January 4th--We are up at 4:30 a.m. and are off to Bradley Airport....the air temperature outside is a whopping eight degrees.....our flight to Miami is at 8:20 a.m.
The flight to Miami was uneventful.....
Our flight from Miami to St Thomas isn't until 4:00 p.m.......however, there is a flight leaving for St Thomas at 1:00 p.m......We ask and yes We can catch this flight, We luck out, but we'll have to return at Cyril E. airport at 8'ish to collect our checked luggage from the original 4:00 flight.....no problem!!!!!
When reserving jeeps, Bob always specifies one 'WITH WINDOWS'....what exactly does that mean?????...anyway, Budget has only ONE green '08 two door jeep with BALD tires, a plugged bald spare, NO windows and only 7,000 miles....the other two rental companies are completely out of two door jeeps.....
We are staying at The Beachcomber, next to the airport, right on Lindberg Beach, the decor is very 40's or 50's....but it is VERY clean.
January 5th-- First things first, We return the green jeep with the bald tires, for one with good tires, a brand-new spare and only 1,800 miles.....We are off to St John....only to find out, this stupid jeep has NO freakin' horn.... horns are a MUST ......
January 6th-- We have breakfast at Maho, visit Gooseneck, at the end of the day have sandwiches and enjoy the Jazz that is playing at the Beach Bar.
Picture below: (left) Lindberg Beach on St Thomas. (middle) The Beachcomber's beach bar. (right) The Roanoke heading to Red Hook.





January 7th--First thing this morning We have a 'game plan' meeting with Graham....Bo Atabey isn't finished being built and We are now talking rehab....
Tonight is movie night at Skinny Legs...that is where we'll head for dinner.
January 8th-- We have another short meeting with Graham, I get my Deli Grotto fix of aloha tuna and Bob his cordon bleu.....Winston from W.A.P.A. promises that Friday the poles will get strung......................
January 9th- We open Gooseneck at 10:00 a.m. so We are very limited as to how much work gets done at Bo Atabey on work days. Sandwiches tonight at Island Blues...
January 10th--Another short day of staining, We spend the day at Gooseneck, I have a salad at Aqua Bistro......and head over to Sputniks....Inner Visions is performing tonight!!!!
Picture below: (left) My windows and doors all secure ready to be taken down and stained. (right) Inner Visions playing at Sputniks every Thursday !!!!




January 11th-- Today is laundry day, which means We get to have breakfast at Deli Grotto. W.A.P.A. strings the utility lines..for dinner We have pizza at Donkey Diner...
January 12th-- Bob takes down three windows, to be sanded and stained....there is excessive amounts of glue and silicone which is making this job much harder.....He finds his brand new sander, that he left behind for Roy's crew to use, is trashed.....guess, we'll be buying another one next trip to St Thomas.
Today is another work day at Gooseneck.
We grab a quick bite at Pastory Gardens.... I notice a gentleman sitting at the bar, with five copies, of the book 'Keep Left' piled beside him......(I knew eventually I would purchase a copy, but Bob and I have so much on our plate, buying a 'Keep left' book just wasn't a priority at this point in time)....anyway, this gentleman is in fact the author, Michael Mullen, so yes, I do get my signed copy of 'Keep Left'..... Michael Mullen describes St John as being a open air asylum ...............which should make for good reading while I'm sitting watching the wind blow at Gooseneck.....
January 13th--We have breakfast at the Maho Bay Camp Pavillion then off to work, I have my NEW book to read !!!
I spoke to Ryan today, remember him, he is taking care of my Fluffy....she had an appointment yesterday, she has gone from 2 1/2 units of insulin to 4 units twice a day ..Yikes !!! I think that is alot, but Ryan says a lady at work gives her cat 10 units twice a day......holy cow !!$$$$$$$$ !!! anyway, fluffy has another appointment this Wednesday, great!!!! How is she going to get there !!?? Ryan says Laura (his significant other) will take Fluffy......
All is well....
Keep Left (The Book)~~~St John
by Michael Thomas Mullen


Picture above: My girl Fluffy.
January 14TH--Today is Marley Monday on WSTX... Today we stain more windows, Gooseneck is closed today but guess what, We still have to go and feed and water the gray cat that adopted us.....for now, his name is Whiny Boy, because that is all he does......
We hit Skinny's again for dinner, did I mention that they show movies on Monday nights??
January 15th--First thing today, We are off to St Thomas, to pick up tools, another sander, ladder and a bunch of other items .....so We stop for breakfast at Deli Grotto.....
On our way back from St Thomas we stopped at the Tap Room at Mongoose Juntion to try their Pale Ale on tap, but they are out.....I guess a bottle of pale ale will do.... it has a taste of fermented peaches...while we are here we'll pick up sandwiches for dinner from Deli Grotto
January 16th-- We are still staining windows before heading off to work.... tonight Graham is treating us to dinner at Sweet Plantains...and Fluffy had her appointment today, she is scheduled to go back in a month....I'm guessing that her body is happy with the four units of insulin....that means everybody will be happy, especially me being so far from home !!!!



