Another Trip to La Ceiba

We made a quick trip to La Ceiba last week that wasn't that quite as quick as we expected.  Macho Man and Chico both needed to see their doctor, and Chico needed a spa day because he was having multiple bad hair days.  I had to renew my green card.

As usual, we stayed at the Hotel Paris in downtown La Ceiba.  As usual, their staff was wonderful and very attentive.  The room was comfortable and we were able to walk to most of the places we wanted to see.  We also found a restaurant down on the beach, El Asador, where the menu was limited to four large entrees and several side orders and fast food items.  The food and the service was very good.  We will go back.

Macho Man had two full days of tests and doctor visits, and other than a minor infection seems to be in good health. We have to go back in two weeks for followup, after a course of antibiotics.

Chico got a clean bill of health; a good haircut and a pedicure, plus had a two night sleepover.

My trip to Immigration was quick, about 20 minutes, and not so bad.  The man in charge was very knowledgeable and efficient.  He stayed late through part of his lunch break, to get us taken care of.  That includes Juan having to walk two blocks to the bank to pay the fees.  You don't pay for anything in Honduras at the place you owe it, you get a ticket to show how much you owe; you go to the bank and pay it; then you go back and give the official the receipt saying it is paid.  He then gives you whatever document  you applied for.

On the advice of several friends I found two fabric shops within half a block of the hotel. Only in Honduras, but fabrics and sewing notions are not sold in the same place.  We were directed to a shop that supposedly had thread, needles, etc.  Ha!  it did have about 4 spools of thread in the primary colors, but nothing to match the material I was looking at.  No zippers, some bobbins, but not in the size I need, etc, etc, so next trip I will have to look again. 

On the way home we stopped at our friend, Dan's, beach house.  It is to die for.  What a view and what a beautiful, well arranged, comfortable home.  Oh, and what a view.  Just ocean as far as you can see, and almost deserted beach.  They only have three or four neighbors.  Dan and his wife are good people.  And we got a lot of new ideas for our house, like AC in all the bedrooms, and electrical outlets in the floor in the living room, to give more options for arranging furniture..

I will have more pictures of the construction next week I hope.  I am so ready for the second story to start taking shape.

Building the Dream - Continued

If the placement of the pictures look funny, don't blame me.  I have been trying to post this for four days, and Blogger will not let me arrange the pictures the way I want them arranged.  They changed something right in the middle of me doing this

We are getting closer and closer to being able to start the second floor.  The window and door openings  on the first floor are  done and you can really see what the front of the house is going to look like.

The rebar in the foreground will become

part of the columns on the veranda.

This is an arch for the veranda.  There will be

five or six of these, I don't remember, across

the front.  They form part of the support for

the balcony

Remember that big mound of red clay?  Well, it is gone now.  Marvin has been busy with his shovel and has leveled it out to the height of the retaining wall.  Now you can see where the portico will be on the back side of the house.  The portico will be about 12 feet wide and 7 feet deep.  There will be two steps up from the drive to the portico, then one step up into the house.  The portico will cover the back door on the first floor becausee it spans the area between the house and the retaining wall.  I call this area the most; sometimes the ditch

     This is where the portico will be.

Marvin leveled this with a shovel.
Probably a ton of dirt, moved by
hand!

   

         

Did someone say OSHA? 

Not in Honduras;-)

Now some pictures of why this place will be so perfect when we finally get moved in.  I call them the view from the balcony.

See That little patch of darker blue by the tower in the left middle?

That is the Caribbean, and we will really be able to see it

when the balcony is finished.

All these pictures were taken on one night from the balcony of our condo

I am so looking forward to sitting on my balcony whenever I want, especially at sunset.  I don't need  Key West. 

We are blessed.

Funny Things That Have Happened Lately

Funny things do happen around here. 

We have a cow that comes to a field next door to us to graze.  I don't know if she needs milking or what, but she moos all day long.  It is not a sweet little m-o-o-o.  It is a gigantic M-O-O-O-O that can be heard for miles.  Yesterday she was at it again, until I yelled, "Will somebody put that poor cow out of her misery!!!".  Almost as soon as it was out of my mouth I heard gunshots, then complete silence.  I sitting there then saying, "Not that way, Lord. I really didn't want anybody to kill her."  All of a sudden, she moo'd again and I felt better, until I heard more gunshots and she got quiet again, very quiet.  This morning, she was at it again, so I guess they just scared her enough to shut her up.

Tuesday I was going to fry some tajados (fried plantains) for supper, I peeled  my plantains and sliced them up, got out the frying pan and the grease, at least I thought it was the grease.  I put the plantains into the frying pan, and when I checked them, they just didn't look like they were cooking right.  Then I noticed that the grease looked funny, and finally I smelled the vinegar.  Vinegar and vegetable oil come in very similar jugs and I guess I had mine too close together.

