November 13, 2012
Dear Friends, Brethren and Family
Kathy said I should send you my journal - so here goes......
October 22-25
I have been working on the house since we got back. We had hoped to move
in this weekend but I still have not been able to get the inner walls and ceiling
painted and put up yet. I wanted to put a stainless shower base in but nobody
in this country has any in stock. So I bought a porcelain one today. I
went to buy siding for the exterior of the washing machine room on the back
of the house after I put up the framing yesterday but none has any of the siding
I need so I just put roofing iron on the exterior for now. I was able
to get a water tank and put guttering up on one side of the roof but it has
not rained since, go figure. I wanted to buy another tank to use as an
elevation tank but the fiber\glass people do not have any fiberglass material
to build any until next week. I talked with someone about sinking us a
water well and he is to come back next week. He said it is only 14 meters
(45 feet) down.
Until we get our solar panels in the container we will use our new generator to power the pump and everything. I am hoping to get the wiring run in the house tomorrow. The septic was not done while we were gone so we have to wait for that as well and I have not installed the toilet yet either. or grey water hole.
We are staying at a motel in town and I drive Steven's
truck out every day. I did get the motorbike fixed (several problems)
and it is usable.
It is so nice to be back and able to work without feeling like dropping dead
as the end of the day (thank goodness for thyroid medicine).
Trying to stay safe but I seem to find any re-bar there is to scrape my legs.
We only have internet here in town - lucky to have phone service in the village somedays.
October 26th
Kathy said I should tell you about my day today. It all started Wednesday
(October 24th) when I noticed that Steve's truck was not aligned properly and
the front right tyre was bald on the outside. So he called Asco motors
(the Toyota people) for an appointment. They wanted it yesterday at 1:30 pm
but he knew I needed it at the village so he rescheduled it. I got a text
this morning at 7:00 am saying the appointment was for 8:00. I dropped
the truck at Asco and was told 2 hours. i walked up to Steve's (about
a mile and got the motorbike and came back to the motel and picked up your mother;
went to town to get a refund on the phone she bought yesterday for 5400vt -
$65, because I had not been able to find her's (I found her other one the last
place I looked), the new phone did everything but give birth and we could not
read the keys nor figure out how to make a simple phone call (since there were
no instructions); went by Island Property to sent email on their wi-fi) the
17" MacPro will not hook up to the wi-fi we are paying for and it has the
email program for my newsletters, older OS than the newer MacPro); went
to the hardware store for linoleum, a clothes hoist, lights, switches, undercoat
& paint, nails, tile glue, kitchen sink, propane gas regulator and hose.
We told them we would come back and pick it all up when we had the truck.
We then took a trip to another hardware store to look at bathroom sinks
as none of the other hardware stores stock sinks that accept the faucets (three
holes not one single hole) I brought back . They have sinks that will
work but nobody knew the price and the one we really liked was cracked. They
were supposed to call us - but didn't yet! So we came back to town and on the
way stopped at a French plumbing store and they were the ones who had a porcelain
shower base (last one) but they were closing for lunch (11:30-1:00) so we had
to come back later.
I went by to check on the truck but was told it would be 12-12:30 before they were through (they were having some problems with the alignment machine). I took the motorbike and loaded up the hardware store stuff and came back to the room to chill.
1:00 I walked up to pick up the truck (three blocks from the motel). I left instructions, after they aligned the front end, that the tyre on the front should be changed out with the spare tyre, which was new. The truck was sitting out front but the tyres were all screwed up. They had put the new spare on the front and tried to realign it but the tie rod ends are too worn, so they took the new tyre back off and put it on the back left, moved the back right to the front and the bald tyre back on the back right (it also had a cut on the sidewall). After explaining why I had requested the new spare be put on the front and the bald tyre to be used as the spare it took three mechanics 30 minutes to make the proper change. They gave me a bill for 5,000 vt ($55) - well, they did wash the truck. They also gave me a quote to replace the tie rod ends (which I have scheduled for next Weds) for 55,000 vt ($600). They also said the clutch was slipping (Steve said only on the farm road with a heavy load) and quoted 148,986 vt ($1600) to replace it but it will take a day and a half to do so (the labour is only $230).
