The Taxman cometh

Today was a bright day doubly full of sunshine with a nice breeze cooling the temperature down a notch or two.
As per usual I was pottering around on the outside when I spied a man standing in the street looking over the house.  He did not look familiar nor was he dressed in uniform like the meter reading guys.  Who was this I wondered?
Brownie on full alert took off up the driveway to chase the silent stranger from being so close to his domain.
Our eyes met four, and the man shouted a hearty "Good Morning!" my way.  I answered with an equally hearty "Good Morning!" of my own.  I continued to stare at him.....he wore a badge around his neck, a western cowboy hat, dark sunglasses and carried a digital camera in one hand and a clipboard with sheets of paper and a large plot map of the neighbourhood.
I refused to take my eyes off of him, I had to find out what he was all about.
It was then he cried out, "Land Tax Department Ma'am!"
"Land Tax Department?" I queried back.
"Yes, new property evaluations," he answered.
Oh my goodness what a way to start the day.  I had never had the "pleasure" of meeting up with a Land Tax Officer before.
I sauntered up the driveway to investigate further.
He informed me that the properties in this Class II area were seriously undervalued and that he was in the area to make it right.  Recently transferred to this area, he has inherited an area that needs to be whipped into shape.
It's an old residential neighbourhood established back in the 60's and most folks haven't really improved on their properties except to keep them painted and maintained with maybe a new kitchen or improved landscaping over the years.
According to him the value had appreciated and re-evaluations were of utmost importance.

I rubbed my hand across my forehead in disbelief.
How is it that only one "professional" gets to decide the value of a property?  How is it that objections to the increases by the property owner are basically over ridden if they march themselves down to the office to complain?
I had a long conversation with him and I gleaned an insight as to how things are run within his department....what an eye opener for me.
He was of the opinion that my home now has a higher value as well as all the neighbouring homes.
No sense "fighting up" as we say here, since the government needs money in the coffers and this is one of the easiest ways to continue to strangle more taxes from all of us.
What a job to have....how many folks would have taken the time to chat with him?

Before continuing on his way, he thought it would be nice to remove his hat and sunglasses so that I would recognise him again if I ever saw him again...that was quite risky if you ask me.
How many people really like the taxman and would want to be acquainted with him in a social setting? 

Given that Barbados is already the highest taxed island in the Caribbean the ability to increase revenue by raising taxes should not be an option....but we all know how this story will end don't we?

I love to learn something new every single day, and today I learned a lot...a whole lot.
One thing is certain....only two things in life are certain – death and taxes.
Isn't it ironic that as soon as I decided to give a facelift to the front of my home, that the property taxman shows up....

**All images borrowed from Google images

A day to relax?

Today was a holiday here......Errol Barrow Day.
I should have spent the day relaxing, but I chose not to do so.
I'm working on a new landscaping project outside my front garden wall, and that is where I spent most of my day.
I'm a bit tired now, but I'll leave you with this...

  Brownie and Big Blue Rat relaxing after a good lunch.

No relaxing for me....right back outside after lunch to get some more work done.

Some of us are luckier than we know.

I was actually teasing him by pretending to take his plate away to give the leftovers to the birds....he pounced on it in a hurry to stop me.

The recent happenings

What day was yesterday??  Can you guess???  (Not hump day like in the GEICO ad) but yesterday was Jaunt Day!!
Saturday.....my day.........girlfriends day.
I missed my girlfriend while she was away on holiday, and I  am happy that she is back.  The Croc Hunter is back.
We set off for our favourite plant nursery.  My first visit since Patrick left us. Felt strange without him and made me a bit sad, but I'm sure that his spirit was there amongst the beautiful plants.

 I came away with a beautiful green Carex grass to add to my grass collection.


