Window Upgrade - Florida Home

The front of the house in Florida has two windows with an eyebrow window above each window. Both of the eyebrow windows had damage. The window replacement installer told me that this damage is quite prevalent here due to the heat produced by the tropical sun. The material between the frame and the window below had started to expand into the window and was readily visible.



The mullion within the second window had separated and fallen. We considered these conditions to be unsightly and distracting from the front of the house.


I moved here from New England and felt the mullions in the front window did not appeal to myself and my perception of what Florida homes should look like. I felt it was too New England looking. We both wanted a cleaner look for the front of our home.

We contracted to have the windows and eyebrows replaced with out the mullions. We also ordered a heavier glass with UV protection coating. Below is the after look of the front windows.



Close up view of the new eyebrows. This front bedroom was always the hottest room in the summer and the coldest in the winter. So far we have noticed that that room remains cooler than before and we have already had a string of 90+ degree days. The installer told me that these new windows are a better quality and more airtight than the ones removed.



Carol and I are quite happy with the new look and the quality of the windows. Eventually, we will upgrade all the windows.

Eye Update

Carol had a "leak" in the retina of her left eye. Last week her right eye started to hurt and her vision slowly decreased. Last Monday we went to the specialist. Happy to report that the left eye is back to 20/30 and there is no longer a "leak". Carol has a regiment of drops for the left eye designed to slowly withdraw that eye from the medicine. The right eye suffered a "leak" from a vein in the retina and her vision was off the chart. If you have ever seen an eye chart, Carol could only distinguish the biggest E. The doctor gave Carol a steroid injection in that eye. She also has a regiment of drops in the right eye and Carol will see him again on June 6Th. The good news is that there will be the light at the end of the tunnel and both eyes will once again be in sync.

My eyes are fine. Before the surgery, I really could not see well beyond my finger tips without glasses. However, I could read well enough without glasses. Now, I need reading glasses. Small inconvenience, I know. Its just that I am not use to carrying them with me. I was in the market and needed to read a label and could not. I asked another shopper if he could read the contents for me. He laughed and asked me how long it was since the surgery. He said it was a good year before he started carrying them. Carol carries hers in her pocketbook. I do have a pair in the truck and one on my computer. I just have to remember to take them into the store. I did not realize how bad my cataracts were until they were removed. All the colors are so bright and vibrant.

Puppy Bath Day

Our dogs need to have their baths weekly and some times more often. Gizmo, my Yorkie seems to need baths more often. Terriers are known for rooting into underbrush, deep grass and any place else he can stick his snout. Once in a while I will take him to a dog friendly beach where he loves to run along the surf and burrow his snout into the sand and often misjudging the incoming waves. He is quickly bathed upon arriving home. Carol feels if Gizmo is going to be bathed, then Tiny the 18 year old chihuahua will also get done at the same time along with Pillo the 9 month old chihuahua. Gizmo does not like his face washed, Tiny does not like getting wet and Pillo fights the whole time. Carol told me washing a 10 pound cat is easier than washing Pillo. Pictured below are the "boys" wrapped in their towels as they were removed from the bath.

Gizmo's face and eyes says it all. He always has this irritated look after his bath.


Pillo is just happy to be done with the water part.


Tiny is happy the wet part is done. He seems to like being wrapped up and held. He has a contented look.


After they are towel dried they find their favorite spot to recover from what they perceive as an ordeal. Tiny likes to burrow into a soft blanket.



Pillo loves to be held by Carol.



Gizmo has his afghan on his favorite chair.

Youth - Revisited

My dad always had a large garden until he could no longer take proper care of his vegetables. He would always, in his younger years, have at least 125 tomato plants, 100 pepper plants, hills of cucumber, assorted squash, eggplant, string beans, several varieties of lettuce, and the most wonderful rare ripe onions. My mom would can tomatoes, string beans and would can the best pickled peppers that I have ever had in my life.

Many times during the summer when the tomatoes were ripe enough, mom would send me to get a couple of decent sized tomatoes and a bunch of rare ripe onions from the garden. She would slice the tomatoes, cover with cut up onion and add olive oil and salt. A good piece of Italian bread for sopping up the juice. Loved it! There is nothing like a fresh picked tomato.

This morning Carol and I went to the Farmers Market located at the St. Andrews Marina. First this is a beautiful location with the docked sailboats, fishing boats, and some power yachts. One of the fishing boats was selling fresh shrimp and blue crabs. We went to get farm fresh eggs, having enjoyed my daughter's chickens output while in Rhode Island, we wanted more fresh eggs. We also bought fresh picked asparagus, string beans, tomatoes, my rare ripe onions, and a small basket of peaches. Pictured below is the lunch I had earlier today. I needed to meticulously remove all the seeds as I can not consume the seeds due to a medical condition. The only missing piece was the Italian bread. The bread here just does not do it for me. I enjoyed my lunch and the fond memories of mom and I having our summer lunch together years ago.

Carol made the place mats. She loves butterflies and if you look closely, you can see them.