It Must Be Therapy

The past week or so, I've been spending just about five hours a day in the pool. Maybe not at once but several times in a day. There have been times though, where it was a solid four hours. Today, we were in it most of the afternoon, while it was raining. Quite nice.

Let's see, where are we? Well, the guesthouse is almost completely painted - inside and out; we have the bathroom vanity, sink, and faucet installed, along with the tile back-splash; the toilet is in, although, it's plagued right now by a small leak that I'm trying to track down and solve; We had a couple of guys come by to measure, etc., for a bid for the kitchen cabinets and doors; and, we're supposed to get our louvers, sliding glass doors, and roll-up door installed tomorrow. That's about it. I've been busy, busy, busy. It seems when construction is underway, I make at least three trips to town for supplies, parts, you name it.

Speaking of the toilet, we've replaced everything that came with it. The toilet seat cover had an unfortunate accident.

I Think It's Busted

We started with the seat. Dianna was actually responsible for this. As the installation was proceeding, she wanted to check to see how 'un-wobbly' the toilet was after fastening the flange bolts, so she sat on the lid. Instantly - boom! We weren't real happy with it in the first place, kinda cheesy.

So, yesterday, I purchased a new filler valve and float. This morning, I got a new seat along with a new overflow/drain valve and new brass tank-to-bowl bolts and rubber washers. I also got a new connector hose as with the new filler valve, it naturally takes a different sized hose than the old one.

Now, the toilet has completely new innards - and we haven't even used it yet. That's not true. I pee'd in it this afternoon, after caulking the gaskets to try to stem the leak. I flushed and bingo! It still leaks. Dangit!

Dianna Supervising, Mayo Installing the Toilet

As far as the painting, all that's left is the bottom of each window louver, as the way they do it, is to install the louvers, then plaster up the bottom to fill in any remaining gaps. That's the part that still needs painting. And the roof - it still needs priming and an application of snow coat, almost like the stuff we would put on RV roofs. It's a rubberized product (quite expensive here) that once applied will lower the inside temp a concrete-roofed house by about ten degrees.

We're also ready for the electrician to come back and complete the wiring, including installing another whole house surge suppressor and possibly moving the pool's waterfall and in-pool light switches to be more convenient - like inside the utility room of the guesthouse.

Walkies have been fun. I wore out all of my Crocs, so I resorted to trying to wear my Kean sandals, which look cool, but I didn't find them comfortable before. Well, if I just wore them a little at a time to break them in, that probably would have been fine. Instead, I wore them for our usual walk - almost 4 miles. Here's the result:

Finally Down to 4 Bandages

Ow, ow, ow! That wasn't the brightest thing to do. After I got back, it's been bandages and immediately switching over to my sandals, that I haven't worn in over two years. (I haven't work the Keans in at least that, either). Good thing, cause we haven't been able to get over to Chetumal to Sam's Club to buy new Crocs. If it wasn't for the sandals and the Keans, I'd be barefoot. The doggies just would not understand me begging off from walkies simply because I had no shoes. After all, they go bare-footed every day and they don't complain.

Paloma Getting New Paint

Speaking of walkies, each day, we walk past the local 'boatyard', actually just a part of Miami Beach, downtown. I had shown a picture of Paloma shortly after she arrived onto the hard. Now here she is sporting a very nice new paint job. I'm just waiting now for them to put her name back on her bows. She's a very pretty boat as is.

Below, is another view of her from the stern. A lot of care and skill has gone into this paint job.

Paloma's Behind

And, speaking of painting, I know Vivien has been champing at the bit for some shots of the painting in progress. Here's a few glimpses. The color scheme inside is white, a very light blue (some folks think it's gray) and navy blue (azul de marina).

Malo Rolling on the Light Blue

Final Outside Colors - Blue and Terra Cotta

And, a shot of the outside final colors, blue and terra cotta. Tomorrow, I'll be taking more photos as the louvers, etc., are installed. I'll be able to show more of the colors. I don't seem to have any shots of the navy blue. There will be.

A while back, we had an acquaintance through the blog, Larry come to town. He came over to visit for a spell and the next day, Twyla and I ran into him during our walk. He was kind enough to send me a shot he took of us by the Mirador Hotel

Walkies - Courtesy of Larry O'Grady

He took a lot of photos around the area, many while he was looking at property. Here's a link to his Picasa photo album: (http://picasaweb.google.com/pollymop). Enjoy.

Well, that's about it for this evening. This is unusual. I normally do this about three or four in the morning. What happened? I'll take a bunch more and get something posted - soon. I promise!

Most Mornings, There's Lots to See

Most mornings, of course while conducting "walkies" with the girls, there's always a lot going on. I managed to stop and shoot several bits along the way. This is a compilation over two or three days of what we see most of the time while walking.

On the way into town, along the Northern Highway, which becomes Seventh Street while in town, there's a new piece of artwork being installed. I'm not exactly sure, but I think it's an ear of corn in a sugar pot. Anyway, an interesting piece to see being assembled. I suppose I could have asked the artist as he was assembling the installation, but that would have been too easy.

New Artwork in Town

Next along our usual route, we follow the waterfront into town. We marvel each morning at the view we are privileged to be able to see. We usually see at least a couple boats in various stages of being worked on.

The Corozal Boatyard

With the boats on the hard above, I just liked the way everything came together, the colors, lighting, etc. The boat on the left,  I had tried to get a shot of it under sail, but by the time Twyla and I got back to the waterfront from the market, they had lost wind and so motored in to the pier. That's the way it goes sometimes.

At least a couple of mornings each week, we come by just as the local fishermen are offloading their catch. This was one of those mornings. The long pole is used with the scale to weigh bags of fish. I couldn't catch them using the scale on this particular morning, and we couldn't wait forever. The girls do get a bit impatient if they sense that we're taking too long on non-pack business.

Unloading the Catch

More Unloading the Catch

After winding our way past the fishermen, and through the town square, where we always say hello to the ladies, who clean the park benches and walks each weekday morning, we come to the market. It's undergoing some major improvements, with the addition of this central stall structure going length-wise through the middle of the market. It'll be quite an improvement when it's done.

Here, workers are just finishing a new sidewalk on one side of the stalls. This should mark quite an improvement for the Corozal Market. We've always remarked at the markets at Orange Walk and San Ignacio as being very nice. This is definitely a step in the right direction.

New Sidewalk at the Market

On the way back from town, it was hard to miss them, but we managed to spot a group of vultures, fulfilling their mandate for roadside cleanup. They are so beautiful when in the air, hardly moving a muscle as they glide along the edge of the bay all day long. They're ugly as can be on ground.

For as big as they are, they're amazingly timid. It's very hard to get close enough to them for a decent photo.

The Road Crew At Work

Then, just when we were done shooting them, and turned onto Almond Drive from the highway, we noticed a bunch more of their compatriots, patiently awaiting their turn at the feast.

Waiting to Be Seated At the Roadside Diner

There had to have ben about thirteen or fourteen in the tree, with more in the trees across the highway, all waiting their turn to eat.

As Doug said - more or less, "Anytime you see a few vultures circling overhead, that's probably just a few of the whole number of vultures interested in the find."

And there you have it. We get home, usually drenched in sweat, just in time to have our own breakfast, and then get the day's activities started.