I didn't want to spoil the holiday season by mentioning before that the robber was still at work.
When I say work, I really mean "work" literally.  He considers it to be a job it seems, breaking into houses during the daylight hours of 10am - 3pm, gathering valuables, and then clocking out when he has finished his job.
The police seem to be no wiser, even though this guy's MO is similar to another who was just released from prison.  No fingerprints, since he wears gloves and gains his access to the building by picking locks or via unsecured windows.
His  cache thus far are items that have a ready market and include: laptops, digital cameras, jewelry, Playstations and computer equipment.....whatever he can fit into his haversack.
To this end, I printed some flyers and an updated neighbourhood telephone listing and house map and distributed them on a sunny Saturday morning when folks were at home.
Everyone is now on the lookout and making sure their properties are well secured when they are away from home.
When the robber broke into my next door neighbour's home, he fled in a hurry and dropped his red bandana at the back of my wall, which I found later when I was doing some work in that area.
To be honest, I found lots of broken shrubbery on the path to the quarry, and the way in which they were bent/broken led me to believe that he either had a fall into the quarry or almost did.

After all the sporadic rainfall that we were having, the garden was in need of some TLC. Everything was growing in leaps and bounds.

 Faithfully blooming are my special heliconias....both large and dwarf varieties.

 On the Sunday lunch menu today: Herby Quinoa, baked flying fish and veggies, and a hot and spicy cucumber salad (pickle).  For Brownie a dish of baked chicken livers to go with his chow.

Brownie is still not 100%.  The ear itch became quite a nuisance, and he continued to try getting his entire paw into his ear to get at the itch.  A trip to the vet revealed no mites and he was put on a 10 day ear ointment regime (Animax ointment) to clear it up....it worked.
New Year's night he woke me up with periods of vomiting.  Upon closer inspection I saw a few worms.  I have been giving him his three month oral Sanium Plus tablets but these did not seem to be doing the trick.  A trip to the vet and he was given a dose of Oramec which was followed three days later with Endolav wormer tablets.
Now a new problem has surfaced...he continues to swallow quite frequently, and I'm not sure what this is about.  At first I thought he was just amusing himself, but reading online it seems it can be acid reflux or a nasal sinus drip.  If it does not settle down, he will be given a swab test which will be sent to the lab to determine the cause.

 Sleeping like a baby after lunch

Apart from this he continues to eat like a horse and carry out his monkey patrol duties, as well as run and play around as per usual.

I've been catching up on some movie watching too...I can now add to my watched list "Cleaner" with Samuel L. Jackson, "Seeking Justice" with Nicolas Cage, "Lee Daniel's The Butler" with Forest Whitaker/Oprah Winfrey, "The First Wives Club" with Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton and Maggie Smith, "Pride and Prejudice," as well as "Awake" with Terrence Howard, which really gave me a wake up call. That movie gave me a reality check. As my mum used to say about people "Every skin teet ain't a laugh." (*)
(*) Skin-teet = Skinning your teeth or grinning. Every smile or grin is not to be trusted. You never know what someone is thinking—just because they're smiling doesn't mean they're pleased or mean you well.

A little help

I'd wanted to finish off the front landing for some time now by completing the tiling in that area.
I'd been putting off the project because of other more "important" projects that somehow always jumped ahead.
Not only that but our local tile company had closed unceremoniously, and it was rumoured to be starting back up its operations so I had waited, because I'd wanted the same tiles from that company to match the others that were already in place.
Then to add injury to insult, my inquiries made me aware that my only source for terra cotta clay tiles on the island were now an imported tile from Trinidad and Tobago.  
This meant I would have to purchase the imported tiles which were of a redder hue and not as big and heavy as our local tile, due to the different clay makeup of that island. 
Oh well......
As with any other project when I need help, I just have to "say the word" and my help arrives in the form of my male friends who are always there for me.
Many weekends ago, back in November, my dear ex-hubby and I started laying the tiles.

Getting started

BrownBerts was doing his usual Overseer job

and I was begging him not to walk in the mortar

That first Sunday morning the rain kept on falling and impeding our progress.  We gave up around 11am.
In between working I baked a rum and raisin bread pudding as a thank you for ex-hubby for his help.

