TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Yup... two years since sitting at Tira's Colgate graduation and getting texts from Dan that the excavator had moved its first dirt.  I would not have believed that it could take so long... and that we would feel fine about it taking so long.  In fact I feel only appreciative of all the hurdles and hassles that have been handled by Dan and crew and thankful that we're closing in on it.

Last of the tongue and groove coming over on Sea Biscuit.  Interior walls in process.  Communal bedrooms a thing of the past... end of an era.

Aluminum angle iron on shutters will serve as prop point when open and latch/lock when closed.

Interior walls going up downstairs.

Walkway from top of drive to living level of cottage.   Or enter through the upstairs bathroom.

Rigo stairs down the bank.

Using the extra siding to cover what used to be plywood.

Upstairs floors... simple gray paint right over the plywood.

Extra stainless steel hinges being put to work for home-made screens.  Swinging allows access to the shutter to prop it open.

First screens!  Securing the perimeter.  The first salvo in the bug/rodent wars.

FORCED FAMILY FUN

And so we descended upon Lovango.  The all of us with Brad and Barb besides.  Dan worked miracles to have a refrigerator, toilet (1), outdoor shower (1, no hot water) and the entire container all ready and waiting for us (truly incredible).  Over the course of the week we gained much furniture,  a stove, two working sinks, counters, overhead fans and an appreciation for palm rats.  Especially on the heels of a New England winter, the unfinished cottage was comfortable as warm breezes trumped the clutter and chaos.  We learned (relatively painlessly) that island living has complexities which encourage simplicity, improvisation and compromise.  All pleasant enough pursuits.  And yet one's natural inclination is to fight this until the futility deems otherwise and all, even dad, succumb... yes, a drowning metaphor... you go with the flow.

Pulling the boat out of the rack in St. Thomas.

Arriving to a working refrigerator, toilet, and shower, and 5,000 lbs of stuff, much of it Ikea.

First task- building beds before dark.  And learning to think like a Swede.

Working amidst the rubble.

Garbage heaving over makeshift railing.  The farther you throw it, the shorter the haul from there.

Snorkel break.

Sunrise over St John.

Eeyore (L) and Olive Oyl (R) enjoy the only rug we rolled out.

More thinking like a Swede.

Eeyore sleepover (on the only cushion we laid out).  Luckily it was white.

Barb, Brad and Sam priming shutters on east side.

Shutter priming on west side.

Olive Oyl oversees Martin's final grouting.

Thinking like a Norwegian.  Brit fixing mis-built drawers.  Tira helping.

More Norwegian thinking.

Quittin' time.

Heading out to the all-island dinner party.

Morning yoga in the master bedroom.

Morning coffee.

Gibney selfie pano.

Driving home.

Alison's Sunday evening peace meditation on Peace Hill.

Crew lunch with L-R Martin, Rigo, Chris, and Dan.

One of 4 loads of cardboard hauled to St John.

Lovango's "Home for Lost Soles" tree.

Personalized drinkware.

Kitchen area- stove working!

View from the kitchen.

Housewarming gift from Dan and Fiona- jasmine.  Planted and blooming by day 4.

View from the east.  Ranger made the climb up the path so can live under cover of the porch.

As we left it.  Shutters and doors all painted, most furniture assembled and cardboard packaging hauled off.

MOVE-IN DAY

Another enormous logistical challenge handled beautifully by Dan and crew.  The contents of a 40' container full of appliances, cabinets, furniture, rugs, sheets, towels, blender, coffee maker and even toilet paper (why not when you can buy anything on Amazon?) is now resting under cover in the Lovango cottage.  Deliveries from Amazon, Ikea, Polaris, Home Depot, and others were consolidated and packed in Miami, shipped in the container to St Thomas where they cleared customs and were shipped again to St John where the container was emptied into a truck that was barged over to Lovango and offloaded to the beach before being run up the hill.  (Awful run-on sentence for effect)  The St John-Lovango-cottage portion done (miraculously) between 6 am and noon this morning.

Over 7,000 lbs of stuff now awaits our arrival next Tuesday for the first (and last) Lovango Ikea Assembly Party.  Pass the allen wrench.

Container in FL before sealing door.

Off loading container and packing the truck in St John.

Early morning passage (on flat water) to Lovango.

The Polaris being put to work.

Off loading the beached truck.

Beach cleared by early afternoon.

Truck loaded to head back to St John.

More camp solutions.  nautical door stops.  Hmm... maybe not.

Finishing downstairs tile.

UNDER PRESSURE

The cistern is 3/4 full (16,000+ gallons) and the rough plumbing is completed and pressurized.  A couple of toilets are on site awaiting bathroom floor tile and final hook-up to the aerobic septic system.  Consolidation of stateside goods for the container is on schedule, as well.  Still looking good for flushing and running water and a boat-load of Ikea furniture on site by April 19.

40 lbs of pressure in the line.

The picture of organization- pump and tank and lines in the mechanical room.

The battery farm.  12 cells.

First look at tile laid down in the downstairs bedroom.  Grout to follow.

First look at dock repairs (from Hurricane Erica damage) ... still some work on decking but frame is fresh and squared up.