OK, so the season is over and it was time to go home. Well, that home anyway. I got one last flight in to put my baby to sleep for the winter and we were off.
We had planned to leave a little early this year and drive down to Knoxville Tennessee, to see our friends, Joe and Charlotte, who had moved there from California. So, on the appointed morning after we had pulled all the boats and winterized everything, we got in our canoe and paddle the 100 yards from the island to a neighbors where we had parked our vehicle. As luck would have it, it was pouring rain. Pouring rain...in a canoe.
We took a few days to get there, visiting Gettysburg, Virginia and the civil war battlefield in Antietam on the way. We had been there years ago with the younger kids but thought we would have fun this time. Sorry kids. Once in Knoxville, they took us to many local sights, much like we drag visitors to all the places we know well but are new to friends who come see us, wherever.
We took a few days to get there, visiting Gettysburg, Virginia and the civil war battlefield in Antietam on the way. We had been there years ago with the younger kids but thought we would have fun this time. Sorry kids. Once in Knoxville, they took us to many local sights, much like we drag visitors to all the places we know well but are new to friends who come see us, wherever.
Joe, Charlotte and herself
I did get to ride some very wild roller coasters and we saw some fun shows. While we got to see local museums for sure, they also treated us to a day at Dollywood, which was a cross between a Disney adventure and a homage to all things Dolly Parton.
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| My idea of a good time |
Not to be outdone, we visited the Tuckaleechee caverns, and walked 1 of the 55 miles of this cave with a room that could hold a football stadium at one end and a 210 foot waterfall at the other. We have visited caves all over the US and Europe and this baby was no slouch.
The results came back, definitively identifying the problems as an installation issue, not a manufacturing issue. Finally, after 18 months, while we were 6000 miles away in France or 3000 miles away at the island, I put my foot down and said "Time's up". Finally, they relented and gave in. They agreed to strip it and re-roof it all. I pushed to have the job begin a few days after our arrival but is now scheduled to kick off tomorrow.
OK, so we are back. Here it takes little time to settle back in and get in the groove. Pull the car cover off and wash the beast, restock an empty pantry and fridge of groceries from soup to nuts, get the phone turned back on and it's time to catch up with friends.
Almost.
Last June when we showed up at the island, we found a mouse nest in the air conditioning unit of our vehicle. We had the problem once before but after a clean up and a new filter we were good to go. In June the critters had run all the way through the vent system and we had to have the complete A/C unit removed to get at the droppings. Even then, we had to use a commercial deodorizer to remove the last of the odors.
When we got back home here two weeks ago, I found an enormous nest on top of the engine. I removed it and power washed the whole engine compartment only to find that the little #?*^5@* had chewed the electrical harnesses to the entire electronic control system of the car. 10 days of car rentals and $5,600. later, it was fixed.
As long as we were at it, we had decided that we would replace our now 'near the end of its life' water heater. $700 to $1600 for a new one, but $2000 labor to have it installed. And you wonder why I choose to do the work myself. It costs a lot of money to live like you are rich.
We are always asked in which place we would rather live and we answer that it is like asking us which one of our kids we like most. We don't know anyone who has two or more homes who really feels much different. None of us looks forward to the inevitable day we might have to choose.
That said, our home in France holds a very special place in Janice's heart, while in spite of my complaints about politics here, I continue to compare all places and things to what we have in California. It is like preferring one aspect of one kids choices over the choices of another. Ya still love them all.
One of the reasons I became a Californian *** right out of University was the bleeding edge technology that is developed here. Last night we had a launch of the Space X Dragon rocket at the Vandenberg Air Force Base near here. It was a first for the west coast, a first for night time and the first stage landed 7 minutes later, 44 yards from where it was launched....right side up on the pad.
*** It is said that a Californian is someone who is born somewhere else and then comes to his senses.
It was a spectacular show, much of it clearly visible from our living room window. Where else can you do that?
And the weather? Yet another reason I came....
By the time we get to next month's Epistle, our mid -term election will be over. While I am biting my tongue to share my opinions here, suffice it to say that if anyone needs some advice on which party to vote for, I and the entire Republican party are here for you..... :)
Projects, projects, projects....
