April 13th--Today We receive an e~mail from Cliff, he gives us an update about Whiny...... remember the cat that was living on the front porch in a box at the Voyages building .........
Cliff writes: Whiny is not pregnant....the problem is that she is not very interested in controlling her eating disorder.....however Whiny has settled into her job being Voyages boss cat.
Picture below left.........
July 5th..... Another e~mail from Cliff....Whiny is sitting at the table reading your e~mail with me......he says that she spends all day in the store but he doesn't think that she's selling much.....
Picture below right....

August 18th-- If all goes according to plan we will be ordering Bo Atabey's kitchen cabinets...
rewind......
We already paid Roy last fall to build our kitchen cabinets, now we have cabinet carcasses
that are neither plumb, nor square......
sorry, I'm opening up old wounds.......
Anyway, where was I, oh yea, while on St John last winter we decided that maybe we should have cabinets custom made, but found out it would take forever to make (from what we were told, folks were waiting over six months for cabinets to be made and even then the cabinets hadn't been started......We don't have forever.....so that idea got shot down......
So now the big decisions are what species of wood..... birch, hickory or cherry what style beadboard or shaker style doors and last what color ....I really LOVE~LOVE~LOVE~ beadboard when it is painted..... to me, that look has a Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket feeling, but to actually PAINT hardwood should be a sin (friends DON'T let friends paint wood) so my third choice would be and IS a cabernet stained cherry with a simple door style that will give Bo Atabey's Kitchen/Greatroom a "restoration feel,
reminiscent of the Frank Lloyd Wright era" ....
only, with brass Tropical Palm Tree handles, picture below !!!!!



August 22nd~~ The kitchen cabinets for Bo Atabey have been ordered and should be ready
in six to eight weeks.....
which means we will be on island to install them....
I can't wait to see whiny cat !!!!!
F.Y.I. Bo Atabey is on the rental market and will be ready for the winter 2009 season,
We are very excited about this....

September 12th--Please.....let me rewind back to the month of July.....Friends of ours, Jeff and Ruth have been going to St John for about twenty years...Every year Jeff has a cookout for clients/customers.....
This summer Jeff and Ruth invited us to a 'Caribbean Theme' cookout at their home in Massachusetts....
For weeks I waited for our invite......
This 'Caribbean Theme' cookout wouldn't be complete without live Caribbean music......
still it wouldn't be complete without the live Caribbean music of the reggae band 'Inner Visions'....
FYI.....Yes, Jeff and Ruth are also BIG Inner Vision fans....
Fun was had by ALL....
Picture Below: (left) Jeff introducing Inner Visions.
(middle) Ras Paul and Grass.
(Right) Some dumb @$$ explaining Koi Ponds to Jupiter.


Click here for Jeff's web site

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September 14th-- We have many faithful Bo Atabey blog readers rooting for us....
Many of you say that you can't believe how tuff we are...We are not tuff.....
Many of you just wanted us to hang in there.....
And for your positive and encouraging words.....
We want to Thank You....
We can see a glimpse of light at the end of the proverbial tropical building tunnel.......
Once Bo Atabey was placed on the rental market
We couldn't believe how fast the inquiries started, many from You, our faithful Bo Atabey readers,
again.......
Thank You....Thank You... Thank You !
Who would have thunk !!!
Bo Atabey's first house guests arrive the last week of December ......
We are VERY excited .....
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September 16th--We had originally ordered two king mahogany beds last year, for Bo Atabey from Bauer International, one was not in stock. Last week We finally place an order for a King Mahogany Bed (with Heidi) from Mark Hansen Designs, located at the Lumber Yard Complex in Cruz Bay...
I LOVE this place.....it is so elegant !!
Our bed will be hand made in Nicaragua. The wood is treated with potassium bichromate....which will achieve the look of Old Cuban Mahogany...It should be ready by December....
Picture Below: (left & Middle) Mark Hansen's Shop...
(right) The view of Cruz Bay from Mark Hansen's ...not shabby !!!

