RichC | October 17, 2020
While Brenda and I zipped to Florida for a couple planned vacation get-away days, our family enjoyed the autumn weather change in Ohio. Taylor treated Megan to a birthday evening with a romantic evening and a fire in our outdoor fireplace and the Oostra family headed to Hocking Hills and a little hiking — Katelyn, […]
RichC | June 28, 2020
Flew on the airlines for the first time since COVID19 to Florida via Baltimore (photo BWI terminal above) last week and thankfully the flights and negotiating the airport was uneventful. Besides a computer glitch which backed up lines on check in, everything else went smoothly. It is yet to be seen if the rise in […]
RichC | November 9, 2019
When chatting about our recent vacation to Florida with a long time customer (friend) in Akron, Ohio, he asked why we picked Delray Beach, Florida as an area to buy a condo (I detected he is beginning to think about retiring). Although I realized that I really haven’t given much thought to how we ended […]
RichC | October 27, 2019
There were a few extra photos and some video of Brenda swimming on my iPhone from our Delray Beach, Florida vacation last week, so I’ll archive them and make a Vacation Part 3 post (Part 1 and Part 2). Nothing spectacular … but viewing the video and listening to the water and wave below is […]
RichC | October 26, 2019
One of the more enjoyable aspects of maintaining a personal blog of desultory nature is that I’ve been able to include some of our trips, traveling and vacations over the years. It would have been nice to have had a searchable “highlight-reel” record from all of our traveling prior to 2005, but then the digital […]
RichC | October 23, 2019
The subject line is probably misleading since “vacation” and “finishing the upholstery and cleaning” probably are contradictory … but the few days at a time updates on the condo this past year needed to get finished up before our winter renters arrive. Thankfully Brenda and I scheduled a couple weeks in October to be in […]
RichC | September 26, 2019
For those who follow or check on MyDesultoryBlog.com regularly, you know my daily musings are split between posts on a variety of newsy and topical interest items … and personal goings-on and project updates. This week has been pretty much all personal with a recent trip to check on Encore and work on Condo1718 updates. […]
RichC | September 25, 2019
Following up on my weekend post and a few of the projects that I’m trying to complete (or get started) during my few days in Florida is the “somewhat new to me” upholstery project. It has bogged down my to-do list schedule, but I was able to get the master bathroom corner mirrors and glass […]
RichC | September 1, 2019
Well they don’t look like much yet, but I’ve been working on the corner mirrors for the Condo1718 master bathroom update. The mirror will be 15” by 38” and will have a 1/2” beveled edge – Brenda’s request ($$). The planned framing will be 3/4” Mosaic tiles that my wife will be trying for the […]
RichC | August 14, 2019
Our current NetGear Nighthawk R7000 router has been exceptionally stable considering the issues I’ve had with cheaper routers and networked devices in the past. I’m pretty happy with it, but in order to get solid coverage, had to add a WiFi Range Extender to cover the detached garage and poolhouse (and yet still have weak […]
RichC | July 17, 2019
Finished up the vanities in the master bathroom at the condo this past weekend and all went well in putting in 5 new valves and 2 drains. I shocked even myself in that all “went as planned.” Unfortunately the struggle began when mounting the polymer rather than wood molding across the back to top off […]
RichC | July 15, 2019
My wife does not appreciate the common everyday American branded sinks, vanities or faucets … and wanted something a little more unique for the Condo master bathroom (sort of like the other bathroom update last year – see photo at bottom of post). I really didn’t think that much about it until realizing that not […]
RichC | May 19, 2019
Working on remodeling projects away from home a few days at a time really seems to stretch a project out (photo – flying home from Fort Lauderdale FLL last night – I was checking out the FULL anchorage at Lake Sylvia from the plane). Thankfully both Brenda and I have always enjoyed the hands-on projects. […]
RichC | May 11, 2019
Although I regularly sharpen our "home" kitchen knives in my workshop and maintain the edge with a "steel" (love to try ceramic rod) … but that was not possible last week in Florida. I noticed when cleaning up the condo and starting the master bathroom update after the winter lease ended, that the new kitchen […]
RichC | May 10, 2019
Last year’s Condo1718 update to the kitchen and guest bathroom was a bit more ambitious than this year, but so far it doesn’t seem like it. Mentally I had my timetable worked out and figured the demolition wouldn’t take all that much. Well really it didn’t, but after finding a few things not where I […]
