Retirement Morelia

2007-02-11T19:13:00.000-08:00

Week 36
Home Construction
Morelia, Michoacan

We are finally moving in tomorrow, Feb. 12. This is our last night in the apartment and we are very excited to be sleeping in the new house tomorrow. The house isn't finished, but the bedroom will be ready (we hope). We may have to eat out for a few days while the kitchen counter tops and appliances are put in. We may also have a few inconviences while the carpenters are finishing up, but we are ready, more than ready to move. We will have to find a new routine, because for the past 8 months our life has centered on the house. Now we should have some time for doing things we enjoy. Anyway, here are the latest photos.

You can see that the tile is on the roof over the garage and the wall with the future fountain has been painted. We drove to the town of Patzcuaro Friday afternoon and purchased 3 vases that will sit inside the arch. Water will fall out of the center vase making the fountain complete. These vases will really change the look of the front of the house and were one of the things we really liked in the house design.

The two photos above show some of the wood work in the kitchen. The corian counter tops and appliances still need to be installed, so it looks like we will be eating out for a while.
The photo above shows the living room and the entry. Covered in a white tarp is our piano that we brought from California. Hardwood flooring has been laid down. Monday the workers will finish up staining and polishing the floors. We spent Sunday moving our belonging to the house. Everything is stored in the service room for now, since the painter has to finish painting our bedroom, bathroom and closet, then we can move things in.
The photo above is another shot of the master bath. The hardware in the shower is in place. The white poles in the picture are the support for the glass shower enclosure. The gray concrete to the left of the picture will be the mirror.
This photo is some samples of different textures and colors we are looking at for different areas of the house. We chose the dark red on the upper left for one wall of the master bedroom. Since we are moving Monday, I will be out of internet reach until we can get service installed. I will continue the blog as soon as I have internet again. Bye and adios for now.

2007-02-05T09:46:00.000-08:00

Home Construction/ Week 35
Tres Marias Residential Golf
Morelia, Michoacan
January 29- Feb. 4, 2007

The very dramatic front entry to the house.

We decided in the early stages of planning that we wanted a dramatic entry to match the even more dramatic views from our lot. We especially like the idea of having four front doors that opened into a wide entry way. The views from the front door are spectular. In the photos above one door has not had the crystal installed yet.

The two photos above show some of the cabinet work in the kitchen. The photo below shows the marble counter top in the master bathroom.

The photo below shows some of the wood work in the master bedroom closet.

The three photos below show exterior views of the house. You are able to see the colors we decided to paint the exterior. There are 2 contrasting colors along with the marble column. In the last photo, the front of the house, to the left of the marble column, has not been painted yet. In the second photo, notice that the glass enclosing the bathroom garden has been completed. Next week the gas and water hook-ups will be completed and tested. The carpenter should be completed and the house will be ready to live in. The upper level will be 90% completed and the lower level will be completed little by little after we move in. We bought a refrigerator and a mattress Friday so we are anxiously ready for the move. Fortunately, we have very litttle to move, mostly the clothes on our backs.

2007-02-05T08:40:00.000-08:00

Home Construction
Week 34 Update
January 22-28, 2007

Just a quick update on the progress last week. These are photos I wasn't able to include before. We are down to 6 workers, not including the carpenters, the plumbers and the electrician. During most of the construction there were 25 workers, so things are definitely coming to a close. The first photo is the house painter and his technique on painting the tall walls. He starts at the top, on the roof, and then goes to the ground to finish the bottom. The painter has an assistant who moves the ladder or carries the paint bucket. The exterior of the house will be two tones. The majority is a light cream color, contrasting highlights are a capaccino brown and the gold marble column. Next posting will show the finished exterior colors.

This photo shows the workers cleaning up the grouting on the marble column. The ladder is resting on the roof of the garage. This will be covered with tile. There will also be a tile roof in the back of the house providing protection to one of the terraces, as well as to a tile roof on the gazebo.

This photo shows the workers laying down the red porphory stone (pigeon blood) on the sidewalk. The strips of concrete (drive way) will also be covered with this stone, as well as the garage floor and the walkway to the front door.

The final picture shows the carpenters hanging the front doors. The two doors to the left will open, while the other two doors are to provide attractiveness. When Sandra and I were working with architect Arturo to design the house we specially wanted a dramatic entry to the house. These doors frame a picture perfect view out the back of the house. The view is the golf course and the canyons and mountains in the distance. Still looking to move into the house on Feb. 12th.

2007-01-30T15:50:00.000-08:00

Tres Marias Residential Golf
Morelia, Michoacan
Home Construction Week 34
January 22-28, 2007

This past week was a slow week, the glass installers were supposed to be done with the windows, but they are running about two weeks behind schedule. The carpenter is waiting for the windows to be installed before he puts in the doors, cabinets and other woodwork. So most of the windows are now in and the carpenter will start his work this coming Monday. What was completed this past week, beside most of the windows, was the finish detail of the iron work on the terrace. The photo above doesn't show the color very well, but the railings are an antique bronze/gold color, matching the table and chairs we have in the gazebo. The railing for the stairs will be the same finish.

The photo above shows some of the tile work in the bathroom of the service room. The photo below shows the progress in the master bathroom. You can see to the left that the cement base for the counter and a bench in the shower have been constructed. Next week you will be able to see the marble we chose for the bench and counter.

The following three photos show the views out of the bedrooms and television room/den on the lower level of the house, now that the windows are in place. Family and visitors will have these views from their bedrooms when they come to visit us.

This final picture below shows a different angle out of the dining room windows. The dining room is pretty much glass enclosed on three sides. I think the best views in the house are from the dining room.

Stay tuned for next weeks blog. Lots of woodwork, cabinets, counter tops and doors. I'm sure the house is going to really have a different appearance with the wood. The painter is also getting real busy and should have lots of walls painted. We are moving into the house in two more weeks!

2007-01-21T15:47:00.000-08:00

Tres Marias Residential Golf
Morelia, Michoacan
Week 33 Jan. 15-21, 2007

This photo is the view out of the dining room. The windows were put in Friday and the view is our favorite. The carpenter delivered some of the wood Saturday. This is one of the interior doors. The wood is cedar. The next couple of weeks should be very exciting as the finishing details are being completed. When we first saw Architect Arturo's finish and detail work, and use of color we knew he was the one we wanted to build our house. I consider him a real expect with his finish work and fine detail.

The photo below shows the progress on our master bathroom. Lots of tile!

The painter finished staining the Michoacan pine this week. The ceiling just needs a final coat of lacquer to give it a little shine. We have this wood ceiling in the dining room, living room, office and the garage. The stain really brought out the grain in the wood.

The two photos below show the finished marble facing that was applied to the wall. It is really striking, much more elegant that I had imagined. The exterior walls will be painted in three contrasting shades of yellow/gold and will make the marble really stand out.
The last photo shows the rear of the house. I realized I haven't taken a photo of the back for a while, so I wanted to remind you of how it looks. It's really amazing how the front of the house looks like a single level home, and then you see the back and it looks really huge. It is an illusion though, as the bottom level is about half the square footage as the top level. We are looking forward to the carpenter installing the doors this week and we hope the windows are completed, then the house will be enclosed.

2007-01-17T16:04:00.000-08:00

Tres Marias Residential Golf
Home Construction Week 32
January 8-14, 2007

Our house is beginning to look like our future home. This past week saw most of the tile flooring completed, tile going into the master bedroom, marble on the garage wall, most of the front sidewalk completed and the first glass installed in the master bedroom and entry skylight. The two photos below show the master bedroom. One wall has glass, floor tile completed, fireplace nearly complete. We just need glass in the two windows on the left and painting. On the outside of the glass is a terrace off the master bedroom.

The photo below looks up toward the skylight in the entry way. The glass is in and when the sun hits the beams we get very interesting reflections and shadows in the entry.

The photo below shows the beginning of the tile work in the master bathroom. There is still tile work to be laid above the green and white trim.

The final picture below shows some of the marble that will face on wall in the garage. This is the large unfinished concrete wall that can be better seen in the first photo in this blog. This entire wall will be covered with this marble. It is the same marble on the fireplaces. Sandra and I really like the finished look.

2007-01-06T19:29:00.000-08:00

Home Construction Week 31
January 1-7, 2007

Happy New Years to everyone. Here in Morelia it is the dry season. Everything is brown or yellow. Much like California in the summer. The weather is nice during the day when the sun is out, in the 70's. It gets cool when the sun goes down in the evening and the coldest part of the day is around 5 or 6 in the mourning. I think its usually in the 40's, but sometimes there is a little frost in the shady areas. Sandra and I are getting really excited to move into the house. We don't even care if it's finished. As long as windows and exterior doors are in, we want to move in. We have told Architect Arturo to get out master bedroom finished as soon as possible. We are prepared to take as long as we need to finish the rest of the house.

