Starting Over Dec. 22 - Dec. 29

Getting settled into the Button Box with a new refrigerator and some re-wiring efforts

Sunday Dec 22

Sunday night was my 2nd night in my new home, and it is getting to feel like home albeit small. After a bite of b’fast - my favorite, spuds, onions with a scrambled egg, I had to fix my brand new pair of Converse Allstars tennis shoes. I knew they’re likely fake, and sure enough the rubber edge started coming loose from the canvas just behind the toe area where the shoe bends, so I glued it with some contact cement.

About that time, Jacob passed by and also needed a bit of needed glue work ...the Escudo name had come loose off the back door, so it was another bit of good timing or serendipity serves.

I also got a solar powered, motion controlled light for the inside of the outhouse, so the light would come on when I entered. I mounted the solar panel to the front of the outhouse & the solar light inside over the concrete throne. This way the light comes on and can be kept on with a wave of my hand.

My Button Box doesn’t have a sink or house drain yet. Typically, most homes here have a grey water system where the sinks & showers drain out on the ground somewhere, something I’d like to add. Right now I do dishes in a few of plastic wash basins; one to wash in, second one to rinse in with a cap of bleach, and the third one with a dish drainer to drain the dishes in. After doing dishes I carry the basins outside and dump them. Having even a small sink with a house drain is really desirable.

I’m not sure how full I’ll get it, but I set up one (that didn’t get blown away) of the compost pile black plastic surrounds that I had up at the old house.

Then a little later I was getting hot and sweaty and decided it was time for a shower in my new shower room, but I needed a clothesline to hang the towel on afterwards, so now I have a short clothesline.

After lunch I found a better place to hang my 6’ step ladder where it fit between a couple studs in my shower room and up off the floor.

But in anticipation of having my mini fridge delivered on Tuesday, I needed to move an outlet and a light so they wouldn’t be behind the fridge.

And here’s the day’s images; https://photos.app.goo.gl/N5vXqetA7qzSYQz86

Monday Dec 23

More home improvement chores this Monday morning. Some of the screws used to assemble the outhouse door were a bit too long and there were a couple dozen that needed to be ground off so I didn’t grab or brush against them. My 110V angle grinder needed my old 220V-110V transformer that had been sitting on a shelf in the old house without a roof ...at least it was protected enough that it works ok.

The only floor space I have for my fan is near the door, and it’s kinda in the way. If I could hang it from the over door shelf it would be less of an obstacle ...I hope. The problem is the base of the fan’s support tube. To hang the fan securely, I’ll need to relieve a 1 1/2” hole where the end of the support tube protrudes from the base mounting flange.

Not sure why, but after only a couple hours of work this morning my back began to get quite sore, so I took a break. I’m thankful I’ve gotta bed where I can lie down. When my back starts bothering me I can usually reduce the soreness by pulling my shoulders back and stretching my back into a more proper posture, or sometimes I just need to lay down or sit down for a bit.

After about an hour & a half I got bored and my back was better so I went up to the old house and started a little treasure hunting to see what I could salvage for both home improvement in the Button Box and for some building materials for my new house. I found that both the bathroom & kitchen sinks look like they can be salvaged for reuse. I also found my 2 dutch ovens in the back of a kitchen cupboard that will take a bit of doing to fish them out.

Then I needed to make a run to town for some more ice. The ice I got on Saturday was all melted by Sunday evening and I wasn’t going to get my fridge until Tuesday. Plus both Christmas Day & Boxing Day are public holidays, so I needed to get some groceries as well.

Timing is everything it seems because shortly after I got to town -thanks again to Jacob- I crossed paths with Chris Kross one of the truck drivers that make deliveries around C’cou. I let him know about the Dolly C delivering my fridge and another box to Harvey Vale Monday evening and that they needed to be collected Tuesday morning.

Chris will be able to make the pick up & deliver my fridge to me in the Button Box even though I didn’t have the receipts to give him. He figures that because both shipments are consigned to John Button, it should be a typical ‘no problem’ ting. If he does have difficulty I’ll get Jacob to haul me & the receipts to Harvey Vale.

Then it was running around and getting as much of my grocery shopping done as I could. It being a couple days before public holidays and it was Christmas the stores were packed. After I got as much as I could and a few things for Jacob we headed back home ...or so I thought.