I took the truck back to the motel and: transferred
the hardware stuff to the truck; went by picked up Morris; went to the French
plumbing store and bought the shower base, some car ramps and plumbing for the
shower base (took about 30 minutes); went by and picked up 76 meters of NZ pine
(25% off reg price) for framing the ceiling plywood at a different hardware
store; strapped it on the truck and headed out to the village where I unloaded
it and then came back to town. By then it was 4:00. I was tireder
today then after I worked all day yesterday.
Hopefully I can get out sooner in the morning and get Tal undercoating the ceiling
plywood while I run wire for the lights and fans. I have two shower bags
(the kind you fill with water and lay out in the sun for hot water) in the container
(somewhere) we can use to take showers until we get the well dug and the house
plumbed for water. If I can get the bedroom walled and ceilinged, the
bathroom plumbed (to drain out in the flower beds until we can get a grey water
tank dug and cement lined), wiring for lights and fans off the generator I would
like to think we can get moved out next Thursday and complete the rest of the
inside as we live there. I brought back a camp toilet, with plastic bags, we
can use until we get the septic build then after that just pour a bucket of
water to clear the poop in the "real" indoor commode until we get
the well operational. I am getting my tan (sunburn right now) back!
Because it has not rained since I put up guttering and
a water tank on the house, we took a 44 gal plastic drum full of water from
Steve's house so we would have some water. Mostly Kathy has stayed in
town until I have something for her to do out at the house.
We have a 2000 passenger cruise ship due here next Thursday and most of the
people will travel around the island on mini buses right past the house and
all. Maybe I should a sign out "alms for the poor"!
Goman and his family are due back Sunday night and I am hoping Moses can come out and help Tal dig the septic hole and grey water hole and get them cemented in as well as get the pad built for the verandah. I can use them both to help put up the ceiling and interior walls as well.
I have internet wi-fi here in town but so far cannot get the mobile phone USB adapter I bought to work on the computer. The internet wi-fi does not reach out to the village and I have not yet gone to see if there is landline availability out there (I don't think so.) So if I cannot get the mobile phone USB to work on the computer we will only have internet when we come to town.
Back to the past!!!!!!!!
PS - We were offered a house to use until the owner returned Dec 1st but we would have had to change the power and water over in our name (with deposits) and the house had been shut up a long time and was really smelly. We didn't feel like cleaning someone else's house for just a few weeks. It was a huge house with a swimming pool with a view of the harbour.
Let's see how things
went Monday, October 29th:
Had to run around and try and find a piece for the air compressor; nobody had
the right sized tubing which goes from the regulator to the air output; went
to 5 different places and finally went to a plumbing place and got fittings
that allowed me to put a copper tube in line instead of plastic piping; had
to go to Digicel mobile phone place to get the USB internet set up, they gave
me NO instruction when they sold it to me Friday, they set it up 1.2.3. I am
hoping that it will work in the village; I bought the power box and breakers
for the house; bought nails, bought plastic stripping to put between the masonite
sheets on the ceiling; called the fiberglass tank place to order another tank
we will put on top of one of the containers for a gravity feed pressure tank
(they still have not gotten any material and if I want a tank I have to go put
down a deposit down (which I did not have time to play that game today); picked
up Morris and got to the village about 10:00 (I started running around at 7:30am).
Hauled everything out of the house to start work: ha, ha, ha, took a while to get the compressor fixed (have you ever tried to bend copper tubing in a 45 degree angle without crimping it?) but then half of my air hose is rotten and I was losing more air than I was producing, the nails I bought here don't work so well in the nail gun either; the internet USB does not work at the house but I will a see it there is a better place in the village to pick up the signal later; we were working on the ceiling and trying to line up the sheets with the plastic stripping which is a riot when the rafters are crooked as a politician. The fun is working with someone who has NEVER done this and thinks brute force will work. The word for the day was SLOWLY! Tal and I brought my lazyboy out and Morris sat in it all day under the tree watching us work.
We got four more ceiling sheets up and a couple of wall panels to see how they would fit. I foresee a lot of trim! Lots and Lots of BIG trim! We have not had any rain since I put up the gutter and water tank. I was shooting for Thursday to move out but I didn't say which Thursday. I have a pee bottle but I am sure your mother desires better. No septic tank yet! No running water! No nothing in the kitchen! No nothing in the toilet or bathroom yet! (And I think of all the things and tools in the container coming that would be helpful.)
I got back at 5:00pm because Steven said he needed the truck to go to the farm this evening.
