Upstairs update

The Honduras pitch pine floors have been sanded and finished.

 Bathroom tiles are down tiler worked until 10 pm on Saturday. I can recommend Rommel, a good tiler he is and he worked with me.  Sandy also helped himself to Rommel's chocolate and disappeared.

 Shower floor in a river stone tile.

 Waiting on a quote for a glass surround if it is too much money I have some ideas using non traditional materials.

I will call the plumber to install the toilet and shower hardware. The sink will be installed last because I am looking for an old tree stump to use for the sink base. If that doesn't work out I have a few more rustic ideas to try out.  The last project will be the bedroom closets and that will be completed early in January.

A mystery solved

Do you recognize this face? It is the face of a very naughty dog called Sandy. 

Earlier this week I was given a small rum filled fruit cake. I tasted a slice and boy was it yummy and rummy. Later that evening I took a second slice. It was moreish so I went for a third slice. I found the knife on the floor, the foil the cake was wrapped in also on the floor and the cake nowhere to be found. I screamed out in shock and ran to look for the culprit. Now this cake was oozing with rum and loads of minced dried fruits in it. Fruits like raisins, prunes, dates and currants. I know raisins can be fatal to dogs so I hurriedly searched for Sandy. and found him sleeping soundly on the floor next to the bed. I nudged him to make sure he was alive. He barely opened an eye and quickly went back to sleep. He was knocked out! How did I know it was Sandy? He is the tallest dog in the pack, he has been seen with his paws on the kitchen counter looking to see what was nearby that he can reach. He had done this before with some ginger snaps I had left on the counter. 

 On Friday,  I was in the shower when there was a knock on the door, my husband wanted to know how long had I been in there. A bit perplexed, I told him about fifteen minutes. He said that there was toilet paper all over the kitchen floor and it looked like a whole roll. I checked the toilet paper holder and the roll there was intact. I checked the bag where toilet paper was stored and one was missing. Someone who was helping me clean upstairs told me that he heard Sandy barking, when he looked downstairs there was toilet paper all over the kitchen floor so he alerted my husband.

We had some friends visiting earlier in the week. We  sat around the table chatting for a while. When they were getting ready to leave my husband spotted some keys outside on the cobblestones. He asked if someone had dropped their their keys. My friend checked the table where he had laid his car keys and they were not there. He looked where Chuck my husband was pointing to and was shocked to see his keys on the ground. Sandy had disappeared.  The keys were still wet. 
Nothing is safe around Sandy! Many times a day I am running  behind him like a mad woman  shouting at him to drop whatever he is carrying. He will stop at some distance and peep at me from the corners of his eyes and then take off whenever I get closer. The gardener's hats, gloves and shoes are not safe. The mason's and carpenter's tools are not safe. And he is still growing! This morning he had the bright idea to wake up my husband in bed with two thumps on the back with his huge paws. What am I going to do with this dog?

P.S.....I forgot to tell you that Sandy goes into the vegetable field next door and brings home discarded cucumbers and eats them. Lately I have been finding green bitten tomatoes around the garden. Now he has brought home a butternut squash! I am thinking of sending him to the market to shop for me.

Wishing you all Good Tidings of Joy this holiday season!

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day December 2013

 This blue Baleria obtusa or bush violet caught my eye this morning. I was surprised to see how well it looks since it is quite old and has been cut back frequently.

 A newer dwarf Baleria variety I use as a border plant.

 Here I have dwarf Balerias bordering pink pentas.

 White begonias are enjoying the cooler nights we are now experiencing with strong trade winds.

Deep blue duranta repens blooms drooping under the weight of the top heavy shrub.

 My snow on the mountain an euphorbia leucocephala  is not as spectacular this year as years gone by. The old one finally fell and this is a younger shrub whose shape will improve with future pruning.

Welcome to Garden Blogger's Bloom Day where gardeners around the globe post what is blooming in their gardens. Christmas is ten days away and this year the Christmas spirit has not caught up with me as yet.  

To see more blooming gardens please visit Carol at May dreams gardens
Wishing all a peaceful and joyous holiday season! 

Garden Blogger's Bloomday November 2013

Dendrobium orchid

This sphinx moth feeding on this butterfly ginger. On looking closer I realised it had died while feeding. What a way to go!

 Anthurium lily

Pride of  Barbados

 Desert Rose always in bloom

 Jamaican poinsettia blooming for the first time.

