Casa Update 13

Well, It has been a long 2 weeks. Been so busy that I have not been keeping everyone up to date. We finally got the BBQ done and pictures are attached. We ordered a custom made sofa and loveseat almost 3 weeks ago. We had pretty much full reign on what it looks like so if you don't like it don't say anything.

We have settled into a routine of 1 hour of power in the morning and 4-5 hours at night. Seems to work. Would like more but that is all the propane we can afford right now. Regina has been decorating up a storm as I can see from her dust trail ;-) We have the dining room done, bedroom all done except one picture. Got all of the pictures up in the hallway. It is really starting to look like our casa!!

Had a confrontation with HOA on the re-survey they had agreed to do (for free) as the septic tank guys buried a marker with their tank. Forwarded them an email from last year agreeing to do it and they put in our lost lot markers 2 days later. Got the electrical meter box installed the next day. Being polite with people (or being an area supervisor) must work. Been promised the ranch generator early next week. Not coming too soon as our contractor's generator is getting tired. Surprised it has lasted this long.

Need to explain one thing about our subdivision. It has one main long road (actually 2 interleaving) with cul-de-sacs on each side. After block 14, all even blocks are on the left and odd on the right. So when I say that they have been digging power up to block 27, I'm saying that it is only 4 blocks away. We can see the backhoe from the back yard!! They dropped off all of the main electrical vaults for the odd blocks this week and have sprayed a very nice white line all the way up the road.

Another thing. Seems that the Mexican workers like to leave something behind when they leave. Usually, it involves rocks. Picture attached.

Paid our property taxes last week. Online no less. Mexicali government is really getting high tech. Came to a whopping $185 for 2008. BTW, they only tax the land, not what is on it. Way cool!

We had our first full blown meeting with our contractor this week. Had the CS rep, the main supervisor and Abraham himself tour the casa. He was not pleased with what he saw. We are waiting for his response to the major items that we detailed. When we get it I will fill you in on what we asked for.

Well, This morning we went to the swap meet and ordered a 24x24 tile mural for behind the stove. It is a Tuscan scene taken (borrowed?) from a tile that Regina found up in Napa. It will be ready next week. Will take a picture of it then as the tile guy we hired to put it up will be up in the States for the next 2 weeks. When we got back home we got a call from Victor (the sofa guy) that our sofa and loveseat were done (stapling heard in the background). Regina took the truck and headed (mild term) for town leaving me to wait for the propane guy. She got back after noon with them lashed to the back. Have a picture of that too. We got them into the house, after an aborted attempt thru the front door, via the patio French doors. We have them close to where they will reside, we think, but always subject to change. Photos also attached.

Well, it is now Sunday morning and this letter still sits here. We waited all day yesterday for the propane guy. Never came. Now we have 1 day of propane to last 2 days. As most of you know, LA got a drenching last night. Well, so did we! Sort of. We had a gentle rain that started right at dark and lasted till after we went to bed. This was the first rain for us in the casa. Soothing sound. Didn't figure that you would be able to hear the rain hit the concrete roof but you can and is sounded great. Cloudy this morning so we can't look for leaks. Maybe spotted one in the hallway but it is too dark to see for sure. Be skimping on power today so I have broken out the Battery backup unit. Gives us about 10 hours of music from the boom box or about 4 hours of internet connection. Glad the laptops take only about 2 hours to charge up.

Well, we did find time and our monster flashlight to find 2 leaks and a possible 2 more. Not bad, I even figured out where the worst was coming from and about 2 Gal of concrete will fix that (remember that water runs downhill?).

I have included a picture of our nearest neighbors also. They live about 15 feet off the back porch. Think they will be moving out before it gets hot.

As I think you can tell it is now Monday. We had 2 propane guys show up today. The one who was supposed to be here Saturday and the one I signed up for today.

I have the monthly supervisor's meeting to go to tomorrow (Yes this email will be sent today) and we are planning a trip to the States on Wednesday. Our must have list is getting really long.

TTFN,

Larry and Regina


P.S. Regina's camera will take QuickTime movies. When we get that figured out, we will give everybody a quick ;-) casa tour.

P.P.S. I have just finished my first book in Baja!! Walter Cronkite's autobiography. Very good reading. I never knew how much stuff he did in his lifetime.

Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/LarEWill50/Casa8?authkey=Gv1sRgCM3moLK5rJWfOA&feat=directlink

Casa Update 12

All,

Well, we got the tile and they did not come! We submitted another punch list and they did not come. Then, on Friday, did they come! plumbers, electricians, and the laborers to work on the BBQ. Electricians drilled 2 new holes for additional undercounter lights, said they were going to lunch and never returned. Plumbers fixed the minor stuff and left, leaving the guestroom bath shower still leaking. Our laborers kept plunking away at the BBQ. Have 3 shots of their progress. We cleaned out the garage yesterday. Got all of the boxes that have to be opened, opened. All the rest are neatly stuffed against the walls. Went out for breakfast today. Great breakfast with coffee and Regina had fresh OJ and it came to 125 pesos. Nice. Regina's friend Margaret came by this afternoon and they attacked the dining room. I have the Celtic Cross to hang along with Regina's Grandmothers quilt and that room will be done. Pictures included. Tomorrow we head down to pay for our utility hookup (even though they are no way close) to assure us a place on the list (and get a ranch provided generator). My best birthday present was to see someone dropping off the main electrical underground vaults along our main road. They went from block 16 to block 28. We are block 35, progress! After the carpenter fixes the mess that the electrician made putting in the lights, I will take a shot of the kitchen. We broke out the short sleeve shirts for the past 2 days, supposed to get colder tomorrow. Was nice while it lasted....

Larry and Regina

p.s.

Failed the HOA final inspection with 2 dings, Debris in the common area and no rear wall, duh they lost our lot markers installing the septic tank and we can't put in the rear wall until they come out and survey again. Viva Mexico!


Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/LarEWill50/Casa7?authkey=Gv1sRgCPmovOubtb-tvgE&feat=directlink

Casa Update 11

Well, you are probably wondering how we are doing. It has been 2 weeks without pictures. Well, we have slowed down to a crawl. No changes on the house so no pictures are necessary. A lot of boxes have been broken down and moved to the garage. We had no workers here during the holidays except for the laborers working on the BBQ. They started the Thursday after Christmas. We just got the tile today so I expect that they will be back tomorrow. We have our HOA inspection tomorrow to confirm we built to plans. If that goes well, we can apply for our real generator with the developer. The current monster eats 3 liters of propane an hour at 5 Pesos per liter. It is up to you to do the math. I finally broke down today and went searching for a can of WD40. All of the doors have started to squeak terribly (dust?). Walking around at night had become unbearable. Found a can and all is good now. The propane refrigerator has become a life saver, as a last minute thought. Looks like about a 15-18 cu foot model but we have it cram packed with perishables. We keep the stuff that needs to be cool in the real frig that stays on only about 6 hours a day. Watching are the OSU-LSU debacle in HD though. Love technology. We have Satellite Internet and TV when we have power. Otherwise I have started reading again!! Still about 20 years behind in reading, but starting to catch up slowly. If they show up tomorrow to tile the BBQ, we will have pictures this weekend.

Love to all!

Larry and Regina

Casa Update 10

All,

Well, We are finally in and have spent the whole week with Leslie in the Casa. A lot of rough edges and a new experience managing a propane generator that really loves propane. We only have internet when the generator is running but that is a lot better than driving 5 miles to get email. Here are a few pictures of Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

They started working on the BBQ on Wednesday. Pictures of that in the next email. Pictures do not do the Casa justice. You have to be here to see it. We know that there is a lot left to do and we are not exactly resolved to the Manana attitude so we are in for more frustration. If you want to experience the Mexican experience, get the book "Gringos in Paradise", it is well worth the read!!

More later,


Larry and Regina

Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/LarEWill50/Casa6?authkey=Gv1sRgCOqJvKvV6cnI0gE&feat=directlink

Casa Update 9

Well, we are in, sort of. We got possession on Saturday. Our mover brought the last load Sunday afternoon. We have a few problems, like plumbing leaks (5), master commode does not flush, a few weird electrical switches, and 2 of 7 AC units non-functional. On testing everything, I almost burned out the generator. Looks like 2-3 AC units are all it can take.

Leslie arrived last Thursday and has been pitching in. What a help she has been. The satellite guy will be installing all of the dishes on Monday or Tuesday. We should be on line and connected by Wednesday. It will be spotty though. The loaner generator, if ran 24 hours a day, would cost about $1,200US per month in propane. Don't think so. Until we get the Ranch's generator we will be on line 6-8 hours a day. More pictures will follow next weekend after we get settled. Have to write up the punch list so that is all for now.

Larry and Regina

Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/LarEWill50/Casa5?authkey=Gv1sRgCPHhpvaE5aiYVg&feat=directlink

Casa Update 8

All,

Well if you believed the move-in date in the last email, you do not know Mexico. They are making progress. But, the holes for the Pendants are still holes. It seems that our Electrical sub-contractor is also our plumber. Well, after the heavy rain last Friday seems that all of his workers were out fixing roof leaks. We even have one. Good, we have ours out of the way. I need to devote an entire paragraph, oops, chapter to the Granite saga.

