Javier and crew finished interior wall prep and painting this past week. Some images (including one with our new entryway light):
The guys have also powerwashed the kitchen walls (they are much brighter now!) and hacked out the cement "step" in the kitchen. While knocking that out, though, they made a not-so-surprising discovery, and it sadly it wasn't gold. The kitchen wastewater pipes were made of clay, and they had collapsed some time ago. This would explain the water damage on the wall between the kitchen and dining room, not to mention the extensive salitre (another form of water damage) in the garage, which is on the other side of an intersecting kitchen wall. There is likely water damage on the inside of the kitchen walls, but the marble tile has probably covered it up.
We also discovered that the kitchen floor tile was laid directly on the dirt- there is no "slab" underneath the house. Interesting.
We also discovered that the kitchen floor tile was laid directly on the dirt- there is no "slab" underneath the house. Interesting.Andy got some PVC and installed a new drain pipe. He and the crew ended up breaking up all the concrete in the garage floor, as the new kitchen drain needs to be routed out the garage floor on the way to the main sewer line to the street. We weren't planning to break out the garage floor just yet, but alas, those of you who have been through a major renovation know how these things are. 
Anyway, the kitchen floor has been repaired. It's all ready for our new temporary kitchen to be set up. The garage floor is a disaster, but that's for another day.
Another note on the plumbing front. The City is installing a new sewer line on our street. Their approach doean't appear to be especially North American, but I suppose it eventually it will get done. A city crew has been periodically coming to our block for a day or so, digging up maybe 10-15 feet of street, installing the new pipe, filling the hole, and then going away. For a week to 10 days. Then they come back, do another 10 feet or so, and disappear again. About 6 weeks ago Andy spoke with them about breaking out the end of our driveway where our sewer line meets the street so we can update that connection ourselves, and they promised him they would do it for 3000 pesos. (A little less than $300 USD.) They have been back to our street 3 or 4 times since then, sloooooowly making their way down the street towards our house, and each time they touch base with Andy, and tell him, "we'll be back this Wednesday for sure!" Well, they haven't made it yet, and who knows when they will. But they will sometime, we are sort of sure about that. It's clear they'd like the money. But who makes the decisions for where they go every day??
Aside from plumbing, we bought our new kitchen appliances last week. Managed to find a great sale at Sears and everything was 20% off. In the next week or two they will deliver a Bosch side-by-side fridge/freezer, a GE Profile stove (w/ 6 burners and a double oven), a Bosch dishwasher, a Mabe hood/fan, and an In-Sink-Erator garbage disposal. Total cost was $4300 US. Not bad! I did a ton of shopping around and Sears had the best prices by far. The selection of appliances here in Guadalajara is not as extensive as in the US, and they have a less "solid" feel than the US counterparts. A GE Profile stove in Mexico does not equal a GE Profile stove in the US. (Although 95% of the GE stoves sold in the US are made in Mexico by a Mexican company called "Mabe". Go figure.)
On the non-house front, we continue to have a frustrating experience getting our FM-3's. We thought we would have received them last Thursday, and took the kids out of school that morning so we could all be fingerprinted. Turns out that somewhere in the back office one page of our paperwork had been lost. We got another copy of this document right there and turned it in on the spot, but we still have to wait yet another week for the FM-3s. This coming Friday we will take the kiddos out of school again and hopefully the visas will be ready then.
I know that our experience is a cakewalk compared to how Mexicans (and other foreigners) get treated by US Immigration. I am trying to remain zen about the whole thing, but it's hard, especially as the net result of this last delay is a bummer: we can't begin moving our stuff down here until we get the FM-3's. The move will take 4-6 weeks once the clock starts, so this means that we're not going to get our stuff until mid-January. That will cost us another month of rent ($1300), because we can't move into the house until we get our stuff. It's now looking like move day will be sometime around February 1st.
On a happier note, the kids continue to do really well. Lucy, in the past couple of weeks, has just been starting to read- she's beginning to use phonics to match letters to sounds. It's very cool to watch all of this.
