Jim and Bob's Excellent Adventure to Palm Springs.

      Ok, so I haven't been keeping up with the blogging lately. Whatever.
So here is a quick summery of what's been going on for the last several months:
Not much. We moved into the house and have been enjoying ourselves. Surprise!
      We have made one big change. We've added a generator. (See photos below)

  The generator arrives by truck.

The generator goes into it's home.

    
      Now, moving on to our next adventure. We have left the island for a trip out West.  Two months in California beginning with a car trip to visit Jim's family. First stop, of course, is Los Angeles.

       
      Ah yes. L.A. It hasn't changed. Traffic and more traffic. It takes over an hour to get anywhere, including around the block. Anyway, we got to visit with Jim's sister Joyce. She is deep into working on another movie. This time Jungle Book for Disney. Sounds amazing.
      Next we headed out of L.A. for St. George Utah to visit Jim's youngest sister Pat and her husband Brian. They have just moved to Utah from Kansas. Here we are in Zion National Park. Not exactly flat like Kansas! There are lots of hiking trails and golf courses.

      Speaking of golf courses, we played nine holes with Pat and Brian. Well, let's say Jim played and Bob made divots everywhere. Perhaps lessons are in the future for Bob?
      After St. Goerge, we moved on to Aspen Colorado to visit Jim's oldest sister Marilyn and her husband Larry. Aspen is great in the summer! Again we went on some hikes but didn't play golf. Bob is still recovering from the last fiasco on the fairways.
      After an overnight near Santa Fe New Mexico it's off to Palm Springs and our rental house in the desert. Tennis anyone? Golf? Bob? Bob?
      Stay tuned. I promise to post more often if I don't break anything?
      Be well.

  

Donkeys, goats, and birds, oh my!

       So! It's been a while since the last posting. You're probably wondering what we've been up to? Well, maybe you haven't. But I'm going to tell you anyway. So, there!

       As you can see, some things never change. Here is Mr. Ad Executive doing what he does best....knitting of course. In between hosting guests and taking care of finishing off the house, we have actually been out on the boat a few times. This photo is in Maho Bay, our now favorite overnight spot.

    
    
       Did you know that Mr. Adman is also known for his hunting skills? Here's the story....
Our new home has UV rated windows to screen out the sun. This results in highly reflective glass.
       Well, one of the local birds found this disturbing. The bird saw another bird in the window and charged at it. A million times. It's beak started to bleed. We got worried about him. Apparently these birds are territorial and this one, seeing his own reflection, thought that his turf was being compromised.  Our friend Captain Greg loaned Jim his pellet gun:
 

      After a few misses, mission accomplished. The bird was no longer suffering. Us too!


      Fortunately none of the other birds have mimicked this behavior. Maybe they have bad eyesight!


      Now that the bird issue has been laid to rest. Pun. We have moved on to more taxing issues. Like gardening. However, we've decided that spending a fortune on plants without fencing the property is a bad idea. The donkeys came up on the deck and swallowed down one of our ferns. Then munched on some other stuff we planted for dessert. OK, time for plan B. Let's get plants donkeys and goats won't eat. Like cactus. Our friends the Taquard's are putting in a new pool and had a bunch of plants to give us for free.  So we got to work planting. Maybe the donkeys and goats won't notice? Anyway, the yellowish plants are supposedly goat proof. And the cactus is, well, cactus. Looks good for now. Fingers crossed.

      Time for golfing. Golfing? We have no golf course on St. John. Surprise, there is the Skinny Legs-Coral Bay Annual Open. We were paired up with new friends Julie and Mark. The course meanders around the restaurant Skinny Legs. So there were fairways down the main street, through the parking lot, out over the dinghy dock, and into the neighboring baseball field. Jim got a hole in one! Bob got sore hands from hitting the dirt.

    

All along the course were drink stations and food spots. So as we consumed rum punches and hot dogs the play got wilder and wilder. Think of it as miniature golf with an island twist. Or maybe a lemon twist is more accurate. Anyway, we played 'best ball' and there were prizes awarded at the end. We won nothing.


      Also, there were prizes for the best 'golfing' outfit. Bob put together a natty combination of plaid shorts and a striped shirt. With the addition of a polka dot bow tie to complete the country club look. Like the white golf shoes and straw hat?

       We have been entertaining like crazy. We assume everyone is having fun and enjoying our new place. Party, party, party! Does this man look happy?    ( At least he's out of the sun. )

Finally, furniture and friends!

      Our furniture was delayed for over a month. We found out that it went 'on vacation' to Jamaica! Who knew? We got a crazy story that bad weather on the west coast caused container ships to be backed up in the Panama Canal, and thus late arriving on the east coast, and thus our container went to Jamaica. Makes no sense. Whatever.
      But late or not, it finally got here.

