Paws Awhile - Pile of Tile

I took a little break from condo remodel to spend a few weeks at home, but I found myself missing the beach and itching to see for myself the progress that had been made on the remodel.

Since being home, I'd gotten back into my exercise routine at the gym. I didn't want to disrupt that so I didn't leave for the airport until after the 6AM exercise class. It was a particularly hard class so I was already tired when I got to the airport.  I barely had time for a cup of coffee in the Sky Club before heading to the gate.  I sneaked a container of fat-free yoghurt into my backpack to eat with my biscoff cookies on the plane.

I got a nice window seat & the crew did a great job of getting everyone a drink during the short 45 minute flight. I borrowed a friend's car that was parked at the airport in Jacksonville and headed for Paws Awhile.  When I got there, I discovered that the tile work was still only about half done.

The painting was finished and the place was really looking spiffy.  I especially liked the way the walls were tapered in the space for the refrigerator.  Hopefully this will mean that we can open the refrigerator doors a little wider. The way the place was designed with this little cubby-hole for the refrigerator is not optimal, but I have to admit, they crammed a lot of functionality into a <800 square foot condo.

I feel compelled to tell you that we ARE going to have a kitchen in our condo.  I had jokingly posted in an earlier facebook post that we were not going to have a kitchen in the condo because Tony likes to eat out so much.  I have gotten a lot of responses from incredulous people who couldn't believe we weren't going to have a kitchen.  Everyone can stop worrying, we are going to have a kitchen.  The new appliances are purchased and waiting in the guest bedroom for the new cabinets to arrive so they can be installed.

There was really nowhere for me to go with the tile work going on, so I decided to go for a walk on the beach.  It was a little chilly but sunny and clear.  It was great to be outside after some of the cold weather we've had in Atlanta.  

I stopped in to catch up with Gerry, the condo association manager.  She told me the latest scoop. The house next door to the condo complex had experienced a robbery. Someone stole the pitchfork from the Poseidon statue in front of their house.  She also gave me a copy of the local paper - the Amelia Island News Leader. The nature column had a mention of our cat, Lola!

"On Saturday morning the group set off on the beach for a walk while I stayed home finishing some work. And it was better, in a way, that they explored the beach through their own eyes, not mine. I’ve seen the sights and maybe by now I take some of them for granted. But not these visitors. Even though it was foggy, they happily photographed a group of horseback riders, some jellyfish and a rustic driftwood chair. They also encountered a woman walking her cat on a leash along the dunes. The owner told them this was a savannah cat, a breed established by mixing domestic cats with African servals. Apparently these cats are known to be happy walking on leashes and love water. I’ve got to meet this cat and owner! (If you are reading this, please contact me.)"

When I left the condo, I went to Barbaritos to grab a salad and then went over to my friend Nancy's house for the afternoon.  Again, she wasn't there, but it was nice to have a place to go where I wasn't in the way.

I booted up the computer & answered a few emails.  I even did a little travel-agency work. I headed back to Paws Awhile around 4:30PM so I could pay the contractor before meeting my friends at the Surf to celebrate the last day of the month of all-day happy hours!

Handyman Herb handed me a pile of receipts so I could reimburse him for the supplies he had purchased. I did some quick math (that I had very little confidence was correct) and gave him a check. He informed me that he would not be working over the weekend but he promised that the tile and grouting would all be finished next Wednesday.

It was nice visiting with the Withers over dinner at the surf. Mmmm - delicious fish tacos!

I decided to stop back by the Paws Awhile on the way back to Nancy's. I knew I couldn't stay at the condo because I couldn't walk on the freshly laid tile, but I wanted to stop back by and count the remaining tiles to make sure we had enough.

I decided we were going to run short so I made plans to go to Floor and Decor in Jacksonville on Saturday.

I spent the night at Nancy's on the sofa and got up early the next morning to go over to Paws Awhile.  I grabbed a small coffee at Starbucks. (This time I got a small & asked for lots of space for milk.  I wanted to avoid the shakes I usually get from the strong Starbucks coffee.  I took my coffee out to the beach hoping to run into Dan from the house next door so I could ask him about Poseidon's pitchfork but he wasn't out.

