½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

It was a Butteball bone in Turkey breast.  Very moist and OMG good.  Six pound breast took almost 6 hours in the cooker.

Hope you had a great Christmas day.  Not sure what we are doing of New Year's yet

Bob K

There was no turkey for me this year. I had dental surgery on Tuesday so not able to eat much of anything yet.  Healing well and back to work today......   I hope you all enjoy the leftovers!

Merry Christmas and Lovely New Year to all...can't wait till summer when we finally get to come down for nice visit & hopefully make it a nice long one...

Same to you and you will see that summer will be here before you know it.  Heck the days are already getting longer

Bob K

Thanks and the very same to you!

A belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!!

Sorry, haven't been on ½ûÂþÌìÌà for awhile.

Quick question:

Our villa is solid concrete (Bermuda roof design) and we were advised against the necessity to purchase any 'home' insurance (like we do back in North America), or fire, theft, etc.   

What is your opinion?     Is it worth purchasing theft insurance for TV's, laptops, etc?   

Best place to purchase health insurance for expats?

Thanks again everyone!!

David

Hi David.
Hope you two had a good Holiday season.  I think most of us do not have insurance unless we rent the property.  With block construction no much is going to happen.  As to theft sometimes hard to collect and in the case of huge disasters like a bad earth quake the feeling is the companies will go belly up like they did last time.

I will send you a PM in the morning with the contact person for insurance most of us use here on the north coast

Bob K

And I'd you want another option on health insurance let me know....

David just sent a PM

Are you guys in town now?

Bob K

An update:  New years eve was a bit crazy here,  I had to go out at  2 in the afternoon  and already the people on the roads were nuts!!!  Clearly they had started the celebration early!!!   

Still recovering from dental surgery,  wasn't up to celebrating. I had dinner at our neighborhood restaurant - ate pasta and had my first drink in 2 weeks!  That was good. And I headed to bed and was asleep by 10 pm. Big party night....LOL

New years day saw me heading to the airport to pick up my "boss".  It was an easy trip east to west as there were few cars on the road,  heading back was a bit busier.   

The airport was quite busy, lots of flights arriving at Las Americas Airport. I love watching how Dominicans greet their loved ones, there is no shortage of emotional displays!  And there is no shortage of luggage!  Wow Dominicans can bring luggage with them.......

News  report a  decrease in fatalities on the roads for New Year - great news. I wasn't taking chances and just stayed home.....

I hope everyone had a nice New Years, one more holiday -  Monday - to get through and then maybe it is back to normal.  Nothing gets accomplished here during the holidays, it is brutal!!!

Yep quiet night for us old farts as well.  Dinner with friends then drinks on pedro Clisante and listened to some live music for a bit. Home and in bed by 11.

Then yesterday we really overdid it......never got out of our PJs for the entire day...GREAT!!!

Bob K

Almost the middle of the first month of the year.  Wow time flies!!!!   

Time for an update.  Work is awesome.  Some of you have been wondering what I am doing, some were close to guessing.....LOL 

I am the General Manager of a group of companies based in La Romana.  The majority owner is an American.  I am the minority owner. One of our enterprises is a large (and getting larger) farm about  1 hour 20 minutes from here. Our main crop is feed corn, which has not been successfully grown here. 97% of all feed corn is imported from the USA.   We farm it  differently using high tech equipment so we can do it profitably.  We have now imported US $1.7 Million worth of equipment. We have  33 employees and growing. We have  2,000 acres and will double to 4,000 over the next  60 days. It is exciting and very interesting. We have done incredible things in  90 days!! Its unheard of to do what we have managed to do in this time.

Our second company buys used cooking oil and converts it to biodiesel.   We will use most of our own product this year and then grow to sell what we do not consume.  Our farm machines use on average  250 gallons of diesel a day per machine.  We anticipate buying 500,000 gallons of used cooking oil this year. This company is just starting up and in fact I am interviewing for our manager position this week! We will be collecting oil all across this country and bringing it here to be converted! I will be hiring sales people  all across the DR for this project,  buying trucks, hiring drivers etc etc...... its amazing.

Our next project cannot be discussed yet, but as always, I will when I can.

That is what I have been up to.  For those who live here you can understand how much work all of this is.  For those who don't watch for more stories......I have a list of stories to tell............LOL

Wow..  very interesting job ! I am very happy for you. Congrats !

Thanks honey!

