It's beginning to feel like home.

     There's been a big jump forward with our home project. The 'home' now has walls. The big pour was a couple of weeks ago, and now they have removed most of the wooden forms to reveal what appears to be a house! Here you can see the two outdoor pavilions. The closest will be a dining area, and the furthest away will be a seating area overlooking the pool and water view. Got chairs?

      This view is looking up the main entrance staircase towards the dining pavilion and front door. To the left is the pool and main lounging deck. The walls of the house will be white stucco on this floor. Down below we have chosen a darker brown color, Similar to some of the natural stone surrounding this staircase.

      This photo is of the back patio area. You can look through the den out to the water. Just to the bottom left will be the bar-b-q grill. The roofing materials are stored under those tarps at the right. Roofing should begin in a week or so. First they have to finish prepping all the rafters.

      Here's the view from the master bedroom deck looking over at the den and the front part of the house. The windows are 'on-island' and should go in right along with the roofing. Our contractor has moved into hyper-mode.


     


      Check out the house from afar. It's really all falling into place! We are so excited. Pack those bags!

Something new floats in to St. John!

      Off, off in the distance I pick up the first clue that something wonderful may be out there in the ocean. Could it be what I've been waiting for?

      Now what you probably don't know is that there are very few navy blue boats in the Caribbean. People tell me that this is because that hull color makes them 'hot'. Whatever. So when I received a text message from my delivery captain telling me he was just passing St. Thomas, I immediately jumped in the jeep to go have a look. Looks like a navy hull to me!
 

      Oh boy, it is Far Niente! Furling up the head sail. So I call the captain on his cell. Everything is great. Except they have run out of fuel. So this will be picking up the mooring the old-fashioned way. By sailing, no motor! Let's see, I haven't done that in maybe 20 years?

      Here they come, entering the harbor. The wind is blowing 10 to 15 knots. Very nice and easy under the mainsail alone. I am so excited I can't stand it!

 

      All the way into the harbor on one tack and right up to the ball. Very impressive. Here we see Crewman Mike picking up the mooring. All completed on the first try.

      I am standing at the waters edge taking telephoto shots. When along comes the mooring guy Colin in his dinghy. Would I like to go out with him? Is the Pope...you know what? Off we go out to meet Far Niente. I am so excited I could wet my pants. Well maybe not that excited!

 

      Crewman Mike greets us and picks up the dinghy painter. Both Captain Dale and Mike look tired but happy. They tell me it was a smooth passage with very little problems. OK, so they ran out of fuel, ran out of water, ran out of food. Tried to catch a fish and came up empty. But then they told me that all their supplies lasted until just this morning. So I guess 99% of the trip was uneventful! 

      So here's the best part. Far Niente sitting on her mooring in Great Cruz Bay, St. John, US Virgin Islands. Am I happy?  Remember the part about the Pope?

Here come da roof, Mon.

     This will be a short posting, because as 'they say' (whoever 'they' are)  a picture says a thousand words. And in this case it's just true.

     As you can obviously see, the roof... it be rising. How they get the beams up into position, I have no clue. No block or tackle. Just muscle. Big muscle. Hunky big muscle. Oops, whatever.

     As I'm writing this, the guys are finishing all the rafters. My photos can't keep up with the work! In the foreground is part of the flat roof which will carry the solar panels for hot water. Yes, Mother Nature will make our showers nice and toasty. And for free. OK, what happens when it's cloudy? Not that it happens for very long. But if it is overcast, then electricity  kicks in. Not free.

 

      All the roofing materials are on-site. The plywood sub-sheathing is sitting in the patio. The actual roof tiles (or shakes) are downstairs with the bamboo that will go between the rafters inside. Everything has to acclimate on location. After the beams are in position they pour the concrete walls. Then they finish the roof. But don't let me get ahead of myself! Just know that we are having a blast.

      Can't you tell? Hey Bob, get that wine glass out of Jim's face. And Jim, take off those shades!

   

Sometimes, you must get stoned.

      We are just following the advise of Bob Dylan...."everybody must get stoned." And so the mason showed up this week to begin work on landscaping walls and planters.
      Meet Tyson Maximin, the man with a pick and hammer. We have amassed quite a bit of rock during the excavation process, so Tyson has a lot to choose from.

      These walls are fitted together with very little mortar. On the outside it looks like there is no mortar at all. But it's all hidden inside. The top edge is the only area where you can see the cement. Just to keep the water out. The color variation is wonderful.

      Many of the homes here use native stone as decoration. Some even put shells and colored glass in with the stone. But we have chosen to keep in simple and modern, to go with the modern style of our house. After all, the stone is free. Only Tyson is expensive!

      Look, Jim is on the phone, again. Probably trying to sell a client a marketing project. Jim has been a busy guy down here. He's been up to Maine and down to Anguilla. Bob has been as far as the beach. Whatever.

      Look, The cook is surveying his new kitchen. Open-air cooking? Maybe not, the roofing materials arrived yesterday. We can't wait for a roof! A bit of shade will feel just right!

Bob goes to Florida. Bling, bling.

      If progress is measured in degrees, we are progressing nicely.
The driveway grading has now been finished. Not too steep! There will be a safety edge put on the outside to prevent cars from falling off. And you can see that the driveway is of ample size. Trucks and such will be driven up and down to compact the earth. Gates and lanterns to come.

 

       So we had to give it a test drive! Voila! We are on top of the parking pad. Finally!

