December 28 - 30, 2024 - Subdivision Lights - Neck Fan - Mouth Piece - New Shoes - Retirement Party - Doctor - Lunch

MY BLOG REFLECTON

No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.

Aesop

December 28, 2024

Once it was dark outside we drove to see the "Lights of Lake Park Estates". This is a subdivision in which almost every house is decorated over the top for Christmas. Here is some info they put out about the effort.

The Lights of Lake Park Estates originated in 1993 to celebrate the life of neighbor, Ruby Dow, and to salute the care she received from the community hospice, Suncoast Hospice. Because of Suncoast Hospice, Ruby lived her final days in dignity – in her own home – surrounded by those who cared about her. Those of us who had the pleasure of knowing Ruby will always remember her beautiful smile and the last Christmas she shared with us. In 2007 Eddie Dow, Ruby’s husband, whose passion and spirit made all this possible, passed away. With our memories of Ruby and Eddie shining as brightly as our holiday lights, we rededicate The Light of Lake Park Estates to both of them and Suncoast Hospice / Empath Health. 

They ask for donations from those driving through with 100% of the donations going to Suncoast Hospice. So far they have raised over a million dollars. Impressive.

December 29, 2024

One of my Christmas gifts was a neck fan. I never thought about having one but my medicine makes me sweat like a race horse so this thing is great for cooling me off in a hurry. It will run over four hours and then you just plug it into a USB port to charge it. I love it.

Another present was truly a gift for the man who has everything. It is a motion detector to light up the toilet at night. Great for us old guys who have to get up frequently. I can set it to any color I want or let it change colors on its own. LOL

I have been dealing with severe snoring for over ten years. I have had a CPAP all that time and gradually it has failed me. It blows air down my throat but it no longer stops the snoring. For the uninformed, snoring is caused by the tongue relaxing and the muscles falling back and closing off the airway. This causes a vibration when you breathe that produces the snoring we all hear. I tried a CPAP, a chin strap, tape over my mouth, and a mouthpiece, to stop the snoring. Nothing has been working lately. 

I decided to try a new and more expensive mouthpiece. It has multiple adjustments to pull your lower jaw out to keep the muscles from blocking off the airway. It is adjustable depending on how much jaw movement you need. Here is what it looks like. Each of those little sawtooth-like areas are adjustments.

In this picture I am squeezing the mouthpiece together so you can see how the lower jaw is pulled out by the shape of it. I have used it three nights and Kelly says I have not snored at all. It takes a little getting used to having something in your mouth but not bad. This may be the solution. Keep your fingers crossed.

Interestingly, this plastic contraption is only good for 30 days and then you have to use a new one. I don't know why but if it continues to work I'll gladly pay the price. It ends up costing about $1.00 per day.

Handyman payoff:

Recently I was shocked to learn that my sister-in-law paid $210.00 per hour for a handyman at her house in St. Louis. After working for about ten hours to install the garbage disposal, I decided my effort was worth a new pair of walking shoes. My ten year old ones are worn out inside and outside.

A trip to Sketchers today and we found a new pair of "slip-in" walking shoes that Kelly approved of in style and color. (This is very important.)  I never thought I'd pay $90.00 (after a discount) for walking shoes but here I am. They are comfortable.

December 30, 2024

This is a special day for me. Ten years ago today was the Retirement Party Kelly and the girls threw for me at the KC Hall in Perryville. It was held just one day prior to my last day in office. My how the time has flown by! Our family has grown and changed over the years. Now we are blessed with four grandchildren. Kellen was the only grandchild at the time and now he will be graduating high school in May and starting college in the fall. It doesn't seem possible.

This morning I went to the ENT for my surgery follow-up as well as allergy testing. Their testing indicated I have no known allergies. They did the tests on my upper legs and I could see no reactions to any of the sticks. This was interesting since the ENT in Perryville said I was allergic to various molds and put me on shots. Maybe things are different in Missouri. In any event, since the surgery, I have been having a sinus pressure headache and drainage continuing in the back of my throat. The nurse practitioner removed two scabs up in the sinuses and said overall they looked great. She further said that the drainage and headache could easily bother me for another two weeks. I go back in four weeks for a second follow-up. She advised using Flonase until then and prescribed a medication for acid reflux, which could aggravate the throat drainage. I hope all is better in a month.

