On Monday night around 9pm a young boy was standing outside yelling "buenas"....which is the Panamanian way of saying hello. So Clyde went outside and the boy handed him a piece of paper. Once back inside he read it over and it explained that on Tuesday the health department would be fumigating our neighborhood between 8-12pm. From the way Clyde translated it, he read it to say keep your windows closed and your pets inside during the process.
So around 7:15am Venus and I headed our for morning walk and upon re-entering our neighborhood Clyde came looking for us. They had started the fumigation process at our house which is at the back of the neighborhood. There was Clyde making himself a bowl of oatmeal, with coffee brewing and someone wearing a gas mask came to the door to fumigate the place inside and out. He immediately had to leave the house and the area until the vapors went away. Here in Panamá they take controlling mosquitos rather serious, since they carry diseases like dengue and yellow fever.
With no where to go, he got into the car and drove off looking for us. When he picked us up I was covered in sweat, hair up in pony tail, no makeup and un-showered. We stopped by the house only long enough to grab some food for Venus and off we drove to kill sometime until we could get back into our house. Since we hadn't eaten breakfast we drove to a nearby McDonalds for a breakfast meal to share. After that we stopped back at the house and when we opened the door a cloud of vapors made it's way out like smoke. Clyde went in just long enough to grab our work clothes and some bottled waters and we left for the day.
Next stop was La Chorrera to pick up a rental car at Budget before dropping our car off to be repaired from the damage caused by the accident several months ago. From there we went to the Chame house for more work. I finished the last of the painting, although the side hallway could use another coat of paint. Clyde did some wiring and moved the dining room chandelier so it would be over the table and not off to the side.
The cable and internet company showed up in the late afternoon to hook us up which is the last of the hook-ups needed in that house. Clyde had the electric and water transferred to our name and also arranged for trash pick-up. On his way back to the house he stopped to pick-up Chinese food for lunch which we ended up eating for both lunch and dinner. It was 7pm before we arrived back here at the rental house tired and sore from a long, crazy day. A bowl of oatmeal still sat in the microwave and leftover coffee still in the pot after Clyde made a fast exit out.
And as the song goes....."hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go," once again today. On today's agenda we hang ceiling fans and replace ceiling tiles throughout the whole house. Still more toilets and sinks to install, and a shower drain to unclog too. It's coming together a little at a time, and this week will be a month so far that we've been working on it everyday. Eventually we can sit back and enjoy our new home, in our new country, with our new friends.......along the gringo trail.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
It's Raining Ants......
The walls are alive with little black dots that move and then free fall to the ground as if they have little parachutes attached to their backs. As another rainy season begins so does the birth of millions of flying ants. Apparently these little buggers were discovered by scientists back in 2005 and are said to be the only wingless insect capable of controlled flight. Although these ants live high up in the tropical rain forest canopy, scientists found that these ants never hit the ground. Instead they go into a free-fall like skydivers and steer their way to the ground for a peaceful landing. Peaceful as their landing may be our house has been anything but peaceful with my obsession for getting rid of the pesky critters.
Yesterday during our Easter socializing with friends was when we first noticed the flying ants. As soon as the sun went down and the lights went on, the walls were crawling with hundreds of ants. So we did what any normal people would do and turned off the house lights and sat chatting in the dark. It made it much more acceptable to snooze when the conversation dulled, until the snoring gave me away.
At the end of the night I vacuumed up hundreds of ants only to find more the next morning. Once again I sucked them up but they keep appearing from no where. Guess we'll be sitting in the dark again tonight with the windows closed until the little darlings die off. Our friends tell us they don't last long and are just a sign that the wet season is upon us.
The wet season is also called the green season because as soon as the first rains came, everything turned green and lush. Simply put the dry season is the time of year when there is virtually no rain at all. During the rest of the year rain is possible and if and when it comes, it's usually in the form of an afternoon shower. But by the end of the rainy season in November and December rain can be extremely heavy and last for hours, if not all day. But rain is what makes the rain forest thrive and since it's so vital to mankind we have to cherish and nurture it.