The photo above shows the arch where there will be a water fountain. There will be three vases of different sizes that will have water cascading down their sides into a small basin at the bottom. To the right of the arch you can see three color samples. We are thinking of using shades of this color for the exterior of the house. Most of the house will be a very light shade with accents of the darker tones. The photo below shows the samples in closer detail.
The photo below shows the beginning of the marble covering on the fireplace in the living room. This same marble will be used to highlight portions of the exterior walls in the front of the house.
This photo shows the fireplace in the master bedroom. The tile has been laid in the master bedroom and the walk-in closet. Now the only room needing tile is the master bathroom and part of the entry. Our goal is to be in the house before February 12th. Cross your fingers for us.

2007-01-05T14:27:00.000-08:00

Home Construction Week 30
December 25-Dec. 31, 2006

Another slow week with lots of time off for holidays here in Mexico. Completion of white paint primer on the exterior walls! Next week we will look at some color samples for the final coat. The front walkway and drive way are being worked on. The cement of the walk and driveway will eventually be covered with the red rock used in the gazebo.

This photo below is taken from the living room looking out toward the front of the house and the entryway. Some of the tile has been laid. Sandra and I are happy with the tile we chose for the floors. It is a nice earthy color and will be easy to clean, we think.

The photo below is taken from the living room, looking into the kitchen. The tile floor for the kitchen and dining room are complete, we just need the grout. You can see the bathroom tub sitting off in the corner.

The photo below is taken from the dining room, looking out toward the living room terrace. This tile is also complete. The concrete where Sandra is standing will not be tile, but a wooden plank flooring.

The final photo below is taken looking into the master bathroom. To the left will be the sink and counter top, to the left rear is the shower, straight ahead is the tub encloser, and to the right just out of the picture is an indoor garden area. Things are starting to move fast now. This week we selected the kitchen counter tops, the stain for the kitchen cabinets and the glass for the front doors. Architect Arturo thinks the house will be enclosed in two weeks, we hope so too! If things go smoothly, we will move into the unfinished house by February 12 before our next rent payment is due.

2006-12-27T17:47:00.000-08:00

Home Construction Week 29..
December 18-24, 2006

The picture above is for mom. While looking at our house today we saw this red bird in a tree. I don't think its a Cardinal like you have in Ft. Worth because it doesn't have a crown on top of its head. It is a beautiful bird though and I thought you would like to see it. Maybe it's in one of your bird identification books? Click on the photo to enlarge it.
The photos above and below show the kitchen and dining room tile beginning to be laid down. The tile is a light almond color and we think it is going to look very nice.
This photo below shows the progress on the fireplace in the living room. The fireplace is going to be covered with a beige marble stone. There will be a wood finishing on the top near the ceiling and on the hearth.
The workers started painting a white primer over the stucco. So far only a little on the top has been finished. Then we need to decide on colors for the exterior walls. The roof is finished and I think it only needs a coating of waterproofing finish.
Below shows Sandra peering out of our master bedroom. The two windows to the left are actually in the bedroom, while the window she is looking out is on the terrace. We have a southern exposure for the bedroom so we should have sunshine for most all of the day. It will help us stay toasty warm during the winter. Mexican houses don't have heating systems, so the sun must provide the heat during the winter. The rest of the year is warm so no extra heat is needed.
The final photo below shows the house from the back garden and not much is different from last week. Next posting should have all this side painted.

2006-12-17T16:02:00.000-08:00

Home Construction Week 28...
Dec. 11-17, 2006

This past week work was concentrated on finishing the roof and plastering the outside walls of the house. The roof is almost done, we just need a coating of water impermeable paint over the cement. The roof has been sloped so that all the rain water will run off into drain pipes. There is just a small amount of outside plastering before a primer paint covering is applied. Plastering of the inside walls is completed. The truck out front is delivering floor tile. The first three pictures show the house from three different angles. There are very few red bricks still visible.
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The photo below shows the ceiling fan that was just installed in the gazebo.

The photo below shows some of the tile that was delivered Saturday. Architect Arturo tells me that the men will lay the tile in the dining room this week. Sandra is visiting her mother and son in Ameca and he wants to surprise her when she returns. I will be leaving Monday morning to take the bus to meet Sandra and return to Morelia with her later in the week. Hope the tile is finished in the dining room when we return. Merry Christmas to everyone, because my next posting won't be til after Christmas.

2006-12-10T14:31:00.000-08:00

Home Construction Week 27
December 4-10, 2006

This past week saw more work on the fireplace in the master bedroom, railing for the staircase and upper terraces, leveling of the backyard, and almost all the exterior bricks have been plastered prior to painting. The first photo above shows a shot taken from the backyard. You can see the lot has been leveled and the bricks have been plastered.

The photo below shows the staircase railings. Glass will be installed into the openings between rails.

The photo below shows the terrace railings. The picture is taken from the back yard looking up toward the living room.

The photo below is taken from inside the living room looking out toward the garden.

This picture shows the corner fireplace in the master bedroom.

The final photo is taken from the street above our house. You can see that most of the brick work has been plastered over. Next will be the exterior painting, we have not considered any colors yet. After the marble is afixed to the center column we will look for contrasting colors for the house.

2006-12-03T18:24:00.000-08:00

Home Construction Week 26
November 27-December 3, 2006

This past week there were few changes to the house. The workers normally work a 45 hour week. Monday through Friday at 8 hours daily and Saturday 5 hours. This past Friday was a Federal Holiday for the swearing in of the new President, and the workers also took off Saturday. What was done was more plastering both on inside and outside walls. The master bedroom fireplace, kitchen and the gazebo also got some attention. The two photos below will show the house profile from different front angles.

The next photo, below shows the progress on the bedroom fireplace. The fireplace is in a corner of the bedroom, as the photo shows.

The next two photos, below, show the asador (gazebo). Lights were hung and painting of the asador was completed. I believe the only things needing to be done now are to tile the roof, install a ceiling fan, and electrical covering for the light switches and power outlets. Of course we still need a couple of hammocks and to fire up the grill!

This photo shows the cement base for the yet to be made kitchen counters and island. The kitchen sink is located under the window.

The next photo shows the house from the street above.

The final photo shows the stone (beige marble) that will cover the tall column separating the entry and the garage. This same stone will provide some continuity by covering the fireplace in the living room.

I'm through predicting when we can move into the house. We are just hoping that it is in the next month or so. Mexico has lots more holidays (no work) than the United States. With Christmas and New Years coming up I'm not sure which days are work and which days are holidays.

2006-11-26T19:36:00.000-08:00

Home Construction Week 25..
November 20-26, 2006

This past week more plastering of the brick walls, more work on the fireplaces and the gazebo is nearly finished. The first photo shows a view from the back yard. You can see an addition of 9 beams extending out from the living room floor. These beams will support a glass covering which will keep rainwater off the lower terrace. About the only thing left on the back outside of the house is leveling and water proofing of the roof before a first primer paint is applied to the walls.

This photo is taken from the street above. You can see that more of the plastering has been completed, but it is not complete as brick is still visible. Architect Arturo tells us that the outside plastering, painting and roof leveling should be done in about two more weeks. Sandra and I haven't decided on colors yet, but it will be fun to choose.

The photo below shows more of the work on the gazebo. The ceiling has been stained and the clay columns have been varnished, giving them a slight gloss. Architect Arturo says the gazebo will be finished this coming week! Then for our first BBQ.!!

About a month ago Architect Arturo took us to the town of Patzcuaro (I will do a blog on this visit to Patzcuaro soon) where we went to a metal fabrication shop. While there we choose and ordered the metal railing for the staircase and upper terraces. We also ordered some outdoor furniture for our gazebo. When we went to visit the house Saturday, Arturo had delivered the furniture for us. The tables and chairs are made of cast aluminum and will be able to stay outdoors without damage. The third photo below shows the pattern we chose. It is the mother moon and father sun. If you look you will see the face of the moon on the left with the face of the sun in the center. In Mexico there is a lot of symbolism concerning the sun and moon. The furniture has a gold finish and is really beautiful. Sandra and I are very happy with our choice.

The first photo below shows the progress on the fireplace in the living room, while the second photo shows the progress on the fireplace in the master bedroom.

The next two photos below give views of the master bathroom. It is hard to see because of the photo angles but the first photo shows at the left the future shower enclosure and in the middle the future tub. Now there is just dirt. The next photo is the master bath taken from a different angle. The dirt along the brick wall will be an indoor garden. The sky seen above the brick wall will be a glass dome, letting in lots of light for the bathroom and the future plants.

The final picture is the service/laundry room. I don't think I have ever shown this room before. There is room for a washer and dryer. A sink, an ironing station and closets. There is a skylight/dome in the ceiling which will provide light and also give us access to the roof. Things are moving along and I hope to not get behind on next weeks posting.

