Tallahassee 4

[Brad]

I am in my home office in Maine right now. The drive last night was not too bad except for the construction slowdowns. 4 different places we went miles at 0-2 MPH. My son was trying to get to Chicago and was stranded in the Charlotte airport till the plane left at 2AM. So, I had someone to talk to as I was "driving".

I know all about water pipes bursting! Our whole basement apartment in NC was flooded last year - what a mess. Seems like you have had several opportunities to "update" things recently. On my drive north for STP after the alternator and battery were replaced in VA the AC clutch went out in NJ. That added to the cost of the trip. Next year I need to raise more for STP than I spend to get there.

[Steve M]

I didn't know about the a/c compressor. Sounds like that was an expensive trip. After this our entire bathroom will be completely remodeled which leaves 1/2 the kitchen...The floor is finished and the cabinets are new around the sink due to a flood in the kitchen and old cabinets that were falling apart. Our house was built in 1950 so it was past time for remodeling. As soon as the house is finished we are staring an addition. Never ends does it.

[lucinda pyne]

Glad to hear you had such a great vaca here in New England, Steve, especially since it sounds like you've got plenty of challenges facing you back home! We are definitely planning on STP next year - will be getting on the trail much earlier next time! We are heading to Baxter State Park next week to climb Katahdin and do some camping, kayaking, etc. really looking forward to being unplugged. Best of luck with all your remodeling issues.

All the best to Autumn, Judah, and Tracy! Looking forward to catching up next year. Lucinda and Kevin

[Steve M]

Glad to hear you had such a great vaca here in New England, Steve, especially since it sounds like you've got plenty of challenges facing you back home! We are definitely planning on STP next year - will be getting on the trail much earlier next time! We are heading to Baxter State Park next week to climb Katahdin and do some camping, kayaking, etc. really looking forward to being unplugged. Best of luck with all your remodeling issues.

All the best to Autumn, Judah, and Tracy! Looking forward to catching up next year. Lucinda and Kevin

Sounds great, would love to do Katahdin with you! The bathroom project is done and looks great. The other projects are still pending. The family is doing great, looking forward to a trip to the smokies in the fall and STP next year. We will most likely hike on the east side next time due to time restrictions. Have fun at Baxter State Park and good hearing from you.

[Brad]

The bathroom project is done and looks great. The other projects are still pending.

It sounded like the bathroom project was a Must Get Done Now project. Our projects lasted all summer and are not quite done yet. The pump house is in, new front yard sod, irrigation system taking water out of the lake instead of the well, edging, plantings all around, stone wall with lamp post and light, extra loop and control zone for the driveway heat system, parking area across the road with rocks, rocks and more rocks for the wall, The fill from the parking area made an access road on our extra lot down towards the lake, pathway lights, garden lighting, and did I say more rocks?

The best deal for me is that "They" did the work. I am sure you had to do the bathroom work yourself. Bathrooms are tough to work on as things are always too tight to fit in.

Oh, the other thing is a multi-story bird house. Yes, it is a functioning birdhouse - but, its real purpose is to house another control unit for the outside lights. This is down by the campfire so we can turn lights on and off without having to go all the way up to the house. The bird house was made by a local fellow - made to be like our log cabin. It is really cool.

[Steve M]

Sounds like you were really busy this summer. I hope you got everything done that you had planned. That is a cool bird house/switch box. Our bathroom looks great now, It was really falling apart but now it's enjoyable. Between work, the bathroom, and other projects I have yet to open the pop-up since the trip. I plan to do that this weekend. Hopefully I can fix the cables so we can open it without needing 3 people and 2 x 4's to prop it up.