Rain forests play a very important role in our daily life whether we are aware of it or not. For example, two thirds of the world's animal and plant species live in the rain forests. Millions of plants, animals and insects are currently living in the rain forests of the world waiting to be discovered. The majority of natural medicines available on the market today come from tropical rain forests. Between 70 and 80 percent of the world's population depends on plant medicines. Hundreds of prescription drugs are made in some part from plants found only in the rain forest, also.
More than 20% of the oxygen in the world is produced in the Amazon rain forests alone. The Amazon Basin is also home to at least one fifth of the world's fresh water resources. There are an estimated 3,000 types of fruit that grow in the rain forests of the world. In the United States, only 200 different types of the available rain forest fruits are used.
As you can see, much of the world's resources come from our rain forests. Even the U.S. National Cancer Institute confirms that many of the plants in the rain forest are effective in fighting cancer cells. At least one fourth of the active ingredients in cancer fighting drugs can be found exclusively in the rain forests of the world. Several companies and organizations are currently researching plants in the rain forests as possible cures for viruses, cancer and AIDS.
A constant concern revolves around the destruction of the rain forests. Rain forests are destroyed so the trees can be used as timber and the land used for grazing cattle and for farming. However, due to the composition of the soil in a rain forest, the ground is not suitable for farming. Rain forests are much more useful to humans and to the earth if left intact. Valuable resources, such as plants, animals, fresh water and oxygen are destroyed and lost forever by rain forest destruction. The destruction of the rain forest is the leading cause of animal extinction.
Other than ants, insects have not been a problem since we moved to Panamá. Besides the flying ants we regularly get visits from crazy ants and usually can get them under control and then they show up again. If we could just teach our doberman to eat ants, we'd solve the insect problem and save money on dog food too. Until then our little bit of paradise may be riddled with annoying creatures now and then......along the gringo trail.
(Excerpt taken from...ABC Article Directory ... The Rain Forest And You: The Benefits We Get From The Rain Forest, written by Adrian Adams)
Yesterday during our Easter socializing with friends was when we first noticed the flying ants. As soon as the sun went down and the lights went on, the walls were crawling with hundreds of ants. So we did what any normal people would do and turned off the house lights and sat chatting in the dark. It made it much more acceptable to snooze when the conversation dulled, until the snoring gave me away.
Phil and Sharon join us for Easter Dinner
Deviled Egg Easter Chicks
Compliments of Sharon
Compliments of Sharon
At the end of the night I vacuumed up hundreds of ants only to find more the next morning. Once again I sucked them up but they keep appearing from no where. Guess we'll be sitting in the dark again tonight with the windows closed until the little darlings die off. Our friends tell us they don't last long and are just a sign that the wet season is upon us.
The wet season is also called the green season because as soon as the first rains came, everything turned green and lush. Simply put the dry season is the time of year when there is virtually no rain at all. During the rest of the year rain is possible and if and when it comes, it's usually in the form of an afternoon shower. But by the end of the rainy season in November and December rain can be extremely heavy and last for hours, if not all day. But rain is what makes the rain forest thrive and since it's so vital to mankind we have to cherish and nurture it.
Rain forests play a very important role in our daily life whether we are aware of it or not. For example, two thirds of the world's animal and plant species live in the rain forests. Millions of plants, animals and insects are currently living in the rain forests of the world waiting to be discovered. The majority of natural medicines available on the market today come from tropical rain forests. Between 70 and 80 percent of the world's population depends on plant medicines. Hundreds of prescription drugs are made in some part from plants found only in the rain forest, also.
More than 20% of the oxygen in the world is produced in the Amazon rain forests alone. The Amazon Basin is also home to at least one fifth of the world's fresh water resources. There are an estimated 3,000 types of fruit that grow in the rain forests of the world. In the United States, only 200 different types of the available rain forest fruits are used.