      Moving day was exciting to say the least. The container went through Customs on St. Thomas and then came to St. John by ferry. Then it was down-loaded into 2 smaller trucks for the trip out to our house on the far other end of the island.

      I guess we forgot how many boxes we had in storage because when they started coming up on the deck we quickly ran out of room. Long story short, it all got here and Bob went through the packing list several times. It was all there. Whew!





      Of course next we had to unpack it all. Ugh.

      Here is the outdoor furniture. Pretty cool. It all came from Restoration Hardware. Some of it had to be assembled. But it was an easy job and we like the result.

      Here is the finished Great Room. Most of this stuff came out of the Connecticut house. After measuring and measuring we were happy to find that it all actually fit. Thank goodness!









      The furniture arrival was great. But better yet was the arrival of our first house guests. Roy and Don from the ol' neighborhood Dolphin Cove. They flew down the day after a major snow storm. It hit the east coast with a vengeance and the guys were lucky to get out of JFK airport.

     


     Hey guys, get out of those long pants and into shorts. This is de islands! As you can see there was no snow in sight. The only surprise was a bit of heavy wind. But that didn't stop us from running around the island and taking a sail with our friends Captain Greg and Captain Barbara. We all had a blast!







      Not to be lazy guests, the guys decided that our outdoor arm chairs needed some attention. So they bought leg sliders for the bottoms of each chair and got to work installing them. Wonderful. we love guests like this. Who wouldn't? Of course there were multiple work breaks for a glass of chardonnay. Maybe it wasn't work after all?

      Roy and Bob share the same birthday. And as luck would have it, the day came while Roy was here with us. So off we went for a birthday feast at the Caneel Bay Resort.

      This picture is a bit grainy since it was kind of dark in the restaurant. But you can see, everyone was seriously working on their entre. Such concentration. More bottles of wine. Are you surprised?

      The guys left the island just in time for another snow storm to hit up their way. Maybe they should have hung around longer? We could have put them to work on other projects. Maybe next time. They better plan the next time trip soon, because for some reason our phone is ringing off the hook! 

      Hurry on down here yawl. 

     

Happy Holidays 2014, or pin the garland on the donkey!

      Yes, it's holiday time down in de islands and I guess there are a few traditions that are different than up in the states. Like dressing up a donkey? Who knew? We came upon two of these lucky fellows, or gals, who had been adorned in Xmas attire. They didn't seem to mind all the attention.

      Now that it's Winter season, the tourists have arrived in full force. Along with that comes the mighty cruise ships. Here we see one passing by our house. You can't tell from this picture, but I could see people on deck they were so close.

 

      So you're probably wondering what's happening with the  house. Well we are in the final stages of construction. Which means everything has slowed down to a snails pace.
      The cables for the deck railing did arrive and have been installed. See below. We no longer worry about falling off. But then we kind of liked the view with no railing at all. However, we would get no Certificate of Occupancy without them.

      We have moved out of the rental house and into our new place. Ground breaking to occupancy: thirteen months. Not too bad for de islands. We've borrowed a few things from the rental so we can cook and such. Our furniture, after a brief vacation in Jamaica, has arrived on St. Thomas. We expect it will be delivered late this week or early next. Finally. It will be like a mini Christmas opening up our boxes. I can't wait to see how much junk we have that we don't need!

      Fortunately, I ordered a new bed and it arrived a week ago. So we have a place to sleep thank goodness. There is some electrical and plumbing work ahead. But not too much.

 

      The next post will be about furniture. With our pieces from Connecticut, and more that we ordered through Restoration Hardware and custom made stuff from California , we should be in 'decorators heaven'. Hope it all goes together!

      We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. Here is JimBob on Christmas Day.

      As our donkey friends say, "Have a kick-ass 2015".

 

Water and power. It be coming, mon.

      We are getting down to the last few items to finish before 'move-in' day.
The granite counters arrived last week and were assembled on site. They came all bundled together in two large, and very heavy crates. One of the back-splash pieces was broken. But our trusty installer was able to put them together and I can't find the seam. Amazing.

      Here we have evidence of power! The new cook-top. This is an induction unit which may involve some learning to master. The pan heats, not the surface. We went with one of these because of experience with gas ranges and wind. Unreliable in de breeze.

      And here is evidence of water! The kitchen sink. Hey what's that sitting inside? Looks like Bob has been around. Well at least he didn't leave empty bottles sitting all over.

      Water and power are good. But a house isn't really a home until the BBQ goes in. That will probably be completed over this weekend. The granite guy has to cut the various pieces to fit the grill and side burner. Also because the back wall is curved there will be some careful fitting and trimming to be done. If the power goes out on de island we can just cook outside!

      We aren't allowed to occupy the house until we have a Certificate of Occupancy. And we can't get that unless the decks have railings. So, in go the railings. Bronze posts with wood caps and cable running between the posts (not here yet). The cable will be covered in PVC, just like on a boat. But black, not white, so your eye will see through it. Aren't we clever?

