December 1st~~Bob and I are off to the Cruz Bay ferry dock, to meet the gentleman from A.B.C. Nursery, to pick up our trees.....Aswad will be meeting us, as well...he will deliver our precious palm trees to Bo Atabey.....
Joe is still moving soil around...Leo and the Man are plastering....but we have precious cargo....our palm trees. later today Larry will deliver two truck loads of gravel for the parking area of the driveway.....what a great day !!!!
Picture Below: When Aswad is not beating drums for the reggae band 'Inner Visions'....
he provides delivery service.....
Lionheart Trucking delivering our palm trees....
"Reliable Service with Pride".............


Picture Below: (left) Leo using the chippy hammer to chip out concrete in the bottom of the plant pocket.
(middle) Spreading gravel in the parking area of the driveway.(right) The three planted foxtail palms.


December 2nd~~ Because of the fact that we don't know where the pvc drain pipe is for the washer the stoop at the bottom of the stairs had to be chippy hammered......until we found exactly where the drain pipe was located, everything got chippy hammered.... a pvc extention was put on the pipe and new bigger stoop is poured it its place....
The backhoe is picked up....Joe cuts posts for the catwalk......Manford from Screen and Tings, is back from Germany to finish putting in the screens....
A friend of ours, Kevin (and his friend) John, stop by complaining how windy it is where they are staying over in Eden...they can't sit outside to enjoy drinks, or the view, because of the gusty winds that keeps blowing the outside deck furniture around.....they didn't rent a 4WD jeep, so they are afraid to drive the rental car up the driveway where they are staying, they won't drive the rental car down at night, so they walk to Skinny legs........So why, they ask, isn't it that windy here at Bo Atabey, they want to know ...Bob tells them, because the house is situated in a protected area we get a very nice breeze but not the gusty winds....Kevin and John might be Bo Atabey's house guests in March. I'm sure they are here just to see how we are progressing and I am guessing, to see if our deck furniture is also flying around !!!...
Picture Below: (left) Cruz Bay creek (middle) Old stoop with my Divinity of Mother Earth or 'Asase Ye Duru' the African adinkra symbol....gone forever.......
(right) Looking down from the upper deck...the new stoop being poured.


Check out some pictures taken at Bo Atabey go to.......
St John U.S Virgin Islands November/December 2008
or
St John U.S Virgin Islands October 2007

December 3rd~~First thing today we head to the WAPA office, we think to change the electric bill into our name......but no we can't not until we get our C.O. (certificate of occupancy) until then, the bills stay in the electricians name...however, we can have the bills sent to our Connecticut address....Next stop is St Thomas to Paint Depot, drop Joe off at the airport and a quick run into Home Depot.
December 4th~~I continue to paint around doors, Bob is off to the lumber yard to buy wood for the pool deck railing, Leo and the Man tile the back of the kitchen counter, tile the side deck area (that Hilroy didn't finish) and install the new, bigger, best roof boot vents. The electricians connect more of the outlets.
December 5th~~Bob clamps the two sections of the island top together...it is one of the biggests Islands I have ever seen.. Bob thinks we have just one too many mahogany boards glued together....I say tuff shit, the island could never be too big !!!!!
The electricians will be here, most of the day hooking up lights, Leo and the man are on the roof fixing it. Bob and I run errands, the king mahogany bed is ready for pick~up in Susannaberg, we swing by, Keep Me Posted, pick up custom Bo Atabey coffee mugs, pottery and a pool thermometer.
Picture Below: (left) Mahogany island counter (middle) I had to take a picture of these windows, there is a grove in the wood to except the screens... (right) Mahogany bed actually fits in the jeep !!!



December 6th~~ Saturday, today I start the process of priming cypress, we will be using this wood around the bottom of the kitchen counter island and I finish the second coat of paint around the outside shower door, Leo and the Man finish screwing down the red metal roof so it won't leak or blow away......of course they run out of screws....we need more red screws. Bob continues painting the second coat of paint on the pool wall. Erickson stops by Bo Atabey, Bob might hire him to be our property manager, he is very charming.......
Tonight we head to Island Blues for sandwiches.
FYI the pool water temperature is 82 degrees early morning and during the day reaches 84/86 degrees....
When Joe was here, he insisted that the pool water HAD to be 59 degrees. I argue.... the water CAN'T possibly get any colder than its surroundings, right !!?? So Joe....the pool water is NO colder that 82 degrees !!
NUFF said......back at Bo Atabey Bob and I spend the rest of the evening pool side, rum drinks, tiki torches lit, looking up at the stars in the sky and the street lights reflecting off the harbour.......
life on St John can't get any better........Oh, I mustn't forget the serenading tree frogs.........
December 7th~~Sunday.....No breakfast today at Maho Pavillion.....we are heading to the big city St Thomas, we'll eat at Deli Grotto...... head to the ferry dock and wait for the next barge.....
December 8th~~Today I finally finish ALL of the outside trim and prime all the wood railing for the pool deck. Leo and the Man sink screws, patch holes and sand the house facia, then start painting the top half of the facia, Benjamin Moore Wethersfield Moss, the lower half of the facia will be painted Benjamin Moore Georgian Green....... Bob is busy putting the pump and filter together for the pool.
Picture Below: (left) My Deli Grotto breakfast........ breakfast potatoes, multigrain toast and
veggie omelette....the only thing missing....a tall glass of orange juice with banana rum.....
(middle) The Man sanding the facia. (right) Leo(nardo) painting top facia.