RichC | April 18, 2019
It is Thursday before Easter and besides thinking about a Throwback Thursday post, it is also Maundy Thursday – the day in which Christian’s commemorate the Last Supper. It also reminds me of the times we would get together with our families on or around Easter. Sometimes it was with my parents and other times […]
RichC | March 23, 2019
Although I’m fond of shopping online for convenience, selection and to compare prices … I’m becoming increasingly frustrated with accuracy in fulfillment of merchandise being shipped by “prime” but from an third party vendor. In a recent order, I not only received the wrong product, but also an obvious opened and returned product (the correct […]
RichC | February 19, 2019
After working on both the condo guest bathroom and kitchen last year in Delray Beach, Florida, I’m hoping to work on the master bathroom when we vacation this year. Our renters have emailed just how pleased they are with the new updates and suspect they will rent again in 2020? At one time I planned […]
RichC | December 8, 2018
Read up a little bit more on upholstery last weekend while in Florida while thinking about a couple possible projects. I’m not sure about tackling something as big as a couch and loveseat (slideshow below), but perhaps a couple chair pillows and condo dining room chair cushions are do-able? My projects in the past have […]
RichC | December 3, 2018
Only one little piggy had a bad day down in Florida. It was unusual for me, but decided to wear the Sperry watershoes rather than leather boat shoes while working on Encore … basically just cleaning and getting her back to pre-hurricane prep form. Unfortunately we have not been sailing enough to justify even owning […]
RichC | December 1, 2018
During the last trip to the condo, we enjoyed the fruits of our 2018 labor – our recent kitchen and bath updates. As is the norm for us, we discussed future projects, like updating the master bathroom too, since it looks stodgy compared to the guest bathroom. So IF we don’t find a buyer for […]
RichC | October 28, 2018
After Katelyn, Drew and Annalyn headed for home after our vacation together, there were a couple improvements that still needed to be done on the condo. Katelyn helped with deciding on the under cabinet kitchen LED switch location and after using the remodeled guest bathroom in the condo suggested we could use a couple more […]
RichC | October 8, 2018
The new low cost Wyze Cam Pan that I bought to put in the Delray Beach Condo arrived this past weekend and so opted to set it up temporarily at home. So far so good with the image and impressive panning control with even motion tracking (less impressive though). The reason I chose the Wyze […]
RichC | September 25, 2018
It has been a slow condo1718 updating and remodeling process with spending only a week here and there in Florida … but after driving down to Delray Beach one more time last week, I was able to install the new "delayed" 250 lbs of shower doors (saved photo for damage), finalize the vanity, and sink […]
RichC | August 11, 2018
Likely I’m not the best driver when it comes to not glancing at my phone in the car, but I am improving and in recent years am trying not to "read" or "text anything." Unfortunately we still have drivers who are "comfortable" (leg up???) with multi-tasking while driving. Ugh. I spent a few more days […]
RichC | July 20, 2018
I’ve been using the Wyze Cam to keep an eye on our Florida condo for a couple of months now … and besides an issue with a low-cost router overheating, it has been excellent. I’ve been thinking about adding a second one with the adjustable viewing angle, but it is not on the high priority […]
RichC | July 17, 2018
It is shocking to see our granddaughter Annalyn growing and maturing so fast. I remember hearing that same thing from my parents about Katelyn and Taylor, but never really gave it much thought besides “it is probably what all grandparents say.” Just watching her dexterity and skill at “blowing bubbles” has me realizing she will […]
RichC | July 5, 2018
Well finishing the kitchen upgrade at the condo was my goal, but since Brenda was with me, more than the condo kitchen was worked on! The guest bathroom’s minor vanity update grew into a MUCH larger project. One thing lead to another and before I knew it, my wife had me doing more tile than […]
RichC | June 8, 2018
We have a disliked old style medicine chest in the Florida condo and after the kitchen project is finished, Brenda and I wouldn’t mind updating the bathroom. We have picked out some floor tile (while looking at kitchen backsplash tiles) and intend to us a credit with IKEA for the new sink and cabinet. (BTW […]
RichC | May 31, 2018
Since the Quartz countertops were finished early and I was still available for the install, it was time to move on it now. Better to have them installed than stored somewhere until my next trip to Florida (a few more photos for the Condo1718 archive below).
