Saturday 28 December 2013

Santa blew in on the Tradewinds!

No, we did not have a 'White Christmas' this year.

In fact it was around 80 degrees all day, with just a bit of breeze. We are having the 'Christmas Winds' which mean all the sailors are in heaven. The breezes will last into the middle of January and then will taper off. But March will bring another round of tropical winds and all the boats will be out again in full force.

Look what Bob got Jim for Xmas.....Not!
We love the island ingenuity. Want a woody? Slap some plywood on an old Suzuki and you're done.


So, what was for Xmas dinner in de islands?




Appetizer? Several types of cheese and raw honey from Jim's family. Really yummy.






 Main course. Roast leg of lamb with garlic potatoes, carrots and Jim's amazing onion/parsnip tart.
At right is the whole tart just out of the oven and flipped over for serving.

Desert? Sure, Olive oil pound cake with lemon frosting.

It's official, Bob is now overweight and looking like 'Bob's Big Boy" Remember him? Whatever.

Christmas on St. John was wonderful as usual. We decorated our outside deck with our version of a Christmas Tree. Beautiful, huh?
Oh look, there's the jolly ol' plump one now! Ho,ho,ho!   Have a Happy New Year, everyone!





Wednesday 18 December 2013

De concrete, it jus keeps comin'.

      Wednesday, December 18th. We receive another delivery of grey gold. Concrete.

      Backing up a week, the guys have been working from the first floor slab up. Framing bedroom and bathroom walls. And the swimming pool. Look, there's a guy standing in our pool! Well, he's standing on the floor of what will be the pool. Hey, check out the view from the pool. We like it!


      Back to today. So I drive out to the lot. This time I don't go out at the crack of dawn. I leave at ten AM and find myself behind yet another cement truck. When I get to the lot there's a que.


      This time we have the pumper truck and six, seven, eight, oh I'm tired of counting so I don't know how many trucks showed up.

      Whatever. Concrete trucks are coming out of our ears! Money is flying out of my bank account. Isn't life in the caribbean grand?




      Here comes the pumper crane. They start off pouring the pool walls and floor.




      Jim and I climb around the lot and watch the action. There's lots of yelling. Start, no stop. No start again. Wait. Start. Hold it. Pump. It moves pretty fast and the sun is starting to set.
      But we don't wait around for the last drop to be poured. We head off to our favorite watering hole to fill ourselves up.


       Many thanks to the concrete guys from St. Thomas. 'Heavy Materials.' Good name. They have to load up, Take the ferry over to St. John. Drive the entire length of the island over narrow, twisty and steep roads. Dump the stuff. Then drive all the way back to catch the ferry back to St. Thomas.
      And concrete turns to stone pretty quickly. Their timing is incredible.

      It's Xmas soon and this is the last posting of 2013. Happy holidays and have a great new year!


Sunday 8 December 2013

Slap Down Dat Slab Mon

     

     So the first really big day of construction is here. Today they will pour the slab for the lower level of the house. I was told that work would begin early. I rush out to the site at the crack of dawn.
     Look, a rainbow! This must be a really good sign.


     I wait and wait. Then wait some more. Where is everybody? I get tired of waiting and the Jeep needs gas, so I drive over to the other end of the island where the only gas station is located. I pass no one along the way. But they have to pass this way to get to our lot. Whatever.



     Back across the island I go. Just as I turn into our development look who I come up behind!


     Well it looks like the pouring will begin soon.  Soon? They've already started. How did this happen. Not only are they pumping concrete, but look at the line-up of trucks. I will learn later that a total of nine trucks made a delivery today. That's a lot of cement!


     Once I climb up above the site, I get a great view of all the action. Cement is pumped up and then flies out into the framing. It all happens pretty quickly and is very well orchestrated. Guys rake the stuff around and others smooth it out. It looks like they're icing a cake! Clearly they've done this before. They move along like a well managed team.


     Here's our trusty contractor Alex Brooks. (in the red and white striped shirt) Alex isn't one to stand around and bark orders. He gets in there and pushes concrete around with the best of them.


     The whole process takes a good part of five hours. I go to join Jim for lunch and when I return they are finishing up pouring the floor of the pool. (Actually the storage room under the pool. The pool bottom is eight or nine feet off the ground.)  What an amazing process. Really cool Mon.
 

     The next day, here's the dried result. Two cisterns and the first floor slab poured. 
                                                               Onward and upward!
    


Tuesday 3 December 2013

Quick note, before a bigger event.

Oops.
Forgot to post these pictures.




This was a week or so ago when they poured the foundation footings.

Mr. cement truck arrived, and since the driveway is still pretty rough the truck wasn't able to climb. So how to get the cement up there?




Well, let the backhoe carry it up.



Look inside the bucket. A lovely mix of cement coming right up!


Don't spill any, please.











There is Alex, our contractor, supervising the action.


Wayne, the backhoe operator was great. He delivered every load safely up the drive.









What a great eye. Every pour went straight into the forms.







Tune-in soon. The first floor slab is being poured tomorrow. The cement trucks (at least 4, maybe more) show up at 8AM. I'll be there with my trusty camera!