Puerto Rico – Page 4

Was supposed to just be a few projects…

This trip turned out to be much more project oriented than we had intended. More details on that later, but here’s one of the few afternoons of fun we had

Here’s what we saw while snorkeling (watch fullscreen HD for best effect)

Here’s what was caught by local fishermen while we were snorkeling

October trip

After several months of thinking and planning, we scheduled a return trip to Casa Anolis for the last two weeks in October. Our plans included bringing down a spare computer along with a laser printer to replace the laptop that we left the last time. Dean continues to connect and automate Casa Anolis, integrating it with our home library of music, movies and programs. We also continue to fine tune our automation plans using the Revolv system including thinks like door monitors, etc.

This and That

Not finished, but you can get a sense of scale. Unfortunately this view doesn't shown the spaciousness. — Not finished, but you can get a sense of scale. Unfortunately this view doesn’t shown the spaciousness.

I thought that I might share some of the other photos that I took around the condo. Here is the living room with some of the new furniture from Ikea. We like the scale and it fits the room perfectly. The TV is a 50″ with a sound bar and a subwoofer and is hooked up to a media laptop, which is perfect for streaming from the internet. We decided that rather than a cable package, internet access was much more important since we have a Slingbox and everything from our rather extensive DirectTV service (plus everything that we record) is available. Also, we have a very extensive movie collection on our server and with internet access it’s all available. Continue reading “This and That”

Until the fall

So we are back in New Jersey. The return week was a whirlwind of catching up but now things are slowing down. Time to reflect on Casa Anolis again.

We didn’t get everything done, but the projects that are left are relatively minor. I still have to install the a/c units in the bedroom. The master bedroom never had one and after thinking about the project, I realized that power tools will have to accompany me on the next trip as there is a plywood blank that has to be cut to take the unit. Fortunately we stocked the apartment in such a way that we need no carry-ons. Clothes, toiletries etc., were left behind so the luggage can be just for the things that we want to go down.

Continue reading “Until the fall”

Going with the flow.

Our time for this trip is starting to wind down but I am still knee-deep in projects. Every day we get things done but we are constantly adding new projects. Fortunately they are rapidly becoming minor ones.

With the hot water heater gone, there is plenty of room for a pantry.

One of the biggies that we are tackling right now is the plumbing. Along with a new kitchen sink faucet I also installed a garbage disposal. The switch and electricity were right there so it was only a matter of taking out the old sink trap and putting the unit into place. The hot water tank was rusted at the bottom and due for a change but rather than replace it with a similar one, for safety and energy purposes we went with an on-demand unit which just sits on the wall-and frees up storage space to boot! Continue reading “Going with the flow.”