Happy Sabado in Chacala

I am all moved to my new place, and settled in, more or less. I ran out of white paint before I finished painting the inside walls. So one wall of the bathroom is still half pink. But I got some more paint and will finish the wall off soon. I have enough to paint part of the teraza too. I used one of the expanding closet poles to make a place in the bathroom for some on my stuff.This place has a largish bedroom/workspace and a nice bath. The floor is tiled and the ceiling is the kind I like, with little arches made of brick. The two large windows are opposite each other, with glasss, screen, and bars. The sun comes in the room as it rises, and shines in the other window as it sets. I like that. My bed is under one of the windows. I don't have a clean and sanitary place to store the twin foam mattress I bought for my tent bed last winter. So it's on top of my landlady's mattress. I looks strange but it's pretty comfortable.The teraza has a roof, which is too high to keep out the morning and afternoon sun. I am trying for figure out how to keep the afternoon sun out. It makes it too hard to cook, plus the sun hits the refrigerator, which is struggling enough as it is.

The view of the ocean, beach, and surrounding green hillsides is really nice. I am feeling very happy and content. Still have lots of organizing to do. I have too much stuff again.

My landlady, who had just washed her hair. She loves this photo.

I am either going into Las Varas is morning to get my stitches removed from my head, and to buy some plant pott/buckets, and some other stuff, or I am going to keep working on things here, at my home. (Actually I ended up using my dial-up connect at the summer house, for the last time.

I know it will be a long wait at the Seguro (clinic) and I don’t think the stitches are ready to come out anyway. Of course, I can’t see them, so who knows. Almost everyone else in town has seen the stitches though. My head is an object of curiosity. It’s kind of fun for me. Not the headache, but the friendly attention.
The water guy, Lorenzo, just came by. He didn't have change for a 50peso bill ($5US), so I have a credito for three more jugs of water. Works for me.Yesterday four local ladies helped me clean and tidy but the house I have been house sitting the past the summers. The owners are expected back any day, although I have not heard from them for weeks.

We had a great work-party. Luz, and her daughter Cheliana, did the downstairs unit and Gracia and her step-daughter Berta did the kitchen and bath. And we all did the main rooms, and inside and outsides of the windows and the patios. In three hours we did a great job. Those women really know how to work, and to clean. I had to insist we take a little break and have pop/water/tea.

It was so nice. I really didn’t have to do any supervising, except when we were moving the furniture back into place, since I was the only one who know how it was supposed to look. The town water wasn’t running, so my main job was keeping the water buckets full from the tinacho, using a little electric pump, and then watering the plants. Every satisfying and easy-going morning.

I went back later and cleaned the fan blades, which I had forgotten in the morning. I had borrowed the ladder from that house while I was painting the new place, and I had to take it back. I was hoping someone would drive by and give me and the ladder a lift, but no one came by. But then three little boys came running up to help me. “Little” as in four and six year olds. So we all carried the ladder, which actually worked pretty well. Then we walked to the tienda and they got treats for helping me.