Be Careful What You Wish For

Back on Friday, I mentioned that we were still waiting to find out when our corner cabinet and desk would be delivered, as well as our Amazon order. Well, later that day we received an email from the contractor saying delivery of the cabinet and desk would take place on Saturday around 11:00 AM "or so".

We knew from experience that the chances of the delivery happening at 11:00 were slim and none. So we weren't surprised when that time came and went. But then more time came and went its merry way. Finally, around 2:30, the truck pulled into the driveway. Not to be a smart ass (well, maybe a little), that's a reasonable on-time record for these parts.

We figured it would take a couple of hours to install the corner cabinet, and we were right. Once again, the dulcet sounds of a hammer drill echoed throughout the land as the cabinet was bolted to the wall. Then it was time to attach the pull-out shelves and cabinet doors.

Just one small problem. It seems that instead of assembling the unit in the shop to make sure everything was copacetic, the builder decided that all was well. Problem was that once the cabinet door was attached, you couldn't pull out the sliding shelves. Seems the designer (ahem, mi amor) made a miscalculation. Ooopsie!

In spite of that issue, everything else was fine and the finished pieces are beauties:

And check out all the storage space!

For the desk, there's a pull drawer for the keyboard, plus a spot for the printer (bottom shelf on right), and room for files and whatnot.

On the left there are shelves upon shelves and on the right are two very cool features. See that box at the bottom? Well, David built that to store our dog food. The top not only lifts up, but the box tilts forward for easy clean-up. And as it's on one of those sliding shelves, the whole thing pulls out and the lid of the box can be used to place pots to be filled with purified water.

The water jug will be on a sliding shelf right above the dog food box. You can see one of the slide hinges on the left, above the box. Totally cool, huh?

Of course, you-know-who had to check out the installation within seconds after the contractor left.

The shelves are now back at the shop being trimmed down a bit, and they should be ready in a few days...or so. In the meantime, we'll move my computer to the new desk, and I'll be able to pull up any of my recipes and be able to see them at a glance, while being right there in the kitchen. Groovy!

By around 4:30, the installation was complete, and we took a deep breath, poured ourselves a drink, and toasted our latest additions.

But the fates weren't done with us just yet. Around 6:45, after no sooner finishing dinner, the phone rang. It was Roy, from Roy & Sons, calling about our Amazon delivery. As he has always called the day before delivery, we just presumed he was going to let us know he would be stopping by on Sunday.

Ahhh, nope. Roy was at the end of the lane saying that he wasn't sure his truck would make it to our house, in case the lane was all mucky from a recent rain. We would need to meet him at the lane entrance to get our stuff.

David hustled to grab the car keys, while I took care of tethering the dogs so they wouldn't run out the gate. Just as David got the car to the gate, Roy's delivery truck arrived. Seems he had a change of mind about the lane conditions.

After off-loading our boxes, including a 300-pound generator, off David went to the shop for the handcart. We got that box loaded up and moved under the palapa.

Everything else we hauled inside and we had a small fest of opening everything else. One of the items that David purchased was a new pair of Croc's. Now here's an irony for you. When he looked at them this morning, there was a small sticker saying they were made in Mexico. Go figure.

Anyhow, within less than 24 hours of posting about not hearing about our deliveries, everything had arrived. Funny how fate works sometimes.

P.S. If you enjoy reading our posts, why note cast a vote for us to win the Best Belize Blog, which is sponsored by ExpatsBlog.com? It's quick and easy. Just type in your name, whatever comment you want to leave about our postings, and assign us a star rating. For those of you who have already voted, a big thanks!

Kitchen Bar Top Complete!

It's taken way longer than we thought it would, but our bar top that finishes off the kitchen island is finally done.

But before we get to the big reveal, let me share what it took to get here. First David came up with the bar top design:

 

Please note the ogee edge all around the glass, along with the diameter of the three holes. These will come into play later.

We had hoped to have it made at the glass shop here in Corozal, but that didn't happen for a variety of reasons, which I blogged about last December. Instead, we had the work done by a shop located in Chetumal, Mexico. We were told that it would be ready around the beginning of February, but that didn't happen. Then we were told it would be ready somewhere near the end of February. Well that did happen, but not before a few day's delay for when the truck transporting the bar top from the factory in Mexico City broke down on its way to the showroom in Chet.

While waiting for the glass to get done, we knew we were going to need some sort of support brackets, as well as bolts, to keep the glass secure. We had picked up bolts on an earlier trip to Belize City, which explains the 1/2" diameter request for the bolt holes in the design.

