Safely Home from the Swamp with a Scalp in Our Pocket

We had nice tickets on the 10 yard line for $30. They called it the Sunshine Showdown - who made that up.

Jameis threw this last touchdown in front of us.

Lulu got up this morning at 6 AM. As we were lilting in the bed waiting for the alarm to ring she said - we don't have to go to the swamp - we can watch it on TV. If she insisted we stay home - I would have obliged - but if we were ever going to beat the Gators in the Swamp today was the day.

At 8 AM - we pulled out of the house. We took the Prius because it gets great mileage for day trips. We headed south down old Route 27 through cracker country. When we got to Cross Keys we took Route 26 east - it goes right by the stadium. Good thing we did not take the Interstate - many fans were tied up in traffic there and missed the kickoff.

Noles victory 37-7

Back on the road home by 3:30. Half way home - stopping for supper.

Game was great. Got a few nice pictures. Our seats were on the 10 with the sun behind us. Field goes north and south. Sun was in players eyes.

90000 were at the game. Gator fans were loyal - cheering to the end.

Our parking spot in someone's yard was good. Bathroom - food -drink came along with it.

From Harry@everhart.com

70 degrees feels like rain

Stadium is still filling up. No more sunshine.

Noles not doing well but ahead 3-0.

From Harry@everhart.com

Good tickets. Good parking.

Tickets section 4 row 40. 15 yard line. $30 each. Plenty to choose from. Parking $20 in someone's yard. Includes snacks. Drinks. Bathroom. 2 blocks from stadium. It was 30 minutes from kickoff.

From Harry@everhart.com

Three miles from stadium. Saw our first FSU flags.

On Route 26 east entering Gainesville.

30 miles to Gainesville.

We are cruising east on route 26 thru cracker country. Lulu is driving. We are getting 47.2 mpg.

We tapped into the lunch cooler.

120 miles gone. Still only one Seminole license plate and no flags. Clouds are higher and sun is peeking thru. Highway is empty.

From Harry@everhart.com

43 out of 144 miles

We have 27 all to ourselves. We have only seen one Seminole license plate. We stopped a roadside rest just outside Perry. Overcast here but sun pops thru every now and then. It is 50 degrees.

Lulu just took over the wheel. We are getting 45 mpg. I figure the gas will cost $20.

Go noles!

Driving Miss Lulu to Gainesville Today for the FSU at UF Thing

We will leave Tallahassee at 8 AM - getting into Hogtown around 11. We will drive the Prius with a lunch cooler in the back seat. We will have an hour to find two good tickets for the noon game. Look for us at kickoff - we will be the only fans wearing green.

Gainesville is 144 miles away. You can go there the front way or the back way. The front way is I-10 east and I-75 south. The back way is Florida Route 27 - through cracker country.

I will post messages along the way from my iPhone. If the messages stop coming - call the police.

One little Everhart factoid - one time Lulu was accepted into the doctoral program at UF. We paid one visit - she never attended a class - but we did buy the boys two Gator hats. Does that make her an alumnus?

House Day 75 - Pantry and Showers

This is a picture of the pantry shelves looking through the window on the back porch. Lulu's Black Friday shopping goodies could go here. 

The tile men were lining the showers with Hardibacker - a wet area cement board. The blue stuff is water proofing material. Notice the label - superior moisture and mold protection. 

Tamaqua by Andrew Leibenguth

Please Go To The TallyAwards Site and Vote for Gary Shiver as the Best Builder

Our new home is about 80% done. Usually by this time owners are ready to strangle their builder - but they can't find him.

Gary Shiver has been building in Tallahassee for 35 years. He does 3 or 4 homes a year. For the last 3 months he has been building a home for Lulu and I. We absolutely love the home and Gary too.

The Gross's Family Tradition - Serving Thanksgiving Dinner to 40 Stray Friends

Max - Melissa - Cassandra - Josh - Els Gross and Ron. They were last in line after everyone ate. 