I stopped into Paws Awhile to make one more count of how many tiles we needed. I picked up a box with the dye lot number on it so I could make sure I got the same one. It takes about an hour to get to F&D in Jacksonville.  The clerk rang up the tile and then said it would take them about 2 hours to pull the order because that dye-lot was buried beneath several palates of tile.

I went to Best Buy to look at laptops.  Mine is starting to die fairly regularly so I'd really like to replace it before it dies completely.  I don't know what to get, so I had a clerk show me some possibilities.  I really like the hybrid laptop/tablet idea but I have to get used to keeping my data in "the cloud".

When I got back to F&D, they had not started pulling my order yet, but I sweet-talked them into getting it right away.  I wanted to get back to Fernandina Beach in time to go to a variety show that my friends' daughter was starring in.  I grabbed a sandwich at Chick-Fil-A on my way back to the island.  It was a good thing I did, because I would need the strength to lift the EXTREMELY heavy tiles out of the car. Each case of 7 tiles weighs about 60lbs!  I had bought 4 cases.  Fortunately the condo complex has both an elevator and shopping carts so I didn't actually have to carry the tiles very far to get them to the shopping cart.

I finished unloading in time to make it to the variety show.  It was great fun - lots of cute skits performed by the girls.  My favorite was a skit called "The Fudge Shop".

I had time for one more walk on the beach before heading back to the airport to fly home. Again it was sunny and breezy and felt wonderful.

I had time for a snack in the Sky Club before the flight.  I no problems getting a seat on the flight back and watched a beautiful sunset from the plane window on the way home.

Back home, I found I had more construction worries to deal with - our tenants had moved out of the rental house that my sister and I own together. We did an assessment and put together a punch list for all of the work that needs to be done before we can rent again.  It won't be nearly as much fun as remodeling Paws Awhile.  :(

Paws Awhile - Moving Home

Yesterday was sanding day for the sheetrock.  I wasn't exactly asked to leave, but if I had stayed, I would have been sealed in the bedroom with no heat while the sanding was going on. So I packed up a few things and left for the day.

First, I went to Starbucks. I ordered a large coffee. This was a mistake. See, I usually drink one cup of very weak coffee per day. Starbucks doesn't know how to make weak coffee. By the time I drank 1/4 of the cup, I had the shakes. On top of that, the only place I could find to sit was near the door which was almost constantly swinging open letting in folks for their morning coffee. So, between shaking from the caffeine and the cool breeze, I didn't get much done on my PC.

I decided to go to my friend Nancy's house. She wasn't there but she didn't mind if I spent the day there. I worked on doing income taxes for several hours and then decided I needed to get some exercise. I walked up Will Hardee to Sadler. I did a little shopping at Beal's. They were having a great sale - all of their discounted merchandise was another 50% off! It was almost like they were paying me to shop!  When I left Beal's it was raining so I ran next door to Barbaritos for a late lunch.  I really like Barbaritos!  They have a healthy chicken salad that reminds me of Willie's.

When I got back to Nancy's, I was tired of doing taxes so I watched some TV and did some knitting.  I have been working on the same baby blanket for 6 months.

I decided to order a pizza from Dominos & pick it up on my way back to Paws Awhile but when I tried to shut down my computer, it said, "Installing 1 of 14 updates...  do not unplug or turn off your computer". How annoying! So I left the computer while I picked up my pizza then went back to Nancy's to eat it while the computer finished its thing.

When I got back to the condo it was dark. The sanding looked like it was complete and almost all of the plywood flooring was down.

I slept at the condo. I got up early this morning and packed up to move back to Atlanta for awhile. I listened to a book on the way home and the 6 hour drive went quickly.

I'm glad to be home for a bit but I hate to miss out on the progress at the condo. I can't wait for it to be finished!

Paws Awhile - Mud and Plywood

It was cold at the beach today, but nothing to compare with what is forecasted to hit Atlanta tonight.  I considered trying to make it home, but ultimately decided that I am better off to wait it out here.

