Saturday's Hi-lites

Another beautiful day here in Corozal. Saturday in Paradise. Where the sun's hot, the beer's cold and the pool pump is busted... Wait a minnit! That's not right. Right or not, the pool is inoperative right now. Larry and Carlos and Terrence, the scooter mechanic, found the problem - The impeller is kaput.

We're waiting to hear from Jim the owner if he wants Larry to get a new impeller or if Jim will pick one up in Florida, where he and Melanie are at till they return on January 5.

So, since I couldn't swim, I went over to the construction site to see what was happening. I also made a run into town to find Frontline for the little dogs - not available till about a week from now from either Prosser's Agricultural Supplies or Dr. Martha, the Cuban trained Veterinarian. She is really nice and personable. While I was there, a young guy came up and said I owed his boss for a delivery he'd made some time ago. He described the delivery, and by golly, he was right. I hadn't paid for the delivery. I remembered asking my workers at the time, if anyone had paid for delivery. They hadn't and it just slipped my mind. So I went over to his boss and paid up. I also got his name and phone number for the future, in case I need a delivery of my own.

After that, I went to Comfort Rest Products and made a final payment on our new couch. They were getting ready to head over to the property to take final measurements for the kitchen cabinets and shelves.

At the property, Abraham is making great strides with the window trim. He's got the living room, dining room and part of the master bedroom completed.

Window Trim Pieces

Window Trim in Place

Bit by bit, more stuff is creeping into the house. We already have the reverse osmosis water filter system, and we should have a Culligan water softener. Turns out there's a dealer down in Placencia, and he will ship to Corozal. So, once payment is arranged we should have the softener and RO system in place as soon as the water is hooked up.

The tile setter is starting to get quite a collection of stuff here as well. He's doing a good job too. Especially considering he doesn't have a tile saw. He uses a hand-held power cutting wheel and a tile scorer.

Reverse Osmosis System

Tile Setter's Stuff

Here's a couple of shots showing the tile in place in the shower stall. Looking pretty good, I must say.

Shower Tile

in the Shower Stal

Little Tiki, one of Jim and Melanie's Yorkshire Terriers, is a biker. He'd sell his soul for a ride. Every time I put on my helmet, he whines. At first, I thought he thought the helmet was hurting me, then one day, Lynn said that maybe he wanted to go for a ride. That was it! He loves to ride.

Tiki Getting Ready to Go

Tiki Cruising Down the Road

Nearly At the End of the Ride

Tiki Dismounting After a Run

Successful Cloning in Belize

No, it's not sheep or cows or dogs... It's a couch! A sectional to be exact. We had one in Olympia that we just loved. Made by Rowe Furniture Co. (http://www.rowefurniture.com/collections/minimod/charing_cross/default.htm), it was the Charring Cross model and was very versatile for someone who loves to rearrange constantly.

Well, when we moved, we sold it to Sandy and Owen, cause they loved it too. When we got here we realized we really loved and missed the couch. We emailed Sandy and Owen to see if they could give us any information as to manufacturer, etc. They sent us the link above.

The link was a gold mine. It not only had a picture, but also included the dimensions of the pieces. The only piece that isn't included in the set is the ottomans.

Armed with that information we went to Comfort Rest Products, here in Corozal. We showed them the printout of the web page with the photo and dimensions. They said they thought they could do that, so we hired them.

That was a couple of months ago. We took delivery of the pieces this afternoon. Here they are.

Our Cloned Sectional Pieces

The microfiber we picked was sort of close to the original, but feels almost like suede leather. The fabric was imported for Mexico ($135BZ/yd). Not cheap, but, oh so nice.

Midas Inspecting the New Furniture

We'll let you know how it works, after we take a nap on it and watch a movie or something.

Winding Down To The New Year

So, it was a slow day... What can I say?

With Isidoro's crew gone, it just doesn't get too loud. They're not gone too far however. They're just across the canal, directly behind our place.

Jose's and Franz's guys are content to work without tunes - something that would drive me nuts.

One of the big things, is filling the floor with Plastic Wood, so that all the cracks and/or other imperfections are hidden. I'll admit, it does look pretty good.

Woodputty at Work

Pretty much, the rest of the day involved either sanding or varnishing. They use a fairly expensive spar varnigh to cover anything that will be exposed to the elements.

Sanding and Varnishing

Christmas in the Tropics

The day before Christmas Eve, and the fence was completed. Well, the concrete portion of it anyway. So, that means Isidoro and his crew are done. Isidoro still has a few tools to collect that have been stored in our well house for the past several months. He's now moved on to several projects with Bob. I'll miss them. They were good workers and did good work.

Removing Fence Forms

Last Bit Completed

I wanted to do something kind of unique for our house. My inspiration was something the town of Corozal recently completed. There's an intersection on the south end of town that we called "Cannon Corner". It had three concrete cannon replicas positioned so that they looked like they were protecting the town from incoming traffic. Well, now they're gone. In their place is a Mayan-esque construct of stone. It features concrete Mayan calendar dates all around the base of the intersection island.

