Nothing gets you up on the roof faster than realizing that the first "real" rain of the season might be starting, and that there are six months worth of dead leaves filling your gutters.  

My first reaction when the pitter-patter began was to head out to our lovely outdoor patio upstairs to watch the sunset and storm interact over the estuary.  Light, flowing trees, gentle breezes, gray clouds, and zephyrs... OHCRAP!   The roof is probably covered in leaves!

Out comes the ladder, and up I went.  Sure enough, the leaves were nearly a foot thick in some places (our gutters are less than 6" deep). 

So far, the rain hasn't arrived with any force, just gentle droplets that more-or-less evaporate without flowing.  But at least there are mostly-clean gutters into which all the droplets can flow if their buddies decide to make a party of it tonight. 

And there is one less thing on my list of things to do.  Double-bonus.

Labels: house, tamarindo, weather

Another hot one yesterday. I spent the day finishing phase II of my gate project while catching the cellphone every so often*. I am feeling proud of the difference- note the old wood on the main portion of the gate vs. the newly refinished wood on the smaller gate. Yes, I know it has imperfections. Now that phase II is done, it doesn't look like as much work as it felt like while I was doing it! I'm sure that the heat played a role. Also stopping to catch the phone takes its toll on productivity. Occasional play breaks with the pooches didn't make it go any faster either.

This project has been a good reminder of the efficiency of specialized work. Once I figured out the best way to do a particular aspect of the job, and assembled the correct tools, it went much more smoothly. Of course, by the time I got all of that figured out, I was also done ;P One of the hazards of doing it yourself.

*Sometimes I like to take a second to enjoy technological advances. While I did have several very important business phone calls to handle, I was able to do so while doing some much-needed home maintenance. It was awfully convenient to be untethered from my desk!

In contrast to the gate project, I think I've pretty much got basic bread making down to a simple, efficient system. For those that aren't interested in a lot of time invested but do enjoy homemade bread, I think you'll have a hard time getting more streamlined than the following:

1. Grab flour container, yeast, and salt from wherever you store them. (this requires pre-planning in that I keep my flours in rubbermaid plastic bins that are large enough to dip a measuring cup, makes it easier to get the flour later and keeps it fresh).
2. Put ingredients on counter with 1C liquid measuring cup, 1 1/2 C dry measure cup, 1 teaspoon, 1 mixing spoon, 1 medium mixing bowl.
3. Put 2 tsp of dry yeast into 1 C liquid measuring cup, fill with hot tap water, set aside.
4. Put 2 tsp of salt into bowl
5. Put 3 Cups of flour(s) into bowl.
6. Go do something else that takes at least 5 minutes.
7. Add yeasty water to flour, mix well. If too dry, add a very very little bit more water. For me, it is usually a near-perfect wetness if I do it as above.
8. Cover with a towel, let sit for an hour, put in fridge.
9. Get up in the morning, pull dough out of fridge, pour a cup of coffee and go do something that takes 15-30 minutes (so the dough can warm up a little).
10. Remove dough, fold it two or three times, put it onto a cookie sheet or pie tin with some olive oil rubbed onto dough and pan, sprinkle a pinch of salt on top.
11. Set a timer for 45 minutes. Go do something else.
12. When timer rings, turn on oven to 475 degrees. If your oven chimes when it hits temp (mine does), then go do something else.
13. When oven is hot, slice some lines on top of the bread, add to oven, spritz oven with some water to increase humidity for a nicer crust (alternately, throw a handful of icecubes on the bottom of the oven, no bowl needed).
14. Set cooking time to 27 minutes (cooking time may vary). Go do something else.
15. Done. If you want a darker crust, let it sit in the cooling oven for a little while- you can basically toast the loaf like in this photo.

That's it. The actual "work" part is probably less than 15 minutes. You just have to start it the night before and also be around to do the little parts in the morning. Fresh bread is worth it.

Labels: bread, dog, food, house, weather

Last week I managed to fix the control board on the fridge by spending $20 on capacitors instead of paying $180 for a tech to come out and charge me $300 for a new control board.

Buoyed by that success, I decided to see if I could figure out why the light-goblin in the fridge takes a few seconds to turn the light on when we open the door.

It isn't such a terrible problem, but now that the light works (it did not, prior to the first repair) I find myself annoyed by the sudden flash of light after my eyes have adjusted to the darkness inside the fridge.

The problem was pretty clearly related to the door switch. It takes a while to activate. So I popped the switch out with my screwdriver and noticed that it is "not user serviceable". Bah! Humbug! It's a switch! I'm not paying $15 to GE for a darn switch. Besides, it'll take who-knows-how-long to get it.

