Base Cabinets

Today, Saturday, the carpenter came and installed the base cabinets. Very solid installation and we finally get to see the type of kitchen we have envisioned. It is surprisingly spacious and we have designed in enough drawers to make this very practical.

Today Pedro installed the cabinets. On Tuesday, he will come back with either the drawers and doors or start on the upper cabinets (my Spanish is lacking some of the finer detail). Either way, this week will see some real progress.

The cabinets come without a bottom shelf. What happens is that the flooring guy pours concrete inside the kick plates, up to the level of the bottom shelf and installs tile for a finished look. The cabinet maker will call the local granite supplier and give him the measurements for the tops and we will be on our way.

I have put some old pieces shelving on top of the cabinet for the next few days so that we can get used to having some kind of kitchen. It looks like the work space is going to be ample and will have enough room for 2-3 people to work in the kitchen at the same time. Of course, since this is "my" kitchen- nobody will be working in it except me, but there is space, if I were to relax my rules and make an exception.

Whoopee!!!

Beginning of The End

We have started using our wood burning stove almost every day. It is very easy to keep it going and since it is airtight (or as close as we can get here) we can keep the fire burning at the most efficient rate and economize on wood. At this point, we have the pine from the trees we had felled and as you can see there are several good piles that we have to use. Since it is pine, however, it will burn faster than a denser wood, so we probably will be looking for wood by the end of the winter.

We finally made a trip to Pachamama Vivero (one of the best nursery's around here) and bought several hundred dollars worth of plants to start adding to the front entry. We found banana trees, orange and lime and many other smaller plants. Pachamama's, however, specializes in food producing plants and we were looking mostly for decorative landscaping at this time. So the owner of Pachamama recommended a nearby vivero (only a few blocks away) that specialized in those type of plants. The owner was of German descent and his vivero was much larger than Pachamama's and included almost every variety you could imagine. The name of that vivero was Miosotys, and if you need any ornamentals- that is the place to go. Most of them are planted at this time and after just a few days, we are beginning to get used to seeing something in the yard besides concrete and dirt. Now we will see what survives the winter and heavy winds we get.

We has some lighting installed at the beginning and it will pay off. Each of the three columns along the driveway have an energy efficient light that shines through the glass block on each side. Then we have a couple of exterior spots to wash the walls with some color. Though we probably will not enjoy it much in winter- this should be a highlight during the summer nights when we will be outdoors a little more.
Tomorrow, the cabinet maker will begin installing our kitchen cabinets. We could not be more ready. After eating the specials from the little restaurant nearby, we are ready for our own kitchen to cook in. The food has been good (though repetitious) and reasonable (80 pesos each for a generous lunch and bread roll), but we long to have home cooked meals again. I will be taking pictures of the cabinet installation, since it is not done the way we make cabinets in the US. To begin with, the bases are concrete and the frames are all mortise and tenon construction. But more when I have pictures to show. For now, we are feeling much better, no more coughing, but still a little weak from the sickness. Lots of rest will solve that...

Color At Last!

We turned a corner this weekend. Of course, a neighbor informed us that our next door neighbor has petitioned the city to rework the street and widen it. When they did all the work this summer, they left the street impassible by more than one car at a time. So we may have to take out a small portion of the bottom of the drive, if that comes to pass.

We also finally finished painting all of the walls and ceilings inside the house. We have selected colors that are stunning and vivid. I think with a very little work, our kitchen would look at home in any mexican restaurant. Since we have so much light coming into the house, we wanted to tone it down with rich, vibrant colors (sounds pretty cool, huh?)

As with anything, the paint never looks like your estimation of the paint chip, and even if it did, it never looks like you thought it would. We both love the deep red in the kitchen and the green in the living room is very nice. I chose the marigold color for the kitchen and Denise has finally come to terms with it, this evening (with the help of a Fernet and Coke).

Monday the cabinet maker will bring in the first parts of the kitchen and we will be underway on the final stages. But for now, all of the very dusty work is completed and we are beginning the cleanup process which will take week. There is dust in virtually each and every nook and cranny (and we forgot to bring our cranny cleaners with us) which will take hours to remove. After looking at the photos, it looks like I had some dust on the lens, but I'm not reshooting. When we are completely finished, we will feature a complete walk through.

But we are thrilled at the prospect of actually starting to live here, finally. And just in time so that we are not having to do this work in the winter. It looks like next summer is going to be a good one!

Taking Vows in Uruguay

First of all- no matter what you are thinking, it's not what you think. This is actually about a visit to the doctor.

For the past month I have been sick. At first just a simple cold, but for the last 6 or 7 days it has traveled lower, toward my lungs. Having had pneumonia once, I am more susceptible a second time, so I got a little concerned. In addition, I woke up early Saturday morning with sharp pains on my right side in the chest muscles. They lasted for about a half hour and in the morning were gone. I took an aspirin, just in case. So I decided to use our health insurance and go to the local clinic of Medico Uruguya in Salinas, to see what was going on. Pneumonia? Mild heart attack?

