New pictures posted

There are new photos at Flickr
See Family here.
See Househere.
Hope you enjoy the new pictures of the grandkids, Skyler, Maddie and Zack!

Look Out Below

Coming out of the yard towards the water.

In Position to begin lowering.

In the water.


This was the scene Tuesday as we put Auana Ke Kai back in the water.
The first picture might be a bit confusing, the red truck is not pulling the lift. The lift actually has a driver and it's own motor.

Inspector

Inspector
Originally uploaded by Joanna Root.

We took a new inspector to the job site today and after checking her notes she gave us an A-OK rating.

Back in Richmond

Just a short note tonight to let family know we are back in Richmond, after wrapping up all the paperwork for the furniture.We finally signed the paperwork for our furniture on Friday afternoon and headed back to the hotel. On a closer check of the contract we found that the computer had somehow reverted back to the original full price for shipping (we had been given a 25% discount) .... so a quick call confirmed it was in fact wrong and we would have to have the contract reprinted and signed again. So this morning we went back, met the salesperson who worked with us and got it all straightened out. She said the company has been tweaking the contract computer program and this was a glich that no one could figure out. It printed one number on one page, a different on a second for the same value. To make a boring story short, we did get the discount and we are done!

What about this color?

DH-studies
Originally uploaded by Joanna Root.

This was taken last week, when we were trying to pick colors for the second sofa that was just right - but also turned out not to be a finalist because it did not come as a loveseat. Since then, Eric has visited each piece of furniture we purchased and sat in it at least two times a day. We are amazed that some people actually buy sofas and chairs just by how they look, never sitting in them at all. Apparantly it is not at all uncommon.

Scene of Design

Our table in the design center at Furniturelandsouth. There is a design center in each of the two main buildings. Each is set up with tables for the customers to work. You are free to leave things on the table and a reserved sign assures you that everything will be there when you get back. A very nice serivce, they even supply paper, pencils, tape, graph paper and have copy machines and scanners you can use for a small cost. The unique thing about this place is the size of the area. There are at least 50 tables in the design rooms, and one entire wall is natural light. The fabrics are hung by manufacturer, and in the center bookcases are all the catalogs for each. It is always full of people hunched over floor plans. Some are customers and some are professional interior designers who come to pick out items for an entire home. Our designer said some of the homes she has seen are pretty amazing, especially homes in the Middle East where women have separate quarters for living and sleeping than the men.

Today we finished up all our selections and tomorrow morning we will sign over the $$$$'s and then go visit the bargain store. That's if we have any money left!

Yes, we are still here

More of the Furniturelandsouth Highboy
Originally uploaded by Joanna Root.

It's been quite a bit of time since I last blogged, so I thought it best to let everyone know we are still kicking here in High Point. Today we finished day 5 of the great furniture hunt. This place is so huge, it's hard to believe that there are still things we have not seen and that we still hope to visit! We feel like the prices are very good, and the selection is more than anyone could imagine.

The first two days of hunting were similar to the story of the Three Bears. I think we looked at every entertainment wall unit Furniturelandsouth had in stock. Finally, we found one like we wanted but then found it might not fit. We picked a second one to be safe and proceeded to sofas.

We sat on so many sofas, some were too soft, some were too big, ugly or hard, and very few were just right. We picked one, then decided overnight it might not be right .... so after a few more questions and thoughts we changed to a second. It fit right, the color was right. The price was right. But, you guessed it, no loveseat available and we wanted both a sofa and a loveseat. So we picked another. The third fit right, but the color had us stymied for many days. We kept wanting it to be like the first and second one, but no luck. We finally compromised on a color.

After each selection we would check our choice by moveing little scale pieces around, and often one change would lead to another question. We ultimately went back to the first wall unit. So now we are in the process of fitting in end tables and night stands. We had to call Rebecca to go measure the bedroom wall, since we didn't trust our plans. Turns out we had more room than we thought so that was nice.

So, we are playing musical chairs, musical nightstands, musical end tables .... you name it and we have tried it here or there! So far sin spite of the fact neither Eric nor I have ever done this before we are having a great time . . . Even if the days are 8-10 hours long. Our designer has been wonderful, patient, and has given us good suggestions. She certainly knows the merchandise, which is remarkable considering the size of this place.

The boat is finished, but the boatyard is closed until Monday, so we won't be back in Hampton until then. We also have to time the "splash" with high tide so we can get home.

So more adventures in furnitureland soon.

