Our master shower has been the bane of our house and one of the few things we have ignored since buying the house. Once we had a company come in to put one of those enclosures on top of our existing shower, but the guy who arrived sort of freaked out and gave me a million excuses as to why it wouldn't work. I sent him away much to my husband's dismay and we continued on with the original shower.
The house was built in the 1960's with metal plumbing and tile for the walls of the bathroom, and our shower never looks clean no matter how much cleaner we pour on it. Our drain is twice the size of a normal drain and the pipes back up often, more when I use bleach which most plumbers roll their eyes at me when I come up with this diagnosis. But recently during a snaking of our pipes at Christmas time amongst the houseful of young adults and family, the plumber put a camera down the pipes and discovered that the rust from the metal pipes was sluffing off and causing the build-up. The cause? Most likely bleach. Score one for the lady of the house.
Our kitchen was remodeled the kitchen when we first got married. That was 24 years ago and the Formica, mauve in color I might add, has slowly started coming apart from the wall behind our sink. I'm over the color and the water seeping behind it. It has to be replaced. The cabinets, custom built by a co-worker's spouse, show wear and tear and the handles are just grossly sticky and dirty no matter how much I clean them. If we are going to get new countertops we most likely need to replace the cabinets. Of course. Simple things always lead to greater things.
We arrived at the home of the Tampa Bay Rays and made our way to the field where the booths were set up. It took up over half the field, and while I worried about damage despite my vast knowledge of resurfacing sports arenas, my husband led me into the first booth which happened to be a kitchen company. We talked to the guy, picked up some brochures, and moved on. The next booth was a guy named Leo demonstrating ceramic frying pans. He wanted to know if I wanted the demo. I told him I did. My pots and pans are terrible. My mother purchased a set for me, my SIL, and herself years ago. I'm on her set now and they desperately need to go.
Leo began with the spiel that included information on ceramic, how there was no need for oil or butter, and he dropped in a handful of grated cheese to cook while he talked. When the cheese was finished it slid right out the pan. Slid. Right out of the pan. No sticking. No mess. Leo used a paper towel to wipe the pan and then he was whisking eggs and pouring them into the pan without any oil or butter. He swirled the eggs around the pan making an omelette. He told us we could add our ingrediants and then fold it over and viola! An omelette. But then just to show off, he lifted the pan to his lips and blew the omelette right out of the pan. Poof. The egg slid right out without any muss or fuss. I made a remark regarding germs, but then I pulled out my credit card and purchased three pans in different sizes, color black.
We continued walking while Leo held our purchase for us. A few booths down I saw a company that sold the new Mitsubishi one room air conditioners which my friend SueG had told me I needed. The master bedroom is the farthest room from our AC and with my newly acquired hot flashes, well, this is certainly an item I need. I made an appointment for them to come to my house for an estimate.
Me: "You're going to probably be sorry you brought me here, aren't you?"
Tom: "I'm already regretting it. Stay focused on why we came."
I did. I watched a steam mop demonstration while he was chatting with a financial broker, but I kept my credit card in my wallet although I could use a great steam mop. I finally pulled him away from the broker and we made numerous contacts and appointments with kitchen and bath people. It was a tad overwhelming looking at the numerous choices in countertops and listening to all of the sales pitches, but it is a starting point.
We ended the day by sampling cupcakes from a company in Tampa and we purchased two for our dessert that evening. Then we sampled different types of dips that this lady made from scratch. She had this great set up with tubs of her dips inserted into wooden holes that were drilled into a bar. The lids were over the dips and a hole was cut out big enough to dip a pretzel stick into. Everyone received a Dixie cup of these sticks so that we could sample them all. We left her booth with $20 worth of dips and a Bloody Mary mixture for Tom. We picked up our pans from Leo (so far so good on the pans at home, but I've read terrible reviews about them) and made our way back to our car where we found a parking ticket as we had passed the two hour limit.
Me: "I suppose that was my last Home Show, huh?"
Tom: "For at least another twenty years."
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