I thought if I could find those icons locally, that they would look pretty cool on the columns of our house. So, I began asking around. Mae thought it might be worthwhile for me to check a decorative concrete products vendor on the north end of town. So I did and that was it. He supplied the icons to the town for the intersection.

I found a slightly different one to start our collection with. It appears to be a Mayan chief with either a lamp or some sort of flaming dish. The vendor didn't know what it signified. I thought it was cool and bought it. I brought it to the property and asked Mayo, Isidoro's brother if he would install it for me. He said it would be better to use Thinset instead of plain concrete mortar as it would adhere better.

I had to get several bags of Thinset anyway for the bathroom and kitchen tiling, so I found Thinset at Villa's Imports and purchased a bag. The stuff is easy to work with. It mixes just like cement and applies the same way, except it does have a tenacious grip. Here's the result:

Mounted on the Column

And Close-up

All that took place on Christmas Eve. What happened on Christmas Day was another story.

I had hired Eugene to work for me as a general laborer, doing various things around the site. I subsequently hired him as night watchman to look over and protect our stuff at night. Most days, he worked for Isidoro, mixing and moving concrete and blocks.

He was steady and reliable enough that, as the construction began to slow down, I knew I was going to need a handyman/caretaker on an on-going basis, so I offered him the job, which he accepted. Dianna had wanted me to offer it to Cody, Tony's caretaker.

At the time, Tony still had Cody working for him, but on a slightly reduced schedule, and Cody was also working part-time for Bob, who had moved into the house next door to Tony. So, Cody was still fairly well placed for work, I thought.

Anyway, that all changed yesterday. Eugene was drunk as a skunk when I got to the work site. Through a series of abortive discussions with him and some other things, I fired him.

It turns out Cody's situation had changed as well. Tony laid him off completely, feeling there just wasn't enough work to keep him busy, and Bob had only had enough work for a few days.

I knew things were not easy right now for Cody and his family. Dianna and I had stopped over the other day to visit and talked to Rosie. She was pretty well down about Christmas and the fact that things were beginning to look pretty bleak.

Well, now I'm in a bit of a pickle. I needed a night watchman for at least another week or two, till we move in.

The timing was perfect for us as well as Cody. Dianna came over to the property to keep an eye on things while I ran over to Cody's to offer him the job. Just as I was leaving, Mae and Craig came along so I asked them to stay with Dianna till I got back. They got to see first hand the state that Eugene was in as he was having trouble navigating well enough to leave the premises, much less ride a bike.

Anyway, I hot-footed it over to Cody's place and asked if I could talk to him for a bit. I briefly explained what had transpired and offered him the full-time position of Caretaker and for the time being, of being our night watchman as well.

Without even batting an eye (no pun intended, there as Cody only has one eye) he accepted on the spot and we shook hands.

I think we were able to make Cody's and his family's Christmas turn out quite nicely. I had felt somewhat conflicted about firing Eugene on Christmas day, but he had brought it on himself.

I guess that was, in the end, Dianna's and my Christmas present. I think we both felt really good that we were able to help Cody and Rosie in a very meaningful way.

So, yesterday evening, we went over to Tony and Nellie's for a very nice Christmas dinner. We got there about 4PM, and sat around having some drinks and catching them up on the day's events. Bob came over from next door as well.

Nellie Taking the Meat Out

In All Its Glory

Dianna and I had brought dessert - a strawberry cake we finally picked up at the "Dongreia" (Sp?) Bakery. Thankfully, we got to them when we did. They only had three cakes left!

Surprise, surprise! Our "strawberry" cake turned out to be a lemon cake. That was OK. It tasted fine anyway.

Our "Strawberry" Cake

Tony and Nellie's Christmas Tree

The dinner was a great and fun way to cap off a most unusual Christmas day. One that was fraught with stress over firing Eugene, and one that was so fulfilling in being able to help Cody and his family.

Tony and Nellie are such nice people in their own right too. They were nice enough to give us a place to live for six months when we hardly knew them at all, and now, we've become good friends. What better way to celebrate Christmas?

Nellie Cleaning Up

Tony Holding the Fort

Bob, Telling US About His Plans

Dianna Enjoying the Party

Me - Also Enjoying It

As I wrote in an email to Dianna's dad, Norman, "Christmas in the tropics was weird. Lots of songs on the radio about something called "snow" and "white Christmas", whatever that is. Lots of lights and decorations on buildings and rooftops, complete with snowmen, reindeer, Santa, etc., etc."

On the whole, it turned out to be a very nice and satisfying Christmas

Bang! BOOM! Bang-Bang-Bang! Christmas In Corozal

Wow! Who'da thunk it? Christmas Eve is a huge reason here in Corozal to set off what sounded like tons of firecrackers and other fireworks, star shells, screamers - you name it! And to do it all night long!

Simply amazing! I don't know what Santa and his reindeer think of the pyrotechnics. Maybe Santa has a flack-jacket. Not sure what the reindeer would wear. It just seems a strange way to celebrate Christmas. Exciting but strange.

