I don’t have anything exciting to report about this past week. I got up and went to work every day. It’s a little bit of a struggle to get back into the routine of having to go somewhere for work, but hopefully the internet will get installed at our house someday soon. There is always hope that one of the 2 prospective companies will get moving soon, but neither company gets back to you with the info they said they would for at least a couple weeks. Then, when they do, there's always something else that they have to check into. It's very frustrating! Ramie has reminded them that back in November when he started these conversations they said we would have the internet in 3-4 months. They just ignore that comment and come up with another excuse.
It’s also tough to get back into the routine of working a full day. Being semi-retired for the past 11 months was nice! Someday I’ll get to do that again! Ramie worked on projects around the house, worked on landscaping, and, of course, played my chauffeur all week. He even had a chance to break out the welder this week to make a little table for our grill. We just have one of those small table-top style grills since it’s usually just the 2 of us that we have to cook for. He’s been grilling with it on the ground, but that really is a pain in the butt, so he wanted to make himself a table so he can stand at the grill. Besides, we already have metal legs from a table that we dismantled so we might as well use them for something! It turned out great! I’m glad he’s as handy at things like this as he is 😊
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Don't forget your safety gear!
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Welding in flip flops, shorts, tank top!?!
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Sunday 5/15- Today we celebrated Breeze’s 10th birthday. Isn’t that 70 in dog years?!
In years past we found some sort of special treat for her, but we didn’t really have anything like that here, so instead we did one of her favorite things- go for a car ride! She loves going in the car, so we loaded her up, went for a drive around some of the scenic mountains that we have been wanting to check out anyway, and let her hang her head out of the window and enjoy the wind flapping her ears.
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Hey, Dad! Did you see that, back there? Turn around!
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This is the bestest!!
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Also, since I know how much I used to love getting a pedicure on my birthday, we decided to paint her toenails as well. She tolerated it, but I don’t think she enjoyed it as much as I do! We made her a delicious meal of rice and left over roast beef chunks and let her eat dinner with us.
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I'm so embarrassed!
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Monday 5/16- Friday 5/20- This week Geiner’s landscaping crew is working at our house to finish the rest of our yard now that we are coming into the green season. He told us that it would be best to wait until now so we don’t have to work so hard to keep everything watered during the dry season. Since the beginning it has always been our plan to have his guys finish much of our yard since Geiner has the connections to get everything, the trucks to transport it, the eye to plant things in places that will look good, and the knowledge to know what type of area the plants like to be in. We had discussed what our vision was with Geiner a couple of weeks ago, told him a few specific types of plants we knew we would want, and then let him come up with the rest of the plan. Not only were they doing decorative plants in the yard, but they were also planting a live-fence/hedge around the perimeter of the yard and putting sod in the back yard and a small steep area in our front yard. We also asked Geiner to order some ground cover plants to put on our steep side hill, but these were super easy to plant and we would be able to do these on our own.
They started work on Monday.
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Some of the plants for the yard
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The first plants were some of the decorative plants and trees that we wanted around the yard. They brought a truckload of plants and 2 guys spent all day planting them where they needed to go. They got a lot done this first day, but there was still quite a bit to go. The rest of the week I would get to Geiner’s house early in the morning to start working, and shortly after I got there, he left to come to our house to work! Hahaha. Well, kind of anyway. He came out a few mornings to give directions on what to do next and where things should go, but we did see him get his hands dirty one afternoon while helping his guys set the corner posts for our future garden/greenhouse. Unfortunately, however, I don't have photographic evidence. 😜
By Friday all of the decorative plants were planted, the hedge plants were planted, and the sod was laid. Geiners crew planted over 350 plants. 300 of those were for the live hedge. That's a lot of holes to dig in this hard clay soil! Not only did they plant all of that but they also put a layer of black dirt around the entire yard for the sod, placed all of the sod, placed the posts for the greenhouse, and placed rocks where the greenhouse would go. Ramie even got out there and helped move the sod from the front of the house to the back while one of the guys went to get more black dirt. These guys work dang hard for their money. Ramie rewarded them with some of his homemade coffee cake that he has made a couple times and is very proud of.
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Breeze on her small spot of grass (before)
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| Some of the palms and plants on the steep hillside |
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| Plants along the neighbors fence and the posts that were set for the greenhouse. |
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The lower part of the yard near the creek
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Plants on the steep bank by the front gate
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Driveway and front "yard"
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With the sod laid. It didn't take Breeze long to find her spot
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Side yard now with sod, so much prettier than mud!
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Breeze on the new grass and very happy (after)
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They had also delivered the manicillo plants, the ground cover for the side-hill, this morning so we could plant that. We really wanted to get this planted today, since we’d be going on a border run this weekend and didn’t want it to sit too long before it went into the ground. Friday after I was finished with work, Ramie and I went out to plant over 200 little vine-y plants. These are kind of like strawberry plants (minus the fruit) in that they vine up over the ground and re-attach in several places and grow new roots on their own. Luckily this makes them very easy to plant. Any of them that had roots, we just stuck the root into the ground and let them hang. If they didn’t have roots, no problem- we just stuck one end of those into the ground too. You may remember past posts that explained how so many plants here can be grown by taking a cutting of a healthy plant (a branch) and just sticking it in the dirt, we are using that same concept with these little vines. Of course, it started raining while we were planting, but that’s no problem! Working in the rain is common down here, so we might as well do as the locals do!!
For now, we are more or less finished with planting. My plan is to wait until after the “green season” when everything grows in leaps and bounds and see where things are at next summer. If there are gaps, spaces that need more decoration, or just cool new plants that we come across, we will wait until the beginning of next green season to plant them!
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Before Landscaping (red clay in the yard)
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After Landscaping, lush and green
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(Unfortunately just a little while after this picture was taken, my Wifey coffee cup got broken, so no more comparison pictures) 😢😔😞 And check out those awesome cushions I sewed a few weeks ago! 😏
Pura Vida!!!
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