Month: July 2017

Monday, July 10,2017

Today started off sunny then became cloudy then sunny again but most importantly it was cooler. Still in the lower 90’s but no triple digit heat index today. Thank you Lord! Since we got home we have had 2 thunderstorms roll through and we are now surrounded by water – only a couple of inches but the big puddle at the back of the rig is about ankle deep. Looks like we will have one more storm shortly then it should be over for a while. The soil is real sandy here so the puddles will be gone quickly. With the rain the outside temperature is now 70. Last week at this time it was still in the 90’s.  LOVE IT!

We can just accomplish so much more when it is just a little cooler like it was today. Today Max and Suzanne got the laminate flooring down in the hallway. Rita and Dave finished the base and quarter-round in the sitting room and then worked in the laundry room and closet. Morris worked on crown/trim over doors and quarter-round and helped Karen move lumber around. Karen painted trim almost all day. First it was quarter round then door trim and the crown molding. Suzanne helped paint trim after the laminate was complete. Anne helped with the laminate at times, quarter round at times, did some painting in the living room and caulked. At the end of the day, the large walk-in closet, laundry room, bathroom and it’s two closets and bedroom are complete. The sitting room just needs some touch up on the trim paint and the step painted and it will be complete.

 

 

 

A real treat today was that our construction supervisors Ann and Jeff Wade brought us a portable air conditioner. It can’t cool the entire down stairs but it makes a real difference in the area we are mostly working. The sitting room for some reason is always the hottest area. Even with a large fan it just seems the air is stagnant in that room. Thanks Jeff and Ann!! The house is really coming together now and we almost have the end in sight. We should be working on the living room laminate tomorrow, along with the crown in the hallway and hopefully some cedar in the dining room. Our homeowners are really getting excited now.

It’s such fun to see their huge smiles when they look at the completed work. If you have ever done a remodel in your house – probably took maybe 2-3 months. Remember how tired you were of the dust and dirt and disorganization? They have been living in this for 9 months now. How tired they have to be of all this. Please remember all the people effected by the flooding in your prayers. There are still many homes that need work.

Sunday, July 09, 2017

Today was another sunny day but not quite so hot. Hope the slightly lower temperature last into our work week. Heat index was about 10 degrees cooler today.

We all visited Branch Street UMC today for worship. It was an extremely welcoming church with wonderful, energetic worship. The music was great and the message as well. Branch Street was flooded last November due to Hurricane Matthew. They just got back into their sanctuary last week and still have lots of work to do before the Sunday School rooms are ready but they are slowly making progress.

 

 

After service we all went to Panera Bread for lunch and sat around in the a/c visiting afterward for a while. It was then back to the campground where everyone planned an afternoon nap. We binge watched more Christmas movies, walked for our exercise today, and prepared for the work week.

Saturday, July 08, 2017

After our busy day yesterday we decided to take it easy today. After unlocking the gate to the campground about 7am and a few regular maintenance tasks we settled down and cooked pancakes for breakfast and covered them with strawberries and whipped cream. Mmmm Good.

Then a little house cleaning and a grocery run. This afternoon we installed a sound bar under the bedroom TV. We then watched some Christmas movies since it’s July. In this oppressive heat watching Christmas in July movies in the air conditioning just seems to make it a little less hot. We also worked on some project reports that we needed to send in to the NOMADS office and then some more movies.

All in all a quiet Saturday.

Friday, July 7 2017

No sleeping in for us. We were up about 5:15 and on the road at 6:15, headed to Fayetteville. It was another wonderful sunrise. We stopped at Bojangles on the way out of town for a biscuit. Yep – not healthy but we were planning to ride 10 miles so that makes up for part of it. Right??

 

Nice drive with little traffic. There was one area on the side of the interstate that was filled with beautiful sunflowers. And then another filled with day lilies. Nice. We found the southern trail head for the Cape Fear River Trail without a problem. We weren’t the first in the parking lot. We got our bikes off the rack and hit the trail before 8:00. We wanted to get our ride in before the temperature got too high. The trail is a 5.3 mile paved rail trail through a wooded and marshy area. The trail was mostly shaded and flat but had enough hills to get a good workout. There were boardwalks and bridges and one covered bridge. Just as we started down the trail we road past a pretty deer. She didn’t seem at all afraid of us. It was a really nice ride and enough shade to make it comfortable. The Cape Fear trail is part of the East Coast Greenway, a series of bike trails that will eventually go from Maine to Key West. This was the first section of the EC Greenway we have ridden but hopefully it won’t be the last.

 

After completing our ride we went to the North Carolina Veterans Park and the Airborne and Special Operations Museum. Max was stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville several times while in the army. There was no museum at that time. We picked up a brochure on the ASOM at the welcome center when we entered NC and since Max was in Special Ops we knew we wanted to see the museum. The exhibits focus on the history of the US Army Airborne and Special Operations units from World War II to the present. It was much larger than we expected and was very well done. The admission is free, with a donation requested and is well worth a visit if you are in the area.

 

 

After the museum we crossed the street to to the Freedom Memorial Park and found a geocache to mark our visit here. We then returned to Lumberton and spent the afternoon doing laundry.  We had a nasty thunderstorm come through late in the afternoon but it gave us a really nice sunset. Nice bookends today. No plans for tomorrow yet but we will see.