Move In & Camp Out

We moved into the new digs on Saturday morning. After 2 trips from the rental condo to here, we had everything upstairs and stowed away. The first thing Ed did was to set up for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona Sportscar Race. We normally go to the event but since the weather is very cold, windy and with bursts of rain, we opted for indoor viewing. Pleep liked the set up - lawn furniture and the big new TV. Nothing for him to worry about damaging if things got raucus.

When Marc & Marcie visited on Friday, we had not yet blown up the deluxe airbeds for the master suite. Marc figured we actually had everything we needed - large tv, lawn furniture that would accomadate 5-6, tv tables, air beds and even a tv in the Master bedroom. He didn't think think we should bother with additional furniture. Pleep really likes the whole Master suite setup from the airbeds to the closet and bathroom sinks. He said the sinks are perfect for taking a nice monkey bath.

Pleep also checked out the refrigerator and thought it had everything he would need to be happy - leftover pizza, Long Hammer IPA, and Svedka. The food selection in the cabinets was also right up his alley - trail mix, pretzels, chips, and 2 cans of green chilis. THe only addition he wants is bananas from the Publix across the street. His one interior design suggestion was to add the large box/wall around the chandelier in the dining room. He wanted to make certain no one would run into it when they went from the tv room to the kitchen in search of their next beverage.

LG - Life Is Good

In preparation for our "camp out" next week, Ed had his big, new tv delivered today - an LG plasma. First, he and his dad assembled the new stand. The HH Gregg guys delivered it, connected it and tuned it up. We put the a couple of the lawn chairs in the "tv room"so that we could test out the tv. It all worked great and this will be Ed's favorite room. It has a great view of the ocean and when we add the couch will be very cozy.

The other big project for the day was having the guest bathtub resurfaced. Surface Savers came in and took care of the entire effort. It is a very involved process and they did a great job. The tub looks brand new. While this work was going on, Ed and his dad continued their minor repairs and touch up work. We hope to be entirely finished this week.

Stay tuned for pictures once we get the airbeds set up and are camping out there. Pleep and Delete will be moving in next week. Pleep doesn't want to move in until all the work is over. Now that there are 2 tvs, he thinks it is shaping up nicely.

One Week Later

It's been a very busy week since we took ownership of the new condo. The cleaning, repairing, paint touch up and kitchen kit-out are all finished. While all of that was going on the weather turned fabulous and things are back to the warm, sunny beach weather we look forward to enjoying here. The ocean view from our unit is spectacular. We also have a very nice view of the outdoor pool and deck area. Once we have the place fully furnished we hope to see friends and family paying us a visit.

During the week we made many trips to the local Ace Hardware Store, Sherwin Williams, Walmart, Home Depot and Bed, Bath & Beyond. The last store we visited was HH Gregg where Ed found the biggest tv he could for the tv room - an LG plasma. It is being delivered Monday. This means we will have deluxe accommodations for our last week - airbeds, lawn furniture and the tv.

The Florida Gator popped up in every location with large displays of Gator logoed merchandise. Pleep is thinking about acquiring a buddy who be a resident in the condo. If we were Gator fans like the Murphys, we could have acquired Gator towels, robes, shower curtains, tools, paint, etc. It did get us thinking about arranging a weekend with the Murphy crowd to attend one of the games this fall. Daytona Beach is only about 2 hours from Gainesville and 90 minutes to Jacksonville. Plus, with any luck, maybe the Irish will make one of the many bowl games in Florida in 2010.

Friday was such a perfect day we knew we had to spend the end of it at one of our favorite places, Our Deck Down Under. Ed quickly spotted several pods of dolphins jumping around now that the weather is warmer. We enjoyed the Kaliks, Stella Artois, boiled shrimp and a great sunset. We're now looking forward to Race Week - the Rolex 24 Hour Sports Car event.

New Condo Soon To Be Clean Condo

We closed on the condo and took possession Friday. Cleaning, repairing, and general maintenance activities commenced Saturday morning. The first thing we did was head to the Ace Hardware store to pick up a few things we knew we needed. Ed assembled the vacuum and the Hoover Floormate so I could get started with the floors. With more than 1800 square feet of tiled floors there is plenty to vac and scrub. I didn't get even half of it finished but the parts that are done look very nice.

