Orchids

The palm trees are gone. I needed to find a new home for the orchids that hung on their trunks.  I saved them all before the trees went down. They were suffering from the heat, lack of water ( due to low water pressure), and neglect. Their pots were stuffed with dead roots, a few frogs had taken up residence in the pots that were full of dirt  (something  that orchids don't like -  dirt not frogs), and they hadn't been trimmed or fertilized for a long time. Yes, I know I am retired and should have the time to dote on these plants but I am lazy and let them go to hell.  So now I am doing penance. 

We got a trellis and I spent two days painting it.  I cleaned up all the orchids, cut them down and repotted them into bark which is their preferred growing material. That took me days, again because I am lazy. I finally got them hung.  Rick ran a drip system to each pot and now they have a nice sort-of-shady spot to grow. I have a few more to rescue off the mango tree and from a planter.  These orchids I inherited when we bought the house.  So I feel responsible to grow and love them.

 

One of my favorites is already blooming. It's a sign that I am doing the right thing.  I love it when my orchids bloom.  It's like magic because they grow from absolutely nothing just a small root base and leaves.  The flowers are so spectacular and very special to me.  I have five different varieties.  I am looking forward to when they all bloom because then I know they are happy campers. 

The Great Tree Removal

The last two palm trees that kept Rick on a ladder are finally gone.  The trees were getting two tall to trim for Rick and our landscaper.  We really didn't want to hire a man-bucket every time we needed a trim.  These trees sprouted multiple spikes with blooms every week.  This is not usually a problem except the wind blew all the blossoms into the pool on a regular basis.  Okay, I know this is a first world problem but Rick being safe and sane is important to me.  Keeping him off a 20 foot ladder trimming a 30 foot tree is worth everything.
 

The process is really very interesting and heart stopping.  Two cords are tied around the tree.  One cord is tied to a lift truck arm and the second cord is hand held...scarry as hell. A chain saw is used to cut around the bottom of the tree.

The tree breaks at the base. Ground men hold the tree so that it doesn't hit anything.  This is the moment that makes you heart beat fast. For a moment the tree is free to fall, swirl around or tip uncontrolled in the wind. This is a big tree that weights a lot.

All of a sudden, the lift truck takes over and lifts the entire tree over the wall and onto the haul truck.  It took them less that 45 minutes to take two trees down. It was so awesome to see this process. Not their first rodeo.

We also had a tree in  our back garden taken down as it was not doing well and had outgrown the area.  This one, they just chopped into pieces and took it away.

We made a trip to the garden store to pick out trees and bushes to fill the areas.  We want some greenery there, just not greenery that we have to trim. We continue to move toward low maintenance.

All the orchids had to come down as they were hanging on the palm tree trunks.  Since they were overgrown, I started separating and repotting them.  Stay tuned for a new orchid station which is under construction.

Colorado Trip

We journeyed back to Colorado to visit family and friends, celebrate birthdays and tackle the clean-out of the last storage unit. 

The mountains are always a pleasure to see in Colorado.  Pikes Peak overlooks my childhood home so it was a nostalgic trip to Colorado Springs.  We arranged a tour of the Air Force Academy for my grandson who is  researching colleges with one of my high school friends that graduated from there over 50 years ago. 

Back in Arvada we celebrated birthdays for the youngest grandson, youngest daughter and our sister-in-law. Bowling was a big hit for the grandson who turned 8. After two hours of bowling, Rick and I were wiped out. 

The altitude and cold also affected us. It was a typical Spring in the Rockies.  It would be rainy and cold and 40 degrees and the next day it would be 80 and sunny. We wore a lot of sweatshirts and sweaters. We are not cold weather people anymore.

We were able to cut the size of our storage unit from a 5x10 to a 5x5. It was not without anxiety and much crying. We just wanted the things we loved to go to someone who would appreciate them as we had. I sold a silverware set that belonged to my mother to a nice lady who was collecting the "First Love" pattern to use for her large family.  I told her I just wanted her to appreciate the set that my mother had collected by saving cereal box tops.  She asked my mothers name and I told her it was "Ann".  She said she would remember Ann every time they used the silverware. As I stood in the parking lot of our storage unit selling keepsakes out of the back of our rental car like a drug dealer, I cried. 