Just as we were almost home I remembered I had one more purchase that I forgot in town ...a csae of beer ...and then I forget to put eggs on the list. So it was ack to town for another run around. We got the beer but eggs were finished at every store in town. So, to give ourselves a break I bought a couple of lunches at Charlyn’s now shop.

Then I finally got home and did the drain the ice chest - take everything out - install the new ice (blocks this time) and rearrange the food back inside the ice chest. What a chore I am so going to like my new little fridge ...I hope I hope I hope.

Groceries stowed & lunch done. I did a bit more organizing of clothes and food before I had my first visitors ...Ulla & Ea passed by with Ea’s new child, Elio to check out what I’ve done and look inside the Button Box.

Tuesday Dec 24

I’ve got 3 inside lights that come on with one switch by the door, but I want to control them separately, so the one over the desk gets its own switch Tuesday AM. I thought I could just use the wire that was there and easily insert a switch ...as usual HAH! The wire was just a mite too short, so I had to add a junction box and a short length of romex to make this work okie dokie.

Monday, my fridge & another shipment of household goodies was delivered to Harvey Vale on the Dolly C, one of the 2 main freight & passenger boats that travel between Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinque. It would dock sometime around 7pm, too late to collect any shipments, so the SOP is to pick up stuff the next morning.

Chris Kross was going to collect my shipment, so after the wiring job was finished I did a bit of tidy up waiting for him. About 11am, I was getting a bit anxious so I called Chris to learn he also had another delivery that he wanted to make first. That was perfect because it gave me a chance to make yet another town run for the few things I forgot from Monday’s trip.

Jacob was able to take me to town, and after checking all the shops in town, I couldn’t find any eggs or bread. This is typical around holidays, especially Christmas when folks do a lot of cooking. Jacob knew of a shop in Brunswick, a village just outside Hillsborough that might have some bread, and sure enough I was able to get a loaf of sliced whole wheat bread from one of the bakeries in Grenada.

Shopping done, it was back home to await my fridge delivery ...or so I thought. We were almost home, when I remembered I had purchased a case of beer at Mathason’s and it was still there. I guess the lap to Brunswick for bread substituted for collecting the beer. So, no problem says Jacob and back to town we go and collect the beer and back home with my last shop before Christmas.

Around 3:30 I get a call from Chris, he’s getting close, so I scurry down to open the gate and my fridge and a few household goodies are delivered. Since I haven’t built the shelf for the fridge, I stowed it in my shower room in the outhouse, plugged it in and moved the food I had in the ice chest into my new refrigerator. And I put some ice trays into the freezer to see how long it would take to make ice ...only a bit over an hour Yea!

Then to top off my Christmas Eve, I get an invite to dinner at Dave’s with Ulla, Ea, Dust, Alex & Zada, Max, and the whole family. Some real tasty & tender pork shoulder, beet salad, veggies, and some yummy passion fruit cake for dessert.

Wednesday Dec 25

My new fridge was making ice in the shower room of my outhouse and it was time to invite her in, but first I had to make a shelf at the end of the kitchen countertop. I recently added a support for the countertop with a piece of 1x6 on edge at the end of the countertop so I wouldn’t be bumping my feet all night.

The fridge shelf was going to need something more substantial. I found the height of the fridge would allow me to replace the 1x6 with a piece of 2x6 that would be the shelf ledge at the end of the countertop. With shelf ledges on 3 sides and the 5/8” plywood shelf screwed to the ledges, it was time for the fridge’s installation.

So I emptied the fridge and brought the food inside, and then I brought the fridge inside with a few careful hoists onto the steps and then walking & sliding it inside. The last lift was going to be the best one yet, but up it went with a pause with the corner on the countertop, and then up and in place.

I tried opening the door both ways ...either opening over the end of the bed or the end of the countertop. The door opening over the countertop did require I shift a light fixture, and the door had a stop that prevented it fully opening ...but not for long.

After those few adjustments, the food was restored and a beer was had to celebrate my Christmas present to my own bad self.

Here’s the link to today’s images; https://photos.app.goo.gl/6QdZuKDffAwmyBDv6

Thursday Dec 26

Got a little more floor space just inside the door by hanging the fan from the over-door shelf ...we’ll see how well this works, or not. Also added a small TP shelf in the outhouse ...I could use another shelf for backup TP, and a towel rack rather than the nail the towel hangs on now.