Saturday mornings the woman doctor who speaks perfect English is on duty. After close to a year, I would normally be comfortable trying to explain in Spanish, but I was feeling too sick and didn't have the energy for language. I was glad she was there.

After talking with her about the symptoms, she assured me that I hadn't had a heart attack. As everyone (except me, apparently) knows, a heart attack starts on the left side and can travel down the left arm. It was no doubt a sore muscle caused by the coughing I was experiencing. And after a brief examination, she said my lungs were clear and the infection had settled into the bronchial tubes. Bronchitis! Much better than pneumonia. So she prescribed a simple 3 pill, 3 day antibiotic, spent time telling me to keep warm, drink liquids and encouraged me to (wait for it.......) take my vows. Of course, when she explained it and wrote it down, it was much difference than I thought. The Spanish word is "vahos" and since "v" is pronounced as a very soft "b" (kind a cross between "v" and soft "b"), it sounds quite close to "vows".

It is the old water vapor treatment, that she said was quite common here and my grandfather had probably used in the States. Simply boiling water and breathing in the vapors. After doing a little research, I found that it is a very effective treatment. And she told be to buy some herbs that are common here and boil them with the water.

So.... Pneumonia- no! Heart attack-no! But I am taking my vows.

Kitchen Underway

Well, we are officially underway with the kitchen. Other than completing the tile, the kitchen is the last of the inside work. The ceiling has been completed (hiding all that ugly ductwork that we have been looking at for months). The electrician has finished wiring in new outlets, and lighting. And the first of our kitchen cabinets have arrived.

When we first moved in, the little cabinets on the left housed a 100L water heater and a broom closet and shelves. Since we installed a solar water heater, we no longer needed the space for an electric tank. We decided to relocate the refrigerator to that space and open up the kitchen area for a wrap around counter workspace. The cabinet maker installed the new cabinets yesterday and we are very pleased with the results. The slim cabinet on the right covers over the water valves and piping, and we still have a little cabinet on the left and some overheads for storage. Without the refrigerator hogging the rest of the kitchen- it looks huge! It really isn't however (its only 10' x 10'), but without the refrigerator, and with the open look we have kept, it looks much, much larger.

This coming week will see the kitchen walls finished and painted and then we will be awaiting the rest of the cabinets. We will have space for a small bar with 2 stools. We also had a fake beam built to separate the living room from the Kitchen, so we end up with 3 separate spaces, but the 8' openings contribute to a very open architecture.

It looks like our first anniversary for this house will be marked by having our house in order. We will be left with landscaping which we will set to work on in November and December. But the winter should be nice and cozy.

Opening The House

Each morning when I get up, I open up the house.  Let me describe what "opening up the house" entails. This will include all present and future installations. Now when we moved in here, I had no intention of installing bars and locking the shutters. Even now, while many people warn us about the need for security, I still do not really feel that all that we are doing is necessary. Nevertheless, since Denise is such a worry wart, we have proceeded with the "locking of the keep". So here is how it proceeds.

First of all, "opening up the house" involves at least 4 key lanyards and at least a dozen keys. There are 2 secure locks on each of the 3 heavy wooden shutters. Then there is the lock on the large sliding gate to the back yard. Then the sliding door from the kitchen has its own push lock, in addition to the double lock on the external bars. Then there is the lock from the BBQ area to allow access to the deck. Finally there is the lock on the front door shutter, double locks on the front door bars and the lock on the new front door. I don't bother unlocking the old front door (or it's own set of bars), unlocking the laundry room door or unlocking the sliding bars over the kitchen window. I am sure that I have missed some locks or some bars (it is very wearying). But I think you get the point.

When the house has been "opened", the coffee can be made. By then I am bushed and need to take a nap. Its a big job "opening the house".

First Fire of the Year

Well, cooler weather is definitely upon us for these first days of May. In what corresponds to November in the States, we fired up the stove for the first fire of the year. As you can see, the fireplace is still in the framing stages, but this next week will see it all covered up and the pipes insulated.

On a good note, the pine trees that we had to cut down earlier, are going to burn nicely and keep us warm for many, many weeks. Though pine burns quicker and a little dirtier (pine tars), I was pleased that the stove turned in a very good performance after laying dormant for so many months. With our new, double glass windows and doors, the house should stay warmer far easier and far longer than last year.

The cabinet maker came over to make final measurements for the kitchen and next week the first kitchen cabinet will be installed, the ceiling will be finished and we will start finishing the walls for tile and paint. This next week should be a good week. Today, Sunday, we have quiet day to ourselves, doing laundry and just enjoying the solitude. Tomorrow, everyone shows up for work and we are back in the middle of it.