THE PAST THREE MONTHS

Every day our plans take a little bit more shape and we are relieved that most our ideas can be realized. This is of course with the necessary flexibility and adjustments – but our environment has a good influence on us and I even seem to loose some of my Swiss perfectionism…
The second bedroom exceeds our expectations – spacious and bright we think it will be a favorite with our guests! Dan eliminated a dormer and the roof took on a slightly different shape. The facade is now much more balanced and he thus proved himself (also) as a roofer with Spanish tile…
We are refurbishing the front of our house and the Adobe, the main building material that was used in the construction doesn’t cease to amaze us! Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, horse manure and water, with some kind of fibrous or organic material (sticks and/or straw,), which is shaped into bricks using frames and dried in the sun. It is similar to cob and mudbrick.
A variety of plants were put into the ground and parts of our garden slowly start to take on their intended shape.
The cistern and laundry room are finished – a few more details need to be taken care of and we’ll have the luxury of a washing machine! The main part of our irrigation system is put into place and the reservoir was equipped with a liner that should help prevent the irrigation water from seeping into the ground. The only thing missing are the 1000 Tilapia fish…

THE SEASONS CHANGED

When we first visited Ecuador a year ago we were told that winter starts in mid-December and lasts about 5 months. Now that we live here we are told something different by almost everybody we ask! We were therefore very curious and also a little apprehensive as to what to expect. Now – about three weeks later we are absolutely amazed and flabbergasted at what is happening around us! Nature literally exploded with the rain and you can almost watch the plants grow. Sunshine alternates with rain and temperatures seem more intense. The sun feels warmer and the evenings and nights are cool. Seeds that were hiding dormant during the dry season are sprouting everywhere – never before have we witnessed a similar awakening of nature!

THE NEXT PHASE

The next stage of construction includes rooms three and four, a wall that seperates our property from the neighbours, the reconstruction of the kitchen, fine work such as painting and wood flooring, the mounting of toilets and sinks and – setting up the finished rooms!
An exciting phase begins – we choose color for our walls and the unpacking of some of our many boxes moves within reach.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 7th, 2011 at 9:24 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.