January 17th-- Today Bob starts sanding the kitchen french door.....which, I'm NOT looking forward to staining, because it has louvers on the bottom.....I HATE staining louvers!!!!
Today we are off to work and notice an exclamation (!) light lit on the dashboard of the jeep.....now, what the hex is that suppose to mean....and why do the rental companies ALWAYS take the drivers manual out of the glove box??!!
Tonight we'll grab a quick bite, at Coccoloba and then we'll head over to Sputniks to see Inner Visions...............
January 18th-- Today is laundry day..... we get to have breakfast at Deli Grotto and then head to work.
Most of the tile work is finished except the east bedroom....now Bob gets to acid wash and then the grouting gets done......
Tonight we head to Pastory Gardens A.K.A. Compass Rose, I think originally Pastory Gardens started out with the Compass Rose name....it is VERY cold toinght, I'll have my usual winter drink.....Sambvca Romano on ice, this does the trick!!!!!
January 19th-- Before heading to work Bob acid washes the tile floors..... Roy had sealed the tile with grout, thinset and sneaker prints on the surfaces....it's not very attractive....
January 20th--It's Sunday, that means we have breakfast at Maho bay Camp Pavillion...before heading to work.... at Maho today, I reconize someone that use to work for us many years ago at Gooseneck in Connecticut, now he is working at Maho Camp....small world....
I have always wanted to go to the Rastafarian Agricultural Fair on St Thomas. Today I get to go. We leave work early and will get there late in the afternoon.....Inner Visions will be peforming as well.....
The Agricultural Fair exceeded my expectations and more................
The sweet smell of basil is everywhere, totally intoxicating.....it makes me want to go home and make a batch of Chicken pesto.......the sweet smell of oregano isn't bad either.....
We are totally clueless, as to where to eat here on St Thomas.....so we head over to a place called Tickles at one of the boat yards....nice place !!!!
Picture below: (left) As if you don't know who these guys are !!!! (middle) Crown Bay St Thomas check out the concrete mixer on top of the containers....it looks like a toy !!!!! (right) This guy is part of the decor of the 'Bad Ass Coffee Company' at Yacht Haven Grande, on St Thomas......





January 21st--We spend the night in St Thomas so we can pick up what we'll need from the Paint Depot and buy another sander, remember we purchased a sander on our last trip to St Thomas.....well, I hope whoever 'found' the sander needed it more that We did.
We need a breakfast and coffee fix and find a place called 'Bad Ass Coffee' not bad at all, as a matter of fact, it is GREAT coffee....... Oh, by the way Paint Depot is closed (MLK day), no paint primer this trip !!!!!
Graham, calls to let Bob know that the generator is not working, great, it will take three weeks for someone to look at it, so, we'll have to rent one. Today We have a late lunch at Deli Grotto.
Today, I notice on the cistern wall, the cold joints are damp and dark, it can't possibly be leaking, Roy sealed the cistern months ago, he even sent pictures, it can't possibly be leaking......
Tonight is movie night at Skinnys.....
January 22nd-- Today Jose and Leonardo start bright and early, before 7:00 a.m. to work on the outdoor showers.
Bob rents a generator and Graham delivers seven interior doors for Bob and I to stain in our spare time at Gooseneck.....
W.A.P.A. promises that they will have someone at our site tomorrow....they are borrowing an Innovative (telephone) truck..... We grab a quick bite at Pastory Gardens.....
January 23rd-- First thing this morning, Bob calls Ms. Germaine at W.A.P.A. she confirms that the crew will be at our site......We even see them, at the bottom of our hill, parked across the ball field !!!!!!!!
we continue to stain more doors, then We are off to work.
Today, Jaime Elliott, from the local St John newspaper Tradeswinds, will interview us about our new business Gooseneck, located at the Voyages building at 4:00 p.m.
The two new 'stone masons' have come a long way on the west shower, for just working two days and.........
W.A.P.A. is a no-show......




January 24th--Bob acid washes the kitchen floor before heading to work. Graham starts to lay the missing tile and starts to grout the floor.
After work We head over to Aqua Bistro for a quick bite before heading to Sputniks to see Inner Visions.
We met up with a guy that use to work for Roy, he told us that while working on our house, Roy would bill the hours, that his crew was working at Bo Atabey to another house he was contracted to do work for, then when Roy was let go from that job Roy would tell his crew and the subs that 'the homeowners (being us) didn't send money this week, maybe next week'.....while he was pocketing our deposits!!!
The pirates of the Caribbean are alive and well on St John.............
January 25th--It's laundry day and We head to town, that means We get to have breakfast at Deli Grotto before heading to work. Today at work I am informed that whiny boy is in fact a whiny girl and is what you call a Russian Blue.....I guess I can go on-line to fine out about Russian Blue cats.....are they knowned for being whiny??????
Santo the electrician start to put plugs in at Bo Atabey. Tonight We go to the Beach Bar for a quick bite.
January 26th-- Bob acid washes more of the kitchen floor before We head down to work....I start staining the interior doors at work.
Today I receive an e-mail from Scotty and Linda they will be on St Thomas-St John in a few weeks....We look forward to seeing them!!!!!!
Tonight We head to Cafe Concordia for dinner....I order Vegetarian Jambalaya it is excellent!!!! There are three cats that hang here......so adorable!!!!!!
Hey, this is the first day it didn't rain!!!!!!
January 27th--I guess Friday, Graham was having a hissy fit doing the grouting ...something about being up to his eyeballs in grout........
Bob has bad knees and I a bad back...maybe we'll take over...
Today I'm at work staining more interior doors, Bob heads back to the house to grout the kitchen floor...who got the short end of that stick!!!???
Picture below: The acid washed floors (right) The floor after it has been acid washed........acid washing the floors WON'T get the thin-set off......it looks awful!!!!!