    
       Then is was time for Bob to go off to Florida for a shopping trip. We need travertine. We need granite. We need swimming pool tile. We need money! Send us some.
Fort Lauderdale. My first impression....blingy. Rolls Royces, mega mansions, people with leather skin. Steven Spielberg's yacht was sitting next to the hotel. Two swimming pools, a Ferrari, and a helicopter. Come on, who needs that stuff? And it just sits there. Imagine the slip fees! Whatever.
      OK, back to shopping. Travertine for the floors. I went to several places and finally found what I was looking for...

      Ivory colored stone from Turkey. Nice and creamy colored. Honed, filled and brushed so it will work inside and outside. Not too slippery around the pool. Basically perfect!
OK let's order that. 4500 square feet please. To go.








     
      Next stop, granite shopping. We need something for the kitchen. Something for the bathrooms. Something for the powder room. Even for outside next to the BBQ. Wow, was there a lot to choose from. But I narrowed it down by color and pattern. So here are two of the winners. Which one where? TBD. We are keeping everything fairly neutral. Warm greys and yellows with a lot of white.

      I packed all the samples into my suitcase and headed for the airport. Whoa, forty pounds on the suitcase scale. I just made it under the limit. My back is killing me.
      On de island, Jim and I head out to the site to see whasss up. Look, more walls are up. It's looking like a real building. Now all we need is a roof. The materials are packed and on the way.

      Check out the dream vs the reality. It may actually match! Stay tuned for more!

Challenge!

      So, it finally happened.
We have a potential budget busting challenge. This has to do with the fact that our lot is uphill of the main road that services it. Way uphill. Here you are looking back down to the common road.

      Now, the driveway was excavated out by the tractor you see. But apparently that didn't mean that the soil it was moving around would remain stable. Hard enough to support a driveway for the long term. So now that they are actually dealing with the driveway, they had to provide a retaining wall on the downhill side. Which means digging until you hit solid rock.

      Here is the 'big dig' portion. The frame for the retaining wall is constructed and the concrete poured. They did hit solid rock. But the hole is about 40 feet deep and 20 feet wide. That's a big hole. Cost? TBD. Ouch.
      We do have good news as well. They are starting to frame the main walls upstairs. Here's a shot of the pool and pavilion. And my take on the finished building. It's starting to look like what I imagined!

       So as the excavation cost is being 'adjusted', the construction continues at a speedy pace. Jim and I are starting to pick out tile, granite, and fixtures. The roofing material has been ordered and we are awaiting delivery within a week or two.  We've picked a cabinet maker. I meet with him next week to get him started. Below is a shot from a nearby hill. You can see that our perch on the hill is pretty amazing. Get your suitcases ready? Well, think Christmas!

A tale of two parties.

     Here is our official "Greeter' meeting some guests at the ferry dock. Who could they be?
     Well, Joanne and Dave Rogers of course. Our former next-door neighbors from Dolphin Cove. Once again they have come down to partake of 'de island climate'. No wonder, since it was snowing the day they left Connecticut. After a winter like they've had they could use a little 85 degree weather..... and we have just the place to offer it.


 
    What better way to start off a vacation than with a spirited hike on one of de island trails.


      We loaded up the Jeep and headed out for a trek up Ram Head Point. This spot is at the east end of the island and is pretty remote. Back in the 1700's a group of West Indians committed suicide here rather than return to work for the plantation owners. They jumped into the sea. Their native revolution lasted only one year and ended here. Wow is it windy out on this point. My hair blew off. Jim's too. Joanne, of course, looks perfect.

     After the hike back downhill Dave, Jim and Bob took a dip in the ol' Caribbean Sea. Boy did that feel good! Then it was off to lunch at a local dive.

     The next day we went for a kayak tour of a spot called Hurricane Hole. Our guide Liz gave us the finer points of kayak operations. Snorkeling was on the agenda too. Then there was a great lunch. We were watched over by a herd of hermit crabs. They wanted our lunch, but settled for crumbs.

     Of course we took Joanne and Dave out to the site to see the progress on our house. Since the driveway is dug up again it was a little scary climbing up the hill.  Look, it's raining on Tortola.
Minutes later the sun came back out. Such is life on this rock we call home!

Party-time. Yes, time for a 'painkiller'. Yummmm.
    

     OK, now it's time to tell about a different kind of party. Every year there is a fundraiser for The St. John School of the Arts. This year the theme was 'Hooray for Hollywood'.  Everyone was supposed to come dressed as their favorite movie star. There was even a red carpet to walk.

   
  
     Look it's Louie B. Mayer and
Samuel Goldwyn from MGM Studios. Wonder who that starlet is with them? I bet those guys are trying to get her in for an audition and a little session on the casting couch. Typical Hollywood producers! Nice cigars guys. Are they Cuban perchance?


    

     Of course Louie and Sammy are working the room. Here they are chatting up Charlie Chaplin. Maybe there's another silent film in the works. I think Louie lost his moustache? What a fake. Look at Sammy pretend to be listening. He's really more interested in that trophy Charlie has.



    

     The fundraiser was a huge success. Something like fifty thousand was raised to support the school. And a trip to New York with seats to a Broadway show was raffled off. Amazing.
Anyway, Louie and Sammy had a great time. I don't think either of them smoked the cigars.  These guys were 'hot' in their suits. And I mean temperature hot. They couldn't wait to get back into t-shirt and shorts!
     Flip flops rule!