As you can see, much of the world's resources come from our rain forests. Even the U.S. National Cancer Institute confirms that many of the plants in the rain forest are effective in fighting cancer cells. At least one fourth of the active ingredients in cancer fighting drugs can be found exclusively in the rain forests of the world. Several companies and organizations are currently researching plants in the rain forests as possible cures for viruses, cancer and AIDS.
A constant concern revolves around the destruction of the rain forests. Rain forests are destroyed so the trees can be used as timber and the land used for grazing cattle and for farming. However, due to the composition of the soil in a rain forest, the ground is not suitable for farming. Rain forests are much more useful to humans and to the earth if left intact. Valuable resources, such as plants, animals, fresh water and oxygen are destroyed and lost forever by rain forest destruction. The destruction of the rain forest is the leading cause of animal extinction.
Other than ants, insects have not been a problem since we moved to Panamá. Besides the flying ants we regularly get visits from crazy ants and usually can get them under control and then they show up again. If we could just teach our doberman to eat ants, we'd solve the insect problem and save money on dog food too. Until then our little bit of paradise may be riddled with annoying creatures now and then......along the gringo trail.
(Excerpt taken from...ABC Article Directory ... The Rain Forest And You: The Benefits We Get From The Rain Forest, written by Adrian Adams)
Sunday, April 8, 2012
There Is No Easter Bunny....in Panamá.....
Although today is Easter here in Panamá, there will be no Easter bunny or any other things us Americans associate with this holiday. No chocolate eggs wrapped in brightly colored foil, no hollow chocolate bunnies to bite the ears off of, no baskets filled with fake grass. no marshmallow peeps and no hard boiled eggs to color. Like other holidays we've been through here, there seems to be absolutely no commercialism and no food pushing.
Holidays in the U.S. always involve food being pushed in our faces in every store we enter. Christmas cookies and candies; Valentine's Day candies; cakes for every occasion and not to mention the food frenzy that goes along with Thanksgiving. Our old grocery chain in Texas used to push cookies and cakes to commemorate St. Patricks Day, Forth of July, Easter, Fathers and Mothers Day or any other holiday they can come up to smother something in frosting.
And then there's chocolate being wrapped in decorative foil for every holiday too. Piled high to the ceiling in every store in America making it nearly impossible to ignore. These monster displays speak to us saying "go ahead, buy some, everyone else is doing it so it's ok." And we always manage to justify it in our brains as if the calories don't count because it's a holiday.
But here in Panamá there is a definite lack of chocolate or any other sweets for that matter. They are here but come at a premium price since they're shipped in from the fatter countries like the U.S. And they don't jump out and speak to us like they did back there, although a few Snickers bars did manage to leave the store with us last night. We had the choice between Snickers and M&M's at the registers! A far cry from the assortment of junk food found at registers in U.S. stores.
Easter in Panamá is a time to be spent with family and for many a time of worship. The week prior to Easter is Semana Santa or Holy Week. Many businesses wrapped it up on Wednesday and were closed for Thursday and Friday. This was obvious by the non-stop flow of traffic headed into the interior of the country. People headed out to the beaches or weekend homes to spend time with family and friends. Since our new house is surrounded by holiday homes the neighborhood was not as quiet as usual. Homes that are usually vacant were filled with the sounds of kids playing as families gathered with loved ones for some holiday cheer.
My fingers are sore and swollen as I type from yet another long day of painting at the house. But the painting is just about finished now with only a few decorative touches left to be done. Clyde worked on plumbing yesterday and installed one new toilet and sink with two more left to go. Ceiling fans and lights still need to be installed before putting in the new tiles for the drop ceiling. And then there's that little matter of knocking a hole in the wall to open up the kitchen. Perhaps the guys can tackle that next week too.
We have been waiting for two months for the body shop to get the parts needed to repair our car after the accident. Every time Clyde would stop by they'd tell him the parts were still on order. We found this very strange since every other car in Panamá seems to be a gray Toyota Rav 4 the same as ours.
