A Quiet Month for Construction News

Now that the major portion of the home construction is finished, with just the plastering left to do for now, the pictures and news from the construction site have dwindled to a trickle. I had some friends I've met through the blog go down to Belize recently, but I have yet to hear about their trips and adventures. Others will be going down shortly, so I'm sure the news will begin to flow and I will have more to post.

Our next door neighbors, Pip and Jason, have sold their house in Canada and Pip is planning a trip to Belize later this week to find tile and cabinets for their new home in the Shores. I'm sure Pip will take lots of pictures. This will be her first time seeing their new house, since Jason was the one who stayed for several weeks in March and April during the initial construction. I am looking forward to talking to her when she is down there and can get a birds-eye view of all the construction on their place and ours. We can also start to discuss options for restoring the fauna and grasses to the area around both our homes that has been damaged due to the construction.

I have contacted George Greenwood, of Taribo Industries, LTD., to see about providing black dirt for the area in front of the retaining wall and for the area surrounding the pool. He has determined that each section will require about two truck loads each (70-80 cubic yards total) and will cost in the range of $350-$400BZ for each load delivered to Consejo Shores. I have heard that there are a couple of types of black dirt available, so I will need to find out which is best for my intended application. I will also need to decide which type of driveway we would like to have. Crushed limestone, concrete or maybe even pavers.

The last month or so around here at home has been quite hectic. We've got Mischelle's mom, Fay, staying with us for the summer. Her sister, Marie, from Yuma, Arizona, had just recently lost her husband and was also staying with us during the funeral arrangements and also for a family reunion that was happening the following weekend. During that time, our neice Josette and her friend Lexy also were staying with us so they could also attend the family reunion and Lexy wanted to check out a couple of colleges here in SoCal.

The Gentile family reunion is an annual bash held at cousin Phil's ranch in Chino Hills, California. It is not unusual to see at least 5 generations of family represented at these day long bashes. It is a working cattle and horse ranch with all of the bar-b-que grillin's directly from the ranch. Lamb, steak, goat and lots of it. It's an Italian family gathering so there's lots and lots of great food and drink. Horses for the kids to ride, horseshoe pit for the adults to congregate and socialize. And not too hot this year.

It is amazing to see all the kids change from the previous years. The younger kids growing up, the new additions to the family. This year was the largest gathering yet with probably 60-70 family and friends. These really are special times to remember.

No News, Good News?

It's been about 10 days since my last update from the construction site and I'm still waiting. I haven't heard from John Harris about the windows or the roof pour, that happened on Sunday, so I have to assume that everything is going OK. So, while I wait for new pictures, there are other things I can do.

I continue my research on hurricane windows and I am now just waiting on pricing from the various places. It looks like there are some good options that won't break the bank. I am also looking for something that is easy to ship, store and install. These are the current options I am looking at, but I hope to hear from friends in the hurricane zone that actually use the products. Not much use for hurricane shutters here in California.
Aluminum Panel

Steel Panel

Polycarbonate Panel

Kevlar Fabric Panel

Pip and Jason, who are building next door, have just sold their home in Canada and are now starting to really plan for the big move. I wish we were to that point, but we're not quite there yet.

The remodeling continues at our Camarillo home, with the hope to sell the house before the beginning of the new year. The market is starting to pick up and the interest rates remain low. There are not a lot of homes for sale in our neighborhood, so hopefully that is a good sign that our house may sell quickly. We are now starting to go over our storage options for our furniture and household goods along with trying to decide what we will bring to Belize. I can already see that January will be here before I know it.