Happy New Year!

Hopefully everyone has recovered from the New Years Eve shenanigans by now. Virgin Gorda had parties at Coco Maya and Bath and Turtle, and we hear both were well attended. Ed and Nina chaperoned Ian at the festivities, but the rest of us had a quieter evening. Tina, Michelle, Chill, Connor and Christine enjoyed a delicious taco dinner at Hibiscus with some very dear long-time guests and then headed home for an early night.

There were fireworks this year in Virgin Gorda which was a nice surprise, and we were even able to see the display from Trellis bay. We have a bit of a soft spot in our family for fireworks. Years ago Valley Trunk Estate used to set off their fireworks at 10:00, nearly right over Tina’s house, so we got to wake up to see those every year. Chill didn’t know what he was marrying into though. Many years Michelle has dragged him all over Virgin Gorda in search of the best New Year’s Eve fireworks. He has come around now after eleven years and has learned to love them just as much.

Our Christmas crowd has started to depart and we are now gearing up for our January Regulars. It is great to see the island busy again. Guests are supporting restaurants, water sports, charter boats, spas and shops.  It was a rocky 2018, but 2019 is already proving to be bright and prosperous.

Jemstone reopened on the 1st, welcoming its first post Irma guests. Sure, they might be missing a bathroom door for a few days (thanks to everything at ports and customs closing for holidays), but yet again our guests are super understanding and just happy to have a bed to sleep in.

 

We have had lots of complements on the new beds at Guavaberry too. Every Guavaberry house has a new bed so no one will be left out. The two bedroom houses also have shiny new pots and pans and we have received rave reviews on them too. We are glad everyone is enjoying the upgrades. We always do our best to choose quality furnishings so our guests feel right at home.

One “complaint” we have had though, we moved the bathroom light switch in the two bedrooms. Now how would someone realize we changed a light switch? Well, when that guest has been coming to stay for 30+ years… they just know! Perhaps we should have called them in when we were trying to remember how things were. This time we have blue prints of the houses so if we ever have to build another we know exactly where things should go, and not have to rely on our foggy memories any more.

We might shudder at the thought of having to rebuild MORE houses, but we do still have three to go this year. Plum, Lime and Gardenia are on the agenda for this summer. But three should be a cake walk in comparison now.  Ian and all of his construction crews should be able to do these with their eyes closed for the most part, though we will try to have them peek when using power tools!

Tina’s house is also high on the list. She really needs to stop working from home… or is it homing from work when you live in your office?  All of us will be delighted to see her finally back in her own space, falling asleep on her couch while watching Jeopardy, a guilty pleasure she has more than earned by now.