January 28th--Today pretty much started out as the day from HELL....except that the electrician Santo started hanging the ceiling fans...YIPPY!!!!!!
.....Back to my day from HELL story......it seems, that as far as Graham was concerned, Bob and I couldn't do anything right, while grouting today...(now, I understand what Bob went through on friday) We were cleaning up the excess grout (we've done this before, on our rec room back in Connecticut) Me, being a moron, didn't wring out the sponge right.....Bob wipes the grout off the tile tooooooooo fast.......then Bob wipes the grout off the tile toooooooooo slow......then, Bob gets yelled at for not wiping the sponge on the diagonal....wipe too soon.......wipe too late.....Holy S@*& get me out of here !!!!!.......get me off this RIDE!!!! We leave the house and head down to Gooseneck to feed Whiny, Bob picks up a Tradewinds newspaper .......good news, the article Jamie did on Gooseneck is there, hey, where is MY picture!!??
We are off to town to lick our wounds....lets do lunch at Deli Grotto that will make us feel better !!!!
Santo actually hooked up four ceiling fans, they look great.....they are the least expensive toys that We purchased for Bo Atabey and guess what....they are NOT trashed, broken, missing or installed wrong!!!
Santo hangs the two bedroom and two outdoor ceiling fans...
It's movie night at Skinnys.....
Picture below: (left) Bob up to his white socks in grout.
(middle) Tile that Graham grouted (right) Santo hanging the first ceiling fan.



Gooseneck's 15 minutes of fame.................
(CLICK HERE)



January 29th--First thing this morning Graham apologies for his hissy fit yesterday. The only thing that I could say was after dealing with builder #1, #2, and #3....I was waiting for the 'other shoe to drop' with him and it did...
Today is a B-I-G day, Santos hangs the kitchen island chandelier.....but, I can't find the candelabra's candles that go with it......Two more ceiling fans go up in the greatroom...Bob and I sand more doors and Graham is still up to his eyeballs grouting the east bedroom...
It seems today much got accomplished...Except we take one major step backward..... the cistern leaks in the cold joints BIG time.......thanks, Roy!!!!!
I almost forgot, today Jose finishes building the west shower, now both outdoor showers can be pointed.....pointing is filler that is placed in the joint lines brick, colored stone, seashells, mexican tile......anything except glass bottles, please!!!!!!
WAPA puts in the transformer.....but not a meter.
Tonight We do Island Blues for dinner......
Have I mentioned how SICK I am going out to eat every night!!!???PLEASE give me a home cooked meal.....PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Picture below: (left) I've been waiting since October to cut the shrink-wrap off the chandelier.........
(middle) Santos hanging the chandelier................ (right) The W.A.P.A. crew installing our transformer...but where is the meter???!!!!!................Oh, if your wondering...I made Bob go down the hill and ask for permission....If I asked and they were to say 'NO' I would have started to cry!!!!!
Talk to me about my Patriot Red roof....see how fast my eyes start tearing up..............




January 30th--First thing this morning, Bob is on the phone with W.A.P.A......The linemen will finish friday....
Jose starts pointing the west shower....SHIT...... Jose is doing it too perfect....too even...how do you say rough or old world in Spanish!!??
We are off to work....Bob sands and I stain more doors.
All the upper level ceiling fans are hung and electrical plates are connected.
It is very cold here, this is the hot dry side of the island...It is Sambvca Romano weather .....
January 31st--Santos lowers the chandelier....it was in the same plane as the ceiling fans. We finished staining the east bedroom doors, hang them back up and are off to work. Bob stains two interior doors, two down two to go.
Roy shows up at Gooseneck, late in the day and is outside talking to Bob. Bob made up a 'punch list'......Roy is either going to fix what is wrong or pay X amount of dollars so We can hire someone else to do it.
What is #1 on my list is for the Patriot red metal roof to be ripped down and another put up..... If you ever saw my Patriot Red metal roof you would be sick to your stomach...I was..........
I am inside and on the computer....I promise to be good.....but I can feel the tears....I promise to be good!!!! I'll keep myself busy on the computer...
W.A.P.A. is suppose to hook us up tomorrow....whatever....
Where to go for dinner......We end up at Aqua Bistro....I am tired of having ceasar salads....I'll have something different and simple............the crab cake will do.




Bo Atabey
Fifteen



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