June 1 - 20, 2014We took our last trip down to the house to see it and get updates. Unfortunately or fortunately the house won’t be ready till late Aug. The plasterboard was being put up, the cabinets won’t arrive till the last week of June, and Jim is quickly scheduling a lot of other subcontractors for flooring, roofing, A/C, etc. At this point, we are not getting any more bad news as there is nothing left that could be found to be fixed. We left for MI on June 7 and Hallelujah was launched on June 9. We started reviewing the winter work to find that some wasn’t completed at all, other items were not completed correctly, and a few items looked great. The pictures for June include house remodeling and Hallelujah crossing the street from the winter storage to the launch well. We spent two weeks at the marina so work could be completed and the boat restocked for this short summer. Barb went to a luncheon with work colleagues, and we both enjoyed dinners with looper friends. We hope to leave Holland on June 21 (start of summer) and head towards Ludington, MI for some engine work.
Hallelujah crossed the road to get to the launch well.
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New bedroom shaping up.
New Kitchen with Dave in Dining room door
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May, 2014May was another quiet month. We had friends over for dinner, worked on the condo, and went to the house a few times. Otherwise, we maintained our normal daily activities of swimming, biking and walking. We have found a number of excellent bike trails in Pinellas County that we enjoy riding. Most have lovely parks about every eight to ten miles so we ride from park to park and back. Of course we relax, read and playing electronic games and nap. The house is starting to be put back together – the roof is closed in, the windows went in, the plumber finished ruffing and the electrician started wiring. We also worked with the cabinet company to create the design for the kitchen and two baths. That was both exciting and frustrating but hopefully it will look great when completed. The weather has turned hot and the summer rains have started early.
Dave relaxing in county park - after 10 miles of riding.
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New front window - we love it so far!
Our contractor, Jim Aalderink in kitchen window
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April, 2014April has been a quiet month. Barb reached her official retirement age, but is happy to have retired earlyJ We ride our bikes and swim when the weather permits. We also try and walk every day. Dave has new I Pad games and Barb continues to read her kindle. We have visited the house twice this month. The new pictures suggest that the house is still in demolition mode – but actually the outside walls are now up and the roof should be enclosed by 4/25/14. The new windows will go in the week of 4/28/14. Then interior work will start. We have just about finished with all our work on the rebuild – selecting all sorts of items and colors, etc. This is the first house we have really tackled with extensive construction work and find it isn’t easy. Only one mishap so far – a fork lift drove over the air conditioning condenser –oopps. The pool has attic insulation in it so we will have to have pool work completed after construction is done – there is fiberglass floating around now. The yard is a mess but that is understandable. All in all we are looking forward to having a remodeled house, and getting back to the boat in June.
New third bedroom looking from pool area.
New master bath
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New front addition wall.
New back addition wall up with some of trusses up.
New Kitchen wall backing onto dinning room, living room.
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March, 2014Started the month be returning to Cape Coral to meet movers who moved all house furniture etc, into storage for the duration of rebuild. The house was then turned over to our Contractor. Please note that the pictures show the before and after demolition which according to neighbors took about 3 days. Yes, when we say rebuild we mean rebuild. We are enlarging the master suite and kitchen and adding a third bedroom. Of course we must bring the house up to code so all new plumbing, electric, roof, and windows. Our big event of this month besides the house was a two week trip to Maine (yes we are crazy). The weather was cold, but for the most part we missed most of the winter storms. We had a great time with family, celebrating 5 family birthdays (yes, two cakes) and Barb read to great nephew Alva’s kindergarten class. We returned to FL through a sleet and snow blizzard on the way south. We love the warm weather of FL.
The front before demolition started.
A new addition is going here to enlarge the master suite.
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Sam, Alva, and Jeanette with kids cake and adult cake.
View from living room through the back of the house. Interior walls all down, and all interior demolition completed.
The back of the house before demolition.
The prep work for adding an enlarged bath and a third bedroom.
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February, 2014
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The big event this month was the 2014 DeFever Rendezvous (see picture). Don’t know how many hours we spent on preparing for this event. But the outcome was great. Dave and I became friends with a wonderful group of people on the Rendezvous committee who all pulled together to create an outstanding event (first row: Charma, Norm, Susan, Barb, Belinda; Second row: Ron, Barb, North, Slade, Dave, Jim, Brad). This was a great group of people. Dave got two boat trips this month. He helped the Rendezvous Chair Bart Franey bring his DeFever from St. Pete to Captiva Island (a two day trip), and then helped take the boat back to St. Pete after the rendezvous. Barb packed the house while Dave was traveling. Besides our DeFever friends, we also met looper friends for dinners and lunches as this is our last month in Cape Coral till fall. We continued our library volunteer work and spent many hours on researching and selecting flooring, kitchen appliances, fixtures, etc. We also made more trips to St. Pete to take valuables up to the condo. We moved to St. Pete on Feb. 27 to live at the condo for the rest of spring.
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We were 125 strong. South Seas Resort Beach. Can't see us as we are hidden in the back row.
DeFever Cruisers 2014 Rendezvous Committee
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January, 2014January flew by, but not sure that there was much excitement in our lives. Two events do stand out. First we attended an ALGCA Gold Looper Reunion. The attached pictures are of the group that was there and the brave souls who walked the beach. We had a great time renewing old friends and meeting new ones. We also reminisced about our trip in 2010 / 2011 on the loop. The second big even was that we signed contracts for having our Cape Coral home rebuilt (not just remodeled). While we love Eloise’s house, we need to make it our own. It also is in much need of updating. So this month flew by with a number of activities. We both worked on the upcoming February DeFever Rendezvous, volunteered at the Cape Coral Library, and did a lot of cleaning out of the house. The last of Eloise’s treasures were dispersed or discarded. We spent time scanning family photos so they could be preserved. Lastly we started our list of items that we need to select for the contractor and took trips to St. Pete with our treasures that we don’t want in storage.
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Reunion participants. Dave took picture.
Walk on Beach - Temp about 50 with winds from north. Sort of cold!
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