Homeowner again :) Phase One: Deconstruction

How I spent my summer vacation...

besides travelling to Indiana, New Jersey, the Keys, and Hawaii...

Len and I bought a home in south Florida, and closed on it in May.  He closed on it the day before he flew out for his China visit late last spring.  While I am living and working in China to help set myself up for retirement, the bigger truth is I need to get back to sailing, and THAT takes $$$$$. Remember what BOAT means? (Break Out Another Thousand) Or perhaps you've heard that the definition of owning a boat is "having a hole in a lake (or ocean) that you pour money into."  Either way, the boating life can be costly, just walk in to your local West Marine store for parts.  I digress....

The home in south Florida is part of a longer term plan...for us to be together more permanently one day, and to keep the sailing dream alive.  I believe there is no such thing as a coincidence, but even to an outsider who would hear the story of how Len found this place, it was clearly "meant to be."

She's perhaps not the prettiest to look at, but she is a diamond
in the rough, and she is OURS.  I love her already.
We have big plans for this property; fruit trees, a garden,
a 'boat house', a screened in back porch, new stairs, new
dock, a hot tub, and throw in some chickens for good measure!

She sits on a canal on the Caloosahatchee River which
is part of the ICW and Okeechobee Waterway.  It is
a very small community of boaters and retired boaters- a
quirky, eclectic group of neighbors- and we fit in perfectly :)

We are situated just west of Lake Okeechobee, near the
Ortona Lock and Dam.  The Okeechobee Waterway is
a series of locks and dams that cuts across Florida.  When
we leave our dock, we can turn to the west and head for
Ft. Myers beach and the Gulf of Mexico.  Or if the wind
is right, we can turn to the east and head for Stuart, Florida,
the Atlantic Ocean and the Bahamas :) The best news?
The boat will be sitting in fresh water rather than salt water.
That alone will save us thousands in biennial bottom jobs!

This sign hangs outside our front door, and it will not be
removed.  Willis T Cat, the sailor cat, will one day live
here, too <3.  If you don't catch the reference, I had
another blog called Sailboats and Kitty Litter and Willis
really was quite the sailor cat :) For pics of the puss on the
boat, click here for Willis, then scroll down to the entry dated
February 13, 2011. He did a tribute to John Denver that day :)
I miss the furry beast.  I wish he was in China with me.
Again, I have digressed.  Geeesh.

Well, for a guy who has hiked the Appalachian Trail, and for a girl
who was raised in Amish country in northern Indiana, and who
raised her family in rural east central Indiana, the location
of our new home is a perfect fit.  This part of Florida is
nothing but wide open spaces of sugar cane fields,
orange groves, and huge cattle ranches.  It is dotted with
small towns of rednecks in pick up trucks.  I feel right
at home. (Did I mention my man drives a pick up truck?!)
I love how I find sea birds in the fields, happily co-existing
with the cattle, and there is every breed of cattle around here.

Our home sat vacant for six years, and we were
told that the well was not working and we'd likely
need a new one.  Nope; all we needed was Len and a
new pump from Harbor Freight! The man is a
philosopher, singer/songwriter/musician,
a mechanic, inventor, author, and he just knows
how to fix and do all sorts of s**t!
He's my kind of guy <3

One of the first things Len did was to set up an
electric winch he bought. He mounted it off the
balcony, so neither of us killed ourselves (or
our backs) moving furniture and building materials
up to the second floor.  It worked like a charm-
every thing from mattresses, heavy dressers,
drywall and lumber came up with the touch of a button!

When Len was in China this past spring, we went through 28
versions of house plans, figuring and reconfiguring the interior
floor plan. She was stuck in 1984, the year she was built, but
she has 'good bones' and no interior load bearing walls. That
makes her a blank canvas for us to work our magic on her.
It had a weird set up on the interior. The kitchen was in the
middle of the great room, with mismatched U shaped walls. One
wall was 9' long, the other was 10' long, and neither wall was square!
There was a non-working wood stove in the center of it all, and we
couldn't imagine a wood stove would be needed for more than the
occasional cool night in January, perhaps.

To the left of the kitchen was a tiny room, not
five feet wide, that was a former tenant's ham
radio operation.  

To the right of the kitchen was perhaps an office?
All of it had to go :)

  

Len is pondering where to begin :)

 

The two bedrooms were small. This one is
the bigger of the two at 9' x 11'. The plus is
that all of the windows in the house are huge-
52-54 inches wide- all of them. I love the light :)
Don't you dig the vertical blinds?!
Ummm, me, either. Or the stick-on tile flooring.