2006-11-26T18:40:00.000-08:00

Home Construction Week 24

November 13-19, 2006

I fell a week behind in my postings of the house construction. I haven't been feeling real good, in fact I only visited the house about 5 times in the past two weeks. Normally, I go everyday. But I will try to catch up today. I will post both week 24 and week 25 in separate blogs. The changes this past week were mainly in more plastering of the outer and inner walls of the house. The plaster covers the brick prior to painting. As I have mentioned before, the bottom level of the house is finished except for leveling of the floors, windows and doors. We are going to wait on this work in order to finish the top level so that we can move in. The first picture below shows a view from the back yard and you can see the work on the roof line is nearly complete. The three opening on top are decorative.
The picture below shows the front of the house looking toward the entry. The garage is to the right. My office is the small window left of center and the masterbath is behind the tall wall at the far left. You can notice that most of the bricks have not yet been plastered.
This photo below shows the view from the street above. The two chimney stacks are visible and have not be plastered. You can see the three decorative openings on the top of roof wall. The two smaller windows below the three openings are windows in the living room (sala) We will have crystal installed which will provide beautiful light reflections in the morning. The front of the house faces East and we will get morning sun. The back of the house faces West and we will get afternoon sun. South is the left side of the house. We will pretty much have sun all day long as it rises and rotates around to the back of the house.
The two photos below show the very beginnings of the fireplaces (chimineas). The first is in the living room (sala) and the second is in the master bedroom (recamera principal). Both will have gas lines and we can use them to heat the house in the winter.

The two photos below show some of the detail work on the asador (gazebo). The first shows the roof line and you can see the brick work that has been added between the column and ceiling. The second shows some of the tile that has been added to the base of the columns. Architect Arturo is really fantastic with the finish detail work and is one of the reasons we hired him to design and construct our home.

This final picture shows a view of the living room (sala). You are able to see the wood beam ceiling and the two windows that will let in morning light. The view is out toward the front or entryway of the house.

2006-11-13T17:36:00.000-08:00

Home Construction Week 23..
November 6-12, 2006

This photo shows a view from the street above our house. The roof parapets are nearly done and the chimney's for the fireplace in the living room and master bedroom are visible. Now, plastering of the outside walls is beginning. The roof still needs a final coat of cement and leveling for waterproofing. The house profile is larger and more majestic than Sandra and I ever imagined from the architectural drawings, but we like it. The high roof lines make the house look much larger than the actual square footage. The photo below shows the house from the back garden. You can get an idea of the height of the house by seeing Sandra peering up on the right hand side of the photo. The two photos below show the front of the house from street level. In this perspective the house appears to be a single level home. It is only when the house is seen from the sides and rear that the house is two levels. The two photos below show the gazebo stone floor (red porphyry-quarried in Guanajuato Mexico). The floor is finished except for an acid wash to clean the stones. So far, this flooring is my favorite detail. The same stone will be used for the garage floor, the entry walkway and the lower stair case to the garden. The final photo below shows a view from the lower television room, looking toward one of the guest bedrooms downstairs. The wall plastering is done. All we are waiting for is a final coating of cement to level the floors and the windows. We plan on leaving the bottom unfinished until we complete the upper level.

2006-11-10T10:21:00.000-08:00

Home Construction Week 22
October 30-November 5, 2006

If you look at the roof edges you can see the parapets that line the sides. In the old days parapets were used for protective barriers for men on the rooftops defending the fortress. Today, they are used for architectual detail, to give height and to hide water and gas tanks. The roof will have a final coating of a water impermeable material and given a slight downward sloping angle so that water run down into drain pipes and off the roof.
The photo above shows the columns along the sides of the garage. The column to the right will have a storage space on the bottom and the top will have the gas tank for the house. All of the electrical panels, control panels, and the water heater will be housed in this space. The column to the left will be covered in a color contrasting natural stone finish.
The photo above shows the second of our alcoves. This one is on the wall separating the dressing room from the master bedroom. I think Sandra and I will be putting some wood carved statue in this space. We saw something that gave us an idea while vacationing in Tapalpa. It was a carved statue with beading that the indigenous Huichole had made.
The final photo above shows the gazebo and the progress with the red rock floor. This picture doesn't do the rock justice. It is really a beautiful rich color.

2006-10-29T10:48:00.000-08:00

Home Construction Week 21...
October 23-29, 2006

The first photo shows the back view of the house. The handrailing for the lower floor have been installed and you can get a glimpse of the staircase which leads from the television room to the garden below. The photo below gives a better view of the staircase.

The workers have began the tile work on the asador (BBQ). It will be tiled in rustic Mexican style. Next weeks posting should show the completed asador (I hope). Sandra and I would like to get a bottle of wine, some French bread and cheese and break in the gazebo.

The first photo below gives a broader view of the asador and the second photo shows the stone (Mexican red porphyry, from the state of Guananuato)) that will be laid in a very ascetic pattern to form the floor.

The photo below shows the first of three alcoves in the house. This alcove is on the lower floor in the television room. We plan on putting local handicrafts and art on shelves in this space. I will show the other two alcoves in next weeks posting.

The final photo below shows a view from the street above. The main changes this past week were construction of parapets on the edges of the roof wall. More on parapets with next weeks post when they are all completed. The white cement square at the back edge of the roof is the ceiling for our living room. It is much higher than the other ceiling in the house. It will be open beam pine and is about 20 feet tall. We are getting more excited daily as the construction is really looking like a house now. The plastering of walls on the lower floor is nearly complete. Things are looking very good. Architect Arturo Vargas is really doing a nice job with all the details and overseeing the project. Sandra and I feel we made a good choice in hiring Arturo.

2006-10-23T19:04:00.000-07:00

Home Construction Week 20
October 16-22, 2006

As I mentioned last week, all the roofs except the living room and the garage have been completed. This past week the garage roof (above photo) was framed in with Michoacan pine.
In the first photo below you can view the underside of the garage roof and see the exposed beams. The second photo below shows the garage roof after roofing paper, steel rebar and a layer of concrete was poured. Towards the end of construction red Mexican tile will cover the concrete and complete the roof. Now the only room needing a roof is the living room. This should be complete this week.

The plastering of the ceiling and walls for the bottom floor is nearly completed. Only a final thin coating of mortar mixed with marble powder needs to be applied. The marble powder gives a very attractive and durable finish to the walls.

The photo below, taken from the back yard, shows the installed hand railings aside the terraces of the two guest bedrooms. The railing for the television room can be seen in the photo, but it has not been installed. We traveled with Architect Arturo Vargas to the pueblo of Patzcuaro on Monday to order the hand railing for the upper floor terraces and for the staircase. These railing for be slightly different because they will be made of decorative aluminum with glass panel inserts. The glass will not block our great views of the golf course and also give us wind protection.

The final photo below shows the partially constructed landing for the staircase leading from the lower floor to the garden. This staircase will connect with a small bridge crossing a pond and then lead to the gazebo. One of the things I look forward to is enjoying some fish and turtles in the pond. Since I've never done this before, I'm going to have to get some advise on outdoor ponds. I look forward to leasurely days spent in the gazebo watching the pond.

2006-10-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

Home Construction Week 19...
October 9-15

This past week the roof over the office and the dining room were completed. The roofing is the Michoacan pine that I showed in a photo last week. The pine was laid across the opening in the ceiling, tar paper was put over the wood, steel wire and finally a layer of concrete on top. Now the only ceilings to be finished are the garage and the living room. Both of these will be pine also. The garage will have red Mexican tile instead of the concrete the rest of the house has. The photo below shows a view of the open beam ceiling in the dining room.
The concrete columns and brick walls for the garage and living room have been built to the proper height, so next week the ceilings for the garage and living room will be built. When this work is completed all the ceiling and roofs for our house will be completed. The two photos below show the construction in first the garage and secondly the living room.

The gazebo is getting closer to completion. The roof is finished, with only Mexican clay tile to be laid. The tile will come later after the plastering of the outer walls of the house is completed. This is to keep plaster off the tile roof. The photo below shows the nearly completed BBQ area. Left to right in the photo is a sink, charcoal grill and a table for a gas burner. The BBQ will be covered with a Mexican talavera tile. It should be very beautiful.
The final photo below gives a view from the street above. There is a good view of the gazebo, along with a view of the progress on the roof.

2006-10-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

Lake Zirahuen, Michoacan....

Two weeks ago Sandra and I drove to Lake Zirahuen for the day. It is about an hours drive from Morelia, a little past Lake Patzcuaro on the highway to Urapan. The lake is located about 7,000 feet altitude and is crystal clear, unlike many other lakes in Mexico. Blackberries are cultivated and fruit orchards can be seen on the surrounding hillside. We stopped at Troje de Ala, a weekend restaurant, which also rents cabins to catch a ride on the tour boat that crosses the lake. The photo below shows Troje de Ala restaurant.
The restaurant has a long pier that goes out into the lake where tour boats are waiting. Along side the pier are shops selling crafts and many food stalls where one can buy tacos, sopes, quesadillas, soups made from the wild mushrooms that grow in the area and other Mexican delights. The photos below shows the pier and a couple of the food stalls.