In the afternoon we drove about ten miles to Pasadena, Florida, and had lunch with Matt and Joyce Wright, friends from Perryville. They are down visiting Matt's sister, Wendy, who lives here. They care for their six year old niece, Avery, so she came along. She is a delightful little girl. She was greatly entertained by how bad I was at her video games. It was a pleasant visit and great to see them.

Tomorrow morning Kelly hosts the breakfast klatch ladies and we have a New Years Ever party to attend here in the park in the evening. We've gone to one here before and had a great time. This year should be no different.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

December 19 - 27, 2024 - Paint - Safe - Egrets - Pillow Covers - Kelly's Birthday - Coffee Klatch - Shed - Disposal

MY BLOG REFLECTION

People do not decide their futures, they decide their habits and their habits decide their futures.

F. M. Alexander

December 19, 2024

Kelly ordered a new "Friendship Flag" for the front of the house. The old one was too large and was beginning to fray. We like this smaller size. I believe well over 50% of our park are Canadians and of course Kelly has her Canadian citizenship.

After putting up the flag I drove to Sherwin-Williams to buy two quarts of paint for the walls of the outside shed. The salesman informed me that two quarts would cost $72.00 and a gallon would cost $64.00. Guess what? I only needed two quarts but I now have a gallon. I came home and spay painted the rusty spots with primer so they would dry well before I paint. I learned that lesson from the roof coating last week. Since I will be having sinus surgery this afternoon I will not get to work on this project for about a week. No big deal.

On the way back home I stopped at Home Depot and bought an outlet to replace the one in the closet. Nothing would stay plugged into it. It was worn out or so I thought. When I took the cover off to check for power this is what I found.

I had never seen one like that. There were no screws holding it in so I pried it out and what I found was an "outlet safe".

I never knew such a thing existed. This one had to be pried out with a screwdriver. It isn't large enough to hold all of our precious "jewels", so I just reinstalled it. I learn something every day.

At 2:30 p.m. I arrived for my sinus surgery. It took about an hour and all went well. Here's a picture of me upon arriving back home.

I only took one OxyContin before the surgery and one Tylenol after. The pain was not bad at all, mostly a mild headache. Here I am sleeping off the headache with lots of water and tissues nearby.

For the next several days I have to keep my head elevated when sleeping and not use the CPAP. I decided the best way to make this happen was to sleep in the recliner. It worked. A good side effect was Kelly got a good night's sleep as well without my snoring.

December 20, 2024

Post surgery I feel fine. I have a runny nose and a slight headache. I'm not allowed to blow my nose for four days, which I must say is a little aggravating. Otherwise I have no complaints. I can definitely breathe better now that the passages are opened up. 

The day before my surgery I saw on Facebook a family of metal yard ornament Egrets for sale. I couldn't pick them due to the surgery so the lady held them for me. We went today to pick them up. We immediately knew the house when we arrived. I never saw anything like it. She must have every yard ornament known to man. These pictures are just the front yard. The side yards and back yard are worse.

I placed the Egret family in the front flower bed using metal stakes I made out of coat hangers to hold them in place. I may rearrange them later. They will look better when the cord and timer for the Christmas lights are gone. The mulch is going to get removed and replaced with white gravel in the near future as well.

Upon installing the Egrets Kelly made me remove my plastic Flamingo that wobbles in the wind. I'll find a spot for him somewhere else. LOL

After the Chief's football game we had a drink while I grilled burgers. The burgers, along with a great salad, made for a nice supper out in the Florida Room. I wasn't cold but Kelly always is. Thus the hoodie. LOL

December 22, 2024

Since we bought this place Kelly has been on a mission to eliminate all of the pink and burgundy items throughout the house. She bought new covers for the throw pillows. No more pink and burgundy in the living room, master, and guest bedrooms. Happy wife, happy life.

