Third Time's A Charm?

After the first two experiences I must admit, I had my doubts! 

Where was my FAITH?

Matthew 8:26

And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

I doubted their ability. I doubted what they were saying. 

Having had my fair share of being schmoozed before, my guard tends to go up before a pray can be said. Before I could even write a note to say a pray, I was overcome with seeing it answered before I even asked.

I am so very blessed that these laborers kept coming back to fix what they didn't get right the first time, or even the second time. They could have refused to come back, or the company could have sent other guys out, or maybe they didn't have other guys to send out. What ever, or however you want to believe it, these guys, they were the answer to my prayers. They wanted to do it right and I am so happy they stuck with it (and me) to achieve the end result. 

Against all recommendations, they believed they could get the cabinets back into place without taking off the granite or separating the cabinets. I silently prayed to believe in them too!  

Look what they did! 

I am beyond happy, I'm ecstatic! 

I am also very, very relieved that the part of this job, and the one that worried me the most, is over. I really, really didn't want to have to take apart the entire kitchen, to replace all the granite if this side broke. Really, like I would be the one doing the actual work! It's just that sometimes, when you take something apart, there's a good chance it might not go back together the same way. 

They told me it would go back together and would be like new! Why couldn't I believe in them? Why did the kitchen go back together the way it did when other professionals said it couldn't, shouldn't, and would possibly crack or break the granite?

WHY? I believe it has a lot to do with my continued daily prays on not just that, but with my issues over this trust stuff, are being heard also. Something I have been working hard on, and something I will continue to work on. 

The dictionary defines trust as “a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something”

Most of my prayers don't always go unanswered. Sometimes they are prayed on for many different periods of times before answers are presented. Some may not be answered the way I had hoped they would be answered, but answered all the same. Prayers have no time limit or expiration date. They are answered when they are, and when that happens, I am not shy to say, "That was a God moment!"

As my kitchen continues to look more like a kitchen again, I will keep my eye out for more answered prayers along Our Journey Through LIFE!

Still "2 weeks" on the flooring!

Praying!

And So It Begins!

I'm really not a rookie when it comes to home repairs, or remolding, but this reconstruction or restoration from a flood seems to be something completely different!

I am not one to hoover over the workers as they work, but I will inspect their work when they are done. That being the case last evening after they had cleaned up and left. Yes, I said they cleaned up! Every dust of saw dust, piece of wood, to even dusting the cabinets and counters within the kitchen. Every morning they have put up a plastic barrier to contain the dust, and every evening they take it down as well.

The minute they left I walked out to the kitchen to see what they had accomplished for the day. As I walked on the area of flooring they replaced, I had a feeling something just wasn't right. It felt weak and it didn't line up with the existing underlayment. Plus there were big, I mean like 1/4 in gaps, at the seams and one corner was broken. Plus he used 4 different pieces like he was doing a puzzle of some kind.

I addressed my concerns with hubby when he got home and he confirmed my suspicions. If the floor doesn't go down perfect, the cabinets won't fit right, creating a domino effect that could possibly crack the granite. He just couldn't believe they thought this was acceptable! First thing the next morning he was on the phone to them.

One can wonder when you receive comments like, "That's how we do it all the time!" Self leveler will fix the problem!" Well, just because that is how you have been doing it doesn't make it right. And that self leveler they planned to use, said right on the package not to be used on particle board. "That's a manufactures suggestions because they don't want to be liable, we use it all the time!" he said. He will need to figure something else out because that is not going down on our underlayment.

After a call to hubbies contractor brother, we made the right call! We will relay the product information to the foreman on Monday.

Now back to how the rest of the morning went. After the foreman had made a few calls they began removing everything that had been done the day before. Imagine our concerns when it was pulled up. The laborer hadn't even used the proper thickness of underlayment and used over a half inch of shims on the joist trying to bring it up to the right height. We just shook our heads! The foreman apologized for the below standard work and immediately had them replace it ALL with the proper underlayment.

We are so HAPPY with what we came home to last evening!

Today we looked at flooring and paint. Picked out the new dishwasher and bought new air vents for the kitchen, bar area, and dining room.

5 days later, they still said "2 WEEKS!"

Our Journey Through LIFE while under reconstruction!

It's Been Kind of "CRAZY" Around Here!

In fact, the month of July has been the CRAZIEST!

I might add that it was "Wonderfully" CRAZY most the time! The first half was just as CRAZY as the second half of the month. There might have been some CRAZY hot during the month, but when my heart is overflowing with the love of the family, it just chills my soul!

I'm just as CRAZY in love with the family we had visiting the last 2 weeks of the month as much as the family we had visiting the beginning of the month. Half of them were here for 2 weeks and the other half for a week!

I've been entertained beyond my wildest dreams!

Though it had been a year since we last got to hug on them, when they got here, it's was like we had just seen them. Love has no boundaries or distance or time. It's just a forever thing.

Try as we might, schedules just didn't work out for all ten "Grand's" to be here at the same time. Boy would that have been CRAZY! A CRAZY I wouldn't mind experiencing though. I am just so happy we had the time we did and look forward to the next time. (Which is constantly being planned out, just need dates to fill in the blanks!) For now I soak up every moment available.

