Would you rent this home??

Above and beyond ...

OK ... credit has to be given to these two kids for traveling (300 miles each way )... every other weekend for the ENTIRE summer!

I could not have taken on this project without the help of ALL the kids at one time or another. They say "If you build it they will come" .... and they did!! 

From Georgia, California, and New York, it was a summer to remember. 

We laughed, worked, swam, tanned, crabbed, kayaked, ate seafood, body surfed, and as always ... perfected the art of "Beach Contractors".

 It was a summer I will always remember ... because of who I spent it with :)

My love to you all ...

Royal, Nicole, Abbey, Landen, Layne, Ryan, Whitney, Sean and Ashley.

Your the best!!!

Simple changes ....

As fond as I was of that terrific wallpaper ... all good things must come to an end ! 

This bath got a face lift from me and a new tub and shower from my contractor. 

Result ....

a pretty good update,  if I do say so!

Week 19 The last (?) project ...

It really is hard to believe that I have been here 19 weeks!!! When I started I can remember Sean telling me if I were here past July 4th ... I was really slow! Guess I'm slow ... or I kinda like the beach life :) 

Bless his little heart, and Ashley too, they have been down here just about every other weekend all summer long. So when we called this the "last project", I think we both breathed a sigh of relief. Standing back, I must say it looks pretty good. Some of it planned ... some of it just "dumb luck".

Now the hard part, turning it over to a tenant. I know I have a long history here, 32 years, but I did get a little more attached with each project. I should go back and read some of my first posts when I was so creeped out! 

Oh well, now to find someone to love it here as much as I do ...

They moved it!!!

So ... what do you think?? 

I know I have seen the bad .. and the ugly, so I will consider this .... the GOOD!

Things I do to stay entertained!!

Yup .. I have been looking at "big blue" WAY too long!  This is #2 .. that replaced the FULL first one! 

I realized my mistake was telling the contractor he could decide where to put it. Right in front of the house would not have been my first pick!

I must admit it has been very useful. I have deposited quite a few items in there, but all good things come to an end, and tomorrow ... goodbye dumpster! 

wait ... wait ... one more thing :)

Enough said ....

Back to work .... again

THIS was a lot of work!! To make sure I didn't have to replace any flooring before the new carpet was installed I decided to remove it myself a few day in advance. That sounded like a great idea ... for about the first hour! First cut the carpet, then pad, in a strip ... roll it up ... carry it to the dumpster ... climb the ladder ... throw it in ... repeat and repeat ... and repeat ..... !

Well I finally got it all up ... some floor replaced and then the big day .. Carpet Day!!  

I knew from the beginning of this project that when I finally got to " carpet day" .. I was near the end!! 

Now guess who gave it the stamp of approval ???

my Assistant !!

Adult weekend ...

After all the fun with the grandkids, we changed things up a bit when the adult children returned!
Ryan and Whitney planned a long weekend away from their  New York City life to meet up with Sean and Ashley  here to recount some of those childhood memories!!!  I'm sure the girls heard WAY too many stories ... but for me, the trips down memory lane were priceless!!
I posted these pictures because looking at the sky in these three days of "beaching it" ... it's hard to believe we did not get rained on one time and everyone went back home with a tan!  They did make for beautiful contrast with the white sand :)

Crabbing .... it's always fun, no matter what age!!

Every time someone visits, we drag out the crab trap. Yes we know we will never catch enough to make that "warm crab dip" recipe ... but it's so entertaining!! When the grandkids visited, Landen and I went up to Half Hitch Tackle and for $6.99 bought the best item of the season.  Now thinking like a 4 1/2 (he will always tell you about the 1/2) year old... I can not even begin to imagine what he pictured when I said we had to stop and get "chicken legs" !! 
Luckily Uncle Sean was due to arrive that night so we had him rig it up the next morning. You will not believe the anticipation as they waited on the dock to see what would make it into that trap. It did not take long to hoist up an nice blue claw ..... with only one unforeseen problem.  As they were holding the trap over the dock with everyone trying to get a better look ... the little guy wiggles out the side!!! 

To describe the next 10 seconds ... would not do it justice!! As it took off at high speed, it ran right between Abbey's feet, Landen tried to climb the dock poll and Layne stood riveted in her spot not knowing she was supposed to be scared!!!
I must say it is always entertaining!!

A New Face !!!

Finally ... having fun!!
This is what I have been waiting for and it seems like it has been a long time coming! Yes, I know the dumpster is still in the front yard ... but after four months.... I am enjoying staging just a little!!!

Making Progress!

This is pretty much what I started with .....

and then I added some some help and heavy equipment ...

..... but then Nicole, the kids, and I ... lived through this !!!
Happily I can now say I am making progress.

..... and there was still more to do! Guess we will need a "next time"!!!

... and we ate our way through PCB !

PCB Hot Spots!

Three weeks of Fun ... Fun ... Fun!

Now .... it's time to make some real changes!!!

This was possibly the craziest day on record so far!
For a number of reasons, we decided that the best course of action was to take down the old garage and replace the front entryway.  Men and tractors .... need I say more ? Not slighting the women either because they decided that a party was in order. Out came the lawn chairs, cold drinks and a great view from under the pear tree to watch " the roof come tumbling down"!
There was plenty of cheering and lots of laughing until ... someone accidentally took out the water main!
"Not to worry" we were told,  it can be fixed with a quick trip to Home Depot and a minor wait time for the glue to dry.

(Hmmm, seven people... no water ... no bathrooms.)

And then .... the heavens opened up .. rain, thunder, lightning. 

