Thursday was the day I appointed to repairing the bathtub faucets. They've been leaking for some time and the mixing valve was letting as much water down through the tap as through the shower head. Plus the water coming out of the tap was mostly hot water so you boild your toes while taking a somewhat cooler shower. Not good.

Gordon came up to help. We managed to get the valves out and look at them. We packaged the parts up and headed for the hardware store to get replacements, we hoped. If no replacements were available we would have to replace the whole system and that meant breaking out the tile and concrete wall.

Of course, the hardware store we needed to go to is in Northern Tamuning. It's quite a ways, for Guam. Gordon wanted to accomplish as much as possible on this trip. We stopped by his house so he could change into more acceptable clothing and so he could pick up some stuff.

Here is our itinerary:

Canoe - to drop off the fishing net we will use to soak bamboo in salt water for the canoe house.

Ten-Tak - to get parts for the bathtub

UOG Agricultural Experimentation Center - to look at the composting experiment and see the machine they use to turn the compost pile.

Robert Taitano - to drop off the clock mechanisms Gordon is selling to him.

Benson's - to buy wood and hardware for three projects I need to work on.

United Seaman's Service - Lunch, around 2:00.

I'm sure there are some people who believe we should have run out to get the parts and then run back to get the project completed. But gasoline has just hit $2.91 a gallon here and we needed to combine as much as possible.

The composting experiment is interesting because nobody composts here. The temperatures are too high and the dry season is too dry. They have to turn the pile once a week and spray water on it to keep it working. They found that too long between turnings and the beneficial bacteria would start to die off from the heat.

Taitano is THE master wood carver on Guam. He is native Chamorro and very talented. He is a thin little older man with a ready smile and bright eyes. Those eyes lit up when he heard Wakana paints. He gave me two carved pieces and asked for her to paint them for him. It's kind of an audition. If he likes them he will give her more to paint and she may have a creative job with fewer rules. She says she doesn't like following the rules at her wedding job.

Yesterday we got our yard back in order, replacing the concrete slabs that Gordon and I moved to put in the new water line. Then I put some wooden supports under the bench seat I took out of the van so we could use it for an outdoor bench by the front door. We can sit there and watch the ocean and the jungle. I've been out there playing my guitar and listening to the roosters crow in the morning.