Furnitureland South

Click on the link above and see a better picture and some history of the world's largest highboy. It is 85 feet tall, and really pretty neat. Do you know how much difference less than 1 inch can make? We found out today as we began our search for the entertainment center for the new house. Of course, everything hinged on the size of the TV we planned to buy. Obviously that makes sense. However, the manufacturers of the type of unit we wanted seemed to think our intended TV was about 1 inch too big. The day turned out to be one of compromises. In short, we think we are going to go down to a 30 inch TV from the 34 inch we originally planned to buy. The only way we can get an entertainment unit with the diagonal ends is with the center being the smaller size. We wanted doors that close over the TV too. So, we think we are a step closer.

By the way, the designer who is working with us is very knowledgeable and worked right with of all day. Tomorrow we hope to finalize the unit, and then we will move on to couches. Ha, that should be easy. I'm sure it isn't and won't be! One nice think about this company is that they will work through everything you want, do the design layout of the rooms to scale, and then keep all on file until you are ready to purchase the individual pieces.

Getting ready to HAUL

Today was busy for us. We are one day before boat haul out, and had lots of details to take care of that really needed to wait until today. Besides packing clothes, and another batch of things to leave in storage, we also had to defrost the freezer and empty the refrigerator into our igloo chest. This is the chest we found on the dock that someone threw away. We sent it to Igloo and had the motor repaired and it works like a charm now. So it’s humming away. We took off the extra hurricane lines, so they are stowed away. Snacks are packed, and we’re both roaming around trying to think of what we might have forgotten. You’d think we were going to be away for a month.

While Eric was out moving things from the boat to the cart to take to the truck the boat next to us had a power malfunction and their power cord went up in smoke where it plugs into the pedestal on the main dock. Luckily he was there when it happened. So, during the packing we also had no AC for awhile as Jerry and Eric made repairs. Thank goodness today was overcast and we didn’t really get hot. Of course it rained, so now the awnings are wet. Not good.

Silly knows something is up, and she isn’t excited about what she thinks is going to happen. Now whenever she sees a box in our hands she goes and hides. Smart Kitty! She’ll not like it in the morning when we crank up the boat engine. They she’ll be in her crate, and then in the car, and then back with the monsters grandkids and dogs. Oh what fun for her. Little does she know she’ll be back in the truck the next day for the trip to NC.

So, tomorrow is an adventure. We haven’t had the boat out in the bay since the summer after Zack was born. Hopefully it will be a smooth trip. It is supposed to be cooler, in the 80’s, so at least that will make standing around in the boat yard a bit better. They always tend to be hot places, obviously no trees for shade. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Like how hot is it?

. . . I'd like to turn the calendar back about 8 months - yes, I'd trade this August heat for snow any day! (Don't let DH know I said that though).

Not much going on because it is just too hot to do anything. We went to the grocery yesterday and have laid in enough supplies to last until we haul the boat on Tuesday morning. Then we will be homeless for awhile as the boat bottom people will be busy redoing the bottom. I am not looking forward to seeing how bad it looks when they haul it out, but I guess I'd really feel bad if I was the one doing the work in this heat! Anyhow, we are down to 1 package of meat in the freezer and a half gallon of ice cream! Good planning I think! We'll have to toss or ice down the refrigerator supplies, as they won't keep unless we have somewhere to put them, and since it might be a much a two weeks, it would be kind of pricy to be buying ice everyday. I guess it all depends on where we end up freeloading staying while the boat is out!

We plan to spend Tuesday night with Tom and Becky, and from then on, everything is up for grabs. We hope to go to Furnitureland South. This is in High Point North Carolina. it would be better if we had carpet and floor samples, but since we don't we plan to focus on looking for an entertainment center like the ones here.

Well the office is closing, so I'll head back to the boat, as Jerry says, "It's too hot for anyone to even walk up the pier to buy a bag of ice, so I'm going home."

Good Intentions

I out smarted myself this morning. I packed up all the laundry, library books, and computer and went up to the office and worked on the blogs. After finishing with the computer I went to the library and on to the grocery store to get a small salad for lunch to eat as the clothes washed. Drove all the way to the place and realized (at least before I parked and unloaded clothes) that I had forgotten my quarters. In my consolidation efforts for the morning I had only taken my car key and credit cards, so I wouldn't have to carry so many bags - thus no real money.

Guess what I'll do tomorrow?

Unless we head back to the house - so we can check those lists!


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