The Granite Has Arrived

Ted stopped by the granite fabricators and learned our slab had arrived!  And it is Ornamental Light, not Santa Cecilia!  Plans are for either template on Monday, installation Thursday or Tuesday template, installation Friday!  Now we all know how this works so it will get installed when they install it.  

We had the shower enclosure glass company measure to replace glass in two windows where the double pane seal has leaked and fogged them up.  The guy came Friday and after awhile proclaimed the replacement glass was 5/8s and we need 1/2 or vice versa.  Can't anything be done right?  So now we have to wait again!  

We really want to take off next Sunday but can template, granite installation, new window glass all get done in a week's time? Stay tuned to the Perils of Pauline (aka Donna) to find out!  We have already resigned ourselves to having the bathroom painting done when we return.  Such is life.

Saturday was quiet.   I spoke to my sister by phone and worked some on our family reunion for 2019.  Of course we went to church in the afternoon and then out for dinner.

Ted's eyesight seems to be doing fine but his pupil is still very small.  We put in drops three times a day and will see the doctor on Thursday.

Sunday we went to Irene's to play cards.  She is still not able to get out so we keep going to her.  I took fruit and made a dip to go with it.  There were three other couples invited and we played cards too.  Ted won, I didn't.  

Monday I cleaned while Rhoomba ran around doing her thing.  I talked Irene into getting one since she can't vacuum and she loves it!  I love mine too.  I can dust while she cleans and then Wetjet the wood floors behind her.  Now we just need to figure out something for the bathrooms!  

The template was made for our granite on Tuesday.  Fingers crossed!

Ted's pupil is less constricted and his eyesight is fine he says.  Not shooting for two weeks is being a little hard on him but the doctor said no quick head turns.  

We did nothing of particular interest on Wednesday.  The saw broke at the fabricators so a Friday installation looks iffy.  However, Saturday would still allow us to leave Sunday.  I don't know about the contractor putting in the faucets though.  It will be last minute to advise him we are ready.  He still is unhappy with us for refusing the wrong granite but that is just too bad.  We custom built a 4 bedroom, 3 bath pool home in Florida and never had a disagreement with the builder.  And believe me when I say you have no idea how many decisions you have to make down to what plug do you want to work off the wall switch by the door.  We even had the builder, his superintendent and their wives for dinner when all was said and done.  I don't think it is us who are out of line.

I went to WW Thursday morning and am now down 34 lbs. with 6 to goal!  Ted went to the doctor and has 20/20 in his right eye but will need power 200 readers for close work.  The fabrication of our granite was being done and we were promised Friday installation.

The two fellows were 15 minutes early Friday morning and got right to work on our installation.  It took almost 4 hours.  We were happy with the result but in all honestly I am not sure it isn't Dallas White and not Ornamental Light!  Everyone I talk to has a granite story.  

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Cataract Removal This Week

We had little we had to do on Monday.  There was a huge pile of clothes on the bed from both of us.  As we put things on to wear, if it didn't fit, we added it to the pile.  (Ted has lost 20 lbs.on MY diet!) It took a huge black plastic bag to hold it all.  Then I put some home items in grocery bags along with our old printer, marked it for the Paralyzed Vets, and we set it out on the porch for their scheduled pick up.

Next up was a trip to the post office to send a package off to Kara.  Ted contributed three Aloha shirts for Bill to wear in Hawaii at Christmas and I had some things that may work for Kara.  And for good measure I put in the Disney cross body purse I got for Morgan.  The box weighed 10 lbs. when I mailed it.

We were invited to dinner at Sherida and John's to see their new home.  They recently returned to this area from a two year stint near Austin.  It is a new home and they are still deep in boxes but it is coming along nicely.  Gray is the color this year and her kitchen and baths carry that out.  She has the stainless black refrigerator that is so pretty.  I had a hard time finding a new dishwasher in the shiny black to match the rest of my kitchen last year.  This new stainless black is all the rage!  

We had a very nice dinner and then learned a new card game.  It is easy to learn but I ended up in last place.  Of 11 hands, I was dealt only one wild card the whole time.  Ted won!  We have to keep our card playing knowledge up in case a group forms or a casual game is scheduled.  We are asked to play Euchre on occasion but I don't like that game.  I have also never tried to learn Bridge.  Too serious for me.  We got home pretty late.