Nor do I care for the crazy Jack and Jill bathroom
 set up.  It took up more floor space than the bedrooms!

The two bathrooms were separated by a tub
& shower unit, four doors in all, to navigate your
way through two bathrooms.  It's going away, too :)

 

This was the doorway from the larger bedroom
I showed you earlier.  Look at all the wasted floor
space- and a safety bar I do not need!
Not yet, anyhow ;)

So, Len picked me up from Beijing on July 9th,
and the very next morning, we started tearing
down kitchen cabinets :)

And the wall came tumbling down, too, to get rid
 of the 'ham radio room' and open things up a bit :)

By the end of the first day of summer vacation, we had the wall out,
and the island was taped down on the floor.  We also had plans for
expanding the remaining kitchen wall from 10' to 12' long.  

The following day, the wood stove was removed, the brick
wall and hearth were busted out with a sledge hammer, and all
the cabinets in the 'office' were gone, too.  Some cabinets
got moved to the shop downstairs, and others will be reused
in the new kitchen and laundry room.  What was once the
'office' will become a hallway, laundry room and guest
bathroom.  The doorway you see next to the bookshelf leads
what will be the guest bedroom.  The large window will
be in the guest bathroom.  There's tape on the floor marking
the plans, but it's hard to see!  

With the 'Phase One' deconstruction all done, it was time for me to fly home to Indiana for Emily's college graduation.  The house renovation project picked up in earnest when we returned from our early summer travels.  Stay tuned...

G'nite, y'all!

Day 310 On the move

The last two weeks have been both a whirlwind and a major stall.  It's also the Chinese way; kind of like the military, hurry up and WAIT.  We have all been waiting (not so very patiently as of late) for these last 10 days to pass by us.  We are under contract and are not released to travel until after 4pm today, July 8th.  Jeff, Santosh and I  have a cab coming at 9:30pm tonight to take us to PEK.  I think we are the first to go in the mass exodus out of China.  Most everyone's flights, whether to home or to other far off places for more travel adventures, are leaving tomorrow on up through this coming weekend.  Not this girlie, I'm on the first flight outta here!!!

So what have we done the last 10 days since students have left the building?  Good question!  First of all there has been some major furniture and apartment reshuffling going on....  Russ completed his third year and returned to the States, Damien is taking his apartment.  Derick is headed to South America next, and Robert took his apartment.  Jeanette moved to a hutong on the east side, so Carlos took her apartment.  Zuong and her mother and son are taking Paul and Dawna's apartment who have retired and are returning to the Pacific Northwest in the US.  Liz is taking a job at a prep school in Boca Raton, so Stephanie is taking her apartment.  Carlos bought Derick's couch, Jeanette bought Russ' couch, Carlos gave his sofa and chair to Rob W., Brandon took a job at another international school in Beijing, so he and his family also took an apartment in the Sunlitun district, and if all of this moving has your head spinning- EXACTLY!  It's been nuts.  But we Western teachers are a small community, and a second family of sorts, so we pitch in and help with the packing and moving. If no help is needed, we toast each other at going away parties and housewarming parties :)  There's been a lot of parties, the last of which is this evening at Great Leap Brewing.  I will be skipping out, as it is time for me to pack and clean my own apartment before my 9:30pm departure.

As for school- it has been more of the same- packing and moving- ugh. Normally I pride myself in being an expert packer and organizer, but even the OCD in me has gotten a bit bored and weary with all of the decluttering, organizing, labeling and packing. I'm not sure I have ever uttered those words in my life- 'bored with cleaning and organizing'.  Who would have thunk it?!?!  I guess we all reach our limits- even too much of a good thing is simply too much :)

Floor by floor (we have seven in all) they have been dismantling
our classrooms, removing the smart boards, projectors, speakers,
computers, printers, teacher desks and students desks.  They are
blowing out the south wall entirely and expanding the whole
building.  We've been concerned they might  hit us up with the
 wrecking ball before we even vacate the place! We are in a full
blown construction zone, but we are expected to carry on as usual.  

We have all been instructed to pack and label all of our
office supplies, teaching materials, furniture and such,
and set it outside of our doors. One by one, workers have
shown up with carts to move several boxes at a time
across campus to the library building where we will
be temporarily housed for about six months. 