Tomorrow is election day here so it is a holiday and nothing is open (like the hardware store to get new air hose). Steven and his line will be going out to the beach tomorrow so I might be on my bike. Kathy stays here in town until I get to a point she can help. She is traipsing around town finding things.
Tuesday Oct 30th
Election day Vanuatu - a holiday!
Went out to get into the truck and found that Steven had not brought it back to the motel last night. Took the bike to his house and he was just getting there with a load of sand. He had already been out to the village. He said he would come out after voting and use the truck to go kill a calf for some people at Ebal for a marriage. I loaded up Morris, Juju, Tupolin and Rebecca and headed to the village. It was raining on the way and we got a small bit of rain in the village. Enough to give us a few gallons in the tank. It did not last long and then got humid.
I started off the morning cutting and installing bracing in the walls. Then I had to redo both walls in the bathroom because - well just because. Considering those are the only two walls in the house at least I was consistent - wrong! I then worked on the bathroom - knocking a hole in the floor and wall for the shower basin drain, installed tile - which meant mixing the cement by hand (no sign of the tile cutter I brought from Fiji which HAD been in the front of the container until Sul moved everything so ended up just scoring the piece for under the shower basin and breaking off the corner where the drain was). Steve came by and we talked about the septic and where the fence would be. I put in more cross bracing in the ceiling and then put up some wall panels and more ceiling panels. Went pretty well and finished up at 5:00 in time for Steve to come with the dead calf, transfer it to the truck of the people who were buying it for a marriage. Steve brought me back in the small car as he needed to go back with a torch (flashlight) and go hunting flying fox on the farm with the farm boys. I got on the bike and went back to the motel.
Wednesday Oct 31st
Morris and Rebecca stayed out at the village last night so I got a quick start
out today. Stopped by a tool store on the way out and picked up an air hose
as the ones I have are too holey. Got out about 8:30am. Cleaned up and got the
saws set outside. Found out the air hose has different size fitting and will
not work with my nail guns. Joy joy! Tal and I started up the other generator
and were able to use some of the air hose we already had. It is a whole lot
quicker nailing with the nail gun UNTIL the larger generator started acting
up. We finally had to shut it down as it was shaking itself with back fires
which pulled the fuel line off and the gasoline was leaking out all over the
place. After that we were back to hand nailing. We got all but 3 ceiling panels
up and were able to put up the soffet boards on the end of the house. I loaded
the generator on the truck so I can return it tomorrow where we bought it. Brought
Morris and everyone back to town about 4:30.
Finally see the end of the tunnel but had to buy 5 more nights here at the motel as we still have no water. Returned to the motel to Kathy's taco salad.
Thursday Nov 1st
The largest cruise ship to ever visit Vanuatu came into port this morning: 2600+
passengers and 940 crew. I got out of town before they disembarked.
I took the large generator back to the hardware store and told them what it did and left it with them. I then went to the fiberglass place and placed an order for a 1500 liter water tank we will use for the gravity feed tank. Might get it next week. Their supplies came in yesterday they said.
Bought plywood, some quarter round trim (thought I would do my own but then got smart), some nails and (8) 20 liter water containers to haul water out to the house. Got out there about 9:00. Overcast today with cool wind and only spitting rain. Tal undercoated the ceiling plywood and we were able to get three of the interior walls covered and then finish the ceiling. I put the door frame in the toilet/bath.
Friday Nov 2nd
I went and picked up the generator. They cleaned out the fuel and said it worked
for an hour (sure my fuel), no problem. Bought a bathroom sink with a pedestal
there. Then went up to Carpenter Hardware and bought some more 2 x 4 pine and
tile cement. Then went over to talk to Carpenter Motors about our little car.
The manager is on leave and due back next week. They have a couple of the same
car that might be for sale for parts. Stopped by and filled up the fuel containers
for the generators.
Went by Steve's and filled up the 8 x 22 liter water
containers.
Our water containers
Went by Wilco and bought another gutter joiner (yesterday I just duct taped
the joints because I didn't have joiners). Got out to house about 9:30. Had
to replace the fuel line on the generator as they didn't do it and it is stretched
to breaking. Tal and I got all the interior walls covered; the gutter joined
correctly; the wall built between the toilet and bathroom (still have to leave
the lower walls uncovered until I get the water pipe run); showed Tal how we
would be caulking the cracks before we did the final painting. I went into the
container to try and find the tile cutter. I found all the things that had been
in the front of the container when we left (I knew they were somewhere just
didn't know where - found the stuff the last place I looked). They were all
in the back of the container: the 20 liter petrol can; two rolls of flywire
(screening which I had to buy more); all the electrical tools; other tools;
the tile cutter. It seems that what Sul pulled out first, looking for a grass
cutter, he put back in first thus everything was back to front. Nice to find
everything but would have been better if I had not had to buy replacement stuff.
