Invasion of Biblical Proportions to Come?

Just a couple of days ago, I got an email from the local garden club (we're armchair members) with the following information: "Up til now there have just been reports of members finding 2 or 3 locusts on their property, that they have been diligently killing.  Mostly by just whacking them, but some have also successfully used regular bug spray".

Then, this morning, as Twyla and I were traversing Central Park in downtown Corozal, I chanced upon this 'little' critter waltzing across the tiles.

 Such a Cutie

Naturally, I stopped and snapped a picture. He's only about five and a half inches long... ONLY!

Then, after I got back from walkies,  another message from the gardening folks with the following dire headline:

"TODAY I AM SEEING ABOUT

A HUNDRED FLYING IN

OVER THE WATER FROM CERROS!!!!

They are flying in quite high just 3 or 4 at a time, but they are continuing to arrive, so you should all be ready to do battle before they do serious damage".

Looks like the invasion has started. Good timing too, in a literary sense, I'm deep into reading The Gathering Storm, by Winston Churchill, all about the preparations and events in the time before World War II. There are some eery parallels, I must say.

The garden club also provided the following information about the invaders and their uniforms:

"The locusts look like a gigantic grass hopper about 4 or 5 inches long.  They are a greeny-brown color when they are sitting with their wings closed.  When they fly you can see the bright orange color of their very large wings. When they fly, they look the size of a small bird, but they fly very slowly at a steady pace.  Not darting about like a large butterfly or dragonfly".

My advice right now, is if you venture out, either carry a big stick to whack 'em, or a can of Begone (Baygon), a local insecticide, or both. They're too damn big to argue with.

I remember, as a wee lad in the 50's, we were living in Tripoli, Libya (my dad was in the US Air Force). Several times while we were there, we had locusts flying over and landing. They ate everything in sight. Clouds of them flying were thick enough, that we could throw rocks from our school playground and be sure of hitting 4 or 5 of the critters with each volley.

I hope our diligence and preparedness now prevents a similar situation. Be on guard!

If That Ain't a Kick (or poke) in the Butt

Sunday afternoon I developed an earache. I didn't think much of it, but as the afternoon wore on, my left ear got more and more plugged up and, not painful, but uncomfortable feeling. So much so that I decided to pour a little hydrogen peroxide in the ear, thinking that maybe I had more ear wax than necessary. It bubbled away as it does, but did little to relieve the discomfort.

About bedtime, it had become downright uncomfortable, but I figured I could ignore it and get some shut-eye anyway. Man, was I wrong. About 10:15 or so, I was jolted fully awake by what felt like someone jamming a knife into my ear. Some intense pain, I kid you not!

So, I got up and watched some TV while holding a wash cloth up to my ear, afraid my brains or something would be leaking out of my head. After about 20 minutes, I felt things had calmed down enough to try hitting the sack once again.

The following morning, I hot-footed it up to Bethesda Medical Clinic. Well, that's not entirely true. I almost didn't go as I thought it was improving. Anyway, I went and saw Dr. David Reyes at the clinic. He looked in my ears and asked me a few questions. He also told me that I definitely had an outer ear infection in the canal with a large blister blocking the canal so much that he couldn't see the tympanic membrane (I assume that's the ear drum - I didn't ask).

Additionally, he said that outer ear infections tend to be caused by very virulent bacteria and were not something to mess around with here in the tropics. He suggested a course of oral antibiotics (for 9 days, 2x per day) and along with that a course antibiotic injections (for 5 days, 1x per day). Along with some pain meds that I already had on hand.

Right now, I'm on day three of the treatment. Which means, each morning I run into town to the Evergreen Pharmacy (where I bought the injectables) and they give me a shot. Which also means, I go in the back room and drop trou and they begin shooting darts. Actually they're pretty good shooters.

I go back Friday to see Dr. Reyes to see how things are doing. I think they're coming along well. I can almost hear normally again. I don't have any pain now. I did break down and have a beer or three yesterday while we were in the pool. I didn't dunk my ear under water however.

