4 September 2010

We arrived in town this morning to discover that our market stall had moved across the street. As we approached the old location, I heard Mocho call me to show me the new store. It looks really nice from the curb. There probably isn't as much room as they had before, but everything was nicely laid out and produce was spilling out onto the sidewalk. Mocho said something about being close down by a government agency....so, they just moved into their building across the street. I don't know if they will later open up the original stall again or not.

After coming back to the house, we watched some of the US Tennis Open. Both of us really enjoy tennis; playing and watching. Unfortunately, we have not been able to play at all here. The only tennis court in the area that we know about is on private property and the owner is not interested in letting outsiders use/rent his court. Eventually, we will also have a court in our develpment. Homeowners will share the cost. I don't know that it will be built for another year yet, but it is in the plans.

In the afternoon, I returned to paint my wall. The newest addition is a tuna. I haven't finished him yet, but he has been my biggest challenge so far. I was hoping to do him in reds and pinks as that is the color of the meat. I wasn't really wanting bright red so I mixed it to soften or mute it and what I got are the colors you see. I still need to add the yellow fins and accents. The nice thing is, I can always change it. It is just paint on the wall.

There is a soccer match between Peru and Canada tonight. The workers asked if they could watch the match on our TV. No problem. They are now spread out in the living room watching the game. Doug has gone into town to deliver the plumber to his bus, and will pick up some popcorn (if he can find it). I figure they might enjoy the American tradition of popcorn and beer while watching a game.

The work on the screens progresses. It seems like this team of two men work extremely slowly. They are hand making every screen for every window, door and opening under the eaves. Today their project was a double sliding glass door into the dining room. In this door, there are three panels. One is fixed and the other two slide open; therefore we can have one or two panels open at a time. I think the biggest challenge for them has been how to anchor the screen panels at the bottom. The doors are done though, so hopefully they will begin on the screens under the eaves. The flies have been terrible; but there isn't much we can do until everything in enclosed.

The glass man is supposed to return tomorrow to build the railings for the stairs and the lofts. There are still a couple of windows that are missing that he will have to install. All of the windows in the service area will need windows....and hopefully screens as well.

Chino has been working in the laundry room building a couple of cement sinks, a drain board and a cabinet below. The structure is built and he is now adding tiles. We didn't expect the tiles; we expected just smoothed cement. It will be nice when it is done.

The pool currently has the right balance of Ph and Chlorine, so the plumber is leaving tonight to return to Chiclayo. That means Doug and I are on our own as far as the pool maintanence goes. I think we will find a routine that works, but it may take a little while before it becomes part of our routine.

I think I will change the name of the kitten to Bug. In the mornings, she will wake me up. When I open my eyes, she is about two inches away staring at me. She has beautiful green eyes...and they are huge. It is either "deer in the headlights" or "bug."

I am beginning to feel like I am settling into a new home. Some of this has seems so surreal; other parts have felt like I have been on an extended vacation. But reality is settling in as I am needing to clean floors, toilets, etc.; I can sit and watch TV (granted mostly in Spanish, but there are several English challenges.) It feels pretty darn good.

3 September 2010

I haven't had a chance to blog in the last few days. So much has been going on. Koki arrived on Wednesday. We began going over the final details for the construction. It seems like we have a long list, but most of it is little stuff. The major stuff left are the railings in the dining room and the master bedroom, and the rest of the screens around the eaves.

Workers have put in a set of stairs going down to the beach access. The terrace in front of the living room is now extended to the deck around the pool. The outdoor faucets are now secured in cement casings, and the outdoor showers are being set up.

The pool is looking really good. Doug and I will take a swim later this afternoon. The plumber finished all of his work on the pool yesterday. He then gave us a crash course on pool maintenance and how all the pumps, filters, etc. worked. It all made sense, but it was a lot of information to absorb at one time. Plus it was in Spanish, and so I was translating for Doug. The plumber had marked each part of the equipment and drew arrows to show the direction of the water flow. The guardian for Georg, Sanchez has been down here much of the week. He's learned a lot about how the pool works too, so maybe between the three of us, we can figure it out. Can't wait to swim again; and this time there will not be any yucky green stuff!
The mural is progressing. I've added a turtle and started on the tuna this afternoon. The parts and pieces are really starting to come together. There's still much to do!

Doug arrived in Mancora Thursday morning. It was really great to see him after his three week plus trip to the states. I've had a lot of decisions to make on my own, and I was a bit anxious about heow he would feel about them. He had a lot of questions, and found some additional things that needed work. I think overall, he was comfortable with my decisions.

Both sets of indoor stairs have now been replaced. The new steps have a six inch rise whereas the others were anywhere from six to seven and three-quarters. Much nicer. All the doors are now in as well. The screen guys have been hand crafting screens for the sliding glass doors as well as the spaced under the eaves. They've had to be really creative in how they put them together so the wind doesn't push them in and out.

And yes, we now have DirectTV. This is when I first really believed this was our home; when the TV was on and I was eating dinner. It has been fun to watch some of the US Open tennis matches. We don't really watch much other TV but we do enjoy the sports.

Well, I'm off for a swim.

