Guest Suite Construction, Property Exploration

Friends and family will be happy to hear that work is well under way to convert two stables into the guest suite. The guest quarters will be double the size of what we are living in now. These photos show where the shower and separate toilet room are being constructed. I am eager for a larger bathroom so I will probably begin using these when they are finished.

The past two days have been warm and sunny, but the previous week was non-stop rain due in part to Hurricane Tomas. Dozens of people died in landslides and accidents throughout the country. Many bridges and roads were destroyed or damaged. Some communities are isolated due to the ruined roads. We are very grateful that the drainage problem in our cabina was fixed and we managed to stay safe and dry. I did discover a small landslide on our internal road and we haven’t been able to cross the river yet to see what happened over there. Some parts of the road into town sank several feet but were repaired rapidly. I read today that the President said this was the worst weather the country has experienced in 14 years.

Things continue to grown in the garden. I have a monster of a cherry tomato plant which inspired me to make some very delicious Cherry Tomato Preserves. The hydroponics lettuce continues to produce and I recently began harvesting yard long beans. Soon we will be harvesting the rice crop. The worms are busy eating their bedding of cow and horse manure. I recently began adding vegetable scraps from the kitchen, which they seem to like.

Morning walks to the river continue to be one of the highlights of my day. I take Spencer and let him run around like a maniac. Sometimes Roxy comes with us, but most of the time she only comes along for part of the walk and stops at the neighbors to visit her dog friend Edward before heading back home.