September 17th--We placed our order for Bo Atabey's kitchen counter top, it will ship tomorrow. We decided to go with chiseled edge black empress granite tile and not the soapstone.
Yesterday was my birthday......Would you like to know what I got ?.....a very nice track light that will go over Bo Atabey's kitchen sink..... my daughter Dama, made me chimes from bamboo she cut from my yard........
The palm tree handles, Bob had ordered, was shipped September 2nd...it is two weeks later and still no handles .....Bob called last week to check the whereabouts of the lost handles and cancels the order if it hadn't been shipped, someone was to get back to him.....as of today it looks like Frank Lloyd Wright won't be meeting the Caribbean.....NO problem..... I can pick out door handles for the kitchen cabinets...AGAIN !!!($@^%$$)
September 18th-- Guess what Brown delivers today ??!!....brass palm tree handles !!!
September 24th-- Yesterday Brown delivered the jumbo pipe flashing for the plumbing vents.
Today the black empress chiseled edge granite tile is delivered and Brown delivers two boxes filled with kitchen stuff, dish towels, dish cloths, paper towel holders, curtain hooks, assorted mixing bowls,
basically your typical kitchen crap !!
We will take advantage of the bamboo that is growing like crazy and cut it to size for curtain rods.....
Bo Atabey will live up to her namesake.....
September 25th-- Heidi sends an e~mail letting us know the king bed is in the final stage of completion and will be ready before the December delivery date.....
WOO HOO ...
The bed will arrive on the next container....
WOO HOO again !!!!
October 7th-- Yesterday we put together a pallet of "STUFF" that Tropical Shipping will pick up this afternoon.....along with that pallet .....will be a pallet of 18" x 18" bluestone that will be for the
walkway at Bo Atabey......

October 6th-- This week we will fill out absentee voting ballots and return them to the town clerks office.....
This is definitely a voting year !!!!
sooooo Get out and VOTE !!!!!
We NEED change we can believe in.....
you betcha'......
October 11th-- Yesterday I picked up 10 yards of 106" wide sheer fabric to make curtains
for Bo Atabey.......
Today I will measure, cut, measure some more and cut some more.....however Tuffy boy (my male cat) has different ideas.....S#@%head keeps trying to catch the fabric as it falls to the floor....this is NOT going very well....why are People's projects always a fun place for felines to help/play and hang out on !!!! .....
NICE....you got black fur all over.......
NO !!!! Tuffy S#@%head !!!!!....I don't need or want my curtains snagged.....
guess I won't be doing this project at home.......Tuffy don't you have mice to catch !!!

October 13th~~Suitcases are out, open and being packed..... this makes for great fun and amusment for four cats......just make sure we do a head count before we zip up ......
October 14th~~We are up, not bright, but early at 5:00 A.M. our flight leaves Bradley airport at 9:00.....We fly out on Cape Air at 2:00 P.M. we land on St Thomas in a Cessna 402....YES I was scared.......
How tiny, but cute, is this plane ??!!!
My check luggage is missing.....
Because of Tropical Depression Omar...flights are now being cancelled, the airport is getting ready to close down and ferries will stop running....we are told Omar is a cat 6...hum.....cat 6 really !!??
As always, at Budget Rental there are NO 2 door jeeps with side windows, We settle for a jeep liberty that we can drive over to the Budget in town...swap the liberty for a 4 door jeep.
One problem....
this jeep comes with its own AWFUL smell!!!!!
Here we come St John!!!!!!!!!!!!
Our first night on St John we'll stay here in Cruz Bay at Tamarind Inn.....shower, shave and get a quick bite at the Beach Bar.....
Now, what will we do....if power goes out...and there is a curfew....where would we want to be stranded.... here in town.....or on the other side of the island at Bo Atabey !!??
Picture Below: (left) AhHHHHHHH St John here we come smelly jeep and ALL !!!



October 15th~~We are up early and off to Deli Grotto, Star Fish Market and then to Bo Atabey.
All houses we drive by, the shutters are closed and windows and doors are boarded up.......
Sh@! we are in BIG trouble !!!!
The bush (pictures above middle and right) has filled in so much at Bo Atabey we can't get up the driveway.
Once we were able to get in the house we find indeed the power has been shut off......Just GREAT !!!!!! ....
We stop down at Voyages to check the condition of the store and our merchandise. Whiny is there.... I'm concerned for her safety during this storm. but I see that she has a dish fill with food and decide I might do more harm than good by moving her.......yea, I know mind my OWN business...........
The wind pick up around midnight and is much worse by 2:00 A.M. I should be afraid, but for some reason I do feel safe....I keep singing to myself Jimmy Cliff's song "Many Rivers to Cross"....singing this song (to myself) for some reason makes me feel safe, I guess....this is one more river to cross.....
October 16th~~ It is a sunny day, Today I start to scrape the stain, that I left on the doors and windows from March and Bob continues to cut back the rest of the bush in the driveway and by the back door......I really LOVE how it filled in the driveway......
We have NO power, NO phone service....the saw horses that were downstairs in the lower level are gone....and the Johnny Horn Train gut is running~a~muck...... is there a curfew in effect ??!! there is no answer at Pastory Gardens (for sandwiches).....do we know if the ferries are running ...where is my suitcase ....
how do we catch up with the outside world....... again....where the @##@@ is my suitcase!!!!!!!
HOW DID LAST NIGHTS DEBATE GO !!!!!!
OH, what a world..... what a world !!!!
Picture Below: The Johnny Horn Trail gut running into Coral Harbour or..... Chocolate Hole East......check out the water in front of Pickles building !!!!..