But getting brackets was another matter. We wanted something thin enough to fit between the front cabinet doors on the island, but sturdy enough to support the glass. They were going to need to be custom made.

Yet again, David sat down with his laptop, came up with a design, then was off to Capital Metal (right here in Corozal) to see if they could do the job. Turns out that not only could they do the job, but said they could have the brackets done in less than a week. At this point in our remodeling efforts, we just nodded our heads and said, "yeah, right".  But lo and behold, they got them done early!

To be on the safe side, we had five of these made and painted -- one being a bit bigger than the others to be used as the middle support. From what I recall, they averaged out to be around $12.50 USD each and that included the painting.

Here they are mounted, waiting for the bar top to arrive. During this interim, I used the time to train myself not to jab my hip on the pointy ends of the bracket, with only marginal success.

Then finally, this Monday, the glass was here:

 

 

 

Whaddya' think? Pretty cool, huh? Those brackets almost disappear and gives the illusion of the glass just floating there.

But things didn't go quite as smoothly as we hoped. Remember that ogee edge I pointed out earlier? Well that didn't happen. We got a half-bullnose. And remember those 1/2" holes that were to be drilled for the bolts we bought? Well, that didn't happen either. Instead, they drilled 7/8" holes. Why? 'Cause they could. 'Cause they don't need any stinkin' design plans. 'Cause who knows?

When David pointed out the issues, the guys at the shop did acknowledge them, still without giving any reason. But they did end up knocking 10% off the price and found three bolts that would fit, which they threw in for free.

And believe it or not, this piece of glass made it from Mexico City, to Chetumal, then here to Corozal mounted only on a piece of plywood, wrapped in some paper, and transported in the back of pick-up trucks. But there aren't any scratches or nicks or chips. Go figure.

At the end of the day, we're more than happy with the end result -- even though it took over two months and didn't turn out exactly how we expected. Of course, now we have to teach the cat to not jump up on it. Yeah, I know, good luck with that.

But Wait! There's More!

Just when you thought our kitchen was complete, there still one more kitchen project  in the works.

See where the table is along the side wall of the kitchen? Well, the table (and the six chairs) are being adopted by friends of ours and we'll use the space for...

...a corner cupboard and a desk area! David designed the cupboard in such a way that we'll have a pull-out shelf for the water bottle, a bin for dog food, plus lots of shelves to use as a reserve pantry/storage area. The desktop will be the same type of wood design as the countertops. The cupboard and the desk base will be white, with doors to match our kitchen cabinets. I'll move my computer from the spare room to the new desk and will be able to be within easy reach of all my recipes and be a pain in the ass to David while he works on his laptop in the living room.

We're using the same contractor who did all our kitchen stuff, and he expects to be able to start the job in about three weeks. Then it will take about three weeks for the actual build to take place. As the word "about" is a relative term, and the concept of time is relative living in Belize, we figure we should see it sometime around mid- to late May. Watch for updates!

Slices of Life from Belize: January 26, 2013

Wicked Weather This Way Comes

So here we are living in the tropical paradise known as Belize. One may presume that there are unending days of brilliant sunshine, blue skies, and balmy temperatures. Well I’m here to tell you that’s not always the case. The weather this week can be summed up in two words: It sucks.

There’s some funky front stalled over us that has produced almost a solid week of rain and below normal temperatures. Donning a pair of shorts seems like a distant memory. Long pants, socks, and sweatshirts have been pulled out of storage and worn regularly. And can we talk about the mud? Yes, let’s. It. Is. Everywhere. Our lane and all side roads are quagmires. And no matter how careful we are to try and wipe our feet off when we come in the house, it doesn’t seem to help. Our two adult dogs, Sam and Tanya, despise the rain, so we let them hang out on the porch when it’s really pouring. At this point, I’m not really sure I can recollect what the original color of our floor tile is.

Now I realize that this weather report will elicit little or no sympathy from those readers living through below zero temperatures, snow, sleet, and ice. But you can take some satisfaction in knowing that while you’re dealing with all that, we’re slogging through our own version of winter, and as I eloquently noted before, it sucks. Big time.

Mystery Leak Solved!

We think. We hope. Earlier this month, I posted about a leak we had in our master bath. After David installed shut-off valves, we started the slow process of experimenting to see if we could figure out where the leak may be coming from.

