ENTER Byron's cell TO CONTINUE

19 Aug 2022

The past year has been crazy with too many things happening non stop. Mom realized that living at home alone was becoming a little too difficult with concerns with her mobility, getting food, and maintaining the house so she moved to Hawaii Kai retirement in September. She was able to get a very nice one bedroom unit with an ocean view and close proximity to the elevator and dining area. She has found a few mah jong buddies and has settled in comfortably although she complains that the food isn't so good.

In November, we started a master bath remodel in Oxnard thinking four weeks was plenty of time to complete before we left for Hawaii. The project was on track until the tub was located incorrectly and the shower floor was laid unevenly. We left for Hawaii with the project incomplete and a small dispute with the contractor. It eventually was resolved and completed before we returned in February.

With the Kaimuki house vacant, it seemed like a good time to start a major remodel while Daryl is still physically capable to do much of the work. We planned to stay in Hawaii from Thanksgiving through May which included Allyse and Steven's wedding at the Koolau Ballrooms on May 20. We expected it to be hectic and thought that having us on site would help. We started the Kaimuki remodel on Dec 10 and planned for it to be complete by the end of April, or at least before the wedding. We almost made it. The overall remodel went well but it was dependent of the availability of Phil and Gordon and we did suffer a couple of unplanned work stoppages. I am happy with the result but will never undertake this kind of project again. The cost was 75% over original budget so we performed much better than Government contracts.

In December, a major storm exposed a leak on our Kaneohe roof that caused damage in the kitchen and dining area. We weren't able to get a roofing contractor until April and repairs to the kitchen weren't completed until June. We have always battled leaks in Kaneohe and this was the straw that made me decide to sell the house. Or so i thought.

We did plan to return to CA for a Panama cruise in Feb but the Omicron surge forced a cancellation. We decided to come to CA anyway since we already planned tor dog sitter Whitney to take care of Daisy. We were able to do a much delayed and anticipated Oregon coast road trip, visit Yosemite to see Firefall, and go camping with Allyse and Steven in San Clemente. The Kaimuki remodel also took a hiatus in February as the mice decided to play when the cat was away.

In March, Byron suffered a major eye condition that required multiple surgeries to correct two detached retinas on his left eye. Recovery is still ongoing as of this writing and we won't know the extent of his recovery until the end of this year when he has two more surgeries planned. Of course, wedding planning doesn't stop because of detached retinas.

Allyse and Steven did a marvelous job of planning the wedding because it was uneventful and the wedding and reception was easily the best wedding ever. Spoken like a father or the bride. Beautiful venue, the weather cooperated, entertaining emcee, great first dance, memorable garter removal event, touching speeches, and wild dancing. Too bad our whole family contracted COVID.

We decided to stay in Hawaii an extra month to finish moving to Kaimuki, fixing things up, and putting Kaneohe up for sale. The for sale sign lasted a week before we decided not to sell because of the horrendous tax consequences. So we're going to keep the house forever, or until the next storm motivates me to sell again.

Back in California, we arrive to a flooded kitchen due to a refrigerator water line break. Big mess. So we have to replace the kitchen floor and potentially the entire first floor of the house. We are doing restoration of the Oxnard kitchen at the same time we are helping Allyse and Steven move into our Santa Clarita townhome that is need of a major renovation. I didn't realize we were slum lords. New floors, paint, bath and kitchen remodels, ceiling fans, garage door and refrigerator repairs, and plumbing. Renovation might be complete by the end of August.

August also saw us cancel our Canada and Greenland cruise because Byron's right eye is exhibiting the same condition as his left eye and we cannot risk being too far from an emergency surgery.

All four of our properties went through major renovations in the last 10 months. I believe it would have made a great HGTV series. Karen and i are both experiencing warranty expiration of our bodies and can't wait for what the rest of the year holds for us.