I love Thanksgiving. It has so much going for it - friends and family - but there is not pressure over giving and receiving gifts. It is just good eating and conversation. Being thankful is much better than getting gifts.

Josh and Melissa Gross are two of our best friends. They do something very nice. In a college town there are lots of people here without family to enjoy the day. I call them misfits. Well guess what - the Gross's include us in that group. They serve this wonderful meal which includes pies every year. This year they made 21 pies from scratch. Many people did not believe me last year so I took photos. 

There were tons of side dishes.

Main dishes were ham - turkey - chicken.

 The pies all had names - some I never heard of. 

1963 AC Cobra

In 1963 I was 15 and I wanted one - I even wrote to Carroll Shelby the builder and he sent me a piece of sales literature. I still have that paper. At the time the car was $6000. 7 years later I would have my first real job - teaching school for $6500 a year - and never being able to afford one.

It is a simple true classic - a bare bones light British Sports Car with a high performance American V8 engine. Shelby only made 1100 of them in various states of tune. 

From Wikipedia -

History of the 1962-1967 Shelby Cobra

Carroll Shelby’s 1962 Cobra represents the pinnacle of the Anglo-American sports car, which combined a classic aluminum roadster body (in this case cribbed from a 1950s Ferrari Barchetta) with a tube space frame and lightweight American V-8 engine.

House Day 74 - Shelves - Cabinets - Tile

The pantry is lined with shelves from floor to ceiling. There is also a slot for a freezer.

It cooled down in Florida today - never got up over 60. Good thing there is plenty of work to do inside the house. 

Today Lulu and I went to Home Depot and brought all of the electrical fixtures - outlets - switches - switch plates. 

Rainy Day At The Work Site - House Day 73

iphone video

The pouring rain gives you an idea of the lay of the land. Water is contoured around the house and away from the house. The concrete foundation will be one foot above the ground level - high enough that water will not ever threaten the house - but low enough so no porch rails are required. A small ramp will easily allow a wheelchair to roll into the house. All thresholds are level - the doors are 36 inches wide. 

Tuesday - it poured on the work site since midnight. Nothing could be done outside. The tile man moved all the tiles and mud indoors. Tomorrow morning they will start tiling the bathrooms - kitchen - and laundry room. Do not forget the 1200 feet of tile on the porches. 

Gary and Gary Wayne continued doing woodwork inside - closets - baseboard - etc.

This is the porcelain tile that will cover both porches. My foot is there for comparison. The tile is colored all the way through in case it ever gets knicked or scratched. It will be set in tan grout. The brick work on the foundation will match this tile in color and grout. The tiles are 16 by 16 inches. The tile is frost proof and slip proof. 

Six Years Ago We Visited The Swamp For A Football Game - We Vowed Never To Go Again - But Here We Go

Keith and Lulu sit in the Gator Swamp end zone. Note the green sweater.

The University of Florida is in Gainesville about 140 miles from Tallahassee. It is the home of the Florida Gators Football Team - the favorite sons of the state of Florida. For years it was the boys school and got the lion's share of the state education budget. They have this giant stadium called The Swamp. Unlike Doak Campbell Stadium - The Swamp fills every game - and tickets hold their price. One going there can expect to pay near $100 a ticket.

We are going in the camper. It would be great if FSU plays Duke. It would be another Everhart Bowl.

Day 72 - Gary Wayne Was Busy Building Closet Cabinets

Harry's side of the master closet. 

Monday - The big closets will have plenty of wood shelves - cabinets - and clothes hanger rods. When they are caulked and sanded they will be painted white. Everything is built from scratch.

The weather was cold and windy outside - but it was warm and toasty inside thanks to the SucraCell insulation. Tomorrow has an 80% chance of rain. 

Grandson Visits and Turns Into a Big FSU Football Fan

Lulu - grandson - son watch their first Seminoles game together.

It all started when this little Seminole left kindergarten Friday afternoon. He was never to a college football game. As they boarded the plane at Richmond - he was super excited.

