Weeks 88-111: In Hot Water

We're in hot water. Or warm water. Or cool water. Our new outdoor solar shower gives us the choice of all three. With my encouragement, (okay...whining), M. agreed to finally hook up this bad boy pool-side for quick rinses. So far, it works great before our swims and after beach trips.

The relentless Florida sun heats up water directly from the hose and voila!A temperature control knob keeps things from getting too scorchy. Ouch!

With the beautiful outdoors beckoning, now it is REALLY hard to focus on indoor house projects. There is still painting, patching, woodwork, blah-dee-blah on our list, and yet the beach or pool keeps calling. It's going to be a looooong summer!

WEEKS 16-18: CRUNCH!

CRUNCH. That was the sound of J's car being totalled. Recovery from a motor vehicle collision and the ensuing hunt for a (nu)sed car have kept us very busy lately. Life doesn't stop just because you're renovating your house. There is no courtesy pause in the universe's plan that allows you time to work on priming baseboards until you are done and then let you rejoin your destiny. Grr. In addition to car collisions, Gordita (our cat) had surgery, M. had dental work done, and we are still clutching to strings of a social life with friends and co-workers. Meanwhile, there is a staring competition between us and house. We have set deadlines for ourselves and sadly watched them come and go. We're not quitters, just tired at the end of the day and on weekends...

• DECISIONS: We have decided to get white wide-slat blinds for the windows as this looks the most uniform from outside; we also agreed to splurge on two new TOTO brand toilets (one dual-flush; one high-efficiency) Fancy, huh? We have set a NEW deadline to have the house no less than 85% completed by the Superbowl. Why you ask? Because houses are being rented in Tampa for Superbowl week and we can easily earn a mortgage payment in a few days of renting it out.


• LABOR: Testing and learning how to maintain the swimspa (translation: J. splashes around squealing at the jets and M. gets to play with the little chemistry set that we use to maintain the water sparkly and clean); we had our first yard sale to clear out stuff... it was a lot of work, sorting, pricing, and then we only made $77 bucks all morning (we blew it in one dinner out).

Meanwhile, we are researching options for a solar-powered outdoor shower. Yes, it even gets nippy in Florida ... not much, but enough to want a WARM rinse instead of an icy one before stepping into the hot-tub. Here are some options we are considering:

This one is the econo-version...does the job for under $200 but M. thinks it looks likes an attachment at a car-wash...

This one is mid-range and very TALL. It does the job for under $300 (plus shipping):

This is the SCHMANCY model with extra features ... J. thinks it is too cold and contemporary for our patio and that it looks like a shower designed by NASA...ick. M. likes contemporary and gadget-ridden... At over $500, it is more than twice what other models go for...

What do y'all think?