As we crossed the lake there were few homes to be seen. There seemed to be about three small housing clusters. 99% of the shoreline is without development. See photos below.
At one stop along the lake we saw people attached to a cable gliding across the lake. See the man in the photo below.
The lake looks like a good place to rowboat, kayak, and fish or just a quiet place to relax for the day. Finally, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant on the far side of the lake. While we ate, an all woman's group sang for the entertainment of the dinners. Later, after an excellent lunch, we caught another tour boat back to our starting point and car. A nice outing, and not far from Morelia.

2006-10-10T21:17:00.000-07:00

Home Construction Week 18......
October 2-9, 2006

Well the LPGA golf tournament finished up this past Sunday and we were very happy that our favorite,Lorena Ochoa, won. I will post a blog describing our experiences later this week. But for now the weekly construction progress.
This past week the cement roof for our home was poured. All the roofing except for the living room, dining room, entry, and office are complete. The rooms, other than the entry, will have wood beam ceilings. The ceiling above the entry will feature a dome which will give light to the staircase during the day. The workers are also preparing the support columns for the wooden beams and these roofs will be completed in two weeks. The wood is Michoacan pine. The first photo below shows a part of the wood that was delivered and the second photo shows a beam being constructed to support the living room ceiling.

The work on the asador (BBQ) is going well and it should be completed this week. The photo below shows this weeks work. Sandra and I are looking forward to its completion so that we can rest in the shade when we make our daily house inspection. We are also looking forward to our first BBQ!

The photo below shows the plastering of the rooms on the lower floor. The workers have applied two layers of plaster on the ceilings so far. There will be one more layer applied to give the finished look. The final application is mixed with crushed marble and gives a very pleasant texture and look.

The photo below shows the view of the house from the back yard.

The final photo below shows the view of the house from the street above us.

2006-09-30T18:55:00.000-07:00

Home Construction Week 17..
September 25-October 1, 2006

This past week the workers finished up on the walls, supporting beams and wooden platforms for the roof. Architect Arturo tells us that the men will probably pour the concrete for the roof Tuesday or Wednesday. There is a little sense of urgency because Thursday through Sunday no noise producing construction will be allowed due to the LPGA Tournament. The pictures above and below show the men preparing the roofing support. The wood is well oiled so that the concrete doesn't stick to it when the wood is removed.

The photo below shows the roof support for the entry of our home. The picture is taken from the future living room looking out toward the street in front. The ceiling entering the home will have three different heights. The lowest is the ceiling that is visible at the front door, then there will be a slightly higher sky light over the staircase and finally the higher living room ceiling The final photo below shows the progress of the garden gazebo (asador). The columns are made of clay (barro). This gazebo will be finished traditional Mexican style, contrasting with the more modern look of the house.
Sandra and I are looking forward to the golf tournament next week. We plan on following the events Monday through Sunday. Monday through Wednesday are the practice and pro-am rounds. Thursday through Sunday are the actual tournament rounds. We hope to get some pictures of the players (jugadoras) to post on the blog next week. We are rooting for Lorena Ochoa to win!

2006-09-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

Wild Flowers......Part 2

It is September and here in Morelia the wild flowers of Michoacan are in full bloom. These are some of the pictures I took today while Sandra and I were taking our daily walk.

2006-09-23T18:04:00.000-07:00

Home Construction Weeks 1-16 Summary...
Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico
Tres Marias Residential Golf Course

The three photos below were taken from the street in front of the house. Pictures were taken during weeks 1, 8 and 16.

The next three photos below show the back of the house. Photos were taken during weeks 1, 8 and 16.

The final three photos show the view of the house from the street above us during weeks 1, 8, and 16.

2006-09-23T17:04:00.000-07:00

Home Construction Week 16...
Sept. 18-24, 2006

The photos from week 16 don't show too much difference between week 15. Only difference is that all the brick walls have reached full height and the workers are beginning to build the support beams and posts for the roof. Also, the cement for the garage floor and gazebo floor have been poured. The photo above shows the front of the house. The photo below shows the back and side view of our home.
The photo below shows the posts and beams being installed to support the cement ceiling. On top of this wood support; steel rebar, foam squares and cement will complete the roof of the house.
The workers are beginning to plaster the ceiling in the rooms on the bottom floor. In the photo below some of the plaster work can be seen in the upper right corner. Where there is plaster the white foam squares are being covered. There will be two coatings of the plaster before the ceiling and walls are prepared for painting.
The photo below shows the concrete driveway. The cement will be covered with a beautiful red stone, called pigeon's blood. Architect Arturo Vargas was able to locate it for us after Sandra and I had seen it used at Tres Marias.
The final photo below, taken from the lower level television room, shows the garden gazebo's concrete floor. There will be 4 clay columns which will support a tile roof. This will be our outdoor BBQ area. I have always wanted to live in a climate where I could spend time outdoors dining. We are also looking forward to coffee and breakfast on the terraces. Wow, we really feel fortunate to be able to live like this in our retirement.

2006-09-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

Home Construction Week 15...
Sept. 11-17, 2006

The two photos above show the progress of the house at the end of the 15th week of construction. One photo is taken from the street above our lot and the other photo is taken from the street below our lot. You can see that the walls for the upper level are about complete. The walls are about done and work on the ceiling/roof should be starting soon.

The photo above shows the north facing side of our home. The lower floor shows one of the guest bedrooms. The upper floor from left to right shows the service room, kitchen and dining room.

The photo above shows the 2 car garage, with a partial view of the entry in the lower right hand corner.

Photo above shows the entry way, with a partial view of the garage on the right hand corner.

A couple of weeks ago I explained how the workers used foam to lighten the weight of the concrete on the ceilings. The photo above shows what the finished result looks like. The white squares are the foam and the grey is the concrete. This photo is taken from the back yard.

The final photo posted above shows the gazebo (asador) that is being constructed. It will be covered with a red tile roof and Sandra and I will use it for outdoor cooking and sitting in the yard enjoying the view. I'm sure we will also have a couple of hammocks to wile away the afternoon.

2006-09-17T20:06:00.000-07:00

Mexican Independence Day September 16........

September 16 is Mexico's Independence Day, and the night before on the 15th is the Noche Mexicana Celebration honoring Father Miguel Hidalgo's famous cry of freedom, known as "El Grito". Sandra and I celebrated the evening at Tres Marias. The party was advertised from 8 pm until 1 am. At 8 o'clock I was ready to go, but Sandra said we should wait until 9 or 9:30 to go, so as not to arrive to early. Well, I hate to be late for things so I was antsy to leave while Sandra took her time getting ready. We arrived about 9:30 and discovered we were the only ones there. Most of the others arrived at 10:30 or 11:00. I guess I got another lesson on "Mexican Time". One thing about living in Mexico is that time is relative. One might as well learn to relax, don't worry, be very patient and try not to arrive too early. The photo below shows Sandra and I before the crowd arrived.

The menu featured a Menu Michoacano. The buffet featured tacos, sopes, enchiladas and pozole. Drinks were atole (a drink made from corn), rumpope (an eggnog drink), tequila and cafe de olla (coffee and cinnamon drink made in a clay pot). There were also various postres (sweets), though I was too stuffed to try any. The photo below shows the dancers performing with the first band to perform.

Of course, what is a Mexican party with a Mariachi band performing. This photo shows the band.

The last photo is one I took of Sandra dancing a solo performance to the song "Guadalajara". Sandra is from the state of Jalisco and Guadalajara is the state capitol and the state song. I was really amazed at how Sandra danced. She told me she learned from watching other dancers perform. The beautiful hand sewn blouse Sandra is wearing is one we purchased in Oaxaca about 5 years ago. We returned home about 1:30 am only to be kept awake until 4 am by the partying of the youth at the nightclub down the street from our apartment.

2006-09-13T18:23:00.000-07:00

Lorena Ochoa Visits Tres Marias Golf Course.......

Lorena Ochoa
HEIGHT: 5'6"
BIRTH DATE: 11/15/1981
BIRTH PLACE: Guadalajara, Mexico
RESIDENCE: Guadalajara, Mexico
EDUCATION: University of Arizona
TOUR STATUS: Exempt
ROOKIE YEAR: 2003
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
International Player

SEASON OVERVIEW
STARTS: 20	VICTORIES: 3
TOP 10 FINISHES: 15	2006 EARNINGS: $1,931,324.00

Tuesday afternoon Sandra and I were out practicing our game when Jorge, our golf coach told us that Lorena Ochoa was playing a practice round with her professional teacher. Now, we have been following Lorena's progress on the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) for the past 2 years and were quite excited to actually get a chance to see her play. We watched her play two holes, she was hitting several balls trying to land on different parts of the greens. Sandra and I were amazed at her length off the tee and the absolute ease of her swing. Lorena is a petite young woman, but has an absolute perfect swing, generating lots of club speed and can really crush the golf ball. All of her drives went about 270 yards and ended up right in the middle of the fairway. No one else was watching her, the course was empty so we had an opportunity to talk to her and get autographs on a hat and golf glove. I will post a few pictures we took and then I copied some facts out of the LPGA web site for those unfamiliar with Lorena. I think Steve and Stacy will enjoy this blog because they know how much we all enjoyed collecting sports memorabilia back in California.

