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Now, We Mean It
Wow, have four months really passed? Yes, indeed. There are several reasons for my absence here, most notably that we were both gone to the USA for two months (in fact, Julie is still there for another week). It was both work and pleasure for us - we each had office trips mixed in with visits to friends, and I also did a tour of 33 shows, just returning Tuesday. When I'm out of the country, I never really feel like blogging here, and with all the moving around I didn't have much chance to sit and write anyway. Even before we left, though, it was a bit hard to blog in this space. The house has become a boondoggle, an albatross, even - dare I say it - a joke. Traveling around and seeing friends, everyone would ask if it was done yet, and I would just have to roll my eyes and murmur...nope, nope. Not yet. It has been three years now since we broke ground, and the time has come for us to get serious. Although we're happy with our living situation in our rental, it feels like we have been treading water, waiting on our own house to be done. The point of moving to Mexico was to buy a house to live in, and still, that goal has not been achieved, nearly four years after driving down from California. The final impetus for really getting on the ball about finishing our home was going to visit the land on Wednesday. Historically - yes, we can speak from experience - when we leave on a trip, all work comes to a grinding halt, regardless of promises made and emails sent. This time was no different. There was some progress - our entrance gate is about 80% completed - but for two months, our hope was that nearly everything remaining would be finished. This did not take place. And as usual there were curveballs - the tile we'd bought to surround our tub is a type of thick glass, which apparently needed to be custom cut at a high cost - and our architect never bothered to contact us about it, though email is our usual mode of communication. She just did it, but only, apparently, last week. Bah. More than anything, we can feel the end of the year coming, and we can't bear the thought of 2009 arriving and our house, begun in 2005, stil not being completed. So it is with great reluctance that we have decided to cancel the trip to Italy we were looking forward to (airline miles are our friend), and though we each have a bit of travel this fall, as much as possible we are going to stick around and make this project our priority. I met with our architect yesterday and made her commit to some firm, aggressive deadlines, and by golly, I'm going to visit the site every day if I can, making sure that progress is being made. Basically, we need her to finish the tile in the master bathroom, install the tub and sink, put up a bit of drywall, and have a railing for the terrace put in. She committed to having all this happen in the next five weeks. After that comes paint, then doors, then closets, then the kitchen. Then, the installation of our solar setup...then, furniture. And we move in. Can all this happen by December 31, 2008? Stay tuned! Posted by daryl on August 09, 2008
The Keys That Fit
I know it's been a long time. I am sorry. There are things to report, few of which are upbeat as regards to progress, hence it's been hard to generate the enthusiasm. But our bad luck leads to better stories for you, I know. I seriously doubt I'll be the first, but let me warn those who are thinking of building a house; prepare yourself for an endless series of frustrations absolutely inconceivable at the outset. Hahahahahahaha. Posted by daryl on April 29, 2008
Mystery Posts #2
![]() As some of you may remember, way back when we had a little episode with fenceposts spontaneously spawning in inconvenient places. Though that issue resolved itself as mysteriously as it began, once again poles have appeared in places we don't want them. In this case, they form a rough perimeter around our property, though in positions that don't seem to conform with what our deed says. We were confused about it for a good week - could it be a neighbor? the town? the government? - but yesterday, finally, our architect fessed up, as if it was no big deal. She claims that during a visit a year ago, we had mentioned wanting posts to someday delineate our borders. So, for once, she took some initiative and made it happen, without bothering to ask us again. If only we could translate this initiative into real action...sigh. One thing which has appeared, and welcomely so, is RUNNING WATER. Whoa! ![]() They work! We think! This feels like a really big step. I've been too chicken to actually use the fixtures yet - it's a little weird to see the precise route where your human by-products will travel to their resting/decomposing spot - but the water is there in the bowl and one must believe that there are pipes connecting it to the big treatment tank. Naturally, even after asking us by email three times and by telephone once, they installed the wrong sink with the wrong faucets in the wrong bathroom. But that wasn't even a surprise at this point. And here's the big picture, currently: ![]() Note Spanish tile, water tank, staircase, and at the left, at last, our truck. Right now, they're working on a concrete base for the bathtub, after which they'll be tiling the remaining bathroom. Then they'll be doing a small addition to the wall at the top right (where the tank is), for safety's sake, after which painting should start. Poco a poco... Posted by daryl on March 12, 2008
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