Keeping Busy

Another month has passed, and here we still sit. The BVI has lifted the lockdown and is slowly starting to reopen businesses…. except hotels and entertainment facilities. We are waiting with baited breath to be able to at least welcome BVI residents for a staycation. Fingers crossed that will happen soon.  In the meantime we have been keeping ourselves busy as much as possible.  Lime Tree has a patio AND stairs now. So nice to be able to forego the ladder. The bathrooms are tiled too. It really is starting to come together. Tina’s house is also speeding along. Tina and Michelle spent almost and entire week looking for kitchen and living room light fixtures. Good thing they don’t have actual work to do! They had their eye set on a Mother or Pearl wall sconce … not only was it really pretty, the irony of Tina having something called “Mother of Pearl” in her house tickled everyone’s funny bone. (Think about it…!). In the end they couldn’t find the right shape or size in that finish, but managed to find something affordable and pleasing to the eye. And if one day they come across the right size and shape scone in Mother of Pearl, they can always be replaced.  After they tackled the light fixtures, the push was on for the pool. Tina and Michelle have actually been designing a pool for Tina’s house for over 20 years. All it took was two grandsons to give the final push. The foundation is already starting to be formed and steel is being laid for footings. Given the tight space they are squeezing the pool in, the poor guys are having to dig the footings by hand. The ground is really solid so instead of a shovel they have had to go at it with a jackhammer. Best to get the loud work done while we are closed right?!  Not sure if they crew wanted to keep Tina and Michelle busy, but they have also requested exterior paint so they can begin painting the back of the house. Tina and Michelle thought they had it selected already, but came to realize the original color they picked would be too light. Back to the color swatches again! You would think it would be easy to find a beige color…. think again! Smokey taupe, Cedar Key, Hot Spring Stone, Balboa Mist, Dusty Road, Dusty Trail… the list goes on! It took four days to narrow down the different varieties enough to order five samples. The paint needs to match the pickled white tongue and groove cedar ceiling, the slate grey grey shingles, the textures grey patio tiles, but most of all needs to blend into the surrounding boulders! As soon as the samples arrived Tina and Michelle were off with their paint brushes. They can now brag that they painted Tina’s house…. they just won’t specify how much they painted 🙂 . Now we are waiting for it to dry to make the final selection.  While Tina and Michelle have been making progress towards completion of one project, Ian has begun another. It was one of the most emotionally difficult projects that needed doing…. removal of the old office trailer. Here’s a bit of trailer history for you: To get the original trailer to it’s final location back in the day, the road to Spring Bay had to be widened to accomodate it’s size. Christine and Michelle fondly remember the trailer as Granny’s house, and have wonderful memories of baking muffins and making chocolate pudding with her, and dressing up in her old clothes for “fancy” dinners of steak with corn on the cob.  Later when it was solely the office with spare rooms (Valerie lived there for a while too) the girls would do puzzles, homework and crafts on the lovely big patio which many of you will also remember. The good news is the patio section still remains and will be put to use. The new design plans include some extended storage, a new guest laundry and a new office for Ian (not that Tina will let him use it much!) Where is Valerie during all of this quiet time you ask? She’s been more than busy clearing out her desk and organizing her house. It’s with mixed emotions that we officially announce Valerie’s retirement as of June 1. We are naturally going to miss her, but are happy she will be having more dedicated “me time” close to her Canadian friends and relatives, and all the Kraft peanut butter she can eat. It will be quite the adjustment in our office. Valerie has been part of our office family since 1993, but part of Tina’s extended family since the late 70’s when they both worked together in Toronto. Valerie is the only organized person in our office, so if you come in December and see Tina and Michelle buried under unfiled papers…. ship Valerie back! You will still get to see Valerie this coming winter, only she will be joining everyone on the beach. Save some shade under the tree for her, after six months in Canada we don’t want her to get sunburned!