      Our furniture from Connecticut arrives on-island next week. Or so we think? Anyway, the contractor is working fast and furious to get everything ready. We are so excited that the house is coming together so well. Also, we are being kicked out of our rental. Well, not kicked out exactly. But the house has been rented for January and February. We will start the new year in a new home!
      What else do we need? How about light? Let there be light!

      You will definitely see furniture in the next posting. Stay tuned!

Water, water everywhere, but no where to swim?

     
      Jim and I have been staring at an empty shell of a pool for months now. The process of selecting a plaster finish has been a nightmare. So many colors. So many different types of plaster. So many different opinions from pool installers. After wading through the options (sorry for the pun), we finally picked a finish of small aggregate pebbles in a soft beige color. Supposedly this will yield a long lasting finish with a pale aqua water color. Really?
      Let the plastering begin!





















      The crew began work on a Thursday afternoon. They grouted the tile and waterproofed the entire pool surface. The next day was plaster day. The stuff goes on like cake frosting. Thick and runny.

      After a bit of hand troweling, they let the stuff sit for awhile. Lunch! Then it was time for the acid wash. Yuck. Muratic acid fumes and smell. Scary stuff! Can you believe they pour that junk on the walls with a garden watering can? Whatever.

     
      After poring on acid, they power wash it off the walls. This is the process of removing excess plaster and revealing the small pebble finish.


      Well, it didn't all go according to plan. They let the finish sit too long and it hardened up and the power washer couldn't take it off. Maybe that lunch was too long? Anyway, off they go to get more acid and a stronger power washer. Scruba-dub-dub and washy-washy and the pebbles emerge. All is saved.


      So here we have the completed plaster job. Lovely. But something is missing. Oh yes, water?


      Bring on the water trucks. Two of them carrying 4300 gallons of liquid each. Hummm, that be a ton of agua. Back the suckers up our driveway? Not an easy feat. But, ya mon, we do dis all de time.
No problem, mon.

      I'm wondering exactly how much water it will take to fill this pool. The delivery guys tell me that two truckloads may not do the job. Three" Are you kidding? Oh well, we're about to find out.

      It doesn't take very long to go through the first truckload. On to the second. The goal is to fill the pool up to mid skimmer door level. When the second truck is finished we are shy about 4 inches. So out comes our hose and we top off the job from water in our cisterns.  Voila! A pool!

      Hey just look at this. It's a cloudy afternoon but the shimmering water is amazing. Just the color we imagined. It matches the shoreline down below. But you can't see that here. Trust me.

      And it looks just as inviting from the far-end looking back at the house. Nice color.
Hey, how did we get this picture?

      Well somebody had to try the pool out.
'Hello' to all our friends up north. It's 88 degrees here today. We've heard it's a tad cooler elsewhere. He, he, he!

Have we lost our way?

      So many things are happening at once that Jim and I can feel our heads spinning. At the same time, nothing seems to be happening at all.

      Our island friends tell us that this is a normal experience. Once the walls and windows are finished, the project seems to move in slow motion. And yet there is progress!

      Why look, we have a compass to point the way.
And a nice marble one to boot. Nicely sitting in the middle of our outdoor pavilion, surrounded by lovely travertine. Is it pointing at true north or magnetic north? You will have to come and see for yourself!




      The driveway is finally attached to the main road. There is a whole, long story about this. Friendly me sends an e-mail to the neighbor who owns the lot immediately below us to advise about our driveway and hers. Guess what? She hires an attorney and complains we are blocking access to her lot. Enter the developer, and our driveway is now complete. All we need are a couple of columns and a gate. Fun in paradise.

       Moving on. And yes 'moving' is a good word for the next subject. Solar blinds. The sun is so intense down here that the furniture and rugs would be burned to a crisp without some kind of protection. So we came up with a valance system to hold solar shades and ceiling lighting too.
We weren't sure these shades would roll up and down correctly and be hidden when stored. Surprise! It works. No, there is no motor. You have to move them the old fashioned way. With your arms. Kind of like forced dumbbell curls. Pull that cord. At night, lights shine up on the ceiling. Groovy!

       Check out the stucco work. We have chosen two colors. An off-white for the main house and a dark greyish brown for everything below. You can see here a hint of the 'below' color at the left. We think it all is coming out very well. Anybody who wants to help plant bushes is invited. Hurry!

      OK. So I understand that the weather up north is getting chilly. So sad. So sorry. He, he he.
Down in de-islands it's time to go boating. In 15 days the ol' boat will be launched again.

      Can't wait! So many islands to explore. So many Pina Coladas to taste. So much fun to have.

      Hurry down. Hurricane season is just about over and the weather is spectacular. The Christmas winds are just around the corner.

      House? What house?