In mid-July I headed back down to Little Purgatory for round two. This time the plan was to spend more time actually enjoying the house, see how my tenant (and friend!) was settling in, and sort out some repair work. Greg once again lent me his little red Ford Ranger, as I still didn’t have my own wheels.
Getting things done on a tiny island is its own special skill. Luckily one of the residents has a few crews that can do small repairs, plus he handles ordering things from off-island and actually getting them on-island. So I had him order me a new bed frame–tall, with lots of space under it for airflow (hello, humidity!)–plus a new dresser and a headboard storage unit. I also had him get me a new all-in-one washer dryer. The units that came with the house were really grimy, and while I could have cleaned them, I really, really wanted a utility sink in the utility room…and going with an all-in-one made that possible.
So what to do with all the old stuff? On the first trip I’d hit on a great way to “sell” things off: list it on the local Facebook group with an asking price of a bottle or two of wine. That’s how the bookcases from the den found new homes. (The corner desk thing stayed–friends helped me move it into my bedroom so I’d have a workspace.) This trip, the old bedroom furniture and the old washer and dryer went the same way. Cheers!
A couple of other friends helped me build my new bed and wrestle the mattress onto it, then haul the old bed frame out onto the porch for rehoming.
This trip also came with a sub-story. I went shore diving with friends, only I had a new dive computer, and when it came time to head back to shore it wasn’t calibrated properly. I thought it was, but it wasn’t…duh. So I ended up coming up one cove west of where I wanted to exit the water. As I was slogging back across the shore with my tank and gear, I came across a dead thing. When I first saw it I thought it was human, but then I realized it was definitely some sort of marine mammal: it had a long “beak” with teeth. I took a couple of pictures, and once my friends reconnected with me I showed them the pics and much excitement occurred. They notified the Department of Environment, who collected the body. It was a young dolphin that had become separated from its pod and died. Very sad. Still…if my dive computer hadn’t goofed like that, no one would probably have found it.
And then there’s diver man (or woman!). I found out on my third trip that he was a gift given to Greg by his coworkers. I happen to really like diver man and have plans for sprucing him up some day.
Then there was the downstairs. After the first trip I knew I couldn’t tackle the ground floor storage room and garage alone, so I asked for help. A small army of friends showed up, and thanks to them and a lot of pizza, those areas are–while not decluttered completely–far better organized. No panic attack, no tears, no self-loathing, and no sweating away for hours on end in the sweltering heat. (Remember: still no AC!) The one thing I didn’t attempt to go through? The deep freeze. File that away for later…
The proof is in the gallery below: compare the kitchen in the middle of my first trip with the same space at the end of the second. Note the large number of pizza boxes on the floor and the complete lack of clutter on top of the cabinets.
One last thing: the island has no recycling program, and the flat pack furniture I had ordered and brought in came with a lot of styrofoam. I can recycle it back home, though. On the way down, my checked bag had been full of things for the house: new curtains I made for my bedroom (the blinds were falling apart), some queen-size sheets we don’t use anymore in the guest room here at the ranch, plus clothing and other small things I would normally donate but that would be great to have at the little house. So going home, my checked bag was virtually empty…and I filled it with styrofoam.