Gina's Jewels

A dishwasher for less than a trip to Starbucks.......

The kids spent the day swimming, Harley and Stephan worked on the house, and the moms were “released” to shop for appliances on Friday.   Whooooooo hooooo!   I can’t remember the last time I was sent out to shop with a girlfriend!

Bonita Springs has several charity run thrift shops, so we started our search there and we hit the jackpot!   The rest of the gang met up with us and loaded up a great looking GE dishwasher to take to the Zenith house.   It cost us $10!   We saw a few stoves but decided to keep looking as they weren’t in good enough condition.  After the dishwasher steal, I’m going to have to come to terms with the reality that a stove WILL cost more than $10.

After a full day of working on the house, we all returned to the rig and enjoyed a humungous salad for dinner before calling it a day.

Before (yellow walls with graffiti and urine scented carpet):

 

After (with fresh paint and a new floor):

 

 On Saturday, the guys started installing the floors (which look fabulous).  April and I spent time at the rig letting the kids play games, etc. before heading over to the Zenith house.  The house is getting to the point where they can camp out in it and rather than paying a nightly hotel fee.   In preparation, April and I hit the local Walmart for a few necessities.   We discovered that the Lehigh Acres Walmart is a happening place on Saturday night and it took us a bit longer than expected to accomplish our mission. 

Contractors and friends.....

We had two appointments at the Zenith house on Wednesday; neither one arrived at the scheduled time.    The water guy did finally show up (a few hours late) to install a complete water purification system.   While this may sound like a luxury item, it isn’t.   If you like well water that is clear and doesn’t smell like rotten eggs, it IS a necessity.  

Later in the afternoon, the A/C repairman made his appearance, removed a clogged misplaced filter and got the system up and running again.

 

We continued with removing tack strips, cleaning light fixtures, etc. and in the late afternoon, our Canadian friends arrived.   While the adults visited, the kids enjoyed swimming before we left for Bonita Springs.   On our way home, we all stopped to eat at Costco and discuss our plan for the following days.

After work on Thursday, Stephan ate a quick lunch and then returned to the Zenith house with Harley to get some more work done.   The kids played all day; games in the rig and at the pool.  Everyone had a full day and went to bed tired.

 

More renovations.....

We had another productive day at the Zenith house.   Today holes were plastered, wallpaper and graffiti were removed and lots of cleaning took place.   The worst part of renovation is all the cleaning and prep work.  But tomorrow…..we get to start painting, which always provides instant gratification!  The scary thing is that Stephan and I REALLY enjoy renovation work.  

In the morning, we stopped at Walmart and purchased some tools plus some frozen dinners for our lunch.   It didn’t take long to remember why I always cook and we don’t eat that kind of food.  At the risk of sounding like a pig, what Lean Cuisine considers a meal, we consider more of an appetizer!

We all enjoyed the pool and spending the day in our swimsuits.  Elvis ALMOST has Wagner trained….he drops his ball in the pool then waits for Wagner to go get it.   He could do this for hours.  :0}

The weather was great and we didn’t even miss the air conditioning.   The ceiling fans, breeze and pool kept us cool all day.   This is really a good little house.