The following Sunday, we were at it again, but after two hours, my poor ex-hubby's back was paining him, and we called it a day.

I knew that I wanted some kind of medallion pattern in the centre and I spent some time designing and creating a sun design for that area.

No special angles or protractors, compasses or T-squares needed....everything was drawn free style to add to the rusticity of it all.

It all started with the hexagon centre piece

(there's no denying who the ruler belongs to....)

I continued drawing a pattern and putting it together until I was satisfied with the effect.  It actually looks like a cross between a sun and a star.

The finished template with the numbered pieces

 

Next it was time to transfer the pattern on to the tile to cut out.

 Concentration and a steady hand is needed to make all the intricate cuts

Making sure that the pieces fit

The grouting was the hardest...since cleaning mortar from terra cotta tiles can be VERY tricky.
After cleaning up the grout, and removing the mortar residue with full strength vinegar and a little muriatic acid in the harder areas, it was time to seal the tiles.  The only thing getting in the way of this process was the rain which continued to fall whenever it felt like in between lots of sunshine.
Sealing the tiles was put off again and again and again.
When the sun finally came out HOTT HOTT HOTT a few days ago, I decided to take a chance and take care of the tile sealing.

 

 The easiest way to seal terra cotta clay tiles is to use a 50:50 mix of oil paint thinner and raw linseed oil.
The paint thinner acts as a vehicle to get the oil into the clay tiles.

Clean the area thoroughly to remove all debris.

Use a clean paintbrush to apply the thinner and oil concoction to both the tiles and the grout lines.
The smaller container was used as my measurement and I used one container full of each of the paint thinner and the linseed oil.

Make sure your Overseer does not get in the way of your progress.

I had to keep moving him as I continued to seal the tiles.  He would not go away....maybe the smell of the linseed oil reminded him of peanut butter.

The Big Reveal!

Ta Daa!!  Finally it was finished....about time too.
One project off the list....just another 300 to go.
N.B: In the photo above the oil mix has not been totally absorbed as yet.

Bajan Polar Vortex

I know many of you living in the colder climes are laughing at the post title, but my little island has been experiencing some "cold" that we are not accustomed to for the past few weeks.

Image borrowed from Google images

Last night was the first night that I was able to sleep in my own bedroom.
For several nights now, I have been sleeping on the sofa in the living room which is warmer, and Brownie was elated at having me share his sleeping quarters.
It seemed no matter how tightly I closed my bedroom windows (yes the seals are intact), the "cold" permeated the room, making it unbearable for a good night's sleep, except I was wrapped up like some mummified cocoon and wearing socks.....who can sleep like that?  For goodness sakes we're in the tropics.

We were experiencing our own polar vortex with extremely cold gusty winds and rain.  Everyone I knew was complaining how cold the nights were.
The days similarly were not as warm as they normally were. I dared not open my windows when I awoke as usual....no siree.....
Around 9am, I would tentatively open my windows, but not very wide, since the breeze was still quite nippy.  I didn't dare venture outside to work in the garden until the sun was quite high in the sky, and even then, the winds were still giving me a goosebump or two.

 

Battling the "cold"

Images borrowed from Google images

I have been drinking copious cups of ginger tea to keep warm and wearing a long sleeved jacket and socks when needed..........for goodness sakes, aren't we in the Caribbean??? 

 

Brownie however was loving it, and he enjoyed relaxing or sleeping outdoors with the high winds whipping all around him during the day.
One of my friends who loves the cooler weather even suggested that the cool air should be bottled and saved for the summer months.....good luck with that.

Technically, all the cold front remnants that leave the US mainland travel downwards to our area, so technically we were experiencing the remnants of the US polar vortex.

Thankfully the island is back to its regular self....at least today it was.
This morning, when I got up, I threw my windows wide open to welcome the warmer air.
Today was a nice HOTT day and I was able to get lots of gardening done, including some grass cutting......about time.
I am definitely not a cold-weather person.


Polar Vortex article here.
Niagara Falls frozen as a result of the Polar Vortex here.