We got a call from our customer service rep (Sabina) at 8:30 on Wednesday. Seems that Lupe did not bring up the sink to the casa and the installers were there. So, we do a quick wash (we wait till full sun before showers, solar thing you know) and head for their office. When we get to the casa, everyone is standing around with a truck full of Granite slabs. Seems their local guy (they were from Mexicali) did not tell them that we had no power. No problem he says, I have a generator coming. Well an hour later the generator arrives. But they cannot get it started, I even tried all of my old tricks for starting the lawn mower. Well, it is now 10:00 and they have retreated to the truck to get a siesta. In a panic, I call Lupe to see if he could bring out a generator. He says, no problem, he will get one sent up right away. About a half hour later, up the road comes a caravan. Yay, I think. Well, it is Sabina, Lupe, an Overseer and his customer. No generator. All they want to do is show the customer our casa and the woodwork. I ask Lupe about the generator. He says it is on the way. An hour and a half later it finally arrives. It is now Noon. They fire it up and start working like 3 people on speed. I would not leave until we had the sinks and faucets placed. At 1:30 we accomplished this as the hunger pains overtake us and we book it back to the Ramada for lunch. We get back an hour later and they are still grinding and sanding the sink cutouts. This goes on for another hour. They finally set the sinks into the island and start to get ready to bring in that piece (the island countertop is a single piece). We went out back while they carried it into the casa. It is now 4:00 and the sunlight is fading. Someone calls out for some flood lights as the generator runs out of gasoline. They fill it again and try to start it. No luck. I call their local guy with a warning that we might have a problem again. He says that he was getting ready to bring out the flood lights and would bring out the original generator's owner to get that one started just in case. One of Lupe's workers arrives for their generator. A lot of Spanish transpires and he leaves. Finally they get the second generator working again as the floodlights arrive. You would be surprised of all the uses for a one liter plastic Coke bottle. It is now 5:00 and it is almost dark. They start installing the raised bar. We have been there since 8:30 that morning and finally can't take it any more and get ready to leave. We were asked to wait and sign a form. Regina's Spanish was good enough that we were signing the final release. We said "no" and they understood. They called the local guy again and we talked. We agreed to come back at 8:30 on Thursday to inspect the completed installation. Lupe's worker arrives again for the generator. More Spanish and he leaves again. We leave. On Thursday morning, we arrive to inspect the work. It is beautiful, inspected all of the seams and they were perfect. They had it all polished up and even dusted the cabinets for effect. Talking to the local guy we find out that they thought that this job would be a "slam dunk" and they would be out of there by 2:00 and did not bring any lunch or money for lunch. The local guy had to go out and get them lunch and dinner then back again when they completely ran out of gasoline. They finally finished at 10:00 that night.

Well, all the appliances are in country and the range, range hood and BBQ are at the casa. They put on all of the finishing touches yesterday and today. They broom cleaned and mopped today. They even raked the sand out front! The AV guy we hired had all of the stereo, TV and internet wiring pulled. He should finish on Monday. Now, if we could get an electrician out, we might be able to move in on Thursday. I'm not telling which week that is yet. Pictures will be attached to that email. With all of the appliances crowding the kitchen, pictures would not do the casa justice. Oh, and remind me to tell the saga of the propane hookup in the garage (it is shorter than the Granite Saga I hope) when it finally plays out.

Regards,

Larry and Regina

Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/LarEWill50/Casa4?authkey=Gv1sRgCNCV0YGbvve7pQE&feat=directlink

Casa Update 7

Well, We had our first experience with major rain down here. It rained all day on Friday. We got at least 1/2 inch but probably more. All of the major roads on the Ranch were a mess. They are made of compacted clay and it does not like water. The other roads are mostly sand and they didn't even look like they were wet. I worked all day on re-installing XP on a friends computer while Regina went to the Laundromat. While we were doing all of this, our contractor was very busy at the house. We went up there today (Saturday) to check on the progress. Well, they are a few days from finishing. The countertops are supposed to go in on Wednesday and by then, they should have all of the rest done. The last issues are placing the pendant lights directly above the Island Bar and the new extra sink (they messed up the Island to where our double sink would not fit). Pictures show all of the Halogen lights in the kitchen are in and a few extra holes for the pendants. There will still be a punch list though. All in all, we are very pleased with our contractor. Regina is off to Tennessee to visit her Dad on Thursday. She will miss the house completion as she will be back on the 12th (same day Leslie arrives). Next pictures should be of a completed house and maybe one full of boxes.....

Larry

Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/LarEWill50/Casa3?authkey=Gv1sRgCIymuqPwnpj52QE&feat=directlink