This week has been one long hectic rush. So much has been done on the house that it is difficult to know where to begin. Unfortunately no pictures will do it justice as we are down to detailed work. All the upstairs pillars have been plastered and painted. The basements outside walls have been plastered, as have the bathrooms. The shower areas are now obvious and ready for the glass blocks to be put in place. Every wall that has drywall has been filled and sanded and in many areas the primer has been put on. All internal doors have been fitted and have had there undercoat put on. The basement has got electricity and all the sockets are fitted and lights and fans are in place. The carpenters are making a fantastic job of the balcony railings, the wood they use is Purple Heart and it really is a lovely purple colour. We hope to be able to seal the colour in with a special treatment otherwise it fades quite quickly once the sun and rain gets to it. This will also be used inside the house on the staircase railings; it should make a nice contrast with the greenheart. The first of the round windows are in place, completing the gallery window. The others may arrive today but could be delayed as it appears our window maker was so impressed at getting some money upfront, supposedly to buy materials and pay for extra labour, that he spent it on a new truck and now is unable to complete our order on time, as he is now a one man band and is having to earn extra money at night as a taxi driver to get our money together to finish the windows. Of course not having windows in place means the weather side of the house can’t be decorated in case it spoils the paint work, either that or we resort to plastic coverings at the windows.

All that is left of the rudder bearing housing. This electrolysis is most likely caused by the copper anti foul coating we have on, which is very effective as you can see from the bottom of the boat which hasnt been cleaned now for 3 years. The solution may be to peel off the coating around that area and then paint the aluminium housing with a special anti foul for that metal.

Jeff and Reno taking it easy.

Lucky Dog at Sunset

We finished of our dogwatch on Tuesday. We loved being with that big old dog; he was such a character. The cats were fun too, although hard work, especially Presley who did escape one night into the gardens of the hotel but didn’t go too far. It was a relief to hand back three cats, one dog and a boat intact at the end of our watch.

We got the nod from the boat yard that we could be hauled out on Friday first thing, so Jeff had to quit work early on Thursday and take the boat up to Rodney Bay, whilst I took the guys home in the truck. The boat is now out and ready for the work that needs to be done. We hope it will only be a few days until she is back in the water ready to go sailing at long last. In the meantime we have moved into Doreen’s house and once again are enjoying a soft bed and a loo you don’t have to pump. Today is Jounet Kweole- patois for Creole Day. There are celebrations up and down the Island today and tomorrow. The main emphasis seems to be sampling the various local dishes and finding out about traditions, crafts and customs. Doreen, myself and another couple of girls are off down south tomorrow to some of the bigger events. Jeff can’t come as he will be overseeing the work on Wine Down, so it’s a girls day out soaking up the culture..well, more like eating our way through the Island really!