Do not plan to go on vacation anywhere I am headed this year.

First we booked a cruise to Italy, Turkey and Greece for September. Turkey had to be taken off as a port because they are not granting visas to US citizens now.  We are going to Malta instead.

Then I rented two condos in Kona on the Big Island for Christmas and the volcano starts flowing big time.  

We have reservations on Oahu for 3 nights so Ted can share visiting Pearl Harbor and the Arizona with Sam.  The tours on to the Arizona Memorial have been stopped because the boat dock needs to be repaired.  

And now the tourist areas around Athens, Greece had a huge wildfire that killed many people, many of them tourists. 

Fair warning, we do hope to go to Florida in August.  Hurricane anyone? Geesh!

Tuesday was fairly quiet.  I balanced my checkbook and sent several cards and paid a few bills.  I had a long conversation with my friend with the fractured pelvis.  She can walk holding on to something but cannot walk on her own yet.  She wants company this weekend to play cards and wanted to discuss snacks and things.  

I took a walk twice around the block and then tried to manually start our sprinklers.  They wouldn't come on!  I traced it to a tripped GFI in the garage and then had to reprogram the whole thing!  We have temps in the 100s and it hasn't rained in awhile.  I thought an extra "drink" would be welcome.  It did solve the mystery of who turned our water off in the winter of 2017.  I now assume the GFI tripped and there was no one here to reset it.  I only noticed the sprinkler had been off on our water bill when I received it.  Heavy rain will cause the GFI that serves the porch and courtyard to trip.  We probably came home, reset it, and programmed the sprinkler without connecting it as one event.  Something else for Nancy to watch!  

Ted had his cataract surgery on his only eye Thursday.  Needless to say, we both were apprehensive.  No room for error!  Everything went well and we were home by 8:30.  He had some swelling that caused a cloudy or foggy appearance to things but it dissipated as the swelling went down.  We just have to do the drops thing for awhile.  

We had to return to the eye doctor first thing Thursday morning.  We were taken on time but Ted was unable to read the first line of the chart.  His pupil has stayed constricted and was not responding even to direct light.  There is swelling they said and once it goes down things should improve rapidly.  I sure hope so!

I took him home and left for my WW meeting.  Once again my phone told me how far and driving time to the Good Feet store which is next door to WW!  Now it knows what I do on Thursday mornings AND Saturday late afternoons!  I only lost .2, 7.6 to go.  They warned me about how hard the last 10 lbs. are and getting off the last 5 are next to impossible!  

John stopped by to pick up the plant I bought as a housewarming present but forgot to take Monday night.  While here he received a text from Dave about losing his remote programming.  Since he was close I checked my bag and found a cord that he said would work so he left and got that fixed before heading home.  John is a lot of folks' entertainment systems guru.  And I never throw out a cord.  We made a good team that day.  

On Friday Ted was seeing properly so he went ... to the gun club, not to shoot but to look at the targets as they are thrown to see if he could see them.  He took my brownies to church for the funeral before heading out.  

We have no plans until Sunday when we are going to Irene's to play cards.  The poor thing is going stir crazy!  I didn't want to force Ted to go somewhere or do something too soon after his surgery but he says he is okay for Sunday!

I am about to post this so I will put in a photo to see what happens!  I have started and stopped this edition several times.  Here is a photo of the new comforter and newly covered bench (that is probably close to 30 years old and has had many covers over the years.)

That Worked Well!

I was pleased to see my last posting.  It cramps my style writing as I go along, particularly if I find a photo after the fact and want to insert it.  It always worked before and I am not sure why it is doing this.  

Friday we planned to go visit Tommy and Susan at the campground.  About 4:15 we received a text that Tommy was starving so we needed to meet for dinner.  We agreed to meet at Sweet Tomatoes before 5:00 while the special senior pricing was still in effect.  I always enjoy eating there.  It is easy to record your points.  Then we returned to their motorhome to visit and it was really late when we got home.

I helped Tommy get his WW app up and running on his phone.  Then he helped me understand the RV Wizard app we both downloaded recently.  I am still not sure about some things and I bet he feels the same way about his new app!  I received a text on Saturday night that he only had 2 points left.  I told him I was having a 2 point fudge bar and he had to hit the zero foods if he was still hungry.