Rick inherited an old Edison phonograph with 100 cylinders that played music by winding it up.  His grandfather collected these and was world known for his collection.  We found a buyer that had remembered his mother playing a phonograph just like the one Rick had kept safe for years. This made us feel a little better and we shed less tears as this item was taken away.

I had been crying over the very mention of my mother's china for months leading up to our trip back Colorado. The next generation is not into china and have no use for nostalgic things. Selling china is really not possible. I couldn't bare to give it away.   So the China and mocha set sit in storage until next time.

Coming home to Bonaire is always exciting for us.  We have lived here for 4+ years.  It is our home. 

Painting

All the outdoor decorative furniture at the house is distressed wood.  The grey washed out wood makes for a very calm palet around the house . However, The outdoor conditions make paint peel, wood warp and allow bugs to wreak havoc. Slowly, we have been reclaiming these pieces. One of the large shelving units was our most recent rejuvenation. 

Rick spent a week replacing wood pieces and rebuilding the base. Water damage had almost claimed this piece but we were determined to save it. 

I power washed it and sanded it down.  I decided that it need some wood filler in spots and I used a whole can of that to fill all the holes.  Another sanding and it was ready for paint.
 

I spent three weeks painting.  A primer and a top coat and then decorative painting. It was a long, long process. It's done now, thank goodness! 

Here's the finished project.

Replacements

The house is a constant repair and update project.  Most building materials do not last in this weather. The salt air and soil, water, wind and heat make everything deteriorate.  We did some updates to the house to repair and replace wood items.

Our contractor replaced a wood ramp into the front door with a nice concrete ramp.  Wheelchairs (ha ha) and wheelbarrows can now enter easily.  Plus its easier to walk into the compound not slipping on wet wood.

Our front patio was edged with wood planks.  They were severely weathered and starting to pull away from the concrete.  We had them removed and replaced with tile that looks like wood.

The back garden was covered with wood decking and a wood walkway. It was so old and rotten that I had to paint a white line on boards that should be avoided.  Once again, we used wood-looking tile on the walkway and left the wood decking which is still in decent shape.

One thing leads to another when you are doing renovation and repairs. Our tile guy replaced some tiles in our second bathroom.  He found water damage had loosened the tiles.  We told him to put the tiles back on and we would do a bathroom renovation at another time.  Geesh!

 

Shipping Furniture

Two years ago we turned our small third bedroom into a media room.  We took out the twin bed and sold it to some nice island girls. We purchased a love seat recliner from a local "Best Buy" kind of store.  The recliner was a floor model and we thought it would be fine but it didn't last long.  

Our hunt for the replacement furniture was done on line.  We located a model that we really liked but we didn't know if it was comfortable.  Keep in mind, that Rick is very tall and I am very short.  Buying furniture that fits both of us is hard. 

We enlisted the help of our son and daughter- in-law in the States because they have similar body types to ours and there was a store in their town that carried the furniture we wanted.  They tried out the recliners in the store and said that they were comfortable for both of them.  Now we were ready to order and ship.

We ordered the furniture from a store in Miami.  They delivered the couch to AMCAR (also in Miami) which is a shipping company that specializes in shipments from the US to the Dutch Caribbean. AMCAR ships by cargo boat to Racargo which is a receiving company on Bonaire. Once it goes through customs, Racargo delivers it to us.

The recliners came in one big box but it had to be assembled.  Rick, the engineer, read the instructions which were in English.  It's rare for us to see instruction in English. The items we purchase on Bonaire have instructions in Spanish, Dutch, German, Japanese and sometimes English.

Rick has seen several videos on repairing furniture as he had hoped he could replace the previous recliners. He had a good idea of what it took for assembly.

It took two of us to hold the pieces and affix screws. Rick was able to figure out the electrical.  We traded up and got electric motors that operate the chairs, Now we have to purchase a transformer so the Bonaire electric currents don't blow up the motors in the chairs.

We were very proud of ourselves for ordering furniture from the States and getting it shipped here in three weeks. We were also pleased that we could move furniture, assemble furniture, and clean the room in one day.

This is a well deserved rest in our new recliners.

Dushi Balls

Bocce league has started again. This is our group that plays every Sunday at the local Bocce lanes.  We only play each other because the Dutch play a similar game called  "jeu de Boules" and won't play with us.  The Dutch are very serious ball players and they don't appreciate our trash talking, drinking, or loud cheering. They also play with heavy silver balls and have different rules that we have yet to understand.  So we play teams of three or two depending on how many people show up.