October 17th~~Today we head to town, stop by the WAPA office and pay for power to be turned back on....it will be back on by the end of the day, do you promise ??!!??.....Reschedule internet hookup and get a quote to plaster the pool.
October 18th~~We are up bright and early, do breakfast at Deli Grotto and are off to St Thomas to shop for matresses, a T.V and toys for Bo Atabey.......
October 19th~~ Bob preps the railing for the first coat of paint....this week we will install the balusters for the front lanai, it is about time, we only cut, primed and painted them last August!!!
Ryan calls up, complaining about THE cats taste testing plants that Bob brought in the house before we left for St John .....yes.......the cats are leaving him up~chuck presents !!
I start once again to scrape stain off windows. We drop the propane off to be filled.
October 20th~ Another coat of paint goes on the railings. We didn't realize the stove came without a plug....so there is NO way to make coffee today BOO HOO.
Bob calls Hilroy to remind him that his tool box is still on our property, it needs to be removed. We get one estimate to plaster the pool ......$1,ooo.oo per day for ONE person....thanks but NO THANKS !!!!!!
October 21st~~ Today Leonardo stops by.
We head to town, first to Tropical Shipping to fill out paperwork, to MVD to pay excise tax then to customs.....Now we can have Ramon deliver the two pallets of "stuff".......
back at Bo Atabey we continue painting the deck railing and start screwing them to the balusters......finally I get to see what they'll look like put together...
October 22nd~~ Bob and I continue to put more of the deck railing together, however, it is a Bi#@!, because the top and bottom rails are warped and twisted, both of us, use some mightly fine choice words, to help with this struggle....
Leonardo is cutting down tamarind weeds, tarmarind seedlings, tarmarind bushes and tarmarind trees. Our internet gets connected. Ramon delivers our two pallets.
The weather continues to be very HOT and humid......the weather is so different than it was on St John last October and winter..... No way did I think we would need air conditioning then at Bo Atabey....not so this visit.......
last winter we slept most nights with the windows zipped up in the tent because it was really.......
Picture Below: (left) Railing and balusters getting installed. (middle and right) Ramon delivers our pallets of goodies...


October 23rd~~ Leonardo and The Man continue to clean up the pool coping area with chisels and chippy~hammers....sections of the concrete pool floor crumble.....the concrete it is "no good" they use the chippy~hammer on that as well....Bob and I continue putting together sections of railing.....Manford from Screen and Patio Tings stop by to measure the french door openings for phantom screens.....just for ha~has I want an estimate to screen in the whole front lanai......for dinner We head to the Beach Bar....I have my veggie sandwich !!!!
October 24th~~Leo and The Man work on the pool....We finish screwing the balusters to the top and bottom railings...Sunday we'll attach them to the posts and top railings...
October 25th~~ Today We are off to the big city.....St Thomas, our first stop will be Bad Ass Coffee, next Floor Factory where we order coral stone for the outdoor shower floors, then Price Smart, Paint Depot, K~mart, Cost~u~less and Home Depot......I get a message on my cell phone the kitchen cabinets are ready....woo~hoo !!!!
While waiting for the car barge Bob opens the back door of the jeep to grab a bottle of water, out rolls a bottle of balsamic vinegar and smashes to the ground NICE GOING Bob !!!!!
Picture Below: Leo and the Man getting the pool deck ready for coping....using the chippy~hammer......


October 26th~~ Bob and I spend ALL day attaching balusters to the railings.....we are very happy with the way they turned out.....
October 27th~~ Paradise Lumber delivers two pallets of Chicago brick....I wonder if it came from Barack's neck of the woods........and two king mattresses are delivered...
We head to town to run errands.....stop at the Beach Bar and meet Oscar who had a very long day playing in the sand....
October 28th~~ Leo and the Man make progress on the pool, I stain trim for doors and windows and Bob heads down to the Voyages building to move our merchandise out.....this building is up for sale...... while we are on island, now is the time to vacate the building..some of the pottery is missing especially my favorite, a circle of friends planter....I am very sad......
October 29th~~ Bob continues to remove more "stuff" from the Voyages building, I stain wood, Leo and the Man continue chipping concrete and adding Chicago brick coping around the pool deck and satellite for T.V. gets installed We'll get 100 channels and no MSNBC......I need my Morning Joe, Mika and Willy.......
Picture below: (left) Paradise Lumber delivering two pallets of Chicago brick. (middle) The pool looking more and more like a POOL !!!!...(right) Oscar a very tired pup.