So last week we had to pick up paperwork from our insurance broker in Panama City and Clyde asked her to call. They told her (a Panamanian) that the parts have been there and that Clyde must have changed his phone number since they couldn't reach him. Funny how they tell a Panameno one thing and us another....eh? So tomorrow Clyde has to contact our insurance company again to make arrangements for a rental car while the work is being done. Our insurance will provide 11 days of a free car rental and hopefully that will be enough time for them to get the work done.
Easter for us will be spent with friends here at the rental house. Some food, drinks and good company will make for a relaxing day. Sometimes friends have to force friends to stop and take it easy for a day.
Clyde said the Easter bunny can't come to our house because we have a dog now and she won't let him in. Funny but after our morning walk a few days ago I left the front gate open since I know Venus won't leave the property. Rarely do we get people walking by our house but sure enough I heard voices out front. Venus immediately ran out to say hello....I guess....and the lady screamed, froze and panicked. I ran over to get Venus and apologized to the people smiling on the inside all the while. You see growing up I was the kid afraid of strange dogs and that fear stayed with me into adulthood. Although I was ok with friends dogs as an adult, I was still never really comfortable around them. And now I'm the women walking the mean dog (at least she looks that way). I'm comfortable sticking my fingers into her mouth to hold it open when I brush her teeth. While walking her in a park yesterday I noticed her eating something and pulled a rock from her mouth like it was nothing.
Yes life in Panamá has been a life changing experience for me, full of new experiences. But this is just the beginning of many more firsts.....along the gringo trail.
Holidays in the U.S. always involve food being pushed in our faces in every store we enter. Christmas cookies and candies; Valentine's Day candies; cakes for every occasion and not to mention the food frenzy that goes along with Thanksgiving. Our old grocery chain in Texas used to push cookies and cakes to commemorate St. Patricks Day, Forth of July, Easter, Fathers and Mothers Day or any other holiday they can come up to smother something in frosting.
And then there's chocolate being wrapped in decorative foil for every holiday too. Piled high to the ceiling in every store in America making it nearly impossible to ignore. These monster displays speak to us saying "go ahead, buy some, everyone else is doing it so it's ok." And we always manage to justify it in our brains as if the calories don't count because it's a holiday.
But here in Panamá there is a definite lack of chocolate or any other sweets for that matter. They are here but come at a premium price since they're shipped in from the fatter countries like the U.S. And they don't jump out and speak to us like they did back there, although a few Snickers bars did manage to leave the store with us last night. We had the choice between Snickers and M&M's at the registers! A far cry from the assortment of junk food found at registers in U.S. stores.
Easter in Panamá is a time to be spent with family and for many a time of worship. The week prior to Easter is Semana Santa or Holy Week. Many businesses wrapped it up on Wednesday and were closed for Thursday and Friday. This was obvious by the non-stop flow of traffic headed into the interior of the country. People headed out to the beaches or weekend homes to spend time with family and friends. Since our new house is surrounded by holiday homes the neighborhood was not as quiet as usual. Homes that are usually vacant were filled with the sounds of kids playing as families gathered with loved ones for some holiday cheer.
My fingers are sore and swollen as I type from yet another long day of painting at the house. But the painting is just about finished now with only a few decorative touches left to be done. Clyde worked on plumbing yesterday and installed one new toilet and sink with two more left to go. Ceiling fans and lights still need to be installed before putting in the new tiles for the drop ceiling. And then there's that little matter of knocking a hole in the wall to open up the kitchen. Perhaps the guys can tackle that next week too.
We have been waiting for two months for the body shop to get the parts needed to repair our car after the accident. Every time Clyde would stop by they'd tell him the parts were still on order. We found this very strange since every other car in Panamá seems to be a gray Toyota Rav 4 the same as ours.
