COMPOST

In the past we've always had above-ground compost piles inside two wooden lattice structures with doors.  One structure was filled with finished compost ready to be spread on the garden in spring, the other was an in-process pile.

Here, because we're in a city, and I'm afraid of rats slinking up from the "river" (in spite of the five or six cats that patrol the garden wall) I decided to put the compost underground.

El sr J digs me a hole:

The compost bucket is filled with fruit and vegetable peelings, eggshells and coffee grounds:

I dump the compost into the hole:

Sprinkle lime on top:

Dirt goes on top of the lime, and the hole is ready for two more dumps:

We've made five holes so far.  I haven't determined how long it takes for the refuse to turn into loamy, wormy soil, but we have plenty of space for holes and time to let the stuff decompose.

MARIPOSAS

Butterflies.  Where is Nabokov when you need him?  My sister and Pete sent us a bunch of zinnia seeds and the result is pictured below.  The orange butterflies are as happy with them as we are:

¡LLUVIA!

The rainy season has arrived.  There was a river running outside both doors in the kitchen/dining room building where we are presently living.  The three drains were working, but slowly.  It was difficult to reach the bathroom on the inside of the main house:

The heavy rain lasted for about half an hour last night and the flood quickly subsided.  Today the sun is shining again and the dust is mostly gone.  For now.

EN EL TECHO

Yesterday we went up on the roof the check things out.  The guys had been working on replacing the beams in the front room, which they are doing by breaking through the west wall and sliding the new beams in once the old ones have been pulled out.  More dust.  You can see the holes in the wall on either side of el sr J.  They were worried about busting into the neighbor's wall while working on ours, so Trini went next door and warned doña Gloria.  As it turned out, everything went well and the neighbor's wall is intact and we don't have to pay to repair it.

You can also see that our water tank has been placed on a new pedestal that should improve our water pressure:

A domo and a tragaluz (skylight) from above:

The lime tree:

El sr J has been working on a patio in the back yard, using the cantera tiles salvaged from the old patio:

DOMOS

When el sr J talked to Trini about ventilation in the bathroom, he (Trini) suggested a domo.  Domos have screens for ventilation and non-see-through glass to let the sun in.  See below:

We now have two in the hallway:

And one in the new bathroom:

VIGAS

Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenter.  Or, in our case, rip it out.  Our interior roof beams, a typical feature of historic homes and often imitated in new construction, were all eaten by termites and posed a structural problem.  The previous owner had them covered cosmetically with a plaster-like material so we wouldn't notice.  El sr J, however, did notice.  Here is the partially uncovered damage in the front room:

Removing them is a laborious and dusty process.  After knocking an opening in the concrete that surrounds the ends of rotten ones, the albañiles work them out one at a time so the roof doesn't fall in, coat a new one with insecticide, and shove it in:

When the new ones are leveled and concreted snugly in place, they stain them and re-plaster and paint the ceilings:

Here's the old kitchen/new bathroom, all finished.  Nice:

Unfortunately, it's a time-consuming process.  One more room to go.

PLAZUELA DE LOS PLATITOS

This little Gaudi-esque plaza is a block away from our house.  You can see the little pieces of plates or pottery which make up its perimeter, benches and detail on the inside.  We're told it used to host mariachi bands and ladies of the night.  It has been in disrepair, but now it's getting a makeover:

We're hoping the city adds some shade trees.

Our neighbors, Franco and Rosa María, will be happy to see it when they return here:

You might think I'd be blogging about our house, since we've been away for almost a month.  Its condition is just as bad as when we left, but in different ways.  New rubble in the front room, a beautiful new bathroom with no door and men working just outside, the old bathroom under construction.  Where's a person supposed to go to the bathroom?  You tell me.  Muchos puntos.

MORE BABIES AND SOME BARBEQUE

Babies under the sprinkler:

Babies in sun hats:

Babies out to lunch again at the health food store and restaurant:

And the aftermath (or antidote):

Daddy smoking a cigar, drinking a beer, on his cellphone . . .

while he makes barbecue for a party:

The meat was smoking, too.

CATFIGHT

Teagan and Pussy Willow go at it:

 Alabama stand-off:

 

 Barbeque dinner with the clarinet professor, his wife and two kids and his mother-in-law from Cuba.  How will we eat with so many babies?  We managed.

CRACKER BARREL. . .

is, despite its political incorrectness, a baby-friendly place to eat.  And it was within walking distance.  It was the first restaurant experience for the twins, and everyone was impressed with their table manners:

Finnian agrees:

Patrick, too:

Although some of their food ended up on the floor:

They have those dishes southerners love so much.  Like chicken and dumplings, pinto beans, and turnip greens:

El sr J with his catfish:

Lauren with a chicken BLT:

And me with a meatloaf sandwich:

The rocking chairs outside aid in digestion: