We Just Had Second Christmas

Yesterday was a fun day. We had visitors from Succotz, a small village southwest from Belmopan, right next to the Guatemalan border. Linda and Mickey. Great folks. They're more or less from Ocean Shores, Washington (near where we used to live). I met Linda on the Belize Forums (http://www.belizeforum.com/belize/).

They're building a house in Succotz and living in an apartment in Belmopan while doing it. Linda is on her way for a visit to the States, so, with a pause for a day in Corozal while on their way to Cancun and the airport, they stopped by to visit. I hope we see more of them.

While they were visiting, Billy and Pam stopped by, having just returned from Oregon. They brought the holy grail of Oregon beer (well, one of them, anyway) - a couple of bottles of Black Butte Porter for Dianna. Of course, she'll have to share it with Midas, our elderly, beer-loving kitty. That was always his favorite brew. Billy and Pam will be here for about the next six months, then it's back to Oregon, and so on.

I was going to take photos of everyone while they were here, but with a few Belikins and good conversation, I forgot.

It was really nice having all those folks visiting at the same time. That's one of the nice things about living down here. It's hard to get much done because of interruptions - visitors, etc.

Guesthouse Construction Update

It's getting close to time for the guys to cast the roof. Here's a new load of rebar. Most of it will be for the roof with ome is being used to extend columns and other stuff.

Money in Metal

Along with the rebar, you need to have a stick forest. This is what holds the roof forms up and in place when the roof is cast and afterwards while the concrete cures.

Forests by the Trailerfull

Some more images of the column forms being positioned. Here's two views of the same corner - inside and out, showing how the forms are positioned. They're tied together with tying wire (what else?) run through the concrete blocks and then twisted to draw the wood closer together against the blocks.

Corner Forms Going In

Corner Forms From the Inside

A nice view of the back of the guesthouse, showing the corner forms in place and a central form getting ready to be positioned.

Forms and More Forms

Second Christmas

We just took delivery of a shipment of stuff we had ordered from the States. Generally, instead of shipping it directly to us, we have it sent to one of two shipping companies with regular runs between the US and Belize (Clifford Marage Shipping and Roy and Son Trucking).

We got about 7 boxes this time from Marage. A swimming pool cover and reel (in 4 boxes - fun to put together); Web cameras and headsets; a doggie pack for Cindy; and a couple of springy floaties for in the pool.

Here's our solar pool cover and its reel. The reel is mounted on locking casters, so it's easy to wheel out of the way. I'm going to have Alex the tailor make a nylon tent for it to protect it from the sun when it's rolled up.

Our Nice, New Pool Cover and Reel

And not only did we get this stuff, but miracle of miracles, my workbench showed up too! Here you can see the top piled with stuff still waiting to be put away. Still to come is the upper cabinets for my workshop, and largish set of shelves for my workshop alcove, and a bookcase for Dianna's workshop. But, it's progress. We've only been waiting about three months for the workbench. After all, it's Belize!

Fancy-Dancy Workbench

Since we each have our own laptops, it's only fitting that we each have our own webcams and headsets. Here's Dianna enjoying her new webcam as she's talking to her dad, Norman, and her brother, David in Pueblo, Colorado. She's using Skype, which works quite well for us... Unfortunately, at the present, not that well if both parties are using webcams. The system tends to dump the call in that case. Still, it's fun to play with and is a real improvement over old-fashioned phone calls.

Dianna Enjoying Her Webcam

While on the Walkabout

Yesterday morning on the walk with the girls, we stopped by the Thunderbolt pier, just to see what was going on. A couple of guys with castnets were fishing off the end of the pier. I got a shot of them doing just that. It's kind of a dark photo - the sun had yet to break through, but if you click on the photo, you'll be able to see an expensive blue castnet (they're pretty high-tech) in mid-air.

Early Morning Fishermen