Other than that, life is good.

Water Heater Fcuk-Up Averted

Talk about luck! Our on-demand, gas-fired water heater quit working a couple of days ago. We figured it was simply dead batteries at first. It soon became more complicated than that. I next thought maybe it was the piezoelectric igniter that had failed, just as they used to do with our barbecue. Replacing it, I thought, would be no big deal.

This morning was the first opportunity I had to really take a whack at it. So after breakfast, I trundled off downstairs and proceeded to crack it open to see what was what.

Big Hole in Heater

The rather large hole smack in the middle of the heat exchanger part was not what I expected to see. I knew then that even if the piezoelectric igniter was out of whack, it didn't make a bit of difference in the overall scheme of things. I was going to have to dip into the piggy bank to solve this thing.

I went to three different places to see what they had for wall-mounted on-demand heaters.

Villa's had a couple of wall-mounted electric heaters, not what I wanted. Our electric bill is big enough, thanks to the pool, without adding to the mix.

National Hardware had a round, floor-mounted 5.5 gallon conventional water heater. I wasn't interested in that either. Anything that heats water 24-hours a day is so old school.

The last place I went was Lano's Supply. I looked at a couple heaters. I saw the first one they showed me, all nice and shiny. Nope. Don't need that one. Probably costs too much. I looked at a plain-Jane white one. Only one problem - no manual. A deal breaker. Our old water heater came with a manual. Thankfully, it was illustrated. as the only English words in it were "Water Heater" on the cover.

No Pretense At Engrish Here

Mr. Lan asked why I didn't want the other heater. I said I didn't need shiny-shiny down stairs. He said that it was the same price as the white one, and the manual came in English. Wow! Deal maker. I bought it.

Oooh Pretty!

 I got the new one installed quickly. The screw-mount holes lined up exactly, as did the fittings. Well, with the exception of the cold water inlet. I managed to cross-thread that and had to make only one additional trip to Lano's for spare parts. A major feat in itself.

Here's a look at the manual:

New Heater Manual Cover

I don't know that I'd say it was really in English - more like Engrish. Although, it's easy enough to sort out what they're talking about. It's mostly quaint wording that gives you a chuckle as you're working (Yes, I read the complete manual before attempting the installation).

Engrish - Better Than Nothing

Even though I didn't know it, Mr Lan said the old heater did have some safety interlock kind of stuff in it that helped prevent a total catastrophe. He assured me the new one does too. It even says so in the manual... after a fashion.

Finishing the Job

Well, sorta. There's still a lot of work to do. Sawdust and concrete dust over everything. It's gonna take some time to clean that all up.

I thought I'd show you the completion of my project to install the range hood. First off, I decided that a six or seven inch vent pipe was overkill for our needs. It's probably some engineer or something's requirements  based on the volume of air the fan is theoretically capable of moving per minute (times the square root of the hypotenuse of the angle of the dangle) to reach the decision for the instructions to mandate such a huge vent pipe.

Holes Cut For Hood Vent Pipe

Besides, availability of pipe that size is definitely an issue down here. I managed to find a two-foot section of six-inch flex tubing and nothing else. Right beside it was a complete four-inch vent kit with aluminum flex tubing for a clothes dryer. Hmmm, what to do, what to do...

I had purchased the two-foot piece the day before. After I reread the instructions for the fan and could find nothing definitive saying "Thou shalt not use less than the stated size of vent pipe for thine project", I said screw it, go with what's available and easy to work with.

I took the two-foot piece back and exchanged it for the complete kit. Once home, I promptly started to modify the range hood itself to accommodate the four-inch pipe. The hood had a seven-inch circular knockout which I knocked out. I now needed to make that four inches. I had a piece of sheet aluminum I had used for some other project. Thankfully, I remembered I had it instead of zooming off to Villa's or National and getting another sheet.

I cut about a ten-inch square of the sheet aluminum, matched it up with the top of the hood, scribed the seven-inch circle onto it, then found the center point and scribed a new four-inch circle.

