I don’t know if I told you that our home here in Florida was built in 1971. It is a home we purchased from family. The last month and a half has been interesting. We have met the neighbors, seen the guts of the house, and gained a better understanding of this community we live in. Our neighbors range in age, background, and length of time in the neighborhood. Everyone we have met is pleasant and acknowledges others, but they each have their own quirks. This is true for any neighborhood.

I have been sharing with you in previous articles about the house projects we have been working on. We had a plumber out this week because the toilet we had been trying to fix had more problems than we could handle, even with our previous experience on home renovations. The toilet drain pipe was leaning and broke off. The plumber pointed out that a majority of the pipes are old and should be upgraded. We cannot afford to replace them all right now. Until then, the plumber repaired or worked on several plumbing issues.

While the plumber was here, we became familiar with aluminum siding. Honestly, this was something I did not want to touch. Taking apart the siding and putting it back together is not an easy feat. One of my concerns was water getting behind the siding. When we took the siding off, there was a thin layer of insulation and then another layer of aluminum siding or tin. Unfortunately, the plumber had to cut through this second layer to reach the pipes. Interestingly, the day before the plumber showed up we met the county water representative who was taking a meter reading. So we now know where the main water shutoff is and where the water meter is located.

Aside from plumbing, my husband has been working on electrical issues. He found an extension cord connected to the main garage power that had at one point been connected to a house light switch. Another electrical problem confused us both. There was a series of five lights over a mantel in the entryway. We had not found a light switch for them. I would plug my vacuum into certain outlets, and that would provide power to the lights. We took the light fixture down and pulled it out. At least two of the five lights had more than one power line.

Aside from plumbing and electrical work, there has been deep cleaning and wallpaper removal. We took the oven apart. As we work on projects and move furniture, I vacuum out the joints. The pillars in the den have been cleaned of fingerprints and markers, and as I take down the wallpaper, the walls that were covered get wiped down.

We did take a day off this week and ran a series of errands. The Trading Post we like had a swap meet with various vendors. We did not stay too long. I was hoping to buy eggs and vegetables, but when we showed up there was not a vendor selling those items. It was nice, though, to meet local small business owners. On our way back to the house we stopped at the American Legion so my sailor could check in and learn how to switch his post. Then we stopped to fill up the water jugs. We purchase filtered water because the water has what we believe is a high level of chlorine, enough for us to smell and taste it. After we dropped the water at the house, we headed 20 minutes east. We stopped at a home supply store and then went to a veterans festival. The festival featured vendors sharing benefits available to veterans. It was nice to meet with the county Veterans Service Office. They provided a wealth of useful information. After attending the TAP class in California and learning about the specific California benefits, we learned about the specific Florida benefits. Did you know that Florida has an agriculture program specific for veterans? After walking around the various tables, we enjoyed a nice free lunch. Following the festival we went grocery shopping. It was nice to go grocery shopping in a bigger town. The town we live in is small, and the grocery store does not carry a large selection of fruits and vegetables, so it was nice to choose from other produce and to purchase fish from the fish department. We noticed a lumber supply store about 5 minutes from the house. We have been here a month and a half, and this was the first time we noticed it.

Another interesting thing about living in our small town is that there are a plethora of Dollar Generals. We have one grocery store for the town but more Dollar Generals.

Originally published on LinkedIn on April 29, 2026. [Read it here]