The Shell Factory

On the second day of our Florida vacation (New Year's Day), we paid a visit to The Shell Factory.  It's a kooky little place in North Fort Myers.  They sell shells, of course, but there is also a fun park and nature park.  We just walked around the shell displays and the fun little exhibits (a good portion of this is free to walk around in), and took some fun pictures.

One of the most important rules in the Hynds family is this: If you are near the skeleton of a large shark's mouth, you must take a silly picture with it.  Angie obliged.

Then, we all joined in on the fun.  Honestly, how many chances do you get in life to pose for a picture inside a shark's mouth?

Then, we roped Bill and Linda in.  Okay, enough with the shark.  Let's move on to more important things...

...like a triceratops.  Once again, you can't pass up an opportunity like this.  If you see a triceratops, take a picture with it.  No exceptions.

We will soon post all of the other pictures on our Facebook pages.  It was a fun way to spend an afternoon.  On a side note, it rained profusely when we got there, and we all got soaked!  Unfortunately, this was the beginning of the cool spell that hit Florida and stayed for more than a week.

One more note about New Year's in Florida - it was the first time in my life that I was in the Eastern Time Zone when the ball dropped at Times Square.  I got to ring in the New Year at that moment, instead of having to wait another hour.  It's the little things, really, that get me excited.

Our New Driveway (sort of)

Last week was a big week for the Hynds House. I spent last Thursday, Friday, and Monday resealing the driveway. It was long overdue. I didn't have the foresight to take a "Before" picture, but this is a big improvement.

It took five gallons of crack filler (tee hee!) to patch up the major cracks, and then just over two 5-gallon drums of sealant to patch it up. The whole thing was preceded by a long night of powerwashing. There were a lot of weeds that refused to give up, and had to be either pulled out or cut out.

Strangely enough, I had to wait a couple of days before finishing the project, as the materials are not supposed to be used when the temperature gets below 50 degrees. That didn't quite happen last weekend, but it came pretty close. I didn't expect that kind of barrier when I decided to do this in the middle of July.

Not to brag, but I'm pretty proud of myself. You see, I'm not what they call "handy," so this went way beyond what I thought I could pull off. Sure, nobody will look at it and say, "Hey, did you hire Dunn Company to do your driveway?", but it looks good enough, in my opinion. Plus, the whole project cost just above $100, and those are savings that you can take to the bank. The money bank!

I'd like to thank Angie for her support. She took care of Noah, since I couldn't come inside. She also prepared a couple of meals for me to eat outside, and provided a great deal of moral support. I also want to thank Don Reining and Bill Austin for letting me borrow some materials. Finally, I want to thank Sakrete for making the products that were used. (I'm hoping Sakrete will reimburse me for giving them the plug.)

Good night, and happy paving.

Adventures in Plumbing

Angie and I had an unusual day yesterday. Let me set the scene for you: Yesterday, we both got off work at 2:00, both being done for the day. That almost never happens, so we were looking forward to an evening of relaxation. We both got home. Angie had to use the restroom right before we were to take off for Target.

A few minutes later, everything changed. Angie went to wash her hands, and the faucet bursted into the air. Water came flying into the air and out of the faucet. It did not stop. I ran downstairs to shut it off. In a moment of panic, I thought the shut-off valve was in the laundry room. It wasn't. Instead, I found out that the water had gone through the duct work and into the laundry room, where it was cascading down. I called Bill, my father-in-law. He told me that the shut-off is on the street side of the house, and of course, he's right, so I made it to the other side of the basement to shut it off.

The water is shut off, but there is still work to do. Bill called a plumbing service for us. Meanwhile, there is water in the basement, on the ceramic tile. So, while running to go upstairs and start cleaning up, I slipped and fell on the floor. I went upstairs, and water was all over the bathroom. We had to use every towel in the house to soak it all up on both floors.

About an hour later, the plumber arrived. It turns out that an O-ring corroded on the pipe, and a washer on the faucet fell apart. Those two little things caused all of this.

By now it's about 4:30. The plumber told me what to get, so I went to Lowe's to buy a new faucet, a P-trap, and two hoses. I got home and unhooked the water line from the old faucet, got everything unscrewed, and got the old faucet removed. At this point, Bill felt sorry for me and went over to help.

I should clarify that we have a small bathroom, and a small cabinet area. I should also mention that I'm about 6'3", and Bill isn't much smaller. I twisted myself more than ever before on this project. The pipes didn't quite fit, so Bill had to get a hacksaw to make the pipes fit. Bill spent most of the time working on it, and then I would occasionally tighten things up. Finally, a little after 7:00, the job was done, and the cleanup began.

Thankfully, everything is okay. The only two rooms that had water have ceramic tile, so it did not get on our laminate floors, or the carpeting. I also owe a lot to Bill for helping me out. Plus, I need to thank my father for bringing some fans over, so we could air out the floors and cabinets faster.

So if you ever needed help on installing a faucet, I can now say that I have some experience. Being a homeowner can make life interesting!

Linda's 60th Birthday

Back in October, we all celebrated the 60th birthday of my dear mother-in-law, Linda Austin. Here are some pictures from the festivities.

Here, Linda is having a moment with Brianna and Jonathan. Such a good grandma.

Speaking of grandmas, here's the mother of the birthday lady, Grandma B. She celebrated a big birthday herself recently. Look for more pictures in a future blog.

Angie was five months pregnant in this picture, but Bill was even more pregnant.

The ladies, plus Chase.

The Wii was a big hit. Here, Bill is playing Mario Kart with the grandchildren.

This made the adults jealous, so they played some Wii of their own. You can't tell, but Jeremy is using his home-field advantage to blatently whip us at Mario Kart.

More adults joined in. Jenny is clearly giving it her all. Most of the kids have left the room by this point, and we're starting to lose Zach. I don't think the kids are supposed to lose interest before the parents.

It seems funny that the guest of honor is only in one of the pictures, but that's Linda for you. A fun evening was had by all. And this is just the beginning; watch for many holiday gathering pictures in the coming months.