So last week we had to pick up paperwork from our insurance broker in Panama City and Clyde asked her to call. They told her (a Panamanian) that the parts have been there and that Clyde must have changed his phone number since they couldn't reach him. Funny how they tell a Panameno one thing and us another....eh? So tomorrow Clyde has to contact our insurance company again to make arrangements for a rental car while the work is being done. Our insurance will provide 11 days of a free car rental and hopefully that will be enough time for them to get the work done.
Easter for us will be spent with friends here at the rental house. Some food, drinks and good company will make for a relaxing day. Sometimes friends have to force friends to stop and take it easy for a day.
Clyde said the Easter bunny can't come to our house because we have a dog now and she won't let him in. Funny but after our morning walk a few days ago I left the front gate open since I know Venus won't leave the property. Rarely do we get people walking by our house but sure enough I heard voices out front. Venus immediately ran out to say hello....I guess....and the lady screamed, froze and panicked. I ran over to get Venus and apologized to the people smiling on the inside all the while. You see growing up I was the kid afraid of strange dogs and that fear stayed with me into adulthood. Although I was ok with friends dogs as an adult, I was still never really comfortable around them. And now I'm the women walking the mean dog (at least she looks that way). I'm comfortable sticking my fingers into her mouth to hold it open when I brush her teeth. While walking her in a park yesterday I noticed her eating something and pulled a rock from her mouth like it was nothing.
Yes life in Panamá has been a life changing experience for me, full of new experiences. But this is just the beginning of many more firsts.....along the gringo trail.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
It's Official....We Are Homeowners in Panamá...
Finally today we received the documents in our name indicating that we own the house in Chame! It's been a long three months of negotiations, opening a bank account and dealing with the Panamanian bureaucracy. Our lawyer told us to meet with her and the sellers at the bank today at 11am. After sitting there for over an hour, the bank announced that the check could not be issued today since once again someone was out of the office. Things started to get ugly at this point, but since the seller seemed to know the bank owner we brought him into the mix. Being from a prominent family in Panama City, he and his daughter talked to the powers that be and we were told to come back in a few hours when the check was finally issued to the seller.
So tomorrow it's time to have the water and electric transferred into our name and more painting, scraping and other renovations. It will be a while yet until we can get back to normal retirement life of taking it easy.....along the gringo trail.
So tomorrow it's time to have the water and electric transferred into our name and more painting, scraping and other renovations. It will be a while yet until we can get back to normal retirement life of taking it easy.....along the gringo trail.
The Official Passing of The Key
Terry and Clyde with Dr. Carlos Arellano Lennox and his daughter Noris
The Point Of No Return.......
Before making any purchases here in Panamá make sure it's what you want and that it's not broken because there is NO return policy here. And for this reason the point of sale process is very different from what we've experienced in the states. I remember those days of standing in line at Wal-Mart after prying the tape off the box to make sure the item inside was in one piece and that all the parts are there. But then Wal-Mart is known for taking back just about anything, whether you bought it there or not. I know this from experience since I was a Wal-Mart Department Manager years ago in ladies. They would take back clothes that had obviously been worn, washed or bought at K-Mart just to make the customer happy. But the days of Wal-Mart are far behind us and things are a little different here in Panamá.
Yesterday we went toilet shopping and found some great deals, although it took a while. Casa de Materials in Panama City has some great "ofertas" or sales. For $89.95 we picked up a toilet with seat, a pedastal sink, and matching soap dish, toilet paper holder and toothbrush holder. The salesperson put our order into the computer. Then we went to the caja or cashier and paid her and she printed out a bill. We took the bill to the "pickup area" where they looked at it and told us to have a seat. After a while they called our name and we approached the window. The person at the window opened the boxes that contained the accessories and showed us each one, carefully re-closing each box afterwards. Next we went outside where someone brought out four boxes. The man opened the first box carefully pulling out the toilet tank and lid, showing us that is wasn't damaged or scratched. Then he put it back in the box and re-taped the box on all sides. On he went to the sink bowl following the same procedure until he went through all of the boxes. A nearby woman was buying tile and her salesperson opened up each package of tile and flipped through them making sure there were no damaged tiles.