It was Lily's 3rd birthday on Saturday, and we didn't do much for her on that day. She did get a rocking horse, though- a much-wanted toy. She also got another "Wandall"- her name for a doll. (A favorite teacher at her last school is named Randall, and all dolls she's had since have been called Randall. Or as she says, "Wandall".) On Sunday Liesl and Cristian joined us at some hot springs near a town called Villa Corona, about an hour's drive away. The kids swam and played and the grownups chatted and soaked in the warm water.
Aside from plumbing, we bought our new kitchen appliances last week. Managed to find a great sale at Sears and everything was 20% off. In the next week or two they will deliver a Bosch side-by-side fridge/freezer, a GE Profile stove (w/ 6 burners and a double oven), a Bosch dishwasher, a Mabe hood/fan, and an In-Sink-Erator garbage disposal. Total cost was $4300 US. Not bad! I did a ton of shopping around and Sears had the best prices by far. The selection of appliances here in Guadalajara is not as extensive as in the US, and they have a less "solid" feel than the US counterparts. A GE Profile stove in Mexico does not equal a GE Profile stove in the US. (Although 95% of the GE stoves sold in the US are made in Mexico by a Mexican company called "Mabe". Go figure.)
On the non-house front, we continue to have a frustrating experience getting our FM-3's. We thought we would have received them last Thursday, and took the kids out of school that morning so we could all be fingerprinted. Turns out that somewhere in the back office one page of our paperwork had been lost. We got another copy of this document right there and turned it in on the spot, but we still have to wait yet another week for the FM-3s. This coming Friday we will take the kiddos out of school again and hopefully the visas will be ready then.
I know that our experience is a cakewalk compared to how Mexicans (and other foreigners) get treated by US Immigration. I am trying to remain zen about the whole thing, but it's hard, especially as the net result of this last delay is a bummer: we can't begin moving our stuff down here until we get the FM-3's. The move will take 4-6 weeks once the clock starts, so this means that we're not going to get our stuff until mid-January. That will cost us another month of rent ($1300), because we can't move into the house until we get our stuff. It's now looking like move day will be sometime around February 1st.
On a happier note, the kids continue to do really well. Lucy, in the past couple of weeks, has just been starting to read- she's beginning to use phonics to match letters to sounds. It's very cool to watch all of this.
It was Lily's 3rd birthday on Saturday, and we didn't do much for her on that day. She did get a rocking horse, though- a much-wanted toy. She also got another "Wandall"- her name for a doll. (A favorite teacher at her last school is named Randall, and all dolls she's had since have been called Randall. Or as she says, "Wandall".) On Sunday Liesl and Cristian joined us at some hot springs near a town called Villa Corona, about an hour's drive away. The kids swam and played and the grownups chatted and soaked in the warm water.
Life continues to be good here. The newness has worn off somewhat, but what I'm looking at now with clearer eyes is very good. I love it here.
Some of Stina's favorite things so far are:
- the sound of churchbells, occasionally at weird hours (8:30 on a Sunday night?)
- the quiet morning ritual of people out sweeping their sidewalks
- the guy who keeps a flock of pigeons on his rooftop next door (when he lets them out for their exercise every evening, it's mesmerizing to watch the flock soar and dive in tight formation)
- the architecture- from the old colonial buildings downtown to present
Some of Andy's favorite things are:
- weather (no fog and minimal wind compared to San Francisco)
- food (tacos in particular)
- cost of living
- pace
- personal freedoms- you aren't treated like an idiot (e.g. drink in the swimming pool!)
2 comments:
Yeah, personal freedoms -- the drink in the swimming pool. It's one of the intangible yet probably most significant aspects of life in Mexico that makes it attractive to a lot of people from other countries, myself included. Unfortunately, some jackass driving the wrong way down a one-way street and nicking your kid's stroller -- with your kid in it -- is also a personal freedom of the jackass, and there's plenty more where that came from.
I've really enjoyed reading about your progress.
It kind of softens the blow on what we can look forward to once we break ground. I'm happy to report that we have received our FM-3!
Like Charlie finding the golden ticket!
John
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