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Summer Sequester and Celebration in 2009

From my bedroom


View Summer, 9-11-2001 - and then the 2nd time down the ICW & 2007 The Sparkling Emerald Isle & 2009 Baltic Cruise & Bermuda on greatgrandmaR's travel map.

I came back from this trip in June with a cold I got from my granddaughter. This turned into bronchitis and I was sick for most of the summer
Our house in the summer.  Maple tree on the left and window A/C

Our house in the summer. Maple tree on the left and window A/C


Starting in August, we put in a geothermal furnace. When we moved here in December 1973, we had the original furnace - central heat had been installed around WWII. The furnace was working pretty well and we had an attic fan to cool the house in the summer. But I thought we should replace the furnace in the summer when we were not using it, and that a geothermal unit was the way to go.

So we got estimates and on 4 August, they started digging the thermal wells.
Bob watching the trenching

Bob watching the trenching


They dug the trench right across the driveway
Trench

Trench


so we were isolated in the house. They put in five wells starting in the front yard, and across the driveway to the back of the house
Well diggers

Well diggers

Machinery to put in the wells

Machinery to put in the wells


Threading the hose into the wells

Threading the hose into the wells



Controls for the new furnace

Controls for the new furnace

Left old furnace that burned oil.  Right new geothermal heat pump

Left old furnace that burned oil. Right new geothermal heat pump

Left - old water heater that was here in 1973.  Right - new geothermal water heater

Left - old water heater that was here in 1973. Right - new geothermal water heater


Filling in the trenches

Filling in the trenches

Driveway after the geothermal people got finished

Driveway after the geothermal people got finished


After the furnace was installed, Bob had the big maple by the front porch taken out - he was afraid it would topple onto the house in a hurricane.
Tree man in the bucket truck

Tree man in the bucket truck


Maple

Maple

Cutting up the maple tree

Cutting up the maple tree

Cutting off the stump

Cutting off the stump


We bought a native magnolia called a Sweet Bay to replace it
Sweet bay

Sweet bay


and had the yard landscaped. (i.e. re-graveled the driveway and laid sod)
New driveway from my bedroom window

New driveway from my bedroom window


Progress - Left - house with maple tree and A/C.  Middle Maple tree and A/C gone, Right - after landscaping

Progress - Left - house with maple tree and A/C. Middle Maple tree and A/C gone, Right - after landscaping

We didn't use the boat at all this year and we hauled it on 5 October.
c8453a40-b94a-11ea-95af-712ba05d8bb9.JPGBarnacles on the prop because we haven't used it

Barnacles on the prop because we haven't used it


Our 50th wedding anniversary was in June, but the children got together to give us a party and they decided to have the party at the time of the Oyster Festival which is the 3rd week in October. My oldest daughter told me:

It was a group effort. E organized the food. I found the
place and did the invites. B did the pictures. Rob showed up :)

Our daughter E and her youngest child came as the advance woman. While she was here, we went to the Solomons Maritime Museum,
E, our granddaughter and Bob walking in

E, our granddaughter and Bob walking in

Finding a shark's tooth

Finding a shark's tooth

Dressing up as a colonial child

Dressing up as a colonial child

Watching the fish

Watching the fish


and we drove down to St. Mary's City. Before we went to St. Mary's City, we drove into Glen Mary Farms where she had kept her horse
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And we went by the house of the scarecrow man. Each week the scene in the garden changed - sometimes the scarecrow was working with a horse - on this day he is using a saw horse to cut wood for the fireplace
Scarecrow

Scarecrow


When we got to St. Mary's City, we went to the museum, and then up to the reconstructed Great Chapel
large_y100_3205.JPG
4793b650-b94b-11ea-95af-712ba05d8bb9.JPGGreat Chapel

Great Chapel

Photo on display of finding the lead coffin

Photo on display of finding the lead coffin


Walking with the re-enactor

Walking with the re-enactor


Tobacco flowers

Tobacco flowers

Drying tobacco

Drying tobacco


Re-enactor in the garden

Re-enactor in the garden

At the Oyster Festival I found that I could not walk across the fairgrounds without stopping and sitting down to catch my breath twice. This was a concern.

Afterward, we had snacks and cake at Corbels.
y100_5301.JPGlarge_10735_1268746601384_1311398201_773622_892583_n.jpg
Our daughter B had made a slide show of the photos of the last 50 years, and my sister gave a speech. My sister in front of the slide show screen

My sister in front of the slide show screen


And of course we took group photos. The only one missing was one grandson who could not get off work.
large_10735_1268747401404_1311398201_773642_4489308_n.jpg
Unfortunately, my sister who took the photo had her finger over the sensor so most of the photos are out of focus

I went to a cardiologist who said there was nothing wrong with my heart. The lung doctor said I had only 85% aelvolar function so I started going to pulmonary rehab.

Our next trip was January 2010 - a Celebrity cruise out of Baltimore.
Then in June I took my next oldest grandson to Yellowstone and Hawaii

The next trip was our cruise to Alaska

Posted by greatgrandmaR 07:14 Archived in USA Tagged anniversary geothermal maryland

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Comments

Hi You mention the furnace from WW11, the trench looks from WW1...Thanks for the blog. Alec.

by alectrevor

The trenches, while they were deep, were not big enough for a person - they were only about 8" wide. Just wide enough for a pipe. They burnt out one back hoe digging the trenches - we are on a pad of very solid clay and it was a dry summer. After they got done, they couldn't compact the clay back as it was - Bob's truck sank to the axles in the driveway where one of the wells was. Had to call ZZZ to pull him out. He filled the hole with a bag of cement to make it safe to drive on.

by greatgrandmaR

I like the idea of an ever changing scarecrow scene. Your granddaughter has very cute hair.

by irenevt

Yes I loved going by that house, which we did whenever we went down to the boat. It was hard to take a photo though because the house is on a curve and there's nothing on the road before you get there to warn you that it is coming up.

That is the granddaughter that I took to Africa. Her hair is really kinky and hard to comb. All of that family has really tightly curled hair.

by greatgrandmaR

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