Lilia And a Gas Man Named Bino

Our gas tanque finally emptied so yesterday morning I called for gas. We both still have flashbacks to all the gas tanque fiascoes of the past that's always good for some good laughs. Each time I call the gas place, it goes the same way, like this - I always get hung up on the first call I make. On the callback, I make my request for 20 litros of gas, get asked for our direcciones (address) and then they verify who I am. Only thing is they think I am Lilia Rivas Santana - the previous owner of the house. I have always tried to correct them in the past but now I just say "Me llamo Lilia Rivas Santana." It's easier that way. The same delivery guy comes each time as well. We chuckle because our gas man is named "Bino".

 Generally, the workers would work until around 3 or 4 in the afternoon each day, then call it quits. But on Saturday they continued working until after 5. They were so close to finishing and were determined to have the stairs complete for us to enjoy cervezas up on the mirador. Somewhere around 4, Carlos had asked for Terry's permission to go buy some beer. Was it ok if they drank while they worked? Terry gave him permission along with some beer pesos. 

As luck would have it, they couldn't quite get finished because of the heat. The fine layer of finishing concreto they put on the stairs cracks from the expansion/contraction when it is a certain temperature. Carlos and Jose were a little dejected when they left, but promised to show back up Monday morning to complete the job.

And all the work is done! 

Ready for Paint

Sure enough, they showed up earlier than usual and while it was cool they re-did the concreto. We are super happy with the final results. Both Carlos and Jose suggested other things they could build for us. I think they wanted to keep the job going. We made sure we had information to contact Carlos in the future. It was hard to say "Hasta Luego" when we knew it would be several months before seeing them again. They loaded up the VW Bug with all their tools, machete, buckets, and leftover wood/concrete blocks and drove off. The last thing I said to them was "Muchos besitos!". Jose was the wisest, gentlest, kindest and hardest-working albañil we could ever want to meet.  

Muchos besitos a Jose! 

Sunday, Terry put up the two remaining lights in the kitchen. We did our bici-ruta walk but cancelled out the benefits of walking when we couldn't resist the temptation of stopping in the main plaza for a bite to eat. We now have a favorite little Sunday outside eatery and we ended up getting escabeche, rellenos negros, and salbutes. All served on the freshest little corn tortillas ever. Terry likes the horchatas, but I haven't ever developed a taste for them. He drank a horchata while I stuck with jamaica juice. I took pics of iron fences for future reference. The iron fences rate up their next to the doors in terms of workmanship.

 
After a trip up the ladder to the very top of the top floor, Terry figured out the part he needed to buy to fix the float in the water tinanca. The float is the same thing that I remember having in our cow and horse water troughs when I was growing up. The part was brass so we thought it may be a pricey fix. A quick trip down the block and around the corner to Boxito proved otherwise. Although a brass part, it only cost 85 pesos. It only took Lorenzo about 30 seconds to look at the part, reach around behind him, and come up with the part. Our guess is that Lorenzo at Boxito gets lots of requests for this part. Another trip up the stairs, up the ladder, and the tinaca is fixed. No more turning the water off/on at the street for fear the tinaca will fill up and run over. 

Our evening routine is now to sit on the upstairs mirador, have sundowers, and watch two iquanas that always come out on the wall and strut their stuff. We are happy with our park-like views of the gardens directly across the street towards the front, and the quiet, serene views of trees, foliage and birds behind us. We are blessed!