Jueves, 12 Julio 2012.
Early to rise today. We expected our helper, a fellow on loan from
Frank, to arrive at 7:30. He, young David and Manuel the crew boss
arrived at 8:15. We could have slept longer. Not that that would
have happened with all the early morning noises here. Noise seems to
start up at 5am. The boss was just here to help explain to David
what we expected of him. We were having the ceilings, which are hard
pine wood beams supporting pine boards (above which is our 4” slab
roof), all coated with the festermicide to rid our house of the
flying termites that occur here. Actually the job went really well
from Carmen's point of view. She was the watcher and rarely helper,
and took the opportunity to wash and hang some laundry.
Dan used the roller and
extension rod to get the center of the room and flat boards, where
the ladder would not reach. The liquid is so runny that one has to
drain off the roller well before lifting it in the air, to avoid
drips and a face-full of splashes. David used a paint brush and
ladder to get all the beams (vigas) and edges & corners
where the roller missed. We had bought protective masks and glasses
which proved too uncomfortable to use for long stretches in these
mid-day temperatures. The sprayer we bought provided great coverage
but atomized the liquid too much making it hard to breathe, and we
don't have a respirator here, so it's use was quickly ruled out. The
paint brush we bought from the hardware was a weird thing. Four
inches wide, but the bristles were but two inches long. When nearly
finished David had a really narrow area to get the brush into, so
Carmen offered him her favorite 2” brush she had brought from the
US. Some women travel with their lipstick, but Carmen travels with
her favorite paint brush. What can we say...? A bit later Dan
offered David back the four inch stubby brush, but David made it
quite clear that he preferred Carmen's small one. We all took a
break around noonish. We asked David to eat with us, but he insisted
that he was expected to go to Frank's worksite and eat with his crew.
After Dan finished his part inside, he started the front porch.
Immediately he got into a battle with a small wasp. The wasp
deterred any further work here, and Dan decided that he could do that
area when we redo our roof. Needless to say, he was exhausted. The
muscles just do not prefer to reach to the sky all day, along with
pushing drippy liquid around.
After all was done – all
windows open to air out the odor. Dan took a well deserved shower
and our helper got back to his other job earlier than expected.
After a very brief rest, we walked 16 blocks one way to the bus
station to check the schedule, so that when we make our flight
schedule, we know we can get to the airport at a reasonable time.
Had to make another bank stop. Then walked to the new Aurerra
grocery store because it sells the Guatemalan beer (Gallo) that Dan
likes. Also cheap, about USD3 per sixpack. This store is the new
one owned by Walmart, 13 blocks north of home. (Downtown, el
centro, is seven blocks north and then west another four.) We
bought some bakery goods. The raised donut was scrumptious, and half the
price of one in the US. However the two muffins were maybe a week
old. Threw them out. The bread pudding was okay. Now time to read
and sleep. Yep – the daily rain storm is now happening.
Thankfully it waited until late today. Often thunder and lightening
is with it. Yesterday we had one crack of close-by lighting and
thunder that sounded more like a gigantic explosion...mostly it
occurs in the surrounding hills. In Anacortes thunder is most rare,
and we find we actually enjoy the (usually) distant rumbles here.