The tile cutter is a larger size but it is still 2 inches too short to cut the tile properly. I have to score it and then break it out of the cutter. I can made it work, will just take more effort. The last thing Tal and I did was take all the spare roofing iron and make a covering between the two containers. I plan on making a cement block wall between the containers at the back so we can keep the generators out there away from the house. It looked like rain most of the day in the village but we didn't get any.
Saturday November 3rd
First thing I went to the hardware store to get poly-pipe for the water only
to find they don't sell the white pipe per length anymore. Back to square one!
Late getting out as Morris slept late.
Spent the day putting up quarter round trim and then caulking seams in the masonite in preparation for painting. Kathy helped - then would go cool off outside under the tree. Got the tile cut for the bathroom floor, Juju and I made a back cinder block wall between the containers so we could put the extra wood and other stuff out of the weather but out of the house. I am going to move the generators out there when we move out this week.
Monday Nov 5th
I started off on the bike today. While at the hardware getting waterline and
fittings it started to rain so I had to put on my rain gear. Afterwards I drove
to Steve's and changed the bike for the truck.
Got out to the house about 9:15am. No rain at the house until about 3:00 pm. There had been a bit with some wind earlier because it had come in one of the East windows and one of the half drums was full of water.
I got Tal started on painting undercoat on the window frames (where he had missed earlier this year) while I finished caulking the seams in the ceiling. I then got him doing the finish coat on the bedroom end of the house. I ran water line in the wall and finished putting the sheeting on the wall. I fastened down the wall between the shower and the toilet with cement anchors. I also mounted the bathroom sink and built the pedestal up about another 4 inches (Chinese people are such midgets). I finished sheeting the rest of the walls. Before we left tonight I mixed up some of the top coat finish for the cement walls. I ended up just using my hands to apply it (to the amusement of Tal) and figure I will go ahead and put masonite on the interior side of the cement wall. I will have to wait until Wednesday (when it is supposed to clear up) before I can buy and haul the masonite out.
I am going to try and get some flex hose to hook up a drain to the shower and bathroom sink which will just drain out in the flower beds until we can get proper water drainage and water supply.
I might also go ahead and hook up the lights and run a live wire to them. With the overcast skies and rain this afternoon it was dark in the house.
Tuesday Nov 6th
Had to go change more US$. Bought eight more sheets of masonite, more caulk,
a piece of plastic pipe to drain the shower and bathroom sink and a piece of
pipe to set Kathy's clothes hoist in. I loaded the truck and covered the masonite
as it was supposed to rain. I stopped and talked to Carpenter Motors about the
Opel. Not much hope. They are getting an overseas diagnostion in next month
and the manager said he might have him look at it. I paid the outstanding bill
52,000 vt (it should have been over 80,000 vt but the manger gave me a break).
They are going to park it in their bone yard (or I might get it and take it
out to Eton). I left town and the rain held off until I got the masonite unloaded
at the house.
At 11:15am the 1100 liter water tank was full for the first time. It thundered and rained until about 2:00pm. We could have filled the tank three times over (we just can't afford more tanks at $550 a tank). I made a cover to block the space between the containers as the rain always seem to blow from the East right into the space. I used some of the old tarps I had. That is where the BBQ and the generators will be stored.
Tal did not show up so I ended up working by myself (yesterday he sat down about 4:00 and said he was tired - 64 yr old outworks an 18 yr old!). I finished up caulking the spacings. I wired a light to plug into the extension cord so I could see. Tal was supposed to have started painting the first coat on the ceiling and walls yesterday but I noticed that he had opened the other pail of undercoat, so we have two coats of undercoat on most everything. I spend the day painting the overcoat on. I ended up looking like a specked egg. I even took a wad of paint in the right eye while painting the ceiling. I got everything painted but one outside wall on the bathroom.