Their days were full of visiting with family and as many of their friends as possible, along with many barbecues, lots of swimming, and oh so much more.

I miss them already!

As if this CRAZY love wasn't enough, my dishwasher decided to become a CRAZY waterfall two weeks ago, constantly dumping tons of water before my son could get the water turned off. No, there was not a mouse! Just an old dishwasher that decided this week, with a full house of company, was a good time to join the appliance heaven. It took 5 days just to dry out the mess it made.

Plus, I guess it had been leaking for a while prior to the waterfall, creating some black mold which had to be removed properly. Thank God for giving me the thoughts to take pictures. It showed how dry the floor was just a few months ago. This was definitely a dishwasher malfunction that the insurance adjuster said happened over the last month to 6 weeks, with the waterfall event being the final breaking point.

So my kitchen looked like this for a few days while they did the first stage.

In fact, is looks like that again today as they begin reconstruction. While signing papers yesterday to approve the work, a few movies went through my head as I heard the words
"2 Weeks!"

Like in Total Recall!

I sure hope it doesn't become the 2 weeks like in The Money Pit

Did you think that was all the CRAZINESS going on around here.

Hubby has been CRAZY busy for a summer. I am by no means complaining. With my health being funky, and him being busy, getting away and out of the heat hasn't really been an option other then that last day trip we took over to San Diego. Having had an employee out with a broken ankle for 2 weeks had been the CRAZIEST part. The temporary help provided didn't drive and was claustrophobic, making crawling under a house for an install out of the question. Being flexible was important, plus having understanding customers really helped. Through all the challenges, I believe this July was a record for us compared to other years. Win, Win, right! CRAZY how those things work out.

As if the CRAZY monsoon weather we have been experiencing wasn't enough either, now I am once again experiencing some more CRAZY, because we finally found some time to get away for a WEEK and the reconstruction just so happens to land right in the middle of it. There will need to be some compromising because we ARE going to get that brief vacation in before season starts, one way or another!

Just another CRAZY time on Our Journey Through LIFE!

#ClickenMomsHunt16

This year I tagged 61 items and submitted 88 photos.  I am very pleased with the amount I got this year. I had so much fun!

I am by no means a professional photographer. I don't focus on the settings at all. I use auto focus 99% of the time. I just enjoy playing with my camera which is a Canon Power Shot 5X50HS. I love it! It captures so many of our precious memories. I have shot through windows, while going 75 miles per hour, through a cyclone fence, even from an airplane window! I take hundreds, if not thousand, of pictures sometimes, and if I am really lucky, I get a few dozen awesome photos. Okay, maybe more now that I have become comfortable with what I can do with it. I am thinking, and sometimes I can think on something for a long time, but I would like to take a photo class. I have also seen photo seminars that sound really interesting. Not the online type, but location ones where you walk around a specific place taking pictures with a professional sharing tips. They had one in Tucson a few years back. I will have to research this again now that my health is plateauing to where a journey like this just might be possible.

#Giraffe

#Globelight

#Soaked

#Splash (We did a lot of splashing this month)

 #Campfire

#Crouquet

#SlipnSlide

#Skateboard

#Skateboard

#Sailboat #Sunflare

#Tropicalprint

#Strawhat

#Grilled

Looking forward to doing it again next year!

Great way to capture Our Journey Through LIFE!

TAG YOUR PHOTOS #CLICKINMOMSHUNT

[x] apple pie a la mode
[x] backyard
[x] balloons
[x] baseball field
[x] beach ball
[x] berries
[x] binoculars
[ ] bubblegum bubble
[x] buddies *
[x] camper *****
[x] campfire
[x] candy apple
[x] canoe
[ ] cartwheel
[ ] circus tent
[ ] clothespins
[x] cloud watching *
[ ] coconut
[ ] craft fair
[x] croquet
[x] daisy

[ ] diving board
[ ] earthworm
[ ] face paint
[x] firetruck

[x] fireworks **

[ ] fishing pole

[ ] flamingo

[ ] flippers 

[ ] flower chain

[x] food truck

[ ] fresh herbs

[ ] frisbee

[ ] gardener
[x] giraffe
[x] globe lights **
[x] golden hour *
[ ] grilled
[x] headband
[x] high five
[x] hiking trail
[x] home grown
[x] horse
[ ] hotdog vendor
[ ] ice cream shop
[x] inner tube
[ ] kettle corn
[x] kite flying ***
[ ] ladybug
[ ] lakeside

[x] lawnchair

[ ] lemonade stand

[x] lighthouse **

[ ] log cabin

[ ] margarita

[x] marshmallow

[x] melon

[ ] melt

[ ] merry-go-round

[ ] mini-golf

[ ] monkey bars

[x] national flag *

[x] outdoor dining

[x] palm tree

[x] party

[ ] peaches

[x] petal

[ ] picnic basket

[x] pier

[ ] pineapple

[x] pinwheel

[x] raindrop

[ ] red rover

[ ] roasted

[x] rollercoaster

[x] sailboat *

[x] sandals

[x] skateboard

[x] slip-n-slide

[x] soaked

[x] splash *******

[x] stars

[x] straw hat

[x] summer breeze

[ ] sundae

[x] sunflare 

[x] swim 

[ ] swing

[x] tank top 

[ ] teal

[x] toes

[x] tractor

[ ] trampoline

[x] tropical print

[x] underwater *

[ ] waffle cone

[x] waterfall

[x] water balloon

[x] wheelbarrow

OH! What a Night!