My observation:

Lorena, the youngster, and Anika Sorenstam, the seasoned pro are battling it out for #1 woman golfer in the world this year. It reminds me of the titanic battles years ago between Arnold Palmer and the youngster Jack Nicklas. The LPGA will be playing their next tournament here in Morelia October 4-8 and Sandra and I are rooting for Lorena to win for Mexico!

2006-09-10T17:28:00.000-07:00

Home Construction Week 14...
September 4-10, 2006

This past week the walls for the rooms on the first level of our house have started to arise. Now Sandra and I can get a better idea of what the rooms, their dimensions, and their views of the canyons, mountains and golf course will look like. The two photos below show the house pictures taken from the street above us and the street below us.

The following photos will show the progress of construction on the master bath, master bedroom, living room, dining room and kitchen.
The master bathroom (bano principal) is shown above. To the left will be a glass enclosed indoor garden room. The doorway leads to the walk in closet (vestidor) and a dressing/makeup (tocador) room. We are excited about the indoor garden as we both want to bring a bit of the outdoors inside. The photo below shows the master bedroom (recamera principal), it will have great views from the bedroom as well as the terrace.
The next photo below is taken from the front door. It shows the entry way (vestibulo) and a view into the living room (sala/estancia). The staircase leading downstairs is show on the left. The living room will also have great views, as well as a nice terrace.
The final two photos will show the dining room (comedor) and the kitchen (cocina). Both of these rooms will also have fantastic views. The red cable in the lower right hand corner is where the kitchen island will be located.
A big decision for Sandra and I right now is the placement of the kitchen cabinets, stove, oven, microwave and refrigerator. We both plan on cooking together and want an arrangement that is both aesthetic and practical. Decisions, decisions!! Next week we are hoping the walls are completed so the workers can begin on the ceiling/roof of the house.

2006-09-03T17:45:00.000-07:00

Home Construction Week 13
August 28-Sept 3, 2006

This week I'm starting off with a photo of our architect Arturo Vargas and myself. Arturo said he was contacted by his cousin living in the United States. His cousin saw this blog and discovered Arturo building our home, they haven't seen each other for about five years. Anyway, I decided to get a good photo of Arturo for his cousin to enjoy.
This past week our lot was leveled with the street in front of the house. The steel rebar (varilla) reinforcement for the upper level and the concrete slab was poured for the first floor. The pictures below show the leveling.

The photo above was interesting in that these two trucks, full of rock, rolled back and forth over the soil for about half an hour. This resulted in a tight compacting of the soil and rock over which cement will be poured for the house floor. All in all 52 truck loads of rock (filtro) and soil (cementante) were delivered to level our lot.

The two photos above show a type of foam (caseton de poliestireno) that is used whenever a cement roof or ceiling is poured. This foam will lighten the weight of the ceiling as well as providing insulation. Much less cement is needed as the foam takes up a lot of the space in the ceiling. Also, an added bonus, is the fact that this foam does not burn in a fire.

The photo above shows the detail of the steel rebar (varilla) reinforcement, the placing of the foam squares and some of the electrical and plumbing connections. All of this construction will be covered with a cement slab (photo below) .
The photo above shows the completed concrete slab. The rectangular opening in the floor, right above the cement mixer, is the stair case well leading down to the bottom level of our home.

The two photos above show the aljibe (an underground room that can store 12 cubic meters or 2, 640 gallons of water) This ensures that in the event of a pump failure, we will have water for up to a week. In Mexico, we have been told, all homes have something like this, as water service is occasionally interrupted.

This final photo shows the men who have been working for the past three weeks. They all come from surrounding ranchos of Morelia. After the concrete slab was poured Saturday afternoon, we all celebrated the completion of this phase of construction with tacos de carnitas for lunch. Boy, was it good!

2006-09-01T11:06:00.000-07:00

Tres Marias Golf Course
Holes 10-18......
Morelia, Michoacan

This past week Sandra and I played the back nine (Holes 10-18). We normally play the first nine holes because they are more level and easier. We like the back nine better though because there are really beautiful views of the canyon. I hope you enjoy the photos! The photo below shows a view down the canyon. The rock formation in the top center is Tres Marias. It is a tall column of rock with three large rocks balancing on top. These three rocks look like heads. My understanding of the history is that the original indigenous people viewed this ground sacred and holy, thus todays name: Tres Marias (Three Mary's) Can anyone identify the Biblical three Mary's?
The two photos below show Sandra teeing off on two different holes. Since Sandra began lessons in January her game has really improved. She is playing with much more confidence. I really enjoy our time together during our weekly game and it is so good to be outside in the fresh air getting exercise.
The photo below shows me getting ready to tee off. My game has improved in the past couple of months although I'm still not at the level of play and consistency that I hope for. Golf is a funny game, one day the driver is good and irons are bad; the next time out irons are great and the driver is bad. My putting is still the weakest part of my game, my old golfing buddies couldn't believe how I could slice a putt!
The last photo shows (the circular building) the 19th hole or as it is referred to in Mexico (El diez y nueve).
This is where the golfers go to lick their wounds, settle up their bets or to get a cool drink and bite to eat. In a future posting I will show holes 19-27. These are by far the most difficult holes and Sandra and I have yet to play them.

2006-08-28T19:09:00.000-07:00

Home Construction
Techniques & Methods Mexico...

I am going to post a few of the interesting things I have photographed while following the construction of our home in Morelia. These are techniques and methods that are very much different than what I'm familiar with and have interested me. I am no expert in construction in the U.S. as my only experience is wood frame homes in Salinas, but from what I am witnessing the Mexican workers are very ingenious and find ways to make things work. Thus far, no electrical machinery or tools have been used, everything is hard, physical manual labor. It seems that construction technique is passed from grandfather, to father, to son. I'm sure much of their construction has been done in this manner for hundreds of years. The buildings are very strong, as evidenced by the buildings in Morelia that go back 450 years.

The two photos above show concrete being mixed on the ground and the finished concrete being carried in a bucket. Even though there is a mixer, the workers prefer the ground. After mixing, the concrete is carried to the job in buckets. No wheel barrels used her!

The boy in the orange shirt standing on the ground is throwing bricks up to the brick layer on the top. The bricks are tossed up one at a time. I was impressed, no fumbles or errors.

I'm not up on my Greek history, but I seem to remember Archimedes or some other Greek scientist using water to level things. Well, the workers have levels, but it is very interesting for me to see this water level that the workers also use. The water level is pictured above, it is the white tubing laying along side the column. They use this type of level to measure and level things around corners or objects where a conventional level would not work.

This truck above is delivering wood that will be used for forms and supports. Since wood is not used in most Mexican homes, this wood is rented by the square meter. After it is used it is returned to the warehouse to be used for the next home construction. One advantage to no wood is there is very little danger of home fires in Mexico. Most homes do not carry fire insurance. The two photos below show how this wood is used. The first photo is the construction shed, which holds tools, cement, mortar, etc.

All the wood in these photos will be returned after the project is completed. I imagine there will be a charge for any shortage when returning.

The two photos above show the same wood, photos taken from below and above. It is very interesting that the man is walking on wood trays which are also rented. I used to dry fruit on wooden trays exactly like these that are used for the ceiling and flooring. The photo below shows a stack of these wood trays.

These are the wood supports for the concrete slab that will be poured for the roofing and flooring. These trays are well oiled so that the concrete doesn't stick to them when they are pulled off. About 4 inches of concrete are used for the ceilings.

Lunch time in Mexico is nothing like my experience in the U.S. No brown bagging it here! About 10 minutes before the workers stop for lunch, the youngest boys gather wood and build a fire under these metal covers. The boys cook tortillas, the men bring rice, beans, pork, chicken, beef from home and they all share in making tacos. Sandra and I had the pleasure of joining in for this lunch and boy was it tasty. The men say you can't beat the food from the ranches where they all live.
I have not tried to make judgments on the way these men work, all I know is that it sure is effective. It is an experience to watch their enginuity and problem solving skills. I am getting an education following their progress.

2006-08-26T21:33:00.000-07:00

Home Construction Week 12....
August 21-27, 2006

This past week the foundation/side walls for the upper level of our home was completed. The walls will bring the home entry to street level. The last walls to be completed were for the stair case, which will descend from the top floor to the bottom floor of the home. The two photos below show the progress with the stair case.

The black on the side foundation wall is a water imperiable coating to keep water from passing through the bricks. These walls are about 10 feet tall, eventually the area where the men are standing will be filled in with rock and soil, providing a level foundation for the upper level of our home.

The first photo above shows closer detail of the steel rebar that strengthens the stair well and the second photo shows the entrance to the stair case from the lower floor of the home.

The two photos above show some of the rock and soil that will fill in the foundation. This coming Monday trucks will be delivering more rock and soil which will then be compacted prior to having a cement slab poured over it. Along with the upper foundation walls, the support beams for the ceiling of the lower level were completed this past week. The photos below show how wooden beams were arranged to provide a support for the concrete slab which will be poured later.

