Paws Awhile - BJ's Parts Delivery Service

This project is DRAGGING on!  It seems like the kitchen will NEVER be finished. Once the cabinets were installed, we hoped the countertops would follow quickly.  I guess that depends on what you mean by quickly.

We flew down in early April to take the kitchen faucet, thinking we'd be ahead of the game. I got a lot of really strange looks boarding the plane with my faucet carry-on.  You'd think no one has ever traveled with their faucet before.

We had a nice day with our Fernandina Beach family (the Withers and the Nichols/Colonnas) with lunch at Sliders and then hurried back to the airport for the 5PM return flight. We were running late so we checked in for the flight from our phone. After parking the car and taking the shuttle to the terminal, we arrived with less than 30 minutes 'til flight time. Since we are TSA precheck, this shouldn't be a problem but we didn't have a boarding card and the kiosk won't print one within 30 minutes of flight time. We stood in line and got a lecture from the lady at the counter about being on time. She put us on the list and checked us in for 6:30PM flight. We rushed through security and ran to the gate for the 5PM flight where the nice gate agent gave us the back row of the plane all to ourselves.  Just before take-off, a flight attendant came back to say that there was one seat in First Class if one of us would like to move.  Tony was all settled in to the window seat and I figured he wouldn't want to be disturbed so after I pushed him back down into his seat, I walked the length of the plane to my seat in 1A!

I finally got word Monday that the countertops were in and they had been installed for awhile.  I guess no one thought it was important to let me know.  After emailing the kitchen contractor several times with no response, I finally called him and he said they were in!  I guess that is the problem with having a management office at the condo. The workmen don't have to coordinate with me to gain entrance to the condo, so I don't really know what is going on.  I'm not complaining though - it is great knowing that Gerry and Dave are looking after our place when we're not there.

Tuesday, I flew down to take a few more kitchen parts: the drain and some clips to hold the glass in the dining room cabinets. On my way through Yulee, I stopped at the Home Depot to pick up a garbage disposal. I got a text from Handyman Herb saying that he didn't think he could get to the plumbing this week, so more waiting. :(

When I got to the condo, I discovered that they had put in a backsplash in addition to the countertops. I had specifically requested no backsplash so I could tile the walls over the counters. I didn't like the look at all so I called the kitchen guy and he said he would remove the backsplash and have the walls repaired and painted.

They had followed my instructions in the dining room and there's no backsplash there, so it looks fine.

There was very little I could do until the plumbing was done. I didn't want to put the dishes in the cabinets until I had a chance to wash the sheetrock dust off of everthing, so I decided to go for a walk on the beach. It was a gorgeous day and there were lots of families to watch frolicking in the surf. I only got my feet wet and decided it is still a little too cold for me to get in the ocean.

Back at Sand Dollar Villas, I visited with Gerry & Dave. Poor Dave had just gotten out of the hospital and has a tube in his kidney. He has bone cancer and it is taking its toll on him. He is such a sweet man, I really hate to see him suffer.

There are lots of families with kids at the condos now, a totally different clientele than we found during January - March. It no longer seems like an Independent Living facility!

I busied myself cleaning up a bit. I loaded up the car with some donations for the Good Will. I was disappointed to find that they do not take old TVs and recommended throwing them in the garbage. The green part of me really hated discarding these working TVs but I didn't know what else to do with them, so into the dumpster they went.

I took one last picture of the place and left for my flight home.

I made it back to the airport in time to have a few snacks in the Sky Club before the 6:30PM flight. At the gate, I met a couple of buddy-passers who had been waiting for a flight all day long. One was trying to get to London and had already missed the only London flight that looked like it might have some seats. I asked Tony to check for any alternatives for her. The only suggestion he could find was the next day's flight to Manchester. I relayed this info to her and she thanked me.

I got a seat in Economy Comfort beside an Atlanta Sky Club employee traveling with a lap child. The only problem was that she was a rather large woman and had almost no lap. The baby was using her like a jungle gym. Thankfully it is a short flight.

While I was waiting for the bus, I had a conversation with another retiree who had gone back to work at Travelport. We had a long wait for the bus so we spent the time playing, "Do you know..."

Hopefully my next post will be about our trip down for the Shrimp Fest in May and we will have running water and a functional dishwasher in the kitchen!

Til then...