December 1, 2019

November 15, 2019

 Yesterday we drove up to Jacksonville for our appointment at the Richmond American Homes Design Center.  We met by Cara, our design specialist, was our guide through the process of the final design of our new Azure model home in Rolling Hills.  Our appointment was scheduled for four hours and Cara assured us that we would need every bit of that time.

 After a brief explanation of the process Cara jumped right in with the flooring options.  One of the incentives that we already had already included was a complete kitchen/wet areas upgrade that included tile flooring, 42 inch cabinets and granite counter tops.  But hold on Ke-Mo-Sha-Bee, Cara had much more to show us. How about tiling the great room instead of carpet. OK, let’s do it.  That will be only $700 more please.  Did you know you can choose the color of grout for the tile?  Yep, and the kazillion colors they have are all named too.  We chose Urban Putty.  Who the heck comes up with this stuff anyway?

 Moving right along, we upgraded the counter tops to quartz, picked white cabinets, selected soft close drawers/cabinets and a pull-out trash bin.  With that package we also  chose a really cool under counter mounted sink along with an upgraded faucet.

 Next we met with the electrical systems designer (I had no idea there was such a person) who discussed the wiring options for the TV outlets, data cables and electrical plugs.  We went with the basic package but added a couple power plugs.  BTW, we could have had the whole house wired for surround sound, security systems and internet access all for for a nominal fee.

 I’m not going to bore you with all of the details but we made upgrades for the toilets, bathroom counter height, tile in the master bedroom shower, wiring for pendent lighting over the kitchen island plus several other things.  All-in-all we spent four and a half hours with Cara and spent about $18,000.

November 17, 2019

 The temperature’s are really cooling down here in northern Florida.  Yesterday the high was around 57 and it got down to 45 last night.  I even had to break out the long pants.

 Yesterday we went to Jacksonville to Skyler’s football game and then had lunch at Chuey’s.

November 18, 2019

 Yesterday was Skyler’s 8th birthday Joyce and I along with Michelle, Skyler, Abigail and a whole bunch of kids went to the Urban Air in Jacksonville to celebrate.  This place is perfect for kids to celebrate birthdays or just for a day out.

November 19, 2019

 Yesterday day was a full day for Joyce and I.  After having breakfast we drove up to Jacksonville (again) to drop off the paperwork for our home loan.  Since we were already in JAX we decided to do a little shopping.

 The fist stop was at the Lazboy gallery to shop for chairs and couches.  After sitting in and trying out what I think was every recliner in the store we finally settled on the Douglas model.  Joyce will get her’s with all the bells and whistles and mine will be without the movable headrest.  We liked one couch but are going to look some more for that.

 Next we stopped by the Annie Oakley’s Wood Furniture Gallery to look at their bedroom sets.  Mike said that the company has been in business and in the same location for 32 years so if we like something we can get other pieces to match very easily.  We really liked the McKenzie Bedroom Collection from Whittier Wood Furniture based in Eugene, Oregon.  We also liked the Select line by John Thomas.  Annie’s also carries Amish furniture that really impressed Joyce.  Me?  Their prices were outstanding.

 Ya gotta have a mattress to go with a new bedroom set so we drove less than a mile to the Mattress One store.  We tried out several brands including Temper-Pedic, Sternes and Foster and Sealy.  The one that impressed us the most was the Tempur-Adapt Medium Hybrid.  A close second was the Sealy Posturepedic Performance Hybrid Copper II.

November 27, 2019

 On the 24th Joyce, Michelle and I went out for brunch at O.C White’s for brunch.  Very slow service and the food was just OK.  Don’t think we will go back.

 Later we went out for supper at Creekside Dinery to celebrate Joyce’s birthday.  All the food was delicious and we had really good time.

 On Monday Joyce and I went up to the NAS Jacksonville Hospital to talk to the Tricare folks about getting medical care there.  The lady told us that we would have to seek medical care in the civilian community due to lack of enough doctor’s on station.  She did move us from the West-Region to the East Humana provider and gave me a list of civilian provider near Green Cove Springs.

 After that chore was taken care of, we stopped by Best Buy in Jacksonville to check out the TV’s and a Ring doorbell systems.  We picked up the Ring Doorbell Pro with the Echo Show 5 package that was on sale for a really good price.

 Yesterday morning Joyce went to the Tricare web site to print out a new benefits card and discovered that she had been transferred to Tricare Direct and that I was her dependent.  What the heck?  So we drove back up to NAS Jacksonville to get that mistake fixed.

 The lady who helped us did a lot of “fixing” and after almost an hour got it fixed.  She also printed out another list of network doctors in the area.  She told us to stop by Out Patient Records to make sure that Joyce is under my Tricare For Life benefits.  The lady there had to do some more finagling to make that happen.  Hopefully all is well now.

 All of that is necessary if we want to get our medications for free and establish medical care in the Green Cove Springs area.  We plan to also move our Veteran Administration residency to the Jacksonville Outpatient Clinic.

November 29, 2019

 Yesterday we went over to Michelle’s for Thanksgiving Dinner and I can tell you we all ate way too much.  That said, it was good to break bread with family and friends.

The cooks hard at work.

December 1, 2019

 Joyce caught a bug a few days ago and has been coughing and wheezing a lot.  She has been taking some medications and that has helped but not enough to make her want to go out and do anything.  So, yesterday morning we decided to cancel our cruise out of Fort Lauderdale.  Royal Caribbean will refund all of the cost that she used to upgrade our January cruise and then add a 3-day on the end of that one.

More later.

Barry & Joyce