Sandra, discussing the floor plans with Arturo. Sandra like to visualize the completed rooms, the scenic vistas and the flow of foot traffic when furniture is added.

In the photo above, wood has been placed above the support beams. This wooden platform will provide the base for the concrete slab which will be poured for the ceiling of the lower level.

The photo above shows the same wood support as seen from above the lower level. From this angle the concrete slab that is poured will be the floor for the upper level.

This final photo shows the progress, picture taken from the street above us. It clearly shows the roof over the lower floor and the foundation walls and stair case for the upper lever of our future home. The posting for next week should show the completed concrete slab for the home.

2006-08-19T21:46:00.000-07:00

Home Construction Week 11....
August 14-20, 2006

The photo above shows the cement brick foundation for the upper level of our home. This entire area will be filled in with rock and soil, leveling the lot. Next week the steel rebar reinforcing rods and columns will be laid and concrete flooring will be poured. Then the interior walls will start going up. Very exciting for us!

The photos above show the progress on the red brick, interior walls of the house. The ceiling in these lower level rooms appears to be about 10 feet tall. The door that is visible in the stone foundation in the picture just above leads to a storage room. This is where we will store our gardening supplies and equipment.

This final photo, once again, shows the view of construction from the street above our lot. To the right in the photo you can see two other new homes under construction. It looks like we won't be alone in our neighborhood. It is the rainy season in Morelia and the surrounding mountains, valleys, and landscape are every imaginable shade of green. Sandra and I both wish Morelia stayed this green year round, but alas, there is a dry season when everything turns brown. We really like the rainy season!

2006-08-17T09:21:00.000-07:00

Mexican Handcrafts

Carved & Painted Furniture......... Michoacan Style

Michoacan is one of the states in Mexico that is known for its production of handcrafts. Today, there are over 30 different varieties of handcrafts made in Michoacan. They include a variety of groups such as pottery, metal work, woodwork, textiles and vegetal fibers. Most of these handcrafts originated prior to Spanish colonization, and many of them are still being produced using the same ancient techniques. This will be my first in a series of blogs documenting these handcrafts. Michoacan is famous for its brightly painted and carved furniture. The photo above shows an example of carved and painted bench seat, depicting Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

Another example above of a carved and painted bench. The photos below show carved and brightly painted tables and chairs.
One of the positives of living in Morelia is the nearness to many different indigious peoples and their cultures, dress, food and handcrafts.

2006-08-14T17:27:00.000-07:00

Home Construction Week 10....
August 7-13, 2006

This past week the walls for the bottom floor of our home have started to go up. The walls for the home are being constructed from a red brick. There will be 2 bedrooms, each with it's own bathroom and a television/recreation room on the lower floor.

The cement colored bricks are another foundation wall to support the upper floor of our home. The area where Sandra is standing will be filled in with rock and leveled and then the concrete floor will be poured. This floor, which will be the ceiling for the bottom level, and the floor for the top level will have the same steel reinforcement as used for the other floor that was poured last week. The upper floor will be leveled out, street level, so we will have no stairs to climb after parking our car and entering our house. Sandra and I thought that this would be a very good idea, just in case in our elderly years stairs would be hard for us to navigate. The upper level is approximately twice the size of the lower level. This upper level will include our master bedroom suite, family room, kitchen, dining room, service room, and office.
Sandra is standing on the future terrace off the television/recreation room. At the point she is standing a staircase will descend to the garden. This is the beautiful view from this terrace. We purchased our lot for these views.
View looking at the foundation wall of stone, with the red brick walls of the house beginning to arise. This view is from the garden level.
This final view is a picture taken from the street above our lot. You can see the walls arising from the foundation. This part of the house seems to be going extremely fast, after the time consuming building of the stone retaining walls and lower foundation. Architect, Arturo, tells us that in about 2 weeks the walls and floor for the upper level will be complete.

2006-08-06T18:46:00.000-07:00

Home Construction Week 9...
July 30-August 6, 2006

This past week was super exciting for Sandra and I. So much work was completed and now it is looking like a house is being constructed. The previous 8 weeks were very hard, slow, tedious work: leveling the lot, putting in retaining walls and building a stone foundation. Now, we can really start visualizing what our future home will actually look like!

After filler rock and soil leveled out the foundation for the bottom floor of our house the soil and rock were compacted with this gasoline powered compactor.

The workers are constructing steel rebar columns (castillo's) that will reinforce the concrete that is poured for the floor and also reinforce the columns for the house walls.

The two photos above show the reinforcement steel rods that will provide strength to the concrete floors and walls. I was really amazed to see that everywhere two steel rods crossed they were tied together with wire to give extra rigidity. I mentioned to Architect Arturo that the house really seemed to be constructed very strong, what with all the large stone rock foundations and tons of steel rebar. He remarked that houses in Mexico were built to last 300 years, I believe it!
Next came 3 truck loads of concrete mix and a pump truck with a large boom to deliver the concrete to the now leveled, reinforced lower floor of the home. Also, plumbers have put in the cooper water pipes and PVC drain pipes. Electricians have also installed tubing where the electric wiring will provide electricity, phone and TV cables for the bottom floor.
The two photos above show the concrete being poured and spread over the floor. The final picture below shows the finished foundation, the picture taken from the street above us. The part of the flooring you see will be two guest bedrooms with a television/recreation room separating the two bedrooms.

2006-08-03T16:59:00.000-07:00

Home Construction Summary Weeks 1-8
Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico
Tres Marias
June 5-July 30, 2006

It's been 8 weeks now since ground was broken for our home. The time has gone by very fast for us, as we have been excited going to the lot nearly every day to see the progress. The work has been a real eye opener for me because construction is very different here in Mexico compared to the United States. I have been very impressed with the hard labor of the workers. Our architect, Arturo, comes to the site at least 3 or 4 times a week to make sure the work is going according to his plans. There is also a maestro, Roman, who is like the foreman for the job. Roman is on the job every day. There have been between 20 and 26 workers on the job every day. The pictures I have taken show the progress on the retaining walls and lower house floor during the past 8 weeks. There are 3 pictures posted side by side showing the approximate same view. The first picture shows week 1, the second shows week 4, and the third shows week 8. At the end of this posting I will give an inventory of the materials used for the first 8 weeks work.

The first picture shows the lot before any work began. The second picture shows the cleaning and leveling of the lot. The third picture shows the nearly finished retaining wall in the distance and in the foreground the foundation for the lower floor of the house.

The first picture above shows the lot, photo taken from the street below us. A retaining wall will be built here to level the lot. The second photo shows the beginning of the construction of the retaining wall. The third photo shows the completed retaining wall.

The first photo shows the trenches that were dug for the house foundation. The second photo shows the beginning work on building the foundation. The third photo shows the completed foundation. The house, itself, will sit up about 8 feet above the ground at the top of this wall. This height will give us a very beautiful view of the canyon below, the golf course, and the mountains surrounding us. Now, my future postings will show the construction of the house.

Inventory of materials used during first 8 weeks of construction.

49 truck loads of stone (piedra) for the retaining walls and house foundation
3 truck loads of gravel (grava) to provide traction for the trucks delivering stone to the lower levels of the lot.
7 truck loads of filter rock (filtro) to provide drainage for the retaining wall and house foundation.
1 truck load of fill dirt (cementante) which is a soil that compacts very hard and gives a very solid base.
19 tons of cement (cemento)
24 tons of mortar (moretro)
10 truck loads of sand (arena)
There were also loads of steel rebar and wood that was rented to build a storage shed.

2006-07-30T20:09:00.000-07:00

Home Construction Week 8........
July 24-30, 2006

Sandra and I were visiting Texas for the past 2 weeks so we missed posting pictures for home construction weeks 6 and 7. This posting will show the work done on the lots retaining walls and the house foundation. The stone foundation for the bottom floor of our home is finished and truck loads of filler rock are being dumped to level the ground so the lower floor can be reinforced with rebar prior to being cemented. The retaining walls and lower house foundation work took 8 weeks to complete. Next week the workers should begin the actual construction of our house. Needless to say, Sandra and I are very excited to see the construction to begin. But we are glad, even though slow, the building of the retaining walls has leveled out our lot and will give us two very nice garden areas.

The above photo shows the finished retaining wall. Picture taken from the street below our lot.
The two photos above show the nearly completed stone foundation for the bottom floor of our home. The foundation is about 8 feet tall and towers over Sandra.

The two photos above show where filler rock is being dumped to level out the foundation for the house. It appears that about 5 more truck loads will be needed to completely level the foundation. Then rebar will be laid and concrete will be poured over the rock to complete the bottom floor of the house.
The above photo shows me standing at the retaining wall at the back of our lot. Filler stone and garden soil will be dumped to level out our lower garden. I plan on having fruit trees and a vegetable garden along this wall. This is the same wall, seen from the other side, as the first photo in this blog. We will have a very beautiful view from our garden. Sandra and I think it will be a view of more than 180 degrees. We will see parts of the city of Morelia, the canyon where the Tres Marias golf course is located, the club house and the mountains named Mil Cumbres (Thousand Peaks).
The two photos above show how the workers mix cement and mortar. Even though there is a cement mixer, it is not used. They mix the cement and mortar on the ground. They then carry it off to be used on the foundation and retaining walls in 5 gallon buckets. Hard physical work, every thing is manual labor, no machines. Our architect, Arturo Vargas, has tried to get the men to use the mixer, but when he is not around they always revert back to using the ground. It's the culture of construction and the workers are not comfortable doing otherwise.
This last photo was taken from the street above our street and shows the house foundation and the lower retaining wall. In my next posting I am going to recap the first 8 weeks with before and after photos and give a listing of the materials that have been used so far.

