It is hard to believe that it has taken me all of April to get the store set up!  Boy was I ever optimistic.
It is Thursday evening and the store is effectively complete.  For the very first time I’m comfortable with what I’ve done.  I hope if you visit you will think so too.
Getting books [...]

To the three loyal readers of this blog (my daughter, my sister, and a certain young lady who will remain nameless), my apologies.  I didn’t open on April 7 or Wednesday (which was April8) like I said I would.Â
The last half of the bookcases didn’t arrive until Monday night.  Opening 300 boxes of books to [...]

It has been a long slog.  But the time is getting short, thank goodness.   With the exception of plumbing the coffee equipment, the general contractor is finished.  The bookcases are complete and half of them have been delivered.  All that remains is to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy and the health inspection.Â
I’m still planning on [...]

The removal of the interior walls and excess plumbing has been completed.   The painters have patched all the walls and painted everything a nice white.  The plumbers are working on the installation of the infamous ‘three sinks’ today.  The floor guy starts working on the floor tomorrow.  I also deliver the coffee equipment tomorrow.  We have [...]

Hip Hip Hooray!!!!!  The General Contractor just called to tell me that he had the building permit!  He is coordinating for a dumpster delivery first thing tomorrow morning (Wed, 10 Mar) and will begin work on the store tomorrow!!!!
Well!  It is about time!!!!
The last of the bookcases were delivered yesterday.  I’ll pick up the remaining [...]

An engineer went on vacation and all I got was this sign.
Well, its a little more complicated.  An engineer did go on vacation.  He just forgot to stamp the plans before he left for the sunny slopes of Colorado or wherever he went.  The General Contract was surprised as well.  So, instead of starting work [...]

Tags: bookstore, coffee, Del Webb, entrepeneurship, retirement, semi-retirement, used books

Or: How To Get A Building Permit From Beaufort County
Well, I can’t open the store until the General Contractor (GC) can remove several interior walls and plumbing.  He can’t start work until the county gives him a building permit.  He has submitted plans for a building permit three times now.  The first time the  the county [...]

My wife and I spent 20 years in the Air Force.  During that time we (or really she) moved 13 times.  I can handle this!  Right, just like I handled Thanksgiving.  That should have been a clue.  But modern man does not survive by being reflective but by moving forward, overcoming obstacles, coping with the [...]

Tags: bookstore, coffee, Del Webb, entrepeneurship, retirement, semi-retirement, used books

Clsoing on the house was just the first of many challenges.  Earlier in the year, before I had really decided to move to Sun City, I had invited my family to have Thanksgiving dinner with me.  It seemed obvious at the time.  I had a big house, enjoyed cooking, and wanted the comfort of family [...]

Tags: bookstore, coffee, Del Webb, entrepeneurship, retirement, semi-retirement, used books

Having only been in one house at Sun City, I had no idea of the variety of models that had been built.  Barbara, my realtor, was very patient as she escorted me through model after model during my first weekend of looking.  I was still living in Raleigh and driving down every few weeks to [...]

Tags: bookstore, coffee, Del Webb, entrepeneurship, retirement, semi-retirement, used books