(Hmmm, seven wet & sandy people .. no water ... no bathrooms.)

Believe it or not by 7pm the women figured out how to clean up (enough) .... clean up the kids, head over to Margaritaville and check in for a table for dinner while the men finished up. By 8:30pm we were sitting on the outside balcony, eating coconut shrimp and enjoying the fireworks off the pier. 

WHAT A DAY!!

A visit from some very special "little people" ....

What a great surprise! Nicole had a chance to grab the kids and come visit while Royal spent two weeks working in Florida.  Sean and Ashley coordinated calendars and were able to come down from Atlanta and visit with everyone. It brought back so many memories of summers past when we would just load up this tiny house with wall to wall people!! The sun is shining, the beach is beautiful, and the seafood is as great as ever!!

Post Forth Of July

Determined to see the Fireworks!

Waiting to see if this storm would "blow over" !!! Not !!!

The Forth Weekend was a mixed bag of weather. Fortunately, when the weather wasn't cooperating, we would check off a few more projects! All and all ... a little beach, a little food, family and some fireworks made for a very nice weekend :)

Week 11 ... REALLY, week 11 ???

I'm tired :) ....

Soooo.. looking forward to the Holiday Weekend ... Fireworks at the New Pier, hot dogs, watermelon, apple pie & ice cream, etc, etc.

Relax ..

Yup, can't wait!!

For Layne ....

Please tell Layne that this is why MaiTai's nose is flat!!

OK this one .. not so much fun!

Remember my young neighbor who loves heavy equipment?? He had a little spare time yesterday and asked if I had a project. After going over numerous options, he liked the one where we get to rent a jackhammer. The entryway had a huge crack in it and I thought a simple fix would be to lay pavers there. Ramey assured me he had experience with this, so we planned for an afternoon of work. For some reason, my projects always have a certain element of surprise. Who would have thought the 6" slab would have wire reinforcement running all through it.

(Sidebar .... I have witnessed Bob doing this on several occasions, however that little nugget was buried deep in my subconscious )

This was a LOT bigger deal than I expected. As you can see here, my job was to pick up the pieces and wheel them down to the dock where I am now building a nice little sea wall! Do I need to mention it is 95 deg. and sunny here? Day 2 ... and Ramey rounded up 3 of his buddies for additional help. (I guess a 17 year old doesn't exactly look at me as the kind of help he needed!!!!)

If I ever finish, I will post pictures!

New Stairs!!!!

Notice the missing one !
Do you take your stairs for granted???? I did until I moved here and had to leap over the missing one .. only to land on the one held up by a cement block!! Each time I would go down I would think of how I could gracefully land in case I had to be picked up by the paramedics :)

NOW ... I have a new stair! I am becoming SO easy to please!!!

Random Stuff ...

Did I mention the door knobs???

After painting the doors, I thought they still looked sad with the old hardware. Off to Home Depot for my "daily visit" ... I had no idea how hard it would be to decide! I finally decided on the "Cottage Look" (couldn't find Beach Shack Look).

This turned into no small project!! This little shack has 13 doors! Every one had to be taken down, hinges changed out, remounted and the door knob installed. I started this with a screw driver and directions while Sean installed the new hot water heater. Accessing my time spent on one door, I figured it would take me about two days to finish :) ! Luckily, Sean finished first and armed with his screw gun, we checked off both projects before the sun set!

Back to Atlanta ....

The trip back was a must to tag and title my Jeep. This included transferring my driver's license to a Georgia one. Sad ... trading in California :(

It was supposed to be a quick weekend, however I missed the detail of the drivers license dept. being closed on Monday! Fast forward to Tues morning and a plan to get there when they open. Bad idea ... two and a half house later when I left, ... half the line!!

FYI to anyone making a switch ... they post that you need a birth certificate, but imagine my surprise when she asked for a marriage certificate also. (Am I the only one that did not connect the name change for a married woman??) Add to that, when I quickly drove back to get it I was stopped by a policeman ... you guessed it ... NO TAG !!!

It's Wed. .... week 10 .... back in PCB

Week 9 ... Back to those cabinets

Well it's back to those kitchen cabinets. I've ignored them long enough, so this is the week to get to it. It's just ...... everything times 24 that makes it seem like there is no end. Take them down, sand, stain and varnish. Whew! They are reinstalled, but I haven't finished off with the hardware yet. Once again .... to be continued ...

My New Favorite Toy !

All I can say is "why didn't I discover this handy little thing weeks ago"?

While rummaging through the things that were left behind here, I came across this paint sprayer, new in the box. I put it aside thinking it was probably far too complicated for me to use. On Monday I started to paint the deck. Armed with my little foam roller and a few gallons of chocolate deck stain, I started on the railing. I can tell you now that there are 162 posts.... I know because I counted them as I rolled! Late on Tues, I was back at Home Depot for more stain and I hadn't even started the floor yet :(

Wed. morning that paint sprayer got a second look! And so I gave it a try. Two hours later I was finished ... double coated everything. I'm a believer!!!!

Week Eight..... Sometimes ... you need a little diversion!

The walls are ..... white.

All the doors and trim are .... white.

I even painted the ceilings .... white.

Anyone that knows me .... knows I need some COLOR!!!!

My New ride.... It's like a Lego Car!!

Well, it seems only natural that I get the total local look!

After months of looking for something I could get excited about .... it came down to the Jeep Unlimited. (I'm just not a Camry type :) The kids were so excited to show me how to take it all apart .... the only thing I could think of was that I just purchased something that looked like one of Landen's Lego toys!!