One of my tenants applied for a free garden this year and had it installed in the back yard. It’s part of a county program called GIFT Gardens. If you meet the income requirement and have a place to put it, you can have one installed for free. Volunteers will come put it together for you and give you the initial supplies. After that, you just keep it watered and follow other instructions for tending it.
After this recent week of sub-freezing temps, I expected to see a lot of dead plants. As you can see, the thing is actually flourishing! I took this photo of one of the 3 box gardens, and they are all equally healthy looking. Anywy, for more information about this program, click on this link.
Posted in Automotive on 11/21/2009 08:05 pm by DonTWC
So fast it’s almost a pit stop
I have bought a lot 0f tires here at Tire Outlet, located at 1320 North Main Street, right in front of Publix. On this particular day I got two front tires, mounted and balanced, on the GMC Safari van shown in the picture for $154. Meanwhile, I got two tires for my daughter’s compact car (don’t remember the model) at Tires Plus for $153. But the price is not the best part at Tire Outlet. It’s the time it takes to get it done. From the time I pulled in until I drove away with new tires took 16 minutes. I kid you not. They just pull out those floor jacks, prop you up, and take off the tires, remove them from the rims, put new tires on the rims, balance them and put them back on like you were in the middle of the Daytona 400.
I have gotten tires here for years. For working people who can’t lose a lot of time from the job, this rocks.
Posted in Automotive on 10/04/2009 08:18 am by DonTWC
When my wife got home from the grocery store yesterday, she told me to get the rest out of the trunk, and that these two guys would be detailing her car. I was a little surprised. We have been very tight about staying on budget lately, and I don’t remember seeing this on the list of things we were paying for. Then I remembered that she was doing her shopping after going to a ladies’ breakfast at the church, and thought that maybe this was someone she met through her friends there, and that she was just helping them out. That sort of thing happens from time to time, and we do budget for benevolence. But that wasn’t the case.
These fellows were canvassing the neighborhood and got to our house as she was arriving home. They offered a service at a price, and she wanted it done. It was impulse spending on something that got left off the list; the way you remember the eggs at the store although you did not write them down at home.
In the final analysis, they did a good enough job for $30, and it reminded me that there is a lot of undone work out there that just needs to meet someone who is searching for an opportunity. Today’s winners of the Perseverance Award are Jonathan Long and Alfred Smith, and they can be reached at 352-262-1250. Not only were they lucky enough to meet my wife in our driveway, they also scored some free advertising.
Posted in Appliances on 09/20/2009 06:57 am by DonTWC
I recently needed a used washing machine to replace the one that died in my downstairs laundry room. It was the one used by our tenants, and I had to fix it a couple of times before, but now it was something electronic, and I figured the parts and labor of someone who knows what to do might cost as much as a used one.
We decided to go looking on Craigslist, and we found a few washers available, but we didn’t get to them before someone else did. We also found a place in Belleview where they deliver it and set it up for an extra $25. That sounded OK, but I really wanted to buy from someone local. One man who got back to me was just what I was looking for. He was only about 12 blocks from my house.
John Landolfi buys and sells washers, dryers, stoves and refrigerators, and reconditions them himself. He is an older gentleman with arthritis, but he was quite capable of helping me load the machine into my van. He guarantees his machines for 90 days, and $125 seems to be the going rate for a used washer. That’s what I paid for mine, a used Kenmore, and it is in service right now.
Mr. Landolfi can be reached at 352-375-8638. Call him if you need a used appliance, or if you want to SELL him one. It’s better than leaving it at the curb for Waste Management to take it from you for FREE.
Posted in Automotive on 09/13/2009 07:26 am by DonTWC
This past Labor Day I was looking forward to getting out of the house after getting my chores done. I hopped in my van, turned the key, and listened to it spin. It just would not turn over. It was so depressing. I had waited to get out for just an afternoon, and now I am stuck dealing with a breakdown on Labor Day! The prospect of finding an open garage and towing my work van to it on a holiday was just too depressing.
Then I remembered that there were a couple of mobile repair guys in town, and that I had used one of them before. I called the first one, and although he answered the phone, he was not open for business. I called the second, asked if he was open, and he said, “Kinda, sorta. What’s the problem?” After I told him, he decided to come out. Mine was the only vehicle he saw that day.
