14.07.07 - Operation Back Yard

ATTENTION! At ease.

Our mission... to prepare the back yard for the pool party on 28th July.

Three men.
Two dogs.
One cross eyed cat called Fang.
Rocks and gravel galore.
One day ( for the sakes of my story telling anyway).

Faced with the prospect of a pool that was likely to be full by the afternoon my hosts felt the need to complete the transformation of their back yard. The large terrace running along the back of the villa was clearly more the domain of the dogs, with a collection of old furniture, a cat/dog box, a gas barbeque, a plastic bin and a scattering of dog bones and other interestic morsels. Possibly the remains of a former guest one has to wonder?!

Watching the spending habits of other people is quite fascinating and actually makes me feel quite relieved that I am so restrained, despite what my mother tells me! Setting off on Route 14 to nearby Palmville with Don and Mark with an empty 'trunk' and a respectable shopping list I had no idea that I would be the witness to such a purchasing event. Coming up to 10pm only Don and I were in the Lexus heading back to the villa having spent $2000! So what had happened to Mark? And where were the goods that they had purchased? The mystery unravels....

A white Lexus sedan pulls up in a certain carpark in Palmville.
Three men sporting dark shades step out into the scorching afternoon heat and walk into a certain undisglosed mega(cheap!)store.
One trolley is aimed at the electric doors and within moments they have disappeared into the cool depths of the megastore.
Thoughts of the token shopping list have all but evaporated and no item is left unnoticed.
3 straw hats, several plastic Martini glasses and tall plastic glasses, 20 freezable mugs, 2 woven rugs, 3 oil lamps on tall stakes, 2 sun lounger cushions, a wicker furniture set (comprising of 2 armchairs, one sofa and a coffee table), a round wire table, 3 inflatable armchairs, etc.
The three men are seen getting into a white rental van with a flat-bed rear deck.
The same are seen loading the van with the furniture set, wire table and the rugs.
Moments later 3 large cushioned stools and a large round log hearth (acts as a table when not in use) are loaded too.
The van returns empty.
The three men continue to raid stores before heading home.
On finding their frige-freezer to have broken down two of the men return to the store.
The two men are seen to load a real American-style fridge-freezer up onto the deck of a white rental van.
The two men are seen returning the van shortly before 10pm before disappearing into the night.

Phew. We were so tired by the end of this expedition. It was exhausting seeing the boys as they loaded up their trolleys with all sorts of things that I had heard no prior mention of them needing. I had made a brief detour via the men's clothing department where I tried on some $14 (!) board shorts I liked, but very sensibly I returned them while the boys' wallets shrivelled up. The sudden need to pick up a new fridge-freezer nearly tipped us over the edge, but Don and I found the strength to head back to Palmville to grab a new one and install it before renewing the journey to drop off the van and pick up the car again. Enough already!!

I suppose that it may not have seemed so tiring if we had not spent the morning moving gravel and rocks. A local man had delivered a vast load of reddish gravel and two large boulders that we had found to decorate a rectangular bed by the pool. Of course we then got into the motions of finding rocks to build up around the jacuzzi too. Every piece that had been purchased had to be set in place for peace of mind. It was actually quite satisfying... it reminded me of working for Habitat and setting up displays... except that the old jagged boulders that really needed to be moved there should have been thrown overboard to maintain buoyancy. That is enough about the management at Habitat though!

Feeling as shattered as we did we collapsed at the table outside and admired our work with a glass of cold sangria. What a satisfying feeling, and I was glad to have been able to help my generous hosts to pull things together. The hoses were pulled from the brimming pool and jacuzzi that looked so fresh and inviting, and quite stunning with the lighting effects.

Eyes propped open with cocktail sticks we staggered into the car and made for Palmville. A few drinks later and we were on a roll.....