After cutting that out, I caulked and screwed the new piece to the top of the hood and mounted the hood to the bottom of the cabinet as you can see in the photo above. That is, after I used my saber saw to cut three four-inch holes up through the several layers of the cabinet. With almost inch-thick hard, hard, hard wood, that alone was a day's work.

Range Hood Installed

Then came the fun bit of cutting a four-inch hole through the concrete wall in order for the hood to vent outside. I started off with a 1" cold chisel and my 2½ lb. sledge hammer. After getting through almost an inch of concrete, my swing arm felt like it was going to fall off. There had to be an easier way, but what?

Luckily, the little gray cells were really working well. I remembered Jim had an air-powered impact wrench with a cold chisel insert. Perfect. Covered in sweat and concrete dust, I zoomed around the canal to Jim's and borrowed the tool.

I'm not sure it made the job all that much faster, but, it certainly did make it easier. Eventually, I got a hole bored through the concrete. I left it to Cody to smooth out the hole (one of the bennies of having a hired hand). We trial-fit the vent flap. It fit so well, I took it back out, sealed the tube seams of the flap with aluminum tape and permanently installed it. I caulked and screwed the flap in place. A nice, clean installation.

Hood Vent Flap Installed

After that, I still had to install and fasten the aluminum flex tubing. That went really easily even though I had to force the tubing through holes the same diameter as the tubing. But, that made for a nice and snug fit.

Flex Tubing Going Up

I bent the tubing over and ran it along the cabinet top to the vent flap tube (a rigid aluminum tube). More aluminum tape secured both ends of the flex tubing and the job was done.

Flex Tubing Run to the Outside

Well, I still had to hook up the wiring, but that was easy (white wire to white wire, black to black, and run a new piece of wire to ground the hood. They included wiring for white and black, but no ground wire with the hood. They did supply a ground grommet and screw. I guess ground wire is really expensive.

Well, that was my project for the week. We took Friday off and went to Chetumal with Doug and Twyla. I drove. I had gotten an email from them early Friday morning saying our trip was off as their Isuzu was still in the shop (Rick, the mechanic). I thought that shouldn't impede our adventure.

I had been waiting till most of our construction was done before buying Mexican auto insurance. This now seemed like an opportune time. So, to Sanborn's (http://www.sanbornsinsurance.com/), where I purchased auto insurance in about five minutes, thus enabling us to relax and have a nice Friday.

A little shopping for the guesthouse and a great meal at Mi Viejo over by the old market in Chet (not the one where the Corozal buses stop) made for a good time.

Puttin' On the Feedbag

Oh, yummers! There's a couple new (to me anyway) places to graze - one here in Corozal, the other over in Orange Walk.

First, in Corozal, is the Blue Shark. A nice place for lunch, close to downtown. The Blue Shark is located on 2nd Street, S., between 7th Avenue (the Norther Highway) and 6th Avenue.

 Blue Shark Entrance

The Blue Shark is just one block south of the Gabriel Hoare Marketplace and the Corozal Bus Terminal.

Second, over in Orange Walk is Nahil Mabib. What a find! It's located just a block or two behind the downtown Shell Station. As you come into Orange Walk from the north, turn right just before the Shell station. If you've got sharp eyes, you'll see a fenced house on your left with a sign that says 'Parking for Nahil Mabib'. Turn in there, park. As you come out the gate, take a left. Nahil Mabib's entrance is right on the corner of the intersection.

Plan on spending some time in their wonderful gardens. There's two gardens with seating in each. Both are lush. One is smoke free, the other allows smokers, for those of you still partaking of the evil habit. I'll have to add a photo or two of the restaurant later on... I forgot to take some photos while we were there. What can I say? It was hot.

The menu features both Belizean and north American dishes. The service and setting of Nahil Mabib is outstanding. I'm sure you'll remember it as a real treat.