2006-07-24T17:36:00.000-07:00

Ft. Worth, Texas
July 2006 Vacation

Sandra and I visited Ft. Worth for 10 days from July 13 to July 22, 2006. After mom's birthday party Annette and Susan took us to visit the Stockyards, Botanical Gardens, and many beautiful residential areas. These pictures are some of the things we saw.

Fort Worth Botanical Gardens
http://www.fwbg.org/gardens.htm
Japanese Garden

Conservatory (Tropical Rain Forest)

Ft. Worth Stockyards

Ft. Worth was one of the many stops along the famous cowboy Chisholm Trail, where the Longhorn Cattle were driven from the Texas-Mexico Border up to Abilene, Kansas to the railhead for transport back East. We got to view a mini-cattle drive down the closed off street in the stockyard. The temperatures were over 100 degrees for the entire 10 day visit and the cattle seemed to wilt in the heat. For Steve and Stacy, I researched the Chisholm Trail and Texas Longhorn cattle and included the information I found.

Chisholm Trail

The Chisholm Trail was a route used in the late 19th century in the western United States for cattle drives, the movement of cattle overland. The trail stretched from southern Texas across the Red River to Abilene, Kansas and was used from 1867 to 1884 to drive cattle northward to the railhead of the Kansas Pacific Railway, where they were shipped eastward.

The trail is named for Jesse Chisholm who had built a number of trading posts in what is now western Oklahoma before the American Civil War.

History

In 1866 in Texas, cattle were worth only $4 a head, compared to over $40 a head in the North and East, because lack of market access during the American Civil War had led to increasing number of cattle in Texas.

In 1867, Joseph G. McCoy built stockyards in Abilene, Kansas. He encouraged Texas cattlemen to drive their herds to his stockyards. The stockyards shipped 35,000 head that year and became the largest stockyards west of Kansas City, Kansas.

O. W. Wheeler and his partners used the Chisholm Trail to bring a herd of 2,400 steers from Texas to Abilene in 1867. This herd was the first of an estimated 5,000,000 head of Texas cattle to reach Kansas over the Chisholm Trail.

On these long trips the cattlemen would have a lot of difficulties. The trips to the railroads were not easy. The trips took about two to three months. Also they would have to cross major rivers like the Arkansas and the Red, and innumerable smaller creeks, plus the topographic challenges of canyons, badlands and low moutain ranges. Also the weather was not always great. In addition to these natural dangers, there were rustlers and other badmen, unpacificed Native Americans (Oklahoma at that time was Indian Territory, governed from Fort Smith, Arkansas), and the natural contrariness of the half-wild Longhorn cattle themselves, who were prone to stampede on little provocation.

Longhorn Cattle

The Spanish brought the first longhorn cattle to America in 1493. Descendants of these longhorns formed the first cattle population in North America.

The first Anglo-American settlers of Texas came to raise cotton. However, they brought with them a few cows, mostly of northern European breeds. These cows mixed with the Spanish breeds already in Texas and soon grew into considerable herds. Most of the cattle for the first stocking of the central and northern plains came from these herds.

These Texas cattle had long legs, lanky bodies, with legs and feet built for speed. It took a good horse with a good rider to outrun a Texas Longhorn. Their narrow faces, sullen expressions, and horns that swept out horizontally, gave these cattle a sinister look. And indeed, they could be mean.

A century or so of running wild had make the longhorns tough and hardy enough to withstand blizzards, droughts, dust storms, attacks by other animals, and Indians. They did not require great amounts of water to survive. Their horns served for attack and defense. A strong sense of smell made it easy for the cow to find her calf and she would ferociously defend this calf.

And the bulls... There was probably no meaner creature in Texas than a Longhorn bull. The slightest provocation would turn him into an aggressive and dangerous enemy. The bull's horns usually measured six feet or less from tip-to-tip, but could measure over eight feet long. In addition, the sharpness of horns of any length, the speed and muscle power of the bull, and the ease with which he could be aroused and enraged, made him a dangerous and uncontrollable animal. When two bulls met, there was sure to be a fight, often to death. And only a very well-armed cowboy had a chance against a Longhorn bull.

Lake Worth

These are two photos of the home and property (Elliott Trotter) where Mom's surprise 80 th birthday party was held.

Mom's House

Photo of Mom's new house in Ft. Worth and a view down her street showing the beautiful landscape.

2006-07-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

Mom's Birthday
Fort Worth, Texas

Mom (80) and her sister Hallie (97 in September)

Shortly after our move to Mexico my mother and sister(Susan), along with her son(Eric) and daughter(Ashley), moved from Los Altos, California to Fort Worth, Texas. Then about a month ago, my other sister(Annette), her husband(Mark), and son(Matt) made the move from California to join the family. Annette planned a surprise birthday party. There were approximately 70 relatives and guests who surprised Mom at cousin Elliot Trotter's lake house. Mom was 100% completely caught off guard as everyone managed to keep the surprise from her. The party was a huge success and everyone enjoyed themselves.

Annette and Mom

Bottom Row: Annette, Eric, Mom, Hallie
Second Row: Ashley, Susan, Matt, Sandra, David
Top: Mark

This is a picture of the first cousins who were present at the party. It is the first time I have met many of my cousins, (since I was about 8 years old), so I can't name them all. I will wait to hear from Bill Trotter who is creating a family history and can help me with names.

2006-07-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

Drawings of Future House..........

102 Cañon San Felipe
Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico

These photos show the preliminary architect drawings of the front and back of our future home. The home will be two levels, the main level where we will spend most of our time is at street level with no stairs. The lower level is down a stair case. The upper level of the house will have the kitchen, dining room, living room, office, service room and the master bedroom. The lower level will have two bedrooms and a television room.

2006-07-11T20:35:00.000-07:00

Home Construction Week 5 July 3-9

It has been 5 weeks since ground was cleared on the lot. The two pictures above show the work on the foundation for the house. It is slow manual labor, as the men chisel and hammer each rock into the proper shape to fit into the puzzle. Cement is embedded between these rocks to anchor them into place. When finished the wall will be about 6 feet tall and the lower floor of the house will sit on a leveled concrete platform upon the wall. Stairs will lead from the house down the rock wall and provide access to the upper garden, which will be about 35 feet by 120 feet. In this garden we plan to have a waterfall and fish pond, along with a palapa for entertaining. Sandra wants to landscape this garden with many beautiful flowers. The two pictures below show the progress on the lower retaining wall along the back and side property lines

These retaining walls will level the bottom portion of our lot and allow us to have a lower garden where I plan on having fruit trees and a vegetable garden. This garden is slightly smaller than the upper garden. The walls are nearing completion and should be completed by the time we return from our trip to Fort Worth for my mother's 80th birthday celebration.

2006-07-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

David's Flower Drawings

For those of you wondering what I have been doing to keep busy, well, I've started drawing. I'm using colored pencils now, but plan to advance to water colors and oil as I improve my skills.

Wednesday evenings at the Club Britania here in Morelia, Sandra and I have been taking painting classes. The instructor is a famous Mexican murialist, Gilberto Rameriz. Gilberto has been commissioned to paint murals depicting Mexican History in both the United States and Mexico.

I'm still learning how to shade and show depth and texture in my drawings. I enjoy the time drawing, it's very relaxing for my mind. I don't know what my style is yet, though I'm leaning to impressionism. As I mentioned in the previous post, I plan on painting and recording the wild flowers at Tres Marias. The flower drawings show here are in order that I painted them, starting with the most recent painting at the top and the oldest here at the bottom. I think I'm improving in my technique. Well, anyway, this is one way I'm keeping my mind active here in Morelia. A future Blog will show Sandra's drawing and her style. She is must more perfectionist and realistic with her art than me. It's interesting how we both have developed our unique styles.

2006-07-07T09:41:00.000-07:00

Wild Flowers

The summer rainy season has arrived here in Morelia and the former dry, brown country side is now a brilliant green. With the arrival of the rain, wildflowers are growing and blooming at Tres Marias. Here is a sampling of a few of the different wild flowers that are blooming now.

I will post more flowers as they bloom throughout the summer. These wild flowers have captured my interest and I intend to catalog, by way of drawings, the different flowers. I hope I'm able to learn the names of these flowers. In retirement, I have in interest in drawing and painting and these flowers will be my first subjects.

