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!