Not Quite By June 1st

Hurricane preparedness sometimes is a fluid thing. On the one hand, you follow your checklist (you do have a checklist, right?) and get all your important papers in one place, preparedness supplies ready to grab, generator ready to roll, car tank filled at least half-full, etc.

One thing we wanted in place for the start of hurricane season was our burglar bars. People run hot or cold on these things. I do think they're miss-named. They should be named storm bars or something. Burglar protection is like a lot of other items - they tend to encourage honest people to stay honest. If you're home, burglar bars might give you some early warning as the bad guys attempt to hacksaw through them or something. They might just slow the bad guys down enough to allow you to wake up and take some other meaningful defensive action. If you're not home, hopefully your neighbors might see or hear something.

There's also the fire safety thing. Folks don't care for the idea that they may be trapped inside and can't climb out through the windows. I didn't say there weren't trade-offs.

The main reason I have them is for hurricane protection. Mine have a half-inch track, top and bottom, to allow me to slide a piece of plywood in that effectively blocks the window louvers from being in the direct flight path of any high-velocity debris that might be coming our way. I figure it's a lot easier to replace the plywood than to replace the whole window louver.

Well, it's a personal choice. You either want them or you don't. I do. Pretty much the same reasoning that we don't have any glass windows in either house. I don't want flying shards either.

Isaiel Drilling Mounting Holes for the Bars

Isaiel Pech (who also happens to be my Godson) is from Guinea Grass, south of Orange Walk, came over yesterday to install the bars. He's done most of the metal work on our place. The gates, fence pieces, most of the metal screen doors, decorative hose hangers, etc.

The bars had aged a bit. He had them ready to install over a year ago when we stopped construction for a while. This was the first opportunity we had to install them.

Tightening Lag Screws

Isaiel's older brother Romeoleo came along to help with the installation. Isaiel also brought his wife Amarilly and son, Joshua along. They had a nice visit with Dianna while the installation was in progress.

Just in time for the World Cup Final, we all got together in front of the tube to watch the game and to have some of Dianna's homemade pizza. I wanted Holland, but everyone else was rooting for Spain. Turns out they were right. It was a fun match anyway.

Completed Burglar Bar

The bars end up being a nice and clean looking installation.

While Isaiel was working, we talked a bit about DIY television shows. He just recently got current (electricity) run to his house, so he's pretty proud of that. He also has cable TV and his favorite shows are the DIY home repair shows.

I was talking to him about how you can learn techniques, find out about new tools, etc. He said that yes, that was true. He had been watching one show with some welding being done and the host was using some sort of magnetic tool to hold small metal pieces so they could be welded true and square without needing to have an assistant. Later, he had gone to a Mennonite hardware store and asked about it. The guy had some and demonstrated how it would work. Isaiel ended up buying one to try. He had it with him.

Isaiel's New Welding Tool

The new tool works so well, he's now planning on getting two or three more. You watch. Another three or four years, skills and tools will improve all over Belize. Ah, modern technology.

New Family Member

Here's the newest member of the pack. Her name is Deohgee. Like our other two dogs she's a 'pot-licker'. Smart as they come, it took her about three minutes to master the ins and outs of the doggie doors. We're in the process of training her for the leash and the do's and dont's of living and getting along with the kitties.

 Say Hi To Deohgee

She's been with us for a week and a day. Already, she's fit in as a member of the pack, playing king of the mountain with the other dogs and all the other stuff dogs do.

Yesterday, while we were in Chetumal shopping in the rain, Deohgee was at Dr. Sheila's getting tutored. We're letting her have light duty for a few days as a result.

She adds another voice to the chorus - really a 'force multiplier' as they used to say in a former life. Deohgee's a welcome addition.

More on the Kitchen Cabinets

I had a bit more time today so I took a few more detailed shots of the kitchen cabinets. We'll start with the upper corner cabinet. It has a double door with a piano hinge providing great access to the huge corner area.

Double-Door Corner Cabinet

Next, is a shot of the new stove vent fan I picked up just this morning. Of course, it's still waiting for me to install it.

