The addition

Updates

Oh, what could be going on. Getting ready for a day trip to St. Thomas. The new ferry is running. Putting a 2nd floor on the house. Wood got delivered for the walls today. New deck for the flooring is done. Water lines / sewer lines run. Left my glasses at the beach the other day. Went back to get them today. Found them just where I left them. Took sailing lessons. Had a total blast. Speed is your friend in a sailboat. Passed with a 98 Helped the Captain tow the little boat from the yacht club to a marina to run a new line down the mast for the jib halyard. Our 1st attempt was unsuccessful. But when the cap't called a couple days later I helped with the tow back to the yacht club. Had a wonderful time. Got soaked. Big stupid grin on my face. Can't wait to get my own boat.

Pictures

So I guess a couple of pictures are in order.

We Moved

Well I guess it's been awhile. Moved to the Caribbean. The Island of St. Croix. Very happy here. Getting to swim most days. Lost a lot of weight. It's very Humid. Getting the Dogs here was a nightmare. Only 2 dogs left Charlie the black one, and Duke the chocolate lab. 1st the airlines told me I had to use the biggest dog crate. Then they said the crate was too big. Then when we got to the airport they said the dogs were overweight. Thats funny they were not overweight the day before at the vets office. A supervisor finally managed to get everything straight. We almost missed our flight. I had to return the rental van. They don't accept the van at the airport. The dog's were the last thing loaded on the plane and we watched them go in. When we got to St. Croix they were 1st out of the plane. Then I had to go get tax stamps. Verify paperwork with import people. The car rental company did not have our car. The truck was the easiest thing to move and it took almost 2 weeks to get here. I was so happy to get rid of the rental car and get my truck back. Finally got to the house. Lock up the dogs and go get an inflatable mattress. No power or water for 10 days. Talk about miserable. Mosquitoes all over the place. It did rain so we collected 2 barrels of rain water for flushing. Ate at McDonalds every days for those 10 days. So that happened January 26 -- Here it is August 6 already. We have power. We have a working cistern ( took me 4 days to clean, seal and repaint) had to run new plumbing and gutters to get the water . About a 6500 gallon tank under the house. The hatch is in the kitchen. All of the water pipes leaked so the house has been replumbed. And new electric had to be run. Yippie everything now works We have 4 split A/C units. Office, Bedroom, Guestroom, Living room. Usually only 1 on at a time. Fans are on 24hrs a day in the living room. New fence built. Only house on the block with a garage. Enclosed the backporch for the guest room / laundry area. Cemented around the side of the house. The hill we are on is really steep and you could slip and slide really well in all the weeds after a rain. We have one huge Mango tree. I'm planting lots of other tree's. Lemon, lime, Avacado, and other fruit trees. Got water melon in the ground. Gotta start on the veggies soon. However at the moment we are still working on the guest room. Ilona has to finish the painting. Then I need to sand the cement floor and get rid of the high spots. Then paint the floor. Put a new fan in too. Need new fans in the living room and bedroom. Cannot use the fans in the bedroom they make too much noise. I think they are like 20 years old. I have a beach. I clean it. I trim the trees I haul out the trash. Chased out the drug dealers. I'm happy. I have a SUP board 2 body boards and snorkel gear. Gonna get scuba certified again so I can go dive the wall.

We moved

Well I guess it's been awhile. Moved to the Caribbean. The Island of St. Croix. Very happy here. Getting to swim most days. Lost a lot of weight. It's very Humid. Getting the Dogs here was a nightmare. Only 2 dogs left Charlie the black one, and Duke the chocolate lab. Had to put Misty down before we left Las Vegas. Poor old girl. Could no longer get up. 1st the airlines told me I had to use the biggest dog crate. Then they said the crate was too big. Then when we got to the airport they said the dogs were overweight. Thats funny they were not overweight the day before at the vets office. A supervisor finally managed to get everything straight. We almost missed our flight. I had to return the rental van. They don't accept the van at the airport. The dog's were the last thing loaded on the plane and we watched them go in. When we got to St. Croix they were 1st out of the plane. Then I had to go get tax stamps. Verify paperwork with import people. The car rental company did not have our car. Finally get to the house. Lock up the dogs and go get an inflatable mattress. No power or water for 10 days. It did rain so we collected 2 barrels of rain water for flushing. Ate at McDonalds every days for those 10 days.

update 4/20/2012

On with the new house. 1. We finished painting inside. Just some detail work left 2. The flooring in the bedrooms has been done. Just need to put the trim back in. 3. Ilona has started moving in her sewing room. 4. Also moved in bathroom stuff and some clothes 5. Still need to work on the water faucets. 6. I'm putting a closetmaid system in my room. 7. Still need to put back the trim in my room but not until I finsih my built-ins. 8. Down in the kitchen. We took out the kitchen cabinets and filled in the holes in the walls. 9. The cabinets were junk pieces of plywood with a sink dropped in. 10. Building kitchen cabinets. Hmmm where did I put the book. 11. Cut a groove in the cement floor for the water line to the refridgerator. 12. Flooring done. Vinyl slate. Looks good. I need to get the cabinets done. 13. The new appliances will be coming in a couple of weeks. 14. Still need to finish in the attic. Since Ilona will be gone for a week and I cannot sleep when she is gone. I will spend my nights in the attic. A lot cooler that way. 15. All of my long sleeve clothes have now been moved to the new house. 16. We do not have the living room floor yet. And we have not yet decided what to do about the stairs. Oh, I've had two pool guys over to look at the pool. They both said the same thing. I need a new pump. The one we've got is like 20 years old. Someone put RTV on the leaking joints which is now coming out, and we are loosing suction. I also need someone with a porta pool vac to clean out all the sand and debris! The pool deck is another issue.

New House

Yes, we have a new house. A little bit of History. My parents passed away in January and July of 2009. Left my home in Sandy Valley and moved into my parents house in town. Hate it. My mate decided to look for a new house. One in town. 2 story a fixer upper. Got one. Now she want's us to get it ready to live in RIGHT NOW.. We have been in my parents house for 3 years now. What is the rush? We have to fix the plumbing. The copper thieves got in. Work on the electrical Work on the pool and pump they don't work. Paint New flooring NONE of the windows are properly sealed. It looks like someone decided to replace the windows and did not know what they were doing. The front door is not installed properly and sand blows in. Same story. I need to install AtticFoil and more insulation in the attic. Got a friends teen to help me this weekend. I can't make up my mind - should I just remove the swamp cooler? Or just the flexible tubing in the attic. It does not work someone stole the water line. When the AC company came out to check the AC they said someone had been up on the roof and disconnected all the wiring. Someone tried to turn the Garage into a bedroom. It needs appliances. Someone stole the stove. Who would steal a stove? Ok, so far we've fixed all the holes in the walls. We spraypainted last weekend. Now we need to finish the painting. Then start on the new floors. Meanwhile back at the Ranch. I'm still trying to figure out WHERE the mice are getting in. I read someplace that a 1/4 inch hole is big enough for a mouse. So I'm going to pull the stove next time I go out. If not their then I will have to pull the kitchen cabinets. What stupid ass man designed a kitchen that I cannot reach into the back corner of the lower shelfs? My arms are 29" and I feel like I'm crawling in to the cabinet. I'm also waiting for a 70 degree day with NO WIND so I can foam the roof. If I have too I may do it at night in the summer. But I have to get that roof sealed. The last windstorm blew half the roll roofing off.