An hour later after all of our toilet parts had been inspected we were on our way. We have to laugh at the way they do things here but at least we know what we bought is not damaged. Clyde was so happy at the price we went back and bought a second toilet and sink set in a different color for another bathroom. Our house has a yellow bathroom and I wanted a replacement toilet in yellow, but no one seemed to have yellow. So we had to go with a different color which will change our color scheme a bit and I'll explain more in a later blog with pictures.
Also stopped at a lighting store for some $59 ceiling fans and a bathroom light fixture for $8.99. Believe it or not they had a light fixture for $1.99 but we splurged on the higher priced model. This huge store called Lumicentro has some great deals but does have much higher priced lighting too.
Today we're off to the city again but this time to meet with our lawyer and the sellers of the house for the final paperwork. Yes after just three short months we are finally closing on the house! But since the owner was nice enough to give us the keys three weeks ago, we've managed to get lots done in the meantime.
We've given our notice to the owner of the rent house and will be leaving here at the end of the month. This comes with a bit of sadness since Betsy has become our first Panamanian friend who has helped us out so much. We hope to remain friends and expect to see her in our new home whenever she's in the area. So here's to the next chapter of our life in Panamá. A new home full of new experiences big enough to entertain friends we've made here.......along the gringo trail.
Yesterday we went toilet shopping and found some great deals, although it took a while. Casa de Materials in Panama City has some great "ofertas" or sales. For $89.95 we picked up a toilet with seat, a pedastal sink, and matching soap dish, toilet paper holder and toothbrush holder. The salesperson put our order into the computer. Then we went to the caja or cashier and paid her and she printed out a bill. We took the bill to the "pickup area" where they looked at it and told us to have a seat. After a while they called our name and we approached the window. The person at the window opened the boxes that contained the accessories and showed us each one, carefully re-closing each box afterwards. Next we went outside where someone brought out four boxes. The man opened the first box carefully pulling out the toilet tank and lid, showing us that is wasn't damaged or scratched. Then he put it back in the box and re-taped the box on all sides. On he went to the sink bowl following the same procedure until he went through all of the boxes. A nearby woman was buying tile and her salesperson opened up each package of tile and flipped through them making sure there were no damaged tiles.
An hour later after all of our toilet parts had been inspected we were on our way. We have to laugh at the way they do things here but at least we know what we bought is not damaged. Clyde was so happy at the price we went back and bought a second toilet and sink set in a different color for another bathroom. Our house has a yellow bathroom and I wanted a replacement toilet in yellow, but no one seemed to have yellow. So we had to go with a different color which will change our color scheme a bit and I'll explain more in a later blog with pictures.
Also stopped at a lighting store for some $59 ceiling fans and a bathroom light fixture for $8.99. Believe it or not they had a light fixture for $1.99 but we splurged on the higher priced model. This huge store called Lumicentro has some great deals but does have much higher priced lighting too.
Today we're off to the city again but this time to meet with our lawyer and the sellers of the house for the final paperwork. Yes after just three short months we are finally closing on the house! But since the owner was nice enough to give us the keys three weeks ago, we've managed to get lots done in the meantime.
We've given our notice to the owner of the rent house and will be leaving here at the end of the month. This comes with a bit of sadness since Betsy has become our first Panamanian friend who has helped us out so much. We hope to remain friends and expect to see her in our new home whenever she's in the area. So here's to the next chapter of our life in Panamá. A new home full of new experiences big enough to entertain friends we've made here.......along the gringo trail.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
In The Shower....With My Clothes On....