So, what did you expect? Back home, stuff to do, improve, change... right? OK, between play time with friends, it was time to do a little work. 7 months ago, we ordered two pallets of Travertine stone tile to redo the floor in our sunken living room, our master bedroom and office to match the rest of the ground floor (kitchen, living room and entry)
This month, I started by pulling the carpet in the office and getting on the J O B there. The rest will be done in the months to come. The thing is, this was a minor start to the main event.
3 years ago, we had the house re-roofed. It was time as it was 30+ years old and the woodpeckers had had their way with the wood shake over the last few years. We were pretty well forced to replace it and did so with an architectural 3 layer composite shingles. Honestly, we were thrilled with the results which had a 40 year warranty.
I had roofed it myself the first time when I built the house, but with only 4 months available at the time before we moved on to France, it was clear I did not have the time to do it the second. (It took me 10 weeks to do it when I built the house but now the old roofing had to be stripped)
Two years after the job was done we began to find layers of the new roofing in the bushes next to the house. At first, we thought it was just remnants that had failed to be found when the post roofing clean up had been done. But then we found more. So did our staff when we were away.
I contacted the company and was told to submit a claim with the manufacturer. They in turn wanted a plethora of pictures and a full sample of the offending shingles to have their lab inspect. This went on back and forth for months, with the predictable "it's not our fault, it's the other guys fault". The problem was that as hard as anyone tried, no one could see or find where the pieces were falling from (72 triangles make it somewhat challenging) but at $30,000 for the job, we were in no mood to let it fall, piece by piece.
The results came back, definitively identifying the problems as an installation issue, not a manufacturing issue. Finally, after 18 months, while we were 6000 miles away in France or 3000 miles away at the island, I put my foot down and said "Time's up". Finally, they relented and gave in. They agreed to strip it and re-roof it all. I pushed to have the job begin a few days after our arrival but is now scheduled to kick off tomorrow.
California
OK, so we are back. Here it takes little time to settle back in and get in the groove. Pull the car cover off and wash the beast, restock an empty pantry and fridge of groceries from soup to nuts, get the phone turned back on and it's time to catch up with friends.
Almost.
Last June when we showed up at the island, we found a mouse nest in the air conditioning unit of our vehicle. We had the problem once before but after a clean up and a new filter we were good to go. In June the critters had run all the way through the vent system and we had to have the complete A/C unit removed to get at the droppings. Even then, we had to use a commercial deodorizer to remove the last of the odors.
When we got back home here two weeks ago, I found an enormous nest on top of the engine. I removed it and power washed the whole engine compartment only to find that the little #?*^5@* had chewed the electrical harnesses to the entire electronic control system of the car. 10 days of car rentals and $5,600. later, it was fixed.
As long as we were at it, we had decided that we would replace our now 'near the end of its life' water heater. $700 to $1600 for a new one, but $2000 labor to have it installed. And you wonder why I choose to do the work myself. It costs a lot of money to live like you are rich.
We are always asked in which place we would rather live and we answer that it is like asking us which one of our kids we like most. We don't know anyone who has two or more homes who really feels much different. None of us looks forward to the inevitable day we might have to choose.
That said, our home in France holds a very special place in Janice's heart, while in spite of my complaints about politics here, I continue to compare all places and things to what we have in California. It is like preferring one aspect of one kids choices over the choices of another. Ya still love them all.
One of the reasons I became a Californian *** right out of University was the bleeding edge technology that is developed here. Last night we had a launch of the Space X Dragon rocket at the Vandenberg Air Force Base near here. It was a first for the west coast, a first for night time and the first stage landed 7 minutes later, 44 yards from where it was launched....right side up on the pad.
*** It is said that a Californian is someone who is born somewhere else and then comes to his senses.
Launch (left) and landing (right)
It was a spectacular show, much of it clearly visible from our living room window. Where else can you do that?
And the weather? Yet another reason I came....
By the time we get to next month's Epistle, our mid -term election will be over. While I am biting my tongue to share my opinions here, suffice it to say that if anyone needs some advice on which party to vote for, I and the entire Republican party are here for you..... :)