 I am making some orchid baskets for myself and for orders. If you need to order just send me an email or check Caribbean gardeners and homeowners page on FB

Hello and welcome to Garden Blogger's bloom day where gardeners around the globe post what is blooming in their gardens. The rustic Bajan Gardener has neglected her garden and is now trying to get things back in order. She is still picking at the homestead and in between looking at the weeds that have taken over her garden. To see more of what is blooming in other people's gardens please go over to Carol at May dreams gardens 

Have a great weekend my friends!

Homestead update November

The patio painting is almost done, the guttering will be installed as soon as I compare quotes. The old aluminum guttering is still good and I am tempted to reuse it but I am afraid that after 15 years leaks might occur. So I am looking at some seamless gutters. The garden will be the last on the list.

Patio lattice finished painting and waiting to hang the gates.

The walls are done with a coral stone rendering and have blown in some areas so I have to repair them. 

 The ceilings are painted in a pale green.

 I decided to paint the bedroom doors in this blue while the wood partitions are in a pale yellow.

 One of the workers spilled a can of paint, paint was everywhere.

 Bathroom floor tiles, I chose a wood plank tile. I am aiming for a rustic type bathroom.

 For the feature wall, I am trying to choose a tile that will add some rusticity and won't clash with the floor. I like the far right tile. Which would you choose? Tile selection is difficult and exhausting for me.

I don't think I will be upstairs for the Christmas season going by how things are going. I have been repairing walls the last mason ruined and it has been a slow process. This is because the present mason can only work Sundays as he is busy on another job. I don't want to take another chance with another mason. This is how things are done on this island. You have to pay twice to get things done right. Aaaaaggggghhhhhh!  And the dust from cutting the walls is everywhere. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day October 2013

 Day blooming miniature yellow

 Day blooming blue

 Day blooming pink

 Night blooming pink

Welcome to Garden Bloggers's Bloom day  where gardeners from all around the globe post what is blooming in their gardens. My water lilies are blooming furiously. The night bloomers are huge 10 inches  or 26cm in diameter. 

Yesterday evening my water baby Sandy was rushed to the vet. I found him drooling from the mouth and walking uncoordinated. That was his second visit that same day. Earlier that morning my hubby had taken him there about a skin problem . He was diagnosed with a type of mange. The vet said that he would have inherited it from his mother at birth and that it was not infectious. She prescribed some shampoo and some skin medication.  Now Sandy is afraid of getting into the car and it was a job for me to get him in. We were concerned that a second trip to the vet would be traumatic for him. The vet suspected some kind of poisoning, I thought he may have bitten a toad. He was given something to vomit whatever he had in his stomach and a muscle relaxant to stop any seizures as well as a sedative. They told us to leave him overnight.  This morning when we called, were told that he was alert and had eaten. They told us that will be ready to go home later in the evening if he showed no other signs of illness.

To see more of what is blooming in gardens around the globe please stop by Carol's at May dreams gardens. Have a great week!

My recent projects

The rustic bajan gardener has been quite busy around the homestead. She has been busy doing some woodwork, like building a potting bench with remnants from the house renovations. The rustic Bajan gardener has quite a collection of tools, tools like a circular saw, a chop saw, a jig saw, nail gun, drills and an electric plane that was her father's.

The rustic Bajan gardener loves DIY and has been in a creative mood recently. She built a potting bench after being tired of sitting near ground level potting plants and always looking for a spot to sow seeds.  So she discovered several websites showing her how to build a potting bench. This dishfunctional site is filled with imaginative ideas. Laura the blog owner is describes herself as a creative artist, jewelry designer, author, upcycler, free spirit, daydreamer, rocker, mom
 Blooming in the garden today are adeniums aka desert roses. 

There are a total of eleven flowers on this stem, this is a first time I have seen so many buds blooming at the same time.

My baby has grown and is now bigger than the pack but still a baby. He is house trained except for the occasional pee pee in the patio in the late evenings. I am happy my diaper watch is over.

He is such a sweetie and mischievous as ever. Anything and everything find its way into the house. Palm fronds, my plastic pots, old pieces of coconuts, old shoes and socks left by my garden helpers and anything that is not tied down. Last week he brought in a very long piece of rope and I wondered about his intentions.

I am still working on the house and I hope to be back upstairs by December.  Wishing all a very fruitful week and be happy.