Wednesday November
7th
I had to go pick up some things from one hardware store (grout, toilet hookup
pipe, fittings) and then went over to pick up the truck at Steve's. He had a
load of his soccer boys to go out with me to dig the septic tank. I had to stop
at another hardware store for drain pipe and fittings before leaving town. Tal
said he had a headache yesterday. I had him paint the masonite while I worked
on cleaning up the house some. I glued down the tiles in the bathroom and used
the remainder of the cement to level places in the floor and fill up a hole
in the wall. I then hooked up all the lights and power points, only one fan
because parts are missing to hang them (they are in the container but Sul moved
everything and the parts came out of the box they were in). I spent more than
a little bit trying to figure out which wires went where because Tal had painted
over the tags I had on the wires. I had planned to have all the fans on one
circuit, all the power points on one circuit and all the light on one circuit,
HAHAHA. I ended up having some lights on the power point circuit which threw
me for a loop until I finally had a the wires hooked up. I cut a piece of linoleum
but will have to wait to do the rest until I get more stuff out of the house.
Steve had come out and taken the boys to cut corner fence posts for our fence
and then took them down to his beach property for some work before taking them
back to town and then coming back to give me the truck back and take his car
back to town. I was late getting back tonight.
Kathy stayed and washed clothes today as it was sunny (mostly).
Thursday November 8th
I had to go pickup some things before going out to the house: curtain rod holder
brackets, small lock for the water tank faucet, PVC pipe for curtain rods, concrete
lugs bolts, PVC strips for the masonite sheets, two rolls of fencing wire and
four steel fence posts ($13.00 US each).
I was able to get half of the masonite up on the lower cement walls, trimmed
out, caulked and painted. I stuck down the tiles for the kitchen. Cleaned and
rearranged the whole house. Didn't have the right fittings to hook up the drain
for the bathroom sink but was able to get the drain from the shower routed outside
to the flower beds. Got one strip of linoleum down in the bed room and the bed
put together ready for the mattress tomorrow. I have one outlet that has no
power to it for some reason, it is on my side of the bed.
I got back to town in the dark about 6:30pm. (About 75% of the drivers here use no lights while driving at dusk/dark!) We ordered take-away pizza from up the street, walked up and got it and brought it back to the motel room.
Friday November 9th
I went out and picked up a drain hose for the bathroom sink (they do not have
1? inch fittings for US plumbing here) and some more caulk. Came back and picked
up Kathy at the motel, went over to see Morris and then headed out to the house.
Windy but beautiful day. I went ahead and did all the electrical. The one power point that I did not think worked now works after I found the wire in the wall and hooked it up. All the circuits now go through a breaker box. I just dropped the supply hookup through the wall and connected it with an extension cord plug to the generator. Kathy was brooming out the house and cleaning the tile floor while I was doing this. The tile has not been grouted yet and there are two loose tiles (I didn't say I ever learned anything about laying tile!)
Kathy and I went out to see were the new fence line is to be and were surprised how far back and to each side it goes. There is a huge pile of trash (rubbish) that people have been dumping for many years about 25 feet from the back of the house, plastic, paper, batteries, etc which will have to be cleaned up (and they wonder where malaria mosquitoes breed?). We made a pile of tree branches and coconut branches to keep people from walking the path through and by the house. They have been told the path is to be closed and they will have to find a new path to their gardens and not through the church property and by our house. The two rolls of fencing wire I bought will not go very far. It will probably take at least 6-8 rolls @ $115 per 50 meter roll.
I opened the container and started bringing kitchen
and food boxes into the house and Kathy was finding bedding. I finally got the
mattress in and she made the bed. Then she found the mattress pad and had to
remake the bed. I cut the linoleum and put another strip under the bed and ran
another strip down the length of the room next to the tile. I used duct tape
to make a transition strip from the lino and the tile.
transition strip
The main strip of linoleum (goes past the front door) cannot be laid the length of the house until I finish the lower walls in the living room and get all my tools out of the house. I went ahead and put a lot of the furniture back in the container because we do not have space for it right now (and some we never will have space).
I then WAS GOING to put laminate in the shower stall. I had it laid out outside and had one piece cut to size and went into the house to prepare to put adhesive on the wall and then come back and out and put adhesive on the laminate. The stuff I was using is paper thin and the wind picked up the piece and broke it into several pieces. When I went to pick it up the wind caught it again and I ended up with a slice on my right arm and my right pinky finger slashed, there was blood flowing all down my arm. The other two pieces I was planning to use were also too flimsy and I ended up trashing the whole lot. I will try and find some tomorrow that is not so thin, otherwise I will just staple plastic on the inside wall of the shower and change it out WHENEVER. Since I couldn't do the shower I went ahead and put the curtain brackets up on all the windows and cut PVC pipe for the rods. Kathy hung up the curtains (sheets) she had.