After lunch I made a double batch of biscotti. I am still getting used to this electric oven. My first batch a few weeks ago was a disaster. This one turned out much better.

Later in the afternoon an ice-packed birthday cake arrived for Kelly - Quadruple Chocolate. It was such a hit last year the girls got her another this year. I'm insisting she wait until her birthday tomorrow to cut into it.

December 23, 2024

For her birthday Kelly wanted to go for a nice lunch then sit on on the beach at Fort DeSoto, which has just reopened since the hurricane. We had lunch at "Billy's Stone Crab Grill" nearby. It was fabulous. We started with margaritas. We were a little early for the "Early Bird Specials" but our waiter gave us those prices anyway. Very nice. He got a generous tip.

Kelly ordered prime rib and I ordered stone crab so we could try each. The stone crab was excellent, the prime rib was only average. Lesson learned, do not order beef at a seafood restaurant. LOL

We were seated next to the windows and had a wonderful view of the canal. This little guy sat outside our window enjoying the day the entire time we ate.

After lunch we headed to the East Beach at Fort DeSoto. It just recently opened after the hurricane damage was cleaned up. We had not been to the East beach before, we normally go to the North Beach, which is still closed. The weather was fabulous, the beach was great, and it was not crowded at all. Here are a couple of pictures.

You can barely see the Sunshine Bridge in the distance.

Kelly put her toes in the water but it was way to cold to wade in although a few other hardy souls nearby did it.

We stayed at the beach almost until closing time. Before we left we took the obligatory selfie.

Once home Kelly served us each a slice of the quadruple chocolate birthday cake. Oh my gosh, is it rich! Whew! A small piece is all that your body can handle without going into diabetic shock! It was a nice relaxing day.

December 24, 2024

Kelly hosted the ladies "Tuesday Morning Coffee Klatch". Coffee, tea, and tasty treats are always available. Different ladies host depending on the weather. Our Florida Room is heated and air-conditioned so it is great for cooler weather like today.

My project for the day was to paint the outside shed. These pictures are after I primed the rusted spots the day before.

After the coffee klatch I put a coat of paint on the shed. I picked out a gray to match the house. The brown trim and gable end will be painted white.

December 25, 2024

At 8:30 a.m. we went to a quiche breakfast at the clubhouse which was put on by the Women's Club. It was delicious and very nice of the ladies to do this on Christmas Day. Around noon Celina came over to spend the day. I watched the Chiefs football game while the women played cards and other games. We had a supper of Kelly's clam chowder. As usual it was delicious. About an hour after supper I suddenly got really sick - headache, throwing up, etc. We decided the only thing different that I had from the women was a big glass of Eggnog. We decided to throw the rest of it out in case that is what caused my illness. By bedtime I was fine.

December 26, 2024

First thing in the morning I put the first coat of white paint on the shed trim. When the second coat is on I'll post a picture. The shed looks much nicer now although no one sees it but our back neighbor. LOL. It will be protected from further rusting.

After that quick paint job I started the garbage disposal install for Kelly. 

The biggest issue was getting electric under the sink to plug the disposal into and running a switch to control it. This switch was on the backsplash next to the sink. It controled the light over the sink. It was my only hope for finding electric.

Most switches just break the hot wire going to the light. There is normally no neutral wire in the box. Both a neutral and a hot are is necessary for alternating current to work. I lucked out. The light switch box had neutral wires in it powering the outlets on the back splash. I had power there to connect to and to add a disposal switch and an outlet under the sink for the disposal to plug into. 

The next major issue was how to get the power from the backsplash area to the cabinet below the sink. The back splash is ceramic tile so I didn't want to disturb that in any way. 

I emptied the base cabinet and measured over from the wall to where the switch box was above and marked it. The top of the cabinet was only about a foot below the switch box. My hope was to be able to fish a wire through that hole up to the outlet.

I purchased a hole saw set at Harbor Freight and cut the biggest hole I could in the cabinet and through the paneling behind. I needed a large hole so I could get my hand in the wall to find the new wire. I had measured and luckily only barely hit a stud on one side. Now it was time to fish a new wire. 