So out comes the dremel and.... bingo! User serviceable part!
The switch is rather elegant, actually. The terminals are each a single sheet of copper with a contact on it. One terminal flexes to push on a plastic piston that pushes against a lever that is actuated by the door. When the door is closed, the piston pushed the one terminal's contact away from the other contact. When the door opens, the terminal pushes the piston outward and comes into contact with the other contact, closing the switch. Simple.

But the open/close cycles have arced a few times and the contacts are pitted and coated in carbon (which doesn't conduct electricity very well).

I polished them with steel wool and a pencil eraser, then spritzed some silicone spray on there to help prevent future carbon deposits and arcs, then lightly bent each contact to make them a little springier. After gluing the switch closed, it should work much better! Total cost: 4 drops of super glue (3 cents?) and a spritz of silicone spray (2 cents?). Savings: $14.95 (plus shipping) and several weeks of waiting for the part to arrive.

And best of all? Now when I go hunting for beer, I can see where I'm going without having to wait for the fridge-light-goblin to wake up and turn the light on. I suppose that it will also mean that the fridge will stop trying to cool itself when the door is open, which will mean a lot less work for a lucky few electrons who aren't called upon to throw themselves willy nilly at the various motors involved.

And if you buy into that whole butterfly-effect thing: maybe the resultant 2 oz of carbon dioxide that isn't produced by me not wasting power.... maybe that'll give the Maldivians a few more days. But mostly, its about the beer.

Labels: house, repair

Wind Chime on "verenera" over pool.
basil, odd leaf curl, advice welcome.
New flower on tobasco plantPretty spider

Labels: Costa Rica, garden, house, photo, tamarindo, weather

Today starts as a cloudy, "cool" morning (maybe low seventies) and we begin the day with coffee, coffee cake, and birds. One of the pleasures of our home is the large number of birds that we see from our deck. There are two large "Jobo" trees in our driveway positioned such that the crowns of the trees are only 3-5m (10-20ft) above our eye level but at least 20m (~65ft) above ground level. "Ground" in this case is a hill, so some of the higher branches may be several meters further from the dirt. Regardless of actual height- birds seem to enjoy the trees.

We also enjoy a fairly sweeping view out over a woodlands that turns into an estuary, where more birds feed and congregate.

As a snapshot of what is out there, I list the 12 different species we saw this morning. Most notable today was a large (longer than my forearm) Laughing Falcon (Herpetotheres cachinnans) that we were lucky enough to watch fly up from the estuary directly towards us until it landed (amongst much distress from smaller birds) in the tree directly in front of us. It reminded me of watching a commercial jet come in for a landing with its heavy body and motionless wings as it approached. The bird itself is quite notable for two features: 1) it has a distinct "bandit's mask" coloration on the face. Think raccoon. 2) it's voice is very much like a laugh, and very loud. We have been hearing it for months but did not know what it is. Now that we know, it is even more fun.

There was actually a pair in the tree, but we were so enthralled by the first that we did not even notice the second until they flew away together (calling in duet).

H. cachinnans is primarily a snake-eater, catching venomous and non-venomous snakes, also lizards and rodents. Its talons are particularly scaly and tough-looking, I imagine that helps it avoid envenomation.

The rest of the list is as follows, with common name, then scientific in italics.

Laughing Falcon - Herpototheres cachinnans - pair
Orange Chinned Parakeets - Brotogeris jugularis - several small groups of 3-4
Great Tailed Grackles - Quiscalus mexicanus - various
Pigeon (?) flying by - probably red-billed pigeon- Columba flavirostris
Rufus Naped Wren - Campylorhinchus rufinucha - 2 groups of 2 and 3
Great Kiskadee - Pitangus sulfuratus - pair and single
Green Breasted Mango (hummingbird)- Anthrocothorax prevostii - single (hummingbird)
Hoffman's Woodpecker - Melanerpes hoffmannii - pair
Swallow (maybe a Martin) flying
Blue-Gray Tanager - Thraupis episcopus - pair
Striped-Headed Sparrow - Aimophila ruficauda - single
Orange Fronted Parakeet - Aratinga canicularis - pair

Of course, there are also squirrels, iguanas (Ctenosaurus), at least five types of butterflies (yellow, white, orange & black, green and black, small green), ants, some mosquitos, some millipedes, other ants, Melipona bees, dragonflies, and one cute mixed-breed dog. Nice little menagerie that we enjoy here!

Labels: bird, garden, house, tamarindo, weather

Steve's older brother and his wife and kids came for a visit. It was wonderful to have them here and I think it is safe to say that everyone had a good time together.