Saturday morning Rafi and Sochi, our next door neighbors, came to visit.  They have been in China for quite some time.  We ended up having a three hour visit!  Their travels are so interesting and they are always interested in our upcoming travel plans.

We left for church shortly thereafter and afterwards went to our favorite Mexican restaurant to eat.  We both were hungry and cleaned our plates.  We had missed lunch!

Sunday was so hot I stayed in until I took a walk after dinner.  I stopped to speak with Jeanette and then visited with Nancy for a bit.  I did laundry while Ted was shooting in the afternoon and ordered a few things off the internet.  I am all shopped out!  For someone who isn't a shopper I have burnt up the credit card this past week.  The bathroom, bedroom and I are all in good shape.  Here I am in my new skinny jean capris!  This was the best I could do for a selfie!

My Last Attempt

Okay, I will not try to insert photos after the fact.  If I want you to see something I mentioned previously, I will do it separately.  If that doesn't work, I will just sign off and try Wordpress or something.

My big dinner Sunday did give me a "no loss" on Thursday.  Actually, I think it was overdoing zero point fruit (Bing cherries to be exact).  They are zero points but still have calories.  But they are so good and around for such a short period of time!

Our bathroom hit a bump in the road and it didn't turn out well.  Our contractor Chris had given us a good sized sample of what he said was the only one that would match our espresso cabinets.  We asked about going to the yard to pick out the slab and he said that wasn't necessary.  Two companies came to measure, Romero and JRT.  Romero called our sample one name and the lady said it was Santa Cecilia.  Ted told her the other fellow called it something else.  He said we didn't care what name they used but it needed to match that sample because everything else had been chosen using it.

Come Monday, after a week's delay, they arrive with dark brown and gold granite.

Our sample is this.

I said it wasn't what we ordered and I wasn't accepting it.  There was a lot of back and forth and Ted decided to go see Romero with our sample. He said it was Ornamental Light and Ted remembered then it was the name he originally mentioned. I wrote Chris, told him our sample was Ornamental Light, brought to us by him, and we had not signed off on any granite and the Santa Cecilia was wrong.  

Ted said he wanted our granite money removed from the invoice and we would handle the granite ourselves.  Chris wouldn't even come over and look at it!  I think they realized it earlier and that was the delay.  They maybe thought they could get it past me.

The cost was just about what we owed so the difference was minor.  They wrote a new invoice stating they will do the four minor things remaining after the granite goes in.

We called Romero. He came and re-measured, sent us to Galaxy Granite to pick out the slab we wanted.  In this huge yard filled with hundreds of slabs of all kinds of granite, I walked up to a slab and said I am looking for something like this. What is it called?  Ornamental Light she said.  I laid the sample on it and it was a perfect match.  We did the paperwork, called Romero, and he was on it!  

Overall I guess that isn't too bad after all.  We didn't lose any money (they may have with JRT depending on who ordered Santa Cecilia) and eventually it will get done.  We will be waiting another two weeks now but I will have what I want.  Once the granite is done, the faucets, grab bar, toilet paper holder and cabinet touch up taken care of, Greg will come and paint.  He just said to let him know when we are ready!

I am closing now and hope this works!

It Did It Again

I lost the last part of the previous blog.  It just disappears when I post it!  Writing it once is enjoyable, twice is annoying!

Can the End Be in Sight?

I did a lot of shopping over Friday and Saturday.  I have worn the same size for over a decade so I had no "Doesn't Fit" clothes section in my closet.  Unfortunately, it all fit!  I had been to the mall but I am not ready to invest in too many better clothes until I know they will fit for awhile.  So I headed to Kohl's and was able to buy several tops that will see me through.  I also bought a pair of white denim capris in size 10!!  It was nice to have a few things to choose from when getting dressed.

Saturday my day turned to more errand type shopping.  A piece of upholstery material for my bedroom bench, return a printer cartridge and get a different one, hit At Home for bed pillows and candles then on to Walmart next door for a squeegee, toilet brush, hook for back of the door, new nylon scrubbers (I just couldn't hang a pink one and blue one in our new shower) and a few greeting cards.  So many little things I kept forgetting to pick up.