We cleaned up around the house and came back to town
for our last night at the motel. We showered and had hamburgers and chips here
at the motel.
Eton
house
Saturday November 10th
We were rudely awakened at 2:00am with a bunch of Australia school kids jumping
in the pool (just outside our balcony) and playing I don't know what games.
The pool is only open from 7:00am-10:00pm. So Kathy got up and told them in
a yelling way that the pool was closed. Someone said something and they kept
it up for about 20 more minutes and then we heard them leaving but within 5
minutes a couple of them were back in the pool for another 5 minutes or so.
(I found out that the security man had finally told them to cease and desist
and a couple tried sneaking back but got caught. When I reported it to the manageress
she apologized and said the group was leaving on the 5pm flight this afternoon
but that she would go give them a rev-up.
We got up about 6:30am. I had already taken my cereal out to the house in a trunk so I just had coffee and stick bread. I then went up and bought 3 more sheets of laminate (formica) for the shower stall. I took a load of stuff up to Steve's as he was not back with the truck yet. Kathy and I then went shopping for stuff we would need out at the house. Unfortunately, but a regular occurrence, both grocery stores where out of grocery items we usually buy. We depleted the saving account so I had to go change some more of the US$ I had brought over. We went back to Steve's and he was back with the truck so we loaded everything in it and 3 boys Steve was taking out to work at the beach property. He had already taken Morris and Rebecca out last night. We finally got out to the house about 11:30 and unloaded the truck's contents into the house.
I started working on the laminate then had to take out time to help a couple of young boys put up the two rolls of fence we bought. We put it up at the back and the front to learn people that it was no longer a path. I then got the laminate finished and caulked so we could use the camp shower bags that we had out in the sun warming. I then had to get the drain connected to the bathroom sink.
It is now 10pm and I put up a mirror in the bath and will be depleting one of the camp shower bags. I gave Kathy the wrong transformer for the Mr Coffee and now we have a charred smell in the house as the transformer had a melt down. I have a couple of others so we will still have our coffee in the morning.
It is nice to be out here in our own house even though right now it is going to cost us a pretty penny to keep fuel in the generators.
I got word yesterday that the ship that was supposed to pick up our container in NY was delayed by Hurricane Sand and the new sail date is Nov 15th. It will nice to get the solar panels here and not have to use the generators most of the time.
Sunday November 11th
Our first night in the house. Breezy and somewhat cool! I didn't use much water
last night it was not warm (it had not had enough sunlight).
After services we had lunch at the building I took Steven's
truck back to town with Morris and Rebecca and the kids and drove my bike back.
The winds are really whipping up right now. I was fighting head wind gusts of
over 50 mph and side winds around the same from time to time. Before heading
back, I had to stop for gasoline for the generators, some dish soap paste and
some large trash bags. We brought a cheap camp toilet when we came back thinking
we might not have a septic (and running water) for a while. It is a small seater
with scissor legs and uses plastic bags which are disposed of after use. So
I just got large trash bags and put them in the toilet bowl we have. A better,
more stable sit!
Kathy has been getting dishes out and washing them and putting them in her island. I have to get more boxes out for her tomorrow. I will start on her lower cabinets tomorrow. They will have all pull-outs (drawers) except under the sink. I already have upper shelves that I had built at the other house and the owner did not want to buy them and leave them there.
I have to get Tal started on cementing the septic tank.
Monday November 12th
The sun comes up here about 5:15 so we fight to stay in bed until 6 or so. I
was able to get started (working or there about) just after 7:00am. The day
was two steps forward and a step back at times. We had massive dark clouds but
only light showers a couple of times. It looked like the heavy stuff was down
around Port Vila. I had to keep everything covered in case it did rain. I shifted
most of the non-house things out to the work container and cleared the wall
area in the sitting area (I would not call it a great room because it is so
small.
Tal showed up only to ask me to cut down some glass louvers for an aunt. He hurt his leg playing soccer Saturday so I guess he figured construction work was off for a couple of days. Hopefully I can get him to concrete in the septic and get Kathy's clothes hoist put up as well.
