We had a very pleasant time house sitting for Maggie. Her dogs are rescued mutts, skinny, bony, Spanish policeman hat ears and very timid. They bark if you move near them and wont let you touch them in any friendly way. I eventually got them to take food from my hand and they would lick my legs if we avoided all eye contact. They are just about OK with Maggie, in fact she says the most timid one lies on her and snuggles under her armpits. I expect if we had longer with them they might be less scared. The time spent relaxing on soft sofas and watching TV was quite a novelty and it was great to cook with a real oven again. I bet it wont be long after we move in that all these things cease to be fun and just become the norm again.

Tilley and Lottie resting after a hard day.

We have had a frustrating time this week organising the release of our container. Customs here are the same as they are the world over; difficult, arrogant, bossy, powerful and have the upper hand at all times. We need our stuff discharged and to pay as little duty as we can and they want to make life as awkward and expensive as they can- C’est la vie! The container should have been hauled up to Marigot today but there is a problem getting it released from the dock. A ploy that is used to get extra money from people as container space on the dock is charged at a daily rate. That is life here I guess, everyone wants a bite of the cherry. When it comes we have to drag everything out for customs to examine and then store it in another container or our house or in Mama Sheila’s house. It sounds like a logistical nightmare but I am sure we will get there in the end.

The house build itself is going well. The big problem is still the same - no windows! He didn’t bring any last week nor this week and we can’t get hold of him. The construction of the pool is taking shape. It is a painstaking effort to get the oval shape exactly right and Kenrick and his team are making a fantastic job of it. We have also come up trumps with the tiler, Wynn, who has an eye for detail and is something of a perfectionist. Fitted wardrobes have been made in both spare rooms and they are starting on the walk-in wardrobe in our room. The top floor has floorboards apart from our room, which will be done next week.
It has been a quiet week, socially, just the daily sundowners at Chateau Mygo. A good thing too as it will start to get busy leading up to Christmas, especially as a lot of the winter time-sharers are starting to arrive. We have already been asked to be part of a joint Christmas party next Saturday, so Mum get your dancing shoes packed!