Of windows, doors & cabinets ....

Good news - the camera got back from repair the day the windows and doors arrived ... it's been a busy-busy week, since the cabinets quickly followed. This is the back door/window, which will eventually lead to our outdoor cooking area and the creek:

The kitchen cabinets arrived, as well - all doors, windows and cabinets were made by Orlando Rodriguez, a local ebanisteria (cabinet maker), who has a shop here, in Volcan. Paul decided he liked Mr. Rodriguez even before he met the man because when we went to check out his shop, Paul saw trunks of trees lying outside ... that's the way Paul builds furniture, too - he starts with the tree.

Oh, and Paul has been busy hanging lights - I love the fan he chose for the main area - actually, there are 3 identical ones -


This is Mr. Rodriguez - the fellow in yellow is one of his sons, and he's definately passing the lessons in craftmanship on. Here, you see them checking to make sure they brought everything ... they even made a lovely lazy-susan for the corner cabinet.

Here you see that they've set up 'installation shop' in the living room .... that rectangular thing Mr. Rodriguez is working on is the BACK side of one vanity counter ... no photos of that finished project in this post, because it's not totally done, but it's looking great.


These are the guys who are installing the kitchen cabinets:


And here you see the kitchen cabinets installed. As soon as we get tile for the wall and finish the counters & floors, and install the vent above the cooktop, this room will be totally finished.

In case you live near Volcan and would like Mr. Rodriguez to build you something special for your home (he makes great furniture, too) you can phone him at either 771-4356 or his cell 6634 4869.

Meet Louis, one of our painters - whenever he's not welding a brush or roller, he grabs the broom and starts cleaning:



Here he is doing touch-up out in the carport ... isn't that an amazing roof?

.... of course, I think the view of the garden is starting to look good, too.

This fella is Nicko - you've seen his photo before (he's generally on the roof). In this shot, he's pouting because it started to rain and he's waiting for it to stop so he can get back on that scaffold...


While Nicko is mourning the return of wet season, the plants are loving it - this is a bit of the rock wall we put in & 'planted' with moss, ferns and orchids:


We've literally have thousands of orchids living on the lot, but most of them as tiny - here's a photo of the most recent bloom we found - Paul put his thumb in the picture so you can see why we joke about the need to carry around a magnifying glass so we can totally appreciate our flowers.

Rainy season & construction

The camera is still in the shop, so no photos of the house's new doors and windows or the lovely greenery that's sprouting up everywhere courtesy of the afternoon/evening showers.

Thankfully, the roof is up.

Since we're on the side of a mountain, the lot slopes and if you look at the photos from mid January (dry season), you'll see that the dirt behind the carport (that entire side of the house had dirt much higher than floor level.

Back in January, when he saw where the house would sit, Paul hired Thomas and the tractor to dig out two to three feet of dirt and rock. Thomas' efforts nearly stopped the temporary creek that flows through the carport when it pours. As we push for a permanent cure, we dig small ditches to determine how much deeper we need to take the area down to. (this is more like 2-3 inches instead of feet, so we're very close).

Unfortuantely some of the crew do not understand why anyone would want little ditches around their house, so when they see a low spot, they help us by leveling the area - generally, this is done when they're cleaning mortar and stucco out of their wheelbarrows - makes great dams ... the water has run through the carport twice.

As we drive around Volcan, we see many roofs with rocks on top of them - locals use these to hold down roofing (much more economical than nails)... Oddly enough, a significant percentage of the homes have leaky roofs. The typical response is to move whatever might get wet to a dry spot.

My response to seeing water edging toward the carport is to rush out into the downpour (generally with a shovel or pick ax) and check the ditches to find out what's blocking them. I'm fairly certain our work crew is convinced I'm either a real water lover or a loca gringa... I mean why else would anyone go running out in the rain with a shovel instead of an umbrella?

Colors & chaos...

No photos for this update - the camera is acting up and in for warranty repair.

This week, Jimbo has kept busy covering the metal roof supports with wood; Jeemias and Raul (plus at least one other) have been installing tile everywhere I'd allow it ... Paul loves tile, but if it were only me, I wouldn't have a single square in the house; at least three guys are busy painting - the ceiling is turning white, the interior walls are the same pale yellow I used in SC - the yellow that makes it look sunny inside, even if it's raining sideways; someone has been painting the exterior - we told Carlos to choose a brown that would look good with the windows and doors - he's been in the States for the past week and hasn't seen the exterior color, which looks pinkish against the orangish wood of the doors and windows that Senior Roderiguez has his crew installing. If that wasn't enough, Paco, the electrician has his crew running wires, Paul has been soldering wires in the switch and outlet boxes and I have been trying to stay out of the way.

Don't ask me how many there are on the job ... there's more activity at the house than in a three-ring circus. I'm serious.

And, the weather has changed back to the rainy season, so activities need to be scheduled around Mother Nature. Of course, this means that the trees are green-green and the sky turns from blue to varying shades of grey ....

This, I think this post's name: colors & chaos is accurate.