Mrs. MacGyver Craves a Fruit Smoothie

by Martha

Mr. & Mrs. MacGyver in Quarantine

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Mrs. MacGyver Craves a Fruit Smoothie

Background: A fresh tropical fruit smoothie is a wonderful treat in the tropics and Mrs. MacGyver has been craving one!

The Problem: No blender

The Solution:

Our colleagues sent papaya and bananas to us. We peeled and cut up the fruit and placed it in a ziplock bag. Then we placed the bag in the freezer section of our small refrigerator overnight. 

The next day, we thawed the bag a little, smashed the icy fruit and scooped some into a tumbler. We added a little apple juice, stirred it in and we had a yummy fruit smoothie. 

Mrs. MacGyver Makes a Dustpan

by Martha

Mr. & Mrs. MacGvyer in Quarantine 

Mrs. MacGvyer makes a Dustpan

Background: Because we are in quarantine and no one can enter our hotel room, we are not getting room service of any kind. 

Problem: Our floor was getting gritty and needed sweeping, but we didn’t have a broom. Several times we requested a broom and finally a broom, mop and bucket were delivered to our door. I was happy to sweep the floor, but alas, no dustpan was included in the delivery.

Solution: Mrs. MacGvyver took an empty cardboard cracker box, made some folds, a couple of cuts (with Tim’s trusty Leatherman) and formed a dustpan. We don’t have any tape (real MacGvyers would travel with duct tape!), but there were a few pieces of masking tape on our wall from posters that must have hung there at one point. The new dustpan works great!

Mr. MacGyver fixes the AC

by Martha

Mr. & Mrs. MacGyver 

in Quarantine 

in which Mr. MacGyver repairs the AC

Background: 

While stuck in a hotel for 3 weeks in the tropics with 2 small windows and no fans, we are very thankful for the 2 air conditioning units in our 2 rooms. 

Problem:

When the AC unit in the bedroom started dripping (just barely missing Tim’s computer bag), we had a problem. Fortunately, we had been supplied with a bucket, so we put that under the drip, but as Tim was in the middle of a Zoom call – the ‘plop’ of the water hitting the plastic was noisy. As a temporary solution, Mrs. MacGyver placed a piece of clothing in the bucket to muffle the noise.

We reported the drip to hotel management, but since we are in quarantine, no one can come in our room to service the AC (or our phone that doesn’t work).

Mr. MacGyver suspected a blocked drain was causing the problem, so he decided to tackle it. We moved a table so he could reach the AC unit. With his Leatherman, he opened it up. But he still needed to be higher, so we placed a stool on top of the table to get him higher. 

While he removed the covers and filters, Mrs. MacGyver took them to the shower and scrubbed them as they were covered with dust, mold and a petrified gecko. (Mrs. MacGyver made Mr. MacGyver remove the gecko.)

The next challenge was finding something to open up the drain tube. Fortunately, before our arrival, colleagues had dropped off a water filter for us which had a tube of the perfect dimension. 

Tim inserted the tube into the AC drain and blew it out which opened the drain. Then he flushed water through to make sure it was cleared out. After putting everything back together, the AC has been working great and no drips. Success. Well done, Mr. MacGyver!

A closer look

We moved a table so Mr. MacGyver could check the AC unit.

No ladder, no problem

The table wasn’t quite high enough, so we added a stool.

Remove the case

Mr. M removed the outside door and filters.

A closer look

 

We moved a table so Mr. MacGyver could check the AC unit.

No ladder, no problem

The table wasn’t quite high enough, so we added a stool.

Blow!

 

Mr. M. blew through the tubing and cleared the drain

 

 

Mrs. MacGyver makes a tumbler

by Martha

Problem: Our hotel room has 2 very small glasses for drinking.Solution: Take a plastic water bottle from our travels, remove the label and cut off the top. (Thankfully Mr. MacGyver never goes anywhere without his trusty Leatherman tool!) Use an emory board to smooth the edges of the new tumbler, rinse and you are good to go!

Mrs. MacGyver makes guacamole

by Martha


Mr. & Mrs. MacGyver Solution #4 

Guacamole – no bowl, no fork, no problem!

Background: At our home here in Honiara, we have an avocado tree which produces huge, wonderful avocados in January and February and we’ve looking forward to enjoying them! In preparation to our return, we brought along packets of guacamole mix and our colleagues were able to send down a couple of avocados. 

Problem: We only have plastic forks and no bowl.

Solution:

Place a ziplock bag in a coffee press (to keep it upright). Place slices of avocado in the bag and sprinkle guacamole mix on top. Close the bag and mash the avocado and mix in the seasoning. Open the bag and squeeze out guacamole. Add chips and enjoy!

 

Mr. & Mrs. MacGyver – Solution #2

by Martha

Problem: After we wash our clothes by hand, we needed a way to hang them up. Fortunately, we brought a travel clothesline. We took a picture down from the wall and used the nail underneath it for one end of the line. The only other object suitable for the other end was a circuit board – but the line was a little too short to reach that. 

belt as clothesline extender

Solution: Mr. MacGyver took out a belt and wrapped that around the circuit board and attached the end of the clothesline to the belt. Now we have a clothesline for drying our wash!

 

Mr. & Mrs. MacGyver in Quarantine

by Martha

Being locked away in a hotel for 3 weeks with just the basics has given us opportunity to come up with some creative solutions to some problems. Watch for more installments of  “Mr. & Mrs. MacGyver in Quarantine“.

Problem #1 Our rooms are quite dark. There is a window, but people walk past it and we wanted some privacy. 

The MacGyver Solution: Martha had a ‘lavalava’ (a Solomon-style sarong) that was about the right size to provide privacy while allowing light to enter from above. Fortunately, we had a couple of rolls of velcro ties that had been thrown in the suitcase at the last minute. We bunched up a bit of the curtain and the corner of the lavalava and pulled a velcro tie around them. The tie holds the lavalava in place and we can still open and close the curtains at night!

Lounge

Quarantine Quarters

by Martha

For the required 21 day quarantine, we are staying at the Pacific Casino Hotel. We had a limited number of places to stay and this hotel is quite close to our offices. Our colleagues can drop off things for us at the National Disaster Office for delivery to the hotel.

Unfortunately, we are finding that some things are not allowed – like mugs, plates, silverware. All our food comes in styrofoam boxes with plastic cutlery which is all going to be burned to diminish any risk of spreading Covid, if any of us test positive. 

We weren’t sure what to expect in regard to our room. Now that we are here, we thought others might be interested in seeing our quarantine quarters. The photos below provide you with a bit of a tour.

Our lounge room

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