Douglas Bay

 Was out for a run last weekend and kinda stumbled on Douglas Bay park and beach.  This is less than three miles from our house.  Just some beautiful views!

Directly across the road from the beach

I came back home using a different road and came by this beautiful little church and cemetery

The old Catholic Church building in Portsmouth

Cemetery across from the church in Portsmouth

This is Why I Brought Power Tools

I shipped a big bag of tools down here, hoping I would be able to find some projects to take on.  I love using reclaimed wood to make simple useful furniture.  We have everything we need here, but I thought it would be nice to add some shelving above the desks in each room, so this is what I came up with:

Someone dumped some old shelving near our house I used for this.  Sanded down ready to stain.

Finished shelf in Elijah's room.  Designed for Lego display with books underneath

Miles' shelves came from scrap wood after Ross tore down the old Piccolo Hot Dog Stand.  I liked the colors that were already there!  This is a cabinet door cut in half.

Kim's shelf works nice above the small built in desk we had against the wardrobe.

Glad I brought masonry bits, because everything is concrete here.  I've used my drill and wall plugs to mount and reposition shower organizers, a giant whiteboard, mirrors, a wall fan and a soap dish.

This sink is a tad angled, so you can't balance anything on the ledge, had to mount a soap dish.

Kim's whiteboard we repositioned from Elijah's room into ours.

  

Fall Weather in Dominica

Well, everyone said we would get used to the weather here and our blood has definitely been thinning.  Ever since we got some fans the first week we were here, we haven't used air conditioning.  Now with the cooler weather moving in, we haven't been hitting 100 degree heat index most days.  The last couple of nights have felt chilly, dropping into the low 70s!  It is still very humid and usually hits 95 heat index by mid-day, so still nice for a swim or trip to the beach.

If you are in the States and need a break from the cold, consider a trip to Nature Island!

Miles posing with his pen-pal figures from a class in France.  We have beautiful flowers all around our place thanks to our wonderful landlord, Ms. Judith.

We are moving into a "drier" season, but still usually get a couple rain showers every day.  This is following an afternoon shower on the way home from school.  It was actually still sprinkling when we saw this beautiful rainbow.

Family Trip on Independence Day

November 3rd was Dominican Independence Day (37 years old with independence coming in 1978) and Kim had the day off, so we finally got to take a quick trip as a family.  I really wanted to have everyone hike up the steepest trail at Cabrits to enjoy the view.  It was a bit strenuous for the little one, but the view at the top made it worth it!

Trail was pretty rough compared to most of the trails at Cabrits

Dad - are we there yet?!!

Taking a break on the cannon at the top of the trail

We made it!!

That's Guadalupe in the distance.

Edge of the cliff that drops down a few hundred feet to the Caribbean

Somehow Elijah packed vanilla pudding for the break at the top!  Thanks Auntie Jessica and Auntie Cathy for the care package!!

Keeping Busy on the Island

When I had to leave home and work back in the States, I was a little concerned about being bored as a "house husband", but that has not been the case at all.  I was very busy at first getting things unpacked and getting settled at our new apartment.  I even got a ceiling fan installed and added some shelving to make things more comfortable.

The great thing with being unemployed was I got to spend a ton of time with the boys.  We go to the beach or pool every Friday afternoon and I participate with any activity happening at the school.  We have a school wide assembly at 8am every day, so I always stick around for that and listen to the stories, learn the Dominican National Anthem or participate in yoga.  One day, the assistant principal asked if I could help out a bit with organizing the library... and that turned into a good 3-4 weeks of volunteer work. 

There had been an attempt at organizing the library and a partial catalog built, but it was completely scrambled up, so I educated myself on the Dewey Decimal System, built an online catalog and library return box and did a ton of labeling to make the entire library searchable and organized.

Best part of volunteering at school --beside being around the kids -- was the awesome dark roast coffee!

I got to snap some pics during the big MAP testing sessions.  Elijah tested in the 81-94 percentile for fourth graders!

Miles also did great on the first grade test, even though he was in kindergarten back home.  He is 82 percentile for math and 51 percentile for reading vs other first graders!  His reading has really started to click now and he reads me a book every night!

Just as I was nearing the finish line on the library, I responded to another spouse looking for someone to take her spot working at the local boutique hotel, restaurant/bar.  I started working there at the end of October helping with inventory, replenishment and ordering, which is right up my alley!  I've enjoyed learning about the ins and outs of the business and learn something new every day.

Here's a view towards the five hotel rooms from the bar overlook.

Some of the best views of the area are on the walk up the hill to work.

Another view of the road - I picked a bunch of guava from the tree just around this corner today.

The bar/restaurant set-up for fine dining/Halloween party!

We've eaten at the restaurant once (enjoying the employee discount!), here's Kim and Elijah digging into the Dutch Apple Pie.