At about 5 PM - his plane touched down in Tallahassee. We picked them up in the camper with a new car seat just for the occasion. The first stop was going to be a volleyball game - the Lady Seminoles easily beat Wake Forest while we cheered. On the way home we stopped by the new building site - and we toured the construction. He knew all the rooms and features from following the job on the Internet. His voice inflections even mimicked my tour voice tone as he went from room to room. 

Painting Pop and Mum Mum's new house was pretty cool.

After a little supper - we went to bed early - getting ready for the big day that followed. 

Saturday morning started early - before 7. I was awaken by - Come on Pop - let's go down to the pond and feed the ducks. There are two old white swans that have run of the pond for at least 10 years. Every visit since he was born begins with this ritual. We have lots of pictures of this. 

House Day 70 and 71 - Painting and Cabinet Building

Primering the keystone in the window trim. All exterior trim is made of Hardiboard.

First coat of paint on the fiberglass columns. 

All that is left to do outside is painting the siding - tiling the porches - and installing the soffits. The siding is Nichiboard - a fireproof concrete product. The only exposed wood outside is the porch ceilings.

Thursday and Friday - The painters were busy painting inside and out. The first coat of color was put on the inside walls. Lulu chose blue for the master bedroom - green for bedroom 1 - off-white for bedroom 2 -and the great room is light khaki. The inside woodwork received its first coat.

Outside the first coat of white paint was put on the trim around the windows and door. The columns received their first coat of white. The porch lintels also shined. 

Meanwhile Gary Wayne was building the cabinets in the master closet.

Row 1 on the15 Yard Line - FSU Beat Idaho 80-14

My grandson attended his first Seminoles game.

Picture sent from iPhone.

Modern Librarian Training Session

Day 69 - Trial Shutter Installed - Lulu and the Garys Plan the Closets

There are 5 closets in the house. All shelves and cabinets are made from scratch. Believe it or not - here Gary - Gary - and Lulu - are in the master bedroom closet. They are laying out the fixtures. The master bedroom - bathroom - closet - laundry room - are all painted a very light blue. I think I was asked to leave the room here.

Seminoles Win Three Games Sunday - We Were There

Seminole volleyball over Notre Dame.

Basketball victory from our season tickets spot. I sold my extra pair for $10 each.

Paul and Evan Marty were on the court to receive their prize.

Stan Wilcox in black is our new athletic director. Chief Billy of the Seminole Nation  is giving him his official Seminole coat. Also the Seminole Princesses.

Lulu flew in from Hartford at 11 AM. By noon we were watching the Seminoles clobber Notre Dame in volleyball 3-0. 

House Day 68 - Building Doors From Scratch - Caulking and Painting

The painters were caulking outside when the weather allowed. They also have a first coat of paint on the inside walls and two coats of white on the ceilings. They will be doing the inside woodwork soon and then tackle the exterior.

Gary Wayne and Gary worked on the scuttle doors. 

Monday - It was cloudy and rainy. So most of the work was done under the protection of the porch or inside. 

Gary and Gary built 5 scuttle doors from scratch. Gary had some surplus pine bead board in his garage. We tried to build some doors that were similar to the scuttle doors in the Murat House. Scuttle doors are some opening that allow you access to the rafters - infrastructure - HVAC - etc. Up north we called them cubby holes. 

The painters put the first coat of paint on the inside walls in colors of Lulu's selection. Outside they caulked the cracks on the porch and around the eaves. 

Tomorrow a sample shutter will be installed. 

All the colors that Lulu selected are very light.  This is the master bedroom in light blue. This is looking east.

This is bedroom 2 in pale green. This is looking southeast.

 This is also looking southeast to show a closet in bedroom 3.

They constructed 5 scuttle doors from surplus pine bead boards. Everything is glued and nailed to keep its shape for years. 

Here is a scuttle door in place. They are about 2 feet by 4 feet. One scuttle door covers the tornado room also.