2006-07-01T17:31:00.000-07:00

Home Construction Week 4
June 26-July 1, 2006

This is Sandra and our architect Arturo Vargas. When Sandra and I first moved to Morelia we spent about 4 months looking at homes, homes under construction and talking to architects. We decided on hiring Arturo to help us design and build our home. At the time, Arturo was building one other home in Tres Marias. We called it the palapa house because it had a palapa (palm leaf covered outdoor BBQ like you will see at the beaches in Mexico). We were impressed with the quality of construction and the beautiful finish work of the home. Arturo really has an eye for detail and the finished house had lots of nice custom details which we especially appreciated. We have been working with Arturo for about 9 months in the design and construction of our home.
Sandra and David visiting the lot during 4th week of construction of the retaining walls and foundations.
The foundation is shaping up. It looks like it needs 2 more weeks to finish, then construction of the house can begin. This past week about 16 men have been chipping and shaping the rocks. Sandra says it's looks like they are putting a puzzle together, getting difference size rocks to fit together. This must be how the pyramids in Mexico were built.
The lower retaining wall is now about as tall as the men building it. When complete it will be about nine feet tall. We will plant climbing and hanging vines along the footing of the wall to help secure and beautify everything. We estimate another week or two to complete this retaining wall.

2006-06-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

Sandra's Flamenco Dance Performance

Flamencos characteristics

Flamenco combines acoustic guitar playing, singing, chanting, dancing and staccato handclapping. The flamenco dancer performs with passion, fervor, even tortured expressions but always striving for grace and dignity.

Last Sunday evening, Sandra and other members of the dance studio, performed at the Teatro Morelos in Morelia. Sandra has been taking Flamenco lessons for about 6 months at the local Danza de Espana studio.
The dance is very rigorous and demands much coordination. Besides moving and stamping of the feet and twirling the skirt, she must coordinate graceful actions with a fan, while playing the castanets (castañuelas). Needless to say, but Sandra displayed the most style and grace of any of the dancers.
To Sandra's left is her teacher, Tere, who performed this dance also.
This last photo shows the closing curtain call and other dancers (there were more but my photo only captured about half). After the performance we went out to celebrate with our new friends Lupita, Salvador, Ricardo, Alba, Hortencia and Sandras mother. All in all we sure had a good time! All of the dancers were outstanding and provided a very entertaining evening for the audience.

2006-06-27T19:00:00.000-07:00

Home Construction Week 3
June 19-25, 2006

(Clicking on any of the photos will enlarge them)

These photos show the progress on our home during the third week of retaining wall and foundation work. (Muro de contencion and cimentacion) The workers are using large volcanic basalt boulders. Trucks have delivered approximately 10 loads of stones, along with truck loads of sand, gravel and cement. This photo shows the lot covered with these rocks. The workers (the youngest) roll the rocks along the ground before the older maestros (masters) cemented them into place on the walls.

The above two photos show the progress on the foundation for our home. The trench for the foundation is about 3 feet deep and the boulders are now up even with the ground.
The two photos above show the progress on the retaining wall. This wall will allow us to level out the lot so that we can have a large garden. The wall is about 3 feet tall now. Sandra and I estimate that the foundation work for the house and retaining wall will be complete in 2 weeks. Hope so anyway!
We had a visit this past weekend. Here are Hortencia (Sandra's sister), her mom, and Sandra. They bused down from Ameca, Jalisco to witness Sandra's performance in DANCES OF SPAIN at the Teatro Morelos. Sandra danced the flamengo, and let it be known she was outstanding. Later this week I will post pictures of her performance.

2006-06-21T08:40:00.000-07:00

Morelia Golf Lessons

One of the main factors in our decision to retire in Morelia was the opportunity to play golf along with many other recreational activities that would help keep our minds occupied and our bodies busy. Tres Marias Residential Golf Course is a signature Jack Nicholas design and one of the most beautiful and challenging courses I have had the opportunity to play. The course has 27 holes, with each 9 hole course offering different topography and difficulty of play.
This blog will show Sandra taking lessons on the first 9 holes (the flattest and easier of the 27 holes.)
Once a week now for the past 6 months Sandra and I have been taking lessons with golf professional Jorge. Sandra had an advantage of never having played golf in her life and thus having no bad habits to correct. David has had to completely relearn a new, correct swing. Sandra has a perfect swing and is improving weekly, as her confidence grows. Sandra loves the beautiful manicured grass on the course and her biggest fear is taking a divot. When she digs up a little lawn with her swing she is not happy. Jorge is telling her it's ok to hit the grass.
Jorge teaching Sandra the proper swing, follow through, and balance.

Sandra teeing up on 165 yard par 3.

Sandra teeing it up and preparing to drive the ball over the lake. Those of you that have played golf know the psychological factors of hitting the ball over water. She is learning to just concentrate on her "swing" and keeping her head down, and eyes on the ball.
This final picture shows Sandra's caddy Antonio Avalos. Antonio is a great help with choosing the correct club, the correct line for putts, and helping us find lost balls. We average about 4 lost balls per 9 holes, so when you come to visit bring plenty of balls. Just kidding, we have more than enough balls, as the workers sell lost balls they find on the course. A future post will have pictures of David struggling with his game as I try to find some consistency and mental toughness. My greatest worry now is that Sandra is going to beat me in the near future. We play 9 holes of golf once a week and really enjoy the time together and the beauty and serenity of the course. We try and play a different 9 holes each week.

2006-06-20T17:46:00.000-07:00

Home Construction Week 2
June 12-18, 2006

Sandra peering down into trench where foundation for home will soon rise. The cement has been laid and rebar has been embedded for the columns that will support the house.

This photo shows the bottom level of our lot. The street shown is the street below us. A retaining wall is being build out of rock and cement. This wall will be about 5 feet tall and will enable us to level out the back part of the yard, enabling us to have a nice large garden.

This photo shows one corner of the retaining wall in the back of the lot. The works chisel and chip the rock face to make it flat on the outside. This will give the wall a nice finished look. This past week there were 8 men working on the lower retaining wall and 4 men working on the upper wall supporting the house. It appears to be very hard, physical labor. Some of the larger stones must weigh over 200 pounds and the workers have to roll them to move them into place.

This last photo shows our lot taken from the street above. It appears that not much has changed in the past week, but most all of the work is being done below ground level and can't be seen from this angle. The workers labor from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. with one hour off for lunch. They build a fire and cook tortillas and make tacos for their lunch. Sandra and I try and go out to the lot each afternoon after we have exercised in the gym. We have enjoyed seeing the workers and learning of construction techniques here in Mexico.

2006-06-19T16:46:00.000-07:00

The Beginning

Well, here Sandra and I are at Tres Marias Golf Course in Morelia, Michoacan. We have been in MORELIA for one year now, this June. This blog will share the story of our future home construction. We purchased a lot in July of 2004, after searching Mexico for about 7 summers looking for a retirement community. We decided on Morelia because of the beauty and tranquility of the 16th century colonial city, its size (600,000-not too big nor too small), the mild weather, an international airport, centralized location to many of our favorite places in Mexico, and Tres Marias Residential Golf Course which will offer us many recreational opportunities. After one year living in a rental apartment we have not regretted our decision to live here. The weather is indeed outstanding, many cultural and recreational activities, wonderful central district, great restaurants and food, and we have met some very nice people. The challenges have been my limited Spanish and dealing with the government offices and red tape getting visas, bank accounts, apostle's, translations of documents etc.. I don't think I could have made it on my own. Thank God, Sandra is fluent in Spanish and knows the culture and customs of government offices in Mexico! All in all, the past year has flow by very rapidly and I have learned a lot, especially not to get in a hurry or get frustrated about the way things are done. I have pretty much learned not to compare the way things are done in the United States with life in Mexico. Things are much more laid back here and a type A personality will not do well. Well here's a salute to our move and this blog will now chronicle our house building project.

Happy Days!

Week 1 June 5-June 11, 2006

Our lot before any grading or construction has begun. The first photo was taken from the street below, while the second photo was taken from street level.

Sandra and I returned from a short trip to Guadalajara and were surprised to find that cleaning of our lot and trenching for the foundation had begun. We had been waiting since January for this to happen, but as I have said before things move at their own pace here in Mexico. We have been working closely with our architect, Arturo Vargas, for about 8 months getting the plans prepared and approved by the Tres Marias architecture committee. The lot is 1031 square meters and sits high up above the canyon where the golf course lies. Here is a photo of Sandra walking the lot. As you can see, not many other houses near by. Currently, there is only one house occupied and 5 under construction in our part of the development. We are excited to be one of the first homes and being able to witness the progress of neighboring home construction.

The photos below show the first weeks work digging the foundation for the bottom floor of our house. The lot is slopping, so a retaining wall (muro de contencion) made of rock will arise up out of the trenches to support the first floor.

These photos show views taken from our lot looking down into the canyon toward the golf course and club house. There are tennis courts, handball courts, horse stables, swimming pools, soccer fields, gymnasiums, pro shop and restaurants located near the club house.

Well, after the first week of work Sandra and I are very excited. We have been waiting many months for this work to begin!!