That made you sit up, ha! ha! ha! It’s just that time flies, don’t get worried, I can’t believe how fast this year is going, even with all the problems the world has thrown at us!
Pepe, has claimed his outside space, he likes the sun, but isn’t so keen on being a dog, when it comes to lying about.
He perches here in the morning sun, and returns when it is in the afternoon shade, he’s no fool!
Our problems with the solar haven’t been resolved to our satisfaction, the Engineer threw a dickie fit, and said if we weren’t happy, they would come, rip it out, then give us a refund, and if I thought it was a cure for cancer, I was wrong! Wow! so much for Customer service.
As I pointed out, I didn’t leave the original solar batteries charging in a Hotel car park, only to have them stolen, I didn’t tell the Client that it would take two days to install, and then take four days, and I didn’t give the Clients a quick half hour instruction on using the system, and then leg it, to get the last bus back to Bogota. We just want a system, that works as contracted, and to have confidence in it. We have heard no more, and I don’t intend to contact them again, until we have had a couple more electric bills, to see if it goes down or not. Also to chase up the replacement solar panel.
We have had ten days of summer, it has been lovely, the early morning mists are lovely to see.
Albeit, there is no point in asking Marcela, they have been and gone before she wakes!
Unfortunately it looks like other parts of the world, we are about to have a change in the weather again, the forecast is for storms starting mid week, that having been said, we had rain all night last night, so it may come sooner.
Wednesday, was work down in the abyss again, I was reasonably happy working down there, I had the walkie talkie, also Joaquin was picking avocados with a helper, so I knew there was someone within earshot, if I had knee trouble.
I had gone down with my mini chain-saw, and was cutting dead and wild trees along the fence line.
Joaquin came over when he heard the chain-saw, at which time I was trying to cut the dead tree to the right of centre in the photo, he said he thought it was too much for my saw, and he would cut it the next time he was down, he was right, and I am grateful for his help. So I cut the others, then cut them smaller to put on the rubbish pile and called it a day.
Thursday, we had a run out to Guatapé, if we go mid week, we don’t have traffic problems, it only takes 30 minutes from here, and without the traffic, it’s a pleasant run. So Marcela, Maria Elena (Mother-in-law), and I had a nice lunch out., albeit, we ate in the Town Square, because the wind was blowing a gale on the front.
Being a Tourist town, most of the Kiosks were shut, they only open Friday to Sunday, so after a walk around after lunch, we made our way home, in time for the Mother-in-law to watch her soap operas!
Friday, it was time to do some work again, this time grass cutting.
Cutting the grass so short with a brushcutter is an art, if you are not careful, you end up with a patch of dirt and no grass, I much rather have a hover mower, but they don’t sell them here, and an ordinary mower would be too dangerous in the incline. After ten years, I am finally getting this off to a tee, and on Friday, for the first time, I finished, and had no knee pain, things are looking up.
Today, I have been preparing to start my bunkbed stair project, the treated timbers are still not dry, but I needed a raised platform to cut my 8ft x 4ft Plywood panels, the days of me crawling around in the floor with my circular saw, are long gone.
I have the two home made saw horses, so half the job was done, I am using timber left over from other projects, so it’s not true and square, which created a problem, as I need the panels to sit on top, flat. Therefore for the two long side pieces, which had to be cut to sit on the saw horses, I clamped them together so that the squarest sides would be on top, and I would cut the notches on the uneven side, that way, they would sit level, or as near as I can get it.
They turned out to be a pretty good fit. I then had to cut the notches for four cross pieces, this didn’t go quite so well, because I didn’t check the back piece before each cut, and on two of the notches, I hit knots, anyone who knows anything about woodwork, will know getting a knot to cut square, is near enough impossible, but in the end, I got them near enough, albeit they are not a tight fit, and they work.
Now I am ready, to start cutting the plywood!
An Englishman in Colombia 