Because I backed up their photos prior to their departure, I've got a few highlights to share, in no particular order and without any particular agenda, here we go!

Nothing says "great start to a vacation" like an air conditioner failure!	A/C or no, the pool worked fine	I'm just as tall as my 13 year old neice, unless we both stand flat-footed :(	Austin was enthralled by the complete works of Calvin & Hobbes (thanks Ky!)
	Steve's first attempt at homemade pasta. His dough came out well, his ravioli looked a little like a poached egg, in a bad way. Isabelle is much more skilled in that arena.	Clue. Good fun for everyone. (Wine helps)	Marty rolls pasta
...wine helps...	Lazy Saturday, a little beach and surf in the morning... some darts in the afternoon	Such form! Such Grace (I lost)	Brave photographer
There was also a game of Scrabble	Breezy and shady	Austin throws well for his first time
Caly: keeping it real	everybody wins at Scrabble!	Sorting beach treasure

Labels: dog, family, food, house, photo, tamarindo, visitor, weather

For the last few weeks we've been noticing dry, wilted plants on the roadside, covered by dust. The same dust has been blasting pedestrians and coating various items in our lives. We expect that in March, but not in August. Well... the last few days seem to have corrected the unusual weather- we've had gentle to not-so-gentle storms nearly every afternoon since Sunday. Never a big fan of rainy days, even I can see that we needed the precipitation.


I've got bread in the oven and a book awaiting my attention. It isn't so bad.

Last night's storm made for a particularly ominous-looking sunset. The sort of thing that makes you enjoy having a dry place to get out of the weather.

Labels: bread, house, photo, sunset, tamarindo, weather

i am finally starting my line of art installations for the home and garden: mobiles, chimes, bowls, sink design, sconce design, book covers. basically, art pieces for indoors and out, for use and for beauty. i'm starting the line with copper, but figure i will integrate other types of metal as well as found and natural objects. here is my first prototype for the mobile/moving art collection of the line.

Labels: garden, house

I think I finally fixed our 1/2 bathroom! It has been months. Mostly due to abject disinterest on my part, but partly due to simply being a little afraid of the project.

I finally tore down the toilet, breaking it into all of its constituent pieces... the tank came off, I scraped all the silicone sealant off of the base/bowl to detach it from the floor (hot tip: alcohol will soften silicone, but it takes a long time. Turpentine will work faster, but you better have some ventilation). The original problem appears to have been both of the nylon bolts that hold the tank to the bowl had sheared off at the head. I was pleasantly surprised to find two new bolts with washers and nuts for $2.

Once I got that all fixed, I threw on a new wax seal (for good measure) and re-assembled, only to find that the fill valve had apparently built up enough scum/hard water deposits from inaction that it wasn't working. So the tank came back off so that I could get the valve out. Now that I've done it, I realize that I could have just taken the top off of the valve in situ. Oh well, that's one way to learn.

Soaked the valve in vinegar for a few hours, then scrubbed it with a brush to get it all cleaned up. It seems to work now! So I put everything back together and cleaned up. So far, no leaks! The fill valve might be seeping slightly- hard to tell. If it is, then we could waste as much as about a gallon per day. Maybe. It is a really really small leak.

Since I was feeling Joe Plumber-esque, I went ahead and attacked the sink faucet, which is a little wobbly. The good news: I didn't make it any worse. The bad news: I don't think I made it any better. At least it is cleaner now. The problem is that the faucet can rotate on the sink. The cause appears to be that the concrete from which the "counter" is made is very thick and uneven- so the nut on the bottom of the faucet is too far to get a hand/wrench onto it to tighten, and the surface against which it is getting tightened is so uneven that it doesn't clamp down.

Oh well. At least we have a half-bathroom again. Before this we only had THREE bathrooms for the two of us. That extra half-bath should really help.

Labels: house

Nothing quite compares to spending a few hours on the blazing hot roof, laying asphalt matting, to prevent water from seeping into the concrete walls that were designed by someone who should have %&!@ng known better than to build flat, unsealed concrete surfaces in a place that gets 18 feet(6m) of rain every year.

The roof itself was 148 degrees. Felt even hotter.	at least the views are nice!	You gotta love the puppy-dog art that the cracks had created
even the cool ocean breeze was a mixed-blessing	Who says roof workers aren't sexy?	pounding the asphalt with tar- wrist numbing fun
Only 114 on the wall itself	People start getting a little punchy after a few hours of this	That should keep the seepage at bay... next step: new scuppers! stay tuned!

Labels: house, photo, tamarindo, weather