I'M OUT

I did manage to escape the island unscathed, but not without some excitement. We boarded the plane and 15 minutes later were told that the american airline flight, that had just left, had blown some tires on takeoff and had returned to the airport. I looked out my window and sure enough there was the plane sitting there with smoke coming out of it.

We were later told that the brakes had welded to the wheels so it was impossible to tow off the runway.

Three hours later we left, missed my connection flight in Newark, and my first class seat, and am now sitting in the worlds club waiting out a thunderstorm that has delayed the NWA flight from landing.

When will it ever improve.

It is getting closer

Since the last blog, Laura from the "travel people" has found a flight for me on Fri. morning. There still may be hope that I can get out of here.

It's Not Over Yet

After the last blog this morning, I learned that I DID NOT have a flight on Monday. Seems after the reservation was made, american airlines pulled the reservation.

Now I am in a panic. I called the "travel people" and informed them but they were already working on getting me a flight out of here. I as informed there was a flight that would take me to Panama then to JFK and finally to Minneapolis. Not the preferred way to go but better than the alternative of staying here. That flight left at 5 in the afternoon and arrived in Minneapolis at 11 the next morning.

A few minutes later Laura from the "travel people" called and she did get me on a flight Friday morning thru Newark.

I have been checking this reservation once an hour to make sure it is still there and it is confirmed.

Here We Go Again

1. 
   

I was told by the plant manager to make a flight and go home. Great news I will be home for the weekend.
Not so fast kemosabi. I called the "travel people" and found out that there are no seats on any plane out of this country until Monday. And on Monday there is just 1 seat left. I was so frustrated that I hung up on them before I said something I shouldn't say. I instead worked with Nana to have her talk to the "travel people" and make the best arrangement for getting me home. It was for the Monday flight.
Today I have another travel agent working on getting me out of here a little earlier. This is not my idea of a vacation spot.

The Beat Goes On

The never ending saga of Trinidad continues. All day yesterday it was discussed, what to do next. This process took until about 3 in the afternoon, then they began disassembling the generator.

I don't get it. We knew it had to be taken apart so why did they wait all day to start? Your guess is as good as mine.

As of today I have 5 days at the plant and 6 in the country. Thank goodness for short visas.

Escape is not in my future

It doesn't look good for me to escape this island anytime soon. I did walk into the office this morning and said that I have to leave in 7 days as my visa is about to expire.

This has been a tough job to figure out as the generator that we are working was made 25 to 30 years ago and no one has any experience on them anymore.

Each time we try to fix something, and we think it couldn't be anything else, we are bit in the ass by some unforeseen problem. It is getting a little tiring and frustrating.

Plus, I have to eat at the hotel and they think they are the 4 Seasons Hotel by what they charge for food. Last night it was a, small, tuna club sandwich with fries and H2O. Cost, $26 and change. I can get a club sandwich at the local sub shop at lunchtime for $4.

I NEED TO LEAVE THIS ISLAND. As of yesterday, they have had 362 confirmed murders here. That is why sometimes I have to stay in the hotel and eat.

Lovely Trinidad

I have to tell you about my stay in Trinidad. Sorry no pictures, dead batteries

I am staying at the Crown Plaza hotel in Port of Spain. The hotel is okay but the interesting thing is what is posted on the 10th floor, where I am staying.

It is posted:
Welcome to The Quiet Zone

No Housekeeping will be done between the hours of 9 pm and 10 am.

The following are not allowed on this floor:
Children
Leisure Groups
Marching Bands
Circus Animals

We Need You Cooperation by:
Keeping the sound down on your tv
Do not slam the door
No loud singing in the shower

The above is really posted on the 10th floor, I didn't make it up.

The Battle Continues

The Set Up.








The Catch.








The release.








This is the 11th one I have caught since the second week in July. Will the insanity ever stop? Whoa is me! Anyway, the coons never stop coming around to the farm. I have been baiting the trap with some of Nana's delicious cupcakes, actually they are the only ones who will eat them.

Other than trapping, Jonesie hasn't been doing much except waiting for the office to call and send me somewhere. The last I heard was a trip to Trinidad for a while but that has not been finalized yet.

Busy Time at The Farm

I have been busier than a one legged man in an ass kicking contest on the farm. It started out by being gone last week to Venezuela. During that one short week the work piled up on us.
First it was the task of catching the crapping coon. We had, (I think I did catch it) a raccoon that would come up the stairs from the pond, get to the top landing and take or leave a bug pile of crap for us. So the trapping started on Monday night with the entrapment of two babies at the same time. Over the next 3 days I caught 1 more baby and 2 adults. The last one just barely fit into the trap. I think it was probably close to 40 pounds, and so I think the last one was the crapping coon.

Next on the farm was the repair of a crack in the foundation of the house. The crack has been there since we bought the place but I just have never gotten around to fix it. My plan was to use a post hole digger and make a small opening in the ground , down to the bottom of the crack. I was then just going to seal the crack and fill it in again. So you know how the best made plans work out. I did dig the hole but then did not have enough room to clean out the crack and fix it. So one shovel full of dirt after another and I have excavated quite a hole in the ground. Eventually I did get the crack sealed and all put back together.

Next on the agenda was to finish hauling in wood for this winter. Mr. H. and Mr. E. started hauling when they were home this summer so I just had a little more to haul in. After hauling all of the wood I had cut I still needed about 2 loads to fill the shed. So it was back to the woods with the chain saw and cut some more hickory. So that is what has been keeping Jonesie busy this week.
It is time for the harvest to begin at the farm. Today we picked the first cucumber's and tomatoes.

We have been picking beans and one row of carrots. So far everything has tasted fantastic.








The blueberries have been off to a great start with Nana picking 13.5 cups so far. As a matter of fact we entertained Big Tom and Moscow Mary for one night and this morning we had fresh fruit, OJ, bacon, coffee and blueberry pancakes.