Busy Seminole Day

Iphone photo of the girls' game action

Lulu flew in from Hartford at 11 am. At noon after a hoagie we saw our volleyball team clobber Notre Dame in 3 games. Next at two our Boys beat Tennessee Martin. Now at 6 pm our girls basketball team is beating Prairie View 44-9.

-sent from my iPhone

"New Money" You Decide

About 12 years ago - the library director of Columbia SC - hired Lulu to come to do a workshop. They were paying her a handsome fee - so I went along to enjoy the state. We arrived in Columbia about 7 PM the night before the all day workshop - and the airline lost Lulu's bag. She had nothing to wear but the clothes on her back. The airline said they would have her bag in the morning.

I said "no way" - I told the airline Lulu needed a new outfit and we were going to charge it to the airline. We went to a mall - it was getting late. Lulu bought a new suit - new handbag - new underwear - stockings - and shoes. It came to about $300. 

We went to our hotel - her bag never arrived - and Lulu dressed up. She looked like Queen Elizabath with her bag and blue suit. I drove her to the workshop - we were met by Ira Thompson - the director.  When Lulu got out of the car - Ira said, "Oh you look like new money!"

I told Lulu it was because she looked like a rube dressed up after a big paycheck. She insisted it just meant you look good.

For the record - the airline paid for the outfit and did find her bag at 1PM.

Today I got this video in my email - you decide.

Saturday Morning - Caulking and Painting

The casements above the windows are made of Hardiboard. The siding is Nichiboard. Both products are made of concrete. Note the Keystones above each window. They remind us of our friends back home in the Keystone State. The exterior wood trim will be painted white. The siding will be painted dark khaki. 

This morning I carted down to the house site - expecting to be able to clean up a bit. I was surprised to find 5 painters there caulking and painting away. They had masked the interior and were done painting all the ceilings white. They had covered all the vents and lighting fixtures and the second spray coat was drying. The rest of the house will be brush painted.

Another painter was outside caulking - a second one was inside caulking the windows and baseboard. Controlling a caulking gun is an art. 

I guess the next thing they were going to do was paint the inside wood trim. I did not sticking around - I got paint on my sweat pants and wanted to shout it out. Now to get my shower and go to the Syracuse at FSU football game - Bobby and the 1993 Championship Team will be the guests of honor. I expect that one ticket will be cheap - I prefer to sit down close behind the team to see the guests.

House Day 67 - More Woodwork Done - Painters Started Inside Because of Rain

The carpenters were busy trimming the windows - doors - baseboards - steps - closets. The above window is in the northeast corner of the attic. Notice the attic walls and ceiling are white from the plaster skim coat. We do not intend to paint the attic. It would be very easy to spray the attic - just put plastic down on the floor and spray away. There is nothing in the way.  You could do the ceiling and walls all at once. 

Friday - The carpenter crew worked a half day - doing woodwork inside. Window trim - baseboard - steps trim - door trim - were the order of the day. 

The painters were outside caulking the house. Those guys can really control those guns. I am amazed they don't get that stuff all over themselves and everywhere else. When the rains started - they came inside and started masking for painting the ceiling. 

Neat Toyota Camper for $700

1986 Toyota Coachmen Motor Home

About 4 months ago I drove this neat Toyota Camper. At the time the young man wanted $3000 for it.  I would have given him maybe $1500. He has it up for sale again at $700. The only problem is the engine is not running.

The camper has a full working kitchen and bathroom.

If I were not so busy - I would buy it and fix it up. Toyotas are strong and this one is no exception. It is a 1986 model year and it would have match our 1986 Dodge 600 and  our 1986 Honda Helix.

Call him and tell him Harry sent you.

