After everything it was time to head back to the United States for a few weeks. A little getaway, a little visiting and a little work being done on the house.
One of the primary reason for going back to the states was to have some maintenance work done on the house in Richmond. There have been a few things that have needed to be done for some time. We are working with a wonderful man named Michael Cook, recommended by our neighbors Tim & Beverly.
Some of the items we had done were the bedroom windows, replacement of some of the wood siding, replacement of the columns on the guest house, removal of the old hot tub and more.
Also while home, the pool was opened, a new piece was added to the front yard and we have a new fruit tree!
All I can say about this was he did a fantastic job on the house and was a pleasure to work with!
Let's take a look at some of the before and after work...
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| Before - Broken old hot tub... |
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| After - A nice open clean space! |
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| Before - not good... |
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| After - beautiful! |
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| Before - old paint, some wood rot and leaky windows... |
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| After - bright & new! |
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| Before - water damage, peeling... |
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| ...& cracking in the kitchen area... |
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| After - Fixed, sealed and... |
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| ...freshly painted! Great! |
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| Before - the columns on the guest house were water damaged & rotting... |
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| After - new & wonderful! |
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| Before - more & water work... |
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| After - looking marvelous! |
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| Before - covered, icky & algae.... |
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| After - ready for a swim! |
Of course, I could not be home without doing some work myself...
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| Meet Pierre the French Plum Tree! |
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| And the latest addition to the front lawn! |
I was very impressed with Michael's work ethic, speed and level of detail. We had originally scheduled for about 3 weeks worth of work to be done on the house. Because he was so good & quick - I was able to increase the items on the original list and he still finished early!
All I can say is Wonderful job and Thank you!
There is still more work to be done on the house and I will be scheduling Michael to do it!!
Since I was back for 3 weeks - I decided to take the middle week and visit up in New York with my parents, Stuart, James & Greg and many others. So on Tuesday of my second week I hopped a train bound for NYC. It was a very relaxing trip and it brought me directly into Penn Station. That evening, I met up with Stuart for a wonderful dinner and to catch up! We brought me to a great little restaurant in the West Village called Cafe Loup. If you are ever in the area you should stop by and have dinner it was lovely!
Thank you, Stuart!
The next day, James was coming into the city to meet up with me and bring me out to Long Island. We figured while in the city - let's do something. Earlier that day I decided to get us ticket to go see a show - luckily I got tickets for us to see Kinky Boots!
Once James was in the city - we wandered, we had lunch - then it was time for the show (shhh, no photos)...
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| The set of the shoe factory... |
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| The final set in Milan... |
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| James & I waiting for the curtain... |
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| The marquee outside... |
It was a great show and we had a wonderful time! Definitely miss spending time with James!
Well, the show was over and it was time to battle traffic out to Long Island. The trip wasn't really that bad and we made decent time. Upon arriving at the house in Ronkonkoma I got my first chance to meet my new nephew...Gavin! James & Greg had recently adopted Gavin from a local Animal Rescue and he is great!
Here are few photos of the gorgeous Gavin!
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| Keeping an eye on the yard... |
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| ...but not for long...now a nap! |
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| Loves the yard... |
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| ...and very attentive! |
He is a great dog and a wonderful addition to the family! Tom & I look forward to spoiling him silly!
While spending time on Long Island I spent a few days with Mom & Dad - helped do a little cleaning, took them out to lunch and just spent some wonderful quality time with them.
Also while on Long Island I had the chance to do something I have never done before. A friend George was having a yard sale - I have been to a few yard sales but never spent time working one. I must say it was an interesting experience, interesting people and a great time! I have to thank George and June (his mother-in-law) for allowing me to help out for a little while.
On the weekend before I went back to Richmond - James, Greg and I had a chance to visit over on Fire Island. It was really nice to see the old stomping ground, see many old friends and meet some new ones!
After another uneventful train ride I was back in Richmond for my last few days in the states.
- Michael was still working hard on the house.
- I had a lovely dinner with Jonathan & Tabitha.
- I got to enjoy the pool for a day.
- I had time to have dinner with Angi & Rob (with Rob's Mom & Aunt - lovely people)!
All is good!
After 3 very quick weeks in the US - it was time for me to fly home and see my honey!
The trip back was good, restful and after too much time apart I arrived to my honey's smiling face!
Life is good!
Well, I think it is time for me to end this posting - we are all caught up!
Tom & I are getting ready to go on our summer holiday and I probably will not be posting anything until our return.
Until then - we send Love and our best to all our family and friends!
Ciao for now -
Ron & Tom