It all began Friday night and after midnight, so I guess I should say "OH! What a Morning!"

Hubby woke me sometime after saying the winds had taken out the power. He had the generator hooked up on the trailer if I wanted to go out where the AC was working. I chose to stay put and go back to sleep. Somewhere around 2 the automatic lights came on causing me to wake up. I went out and told hubby the power was back on, and like me, he chose to stay put too. He was so sweet though! He had both beds made out in the living area, one because the AC unit cools the living area faster then the bedroom (we are going to have that investigated), and two the bed in the bedroom had been stripped for washing. Throwing a sheet down was so much easier in the middle of the night.

I settled back down to sleep until around 4:30 when I was woken up by some lightening. Not just some! LOT'S! All of a sudden, all this lightening and thunder was CRACKING right over us. The dogs were not happy with what was going on outside, and wouldn't leave my side as I prepared for another possible power outage. There was really no going back to bed at this point. Hubby was asleep in the trailer so I might as well do my other morning stuff before the lights go out!

Then there was this LOUD CRACK and a bright light that was like daylight, lit up the back property. Dang that was close!Then another one lit up the pasture north of us just second later. Umm, this is getting pretty serious! More CRACKS, and more CRACKS just kept coming one after another, barely letting me count to 2 before the walls would rumble from the LOUD THUNDER! Lights go out! More CRACKLING! Then the rain began falling so hard I had my own flash flood going past the patio as all the water funneled unto the lawn, filling it up as if we had irrigated. On the other side of the house the same thing was happening, flowing out to the beach. Until it slows down, I am not going out to wake up the hubby. He can either sleep through it or wake up because of it. I myself am staying dry and safe until then.

The view out my window at 5:46 AM! I have gone out for lightening pictures before, but NOT this time. It was to close to step one foot outside!

With so much water at one time all you can do is direct it's path. Over the years we have established some of our own little washes allowing water to flow away from the house. Even the driveway drains onto the lawn area. Except when you have laid down a rug at the entry to the trailer, right on top of the drain. OOPS!

It didn't take long for hubby to finally wake up to help. By 6:30 he was using the forklift to pick up the soaked rug, then maneuvered it to drop over the fence so it could drain and dry. He then brought over 3 pallets and laid them out in front of the trailer steps creating a deck to walk across the water. He managed to clear debris around the drain so the water could drain. We brought the dogs out to the trailer and settled in for the morning, waiting for the waters to recede.

No power, No water, No TV. No internet. Unless you're lucky enough to have your trailer in your driveway where you not only get TV, but DirecTV. Having a generator to meet your electricity needs is a must, and add in a hotspot for your cell phone, we've got things covered. I am so glad I asked my daughter about this last year while up in the Napa Valley.  I LOVE the abilities it allows me from road trips to camping trips, if there is cell reception I can get online. 

While we get to hang out in the trailer,  and I just cant sit there, I start putting around seeing what needs done before our next trip out. After all its been almost a year since we have had the chance to take her out. While rearranging the dish cabinet I realized I never did finish getting the rest o the dishes in the set I had picked up when we first bought her. 

Now's a good of time if any, right!

 I begin searching for the Gibson pattern I have. After about an hour it was clear I was not going to find anymore pieces. I had dinner plates and salad plates and decided to get a solid bowl and mug to match.

While I was doing this, hubby was trying to get the driveway drain to drain. When he plugged in the dry vac it overloaded the generator and tripped a breaker.

Feeling claustrophobic, and him being frustrated, I suggested we just leave her off, pack up and head to the store. Our power people said power should be back on around 1pm, so that gives us plenty of time to kill.

Why do we say that? Kill time? I would rather say, plenty of time well spent spending can be splendid!

Hehehe!

To complete the dish venture we went to the store we bought the original, with some hope they would still have some left. I couldn't believe what we saw! I always call times like this, "God Moments," because they shouldn't have had any, but they did and still had plenty of inventory. I got the 4 bowls plus 4 small h'dourve plates instead of the mugs, and a large serving bowl. I was so tickled that I got to complete the set instead of settle for something to match. I LOVE those moments.

I think I might go back and get the mugs after all.

Just as planned, when we got home, the power guy was leaving. Hubby pulled over to talk to him and was told, "It was just restored, have a nice day."

We sure will!

Our Journey Through LIFE at home!

Cabrillo National Monument and Point Loma Lighthouses

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery

Drove through Coranado as we headed to Silver Strand State Beach to have a picnic dinner and relax while we watch the sun set on our glorious day. From here we could see where we had spent the day.

Blessing from Our Journey Through LIFE!