Vacation

I took a job teaching an evening class (meets Tuesdays and Thursdays) for the summer session at the local community college. I thought it would be easy money, which it definitely is. It is more or less a computer course as all of the lessons are on the computer. I present a lesson on Tuesday evenings and on Thursday evenings the students work in the computer lab while I assist. I also am allowed to work 5 additional hours in the computer lab, so I work 10 hours/ week. The only bad part was the class began on May 10, while I was still teaching high school (my full-time job). So, I would get up at 5:00am, be at work at 6:30am until 3:00pm, then on Tuesdays I would begin work at 3:30pm until 9pm (Thursdays I worked until 8:00pm). It was pretty rough until school got out in mid-June. Now, I work 3:00pm-8:00pm until July 28.

Because of this job, I have not been able to go anywhere for a vacation. So, I went to Orlando for this past weekend. Many months ago, I heard a comic on a comedy channel on XM radio (which I listen to in the car), and he was hilarious. His name is John Caparulo. When I got home, I did an internet search for him to see if he would have any shows close to me. He was going to be at Comedy Improv in Orlando July 20-24. I wished it had been in Jacksonville, but Orlando is a 2.5 hour drive away. Close enough. A girlfriend and my son said they would go with me, and my friend suggested we go for there on Friday afternoon and stay through Sunday. So, we got tickets for July 23, got a hotel across the street from where the Improv is and that's my vacation for this summer. Orlando was pretty hot, and since we live in Florida, we have already done all of the theme parks (plus I never go to them during the hot months). We didn't do very much at all, but the comedy show was probably the funniest one I've ever been to. I laughed constantly the entire time and had tears rolling down my face. If you ever get a chance to see John Caparulo in person, do it. I would go again and again and again.



Here's a picture after the show of John, my son, and myself.

The Back Yard

I've been busy since November with upgrades for the house.  In November I put in a new heat pump with UV lights to help control organisms and help my allergies.  I am so happy with the unit I decided on (Trane).  In fact I have had 2 contractors tell me that I made a good choice.
In February I put in a new white vinyl fence.  It brightens up the back yard so much it's unbelievable.  I love it.  Again, I am happy with the choice I made.

Here is what the old fence looked like:





Here is the new fence:








I wanted to put in a concrete patio.  The dogs have made a sandbox of much of my backyard.


I tried to control the amount of sand that the dogs tracked in by putting in some concrete pavers, but it really didn't work. One day on my way home from Lowes, I was at a stop light when a man in a truck ahead of me jumped out and posted a sign about concrete patios. I wrote down him number and called him when I got home. He was at a job not far from my house, so he came over and gave me an estimate that I could afford. So, I had him pour a sidewalk from a gate to the patio. Then I was on the hunt for some patio furniture. I found a set I liked (and one that was comfortable) at Target, so I bought it.


Here are 2 pictures of the sidewalk. This one shows from the patio to the side of the yard.


And this one shows the sidewalk from the side yard to the gate.


Here is my favorite place to grade papers. If I have to work at home, then I want to enjoy my surroundings.



I just love my back yard now. I rarely went out there in the 20 years I have lived here. I went out there when we first moved in because the boys were small and liked playing back there. Then, as the boys got older, they didn't spend much time out back, and the yard just became the bathroom of the dogs. Now I go out there almost every day. As the summer approached, the yard because unbearable because of the sun. So, I decided to purchase an umbrella. A friend of mine works at Target, so I told him to let me know when they went on clearance. Then I bought it.



Here is the new sandbox the dogs have created:


I will have to deal with that next year. I'm out of money for this year. I had to have some work done to direct the rain away from my chimney. And then I found out that my chimney cap was so rusted that it could not be salvaged. Did you know a chimney cap costs $500????
Here is a before picture. You can see the mold on the side of the chimney (at the roof line) and the rusted chimney cap:


I had to replace siding on the chimney, and there was rotted siding to the left of the chimney, so I had that replaced as well.





While the contractor was working, I asked him to go ahead and replace rotted and water damaged siding on the side of my house. If you look closely, you can see the rotted siding at the bottom:



Here is a close-up of the rot:


And a close-up of the water damaged siding:



And, the finished product:



Now, I am out of money. I need to have other areas of the siding replaced. I replaced the areas that were the worse. My contractor found studs that were eaten by termites, so now I am having the pest control company that I have my termite bond with replacing studs.

I usually have some major projects to do during summer break, but after what I've done since November, I decided to just take a break this summer and relax.