I pushed a coat hanger wire down from the box. After a couple of tries feeling around I found the wire in the wall and pulled it out of the hole. I attached the Romex cable to my coat hanger wire and carefully pulled it up into the box. 

Next I drilled a small hole in the cabinet wall and fished the wire into the adjoining cabinet below the sink. There I would install the new outlet for the disposal. 

I used the plug I cut out with the hole saw to close the hole in the cabinet back up. I sealed it with caulk to keep air, bugs, and other critters out. My caulk job was quite sloppy because I was laying in the cabinet and looking up working overhead at arms length. Fortunately no one will ever see it. LOL

Once the wire was in the cabinet under the sink I mounted an outlet box for the disposal to plug into. This outlet will be controlled by a switch on the backsplash. It will only be hot when the switch is "ON".

Now was the time to make the necessary electrical connections in the light switch box for the sink light and disposal outlet to  work. 

The single pole switch for the sink light had three wires, which is very unusual. The two wires on the terminals broke the current to the light. The third wire was pushed into a friction connection spot on the switch. I didn't know what this third wire did. The wire was black, which meant it should be the power, but when I cut it off I couldn't get any power from it. I thought maybe it fed a nearby outlet but the outlets worked without it. I put a wire nut on it and pushed it back in the box.

Now I needed to install the new duplex switch. A duplex switch is two switches in a single switch box . It allows you to control two items separately from a single switch box. I needed one switch to turn on the overhead sink light and the other switch for the garbage disposal outlet. I soon learned that wiring this switch was confusing. The only directions were printed on the inside of the small carboard box it came in. I thought I understood how it worked but got on YouTube to verify what I was doing. I ended up having to switch the power, light switch wires, and outlet wires around three times to get both switches to work the way I wanted.

Here is the switch installed. The top switch controls the sink light and the bottom the garbage disposal. Mission accomplished. I had worked on this from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. I was shot for the day.

Tomorrow would be disposal installation day. It appears I may have to do some major plumbing changes to get this done. Naturally.

December 27, 2024

First thing in the morning I put a second coat of white paint put on the shed trim. I'm satisfied with the results.

I then moved to installing the garbage disposal. We bought a slender model made by Glacier Bay with a six year warranty because the space was really limited between the disposal and the drain.

You can see how close the drain is where the disposal will hang. I can't believe that the water lines just hang loose under there and actually right in the way. The black hose is from the dish washer.

As I expected, I had to use my Dremel tool to cut the old drain out of the sink. Once it was out I could install the new metal drain but I needed some plumber's putty for that. A trip to Home Depot. 

Once I got the metal drain installed in the sink I hung the disposal to see how the drain was going to work out. It worked out rather well. I had to cut off the elbow that went into the service line and then I had to make another trip to Home Depot to get a new extension piece. The old one had a pipe in it for the dish washer. The dish washer now connects to the garbage disposal. Here is a picture of the finished project with no leaks. It took about four hours, not bad. When we bought the disposal at Home Depot I told the guy this was Kelly's Christmas present. She immediately let him know that was not the case. He got a laugh out of that. I told him I NEVER buy her anything with a plug on it. The new disposal is really quiet.

Now it is time to shower and relax. I have nothing planned for the weekend. On Monday I go to the doctor for a surgery follow-up and for allergy testing. We bought tickets for a New Year's Eve Dance at the clubhouse. It should be fun. I don't have to worry about drinking and driving. LOL 

After finishing the project I went to use the light in the kitchen seating area and it was dead. The only thing it could be was the extra wire in the box. I opened up the box, pulled out the wire and touched it to the hot wire and I had power. I had to make a pig tail to attach it to the switch. I had tried everything in the kitchen area but hadn't thought about the light and fan in the seating area. The mystery was solved.

Happy New Year to all!

 

 
 

  

 

December 17 - 18, 2024 - Porch Light Repainted - Motion Sensor for Shed - Music in the Park - Decals on Buster

MY BLOG REFLECTION

What I know for sure is that every sunrise is like a new page.