Ed and his dad are the skilled labor so they started on repairing the one closet door. Five hours later they finally got it fixed. This was supposed to be the easy project. Here's hoping the other projects (toilet and fan repairs) move ahead more rapidly. We are trying to get as much repair and cleaning done as possible before the sliding glass door repairman and HVAC guy show up on Monday.

We ended the day back at the Ace picking up more parts that we need for tomorrow. I decided to hit the liquor store (next to the Ace) because I thought Pleep would enjoy a nice tall Citron and soda. They were having a sale on Svedka which was nice to see instead of any more cleaning products. It was nice to get back to the rental condo and find out that Diana had made a big homemade pot pie for dinner.

We return to the job tomorrow. More trips to Ace, Sherwin Williams and Walmart are likely to occur. Pleep says he is not going over until everything is ship shape. He doesn't want to get into the paint or have anything to do with cleaning things.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Sunny Florida has been especially chilly the last couple of weeks. With hard freezes at night and strong arctic winds, we've been forced to spend more time inside than outside. We have managed to get out to the beach and even toughed it out in shorts one day. We've been forced to be inside at the beach bars and there hasn't been much dolphin activity either.

Pleep decided to amuse himself by putting together a puzzle. The one he picked featured Ed and his brother Dave. Pleep liked this one because Dave was performing the classic Pleep monkey butt maneuver. He pointed out that this picture pre-dates his arrival on the scene and therefore he thinks Dave may be the orginal inventor of the monkey butt.

Ed found out that Pleep had been hiding bananas which were now very ripe. Pleep commented that he knew banana cake was Ed's favorite and this was just to guarantee ripe bananas for the cake. Because it is still too cold for much outdoor activity, Ed's dad thought it was a great time to teach Ed how to make the Ritter family banana cake. Pleep help smash the bananas and supervised in general.

We have a final walk through at our condo tomorrow or the next day. If everything is OK, we hope to close on Friday and celebrate the new Florida residence at Our Deck Down Under in 70 degree weather.

Life's A Beach

Even though it is colder than normal in Daytona, we are enjoying the weather. Talking to the Northern Exposure crowd, it is good to be south these days. It has been in the 50s here but sunny versus zero or worse up north. The Snowman did make an appearance here but it was just to introduce the beer of the month.

Pleep went out shopping today to check out bargains for kitting out the new condo. In addition to good deals on wine glasses and dishes, he found the large Bump-It display at Bealls. After hearing Ida rave about the need for a Bump-It to complete her New Year's Eve attire, he wanted to buyout the entire supply. We managed to convince him we really didn't need to stock up on Bump-Its and that when Ida came here we could buy her one of her own. Pleep just wants to make certain everything is in good order for the Girls Weekend in Daytona.

Happy New Year

We are back in Daytona Beach after a nice visit at the Parker Ranch in Seminary, Mississippi. Our first full day over there was also the Parker Family Christmas Party. We had a great time catching up with everyone, especially Carl & Lucy. Lucy made special fleece robes for the boys - USC Trojans for Beau and Green Bay Packers for Harry. Pleep is not a USC fan but he still thought Beau looked rather snazzy in the robe.

The highlight of the day was the massive dice game - Left, Right, Center - which Ida insists must be played with $1 bills rather than the pennies or nickles some groups use. As one would expect, Harry won the first big pot and then spotted his family members their stake for the next round. He was still collecting three days later and we were afraid to ask what interest rate he was charging. Pleep thinks the Feds could learn something from Harry about how to run things. As the game wore on, it became very boisterous and as the kitchen sign suggested, everyone became more interesting.

Oscar enjoyed sporting his new Fighting Irish jersey. He looked quite dashing chasing the cattle, especially the yearlings who had escaped from the fenced in area and were running loose around the house.

We wound up the visit at Ted & Janet's house with a great gumbo and more beef tenderloin. Ted & Harold were able to fill us in on all the local color and goings on in Covington County. With a little work, Beau should be able to turn it all into a very good movie or tv show.