Getting the Job Done Mexico-Style - A Post for Men to Read

That's my kitchen sink behind the ladder!

It's Thursday morning. Terry has already completed his Rosetta Stone (ha!) Spanish lesson, is practicing guitar, and the workers have all arrived and are quite busy chiseling, chiseling away. I have visions of a big black hole where my patio used to be, but I have to keep faith they will pull through.  I have taken a shower and checked e-mail and Facebook. I am putting off washing dishes from last night's light dinner because I'm down to washing dishes in the bathroom sink then setting up the drain rack in the shower for them to dry. Have you ever washed dishes in the bathroom? I just makes you feel a tad unsanitary. 

The Tile Project 

I'm not complaining about the dust and the kitchen sink still pulled out of the counter top and shoved behind the tools out on the patio because Esad is hard at work carefully laying each non-square/almost square, hand-made tile on the very not-square counter top surface. Not having anything at true right angles and the natural tendency to want everything straight and lined up is a notion you just have to leave at the border. Esad can handle it. He is a true tile laying artista. Several times Terry and I have gone in and re-arranged the tile the way he has laid it out and each time he puts it back the way he had it previously. The pattern isn't exactly the way we anticipated it, and the colors haven't been lined up exactly the way we anticipated, and the nice, square little illustration I did in my graphics software was really a waste of time. But, we are loving it and have learned to just let Esad do his creative craft.

He had to completely demolish one of the shelves because it had a big crack in the concreto, and he knew it wouldn't last underneath the tile so he just grabbed his hammer and did away with it, then pulled out the old rebar. At some point, maybe today, he will rebuild it, let it cure, then lay the tile.

I still remember when I bought the dining room table and the delivery guys brought it to the casa. They couldn't get it to fit through the front door, and I was in a panic. They raised the table up high above their heads and tried to fit it again....it fit right through!!! Now, that was a time of joy and that's when I realized everybody knows the door opening is wider at the top then it is down at the bottom. But, I digress.

The Stair Building Project

While Esad works alone in the kitchen, Carlos and his crew of two additional workers are busy on the patio. They started out doing what we have referred to as the architectural drawings. That is, they used a Sharpie and drew the incline along with each stair step on the wall. This is the wall where the concreto stairs will be attached. I had also asked for a couple of steps to wrap around a planter box (macetero). So that was drawn on the wall as well. We were astounded at how accurate the measurements were and how it worked out that each step was exactly as it should be. Guess that's why they did it in permanent marker instead of chalk. It sure makes me feel a little stupid when I think back on all those algebra, geometry, and calculus courses I took. I would've used chalk! 

Secondly, Carlos drew up a very nice "contracto" and gave it to Terry. It was very detailed and outlined the work that would be performed, that it would include both materials and workmanship, signed and dated it, and presented it to Terry. After Terry read it, he agreed to it, shook Carlos's hand and off Carlos went to start buying the initial supplies needed. Terry will keep it, I know. He really appreciated Carlos's business acumen. 

Unloading for the day's work

Yesterday work started early, in earnest. We can't escape the noise, but we have had to escape from watching the work. Neither of us can handle the watching of the wall being demolished. It's been chisel, chisel, chisel, and every now and then they hit the end of the crowbar with a hammer to make a bigger hole in the wall. I didn't know rock, cement and cinder blocks were so tough! 

Carlos whipped out his phone and showed me a picture of a macetero they had built somewhere else. He wanted my permission to cover the macetero in native rock like the one in the picture. Of course I agreed and now I'm as excited about the planter as I am the stairs. 

On my way back home from the grocery store yesterday, I was so excited I flagged down the tierra guy that comes around with his donkey and cart and delivers dirt. Then, I thought for a minute and just told him to come back in a week or so. We really don't need any additional sacks of dirt while we're already overloaded with sacks of sand, concreto mix, and everything else that is hauled right through the middle of the house to get to the patio area.

But, my cost for flagging down the tierra guy and then not buying his tierra was the purchase of a couple of soft drinks for him and his compadre at the corner tienda. 

I crumbled...just like that patio wall!