New Stove Vent Fan

And that's waiting for me to find some 6" or 7" rigid vent piping. I haven't even begun to look for it, so I don't know about the availability. If I can find it in Corozal, that'll be a high-five moment.

Above Stove Where Vent Fan Will Be Installed

Above is where the vent fan will be installed. Of course, I have to cut holes in the top, bottom, and shelf of the cabinet for the vent piping. In addition, I'll have to cut through the concrete wall to vent the stove effluvia to the outside.

I had mentioned that I had re-routed some wiring to the inside of one of the cabinets. Here's a view of that job. I took the opportunity to mount the roll-up door controller in the same cabinet. Turned out pretty neat if I do say so.

Wiring inside the cabinet

Moving on around, here's the lower cabinet to the left of where the stove will be. Each drawer can be rolled out for it's full length. Kind of a nice touch for heavy pots and pans.

Slide 'Em Out, Push 'Em In

The island can do double duty as a food preparation area - its top is actually a cutting board surface. Half of the table can be folded up. It's legs drop out automatically. We think it will provide a nice space-saving table of real use to whoever stays here as well as us besides.

Island Table Top/Work Surface

Besides, the island is on wheels and rolls around, expanding it's utility and flexibility. It also has a large storage area under the work surface.

Island Storage Area

The final bit is the crown molding that runs around the top edge of the upper cabinets.

Crown Molding Sets the Cabinets Off Just Right

Ok. That's enough on the cabinetry for the time being. Hope you enjoy.

Kitchen Cabinets Are In

Would you believe it? Three weeks from order to installation for completely custom kitchen cabinets made right here in Corozal.

Our Cabinets All Over the Place

Charlotte told us about her cabinets and how happy she was with them. So, we followed up with a visit to Kim Longsworth's cabinet shop - easily the largest cabinet shop I've seen in Corozal. Kim also has a very nice display room showing off the talents of his workers. They do a lot of interesting stuff.

Showing Some of the Lower Cabinets

Dianna wanted the cabinets in a satin-finished white, with lattice-style doors, except for some that would have etched glass. The countertop is about 1.5" inch butcherblock made up of a variety of local hardwoods. Against the white it's gorgeous. We also got an island, but with a difference. This island also has wheels so it can be moved around as needed. Something else as well - it has a drop-leaf extension that allows it to double as a dining table. It's really quite cool. There's even storage under the island work-top - which is the same butcherblock as the counter.

More Cabinets Going Up

We don't have a stove yet, nor do we have the stove vent hood. We'll buy the stove (a Mabe 24" model with igniter) locally. The vent hood we had to special order from Benny's in Belize City. We wanted a 24" vent to go with the stove and there's nary a-one in Belize. That should be arriving in another week or so. Which means I'll have to find a 3" or 4" hole saw to cut the vent pipe openings in the cabinetry and punch a similar hole through the concrete wall. No biggie on either note. We do have the microwave. Dianna had a shelf made for it, so that the microwave wouldn't be taking up valuable counter space.

Microwave Shelf and Other Cabinets

Two of the doors, the upper and lower corner doors, are piano-hinged together so they open up with really huge storage areas that are easy to get to. The one storage area left of the stove opening has three pull-out shelves, so storing pots and pans will be very easy.

Adjusting the Doors

The cabinets have nice crown molding topping them off. There's about 18" or so from the top of the cabinets to the ceiling, so there's still room for an objet d'art or some trinket or other to be placed up there.

I had to redo some complicated wiring because its placement interfered with the cabinet installation. That looked like it was going to be next to impossible to do, but actually, this morning it turned out to be fairly easy to do. I even re-did the switch box for the roll-up door, hiding it in the nearest cabinet as well.

Wiring SNAFU, Now All Sorted Out

A little bit more caulking on the cabinets along with a good cleaning and they'll be ready to go.

Then, all I have to do is finish caulking the door trim, some paint touch-up and we'll pretty much be ready to go.

A Nice Long View