31 August 2010

Celia left this morning, her month of cooking being done. It's a bit sad to see these workers leave. During the last weeks, we've shared a kitchen and so have gotten to know her a bit. She is Sanchez's sister so hopefully she will be back again so we can see her. She is off to her village to be with her family including five girls between the ages of 5 and 28!

The plumber and his crew were cleaning the pool when I got up this morning. They had the circulation pumps going and had added chemicals. The brushed and vacuumed the sides and bottom of the pool. It looks a bit more inviting this afternoon, as some of the algae bloom has disappeared. They were also installing the gutters for the run off at the far end of the pool. We also now have a ladder for easier access in and out. The water is 1.2 meters deep, and isn't really too bad for getting out of without the ladder; but this will be oh so much easier!

Direct TV has also been contracted to install cable TV. Once again, as a foreigner, I had to have someone co-sign the contract with me. Koki was generous enough to do so. I had to pay a $30 instalation fee. The Direct TV office gave me their bank information and I had to pay the fee directly into their account at the bank. The bank gave me a voucher which I then returned to the store to show the bill had been paid. I find it an interesting method of doing things...a lot of businesses don't collect money directly from customers. Even in the stores where they do, they have a cashier who takes the sales clerk's chit, charges your account and then gives you a voucher to take back to the salesperson. He then gathers your purchases together and takes it to the door where a security guard checks each item against the voucher. In some stores, like the electronic store, they will even record the serial number and the product code into a notebook as you leave. They are very security conscious.



Chino has now finished the floor of the BBQ pit. All that is left here is for the water to be hooked up to a faucet, and some kind of BBQ rack/apparatus. It is an interesting spot, ambience as they say here. The tiles are slight off at the steps, but the center lines up with the whole which could receive the post for a large umbrella if we chose.

The walkway between the front of the living room and the pool is cemented in and workers are waiting on the arrival of more tiles with Koki tomorrow. The stairs should also arrive tomorrow.

The carpenters have been here installing doors for the service building. Last I looked, they had installed all the doors there, also into the pantry/kitchen and the storage room. The only other wooden door I can think of right now is into the bathroom from the music room. I don't think that one is in yet. They will then have the stairs to deal with.

Haven't seen the glass guys; but they want to come in after carpenters to do the windows in the service building and the railings for the stairs and lofts.

Truly, the only things left are little things. And there are a lot of little things, but we should be able to get these things done in a short time. Hard to believe, after nine months we are just about there.

I didn't work at all on the mural today. The next animal will be the tortoise, and my design for him just wasn't coming together well. I read for a while, took a nap, and then revisited the tortoise. I have the colors chosen, but not the specific design. I've learned a lot from the mural so far...1. you don't have to have % coverage of paint. Having a little of the white background can work for you. 2. generally colors applied on the fly rather than ones that have been thought out, don't work. 3. A lot of color mixing happens on the wall. 4. Do the background first. I was too anxious to get started to do the background. It will now be infinitely more difficult....The price for impatience. 5. Ladders in Peru aren't nearly as sturdy as those in the States. The rungs on this one are one by two's, with the one inch side as the top of the step. It is, however, a step up from the bamboo ladder the crew constructed and I first used. 6. Murals are works in progress. You learn as you go; you figure out design flaws as you go. For example, the parts of the mural I am the most excited about are the ones that have a realistic shape and color; but also have folk art designs encorporated into them. When you see the marlin, you know it is a marlin....the first fish I did is just a stylized fish. I'm hoping I see something close to it in the market so I say it is a specific kind of fish!

Doug leaves the states tonight and will be in Lima in the morning. He will then travel by bus up north and be here by Thursday morning. It has been a long three plus weeks that he's been gone. Unfortunately, he missed a lot of the final decisions around the house here, so he will have to live with I've decided. Meanwhile, I am glad he has had this opportunity to spend with both of his parents. He's had some good quality time with his family in these last few weeks.

30 August 2010

It has been so tranqil with only three workers here. Chino has been working on laying the tile in the BBQ pit. José has been doing the concrete work necessary to extend the terrace in front of the living room out to the pool. Freddy has been doing the grunt work; carrying the cement from the mixer to the site, and doing general clean up.

Celia informed me today that she would be going into town with me in the morning so she could travel to her home village. She has only been here a short month, but she has been so sweet. She made me a plate of ceviche today for lunch which has to be the best ceviche I have ever had. I baked a couple of loaves of banana bread today and gave Celia, Juana and Sanchez one of the loaves. I will miss her, even though I don´t feel I have the same connection with her as I do with Juana.

I spent much of the day working on the mural. I had designed the marlin last night and was anxious to put it up today. I really like the fact that the overall
shape was realistic, but the interior colors and design were stylized. I wasn´t 100% satisfied with the colors, but the more I look at it, the better I like it. I´m hoping to work on the tortoise tomorrow. This has been a fun project; especially for someone who ¨has no artistic talents!¨ Not bad for a left brained thinking individual!

Doug will be traveling to Lima tomorrow night arriving sometime in the early morning of the 1st of September. He will then travel north by bus and be here on the 2nd. I am sooo looking forward to his being here; although there is a tad bit of apprehension because I´ve been making decisions around the construction without him. I can only hope he will concur with my decisions.

