The fact that the holidays are a huge distraction is only part of the reason for the lag in blog posts... but let's start there, shall we? My lovely sister Kathleen came for a visit from Christmas through New Year's Eve - she was officially my first visitor to enjoy the newly remodeled guest room! Unfortunately the weather turned cold on her arrival (very cold) and we had to stay bundled up the whole time. We ventured out on to the beach on a sunny day though, just to say we did. Aside from that we did a lot of reading, scrabble playing and of course, the obligatory tour of Daytona Beach's finest thrift stores. Needless to say I didn't do any work - it was supposed to be a little vacation for me as well.
Now here, I'm going to make mention of an incident that actually happened prior to Kathleen's visit. I really hate to talk about it - it was a shameful mistake on my part, and I feel like a total jackass about it, but I'm going to tell you all about it in hopes that someone may learn something from it. Roscoe actually found and ate some rat poison that I had put out. There had been a critter in the house at one time, and I was determined to 'evict' it, so to speak - so one day when the dogs and I were leaving for a week I put a chunk of bait in one of the cabinets. When I returned I began by cleaning out that very cabinet, and set the drawer with the bait on the floor and a moment later my goofy dog was giving me that innocent look with crumbs all over his mouth. Needless to say I had to fight a state of panic to figure out what to do!
I called two emergency vets (only open after 5pm, duh) and three regular vets who were all at lunch! By this time I had Roscoe on a leash and in the truck headed to what I thought was the closest one. My heart was in my throat and I begged the woman who answered the phone to please find someone there who could tell me what to do. When she got back on the line she gave me the information that I want to pass along to you - so simple and I believe it saved Roscoe's life: GIVE HIM A QUARTER CUP OF HYDROGEN PEROXIDE AND IT WILL MAKE HIM VOMIT. Why didn't I already know that!! I whipped the truck back around towards the house where I had some in my first aid kit. Within minutes I had him puking all the poison out of his tummy. A half hour later I did it again, and then there was nothing to do but wait. I conferred with that vet twice more that day, just to make sure there was nothing else to do, and she recommended I get some vitamin K for him which is an anticoagulant to counter the effects of the poison which can cause internal bleeding. I went to CVS where they told me I needed a prescription, but I might try the local health food store. I found the closest one - thanks Peggy at Whole Foods Market! - and got him a bottle of K-2, and organic form of Vitamin K. Roscoe never did exhibit any symptoms of the poison thank God - played and slept just like normal. The next day he ate some grass and threw up a little pink stuff - but I kept up with the vitamin K and he lived to tell about it!
There I feel better now that I got that off my chest!
By New Year's Eve, the weather warmed up beautifully. There was a huge street party that night on Main Street which was only two blocks from the house - so Dave and I actually walked to the New Year's Eve festivities! I think it's going to have to become a tradition, it was so much fun. The next day we were riding our bikes on the beach in shorts - when a week earlier Kathleen and I were freezing our butts off wearing every piece of clothing we brought with us!
During the month of January we spent a couple of weekends at the house but didn't do much work. Dave is a race fan, and I guess I'm destined to be the same. We spent some time at the Daytona International Speedway, introducing me to some fast (and very loud) sporting events. You may recognize this particular racer who participated in the Rolex 24-hour race: yes, it is Patrick Dempsey. I've never watched the show but my friends tell me he's pretty hot so this picture is for them.
After all that intro, finally some more work pictures! The next project on the list was to straighten up and finish the half-wall around the front porch. The existing wall had quite a lean to it, and a real drop towards the corner. It took a lot of discussion and someone (not me) with a real vision for what needed to be done - and the final framing looked like this. Solid as a rock, level, plumb and ready for siding. It's amazing how hard someone will work for a place to stay during Race Week!
Here you can see the first long wall with the siding on it. Later we finished the smaller sections by the door, and next time we go back, we will be installing a 2x10 cap on top which will make a lovely place for Roscoe to rest his blockhead for his favorite pastime: people watching. Makes a nice seat too! After that there is only a tiny bit of trim to do on the porch and it will be ready for a little (ha ha) caulk, primer and paint. Yes folks, I am almost at the point where I need to pick the exterior color for the house - any ideas? The ceiling of the porch as well as inside the house will be the same blue I already put in the kitchen, and the roof is green, if that helps.
And now for the grand finale: May I have a drum roll please! Anyone remember the building next door that burned out in July and has been standing there looking hideous ever since? Well I bought it. The third time the Realtor contacted me about it I finally threw them a bone and they took it! Now I am getting prices on having the building torn down and guess what: THERE WILL BE VIDEO! I'm not going to miss that day - I will be a neighborhood hero. My plan is to keep it a vacant lot - fenced as a nice big yard for the doggies of course. One day down the road I might like to build on it, but there's no hurry. This project has really evolved and changed in ways that I couldn't have anticipated back in June - and I love it!