First we tried just using the shower. No leakage. Then we tried using the shower and the toilet. No leaks. That left the sink. Sure enough, we no sooner started using that and discovered the water line was the culprit.

Water line on the left

Fortunately, it was a fairly quick fix and thus far, we have continued to be leak-free. As an aside, after the shut-off valves were installed, David heard water running from outside the house. Turns out that one of the joints for the hot water line had popped. On closer inspection, he discovered that the joint had only the mere whisper of adhesive on the pipe. This seems to be a recurring theme with the PVC lines here. David fixed the joint and we were back in business. Keeping fingers crossed no other water issues crop up.

Dianna’s Desk

Being in between projects at the moment, well, other than figuring out the bathroom problem, David was casting around for something to work on. As luck would have it, Dave and Dianna were in the market for a desktop. Check out the Winjama site to get all the details.

 More Fodder for the Clothes Horse

On Thursday of this week, a bunch of ladies took a field trip to Orange Walk for shopping and lunch. Our first stop was a place called Jen’s, which carries all kinds of things including electronics, small appliances, furniture, and clothes. I found an IZOD skirt and a pair of cropped seersucker pants that set me back $10 BZD or $5 USD.

From Jen’s, we drove over to The Boundary where I found a pair of flats from Land’s End for  $12 BZD or $6 USD. These were a great find, because my favorite pair had been “puppyfied.”

 

Like my previous trips there, I also scored big at The American Store and came home with two pairs of cropped pants, a wrap dress, and two tops.  Total damages: $25 BZD or $12.50 USD. I’ll post pictures of my finds in an upcoming post, but in the meantime, I need to make room in my closet (and keep my new shoes out of reach of the dog).

Partners in Crime

And speaking of the dog, I don’t know if it’s the weather or what, but Bronte and Olivia have been on a tear of destruction these last several days. And it’s bad enough when they get into trouble individually, but they’ve learned to tag team and the results have been something for the record books. For example:

• The cat figured out how to knock one of the scrubbie thngs we use in the shower onto the floor. Olivia got hold of it, carried it the living room, and two of them proceeded to rip it to shreds. I’m still finding little bits of netting in odd places.
• And speaking of ripping things to shreds, the cat has discovered the toilet paper roll. She claws at it to unwind the paper, then the puppy chews and shreds what falls on the floor. What fun!
• We’ve learned to place our eyeglasses in drawers when not in use. If we don’t, the cat knocks them to the floor, and the dog chews on them.
• Here’s a handy tip: Don’t leave a pen on the porch coffee table. Somehow, Olivia figured out how to get to it, jumped up on the loveseat, and proceeded to chew off the nib. I’m now trying to get black ink out of the cushion cover.
• Another quick fact: little dogs like to chew on cables. I discovered this first when I had Olivia on my lap, while listening to some music on my MP3 player. As I’m bopping to the tunes through my earbuds, I realized there was no sound coming from the left side. I glanced down at my lap and realized my dear, sweet canine had chewed through the wire. A few days later, she was laying under my desk – I thought asleep. But no; As I went to move my mouse, the cursor was stalled on my screen. What the heck? Yup, she chewed through the mouse cable. Fortunately, David was able to repair it, but we’ve put in an order for wireless mice.
• I’ve already mentioned the “puppyfied” shoe.
  
• Oh, and Olivia has developed a taste for spackle. It seems any place we have patched a wall that she can reach, it gets eaten off. Lovely.

I could go on, but I think you get the gist of things. I swear, there are some days they should thank God they’re so cute or otherwise...

Which brings to mind this Letter to Pets that gets circulated from time to time on the Internet:

Dear Beloved Pets,

The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food.

The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort.

Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, bark, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered.

Also, I have been using the bathroom for years -- canine or feline attendance is not mandatory.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough.

To return the kindness of your obedience, my dear pets, I have posted the following on our front door for visitors to our home :

Rules for Non-Pet Owners Who Visit and Like to Complain About Our Pets
1. They live here. You don't.

2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That's why they call it "fur"niture.)

3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.

4. To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted children who are short, hairy and walk on all fours. Although they don't speak clearly, they communicate extremely well.

5. Dogs and cats are better than kids. They eat less, don't ask for money all the time, are easier to train, usually come when called (this does not apply to cats), never drive your car, don't hang out with drug-using friends, don't smoke or drink, don't worry about having to buy the latest fashions, don't wear your clothes, and don't need a gazillion dollars for college. Also, if they get pregnant, you can sell the children!