Tag Archives: photo essay

When Your Door Falls Off During the Rainy Season!!

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What do you do when you open the back door and the whole heavy glass door falls in as you pull on the knob? First you call Pasiano who works for an hour and can’t get it reinstalled. So he props it against the outside storage cupboard–possibly the worst place to put it if you in fact require access to anything stored in the closet , but at least it is sort of protected from the inevitable rain. Then you call every aluminum place in three towns and either they don’t answer or they are crazy busy. Can anyone come today? No. Tomorrow? Probably not. Will they call you when they can come? Yes.

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Click on photos to enlarge and read the captions.

Luckily, there is an additional barred screen door installed outside the main door, so at least we had security.
so stopgap measures were called for.
The next morning, Pasiano and Yolanda decided it might be a good idea to resort to plastic to cover the screen door–in this case the plastic tablecloths I use for kids’ art classes.
And, Yolanda and I again made a round of phone calls. No promises, but late this afternoon, ViLuMa called to say they’d be here in 20 minutes.
Some of the work took place outside,
but whenever one of the guys was inside, Ollie was right there checking out the action–for the entire time they were here!
An hour and a half later, the plastic tablecloths were restored to their neat pile,
the door was installed,
and all was again right in our world. And the view is definitely better without the plastic!

Herradura Tequila Tour

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My stepson Jeff and his wife Debbie are visiting so we hired Miguel (of round pyramid fame) to drive us to Amatitan (near Tequila) for a Herradura tequila distillery tour.  Thought you might find the very complicated process interesting, from countryside on the way to the final tasting.  The final bottle they sampled was a $500 a bottle premium bottle.  Egah!  I was on antibiotics so couldn’t sample.

Click on first photo to enlarge all and see captions.

 

Extinct volcanos dotted the scenery on the way to Amatitan andTequila.
Blue agave by side of road.
Countryside on the way to tequila country.
Our greeter.
Every establishment needs a resident cat.
I’m not sure whether this was a joke or meant to be taken literally. Since the bottles can only be washed out with tequila, the tequila that is used for such purposes is used as fuel in other parts of the process, so perhaps it really can be used as automobile fuel as well. The guide didn’t think so, but had never noticed this sign either, so who knows? Further Google research yielded this information: Search Results Featured snippet from the web A fuel made from the main ingredient of tequila could one day be used to power your car across the country, according to new research. … Professor Tan said the research showed agave had some ‘significant advantages’ over existing sources of bioethanol such as sugarcane and corn.
Found art.
Chopping the spines off the agave.
Kiln
Smoked agave.
Chewed smoked agave. Very sweet.
Vats for aing the agave brew.
Pipes for the distilling process
heating and cooling coils.
Those who buy a $15,000 keg get to sign these kegs in the wall of the old distillery.
All lined up for the tasting.
We learn the right way to “appreciate” tequila
Silver Tequila
Premium tequila, $500 a bottle.
Debbie checks the legs of the $500 a bottle tequila.
And tastes, and likes!!!

Pooch Pool Promenade

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Now that we are recovered from and over the thrill of the Doggie Domain construction earlier this year, I have decided the pups needed a second indulgence.  For 15 years, I’ve been entering and leaving my pool via a ladder really intended for a hot tub, which makes the first step a doozie and upper arm strength a must. Until Morrie arrived, I’ve never thought much about what would happen if one of the dogs fell in the pool.  Although they all hate the water, probably because it is their super-sized doggy water dish and they even resent me immersing myself in it, I nonetheless have pulled them all into the pool enough times to know that when it is full, they can make it to the side and crawl out.  The problem is that sometimes it is half full, because Pasiano empties it half way three mornings a week to allow hot water to flow in from the mineral springs in the afternoon.  In this way, the water is always hot and I use the drained water to water the grass and trees.

At any rate, I’ve always been worried about what would happen if Morrie fell in while it was half full and no one was around.  Although he’s never fallen in when I’m present, I’ve been told that he did fall in twice while I was at the beach and Pasiano had to jump in to save him.  I’ve concocted all sorts of safety measures such as a very long extension ladder placed diagonally from the bottom of the pool to poolside or very large pots submerged upside down in the pool, but these are stopgap measures at best and I keep imagining their being removed when I’m not around.

Even more worried than I am is okcforgottenman who has railed and fumed about this, the result being that Chino and Mateo and another worker arrived today to build steps.  Not the makeshift steps that I’d envisioned, but the state-of-the-art, curved tiled steps that will cost about 4 times what I envisioned they would cost but which will be beautiful, functional  and durable.  And, I get to watch them work again, because like the Doggie Domain, the pool is right in front of the sliding glass doors directly in front of my desk. Someone has actually already asked to be let in on the action, so here are the first few shots of their activities. At one point I could hear both workers talking on their cell phones.  One was down in the dry pool laying bricks and the other one was walking up carrying a full two-arms load of bricks with his cellphone pushed up against his ear with his shoulder, talking on it!  You can see him in the third-to-the-last photo, stirring concrete and still talking on the phone!  Ha. They are good workers, just adept at double-tasking. Click on that second to the last photo to catch him in the act! There are also captions if you click on the first photo and view the gallery.

Mateo gets instruction from his dad Chino, above, and moral support from the three dogs.
I leave to go grocery shopping, but Diego remains to inspect that all goes well in the pool repair..
Chino being the maestro. Mateo forming the arc for pool steps.
What’s the pencil for?
Aha.. for the planning of the steps.
Setting the support rod.
Circles within circles.
Double-tasking.
Two hands for the job again.
First row of bricks in.

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