Slowly putting things back together

As you may know, we live in Florida and the past couple of years have been a tad bit unruly on the hurricane front. For the most part we were one of the fortunate ones. Our damage was "manageable" in that our home escaped all but the slightest of damage. Oh, we lost power, had limbs and neighbor trees down and lost our gutters but compared to others we were blessed. Still, as each new storm hit we lost more and more of our dock. Eventually, the yard filled with dock debris washing in from our neighbors. However, the one who suffered the most from the hurricane after-effects was none other than our own Salty Dog. SD lost his backyard romp area following one of the hurricanes that washed the fencing away. Without a fence to keep SD in and the gators out (I'm not joking here), SD was confined to the screened in porch. Well, we are happy (and ashamed for taking so long) to announce that SD is once again the KING of his domain! The fence has been replaced and the pet door has not stopped flopping since we removed the stop. We still have not replace our boat. We used the insurance money to pay towards replacing the dock. Once we have saved the money we can start thinking about replacing the boat (That was Alyson you may have heard laughing just now). Oh well, all in due time. Which reminds me, I may need to test run the generator this weekend. You never know. You just never know... I do miss our boat. 24 hours before the next hurricane hit our insurance company called saying they were cutting us a check. Bottom Line: If the boat caused further damage to our property or anyone else we held the risk. It took 3 of us six hours to raise, flip and get the boat out of the water. I spent 5 of those hours in the water with the waves and wind growing stronger and stronger. The sad part is I still have that insurance company. It's not always that easy getting & keeping insurance in Florida. To my FIL: We saved the gate you made for us. We know that once you all get down here we will find the perfect place for it. We have to have a gate leading out to the dock walkway. Without one, Salty Dog would walk out a little ways and wait for the river tide to go out. Once he could see ground (make that MUD) off he would jump. What a pleasant surprise when I would get home from work only to be greeted by man's best friend happily wagging his tail while encased in mud from head to foot. Salty Dog is the man but I grew weary very quickly of having to give him a daily bath. We strung a rather crude bit of fencing to block his access to the dock. However, when my FIL came down in the spring he took his talents and tools and built us a proper fence. Now he became the man! I wish I had an ounce of the talent this man has to build and repair things, just an ounce! Just One. He's already replaced the lights and repowered our dock about a zillion times from previous storms. Alyson actually makes a "to do" list before they come down for a visit. Heck, I feel bad for them. I love visiting with them but it's like they work to stay with us! Then again, I guess with a SIL like me you do what you have to do for your daughter. My son can build & fix anything. I'd like to meet his father. It scares me knowing it couldn't have come from my gene pool... Here's the new fence. SD is so happy. I should post a picture of him flying out the pet door. I know the two cats he shared the porch with seem a little happier with him gone. Not that they didn't get along but I sense a greater joy in both of them. Now we just need to start fixing the yard were the erosion did a number on it. (BTW: Clicking on any of the pictures will make them pop up larger)