Here is the write-up -

I've got a 1986 Toyota Coachmen Rv for sale.
The good:
- All electric works
- All plumbing (except for 2nd sink) is in and works
- Has new vinyl walls, wooden floor, cab seat covers
- No leaks, mold, or rust
- Good tires
- All wiring and lights work
- Upgraded stereo system
- Has cold AC and hot heat, on both ceiling unit and in the cab

The bad:
- Engine won't start, had it towed to its current location. You'll have to have it towed or loaded to take it, and a pickup with a hitch could easily tow it. Has been on road trips before, not sure what's wrong with the engine. You'd have to take it to a mechanic, unless you're mechanically inclined yourself. It started at one point and had some engine knock, and now won't turn over. I have no idea what's wrong with it, it could be anything from a blown gasket to a faulty starter to the whole engine being blown. The inside's in nice condition though.

All in all, it's a cool rv, you'd just have to tinker with the engine. I have a clean Florida title in hand. There's a shower, two queen sized beds, two sinks, a toilet, and a small bench. It's probably worth more than this if you were to scrap it for metal and wires inside. It has a generator inside that I haven't looked at, it doesn't currently work. I know it needs a new fuse. It used to drive very comfortably, and was great on gas. It's got slightly over 80,000 miles on it, the transmission and everything mechanical worked great (when it was running). It's fuel-injected and has no leaks or emissions that I can find, and the power steering works great. For more pictures, text 9412238746 or email me. Looking for 700 cash OBO, or hit me up with anything you have to trade. The worst that can happen is that I say no.

Two double beds

Lulu and Her Library Buddies in Hartford at AASL

Lulu loves going to conventions to "talk library." Whenever I go along my eyes glaze over - these ladies love their profession. This evening Lulu had dinner with several of the librarians that were elected best in their state during the 2010 Vision Tour. 

Lulu writes - Vision Tour reunion in Hartford. Enjoyed spending time with Judi Paradis, Christine Russo, Dan Greene, Michelle Loots, and Sharon Silva. These New England school librarians will be helping in the presentation that I'm giving tomorrow at 10:15 at the AASL Conference. 

Lulu was the president of the American Association of School Librarians in 2010. 

Coal Cracker Traffic Has Increased Dramatically

This was the first story I wrote on my web page. My kids do not like me writing about them - so I have toned family business down. I publish nothing without approval. 

In 2005 - my son Drew taught me about blogger.com. It is a service that allows you to publish a free web page - and store it on their site. Google now owns the service - but they still allow it for free. I can't imagine anyone having so much space to store all this information from millions of people. 

House Day 66 - We Went Inside To Do Trim Work

House project  today at 4 PM - Quitting Time.

Thursday - the house is 75% complete. Good thing we were working indoors today because at 7AM it was 40 degrees at the site. The workers started by finishing out the attic. They installed the baseboard. They cut in 4 cubby holes or scuttle holes - simply - little doors that allow you to service the HVAC and other hardware. Then they finished off the knee wall railing. Next - they did the window trim up there. All that is left now is to install the 4 basic ceiling light fixtures and a switch.

After doing a window trim sample - then sending pictures to Lulu for her approval - they started finishing 28 windows. The trim includes side rails - a window sill - the support under the sill - and finally 3 pieces of trim to make the profile cap. 

8 inch tall baseboard was started for the first floor.  

Joe Shiver works one of the miter saws to make intricate fine trim.

Gary was trimming out the steps. Although he is the owner of the firm - he just loves to get down and dirty with the guys. He takes special pride in his finish work.

Josh was installing header profiles. 

Gary Wayne was making window sills and baseboards out of 8 inch pre-finished stock. All they need is a little caulking and a final coat of paint. 

Outside - the house needs - paint - porch tile - soffits - and brick trim around the foundation. 

This is the header profile of a master bedroom window. Notice the porch ceiling outside.

The window sills are 8 inches wide. It is made of solid one inch thick pine. The shutters will be installed inside the frame. 

ProBuilt - our supplier - picked up the excess Hardiboard and NichiBoard for full credit. 

Pine wood caps were put on the knee walls to protect the steps.

4 scuttle holes will be covered by doors made from scrap tongue and groove yellow pine boards.