New Years Eve ( noche viejo)

It is the eve of a new year and time to start thinking of new resolutions to make that will soon be broken.  I wonder, seriously, why bother but I guess part of the process is really to reflect on old habits, to have some humility and to try to better ourselves and or to be better to those around us.  So tonight I will throw my good intentions into the universe and proceed with tomorrow with my head held high and a smile on my face and a hello to all that I meet.  Our future is only as bright as each and every one of us is willing to make it. So here is to wishing all a happy new year and many more to follow.

     Plenty of time has passed since I last wrote and a lot has been accomplished on our construction project along with on our personal front.

• Debi’s dad spent the last three weeks with us and left for the U.S. the day before Christmas.
• The fundraiser for the village kids (sounds like a band) was a great success.  This event helps new aspiring artists with paint supplies and lessons.
•    Debi and I started our own painting classes again this winter along with a cooking class on how to make great chili rellenos…Yum! 
• We had a very nice Christmas lunch at one of the local restaurants for all of our workers. 
• And now our good friend Annie is here visiting us for a few weeks.

  We never seem to lack for things to keep us busy and we love it here.  It’s hard to believe that in a few days we will have been in Mexico for 3 months already!  My how time flies when you don’t have to shovel snow!

     The construction continues to move ahead rapidly and is proving to be a very smooth process.  We are extremely happy with our builders and feel we are getting fair pricing on our changes that have been made so far.  We are being very careful to get all our change orders in writing before proceeding so there are no surprises in the end.  This also protects the builders as well as us especially when I have such a poor memory.  We added 2 kitchenettes and 2 built in sofas to the lower bedrooms and added a lot of electrical upgrades to the house.

     The lower level walls are all at full height and the majority of the roughed in plumbing and electric is completed.  Next week or the following the second level floor will be formed and poured….oh boy, pumper trucks and cement trucks one more time!   I have actually had a difficult time sleeping because of my excitement to see what they will accomplish each following day!

In the new year I will post new photos of the house but to end this year I leave you with some pics from my kayak trip in the lagoon the other day.  Enjoy!

8) Two Meters and Counting

       Another 2 weeks has passed and the walls continue to go up..1 meter...2 meters...how exciting.  Our ceiling height is 3 meters which is plenty of headroom for the indoor trampoline...wouldn't that be fun!  Besides being a good height for the trampoline, the tall ceilings provide the space for hot air to rise into.  Most of the columns have been poured now and we love the rounded corners!  Everything is taking shape and it is nice to walk through the rooms and have a good feel for the layout of closets, windows and doors, potential furniture, etc.  Yesterday the builders started to set the wood above the door and window openings, so yes I finally selected a wood....capiri (not sure of the spelling because I was given several choices).  This is an extremely heavy and dense wood that is resistant to bugs and water, very light colored, nonendangered and perfect for what we wanted.  Did I mention extremely heavy....I tried to pick up a 5 foot piece and would bet a couple hundred pounds easily!  I have picked up some good sized logs of oak and ironwood before but no comparison!  Not sure how the workers are going to set all of these but I'm glad it is them and not me.  The wood has to be drilled to provide holes for the rebar to pass through so there are no breaks between the columns and foundation.Once the wood is set in place the final meter of brick can be layed and then the ceiling will be the next big project.
      The electrician began work the other day running conduit in the trabes and columns.  You really have to think way ahead with the electrical wiring when dealing with concrete.  Its not so easy changing your mind on locations of lights and switches when all the wiring is inside a concrete wall!  Its interesting to watch how the electrician has to chisel out channels in the brick for boxes and conduit....not an easy job. 
     The outdoor bathroom and septic tank have not been started yet...that is ok because I love to see all the progress going into the house...and as long as the builders are happy....Wait.. I think thats supposed to be the other way around.  As long as we are happy, the builders are happy...Casa No Problemo right? And really, guys will be guys, given the choice we really would rather water a tree than be confined in a small space.

                   View of the 2 rooms in the lower level....walls at 2.2 meters at this point.

                 Looking from one bedroom patio to the other bedroom patio.

           Forms ready to fill with concrete around window opening.

                 Capiri wood in place over windows and conduit for electric wiring is being set.

                     

7) Where to hang my hammock

      It has been a little over a week since I last wrote and a lot has happened in that time period!  The foundation is now completed and mostly backfilled. That was easy….especially when I missed all the hard work!   After the footers were poured, the workers laid four courses of tabicon on this footer (contratrabe).  Then more rebar was set to form the trabe (bond beam) that ties the bottom of the footer together with the top of the foundation.  All of the columns run from the base of the footers and will tie into the second floor.  The next step is where things really start moving!  The walls are going up! In 2 days the roughed in plumbing was set and 1 meter of tabique was in place.  Wow.. things are happening and I’m already thinking of where to hang my hammock…well.. maybe not that fast. 

      So the next big decision, which I have been working on the last several days, is what type of wood to use above the windows and doors.  I’m feeling a little out of my element here because there are so many types of exotic hardwoods here. Should we use parote, bocote, colebra, verdecillo, tornillo, cocobolo, quayabillo, capyry, guayacan ….ohhhhhh my head is spinning.  Slowly I am working my way through the different types of wood and which types are best for what.  The internet helps a lot (thanks google) but many of the woods have a local name that I just can’t find on the internet.  Next best or maybe best source of info is just ask everyone who lives here their opinion on wood. There really is a lot to consider; the wood needs to be very strong to support weight, be weather resistant, bug resistant, be in contact with concrete, workable, non-endangered and if that’s not enough it has to be the right color!   So after researching and talking, and more talking my search is narrowing down…and the winner is…stay tuned! 

      The other exciting news…not really…is the septic tank arrived this week.  We are now the proud owners of a 3000 liter rotoplas biogestor septic tank! I think this following week this beauty will be installed and work will begin on the outdoor bathroom near the beach.  Once these 2 projects are complete, the workers will no longer have to use the natural facilities currently in place!

            The footers are all backfilled and tabicon is set and ready for the bond beam (trabe)

            The rebar is being formed for the trabes to tie the footer and top of foundation together.  The columns run all the way down and are tied to the footers.

 The plumbing is in place...note the 2 different lines.  One is for black water and the other is for gray water to be used on the plants.

        The first meter of tabique is set...note the next trabe being formed on top of this section of wall.

      So after another very productive week of work things are still running very smoothly and the theme of “no problemo” holds true.