April 15, 2020

April 6, 2020

 Joyce and I have been staying close to the house as much as possible, washing our hands often and just trying to stay safe.  We have had to go out a couple of times for a doctor appointments and to do some necessary shopping.  Yesterday we made the decision to start ordering more things we need online and only go to a store if it is absolutely necessary.

 After closing on our new home we started moving things in from our RV and the storage locker we rented.  We also had several delivery’s including our bedroom furniture, the new refrigerator and our living room furniture.

 The first thing that was delivered was our new Lazy-Boy chairs.  These guys are very comfortable and look great.

 Next Orange Park Furniture delivered the new couch and dining room set.  The couch is also comfortable and the table/chairs are beyond beautiful.

 Then the new LG refrigerator was delivered.  We ordered that from the Sears Outlet store in Jacksonville so there are a few dents but the price was right and it’s working great.

 The next delivery was our bedroom furniture from Costco.  The delivery guys put the boxes in the bedroom and living room, we signed for them and that was it.  So we spent about five hours unpacking and assembling the bed, dresser and the two night stands.  All were fairly easy to put together but the stuff was heavy and bulky.  But we got it done and we’re really happy.

  We bought the mattress at Costco a couple of weeks ago so we got that unpacked, rolled out so it would poof up and on the bed’s platform.  Since it was in a box we couldn’t try it out but it did come highly recommended by a couple we met in the store.  It is very comfortable so Joyce and I are very happy with the purchase.

 Then came the new washer and dryer from Best Buy which is a whole other story.  Best Buy has changed their deliveries due to this Covid-19 to your door.  We were able to talk them into the garage.  Dan, our Building Superintendent and his assistant Aaron came by to do the installation.  They thought that that would only take thirty minutes or so but it wound up taking them a couple of hours.  I can tell you that we rewarded them handsomely.

 Last week I had the followup with my cardiologist to go over the results of my stress test.  He said that although there is some blockage, he is satisfied that it is all good for now.

On Thursday Gov. DeSantis sent out a “stay-at-home” order in an effort to help stop the spread of the virus.  Everyone has to stay at home except for essential tasks.

 On Friday I had an ultrasound done on my legs at First Coast Heart and Vascular in Fleming Island.  I will be going back to see Dr. Kaveti on the 10th to get those results.

 In addition to all of that we had the AT&T cable and internet installed.  The internet does slow down some at times but for the most part it works good and the U-Verse cable is great.

April 12, 2020

 Joyce and I have been very busy the past days since I last wrote.  We’ve also been staying close to the house, only going out for essential shopping at the Winn Dixie and a couple of doctors appointments.  Wd did go down to Palatka for Joyce to get blood work done. While there we went and got some stuff out of our RV.  Hopefully we will be finished with that chore soon.

 We got some end tables delivered from Wayfair and got those assembled along with a new barbecue grill that we ordered from Home Depot.  On Thursday our TV/fireplace and a corner table for the dining room was delivered so we’ll get those put together in the next day or so.

 When we first moved in the house I called to setup our accounts with the utility and garbage companies.  The lady I talked to at the garbage company told me that they were running behind with delivering our containers but said that we could just put the bags on the ground for now.  After a few days Joyce called to ask about the status of our cans and was told that they don’t give us garbage cans, just recycling containers.  So Joyce had to go over to Home Depot and get a couple of them.

 Joyce had decided that she wanted to paint the kitchen and living rooms a different color so on that some trip she brought home a couple of color samples.  One was a light blue with the other being a beautiful light green.  After studying on both colors she decided to go with the green.

  When If we were at the design center we elected to not have the garage finished since the price was $2500.  We thought that we could beat that price having it done later.  So I asked Dan if he could have his painter contractor give us a quote for that job.

 So Eric stopped by and said he would do the garage paint for what we thought was a great price.  While he was here we also asked about doing the kitchen/living room and he again came back with a really great quote.  Eric said he would have his buddy who did texturing to give me a call.

 So, on Thursday afternoon Jose showed up and textured the garage walls and ceiling.  Then yesterday Eric and Freddie came and painted the garage and the living and kitchen.  We are very pleased with the way everything turned out.

 When we decided to buy this house we wanted to get a device that would help us turn it into a “smart home”.  We purchased an Echo Show 5 at the NEX Jacksonville and got that running after we moved but, we found out that model was limited on how many and the type devices it will connect with.  So we then ordered the larger and more powerful Echo Show 8.  The 5 model will work well in Joyce’s hobby room when we get that setup.

 After doing the initial setup of the Echo Show I installed the Alexa app on my iPhone.  Now we can control the thing from anywhere in the world as long as I have an internet connection.  In the coming months we plan to get devices where we can control our house lights, TVs, thermostat and more.  Shortly I am going to install a Ring doorbell so we can see who is at the front door without actually opening the door.

 Speaking of really cool technology, I ordered a module for our Rainbird sprinkler controller so that I can now talk to it with my phone.  The Rainbird app allows me to start watering, change the times we water and even adjust the programed watering times and duration of watering.

 I’m really not sure how much longer Joyce and I will continue to write this newsletter.  Since we aren’t traveling as much and not RVing any longer we really are not having “adventures” like we did before.  We’ll see.  I am considering putting all the newsletter’s in a book format.

Barry & Joyce