Never before have I spent so much time in the shower with my clothes on. This house we bought has three full bathrooms inside, another one outside in the guard shack as well as an outdoor shower to use after a day at the beach. Since the house is close to 30 years old, the showers have probably not been cleaned in that long. I started with the shower in the master bath since that would be my primary one. A tanish peach color, the tile was coated with white soap scum and darkened sections of filth. I tried vinegar first with a scratchy pad, then bleach. Then Clyde tried putting the scratchy pad on an orbital palm sander and it worked until the pad fell off. So I suggested the sander with actual sandpaper since by this time I really didn't care if the tile got scratched as long as it got clean. The next day we tried muratic acid and even that didn't work to penetrate the filth. There was no easy way so I had to use a combination of all these things and sand off the dirt in small sections.
After a week of scrubbing, sanding and wiping the three showers are clean but not perfect. We went through boxes of sanding pads, a full gallon of vinegar, a gallon of muratic acid, bleach, paper towels, gloves, goggles and other cleaning products. Tile is some tough stuff that seems resistant to most everything. Now I plan to pick up some car wax to coat the tile with to prevent a build up of dirt in the future. And while I was scrubbing Clyde was working on the electrical putting in new three pronged ground plugs. And since none of the bathrooms had any outlets that was a must too.
So we've worked hard and long at the house, arriving home by dark to wash clothes, shower and crash on the couch before heading to bed to rest up for the next day. We still have more scraping to do in the living room and dining room before painting that wall. And Clyde still needs to cut the hole in the wall between the kitchen and dining room to open that up. The only painting left to do is in the kitchen, living room, dining room and back and side hallways. The kitchen walls are covered with dirty white tile so more tile to scrub for me too.
Next we need to buy ceiling tiles to replace all of them, after painting the rails or grid that hold them up. And since we need over 200 tiles we're not sure if we'll find that many of the same pattern at any one store. Also trying to find a floor scrubber to tackle a one-time heavy duty cleaning on the floor tile.
Our friend Sharon came over yesterday to harvest our tamarind tree to show us what great sauces can be made from them. She loves to cook and we don't have time these days so we'll let her do the work and we can taste the results.
Still waiting to hear from our lawyer for another trip to the city to sign and pickup the final documents on the house. They are being processed in the public registry and should have been completed by now. This week is Easter week and businesses are closed from Thursday on, so not sure if it will happen early this week or not.
So lots going on with us even though I haven't found time to blog about it. But just bare with us and before long we'll have more tales to tell of our adventures......along the gringo trail.
After a week of scrubbing, sanding and wiping the three showers are clean but not perfect. We went through boxes of sanding pads, a full gallon of vinegar, a gallon of muratic acid, bleach, paper towels, gloves, goggles and other cleaning products. Tile is some tough stuff that seems resistant to most everything. Now I plan to pick up some car wax to coat the tile with to prevent a build up of dirt in the future. And while I was scrubbing Clyde was working on the electrical putting in new three pronged ground plugs. And since none of the bathrooms had any outlets that was a must too.
So we've worked hard and long at the house, arriving home by dark to wash clothes, shower and crash on the couch before heading to bed to rest up for the next day. We still have more scraping to do in the living room and dining room before painting that wall. And Clyde still needs to cut the hole in the wall between the kitchen and dining room to open that up. The only painting left to do is in the kitchen, living room, dining room and back and side hallways. The kitchen walls are covered with dirty white tile so more tile to scrub for me too.
Next we need to buy ceiling tiles to replace all of them, after painting the rails or grid that hold them up. And since we need over 200 tiles we're not sure if we'll find that many of the same pattern at any one store. Also trying to find a floor scrubber to tackle a one-time heavy duty cleaning on the floor tile.
Our friend Sharon came over yesterday to harvest our tamarind tree to show us what great sauces can be made from them. She loves to cook and we don't have time these days so we'll let her do the work and we can taste the results.
Still waiting to hear from our lawyer for another trip to the city to sign and pickup the final documents on the house. They are being processed in the public registry and should have been completed by now. This week is Easter week and businesses are closed from Thursday on, so not sure if it will happen early this week or not.
So lots going on with us even though I haven't found time to blog about it. But just bare with us and before long we'll have more tales to tell of our adventures......along the gringo trail.
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