I worked on plans for Kathy's kitchen cabinets last night so got started on them today. I was always trying to find tools and whatever I needed to cut and build but I have no organized workplace right now and everything is in boxes and ………well it is hard to find everything! At one point in the middle of cutting sheet goods for the cabinets I had to take heaps of stuff out of the container to get to the back to get three sheets of plywood out I needed. They were not there when we left but got moved there, they were more accessible like a lot of stuff! I found out that a bucket of paint had been put on the bottom of a stack and under it were some sharp metal pieces that ended up breaking the bottom and all most all the paint in on the floor of the container. Most is dried but there was some paint still wet today, that was fun, again!
Sorry, I was taken away from the blog. A rat appeared at the doorway of the bathroom and seeing me scurried back into the bathroom. The only place he could have been was in the toilet bowl. When I got back I found a rat in the carton that had the toilet in it a one rat ran out when I took it outside. I guess one was still in it as the drain opening was open. I duct taped the hole and carried the toilet bowl outside. I came in and got some water to flush the bowl but he must had escaped when I came back in for the water as only water came out. I took the bowl back inside and put the cistern on the back and will try and mount it to the wall and floor sometime this week (as soon as I knock a hole on the concrete block wall for the drain pipe. On with the blog……
I was able to get the face frames for Kathy's cabinets
cut out, put together and sanded. I got the pieces cut for the sides. There
will be no shelves or doors: full extension drawers except for under the sink
which will be open and Kathy will just put curtains on the opening.
I got everything put back into the work container, the plywood sheets covered in case of rain and the scrap wood stacked up before it got dark.
I stepped on a piece of sharp coral (did not penetrate the skin thankfully). The first day I have not been wearing my boots, brainiac me!. I also have an infection on my left leg that came from a scratch on a rusty reinforcement rod here in the yard last week. I didn't get medicine on it quick enough so now have to bandage it up. It is starting to be humid and warm up so the fly population is increasing thus I have to keep a watch on cuts and such, long pants when I am working outside. I was able to get both screen doors put on the house over the weekend (again the doors were made for the house we lived in while in Port Vila and the owner did not want to pay for them so we brought them here.
Nope the rat did not leave the house but Kathy saw it in the kitchen right after it took the raisin off a trap. I guess we will have to get RAT traps instead of mouse traps.
Tuesday November 13th
The mouse took the bait and died! He looked so much bigger running around the
house.
Today I did not accomplish anything I had planned to do. The cabinet frames could not be painted as I have no lacquer thinner. I have some I just don't know where it is in the container (again someone moved it). SO I cleaned out the laundry room and put all the stuff that didn't belong in the laundry. between the containers. A mouse ran out of one of the boxes into the brush when I was shifting them - lucky him! It was mostly computer parts and scrap wood.
I then finished all the lower walls in the house with masonite, trimmed and caulked (lots), took all the tools to the container out of the house, painted the new walls and put down the linoleum. That was when we found that the new generator was not putting out any voltage. So I get to take it into to town tomorrow for replacement or repair. The small generator we brought from Fiji is still working good but when the refrigerator cycles all the lights go off momentarily. We have been alternating the generators so as not to put too much time on either. The larger generator (5kw) uses a lot more fuel and really only needs to be on when I am using power tools and Kathy uses the washing machine, which she has not done yet because we only have tank water which means we would have to fill it up with a bucket.
We have no internet connection out here in the village so we have to wait until we go to town to check email once or twice a week (when we need to get gasoline for the generators and food).
My left leg definitely has a infection and I am going to try and knock it down with hydrogen peroxcide and antibiotic ointment. The shower bag was warm tonight - oh the small things. One of the neighbours brought us a loaf of village made bread.
Thank you so much for all of you
who are praying for us, supporting us and have contributed to our needs. God
bless you! We are glad to be in our home and sharing with you what the Lord
is doing through us. Thank you for your prayers!
Your seed-sowing brother and sister.
Tobey & Kathy
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Contributions for the Huffs, the Bible school and house can be sent to:
Huffs/Bible School
c/ Mt Hope church of Christ
2830 Mt Hope Rd
Webb City MO 64870
or
Tobey & Kathy Huff
c/ 2730 E. 24th St
Joplin. MO 64804
Mailing Address:
PO Box 3229
Port Vila
Vanuatu
Ph: Mobile: (678) 596-8421
Web Site: http://www.oceania-outreach.com/Index.html