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Friday, June 5, 2009

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...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Really interesting stuff Wally. I'm guessing Miosotys vivero (nursery) doesn't have an actual website one could visit do they?

gaberoo (gabriel)

Wally said...

Gabriel- unfortunately, no. The vivero is more like a nature preserve, anyway. No way to put it on a website. If you like a plant that is already growing in their garden- they will dig it up for you.... Hard to digitize that type of service.