Another day (week) in paradise!

On Monday afternoon we had fun Skyping with Jen & her girls – who are in Sweden for a month. Jen’s husband, Coupar, who is Steve’s cousin, will be joining them for the last two weeks in June. In the meantime it sounds like all three girls are having a blast…especially checking out the different chocolate offerings of the country! It was great to catch up with them!

And some good news – we did get the pool cleaned up after the flood from the rain Monday night. We also made arrangements to have Jean Claude, a guy who does yard work for many of the neighbors, come on Sabado (Saturday) to clear out some of the brush & debris that is behind our back fence. We’re hoping that will help route the water away from our yard next time we get a big rain.

As expected, Raphael showed up on Tuesday, but because of the rain the day before, it was too wet to paint the casita. So he spent his time cleaning up around the area, then headed out to find someone to haul off his tools and equipment.
A while later, a truck returned, they loaded up and off he went. He told us to call him after there had been a few days of sun so we could be sure the concrete had dried before he puts on the pintura (paint). With the weather pattern of late, we’ll see how long that takes! Here’s what it looks like now…ready for its new coat of paint.

After Raphael left, we decided to go get the PVC pipe to use for the conduit to bury our coax cable (see last week’s blog). Turns out you can buy it in 10 foot or 20 foot lengths, so we asked for three 10 foot pieces – knowing we could at least fit those into Zuki with a minimal amount hanging out of the window! So we pay for our pipe and head back to the back of the ferrerteria (hardware store) to get the pipe. Not sure if they don’t like tape measures or what, but they didn’t use one to determine where to cut the pipe. Nope – the guy pulls a 20 foot length out and using two fingers, moved the pipe until it balanced (mas or menos – more or less) on both ends. Viola! That must be the 10 foot mark & there’s where he cut it! So lesson to keep in mind…if you need EXACTLY 10 foot of pipe, you better buy 20 and measure the 10 feet yourself!! Luckily, we didn’t need anything that exact so off we went, with our 3 sticks of PVC hanging out the window of the Zuki. We’re getting the hang of this DR stuff!

Wednesday we went in to Puerto Plata to pick up some mail & get groceries. Just about the time we think we’ve seen it all, here’s another interesting sight along the way…a moto with a drink cart on the back. At least we think that's what it is...see the cups in the bag on the right?



We also saw an ambulance running with lights, no siren – and not surprising here, no one moved over (except us gringos).
As you can see in this picture, that white vehicle up ahead that is passing cars on a double-yellow line is the ambulance. It's not unusual for everyone here to pass on a double-yellow when there is a break in the oncoming traffic! And we thought drivers were crazy in the States!!

On Friday, we met our new neighbors, Damian & Jackie, who are renting the house next door for a month. They just moved here from England and are waiting to close on their house. It apparently needs some work done as well, so they may stay longer. It’s kind of nice not to be the new kids on the block any more – but we’re also trying to get used to hearing different noises coming from next door, as are the dogs who are doing their best to be good guard dogs. Probably about the time we all get used to the neighbors being there, they will move! Oh well, it’ll be good practice for when Christiana, the owner, comes back in the fall.

We borrowed Al’s pick axe (since Raphael took his with him) and on Saturday, we set upon finishing the cable burying project. Steve was making good progress when suddenly he noticed water bubbling up right where he had just been digging…not a good sign! So we quickly dug down to the pipe (which was only about 6 inches down) and sure enough, there was a big chunk missing. I guess it was too much to ask the yahoos who put the pipe in to actually run it parallel to the property line! Take a look at the picture – Steve was following a nice straight line – but the pipe wasn’t! Another DR lesson learned…this one the hard way.

While Steve worked on digging out more of the line so he could cut it to patch it, I went to the ferrerteria for the parts. Luckily I knew the routine for buying the PVC (of course, this was a different size than what we had!). Our other stroke of “luck” from the DR gods came in the form of the fact that we weren’t actually getting water that day (it’s kind of hit or miss here) so the only water we had to contend with was what was already in the pipe. And since there are no shutoffs at the street here, it really was lucky for us because patching the pipe with water running is not an easy nor is it a good thing to do!! Although it's hard to see from the picture, the pipe now has a nice patch on it – and it works just fine (we did get water later that day – and no puddles in the driveway)!!

Shortly after we had started on our project, Jean Claude arrived to do the work behind the fence. He came wearing shoes similar to Crocs – and asked if we had botas (boots). We didn’t realize we had to supply footwear too! Of course we don’t have any boots here (flip flops and tennis shoes make up the extent of our footwear wardrobe any more), so next thing we know, he disappears! Back he comes in a few minutes – wearing boots! Apparently he borrows a pair of Tony’s boots when he works over there, so he went and got those. Note to self…ask foot size when hiring laborers!?

We finished up our project and Jean Claude had finished his and left to do the yard next door. Steve and I got cleaned up to meet Pam and Dennis for a late lunch – to celebrate both Dennis’ birthday (which was in late April, but he was sick, then they had company in town) and Pam’s, which was on Friday. We met them at a restaurant just up the road from us called Pickerings. It’s owned by a British couple who Pam & Dennis know well. We had a very nice meal – roast chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, vegetables (including baked leeks with a yummy cheese sauce) – and finished it off with a coffee/mandarin orange cake. We were all ready for a siesta after that!! Here’s a picture of the four of us.


Our new neighbors decided to get a dog…or rather, two dogs! When we got back from our lunch, we got to meet Sophie and Rosie, two little Dominican puppies. They had been to visit our friend Judy, the lady who helped us get our pups through customs here. We had told them about her animal rescue and they decided that would be a good place to find a dog. The puppies are about the size of Bamboo – and he has been having a blast wrestling and playing with the two of them.

We decided to sleep in Sunday and after a leisurely breakfast, we did a little work in the yard – cleaning the pool and the area back by the casita. The dogs, in the meantime, relaxed on a pile of sand from the casita project that Steve had moved from the front to the back. Sierra was trying to find the last bit of shade that was available (that's her behind the 5 gallon bucket squeezed up against the pool house)!I got the patio cleaned off and rearranged – now that we don’t have mucho bags of cemento stacked on it to contend with. It’s nice to finally have it almost the way we want it. Once we finish up what’s left of the partial bag of cemento that remains, we’ll shift a few more things around and be able to use the patio for its intended purpose – relaxing and entertaining!!

This afternoon, Bamboo’s mom, Martine, brought back another toy that he had accosted from the house. He’s now figured out how to get through the screen in the front (I’m sure by watching our dogs do it) and occasionally we’ll turn around and there he is! So we have to watch the neighborhood ladrón (thief) a little closer…but at least his owner’s know where the toys are coming from now - and they just bring them back.

We’re wrapping up our week with a bowl of Steve’s yummy homemade ice cream (vanilla with caramel topping for me; chocolate almond for him). We plan to go into Cabarete one day late next week to watch some of the 2010 Kiteboarding World Cup (http://www.prokitetour.com). Will take lots of pix to share if we do!

Hope all is well wherever this blog may find you! Take care and we’ll be back soon!