We used to play at a bar outside of town however, they catered to the Dutch teams and had tournaments which kicked us off the lanes for a month.  Our illustrious team founder and manager located new playing lanes. 

 

We have to maintain our Bocce lanes. This includes leveling, cutting weeds, and pulling weeds.  The local recreation center has maintained the parking lot area and provided benches and some shade.  Their efforts have been minimal.  Ours, on the other hand, have been frequent and effective.  We now have  playable lanes and they are reserved just for the Dushi Balls.

Our team name Dushi Balls is made from a Papiamentu word "Dushi" meaning "sweetheart", "babe" or even "sexy. It can be used for both men and women and is a term of endearment. It can also be used in describing food as "tasty".  

You have to be willing to make your own good times. Two of our team mates made score keepers from wood food boxes and cloths pins.  So creative and very useful.  Our manager designed our logo, shipped in our balls from the States as well as our t-shirts. We all pitch in to maintain the lanes. We also bring adult beverages and snacks just like the moms do for youth team... minus the alcohol.

4 Years on Bonaire

This was my first post on Bonaire Bobs blog:

So Bonaire Bobs blog documents our story.  We (my husband Rick and myself) wanted to share our adventure in selecting an island, moving, settling in and living as ex-pats. So this is our story...

We celebrated 4 years on Bonaire February 14, 2025. This was the post of us opening the door to our new home:

Our front door. I am not going to lie, it was a real HGTV moment.  The minute we walked in we couldn't believe our dream came true.  I cried and Rick gave me a hug and kiss and we were finally at home on the island.

We love island life and our home in Bonaire.  It's the most spontaneous thing we have ever done and we have not regretted it for a minute.

Our friends visiting this week took this photo of Rick and I at the beach.  Here's to another 10 years of island living.

Holidays

As many of you know December is full of events for us.  Christmas is just one of the events we celebrated.  So here is a run down of the activities.

I turned 70 in December and Rick turned 72.  This was the first year that I felt the aging process. I am not as sharp as I used to be.  I am slower and not as strong as I used to be.  However, I was reminded by my many friends ( throughout the week of birthday celebrations) that is a privilege to be this old.  So I am learning to embrace my age and be thankful for every day that I am above ground.

Our Christmas morning tradition is going to the beach with orange rolls and Mimosa's in hand.  It is a delight to us to be able to enjoy the white sand beach and turquoise water. Once again, we are thankful to live our dream on this beautiful island.

We were able to wish friends a family a Merry Christmas through phone calls, texting and emails. Our friends hosted a Christmas pool party and dinner followed by games and singing Christmas carols (aided with the words printed out).  We had the best day.

Bonaire lights up for New Years.  From about 8 pm to 1pm everyone lights fireworks.  Not those little sparkler type things but real big, booming, and colorful fireworks.  Kralendijk is ablaze with fireworks.  The harbor fills with boats watching the show.  Our neighborhood  fireworks displays were especially big.

 

New Years Day feast was hosted by our friends around their pool.  Tamales were imported and all the sides were provided by the attendees.  It was a Mexican finale to a great holiday season.

This is island life in December. We hop from party to party, gatherings with friends and eating good food. Plus there are a lot of adult beverages involved. Most people will choose to have a dry January.  Rick and I will continue to party until we can't.  

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Bonaire.  

Solar Part 3

Our Chinese solar equipment got delivered 6 months after ordering.  We stored the equipment in the bunker and outside as installation started a week after deliver.  

 



Our solar guys moved the 14 collection panels to the roof.  They attached them using the screws already on the roof so no new wholes were made (which was a requirement from me) to eliminate any roof leaks. The panels are on the east, south and west sides of the roof for maximum collection from the sun.

The bunker (which was built under the Mango tree months ago) is now home to two batteries and a solar inverter.  This set up should supply us power throughout the night without having to use power from WEB, our utility company 

On the first night of solar, our batteries were charged but they were not releasing power into the house. Our solar guys monitored the system as did Rick on his phone app. They both noticed the issue.  Since China is 10 hours time different than Bonaire, our solar guys had to wait  to talk with the Chinese engineers to solve the issue.  24-hours later we were up and running with power generation and usage.

This concludes (I hope) the solar saga series.