Then there was the day I was working at the computer when it became a 'no hay (no aye)' day and the electricity went off.  I went into the bathroom and found out it was a double no hay day.  No water and no electricity.  So, I decided to go downstairs and do a load of clothes.  I actually had the clothes in the washer, the soap added, and the softener in the dispenser before it dawned on me I wouldn't be doing laundry, not that day, anyway.

There are the little things that keep you sane, because when you are laughing, it is hard to get lost in your mind.

We are blessed

ADDENDUM:   We don't keep many sweets in the house, and the other day I decided to dig out the ice cream maker.  I got all the ingredients and put them in the refrigerator to get cold.  I grabbed the fruit and mashed it up.  I thought they smelled a little funny, but I was in a hurry.  Before I started the machine, I  tasted my concoction and decided the problem was Ididn't put enough vanilla in, so I added  another tsp. of vanilla and started churning it.  The outcome was very sweet and vanilla, but taqsted strongly of plantrains.  It won't be my favorite.

The First Floor Walls are Almost Finished!!

No, I didn't run away from home nor join the circus, regardless of what you may of heard.  I did take a little break.  We are in the summer rainy season, and it has been a monsoon around here.  You cannot pour a lot of cement in the rain, although they have tried.  Here are a couple of pictures of what 15 minutes of rain can do.

The walls are almost up for the first floor.  We have about three more rounds of block, then another biga, and then they can pour the terrazzo for the second floor. 

With the forms for the arches over the windows you can really start to see what the house will look like on the outside.  Macho Man built all the forms himself.  As I have said before, some people complain that Hondurans are lazy.  Ours work from can to can't, even in the rain.  Marvin was told to go home the other day, and he asked if MM was leaving.  When told, "No."  he said, "Then I will stay as long as you do, Maestro." 

The rebar here is part of the biga.  The columns will be extended and cement poured around them. This cures for a while, and then the biga poured.  This ties everything together and gives the walls strength.

.

The rebar here has had its forms built and the cement poured.  Notice the crosses on the forms.  There are many of these crosses along both sides of the form.  They are tied together and hold the wood in place so that the weight of the cement does not cause the forms to bulge, or even collapse.  MM says the cross shape is an accident.  I prefer to think they are a sign of the blessings that have been given to us.

Things will slow down  a little until we can get the terrazzo poured.  We have decided to have  this done by a professional company.  They will need forty continuous hours to complete the work, and we have to feed them 5-6 times a day.   It would take us a week mixing the cement by hand.

So, the blessings continue to pour down upon us, and the walls continue to go up.

Not a Good Way to End the Week

This week started off okay, then on  Tuesday evening it started to start a downhill slide.  First. while I was just finishing up supper, the chimbo went empty.  For the uninitiated, a chimbo is a 40 lb propane tank.  We use propane to cook.  The spare chimbo we always keep was empty because we forgot to fill it when it gave out the last time.  Macho Man took the empty chimbo to get it filled on Wednesday and brought it home about 6:00 PM.  When he tried to hook it up, the valve was screwed up and the regulator would not go on.  I suggested we go down to El Centro, but MM decided he was too tired.  I threatened him with cold sandwiches, and when that didn't work I decided to get creative.  It was the first time I ever cooked a complete meal in the microwave and rice cooker.  It turned out not so bad.

Today MM hired a man to come and clean up the yard at the new house, particularly the mangoes that have fallen off the tree and started to rot.  We also had to cut weeds and make sure there was no standing water, because we have an epidemic of dengue fever.  Anyway, about 30 minutes after the man started working, he had a grand mal seizure.

At lunch, when MM was telling me about his morning, he was so proud that he moved the man into the shade, and when the man wouldn't wake up, he and the man's brother started CPR.  Silly me, I asked, "Was the man breathing?"...    "Yes."  "Did you check his pulse?"...."No."  "Macho Man, you don't do CPR on a live person, i.e., who is breathing and has a pulse."  "Oh."

Then, this afternoon, it was my turn.  I was going to the new house to take pictures of the progress we have made.  There is a narrow little red clay road through a residential area just before you get to the site.  I always go very slow here, because it is just in front of a school. 

I saw some children playing, and I saw a little girl on a bicycle, so I slowed down even more.  Thank God!.  Just as I thought I had passed everyone safely, I heard a big BANG, and when I looked in the mirror, there was the little girl and the bicycle on the ground behind me.  My heart stopped.

I got out of the car, and retired nurse that I am, I began a trauma check.  Then her father showed up and started screaming at me about why I didn't slow down when I knew there were children playing.  I told him I was going slow, and that is why the child wasn't hurt.  When he finally realized the child was not hurt, and that I was just as upset as he was, we parted as friends. 

Never underestimate the Honduran grapevine.  By the time I got to the site our watchman, who happened to witness the whole thing, had already informed MM that the child lost her balance and hit me, and that I was very upset about the whole thing. 

When I got myself under control, I started to take pictures, and the battery in my camera was dead.  I wanted to start crying.

