Moving In

Some things are hard to come by in Belize.  I tried a few standard light bulbs in the house light fixtures to keep the place lit up while it was not occupied.  The next day half of the lights did not work!  They were bulbs of the finest Chinese quality.  The high burnout rate is a commonly shared experience here.

I then tried some compact fluorescent bulbs and LED bulbs with better results.  However, the fixtures where the Chinese bulbs were installed refused to work.  Apparently the bulb base is slightly diffent so the contacts inside the bulb socket are deformed and no longer contact a functional bulb.  I was able bend the internal contacts to restore an operational condition.  The unusual scocket contact arrangement leads me to suspect the fixtures arre also of the "finest" Chinese quality.

 The ceiling fan lights do not accept a standard light bulb due to their low profile design.  I've ordered suitable LED lights from the states to provide bedroom and living room lighting sometime after the first of the year.  I'm on my third night of living in the house and it looks like I might be grouping around in the dark for a month or more until the bulbs arrive.

Handrails are installed on the back porch!  The observant eye may notice the porch wall is darker than other siding.

The siding is receiving a pigmented sealant that also repells insects.  The freshly applied smell also repells me.

The fence wall is completed.  An custom fabricated fence will be installed between the wall columns at a later date.  The fence wall is difficult to see because of the white gravel spread across the lot's width in front of the house.  I can now walk from the street to the house without crossing a mud pit after rains.  Note the stained stairway color that will soon be applied to all the exposed wood.

Closets are not a common feature in Belize homes I've seen.  I'm 6 feet 1 inch tall and I tower over most Belizians.  I wasn't around when this hanger rod was installed, but my height must have been much greater in their minds to install the hanger rod so high.  Only minor modifications are required to lower rod and one day have an accessible shelf above the rod.

The image above does not fully convey the dramatic lighting effect the closet lights produce on the ceiling.  It is very eye catching from the road level.