Picture Below: (left) View of pool deck area from the driveway. (middle) My work station, yes I can use power tools.
(right) Bob continues installing the rail around pool deck.



December 9th~ We start the day with breakfast at Deli Grotto, head over to Mark Hansen to pay the balance on our mahogany bed, our last errand stop for the day is Paradise Lumber where Bob will pick up pump fittings.
Leo continues painting the facia trim, the Man is grouting the kitchen backsplash, then disassembles the monstrosity in the east bathroom doorway........have I mentioned concrete dust...lately ??......NO..... bring it ON !! I finish painting the wood railing around the pool area, Bob plumbs the pump, Leo chippy hammers an opening in the utility/laundry room wall for the dryer vent, this room is 14' x 14 1/2' we can empty it out and easily fit a king size bed in here.....Good Night !!!!
December 10th~ Bob cuts and puts up the railing around the pool deck area. I sand the edges of the island mahogany top. Leo and the Man continue car bondoing the facia, sanding, then painting.....at the end of the day Bob stains the island top where I sanded, the plaster is dry now where the bathroom monstrosity WAS....so now, I can prime the area and then paint it......JOY !!!!!
What a long day it has been.......
Picture below: (left) An opening was chippy hammered for dryer vent in the utility room. (middle) This is the door way into the east bathroom...what was Roy thinking !!?? We knew this HAS to go. (right) With every decision Bob and I made building this house, we tried to bring a feeling of zen, so zen decision number 4,869 was accomplished by removing this obstruction.



December 11th~~Bob and the Man TSP (trisodium phosphate) the mexican tiles on the east deck, the Man will grout this area, later when it is dry. While there is a mixture of mud aka plaster
out, Leo will fill the openings around the electrical wall plates and the area above the east bathroom door get filled in.....it is much better !!!!! Bob starts nailing the cypress around the kitchen island cabinet....the island ends up being a hefty 44" X 94 1/2" this will end up being a great area for a sewing or quilting project .....Hummmmmm.....I know someone that proposed to his significant other on Halloween......Bo Atabey's kitchen island will make a great bar or buffet table or maybe both !!!!
Tonight we head to Island Blues for a quick bite for dinner ....it is here where we met a great man name Hamilton, who drives a taxi....what a great person ......
December 12th~~ The Man plasters the west bathroom wall where it meets the soffet, the previous plasterer, for some strange reason never finished this... JOY more priming and painting for me.....Bob and I continue nailing cypress around the island counter this should be a very simple task, but it ends up being very challenging nothing is plumb....nothing is square......now that I see the cypress going up..... I'm thinking that maybe it should have been stained to match the cypress ceiling.....oh well it is too late now.
Leo and the Man start to rake and Bob starts to clean up the grounds....woo~hoo......
Picture Below: (left) Never assume the last person using the paint put the cover on tight..
(middle) The kitchen island. (right) The east deck tiled and grouted.



December 13th~~Today Leo and the Man plaster around the shower drain openings in each bathroom.....
The guys continue to rake around the lower level deck area and clean up building material that was left behind by Roy .......Erickson stops by again with Dipsy and three adorable children, I guess Dipsy will be our house cleaner........she sports acrylic nails....this might not be a good thing....
later in the evening we head to Mongoose Junction for the 'All Island Christmas Party'....
we fail to get the memo to wear a tuxedo and a ball gown..........
Today December 13th is a very special day, it is Brittny's birthday.....my granddaughter....
Last year Inner Visions sang "I saw her first"... a song by Heartland.....when I first heard Ras Paul sing this song, I couldn't hold back the tears....this song has a special meaning for me..you see.. I was my daughter's coach for Brittny's birth... I only wish she could be here on this very special day...maybe next year !!!!!
Brittny also was 4 weeks old when she first went to St John......'Nuff said....
I've never seen so many people in one place on St John at one time....
what a great time we had.......
Picture Below: (left) Island Christmas party at Mongoose Junction ......(right) Inner Visions performing at the "All Island Christmas party"...





