Weer weer

Ai ai

Oei oei

Nivea Pavlov reaction

When we go for a walk with Zoomba we always slap on sun cream. She is now conditioned so that if we put on sun cream to do a chore outside she comes running to us, barking loudly and expectantly. Pavlov was right.

Water

"Muchos agua" the digger said. That compacts the gravel. So we wetted the new path for a few hours with the hose.

But, this (↑) we have not done. That night they switched on irrigation, and an hour later the area next to the path was inundated.

That was probably not the first time, but before there were a lot of plants there, and the water could find its way. Now we know why that corner was so lush green!

No big problem for us, but it better be stopped. The citrus farmer thought so too, because this costs him a lot of water, and water is money here. The channel has a crack in the bottom, that was covered with cement. But the cement had come loose. It had been repaired the next day. No mañana here!

Garage 3

The dragline is too heavy for the cover of the irrigation channel. CRACK! Fortunately the channel itself is not damaged, only the cover was not strong enough. Just an earthenware tile with a layer of cement, and no reinforcement.

So, another job added.

But, done. Chicken mesh on top of the stones, and a mix of portland cement and sand (1 : 3). Dry mix, add water, and ready. Now we need to wait another few days before using the garage..

Fridge Discussion

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The fridge-freeezer situation is quite old and tired, as you can see here. A separate fridge and freezer, next to each other, under the work surface. Both more than ten years old. 

Zanussi is the only manufacturer with a combi of fridge and freezer as a tabletop model. Well, was. It's no longer available. (A combi has just one motor, and uses less energy.)

This one probably is available, but our budget has limits. Our taste of course has not.

What to do. We can of course replace the old two apparatuses by two models that are alike. One of us thinks that is a good plan, and has no objection to kneeling for a bottle of wine.

The other is older, more prone to joint problems, and wants a high standing model. That needs a cut in the really beautiful iroko-wooden worktop, which very much hurts the younger and more vital inhabitant.

So, would this be a solution: next to the front door there is a space of ca. 70 cm:

Of course it's walking a bit further to the countertop, but many of the things you get from the fridge go straight to the table, and not to the kitchen. And the table is right next to the possible spot of the fridge!

Fly Screens 5b

The big windows on the east side have sills that are nicely attached with pegs, yet they are loose.

So, fixed with this nasty great glue. Don't get it on your hands. This glue expands, and fills gaps.

Fly Screens 4c

Again bath room 2. The window was sanded today, but Zoomba needed to visit the veterinario for a new rabiës vaccination, and then it was too late for oiling, as the sun is on that window in the afternoon. More tomorrow.

(Going for a Darwin Award.)

Fly Screens 5

Now the big windows of the bedroom and living on the first floor, on the east side. No old fly screens, though they definitely have been here, seeing the evidence...

I counted 50, weighed them: 3g. All together these weigh 36 grams, so ca. 600 staples.

Fly screen 4b

Yesterday: 123 staples. Well, no. As you ar sanding, more show up. 8 more!

Fauna

There is quite a bit of fauna around here, like conejos (rabbits, Zoomba's favourites), pájaros (birds, we even saw a hoopoe in the garden and some storks flying over the house) and serpientes (snakes). The snake in the picture is about one meter long and a greenish gray in reality. Presumably a grass snake (serpiente de hierba).

Fly Screens 4

Are you sick and tired of my window frames and fly screens too? I am sympathetic with me too. This wood may be sanded heavily... It is not rotten! Only the top layer is weather-beaten.

 123 staples. PIGS!


Correction: 131. While sanding 8 more showed up.

 Lucky this is a window that is accessible from the outside. (Bath room 2)

And the fly screen, also made today. Of the last bits of aluminium corner stuff. The aluminium is now all used, all 15 pieces of 2 meters. And the Lopez is out of stock, because we bought the whole supply. And, as everyone at the aluminium center is now on holiday new supplies will only be available in September.. That is not even "mañana"..

Fly Screens 3

, it keeps a man occupied.

Garage 2: Ramp

Today the ramp is ready. Outside and inside the garage, to pass the irrigation channel.

And not a day early, because:

This bit of concrete was put in only this morning.

Garage / Balsa

Today the garage is taking shape. The "rejas" (grate) are mounted, and the door was installed.

The growth has been removed with a small digger.

Zoomba supervising the job.

Et voilá.

Unfortunately, the "balsa" is no "balsa". It probably just is an old walled vegetable patch, that is easy to flood for watering. The wall I thought to have found was just hard soil and loose stones. A pity on the one hand, as there is no nice reservoir that is easily turned into a swimming pool. On the other hand, there is no concrete floor that is too shallow to remove, and we're now free to choose a spot for the swimming pool. Provided we reach an agreement here, of course.

Oh, and the water conduit now is in the ground, and is not baking in the sun any more.

Fly Screens 2

Now the screens for the two big windows. A bit bigger aluminium profiles, 1.5 cm. Each a day work, but they work! Immediately after installing a few flies could not get out.

A bit of a nasty surprise with window number two: I had not seen that there is a sill/beam on the lower end of the window that sticks a centimeter beyond the window frame when the window is closed. So, you cannot install the fly screen in the window frame, because this beam will push the fly screen our of the window frame. Which explains why the old fly screen was loose on the underside, too. It was stapled onto the window frame, but also detached when the window was closed.

So, the fly screen needs a hinge at the top, so it automatically gets pushed out a bit when the window is closed. No problemo señor.

Fly screens

Now the old fly screens skilfully have been removed from the window frames, the mosquito's game was on. And yes, there are mosquitos here, now and then. Probably related to the irrigation of the orchards here. Sometimes some puddles of water remain. I am very attractive for mosquitos. Even with evening showers, and DEET. So, a new job: about ten fly screens need making.

Bought aluminium angular profiles, 1cm x 2 meter, labelled "hoekprofiel". Yes, the stuff is imported from The Netherlands. And a whole roll of fly screen screen, 30 meters for 40 €.

The first fly screen took a whole day, the second just a few hours and only a quarter of the curses. And it turns out quite well, thank you. Dark wood with a strip of aluminium looks quite good!

I had expected the tensioning of the screens would be quite a job, but it isn't. The screen stuff is not elastic. Only a little bit. So it's quite right when first put in it's frame. Which was nice. And it saves a lot of cursing.