3 June 2023
It’s amazing what this team gets done in a short amount of time. There are three of them: Eric, Rudy and Jose. They took out a wall from my house and put it back!
They did forget the insulation but they’ll take that one piece of drywall off and then put in the insulation tomorrow. They will finish the drywall tomorrow, probably start the stucco, and then put the finish coat on the paneling. After that, all that’s left is to put pegboard on the bottom in the garage and disinfect and fungicide the utility room and put down indoor/outdoor carpet. Then it’ll be complete. They probably will not finish before my first chemo but at least I will not have this hanging over me for months.
The most problematical area was under the windows. Termites and seepage through the old windows took its toll. They pieced together under the window frames and then reinforced the studs. It’s pretty solid. They also sprayed a bleach and fungicide compound here and in the garage. Eventually, they will clean the tile and seal the tile floor in the vestibule.
They knocked off early today because of lightning, rain and Eric was wiped after only a few hours sleep from a job he finished at 1 am this morning. I didn’t know if I would see all three of them together again and I gave each $100. It’s seldom you see a group work together as well and as hard as they have. It was $300 well spent. They were very appreciative and told me any time I needed the for anything to let them know. I feel they were pretty sincere about their offer.
Eric even pulled me aside and said that Jose specializes in getting rid of popcorn ceilings. I told him I wasn’t interested at the moment but would keep it in mind. Personally, I don’t mind popcorn ceilings – at least not to the point to cover everything in the house while it is removed.
I don’t see the live termites to be a problem since their “home” in my home was removed and put on the bulk trash heap. Bulk trash pickup isn’t until 14 June but since the flood, Fort Lauderdale has been sending trucks around periodically to remove flood damaged construction materials, so that’s not a problem. The streets in the neighborhood look as though all the houses have decided to remodel all at once. Usually, if you put bulk trash out more than 48 hours before pickup, the city will cite and fine you. The bulk trash pile will get considerably larger the closer to the date because that’s when I have all my trees trimmed in preparation for hurricane season. Coconuts become cannon balls in hurricane force winds.
Speaking of which, looks like we now have Tropical Storm Arlene. What a thrill! We are under a flood watch until Tuesday. Just think, getting flood damage repaired just in time for another flood!
Make that $350. The pool guy showed up about the time it started raining. He found the pool store had my impeller in stock. He tried to wait out the rain but it just got worse. He then donned a raincoat and hat and started to install. I held an umbrella over him in a total south Florida monsoon. I just had to tip him $50 for dodging lightning bolts and a deluge – above and beyond what he had to do. He could have put me off until Monday. Anyway, my pool pump now pumps!
I picked John up around 10:30 am at Holy Cross. They were faster than he anticipated. He was given a clean bill of health for his colon – no polyps in sight. That should be the last one he needs as he will be 71 by the time the next period rolls around. After fasting and cleansing, he decided he wanted breakfast. He hadn’t been to a breakfast place since before Covid. Come to think of it, neither had I. He insisted I had eaten at this place numerous times but I had never eaten there before so it was neat to find a new place for breakfast. It’s called the Garden Restaurant and is part of the Garden Drug and Medical Supply.
There’s something about old Florida and pharmacies and cafes/restaurants. Years ago there was a pharmacy on Las Olas (Fort Lauderdale’s Main Street) and they had a restaurant that was the in place to go with outstanding breakfasts.
When I lived just off US 1 at 6th Street in a condo, fronting US1 was a pharmacy with a chef who worked there in the mornings and for lunch but worked at one of the best restaurants in town at night. Breakfasts there were outstanding and very, very cheap and lunch was pretty gourmet. It was known only to locals and me and my friends ate there so many times that we often didn’t have to order – the waitress (wife of the chef) knew our orders. I think you could get fresh salmon with honey mustard, glazed carrots and wild rice for something like $10.
As usual, development took over both places so it was nice to see a throwback to earlier times at the Garden Restaurant.
John is returning the favor of carrying him to his colonoscopy today by bringing over rice crispy treats and then we are having lunch at the Georgia Pig.
Stay tuned!
