Week 8
May 2 – May 8, 2020
Well, Saturday we started entertaining in the Social Distancing mode. We had Carol and Jay for a bratwurst dinner on our screen room. We sat as couples on each side of the screen room, so we were 6 feet apart. I used paper plates and cups only because I had them and to avoid contamination. The silverware I washed in the dishwasher and washed my hands after doing the dishes. I think we were being very careful. We went for a walk on the golf course before dinner and had a pleasant evening with a light on. They left somewhere around 10PM. Sunday, we had Marilyn and Steve come for a hamburger meal. We ate first and then went for a walk. Dessert both nights was provided. Carol brought brownies and baked beans and Marilyn brought a lemon cake and salad. Carol’s baked beans caused Jon to get up Sunday morning and decide to make a pot of baked bean. He boiled the beans for 1.5 hours to get them softened up and then baked them for 5 hrs. They came out perfect.
Monday turned out to be a stressful day. Jon was scheduled to play golf with Jay. In the morning we drove to Lowes in Riverview (20 minutes away) to pick up an order for Jon’s at the drive up. As we were getting ready to get lunch the lights in the house started flickering. Jon unplugged things like the TV etc. When he unplugged the refrigerator, the lights stopped flickering. With the refrigerator unplugged the lights stayed on. We decided the problem was the refrigerator; after all it is 33 years old. We researched Consumer Reports and determined that Lowes had the refrigerators we were interested in in stock. So, with masks in hand and George at the store aware we were coming and what we wanted to see we headed back to Riverview. The one we wanted could not be delivered until Wednesday, but we decided to do it anyway. On the way home we talked with a neighbor and decided to buy ice to put in the freezer and hope this would help us get to Wednesday. I also read you could cover the refrigerator to help insulate it, so I wrapped it in blankets. 
The refrigerator we wanted was 1.5 inches taller than the opening so when we got home Jon started working on moving the cupboard up. That involved a trip to Home Depot. Oh yes, back to lunch, Jon called Jay to tell him golf was not happening.
We had our Walmart grocery order to pick up from 6 – 7 PM so we turned on the refrigerator we have brought for the car and I put everything in it when I got back. As we were eating our pizza around 8 PM when Jon noticed the lights in the lanai were dim. He went out to the garage and turned on the light. The lights in the lanai flashed. He realized the problem was the wiring coming to the house, so he put a call into Teco Electric company. They were out by 9:15 PM and determined it was not safe so turned the power off to the house. We read our I-Pad and I-Phones for about an hour when Teco came back and put a temporary transformer on the house so we could have power overnight. The next morning, they were here first thing and solved the problem. Jon had figured out what the problem was, but the cause was slightly different. When we had the plumbing problem, they had cut the power line to the house. Teco checked it and thought it was alright. Well it was from a cut in the line, but it was up by the house so had to have happened at least a year ago when they replaced our shrubs. So, they replaced the whole line the next morning, so we do not need to worry about the other cut in the line. Jon tells me the service line from the street was replaced due to an open neutral. Because of all this Jon has had to replace something in the Water Softener, sprinkler system, lights in the garage and now my Keugar does not work.
So now what to do about the refrigerator we did not need to replace? We have a freezer my parents had in the laundry room but of course the refrigerator is too big for that space. We finally decided since the refrigerator is 33 years old, we would replace it but keep it in the garage as a backup. We then had them take the old freezer away. Yes, we did plug it in to see if it would get cold after 18 years of not being used. It did not get cold.
Tuesday we both went golfing. Me with Carol and Jon with Jay. Wednesday the delivery came at 8:30 AM after I got back from a 7:30 AM trip to CVS to get hand sanitizer. I have determined they get their delivery on Tuesday nights. I have decided gloves might come in helpful when we travel so I went back in the afternoon when they had unpacked the rest of the load and got them.
Jon has been having computer issues, so I left him to deal with them and I drove to Detwiler’s (30 mins away) to get fruit, vegetables, salmon and hamburger. When I returned Jon said he was going to Best Buy in Brandon (30 mins the other way) to pick up something for the computer. I had an order waiting for me at JoAnn’s in Brandon so we both hopped in the car. Best Buy closes at 6:00 and JoAnn’s at 7:00 according to the web site. We waited at Best Buy and finally got our order and drove to JoAnn’s. I called to say we were arriving and determined they closed at 6:00 and it was 5:58. Now that was close, but we were lucky.
Thursday we golfed again with Carol and Jay. Carol and I are thinking that might be our last to golf this year because next week has thundershowers forecasted every afternoon. On our way home we purchased our first take out at our favorite Barbecue Pork place in Parish. It was delicious.
This week I did make phone calls to friends and family on my drives to and from the 30-minute trip to the golf course. I finished crocheting a blanket. It only took me 2.5 weeks with all the TV time I had. 