While I was gone Ted shot on a team at a fundraising event with three friends creating Team Ted.  They came in Second, one target behind First Place.  Each received a trophy.  I hope there is room for it on his shelf.  

We were invited to John and Irene's for dinner to thank us for bringing them dinner previously.  I made a coconut custard pie for dessert.  I only used 2 points all day before we got there but I think my dinner and dessert may have used up my remaining 21 points and quite a few of my weekly ones.  I may pay for this next Thursday!  

Weekend Came and Went

Saturday, despite my phone advising me of the time and distance to church along with a traffic report, I fooled it and we went to Gerre's instead.  That will teach them to pigeonhole me.  I was flabberghasted to learn that my phone assumed where I was going at 4:40 on Saturday when I got in my car!  Big Brother is indeed watching.

Our plans for a swim party were ruined by showers but that didn't stop the festivities inside along with a great meal.  Eventually we left for Fay's and watched 45 minutes of fireworks over the lake.  Her deck afforded the whole bunch of us front row seats.

I don't know what my phone thought when we left at 8:45 for church on Sunday!  I didn't look.  We saw friends Jeff and Rachel who had a thyroid tumor removed that froze one of her vocal chords.  She had just had some sort of treatment and could talk some but very softly and a bit gravelly.  And it was announced a young man had died in an accident.  I told Ted we will be having a funeral this week.  Monday morning I received word they were in the process of planning a funeral for a 14 year old boy.  How sad!  I learned on Thursday it was a four wheeler accident.  

We originally received word that both our shower enclosure and granite would be installed Wednesday.  Then it was changed to granite installation on Thursday. There are a few things for the contractor to do when those two things are done but they are minor.  I will send Gregg an email and see what date we can have the painting done.  I am confident that we will have it all done before Ted's cataract surgery.  

So no one was coming on Monday and I took the time to assess my clothes for the cruise in September.  I have enough but will need to keep checking how they fit as we get closer.  

Then I printed our Seapass and luggage tags while I had the time.  Getting the cruise tags on luggage after you get off a plane can be tricky.  We have tried folding, tape and staples in the past.  Last year in anticipation of our Hawaii cruise that never happened due to my DVT and PE, I bought special plastic tags with screw on metal rings for both us and Irene and John.  They worked well!  I printed enough to have the cabin info visible on both sides.  I have two extra tags and will take them to Kristin for her two cruises.  

Other than that, I didn't do much.

Tuesday I didn't have anything particular to do so I put a new chicken dish in the crock pot and did two loads of laundry.  I called Sam's and ordered two half sheet cakes for the funeral on Thursday.  They are predicting 1,000 in attendance because of the many church groups the parents belong to and the friends and groups this young man encountered in his short 14 years.  

The shower enclosure people arrived about 9:00 on Wednesday. But I will not call Gregg to paint until the granite is in.  I don't want to waste Gregg's time changing dates if the granite isn't here as they said.  It is all coming together!

Thursday morning we had no idea if anyone was coming.  Ted went to Sam's and picked up the two cakes and took them to church while I stayed home.  Then he stayed while I went to WW.  He told me no one was coming after he called Chris.  Ted chewed him out because once again communication was non-existent.  When they said it would be Friday Ted said we weren't going to be home and it would have to be Monday.  I went to my meeting then picked up Jeanette to attend our neighborhood ladies luncheon.  Returning home, Ted announced we were going to the granite place to get some answers.  We went to the storefront for the granite fabricators.  They had us on their calendar for Friday and assured us the ogee edge was being done.  They said the hold up was the contract they were working from said "waterfall edge" and we told the template guy "ogee edge" so it had to be reworked.  We set it up for Monday morning and saw them erase us on Friday and move us to Monday.  Now we wait!  No word from Chris all day.

I am down 32.8# and am about 7# away from goal.  When all this construction is done and I start cleaning the house thoroughly as it should be I hope the extra energy spent helps me get there!  

And We Are Still Busy

We didn't do a whole lot over the weekend but we did get out and about some.

We met Gerre and Barry for dinner Friday and then enjoyed a comedy production at our community theater.  It was interesting, funny and well done.  