Today was all about the floor, the walls and the ceiling. Helper John worked on putting down the plywood in preparation for tiling. I learned that today was John's birthday so I went to Harvest Bread Company and got some cookies for Herb, John and I so we could have a little birthday celebration!

Herb worked on patching and mudding the sheetrock. I can't wait to see how it will look once it is sanded and painted!

My friends, the Withers, invited me out for dinner, which was a welcome change from the crackers and hummus I've been eating! We enjoyed a nice meal at the Surf and then they came back by to see the progress.

Tomorrow, I expect to spend the day somewhere else because I don't want to be here with all of the sheetrock dust.  Maybe I'll use that Starbuck's Gift Card I've been hoarding.  And then if I'm lucky, the Withers will have me over for that venison meatloaf they've been bragging about (hint, hint).

Paws Awhile - Weekend in Atlanta

My friend Lisa and her band would be playing at Howard's in Smyrna on Saturday.  I couldn't miss that, so I left the condo remodel in the very capable hands of Handyman Herb and headed for Atlanta.

I got a window seat on the plane so I had a good view of the Atlanta skyline and the other Delta Jet that was AWFULLY close!

Tony picked me up at the airport. I just had time to shower off the sheet-rock dust and we headed for Howard's. Lisa and the Rockaholics put on a great show. Lisa is celebrating her birthday this quarter.  That's right, I said QUARTER. She has one-upped my birth-month celebration.

We had home-owner stuff to catch up on in Smyrna. First, the shower was leaking. Tony had called a plumber and left a message but I didn't want to wait. I found a youtube video of a 9 year old girl repairing leaky shower faucet. I figured if she could do it, we could do it. I even made my own youtube video.

Next, we needed to go over to our Smyrna condo to check on the progress of the exterior painting.

Last, was yard work. I did some light trimming of the shrubbery in front of the house and then suggested to Tony that we clean up the nether-lands in the back yard. This was a huge job. After cutting a few limbs though, the chain-saw threw a blade. We had to leave the job half finished. We rewarded ourselves with dinner at Outback.

This morning, Tony dropped me at the airport for the first flight to Jacksonville. It was an exciting non-rev experience, waiting by the counter for my name to be called. I got a nice aisle seat!

When I drove up to Sand Dollar Villas, I saw the ceiling of the parking deck had a huge hole in it with water dripping out. At first I thought it was our unit but thankfully (for us) realized that it was the one next door.

When I got to Paws Awhile, nobody was here. Herb had told me that he had an outside job he needed to do if the weather was nice and it was very nice! The ceiling was still half covered in popcorn so I grabbed a chair and a scraper and finished the job.

I was covered in popcorn dust after the job.

I had made arrangements to meet Bob, the cabinet guy at 2:00PM. There was a bit of confusion about where we were going to meet. Bob was at Paws Awhile and I was at Bob's office. I headed back to the condo and we went over the cabinet order and re-measured everything. Bob will order the cabinets today and then it takes 4-6 weeks for them to be manufactured.

After Bob left, I grabbed a chair and a book and headed for the beach. It is a good week to be here, especially with the threat of winter storms in Atlanta again.

Paws Awhile - Get While the Getting is Good!

Handyman Herb didn't make as much progress as he had hoped today because I added some scope to the project.  I figured as long as I have Herb here, I should get whatever I want done.  So, while he had the drywall out and the floor removed, I decided now is the time to get the TV cable outlets situated where I want them.  I had him put a cable on the opposite living room wall so I can move the sofa to the other side of the room.

I also had him add an outlet in the guest bedroom in case you want to watch TV in YOUR room when you come to visit! I asked him to put it up high so we can get you a flat screen TV and mount it on the wall.  You'd like that, wouldn't you?

It took Herb most of the morning to get that done, so he didn't get to start working on the plumbing until after lunch.  I asked him to line the plumbing up so that it will take up very little room at the back of the cabinets.

While Herb was doing that, he had John scraping the popcorn off of the ceiling.

Next, Herb started covering the openings on the wall with sheetrock.  We had asked him to angle the corners of the refrigerator space so that the refrigerator doors won't hit the corners.

