The Casita Project is winding down. Only the cabinet-hanging, door-replacing, tiling, plastering of the fireplace, and fixture-installation remain. And the stucco. The color-coat went on the Casa Privada Wednesday, and Roomie commented that the color did not look right, ie it did not resemble the "Brown Bag" which adorns the garage, the long bucket wall, the studio, and the banco fontana. "Let's wait" I said "Perhaps once the stucco cures it will match the other buildings." Thursday, the stucco-istas did the Casita and the new bucket-wall (which came out so nice the sub wants to include pictures of it in his "book." Friday, Roomie was concerned enough to call Al, who promptly called over the reps for the stucco company. They took a look at the seam where the studio met the bucket-wall.

Rep 1: When was the studio done?
Roomie: Last year.
Rep 1: And Al did the studio?
Roomie: Yes.
Rep 1: And which color do you prefer?
Roomie: The one on the studio.
Rep 1: They did change the formula on some colors last year.
Rep 2: Brown Bag was one of the colors they changed.

Evidently, this kind of thing happens all the time. Al will fix it with either a color-sealer or a "fog coat" of some other color. That this is a common practice does not mean that Al is delighted to be doing this extra step before we pay him. I suspect that the stucco reps will be discounting Al's purchases for the rest of the season.

Posted by Underblog at 2:07 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

It's been hot for weeks and weeks and weeks. Consistently hot, you get the idea. It is now - happily - Monsoon Season, giving us hope every afternoon for a bit of rain. Most of the time it threatens and maybe drops a few sizzling drops. Occasionally, like yesterday, it lets loose with a gusher of a thunderstorm. We irrigated yesterday, and late in the day, Mr. Blog (ever-ready for a good opportunity) irrigated again because the water was still high in the ditch. When I came back from picking up the Corona table and chairs in town with Jerry and Lorraine we gathered for drinks - did we ever. As we sat, the sky opened up and delivered the afore-mentioned gusher. Our acre when from parched to water-logged in one day. Hurray for Monsoon Season!

Posted by at 12:23 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

It seems to me that it's been hotter than it ought to be for longer than it ought to be. It's been hot everyday since we returned from the Boundary Waters - almost a month. That's summer in the desert, I guess. I guess last year was mild. If we weren't watering, our place would look like this picture. No, it's not as hot as Phoenix, thank god. Yesterday it was 101 according to Mr. Blog's weather underground calculations. Yes, it's a dry heat. Yes, it's nice in the shade, certainly nicer if all you have to do is sit under the portal sipping a cool drink, but we were working in the yard. I was sort of amazed to come home from buying clavos (big rustic nails) at Ghost Town to find Mr. Blog in the backyard chipping up sticks and branches. What got into him? We're on an every other week schedule for irrigation and we irrigated last Sunday so we weren't planning on irrigating this week. In the afternoon, Mr. Blog announced that the water was up (Dennis was irrigating - two weeks in a row! Naughty man.) so he was going to open our ditch gates because what the hell. So we ended up getting an unexpected, much appreciated, dose of water late in the day. I spent my time in the rose area pulling mud and weeds out of the bottom of the ditch to clean it out and also to make moats around some of the slope-ier plants so that water wouldn't instantly run off. Mr. Blog was a Getting It Done machine - chipping, irrigating, putting funny hardware on the adobe shed doors - polishing turds. I say that because the doors themselves are falling apart - crooked - and creaky weaky, but now, thanks to the industry of Mr. Blog, the doors have gothic hinge straps and ring pulls. They are much improved. Maybe you can polish a turd after all. Go, Mr. Blog!

Posted by at 6:49 AM | Permalink