Happy New Year Everyone! I took a week reprieve from writing in my blog to do other things for a change. This past week has been unusually cold for Dublin. Not only unusually cold at night, lows in the teens or low 20s but during the day in the 30s. There was a forecast for 50% chance of snow one day last week. I got humor in the fact that the locals were running to Piggly Wiggly stocking up on supplies like some blizzard was coming and was going to bury the town for days!
Most of the locals have probably never seen or experienced a real snow blizzard with white out conditions, 'black ice' and snow and snow drifts measured in feet, not inches! I have experienced all that growing up in the mid-west and most recently back in 2004. Many of those experiences were nothing to laugh about.
When I lived in Atlanta, it took me 16 hrs when the drive is normally 8.5 hrs from my house to my mom's home in Indiana. The worst possible driving conditions in one day on the Christmas holiday had my nerves frazzled but I managed to keep my wits about me in order to get to Indiana without wrecking my car or having to abandon it. My ice scraper broke, I ran out of ice melter, my windshield wipers and the nozzles that squirt the water to clean the windshield froze up. Because the weather was so bad, every store, gas station and restaurant were closed. So every few minutes or so, I had to pull over to the side of the road to clean the windshield so I could see where I was going.
In the one day as I was traveling from Georgia through TN, KY and southern IN, I experienced, light rain, drizzle, sleet, freezing rain, mix of rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow and ending with blinding snow with white out conditions as I approached Louisville, KY and into southern Indiana. Cars and semis were abandoned on the side of the road, in the medians, the on and exit ramps all along I-65 northbound. This mess was on the national news. My oldest brother met me in Seymour, Ind to make sure I made the last leg of the trip home safely. I had about another 30-45 minutes of driving in those conditions to go. That was probably the worst winter driving experience I ever had. So when you see on the news, all that snow, ice and accidents galore, be appreciative that Dublin most likely will never have to deal with those type of conditions but just a little cold so that you don't rub in the faces of your northern neighbors that you are sunning in 70 + degree weather or working in the yard in shorts and a t-shirt!
The record cold weather has not affected our comfort at the Capt Hardy Smith house. So glad we got that central air and heat installed. This time last year, we lived in one room with space heaters trying in vain to keep warm. Look how far we have come in one year. Central air/heat, electricity and a new bathroom! We went from living in the 19th century to the 21st century in a matter of months!
In the bathroom, the linen cabinet doors have been rebuilt and will be hung tomorrow afternoon. Four remaining lighting fixtures have yet to be hung, both ceiling fans in the master bedroom and office, the downstairs hall light and two additional lights for the bathroom. Once the electrician comes out to hang those lights, the linen doors hung and the shower doors replaced, everything will be done for that portion of our project. We still have some money left and plan to use what is left to begin work in the kitchen. The floor is our main concern then appliances (dishwasher, refrig, sink) and some cabinetry, if we can squeeze it in on the money we have left. We have until the 21st to book the work.
Because it has been so cold, I have had to lay blankets down on the floor in the master-bedroom every night to keep the cold from seeping through the hardwood floor. Remember the house sits up on flint rocks and there is no buffer between the floor and outside to keep us warm or cool. Because of the extreme cold, there have been noticeable minor cracking in the wood due to the temperature changes. The painting of the bathroom continues and the first coat of light blue should be completed by today or tonight.
Enjoy the pictures of the day from the Hardy Smith house. Keep checking back for updates as the renovation continues.
Today, a friend of John's came by and installed heavy duty plywood to the kitchen floor to get it ready for laminate flooring. We plan to install porcelain tile at a later time. Tomorrow, we plan to go look at kitchen cabinets and laminate flooring. If possible, with the remaining construction funds, we plan to get the plumbing done for the kitchen. So later, when we buy the appliances, all we have to do is hook them up and we are good to go.
