The End of Winter

It has been a while since my last report on the crazy couple from the Windy City area and their excellent adventure, but things are getting sort of boring. Both toilets actually flush and refill, and they don’t wobble, rock, or leak. The faucets now work and deliver clean water at a respectable pressure. We can wash our clothes in the washer and dryer and no leaks, no breakers blowing, and the clothes come out clean and dry…small miracles. I had failed to mention before that the dishwasher did not work, but it has been replaced and works fine. The lights work and they don’t hum or turn on and off on their own (excepth the kitchen light did what it wanted to for about 3 days and then started to work right on it's own). All four burners on the stove now work, thanks to my dear old dad. There have been no well diggers, gas guys, and we haven’t seen Rusty the furnace guy for a while. Dixie has sworn off of eating door knobs. Haven’t seen a critter since before Christmas, except for one lizard. A cat got into Dixie’s dog bones, but didn’t like them and left them on the carport. They haven’t kicked us out of church yet. No vehicles have broken down (except the lawn tractor). I’m starting to like Dollar stores. You can buy graham crackers and sardines for a dollar. I wish I could report something exciting like the LP tank exploded, or the roof caved in, or we were robbed…but NOT!!! I’m just running out of catastrophes. But I wanted to let my friends and family know what’s up. So here goes.

Weather

Remember I said that we were being blamed for bringing the cold weather with us from the arctic north. Well our picture is now on the wall of all local Post Offices. We are wanted...with a significant reward... for inciting cold weather in the grand state of South Carolina.



I remember the snow of 1973. I was actually in it. I believe the snowfall was 24” in areas of South Carolina. I remember being directed off I-95 by the highway patrol because the road was closed. Eight people froze to death on the interstate because they were stuck and had no way to move. My buddy and I were told to get off the interstate at a motel called South of the Border near Florence, SC. We had to spend a couple of nights at South of the Border sleeping on the lobby floor. That was the record for the state that still stands.



Check out the '73 Blizzard

But we recently had a bit of snow that this state had not seen in a very long time. The average snowfall for South Carolina is listed as less than an inch, which translates to none or a brief flurry. Not this year…because we recently got about 6-8 years worth.












So, not only was this the coldest winter in over 25 years, but this was a year for historic snowfall.

However, I believe we might get leniency or a commuted sentence because the weather has been beautiful lately and it appears that spring is sprung.

Also, it is worth noting that my better half has figured out how to control the cost of LP gas…turn the furnace off. She is a genius. See, it works!



I’m a genius

It should be noted that my Daddy said I’m a genius because I’m outstanding in my field.



Captain Vergere Stopped by the new Vergere Estate

It looks like JJ may be a genius too!



Our baby could not make it home for Christmas. You know…business is business, war and peace, and I think he drew the short straw. So this was kind of his Christmas visit. He flew into Charleston on Feb. 27th and spent a full week with us. It was a great visit. He jumped all over helping with the yard and tree project. He spent some time shopping with his mother (I just watched from a distance). I made him an excellent home made pizza. We wish we could have done more for him, but the posse was looking for the Vergere Gang and we had to lay low. He finished the week by going to church with us…you know, humoring the old folks. But then he had to boogie to the airport. Many people later wanted to know why we couldn’t make him stay after the service to meet everybody. But he was on his way to visit his sister in Chicago. We love our kids and it is always great to spend time with them. I was also pleased that JJ seemed to really like our new estate.

Our First Party in the New Estate

The Saturday before JJ left, we invited a few family members to join us for some burgers, dogs, and the potluck food that everyone brought. It was a blast. There were kids, big kids, farts, and old farts. The Queen Bee was there.



There was a respectable showing of bubbas.




There were nieces, nephews, and family all over.











There were 45 people and 12 cars parked in the Vergere Estate. They played the bean bag game, drank beer, started a fire, drank beer, ate food, and drank beer, and talked over each other like any good family. It warmed my heart to walk into the house to see every chair filled. I think JJ enjoyed it as much as me. Thanks to everybody for coming.

The Yard

The most significant news in the yard was the tree topping. The 4 Bradford Pear trees in the back were getting so heavy they were starting to weigh down the branches and break the trees. The big oak in the back had some dead limbs and it was crowding the electric supply to the house. The pecan tree was covered with vines and had more than it’s share of dead limbs. I struck a deal with the neighborhood tree wizard, Will Galliard, and he did a great job. However, to limit the expense, I had to clean up the mess. Will dropped all of the branches and made sure they missed the fence, but I had to dispose of the mess. This ended up taking me four weeks, and it would have taken longer if JJ, my Eagle Scout pyromaniac, hadn’t helped me almost everyday he was here. Poppy (my dad) came after JJ and provided the additional needed help. Thanks guys!

Before Cutting



After Cutting and Before Cleanup



After Cleanup








A Few Mishaps

I can't leave you without listing a few problems. I mean we haven't reached the "We're all set" stage just yet. When the well was finally finished and when we were sure it would work, we needed to get serious about some plumbing problems. One of the worst was the master bath. The toilet was about to fall over and the sink faucet would barely dribble water. It turned out that the toilet flange was broken and the cutoff valve to the toilet was broken. I replaced the cutoff valve, but on discovering that the toilet flange was broken, I also found that the soil pipe stuck up above the floor 3/4", hence it would wobble no matter what. I had to grind the cast iron soil pipe down most of the 3/4" and replace the flange. I also had to replace the rusty air vent and a few wall tiles that fell off the wall. All I can say is that I hate plumbing, and what a mess. When I finally got the aerator off the sink faucet, the water ran black for 5 minutes. I managed to get a picture before it ran clear. All is well in the bathroom now. All toilets do not wobble and all faucets deliver clean water at a good pressure.

The Master Bathroom



The Sink Ran Black for a While



We also had to replace the dishwasher. The old one was filling with water from yet another faulty cutoff valve. The door had been broken and it would not shut or work at all. The old dishwasher when opened was the most disgusting thing I ever saw or smelled in my long life. I have a strong stomach, but this was a test. There was one other problem. The ceramic tile floor was installed after the dishwasher. So I would have to remove the floor or the countertop and all of the plumbing including the garbage disposal to get the new dishwasher in. After a long meditation, I chose to replace the floor. There is no grout and after 5 hard swings with a sledge hammer I finally put a small chip in one of the ceramic tiles. This will not be fun. I do have the dishwasher in however, and it is so nice to be able to put the dirty dishes away.

The Disgusting Old Dishwasher - Slime, Mold, Stink and All


The New Dishwasher All Installed



Removing the Old Floor



The big news latey is Spring. I am anxious to get a blog out for the glorious spring. In the meantime I am way behind getting this blog out, I am suffering from some bad poison ivy (never used to be alergic), my lawn tractor is broke and will only turn left and not right, and we badly need rain. But when I look out at all of the blooming trees and azaleas that grow like weeds, and the weather is perfect and we're using no LP gas to speak of and the electric bill was $100, I just can't help but...Thank God I'm a Country Boy!!