Saturday, August 26, 2006

bermuda houses

Houses in Bermuda are everywhere. They need to be in order to house the 65,000+ population - both local & expat alike. But the houses are also colourful, and I mean big bold colour. The popular choice by far is pink - mirroring the island's unique pink sand. But colours can go wrong, can't they?

The house across from us we
nt from white to a funky mint green. When they started off with the chimney, I knew we were in trouble. It doesn't even compliment the grass or anything else for that matter. How can it? It's a funky mint green. It was a real eyesore for a couple of days but I think we're used to it by now. On the flip side, the massive pink house, next to it is changing it's palette to a calm pale yellow. But the transition is taking forever, so it's half yellow & half pink right now - the contractor must be on hiatus. My personal favourite is the house on our way to work - boldly standing out in a muted magenta - much like the bougainvillea flowers that are scattered all over. If only more homeowners were that daring! I mean the island is colourful enough but a bit more colour never hurt anyone, right? Unless it's a funky mint green!

Want to know what Bermuda looks like from space? Sadly, a dot is needed to mark where Bermuda is. That's how small it is. The dot's bigger than the island itself. Something we've noticed wh watching the weather channel. Looking at the pic, you'll notice white dots littered on the island - those are the roofs, all a pristine white because they have to be. Made out of Bermuda stone (soft limestone), they are slated with grooves to catch the rainwater. Precious rainwater that is collected in tanks underneath each house. Our water source. If weeks go by with no sign of wet weather, many older homes with smaller tanks run out of water. It then has to be bought & that does put a dent in your wallet. If the dry spell continues, water is rationed & many wait for weeks before having their order filled. Lucky for us, Ms.StopYourNoise has two 35,000 gallon water tanks under each apartment, of which we share one tank with our neighbours. That doesn't mean the taps go running. Oh no! We know all too well how easy it is to run out of water. Even though we are in the middle of the Atlantic, which doesn't help at all. The ironies just keep on flowing.

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