We will occupy five floors in the library; my classroom
is on the second floor.  I am the third one down along the
bottom row of the above picture.

I am happy to be along the outside wall where I have windows!
I need to be able to look outside to see if it's a good air day or a
bad air day here in Beijing.  No really, I need to know these things :)

Next year we will share our classroom with a Chinese teacher,
and our 'office' will be in our room, as it typically is in the US.
However, it will be a challenge to do office work, meet
with students, take phone calls, go make copies and such, while
there is another class in session in the same space.  I imagine
we will have a lot of bugs to work out in the first few weeks.
I am going to miss my office mates- we were the 'cool office'
here at BNDS; we all got along well with each other, shared
many laughs as we learned about each other, and we just
generally got along well together. I have been so blessed, y'all :) 

What a fun bunch; Eric, Chase, Yin Li, Kathy, Helen,
Carlos and Edwin, my best man on the ground in China.
I <3 these people; I sincerely do.

 

As I look out my empty classroom on the seventh floor,
this is the construction scene taking place.  What amazes
me about much of the construction that is done here, is
that it is done BY HAND.  You see men walking to the
work site, carrying their shovel, pick ax, jack hammer, etc.
Yep, those men in the big hole are digging with shovels.
But because there are so many people available to work,
things still happen fast, even without the heavy equipment.
It's astonishing, really. Those you see 'in the trenches'
were those not fortunate enough to attend formal education,
or if they did, they did not pass the gaokao.  I explained
the Chinese education system in a previous blog, Click Here 

 

As I walked over to the library with some of my
colleagues to check out our new digs, I was
ASTOUNDED to discover that we have a HUGE
rock climbing wall on our campus!!  How have I
been here for eleven months and did not know this?!
I know what I plan to do when I get back to school
in August; I'm going climbing!  I LOVE rock walls :)

One of the first to move was Jeanette, who worked with no less
than nine 'agents' to help her find the perfect apartment in one
of her favorite hutongs.  It is near the Drum and Bell Towers.

It is perfect for her.  While I am happy for her, I am sad for me
that my bestie in the 'jing is now across town on the east side.
On the plus side, I have someone to call up to hang out with
on that side of town, and if it's too late of a night, there's
a sweet place to crash :)  She's got a little courtyard, room
for planting vegetables and flowers, and she has all the
cool markets, cafes, pubs and such right out her front door.

Though she hired movers to get her across town, Kathy, Ray
and I helped her to get settled on the other end.  Then we
celebrated at our favorite dumpling place, Mr. Shi's which
is literally right around the corner from her in the next alley.

Earlier this week she had a housewarming party to share
her new place with everyone before we fan out all over the world.
Mahoma (from Mexico) is doing some extensive travel in western China.

Robert and I were being silly (nearly orgasmic)
over salted caramels that Dawna had squirreled
away from Trader Joe's when she returned to the
States this past spring for the birth of her first grand
child. They seriously tasted just. that. good. lol.

 

Jared, Jeanette, Kathy and Ray left earlier today for an eight
day trek to inner Mongolia before they return to their respective
 homes in OH, MO, and Canada. Jeanette, the biologist, organized
the whole trip which has them on horseback for three days, staying
 in ger huts with no facilities. At all. Not even an outhouse, lol.
They'll be diggin' a cat hole in the Gobi desert, which is fine
for a field biologist, but not for her travel companions! We were
 laughing until we were crying at the funny stories they are likely
 to come back with- I cannot wait to hear all about it.
(Yes, I am secretly jealous that I am not making this trip, too.)

Dawna's husband left earlier in the day with five
suitcases, bound for their home in the Pacific Northwest.
They have been here for four years, and are now retiring.
Eight suitcases of accumulation in four years sounds
about right.  Dawna will be SORELY missed.  She is the
executive secretary, the voice of reason, and the best source
of information from the powers at be.  It's the Chinese way
to withhold information, which is exasperating at times.
I cannot imagine who will fill her shoes.  I pity da' fool.

I love these two- not only has Kathy been my
office mate, but she is a mother of grown children
like myself, and has the challenges of an aging
parent back at home as I do.  She has become a
trusted friend, and I am so thankful for her. I have
given her my ducks, 45 spf lip balm, and my COLTS
neck pillow to sit on in the saddle- just the thought
of her on a horse sends me into giggling fits!

