Last Sunday we took the dinghy out to give Foxy her “boat dog” lessons. She was well behaved and took her place at the pointy end and even looked over the edge a few times, with a bit of encouragement. We beached the dinghy in a small bay around the headland and she was able to run around and bark at us whilst we swam. We tried to coax her in but she would have none of it; the waves were just a little too scary.

The first internal concrete pillar has been clad with wood.

The week had its ups and downs as far as the house is concerned. The pool and decking areas are great. They have been sanded and coated in decking sealant. The tiles and diamond brite have been ordered and should take three weeks to arrive. The excavation hasn’t taken place, which is just as well because the ground is water logged. This was due to heavy rain and also the entire contents of the plastic water tanks, all 800 gallons slowly leaking out from underneath. This has now been rectified and we should see a difference fairly soon. The weather has been unseasonably wet which has not helped us. This is the beginning of the dry season but it certainly is not.

This area at the side of the house is getting a retaining wall. Next week all that wood will have gone and a flat concreted area will be there instead.

The decking area has now had its wood sealant painted on and looks very good. Jeff is sanding and treating the railings to protect them from weathering and UV.

The kitchen begins to take shape as the first of the cupboards are made out of white cedar.

We have moved into Maggi’s house for a week, whilst she goes sailing. The dogs all get on well although Foxy is now a dirty grey colour having been rolled around in the mud during their boisterous play. It will be a weekend of relaxation, catch up and a good Skype connection, what joy!

Betty the stray kitten is getting fat and it looks as though she is pregnant. If she is still around after she has had them we shall take her to the vets to have her"done".

The wood has been found for the kitchen. Jeff and Kenrick went off into the mountains and found an old lady that cut trees on her land and then left them to dry in a large hut. When they looked in there were trunks of all varieties, teak, mahogany, cedar, blue mahoe and several others. The 3 trunks were taken to our site, where they have been split into about sixty planks, then planed and sanded. It is a lovely creamy white colour and should look good against the red walls. All the wood for the decking was found and has now created a magnificent area around the pool. It will be sanded today and then sealed when we have a dry period. At the moment it rains in the early morning. The floors downstairs are finished and look great. It means there is no general thoroughfare through the house now so it is a bit awkward to get to the basement. The excavator should arrive again next week to put all the earth where it needs to be before the concreting starts and that will make it much easier to get to all sides of the house.

. In the meantime my next job has been to track down mosaic tiles for the top edge of the pool. Six months ago they were everywhere but now I cant find any so it will mean a special order. This will delay the pool finish as the Diamond Brite coating goes on at the same time as the tiles; not to worry though as there is no Diamond Brite on the Island either! The stones that go around the top edge were found in a masons yard and have been cut and smoothed. They call it flat stone here and it is a lovely pale turquoisy/verdigris colour. We would really like the pool colour and tiles to match it but that may be a tall order here, where getting what is available is the norm, but I’m onto it and shall leave no stone unturned.

Foxy is growing fast but is still able to stop people on the dock to get the attention she thinks she deserves. She knows more people than we do and is turning out to be a real little character. She goes to the house each day for a walk and is keen to meet other dogs. Yesterday it was Deano, the 8-month-old rottweiler and it was clear that both of them felt that size didn’t matter as they pranced around having fun.

It is still high season here so the restaurants and bars are full of holiday makers and Castries has at least three cruise ships in a day, so the streets are heaving and the traffic slow. We spent our day off this week sweeping out the house and having our first cold beers, in the sunshine, on the decking. It really felt like the first of many good times to come!

It has been a week of trying to get the materials to finish off various jobs. This means ringing around shops, yards, builders, their friends, “a bloke who might know” and “a little lady that used to sell wood” plus everyone’s uncle and their dog. It is hugely time consuming and frustrating but eventually you can track down most things- at a price! This week Jeff has been looking for two types of wood, greenheart and white cedar and I have been trying to get tiles to go around the edge of the pool. Tomorrow we should reap the rewards of our endeavours as we go off in opposite directions to gather the bits and pieces.