When we have times like these, I try to find the silver lining.  It wasn't so bad that the chimbo was empty.  We had food in the house, and I have a rice cooker and a microwave, and the electricity was on.  It could have been worse.

The man MM hired hired had a seizure, not a heart attack or heat stroke.  He can survive a seizure.  It could have been worse.

The child was just frightened, and had a skinned knee.  We both survived.  It could have been worse.

I can go back tomorrow and take my pictures, and this weekend I can do my post on our progress.  It could have been worse.

We are blessed.

The Walls Are Going UP!!!!

Yes, indeedy, the walls are going up.  I haven't written lately for any number of reasons,  but the main one was the girls being here.  In the meantime, Macho Man and the gang have been really busy. 

The foundations are in, the biga solera is laid, and the masons are laying block.  The biga solera is a continuous, 10"x10", band of concrete over a rebar cage that is laid on top of the foundation.  This goes around the whole house at the foundation level and again when the second floor is poured.  There is also a biga that surrounds the house at the top of the windows and doors on both floors, and again before the roof goes on. Did I mention the house is natural disaster proof?

Building the biga solera

Now that walls are pretty much in place for the ground floor, it is easier for us to see the layout of the house.

The picture on the left is the downstairs gallery; the man walking on it is near the front door.  As you come in the front door, the two guest bedrooms and bath are on the right. Macho Man's office is on the left. The large area in the center is a great room. The center and right hand pictures are the house from the back.  The back door is between the two men in the center picture.  The picture on the right shows the cistern and  the bodega (storeroom).   

There is a retaining wall around three sides of the house.  It serves as a walkway around the lower level of the house and it gives access to the back door.  This walkway is 4' wide and will be gated on both sides of the house in the front.  Right now we are calling it the moat.  It has weep holes every few feet close to the bottom and to the middle.  This allows the ground water to seep through rather than push the wall down.  Turning the blocks sideways to make the weep holes was my idea.  They are backed with gravel rocks and sand to keep them from getting clogged with clay.  There will also be a French drain about every 15' along the walk.  (Don't forget, we get an average of 142" of rain a year.)  We will be catching rainwater for the cistern in the house and also for one outside to use for irrigation during the dry season.  There will be a dry creek from the open ends of the moat wandering across the property to help with drainage.  We surely don't want to drown the neighbors. 

Right through the center of the first picture below you can see a green fishing line.stretched across the house.  This is the level of the second floor.  Macho Man kept wondering how he kept losing his fishing line, because it would be in place one day, and gone the next. 

This next picture is the solution to the mystery of the missing fishing line.  Much of this nest is made with it.

So far the building is  pretty much on schedule.  We have had no major injuries.  The workmen are great.  We are blessed.

Building the Dream - Continued

The foundation is almost completely dug, and the columns are being set, even as I type.  At least, the rebar skeleton of the columns are being set.  These columns go in a hole four feet deeper than the foundation.  They are about 18 ft long, and the rebar does not come pre-fab. They are held in place by a couple of feet of concrete, then large rocks are put around them and pushed down into the wet concrete and  and more concrete poured up to the level of the foundation.  The rocks cannot touch each other, the rebar, or the sides of the hole.  After they are all set the gang will build a wooden frame around each one and fill it with concrete.  After the concrete sets, the form is removed and the columns are kept damp for  few days.

These are our cement mixers.  We have used several hundred bags of cement by now, and it has all been mixed by hand, fifty shovels of aggregate to a bag of cement.  The cement and aggregate are mixed together until fully mixed and then water, by the bucket, is poured in and the cement mixed until it is a slurry.  The blue barrel holds the water.

This is our "cement truck" ;-D.   That's Marvin filling the hole around the base of the rebar. The rocks in the trench will become part of the foundation.  We will use a total of about 1,200 bags of cement, .  The columns being set now will go up through the floor of the second level and the 2 ft of rebar that are not in the concrete will become part of the column that goes up to the roof.  The extra rebar on the second level will be twisted around the base of the trusses and tie the roof to the house.  This house is hurricane proof, mud slide proof, and earthquake proof, or so I am told.

Here are some of our gang.  Honduran men love to smile for the camera, and they will always fix their hair and clothing before they will let you take the photograph.

 

Who is that handsome man with the chain saw?  Why, it is Macho Man!!!  Macho Man forgets that he is not as young as our other workers, and he comes home wringing wet and so tired he just wants to lie on the floor.  I told him that he should remember he is the Jefe and he needs to sit under the mango tree and direct what is going on.  He disagrees.  He says he has to set an example, and also make sure everyone is working where, when and how he wants them to.

Under the mango tree - break time.                         

We freeze water in the big soda bottles to provide cool water for most of the day. That is Marvelous Marvin with Macho Man

The office of Ramirez and Company - inside the little house Macho Man built about 40 years ago.

We have been truly blessed. We have a good, hard working crew. It has not rained. The materials have arrived on time. Macho Man sprayed the property so the chiggers and ticks are mostly gone.