RichC | May 30, 2018
Adding a few more gadgets to the condo update this weekend as we are one step closer to getting it looking as if we’ll have a kitchen again … or at least a livable abode for the winter renters (or next owner). Hopefully the few extra upgrades I have opted to add will not go […]
RichC | May 29, 2018
Spent a little more time working on the condo kitchen over a stretched Memorial Day weekend since a replacement range needed to be received (gas version was shipped by mistake on first order). Thankfully was also able to get the templates made for the countertops after adding the stub wall support and some final cabinet […]
RichC | May 1, 2018
New tools are my jewelry when it comes to presents … and Brenda agreed to buy me a new 12" Hitachi sliding compound miter saw so I could more easily work on a couple of projects (after promising to do them this year). Hm, what have I gotten myself into??? The first project is to […]
RichC | April 29, 2018
Don’t you just hate making a long drive and getting stuck in a long traffic jam? This past week I ended up sitting and inching forward for over an hour while on I-75. It was frustrating knowing just how many more hours I was planning to spend on the road. On a much lighter note, […]
RichC | April 14, 2018
This past week has been a busy one for me. I was off to Florida for a few days to check on the condo in Delray Beach after our winter renter and to start the demolition of the kitchen. It is a project that is way past due and I’m not sure I know exactly […]
RichC | August 26, 2017
A month or so ago I blogged that the small little chameleons that ran around the condo in Delray Beach, Florida have grown up and "moved next door" … BUT thankfully they are not the ones this homeowner in Australia deals with! Yikes! Photo (above) from July 2017 at the Delray Beach, Florida condo — new […]
RichC | July 14, 2017
This past week while in Florida to do a little boat work, as well as a repair item at the Delray Beach condo, I noticed several new residents – hm? We have always had itty-bitty chameleons, but never the big lizards (or perhaps “medium” sized ones). This was a new surprise for me as I […]
RichC | March 2, 2015
Just as it was in the French Revolution, I’m back and forth telling A Tale of Two Cities and “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” so to speak. I spent the weekend taking care of a condo rental issue in Delray Beach, Florida and of course was staying on […]
RichC | March 18, 2014
In wrapping up the “work trip” (cough, cough) down to Florida … I figured the trip would not be complete without at least a walk on the beach. Sunday afternoon sunshine made a good excuse to see how the sand felt on my feet – nice (panorama with the iPhone 5 above – click for […]
RichC | November 12, 2013
The excuse I made for putting the boat in the water this week was that I would purchase a new refrigerator and have it installed in the Howard family condo before our snowbird tenants arrive in January. Sounds like a simple enough plan, right? Not so this week. The buying was easy enough as I […]
RichC | June 20, 2008
Ok, so I used ChaCha.com to figure out the spider in this post, but its a bit more challenging for a ‘non-snake’ loving guy to figure out what this snake is? We’re in south Florida if that is any help, but I wasn’t going to inch close enough to this fellow/lady to try and figure […]