Oprah Winfrey

December 17, 2024

The first item on my agenda today was to take down the white and rusted front porch light, clean it up, and paint it black. Two coats of black spray paint and sitting in the sun all day to dry well.

Yesterday the new motion sensor came for the inside shed. Time to install it. This install required running a new power wire to the sensor. I was able to get power from the octagonal box over the door. When we bought the place this box had a single bulb in it to illuminate the entire shed. It was worse than terrible. I'm old. I need a lot of light. Last winter I installed two four-foot LED fixtures. What a difference. 

When I opened the octagonal electric box to make my electrical connection I couldn't believe what I found. The box was packed full of mud dabber nests. These weren't the red clay mud dabber nests like we have at home they were made with the black sand dirt that we have here. I don't know how they hold together but they do. This electrical box is inside the inside shed. It has no exposure to the outside. I can't imagine how the mud dabbers got in there and why they picked this location to nest.

I wanted the motion sensor installed in the middle of the shed so it would pick up all movement while in there, not just upon entering. For this install I had to re-mount one of the lights. I then cut a block of wood for the sensor to attach to so that it hung lower than the lights, thus picking up motion upon the door opening. I also had to run a new power wire to the sensor. I'm very happy with the result. I go in and out of this shed multiple times daily and often with a handful of tools, laundry, etc. The automatic light is a godsend.

At 2:30 p.m. I went up to the clubhouse parking lot and played bags (Cornhole). Three sets are set up and once again I lost all three games. Fortunately, these folks aren't serious players so it is all good fun, even for a poor player like me. 

I then picked up Kelly and we headed to Bonnie's carport for some live music provided by Jim Stanley on the guitar, Bonnie singing, and Richard on the drums. It was the first such "Music in the Park" event. There was a nice turnout. They are hoping to host it once per month. Most folks sat in chairs nearby but many sat in their golf carts in the street and listened.

Here's a selfie as proof we were there. LOL  The weather was beautiful and the shade was appreciated. How do you like my cool sunglasses?

After supper we attended a "Nuggets Club" meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the clubhouse. (Golden Gate Park, Nuggets Club, get it?) The club is open to the entire community. The club sponsors dances, potlucks, etc. Only about eight people showed up in addition to the officers. Part of the reason for the low turnout is some people go home for Christmas and some do not come down to Florida until after Christmas. They are seeking someone to volunteer to host the February and March potlucks. We may volunteer to take one on. It is a lot of work. It takes all day to put the potluck on with the major tasks being setting up the tables and chairs, decorating, cooking all the meat, and cleaning up afterwards. It takes a lot of help to get all this done. Kelly is worried about help. Everyone here pitches in so I don't think it will be a problem. The meat provided in February is pork and the meat in March is corned beef. Kelly, being the 1/2 Irishman that she is, wants to do the corned beef.

December 18, 2024

The porch light is back up and looking nice. The black color is more contemporary.

Once the porch light was back up I turned to the project of putting red decals on Buster. His "golf course cream" color is too boring for me. I purchased a set of decals for a car with the intention of cutting them down to fit Buster. I had a choice of black or red. I chose red. There is too much black on Buster already. He needs a little pizzazz. 

Due to the large size of the decals they were a little challenging to install but I got it done. We think he looks great. Buster will now proudly run around the park strutting his stuff. The decals will make him appear to go faster than he does.

After the decals were installed we decided to add a little more spice by painting the steering wheel spokes red as well. It came out nice and was much cheaper than buying a new modern steering wheel.

All my projects on Buster are completed. He has come a long way from day of purchase with dead batteries, ugly brown indoor-outdoor carpeting on the floor and trunk area, a crunched front fender, and broken shocks. He should give us years of service.

I just learned that my medical insurance company reversed their decision and will now cover my sinus surgery. The doctor's office received this notice and called today to schedule. They first suggested surgery on the 30th. I declined because I'm told that I will be out of action for several days and we have tickets to the New Years Ever Party here at the park on the 31st. Upon further studying the surgery schedule they said the surgery could be done tomorrow afternoon. I was fine with that. Since I may be out of commission for a couple of days I'll end this blog here.