9 July 2010

Not much news coming from Phoenix. Doug's dad is stable. Doctors wanted to take out the breathing tube today, but decided to wait until he was a bit stronger. He's still semi-conscious but no meaningful interaction yet. The family is maintaining a twenty four hour vigil at his bedside.

At the property today, carpenters have put together the baffle shade for the terrace of the living room and the studio. The finish has been applied and they are awaiting placement. It will be interesting to see how this is done. These covers can't be light; and I doubt there will be any machinery to help.

The master bedroom/studio only lacks the railings for the stairs and between the two levels. The marble countertop for the sink in the bathroom is in place. The sinks have also been installed and the faucets as well. I think the interior of this building will be complete in the next couple of days.

Chimu was putting the OSB on the roof on the bungalows today. He had forgotten that they also had the "second roof" for ventilation, but these will be installed. Tiling continues. Once the windows arrive and are put into place, the bungalows should be ready for guests! And none too soon, as friends from Lima plan on arriving the 23rd of July!

The roof structure between the two main buildings over the terrace is also in place now. Chimu needed to rebuild this so the ridge beam was level. Some changes needed to be made in the angles of the roofs to make this work, but it looks pretty good now.

Work on tiling the swimming pool continues. What an immense area to cover. We talked a bit today about the lines on the floor for the lap pool. They may not look exactly like most pools, but there will be a darker line down the center of each lane, and a darker line just below the water level at the end walls. The
difference between the colors is rather subtle, but I think it will still work. The worst case senario is I add some darker lines later.

Stormy and I took a two kilometer walk down the beach to El Refugio this afternoon. She really enjoys the beach; she was romping in the waves, running full tilt up and down and all around me. She had fun chasing crabs and checking out all the debris washed up.

Georg and his family were to arrive today; but I missed them....they were arriving this evening. Even so, I sat on the veranda and had a drink watching the pelicans dive for fish. I took a moto-taxi back up to Jay's; Stormy's first moto-taxi ride. She wasn't too sure about it at first, and kept wanting to climb into my lap for comfort. She finally settled into it but kept wanting to give the driver a few licks!

I then fixed a fabulous parihuela; a seafood chowder. Too bad I was the only one eating! I made enough for at least two more meals! The chowder has a chicken stock base to which I add garlic, onion, celery and green peppers. I add cajun seasoning, cilantro and tomato paste along with some ricotto (a very hot and spicy Peruvian pepper). Add some rice and potatoes. When those are done, I add the shrimp and calamari. The calamari should only cook for under two minutes, so the soup was ready to serve right away. Yumm. One of the best things about living in Peru is the access to fresh vegetables and fish. Thursdays and Fridays are the best as the produce is freshest. It would be interesting to know if any of this produce is treated with pesticides, but I doubt it. Most of it comes from family farms in the hills.

Strawberries!! A vendor today had strawberries! I bought a pound and then proceeded to cook oatmeal and cover it with sliced strawberries. These are the first berries I've had since leaving Oregon. They were delicious.

It is a bit strange to be alone here in Peru. I don't fear for my safety; but at times it is a bit unsettling. The security in Vichayito Village, which is the development that Jay lives in, is quite good. There is a guarded gate at the entrance so all vehicles are screened. In addition, during the last couple of weeks, Felipe at Tenis y Playa has hired an additional guard for his entrance. Jay has since told me the extra guards at Felipe's are there because there is a "contract" out on Felipe. Security is very visible. Most nights I still sleep with the door open so the breeze can come through. I guess I figure if someone wanted to do harm, I'm not going to be a target. As things go, I'm pretty innocuous (sp?).