Saturday we went shopping for towels, rugs and wall decor for the bathroom.  I was dragging granite pieces, paint chips, original rugs, original soap dish with me.  We bought proper colored towels but have bath sheets instead of towels so they have to be exchanged.  I also forgot to get one extra hand towel for Ted's sink.  The newest rugs look too gray for the granite, wall color and towels.  However, they do look great on the floor tile, the one thing I didn't have with me!  Back to the rug drawing board Sunday.  We exchanged the soap dish for a different color and it works.  

We picked our ailing neighbors up for church and then we all went to dinner.  It was after 8 when we got home.  Jeanette had a cortisone shot in her knee and feels she can drive now that she can once again push on the brake!  

We are invited to Ted's shooting buddy's home on Tuesday for an Independence Day celebration, Tommy and Susan are coming here Wednesday and Thursday is WW, Ted's doctor appointment to get his clearance physical done for cataract surgery (not sure why they need to know he had his gall bladder removed in 1990, but oh well!) and the granite should be installed.  John and Sherida are back from the dentist in Mexico and have brought me tortilla chips I can't find here!  They will be stopping by on Monday.  July is looking a lot like the rest of the months.  

Ted went shooting Sunday and I gathered up my bags and off to the mall I went.  First I stopped at Office Max to get two ink cartridges and received three reams of paper for free.  Then I went to BB&B to exchange the bath sheets to bath towels.  On my way to get them I saw something I liked even better.  However, the shelf was almost empty.  I asked about availability and a girl took me to the back and brought them up on the computer.  I could buy the few things that were there but needed to order 3 rugs and 2 towels.  She got that finished, took 20% off everything, handed my coupons back to me and told me to use them when I paid for the things I had in my basket!  Wow!  Terrific Customer Service.

Then I took the other rugs back to Marshall's and bought a picture for above the toilet in that room.  I ended up with a credit!  With all that settled I headed to Macy's.  I bought some "skinny jeans" and a blouse.  When I paid she asked if I wanted to make a $3 donation to the Armed Forces to receive 25% off that day and for the next week.  With my new coupon, I shopped some more and bought 3 pairs of capris.  No more baggy butt as Ted calls it.  Finally, something that fits.  I headed home!   

My new white capris had an ink spot on them so they had to go back, I needed to return the towels that matched the bath sheets since I had taken them back on Saturday, and I wanted to turn in 10 ink cartridges for a credit on my rewards account.  We met Sherida and John for lunch, gathered up my tortilla chips they brought and did all our errands.  We then stopped at the grocery and finally I went to the nail salon.  It was 6:30 before I finally got home.

Tuesday I made my red/white/blue salad (strawberries/blueberries/bananas) and a blueberry cobbler to take to Tal and Cindy's house.  Their kids, the other in-laws plus mostly the kids' friends were all there and in the pool.  Lots of little kids were running around.  I was so impressed that everyone introduced themselves to us!  So many times in a situation like this young people tend to ignore you.  We had  a good time talking to their daughter-in-law's father.  His job had been Catholic school start ups and so much has changed in the past several decades.  The food was amazing.  Tal had his smoker going filled with ribs and chickens and had already done pulled pork.  I ate too much.  We came home about 7:30.  

We had invited Tommy and Susan for dinner on the 4th.  They are at the close-by campground and we normally go there but due to the holiday being in the middle of the week there were no festivities.  With the rain predicted I said I would cook here at home.  It rained buckets all morning and afternoon so our deck dining got moved indoors.  

We all enjoyed a nice meal and celebrated Tommy's birthday!  

Thursday we expected the granite people but there was some kind of glitch between the installer and vendor so our contractor moved to Plan B.  Ted went for his pre-op check up and Dr. C was as confused as we were about the need for it for cataract surgery.  My corner cabinet was delivered and I put it together while Ted went to the grocery.  We both know our strengths.  By the time he returned, I had it done.  No one else showed up for the granite so we stayed home for nothing!

Friday we were surprised by the doorbell ringing and it was a fellow wanting to make a template for our granite.  The first two only "measured" but this guy built a template and said he would try real hard to get this in by next week.  The glass is being delivered today to the company building our shower enclosure so maybe, just maybe, we can give a Gregg a date to do the painting.  We are still in the guest bedroom and bath waiting to put everything back where it belongs.