December 14th~ Today we head to Maho for breakfast...Bob finishes the supports for the kitchen island...have I mention how large this island is ?? I paint around wall outlets and prime two counter carcasses that will be used inside the bedroom closets.
Later in the day we bring two beach chairs, the cooler with ice, rum and cranberry juice and unwind at Maho beach....our days here are numbered......
Decemer 15th~ First thing today we are off again to the big city, at Paint Depot we pick up a 5 gallon bucket of primer, Kmart for some board games...WOW since when did games get to be $50.00 .... we can't find a wireless stereo anywhere...Leo and the Man start cutting back the brush growing down the driveway...
we get back to St John too late, Deli Grotto is closed so we head to Etta's... aka Pastory Gardens.... aka Compass Rose now serving West Indian cuisine....it is really very good....not bad !!!!
Today we realize/finally admit that Bo Atabey won't be ready for her first house guests......we need more time, only a few more days... Bob calls American Airlines, we change our dates (for a $400.00 fee) from the 18th to the 21st...
December 16th~ Today I paint the two carcasses. Bob puts together some of the teak outdoor furniture....Leo and the Man fill the dumpster that larry has dropped off. Leo and the Man cut the brush back, that is growing from our property onto the road....this, too is looking so much better....
Tonight we have sandwiches at Island Blues....
December 17th~ We make a trip to Cruz Bay, drop off the propane tank to be filled, pick up two smoke alarm/detectors, have breakfast at Deli Grotto and a quick stop at Mark Hansens.....back at home I continue priming the west shower and start to paint the cabinet carcasses...




December 18th~ Today I paint the west shower and again start to scrape and wash windows...
this will NEVER end....concrete dust...saw dust and more concrete dust....OH MY !!!
Finally I have nice CLEAN floors, bare foot friendly, this makes me very happy !!!
Max delivers water for the cistern, this makes Bob very happy....
The Plantation View screens came with no hardware.... we used blue painters tape to keep the screens in place..!!!!!...Bob found the clips needed for the screens on line (doorandwindowparts.com) now he can install the screens the right way....joy, more sawdust !!!
December 19th~ We can finally set up shop to start cleaning woodwork and put up curtains...Bob says No to curtains hanging in the greatroom windows, the curtain for the east bathroom is too short and there are not enough hooks to hang the curtain in the kitchen....S#!&.....I used the hooks that I bought for the towels to hang curtains and the hooks I bought for the curtains I'm using for the towels... I'm short hooks,
this way works much better .... I gotta do what I gotta do....
December 20th~ Today there is much more cleaning to be done, murphy's oil soap, glass plus and pine~sol are my new three best friends......Bob puts up the cypress around the kitchen island, nothing is level or plumb, the Jumbies are toying with his patients......Bob continues to drill screw clips into the window frames that will hold the screens..I get to take the screens outside to wash off the concrete and sawdust, so they can air dry outside......
Later today we will head over to Cafe Concordia to meet Bo Atabey's first house guests .....Lori, Gordon, Will and Lucy, they will be staying at Bo Atabey next week....
December 21st~ Today is the first day of winter....which means absolutely NOTHIN' here on St John...
First thing today Bob starts draining water from the pool, so he can glue the jets on to the PVC pipes.
I continue to clean the house...good~bye power tools, screws, nails, paint, primer, and on and on...
I'm guessing Bob wasn't suppose to install the kick plate/baseboard in front of the dish washer, because now I can't open the door all the way........ not only will this be a MELTDOWN for Bob, but now for ME !!!.....
so Bob guess what !!!!!!^%$@$*&^#@%T^)()$#!^(*&^%$#$@!!
Bob removes the freakin' kick plate that is in front of the dishwasher, at this point he
has flames shooting out his eyes.....
When the pool is drained enough, he glues the jets to the PVC and refills the pool... we continue to close up the house, a bittersweet moment...
Picture Below: (left) The pool is drained so the jets can be installed.
(middle) One last look around before leaving.
(right) All tools/toys are put away...until next time..
I'm very disappointed that I didn't get to prime the columns in the lower level.........oh well
next time...this gives us an excuse to return sooner than later !!!!!


As we pull up, the car barge is leaving....
another 20 minutes or so before the next car barge arrives..are we feeling lucky?? YES.... and off we head to Deli Grotto, get two loaves of muiltigrain bread and our sandwiches....NOW We are officially on our way....


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