Work on the house is steady. We have a team in sanding both first and second floors and they should get their sealant on next week. If the wood arrives tomorrow the decking could be finished next week and the kitchen units started. The painter is still painting, sometimes inside sometimes out, depending on where he isn’t in the way. The tiler should return next week. He has loads of stuff to keep him busy, two balconies and a downstairs loo. We got windows this week, only 15 more to go plus 8 doors!

Life on the dock hasn’t been so good. We have had a large yacht next to us that runs its stinky generator all night and its air con water outlet is right next to our sleeping quarters. We were hopeful they were going but they decided to stay a few more days to empty their fuel tanks and clean them out, so we have had to suffer diesel fumes as well. Not very considerate or neighbourly so when customs boarded them for a drugs raid this morning I sat back and enjoyed their discomfort, even though nothing was found.

This Saturday was Doreen's birthday and she asked that we should all go out for a "lime" rather than the usual meal. We set off with eight of us in the 4x4 and found a forest trail through the rain forest that has been set up as a bird sanctuary. There were lots of birds but we didn't spot the Lucian parrot. It was a strenuous walk up steep paths but well worth it for the views and surroundings. Afterwards we headed to the river and parked in the middle of it and placed all our picnic gear on a bank next to a swimming hole. We hadn't been there long when a local guy asked if we would like him to catch us some fresh water cray fish. He soon came back with a dozen or so and then proceeded to fish all afternoon. Jeff made a fire and we soon had them cooking on banana leaves. They were truly delicious. We ate , swam and chatted and it was agreed that it was the best way to spend a birthday.

These tall fern trees grow in profusion and the forest ranger has promised me that he will find a small one and pot it up for us to grow in the garden.

Man makes fire!

A tired puppy gets a lift!

 

We have had a spell of dry weather which has meant that the pool and decking area are almost complete in construction, just the fancy bits left like the Diamond Brite coating and attaching of pipes to pumps etc. The painter is back in trying to finish off upstairs in time for the sanding and polishing of floors team that will arrive on Monday. We were in town this week buying four loos and some hand basins, not as easy as it seems as white loos aren’t white, more of an off grey colour but we eventually tracked down some that would do. They go in for quite ornate loos, scalloped edges or tiered bowls. I did point out to the salesman that they were a bit of a germ trap and would prefer something plainer but I could see from his expression that he thought I was a bit behind the times.

We have had to get another plasterer as Thomas had a car accident and broke his leg in two places. We shall have to visit him in hospital to see if we can help in any way. I should imagine he will be off work for a while and definitely won’t see the end of our project. Kenrick managed to conjure up another cousin from Rousseau who could plaster so he was on the job that same day to finish of the outside of the pool.
The first floor is now fully boarded and looks great, so the tiler will need to be back next week to get the last of the balconies done and the downstairs loo. Then the carpenters can get on with the kitchen cabinets and the sitting room bookshelves. There are still walls and concreting to do outside, so everyone has their work cut out for a few more months.

It has been great having Fiona here. We haven’t done too much since last weekend but she has been to Barbados to meet up with her boyfriend. She really enjoyed the trip and noticed how different the two Islands are even though only eighty miles of sea separate them.

We did take Foxy for a swimming lesson in the sea, which left us all wet and covered in sand as Foxy swam as fast as she could back to shore and then raced around like a loony, covering herself in sand. We had to give her a bath when we got back and spent an hour or so removing all the seeds and burrs she had picked up.

Fi leaves tomorrow to finish the last few months of her time at Cardiff before she enters the world of work and all that it entails (if she gets a job that is!) She does have a few ideas so we shall just have to wait and see. Its great being retired and not to have to go through all that sort of stuff again, although life isn’t without its difficult decisions here. Another cold beer..swim then a beer..beer,swim then snooze?