December 16th

This was a work day.....not for mommy and daddy, but for the four men who were building the house and for Uncle Alberto and Uncle Charlie. First they had to bring a load of sand up from down below, on the other side of the river. Actually, Daddy did help with this. So, Daddy and Uncle Charlie and Uncle Alberto would put four shovels full of sand into a bag, and the bag would go on the jeep. When there were twenty bags ready, Chucho would drive the jeep....in first gear, four wheel drive....up the hill to the house and unload them. By the time he got back down to the river, the next load was ready to go up. Mom thinks they did this four times before they quit, because it had gotten really, really hot and they were pretty tired. The men used this sand to mix with cement to make the floors, and just about everything else. It was mixed in a wheelbarrow....just like in the good old days.....that's what Uncle Al said.....but he's a lot older than Mommy, so he'd know about all that stuff. One of the men finished the big bathroom...it all had to be tiled, and the sink had to be put in. Then they worked on the septic system....it's like ours, except it's a lot smaller. All the houses in Colombia have to have septic systems now...but because they're still pretty small, no one puts paper in them. Instead, there is a small recepticle that sits next to the potty and all the paper goes in that....then to the dump where it is burned or buried or whatever. This is true wherever you go......restaurants, homes, stores,.....everywhere. The only stuff that is flushed is the yellow or brown stuff. But I digress....bad habit.....

Uncle Al and Charlie and Mommy started to put the kitchen together, somewhat. There still aren't any cabinets, so everything just had to sit....somewhere.... The men got the stove working....it runs on propane and had to be hooked up. There is also a wood stove for the really big pots.....which they use a lot when company comes over. The kitchen is the largest room in the house, but Uncle Al is a really good cook. Next year, they will have an island built in the middle so there is more counter space to work on.

Two of the men worked on the floor in the laundry room. It was dirt when they first got there, so it had to be cemented, and when that dried, they could glue on the tiles. The whole house has tile floors and counter tops because it's easier to keep it clean that way, and the bugs don't eat it.

So....that was pretty much that day. Mommy was making hot pads for Christmas presents, so she did a lot of hand sewing while the men were working. None of them spoke English, but they were all able to communicate somewhat, and they had such a lot of fun teasing each other. Jose was the lead builder and he was an awful lot of fun. They were all laughing all the time at each other's antics.