After testing the fuel filter and fuel pump, he finally narrowed it down to the distributor cap and rotor, replaced them, and was done in 2 hours from start to finish. I own a 1999 GMC Safari van, so it was pretty hard to get at the engine. Parts, labor and the flat rate service call made it under $300, which it would have cost after towing it somewhere.
I really appreciate that Dave Bochette, the owner, and his son came out to work on this during their holiday. I know he came out because I just short of begged him to, and I call that compassion.
They don’t seem to have a website or email, but you can reach them at 352-378-7500. Back in the early 90s I had called him when my timing belt broke at an intersection downtown. They came, got it, and fixed it that day. Keep this number for times of trouble!
Posted in Food, Reviews on 08/23/2009 04:42 pm by DonTWC
Yes, it has been forever since I have posted here, but it’s free for everyone who cares to, so I don’t want to hear about it.
But what I do want to hear about, in the comments section if you like, is how much you like your favorite local barbecue restaurant.
Personally, I love the barbecue at Pearl Country Store in Micanopy. Yes, it’s a gas station and convenience store on South 441, but the meat there is the best I have had in Alachua County. And you get plenty of it. I usually get the pork sandwich, and I have to pick up a fork and keep eating until what’s left fits on the bun. It is delicious! No pig ever died for as good a cause!
Warning: the hot BBQ sauce is HOT. If you like that kind of thing, get it. If you are just curious, get it on the side.
Note: you can buy a canned or bottled beer and have it with your lunch or dinner. It’s way cheaper than the beer you buy at a regular restaurant.
Adam’s is at the other end of 441, near the corner of NW 13 St. and 23rd Av. If it looks like a donut shop to you, it’s because it’s located at the old Mister Donut. It’s not quite as good as Pearl’s, in my experience, but we did takeout BBQ ribs from there once, and they were just about the best we’d ever had. So, since I live just a couple of traffic lights from it, I will likely eat there more often than I would at Pearl’s.
Posted in Automotive on 03/12/2009 05:48 am by DonTWC
I have bought several work vehicles from Wholesale Auto Brokers over the years. They have been my best source of reliable cars. And even though I have bought them “as is”, I have been able to bring them back to deal with obvious problems that they had not discovered. They are reasonable folks who care to keep your business.
A couple of weeks ago I sent out an email blast to my customers. In it, I told them about some people I had used to do some work around my house. I said I was happy with them, and that they would be, too. Later I found out that that paid off for a few people. And I got a lot of nice, positive emails from my customers, telling me what a nice thing it was I had done. I love good PR as much as the next person.
I am posting this video and this story on our local craigslist to find people who are looking for work. I want you to send me video of yourself, what you do, all kinds of details and contact information. And I want some REFERENCES! Email that stuff to me at dmarsh@donaldmarsh.com, and I will share it on my various websites. After all, I got people…
Posted in Apparel on 02/05/2009 05:35 pm by DonTWC
Bill Pinner has been one of my window cleaning customers since my first week in business, back in 1981. They are located in Westgate Regency Shopping Center, at 3411 W. University Ave. They are famous for hard-to-find sizes, and they have been inbusiness for 40 years. I found this YouTube commercial, featuring Duke Pinner, just today!
Posted in Unusual on 01/08/2009 07:08 am by DonTWC
We had a forecast of severe weather on Wednesday, and at about 8:15 it seemed to be coming true. I was having breakfast at Perkins on Newberry Road when the storm swept through. The wind was whipping the flag so fiercely that the manager feared that it may be damaged, so a couple of employees were dispatched to haul it in
The flag at Perkins must be the biggest one in town, or at least one of them. So it is a bit difficult to handle in good weather, let alone high winds.
Although this is not the way I learned to fold a flag in the Boy Scouts, it’s the best way it cam be done by only two men in inclement weather. The bad weather did not last long, however. The whole storm was pretty much over with in 15 minutes, but it was so ugly out that I was convinced that we were not through with it. But, this is Florida, and this can be the start of a perfectly lovely day, and it was.