The plumber and the carpenters of the roof will arrive tomorrow morning. I am so glad the plumber will be here, as he is t0 arrive with chemicals, and ladders for the pool. I swam in it the first night it was full. Since then it has looked like lime green jello. The algae will hopefully disappear with the chemicals and I can once again swim in my pool.

Stormy and the kitten had another run in today. The kitten decided to go outside and then was caught by Stormy. Escot, Sanchez´s dog was in on it too, although, his heart wasn´t in it. I give kudos to the kitten, in that she held her own before I could physically pull Stormy off. However, it literally scared the shit out of her. I still can´t quite figure out whether Stormy wants to eat the cat or just play with her. So far they have both survived their encounters. Time and patience will tell.

I´ve discovered Sudoku on line. It has consumed a great deal of my time. My daughter tells me it is good to engage the mind and keep it active in my old age. I do enjoy it, but it does seem to override other things.

29 August 2010W

Workers are going to extend the terrace in front of the living room over to the pool deck. They started to extend only the middle two patterns of the tile, but I asked them to extend it the full length. I think it will look less chopped up this way. The reason they didn't plan it this way was because they didn't have enough tile. Now they will order more tile and it will be a smooth transition from the terrace of the living room to the pool deck.

Chino began laying the tile for the BBQ pit today. He changed the orientation of the tiles so the central point would work for an umbrella. His work is incredible.... meticulous and thoughtful.

Freddy has been doing a lot of clean up. He has been removing construction detritus from various areas and moving it off somewhere. A large truck was here yesterday to haul off the garbage. A lot of it was loaded, but there still is a significant amount here yet to go. There is still a lot of clean up that needs to happen...I never realized how messy construction could be. The crew has been quite good at cleaning up as they work; but oh so much garbage and trash has been generated.

I've been working on the mural for the wall in the entry way. I've finished parts, but have a lot of wall to go. This afternoon I was in my studio designing elements for the wall. I'm really excited as things come together. I am a bit concerned about the background.....I almost wished the painters had painted the wall the sand color that the rest of the house is painted. I think this should have happened first....but it didn't. Ultimately, what this means is that the mural will come together bit by bit; and the background will have to be done at the end. I suspect most artists would cringe at this; the background should have been done first......Ah the joys of inexperience!!

28 August 2010

Really? The end of August already? OMG!

I spent most of my day painting the mural on the wall at our entry. As I work on it, both at the wall and in my studio, it gets more complex all the time. I am really liking the design though, so I only hope it comes through as it gets painted. Today I finished one fish, part of two crabs and another fish. I need to discipline myself to try out the colors in the studio before I try to put them on the wall. So far, mixing the colors hasn't been an issue. I'm somewhat limited in t he red, blue and yellow I can find so will have to do with what I have.

Some of the sliding glass doors now have screens. These have been tricky as they have not wanted to put tracks above the level of the tile. The doors close nicely, but the tolerance is slight. The tracks only hold the bottom of each door by an inch at most. I'm thinking they need a magnet to hold the doors closed..
will a magnet work on aluminum?

The pool was so beautiful this morning. It is full to the brim, which is the idea. The sun was glistening off the water and it looked so inviting. However, it appears that some algae has taken hold as it had the color of lime jello this morning. I think I will wait until the chemicals arrive and the recirculation is active before I swim again.

Chino worked on smoothing out the floor of the BBQ pit so he can lay tiles in there tomorrow. He also worked on making the cabinets and sinks for the laundry room today. It took me a while to realize what he was doing.... He was down where the camp was making cement slabs with rebar running through them. He would then carry these up to the laundry room and these became the sides of the cabinets. Freddy worked on clean up most of the day. He has been scraping the garden areas and clearing them of debris. He seems to be the grunt of the three though, as Chino would ask him to bring him cement and mortar when he was ready for it. José worked on finishing cement: the far end of the pool, the stairs coming up from the parking area, etc. It seems so quiet here with only the three workers.

Juana is back! Sanchez's wife took the month of August off to go visit her family somewhere in the back hills of Peru. She had been doing all the cooking for the workers; sometimes cooking for upwards of 30 in a teeny tiny camp kitchen. She was amazing..she worked her little but off. I had asked her to come work for us in the house; not as a cook but to help me clean and maintain things. She agreed quite readily, and we feel blessed to have her. We still haven't negotiated a salary for her but I don't think she plans on officially starting until the 1st of September. However, her first day back she was in the kitchen helping Celia and began sweeping and cleaning. What a gem! When I first saw her, she raised her arms for a big hug and told me she had missed me. I've enjoyed Celia but I have to say, I've missed Juana too. She has the most precious laugh I've ever heard; so totally filled with the joy of life.

I had a great tuna filete tonight. I marinated it in garlic, onion, olive oil, lime juice and soy sauce. Then I used the marinate in the hot skillet to sear the tuna. Such good stuff. So many people just think of tuna as the stuff that comes out of the can... and it is so much more. The fresh fish doesn't even taste like the stuff in the can!

Still missing my hubby. He should be back next week...can't wait.