Paws Awhile – Moody Blue Sea

This was going to be my weekend off from the remodel project.  I was all excited about going with friends to see the Moody Blues concert at the Fox Theater Friday night, but early in the week I got a call from the cabinet guy who said that the rest of the cabinets had arrived and he wanted to have them installed on Friday. Hmmm… Dilemma…  I briefly contemplated trying to fly to Jacksonville on Friday morning and then fly home in time for the concert but there were precious few available seats on the return flights Friday afternoon. I called my friend who had invited me to the concert and begged her to forgive me for bailing on the concert.

Free from my social obligation, I could fly to Jacksonville on Thursday but the handles we had ordered for our cabinets had not arrived so I decided to wait until Friday hoping the shipment would arrive. We REALLY REALLY wanted the cabinet installer to install the handles because I’ve seen OUR work and I wouldn’t hire us to do much of anything that requires precision.

I kept checking the knobs4less website to see if we had a tracking number but there was no information. I had little hope of getting the handles.  We did get a delivery of the power cords for the dishwasher and range, so that was good. Late Thursday afternoon the handles arrived!  Whooo Hoooo!!!!

I wanted to go to my 6AM exercise class Friday morning but that would be cutting it too close to make the 8:30AM flight so I skipped it. I miss my exercise compadres when I don’t get to go.  Misery loves company, you know!

The flight to Jacksonville went off without a hitch – I got a nice aisle seat in the economy comfort section close to the front of the plane. This is nice, not because I care about the extra room between the seats but because I would be able to get off of the plane quickly. I was anxious to get to Paws Awhile to oversee the cabinet install.

The drive from the airport takes slightly more than 30 minutes so I was at the condo by 10AM. Mike, the installer, was already there & busy setting up for the installation.

 

It was a good thing I got there because his plans showed the dishwasher to the right of the sink and I had decided that I wanted it to the left of the sink. He wasn’t sure there would be room behind the dishwasher for the plumbing but we did some measuring and decided it could be done.

I really like Mike, the installer. He is fun to banter with while he works and he is incredibly precise with his work. He had done the cabinet installations for two of my friends on the island.

I took a picnic lunch to the beach and watched dolphins frolic in the waves and then took a walk down the beach.  On my way back, I got a call from Mike wanting to know where the handles were for the refrigerator. He needed to measure the depth of the refrigerator with the handles so he could make sure the cabinet doors would open. I told him I thought they were inside the fridge but he said they weren’t. Then I started to panic, thinking maybe the delivery guys hadn’t left me the handles.  I hoofed it back to the condo, opened the fridge and there they were, just where I had told Mike. He looked sheepish and said, “Right next to the snake.”

Mike worked on the cabinets until around 4:30PM. He said he would not be able to finish so he would be back the next day. While he was packing up, my friends showed up to deliver a TV I had stashed in their car when I learned they were driving down. Mike enlisted the help of my friend Brian to move the refrigerator from the bedroom into its position in the kitchen. The whole process was rather comedic. Mike and Brian got the refrigerator as far as the bedroom door but couldn’t get it over the lip of the tile. They were blocked into the bedroom. My friend Nancy and I were outside the bedroom but unable to do much to help due to our wimpy girliness. I was worried that Mike & Brian would be trapped until we could find help, but Mike decided he could climb out the bedroom window and come back in the front door. With lots of wiggling and grunting, they got the refrigerator into place.  It looks GREAT!  I was doing the happy dance.

Mike left and we went to the Surf to meet some other friends for Happy Hour & dinner.

I woke up early the next morning & decided to install the new TV.  It is a SMART TV, meaning it is probably ESU (Equipment Superior to User).  I moved the current TV to the master bedroom and put the new 39” TV in the living area. 39” might be overkill for the small space.

Mike arrived around 9:30AM and started working. He was very curious about the capabilities of the new TV so he inspired me to explore its capabilities.  I was able to watch YouTube videos on the TV and project the desktop from my PC onto the TV.  Pretty cool!

Mike was concerned about the plumbing so I sent a text to Herb, the handyman, and asked if he could stop by to take a look. Herb felt confident he would be able to connect the plumbing…. Something about a shark-bite connection…  Of course one would use something like that at the beach.

Mike finished the installation and was ready for the handles. He asked where I wanted them and I showed him that I wanted them at the bottom edge of the cabinet. He said, “No, you can’t put them there.” He had no real reason, but he just said it wasn’t done. We argued for a bit and I finally gave in and put them where he said they should go. I was glad afterward. They look great!

I went to lunch at Sliders with my friends and had a really garlicy Caesar salad. I chewed gum on the way back to the condo, but when I got there, Mike sniffed the air and said, “What did you have for lunch?”

By the time he finished and cleaned up, it was after 2 and I hadn’t gotten to spend any time at the beach so I decided not to return to Atlanta until the next day to give me a chance to enjoy the beach.

Before I went out to the beach though, I decided to see if I could move the stove out of the bedroom. I pushed and pulled and pushed and pulled and eventually got it into the kitchen. With my super-human strength I was able to lift the microwave and put it on top of the stove leaving the guest bedroom available to be turned back into a guest bedroom! I reassembled the bed frame and unstacked the mattresses and box springs.  

The bedroom is now sleep-able, although there is still a lot of stuff laying around.

I was on a roll so I decided to install the new kitchen light. I built a tower using the laundry basket on top of the stove and microwave where I could balance the light fixture while I did the wiring. I thought it looked pretty good for amateur work. I wanted to install the new dining room fixture too but didn’t think I had enough materials to build a tower and I certainly didn't want to move the stove again!

I took a walk on the beach. It was beautiful. The weather was perfect. The sun was setting and there was a nice warm breeze. I walked down to the pier where some folks had hung hammocks under the pier. One was hanging pretty high up. I was going to stop and ask them how they got up that high, but it looked like more than one person in the hammock and I didn’t want to disturb whatever they seemed to be doing.

I had a nice dinner at my friends’ house. She had just gotten her kitchen remodeled too. Her faucet was still being installed (by Herb, the handyman) when I got there. That gave me a chance to plead with Herb to get my appliances installed as soon as possible. Herb said I might be in luck because he had some sheetrock work lined up for the week and he might have some down-time while he waited for the mud to dry.  Oh, I hope so!  It would be so nice to at least have the ice-maker hooked up!

Sunday morning I got up early & made good time getting to the airport. I got to the Sky Club about 7:15AM. I considered seeing if I could get on the 7:30AM flight but decided to stick with my original plan for the 8:40AM. Big mistake. I should have looked at the schedules board to see that the 8:40AM had a mechanical delay. As I write this, departure time for the 8:40AM flight has been delayed to 10AM and now showing 1PM. There are two flights that leave before 1, but they are rebooking everyone so I’m sure I won’t get on any of them.

I am sitting in the Sky Club with a family of 6 (revenue) that is trying to get to Salt Lake City. The surly teenagers are not taking the delay very well.

I wouldn’t care except that little Lucy has a play date with her little Chihuahua friends today and I will miss it. No matter though, Tony says it is supposed to rain in Atlanta so Lucy probably won't want to go anyway.

The Fly versus Drive decision is always a tough one. If everything works in my favor flying, I can make it door-to-door from my house in Smyrna to Paws Awhile in 3 1/2 hours. Driving would take about 6 hours. Today, flying; with things not working in my favor; will take at least 8 hours from door-to-door. I think I would still rather fly though, most of the time.