The propane stovetop I purchased a while back is a poorly designed, unsafe contraption! The pot supports are not secured to the stovetop and are quite loose so that pots can shift and spill their contents ...not good! It’s from S. America where OSHA doesn’t exist. This was not acceptable, so I had to fix it. In my collection of fasteners I had just enough small machine screws, nuts, & washers to secure the pot supports to the top of the stovetop.

After a bite of lunch I relocated the desk light switch so I can operate it from bed when I ve to get up during the night when nature calls. The electrician that I hired to wire my shop liked to run the wiring thru the studs rather than on their faces which made the switch relocation a kind of a hassle, but it got done ok.

The desk light & the 2 kitchen lights are all on the same switch by the door, and I’d like to be able to control them separately. There is also a 3rd light that was going to be over top of my bed when I thought it was going to be a loft bed. That 3rd light needs to come out and will end up in the outhouse.

I tried to put kitchen lights on separate switches but found the 3rd light switch box was used as junction box for outlets as well as providing juice for the 3rd light ...not good wiring practice. So I removed the 3rd light wiring from the switch and left the box as a junction box until I can get a real junction box to replace it. Then I can use the switch box for the 2 separate kitchen lights, and eventually add a light to the outhouse.

Here’s the link to the day’s images; https://photos.app.goo.gl/PySGLcCWwVeALvqTA

Friday Dec 27

If it’s not one thing it’s another and I needed to make another run to town for an electrical junction box to deal with the kitchen lights, and thankfully Jacob called asking if I was going to town early because he needed to go for cooking gas as propane is referred to here. On the way to town we passed by Laural’s, a friend of his, because she had a flat tire on her car. Jacob had a nice floor jack and a star wrench so we were able to put on her spare ...and then off to town, where I got the propane for Jacob just because he’s always helping me with rides to town.

During my early shopping trip I crossed paths with Reds, one of the truck drivers that delivers water. I had paid for a load of water from the desalination plant before Christmas, but there was a pump problem, so no water deliveries could be made. I was able to pay Reds for the delivery and explained that I wanted the shutoff valves left shut off after the delivery so I could check for leaks later.

Serendipity serves yet again as we were able to get me home as Reds was finishing pumping the water into my 2 water tanks. Good thing too because he showed me where I had a leak in the pipe that connects the 2 tanks ...probably should have used a new piece there. Oh well it shouldn’t be too difficult to repair with the unions on each tank valve.

After lunch and a lay down break for my back, it was time to put in the switches that would separate the 2 kitchen lights so I could turn each one on or off independently. First I had to remove the outlet wiring that used a light switch box as a junction box, with a really junction box and use the switch box for the 2 kitchen light switches. It was more of a chore than I liked because the electrician had run the romex wiring thru holes in the studs rather than on the surface of the studs ...I coulda/shoulda said something. Anyway, the job got done and there were no sparks, shocks, or surprises. Anyways, it was a one photo day, that being the finished kitchen light switches, here’s a link to the full size image; https://photos.app.goo.gl/65YD5X3PvWQBMVkDA

Saturday Dec 28

Looking at adding a real light to the outhouse, but using the unused switch in the 3-switch by the door didn’t seem like the way to go. There are 2 unused circuit breakers, one could be used to send current to the outhouse for a light, and possibly an outlet. I did remove the 3rd light that was to be a bed light when I was going to have a loft bed and will use that for the outhouse light, which will happen after the porch is built so routing the wiring to the outhouse will be easy.

Kind of a lazy day so far today, but I did manage to hang the mirror I got in Grenada, I do try to look presentable when I go out in public. The perfect space was between the studs at my desk countertop.

Sunday Dec 29

First chore done, move the gravel from where the front of the porch will go into a half of a blue barrel to the west of the outhouse only took about 20 minutes, including cutting the barrel in half

.The north side outside light needed to be lowered because I have a tarp and supports that give some shelter from the rain & sun that will be put up ...now that the outside light will be below it. This chore was a little more involved and took about an hour & a half.

On Friday when Reds delivered the water, he pointed out a leak in the pipe that connects the 2 tanks. It only took about half an hour to clean the paint off the leak area and cut a short patch from the same 1 1/2” PVC pipe with a gap so I could slip it over the leak area. Gave the leak & patch the full PVC pipe cleaner and cement routine and gave it a wrap of duct tape to keep it tight while the cement cures

.My Monday morning leak check sez I fixed the leak; https://photos.app.goo.gl/greWbairrzR2ERT17