lots of stuff boxed up. We have had a few garage sales and more to come, but Terry's health has again changed somewhat and he hasn't been able to help much of late. That's okay, because I had 50 years of records/taxes/papers of his parents to shred and 40 years of ours. Why did we keep this stuff so long?
I had been shredding regularly and burned up my large shredder, so I bought Walmart's heaviest duty one. It did not last a day. I returned it and bought a Bonsai Shredder off Amazon and it was delivered the next day. It performed flawlessly and with a 60-minute run time, it never shut down on me. I actually have another much smaller shredder which is about 15 years old and it continues to run, so I could alternate between the two. All told, I took about 33 bags of shredded paper of 33-50 gallons each. I know I could have taken the boxes of papers to a commercial shredder, but I found Terry's parent's marriage license and Terry's original birth certificate, so I wanted to go through it all. Proud to say I finished the other day and we took all those bags to recycling, so now I can concentrate on other things.
Some of the furniture was promised for pickup after the kids all left and the families came and picked up all their stuff. I still have several pieces of furniture to go and I'm hoping to get it outside at my next sale. I have several offers of help to do that so I don't think it will be a problem.
We will be having to put a small amount of stuff in storage and we planned to get a unit big enough for Li'l Red as well. MinnieMee is already safely tucked into storage. If we buy a house elsewhere (and Florida is sounding pretty good), it will have to have space for all the "stuff." Are we buying a house? Not yet. We have decided if we do, it will be in Florida because that is where son Brandon is and they have some good heart hospitals there. Since Terry cannot breathe in cold air, we couldn't choose Virginia, where our daughter lives; but we will be able to visit and they can always come to Florida to visit us! Indianapolis is just not some place we want to be in the winter even though Terry's doctors are there. He needs warm air year around. We have some decisions to make. But. . .one step at a time.
We are doing well. Terry tried that new heart drug Entresto and they won't be calling him to give a glowing review. One of those "rarely mentioned" side effects laid him up pretty good and he had to quit it. So now he is trying to get back to his "normal" and that is taking some time. He is sleeping better than he has in two years and once he is rid of the side effects, we are hoping for his "normal" to return.
Till next time. . .
Dale
Friday, September 28, 2018
You may notice a large void. . .
Suffice to say, it's been the worst of times. Terry's health continued to be at the forefront of our thoughts all summer long and getting him back into better and healthier condition was goal number one.
He did start walking again. A physical therapist gave him some exercises, but most importantly told him what he could safely do with his heart condition. He started out walking 10 minutes 3 times a day. He now is up to 35 minutes once a day and walking about 1.5 miles. His sleep problems are ever present, but he spends most of the night in bed and not in a chair, so that is definitely an improvement.
We did get to touch base with some friends this summer and managed to get in his high school reunion and then mine. Those were great times with old friends. These were both our 50th reunions, so a lot of people made extra effort to be there. Mine was a three-day event, starting with a meet and greet kind of thing on Friday night. Then on Saturday, there was a golf outing, a tour of the high school and downtown Goshen. Saturday night was our big event, a dinner, a silent auction to raise money for our scholarship fund, and dancing and mingling. Really enjoyed seeing everyone again. Sunday we had a ride on the "LilyPad" which is a tour boat that goes around Lake Wawasee. It's been years since we have been on that lake and it was a lot of fun. It was a hot day and most of the day we were on the top deck in the breeze, but later when we turned into the sun, we went downstairs into the air conditioning.
Our big plan for the summer was to get the house emptied and sold. Had Terry been well, we would have probably got that done, but as it was. . . it didn't happen. But as he got to feeling better, he did start working with me.
We took two pickup loads of stuff to Goodwill and a half load to electronic recycling. I boxed up most everything that was in closets, cupboards and dressers. Everything is labeled and ready to be packed into the trailer or put out next summer for a garage sale. All the furniture will be sold and there is some nice stuff, but we don't want to continue to pay for storage for it after we sell the house. Most of the stuff belonged to Terry's parents and was not our stuff. Once we get it all emptied, then the house will be sold. Anxious to get that done and behind us. Eventually we think we will have a house in Florida near Brandon. We have to be somewhere warm year round for Terry and it makes sense to be close to one of your kids.
Till next time. . .
Dale
He did start walking again. A physical therapist gave him some exercises, but most importantly told him what he could safely do with his heart condition. He started out walking 10 minutes 3 times a day. He now is up to 35 minutes once a day and walking about 1.5 miles. His sleep problems are ever present, but he spends most of the night in bed and not in a chair, so that is definitely an improvement.
We did get to touch base with some friends this summer and managed to get in his high school reunion and then mine. Those were great times with old friends. These were both our 50th reunions, so a lot of people made extra effort to be there. Mine was a three-day event, starting with a meet and greet kind of thing on Friday night. Then on Saturday, there was a golf outing, a tour of the high school and downtown Goshen. Saturday night was our big event, a dinner, a silent auction to raise money for our scholarship fund, and dancing and mingling. Really enjoyed seeing everyone again. Sunday we had a ride on the "LilyPad" which is a tour boat that goes around Lake Wawasee. It's been years since we have been on that lake and it was a lot of fun. It was a hot day and most of the day we were on the top deck in the breeze, but later when we turned into the sun, we went downstairs into the air conditioning.
Our big plan for the summer was to get the house emptied and sold. Had Terry been well, we would have probably got that done, but as it was. . . it didn't happen. But as he got to feeling better, he did start working with me.
We took two pickup loads of stuff to Goodwill and a half load to electronic recycling. I boxed up most everything that was in closets, cupboards and dressers. Everything is labeled and ready to be packed into the trailer or put out next summer for a garage sale. All the furniture will be sold and there is some nice stuff, but we don't want to continue to pay for storage for it after we sell the house. Most of the stuff belonged to Terry's parents and was not our stuff. Once we get it all emptied, then the house will be sold. Anxious to get that done and behind us. Eventually we think we will have a house in Florida near Brandon. We have to be somewhere warm year round for Terry and it makes sense to be close to one of your kids.
Till next time. . .
Dale
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