Category: Uncategorized

Nov. 15, 2017
Woke up at 8:00am
Went out to the field today to do some clearing now that the rain has stopped for a moment. But while clearing, I believe I was attacked by fire ants. I have a large number of red bumps on my arms and I think one tried attacking my left eye. I was temporarily blind for a moment, but once I washed it out and my vision cleared I decided to head back to the room and call it a day. Seeing how this day started badly from the get-go, I decided it was a stay inside kind of day and do some research or cost counting instead.

Nov. 16, 2017
Woke up around 7am
Since today was also going to be a rainy day also,  I decided not to go out to the site today.
After speaking with the wife we decided I should use this day to go and price items for the home. So I headed out to the local solar store. There I managed to purchase our solar power system, and a water catchment filtration and purification system. Then I went
over to Home Depot to put in the order for all of the pier and post materials, plus sub-floor. Later in the day, I went to the nearby shop to get some Calamine lotion for the bumps on my arm. At this point, they are far more intense and it seems like there are
a lot more of them. I am just hoping that I did not bring them back with me to the room. Or even worse, that it could have been bed bugs all along as there are definitely more today then there was yesterday. We will see how this goes. All in all, it was a very productive day.

Nov. 17, 2017
Woke up at 9:30am
Last night I could not sleep due to the infestation of bug bites. Today I went to the pharmacist and asked what the bites were, and they concluded that they were indeed bites and not some sort of rash. I felt relieved as I would have been in for a long battle if I was allergic to something on the site. So, I picked up some Benadryl and went on my way.

I hired someone to come and clear the land with an excavator tomorrow, so I decided to go and price some items for the home today. I checked the high-end stores as well as Goodwill and other thrift stores. So far I have come up empty-handed. I did manage to take back the post hole digger and spare chain I bought for the old chainsaw, as well as, purchased the catchment tank for our water catchment system. We decided that the 500-gallon tank would be better suited for our needs and the 250-gallon tank might leave us a bit short-handed.

Afterward, I went to go see the New Justice League movie. I am definitely a bigger fan of the DC movies, as this one did not disappoint. After the movie, I came back to the room to spray for possible bed bugs or fleas and tallied up the receipt totals. Tomorrow is a big day and I hope I get everything cleared in one day.

YouTube link: Day 13 Site Excavation

Music: www.bensound.com

Nov. 18, 2017
Woke up at 6am.
Today the guy with the excavator (Noland) came and cleared the lot for me and knocked down several trees. It is not 100% cleared, but enough for me to start mapping out my foundation piers and making my lines for the posts. It took about 8 hours including lunch to get the driveway and lot cleared. I made sure to take plenty of photos and videos so everyone can see what exactly it took to clear the lot. Tonight I will start packing up my things as I will head out of the AirBnB and go camp out on the site tomorrow. I will remain there for the duration of the trip. Because of this, I will not have access to the internet, therefore, I will be uploading the videos once I return to the mainland.

Nov. 19, 2017
Woke up at 6am
Went to the laundromat to get some clothes washed for the big move today. I will be leaving the Aribnb and going into a tent for the remainder of the build. Although I intended to sleep in the tent initially, I have decided to sleep in the van tonight to get a feel for the area first. If things seem cool, then I will set up the tent tomorrow.

With the van full everything for the build, I had no other choice but to sleep in the front seats and not the spacious flat bed of the van. We will see how this goes.

Nov. 20, 2017
Woke up at 5am
So last night was terrible. Not only was it uncomfortable, but also extremely hot. I had two choices; 1) I can open the windows to let in some air and invite in the mosquitos, or 2) I can turn on the car and hit the AC for as long as possible.
I chose option two.

But just as I was about to fall asleep around 11pm something happened that I will never forget.  I was laid back in the driver seat with my right arm along the back side of the passenger seat headrest when I felt something start to crawl along my arm up toward my shoulder. Continue reading “Day 15”

YouTube link: Tree Falls in the Woods

Nov. 21, 2017
Last night was the best sleep I had received since landing on the island. The air mattress was nice and comfy. The air was cool and although it was raining, I remained dry throughout the entire evening. Moving out of the AirBnB was one of the best decisions I have made thus far. It’s not that the room wasn’t nice, it’s just that it had no window. Continue reading “Day 16”

 

YouTube link: Day 17 Camping Out

Nov. 22, 2017
Woke up at 8am
Today the excavator will come to see if he can dig up my cesspool. I waiting around for about four hours for him to show up. I think I need to start getting used to this whole island time thing, lol.

 

Everythings looked pretty promising at first, but after getting through the top layer of rock the lower layers seemed to be a bit more difficult. The blue lava rock is extremely hard and will take some time to get through.  I paid them half for the job today and they will get the other half when the job is complete. This will end up being about a 4-day job.  Once the hole is finished I will need to go and buy the supplies and cement to put the cap on it. This size of a hole should take about a pallet of cement, which is about 30 or so 80lbs (36 kg) bags.  Noland told me that once I get the material he would come and help me install the cap for free. At this point, I do not know how I would have gotten this far without his assistance.

YouTube link: Day 18 Happy Thanksgiving

Nov. 23, 2017
Woke up at 7am
Today is Thanksgiving and I was invited to Noland’s (the excavator guy) house for Thanksgiving lunch. They served ham, turkey, shrimp, crab legs, corn, stuffing, potato salad, green bean casserole, chicken soup, white rice, and pumpkin pie. Needless to say, I was definitely a happy camper today. He even made sure to give me a couple of extra plates to take back with me. His family was lovely…and big! Seven children to be exact. But with this much love in the house, it’s definitely a no-brainer. I couldn’t be more appreciative to him and his family for welcoming a stranger into their home and treating him as one of their own. I wish them all the best in life and I hope we can continue to be friends for many years to come. So if you are reading this, my friend, I just want to say from my family to yours, thank you.

Later on in the day, the rain subsided and I went back to the land to mark out footings for my piers. I got some yellow paint and marked out the squares and then surrounded them with rocks in order to keep the smaller rocks from running away when I go to level things out.

YouTube link: Day 19 Digging the Hole

Music: www.bensound.com

Nov. 24, 2017
Woke up at 7am
Noland arrived at 8am this morning ready to go. He unloaded the excavator by himself and managed to get going straight away. I felt a little bad for the neighbors, as it was a holiday weekend and I know the kids don’t have school today. This means the sound of the hammer drill was the first thing our neighbors heard when they woke up this morning. Looks like no one around us is getting to have a lay in. Continue reading “Day 19”