Happy New Year! Construction Update!

The new door and walls. For now, one side is open for Pulpo and Alvaro to get to the roof.

Rigo's steel staircase. Pretty blue, no?

Alvara filling buckets with sand that has been delivered to our sidewalk.

Alvaro connects the bucket to a line and pulley and then runs backward, hoisting it to the roof.

It was so much fun to spend the holidays with our kids and grandkids. Wow, the energy level is amazing. Now we're back to our island home. The contractor, Pulpo and I just had a discussion, in my very limited Spanish, about how our lives are full of laughter, activity and excitement with grandkids. Our life here, on the other hand, is tranquilo and contented. A great combination.

Pulpo and his son, Alvaro, were busy while we in Dallas for Christmas. It is truly amazing how they fit the puzzle pieces of building together. After they built the vestibule and two walls for the staircase (these all included three layers of stucco), they rigged up a pulley to get blocks and cement to the roof for the low walls they are building up there.

Before construction began, we didn't understand how a friend of ours could say that she went through withdrawal when Pulpo was done building a beautiful backyard patio and apartment at her place. She said that she was thinking of devising a 12 step program to wean people off of Pulpo!Really? She really missed the dust, the noise and the intrusion? Now, after having Pulpo and Alvaro here for 4 weeks, we get it. Pulpo's soft spoken, gentle yet proud ways are a wonderful thing.

We've enjoyed the experience and we know we will love our roof. We already do! Sitting up there with a beer at sunset on New Year's Eve was the best. The moon came up between the nearby cathedral spires, the cruise ships were decked out in their lights and floating away while the lightening bugs flitted around us.

So much for which to be grateful. We hope that you feel the same.