The place is really starting to take shape but there is a lot left to do!

When he finished up today, Herb presented his bill for the first week! Cha-ching! It seems like a lot of money, but when you consider that I'm just paying Herb and not Herb plus an electrician and a plumber, I think it is pretty reasonable. I'm just glad Tony (my Splenda-Daddy) is at home working hard to cover our costs!

Tomorrow is more drywall work.  Everything here is COVERED in dust already and it will get worse when the sanding phase starts.

I'm going to try to let Herb work on the items on the list tomorrow!

Paws Awhile - My Day Off

It was nice having a day off from the remodel to get a few things done around Atlanta!  My hair is cut, my teeth are clean, the bills are paid and I caught up with some friends!

But my day off is over and I am back at the condo.  I flew in this morning and decided to drive into Jacksonville to look at granite for the countertops. I was encouraged by what I found at Empire Surfaces. The nice man there gave me to big chunks of granite to bring back and decide which one I like.

Costco just happened to be on the way back from the Granite place so I stopped in...  at lunchtime...  So, you can probably guess what I had for lunch.  Samples! Salmon, bagel bites, chicken tenders, tater chips...  whatever they were handing out. I picked up some new cookware for my new kitchen and a few other LARGE grocery essentials.

I called Handyman Herb when I left Costco to see if he needed me to stop by Lowes or Home Depot to pick anything up.  He wasn't even at my house!  He had an emergency at another customer's house, but he said his helper, John, was at my place working on tearing out the rest of the floor.

When I got to the condo, I found they had stacked the tile in front of the refrigerator. These people are NOT Lego Packers!  I had to move the tile to open the frig, and to make room for the dishwasher which will be delivered tomorrow.

I got a look at Herb's handywork on the telephone cable.  It looks a little like a rat's nest but nobody is complaining that their phone doesn't work so I guess its all good!

The electrical work is done.

The popcorn is gone from the ceiling!

The closet has a wall now.

Herb came back at around 6 o'clock and replaced the leaky pipe. He showed me the drain from the sink that he removed and it was so clogged, its amazing it would drain at all.

I ordered the new sink today!  Tomorrow I'm going to sign the order for the cabinets!!

It won't be much longer now!

Paws Awhile - Handyman Herb is a Hero!

I'm just crazy about Handyman Herb!  There is nothing that man can't do!  He's making great progress on the condo and fixing things left and right. Today he found a touch of mold growing on the back of the baseboard molding so he ripped out the sheetrock behind it and found a leaky pipe.

After he fixes that, we should have no more leaks and no more mold!

While Herb worked on sorting out the electricity, John worked on removing the closet wall so we can make a bigger space for the fridge. What you are looking at here is a view from the master bedroom closet into the kitchen.

Coastal Telecom arrived around 10AM to discuss moving the telephone line. The project manager who came by to assess the project could not determine a good way to move the line. He decided that we would need to pull a new cable from the phone room to our unit and splice the wires. He said he would need to discuss the project with his boss. A few minutes later, his boss called me and told me that it was a very complex project and would take 1-2 days and cost $1500-$2000.  I told Handyman Herb what they said and he said he can move the wires and expects it to take 45 minutes!  Go Handyman Herb go!  What a hero!

I was planning to catch a 1PM flight out of Jacksonville so I had to leave for the airport right after the Telecom guy. I hated to leave and miss all of the progress but Handyman Herb assures me he will text me pictures of the progress.  What a hero!

Lucy and I got the last seat on the flight from Jacksonville to Atlanta - literally!  We were the last standbys boarded and we got the window seat on the last row.  I had arranged for my friend Karla to pick me up at the airport and I would ride home with her since she just lives around the corner.  I got in a couple of hours before she gets off from work so I went back to the office to hang out until she was ready to go.  It was fun wandering around the building and visiting with old friends! Lucy enjoyed vacuuming the floor around everyone's cubicles. She found lots of crumbs!

Tomorrow I will get my hair cut, my teeth cleaned and run some errands.  Hopefully my hero will text me some pictures of his progress that I can share with you!