WOW!
Planner, I am suitably impressed.
As for the feed corn, I am positive we purchased some from a
roadside stand once.
W

Oh because on top of that you have a "next project"? 

This is very impressive and innovative. I like the oil conversion mucho. Dominicans fry abundantly and use a lot of gas!

If you could think of an idea to convert leftover chicken bones into something useful, you'd hit the big bucks!

Girl you rock! Don't know where you get so much energy and that forever smile that I can hear through your words! You are one amazing woman! Can't wait to meet you in person and hope that maybe, just maybe some of that energy will rub off on me! Sure could use some of the fire and passion you seem to have for life!

Keep up the good work, cause I know as you mentioned before you not only do your job but you take on extra's of making others live's better as well...

We need more like you!

The machines that use 250 gallons a day are not your farm tractors!   They must be your processing machines. Tell us what kind of machines they are.  Are they used to grow the corn or are they in your bio-oil plant?    I rescind my marriage offer, adopt me instead, I promise to be a "good boy".     Congrats on your new oddesey (sp)

The machines using 250 gallons a day  are massive farm machines.  We are doing this with  new high tech machines. One was driven from Puerto Plata to the south coast.  The shipping company ONLY uses the  port there - long story!  Anyway  the owner drove a rogator 12 hours with an AMET escort..... its  15 feet high and 16 feet across. When you open the arms it is over 90 feet across.  Big bugger it is......

Thanks everyone.

One thing I love - the owner is investing in the community and we are also working to make a difference. Lots of stuff going on!

LOVE the chicken bone recycling idea..... hahahahahaha

Grind it up for fertilizer.  collection would be the major problem.  Better off depositing them in your compost pile along with the contents of your composting toilet.

There are few bones that make it anywhere,  street dogs get em.... and you should not put bones or meat products of any kind in compost - attracts rats.

You want them to come!   Great for target practice!!

Thanks for the enlightenment.  You have a massive operation.

Wow, amazing. 
No grass growing under those feet.
Good luck

Bob K

NO grass Bob, but lots of CORN......LOL   I am having a great time at this.  It is  challenging,  frustrating, enlightening and that was just yesterday.............

I went and bought a new laser printer, scanner, fax, copier...........  I had already negotiated the model, price etc........... still it took 1 hour and 5 minutes to get it and pay for the damn thing.............ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Claro / Codetel - we all know how much I love them............ 2 months AFTER my request for internet for my office - after we renovated, got electricity, all set up etc...........THEN they tell me there is NO SERVICE to the area........... you can imagine my reaction...........  WE are getting it installed today!  I didn't accept their response.  HA!

The first thing they a Dominican learns while training for a job is that the answer is:
"We don't have that"
"We don't have any more"
" Maybe next week"

This is while the item you are looking for is on the shelf behind them.  It has happened to me a couple of times.  After explain that I bought one yesterday they find it.  Imagine

Bob K

They are amazing..............  not always in a good way....LOL

love your comments....playfully putting stuff in perspective....

One has to smile...

Bob K

Well thanks for sharing this "negative" info in a way that evokes a smile from me and also shows yall's positive attitude towards accepting life for what it is instead of wallowing in anger or self pity that would prob not solve anything anyways.  You seem to go with the flow, a much easier way to go through life....

If you don't learn to deal with it, it will make you nuts.

Bob K

On another note just got word the new BBQ has been loaded on the boat and I should have it here on the terrace early next week. Yippeeee!

Bob K

Enjoy!

Thanks I will once I figure out how to put it together

Bob K

Oh come on Bob you are the man! Sure you won't have any troubles there...Especially once you get motivated dreaming of those wonderful barbecues!

PS You mentioned coming by boat...from US or another DR port?  Curious if you want something like that do you order online and then decide on ship mode? Doesn't like UPS or the other guy deliver too by air/ground? Just making mental notes...

One more thing, believe asked this before but forgive if so... are you dogs little enough to go in cabin with you or did you put them under the plane? I can't remember and have such great fear of putting mine under the plane no matter the time of year.  Just keep meaning to ask.. Working on way to get them on board with us...Almost there but just in case...

If you don't have a sense of humor, don't think of moving to the D.R..   Go to France, you'll get along just fine!

Too true about France...went there with a friend years ago and even though she spoke fluent french once they knew she American they wouldn't talk to her...Go figure...

So true,  you have got to laugh at some of this stuff or you will go absolutely  mental.   

Small dogs can go  in the cabin with you, others below.