Christmas morning here in paradise and it's cold. All the way down to 66(f). As proof, here's Dianna on the patio at Jim and Melanie's, shivering, wrapped in a blanket, and teaching Tiki (off camera) how to sing Christmas carols.

Christmas Morning

Anyway, before we forget, here's wishing each of you a very merry Christmas and wonderful, safe, and prosperous New Year.

BTW, for you Yanks out there, stores here will be closed all day today and tomorrow - Boxing Day.

We're Getting Close

This morning (Sunday) was a quiet day. The only workers who were on-site was Eugene, our night watchman (soon to be our handyman/caretaker), and Idilio, who I hired to finish filling and leveling of the drain field.

Idilio Starting Leveling the Drain Field

And Finishing It

I thought Isidoro's guys would show up to finish the bit of streetside fence that remains to be done. But, no show (not unusual on Sundays here, as it is usually a half-day anyway. It'll get finished on Monday.

One of Esidoro's guys, Mayo, Working the Last Bit

Working on the Gate Slide Area

The house is definitely nearing completion. Here you can see that it actually has gotten a front door. Seems like an eternity to get to this point, yet it's only been about three months.

We Have A Front Door!

Lotta Progress

Well, today saw lots of progress being made - even though the Shipyard crew got off to a slow start. They had to wait in Orange Walk for two doors to be loaded into their truck before heading out to Corozal.

Here's a couple of shots that show the utility trench dug from the power pole to the inlet side of the utility room. There's a shunt over to the well house where the power for the well pump and well house lighting now runs. I'll tap into that to power up the lights for the streetside fence.

The trench will stay open till after the water is run from the well house to the house - and a few other places (garden area, cart port, canal end of the house, etc.).

Power Pole Trench With Shunt to Well House

Trench Going to House

Here's a couple of views (I know, these are similar to previous views. Just hold them together and fan 'em. You'll see them magically come to life.) of the house and and the Streetside Fence showing the progress that has been made.

Sreetside fence - The Gate Area

Sreetside fence - Looks Unfinished This Direction

Here's the detail showing the line for the pump inside the well house. I'll simply drill another hole in the bottom of the box to tie the Streetside fence lighting to this circuit.

The other shot shows Isidoro's crew putting finishing touches to the Streetside fence.

Electrics to Well Pump

Finishing Plastering Streetside Fence

Siliconing the pump access hatch. We tend to get a fair amount of water in the well house after rain or even a heavy dew.

The other shot is a view of the fence hiding the garbags site - and to remind me I need to get a hatch made with hinges and latch to go with it.

Sealing the Hatch

Viewing Trash Hole

Isidoro's crew is making fast progress on the last bit of fence. Here they've dismantled the chainlink fence, and by evening had already poured the footing for the wall to come tomorrow.

Laying a level line

Finishing plastering block tops

This is a nice view showing all the scallups of the fence.

Fence Scallops

For some reason, adding doors really makes things seem as though they're coming together. The jamb frames and doors are all made with solid mahogany (Imagine that Stateside - $$$).

Fitting the Jamb

Getting an assist with it

Interior doors looking good, Man! No locks for knobs, yet. Place seems like a carpenter shop with all the sawing and hammering going on.

Our Three Interior Doors

Trimming Streetside Exterior Jam Piece

Showing some of the progress that's been made - drywalling, plastering, and texturing technique.

Drywall Texture and Finish - Living Room

Drywall Texture and Finish - Dining/Kitchen

Discussion is always easy to allow with crews that work as well and as hard as these do. It's been a real pleasure working with guys who know their trade (perhaps by Belizean standards in some cases) and know how to work on their own without direct supervision.

Abraham and Esidoro - Always time for discussion

Jose Camera Inspecting

We're actually moving into some of the finish stuff that floats Dianna's boat - texturing, tiling, cabinetry, painting and lighting.

Texturing - From the Overhead

Boxes of Tiles Waiting for Placement

Again with the discussions! This has just gotta stop. Oh, wait. I'm an enlightened boss. It's fine. Carry on.

Dianna and Jose Discussing Texture

Our drain field fence is dang near finished. Once that and the rest of the fence are done, Isidoro's crew will be done too. It'll seem strange and too quiet.

Finishing the Drain Field Fence

Just to prove to everyone that Dianna's fine and in good spirits after the near-miss with tragedy, we went over to Bob's new digs for home cooked liver and onions with fried potatoes. Yummers! Was it ever good. Bob swears it's because he soaks the liver slices in milk before throwing them on the fire. I think he's right. It does seem to lessen the bitter taste.

Dianna and Bob actually did all the cooking. I posed, looking all official and stuff.

Bob and Dianna

Dave Pretending

You'll notice Bob's counter space is somewhat limited. That's cause he just built it the other day. This house came with bare essentials. So he's been spiffing it up.

We haven't visited with Bob's dog, Sadie for a long time. Now that Bob is back and living near Tony and Nellie, he felt he should retrieve Sadie from Doug and Twyla - the folks who were dog-sitting her for Bob while he was in Cuba.

Sadie's a Great Dog