Ale and Eric are headed to Chicago then Honduras,
and Robert has a lovely cruise and trip planned in
Alaska.  This is Key Largo Robert, and our AP
principal will be in Key West later in July so
we are planning dinner at Burdine's in Marathon,
Florida on July 25th.  It will be awesome to
get together in our neck of the woods!
It really is a small world, after all.

The next housewarming party was at Brandon and Maria's who
also moved to the east side, near his new school.  Their home
is truly beautiful, and I am so happy for them :)  They are
returning to his hometown of Indianapolis for a few weeks
this summer, before seeing her family in the Philippines.
Indianapolis?!  I told you it's a small world, after all :)

I do not know how Maria stays so tiny when
she cooks such delicious food- she shared some
traditional Filipino dishes with us, so tasty!

Thank you, Maria, for all of your delicious cooking!

 

And thank you for sharing baby Calliope with
this Mimi....I <3  this little girl.

We have all made multiple trips to the Silk and
Pearl Markets this last week after work to load
up on gifts to take home to our loved ones.  It's
been great, as we all share where we got the
best deals and what's the best price we can barter:)
I've become quite the stern barterer!

Calliope was adorable hauling around Mommy 

and Daddy's new bed linens.  She is quite the shopper!

While Daddy dickered for some Colts jerseys,
Calliope had the full attention of all the other
Chinese ladies who were working in their stalls.

After our power shopping trip, we got fortified at Pizza Hut,
where little Miss helped me with my Hawaiian pizza :)
I went the next night to the market with Jeanette, and a
few days later with Ale and Eric.  We all need to weigh
our suitcases so we do not go over the limit to get home!

Three nights in a row on the subway to go shopping, and it is
safe to say I will not miss this madness for the next seven weeks.

To share some final glimpses of my neighborhood
before I head for home....it is common that workers
are lined up on the sidewalks and streets for 'morning
exercises' and 'instructions' before they begin the work
day.  Every group I have seen- whether bank tellers,
security guards, restaurant workers, or trash pickers-
they all stand in this formation while they are 'briefed.'

 I still am humored by all the interesting ways

the Chinese 'exercise' at any hour of the day-

whether practicing Tai Chi, dancing, slapping

trees, doing lunges as they walk, smacking

their calves, or all-out slapping the s**t out 

of themselves like this old gal!  

I couldn't help but giggle ;)

I have shared pictures previously of this 'street dog' who has
roamed occasionally around our complex.  I found her a few
days ago outside my apartment, after being MIA for several
weeks.  She was skin and bones, and was curled up in the
grass barely able to lift her head.  I ran to my apartment and
got some fresh water and sausages, and it took a great deal
of coaxing to eventually get her to eat.  It made my heart
hurt...what will become of her while I am gone?  I can't
bear to think of it.  If she is around still when I return, I
am seriously considering taking her in to nurse her back
to health.  She reminds me so much of my Simon who
I had to leave behind.  That also hurts my heart and I know
he is well fed, well cared for, and very much well loved.
This puppy has nobody. Sad face. :'(

After some food, she perked up :)

I saw this article in the Beijinger this week-
there's SCUBA DIVING in Beijing!  You can
dive the aquarium at the Beijing Zoo, and there
is a section of the Great Wall under water that
you can also dive.  Stay tuned, these will be on
the list of adventures for when I return in August!

 

I cannot close out the school year without
showing another funny sign lost in translation.
On the back of an Audi... "Baby on Road."
Somebody better stop the damn car if there's
a baby on the road!  What a difference a few
letters can make.  Oh China, you keep me smiling :)

As for my summer plans, Len and I have
purchased a home together in south Florida.
It is a 'down the road' plan, but at least we have
a plan for when it is time for me to retire,  It
looks like adventures await me there, too :)
I can't wait to get started on the renovations
this summer- I love getting dirty, working
with my hands, and making things pretty.
The kitchen and great room are first-
stay tuned!

As I left the campus today for the last time this school year,
I have such a mix of emotions.  It has been a year of tremendous
challenges, changes, and growth- both personally and professionally.
In spite of the hardships, I believe it was a step in the right
direction.  I have to continue to face forward, with gladness and
gratitude in my heart.  I am so incredibly blessed; I truly am.
As I looked at the flag flying on the soccer field for the last time,
I must admit, the happiest girl in China is ready to come home.
While home is where the heart is, I must admit to myself, that much
of my heart will always resides in the good ol' U S of A.
Time to get packing- the cabbie will be here in less than four hours :)

G'nite, y'all!