long time no post

The launch of some regatta from Punta del Este harbor, on its way to Buenos Aires on Saturday. We caught it by chance, did not even know it was going on, after a full week of the other regattas going on... When we arrived home, it was dark and we could see all the boat´s green lights from our house, very cute.

well, what with the crazy work on every front, the pre move, the move, the post move, the inauguration of the parrillero this Sunday, etc., I´ve been neglecting my blogging duties.

First things first. We moved on Saturday, December 1, after much tantrum throwing on my part (nobody could spare a truck or hands for our move, which made the little screaming fit necessary).

Picture of Fabiana and Barbi, on our first day at home...

This one is called "el Cabeza" and visits once every few days from a neighboring farm. He´s very distinguished and well mannered and actually barks for a living, unlike Fabiana who licks and demands to be loved and only barks at bugs.


So we moved, spent a crazy week unpacking and especially trying to finish up with all the "trades" plus the alarm system, the satellite Internet connection, trying to hunt down a pool guy, etc. We found out that the sale of gas bottles for the kitchen stove is now forbidden until further notice, so the options are to resort to the secondary market (thriving I hear) or fish one from someone´s winter heaters. We found a couple, luckily.

Now the sprinklers work on their own, the pool doesn´t, it looks a beautiful moss green again, after going through clear, then primordial soup, onto milk white and back to deeply alive green in just 10 days. I finally tracked down a guy who will take care of it, but today with the storm he could not make it over here.

We also found the local place in the woods of Punta Negra where we can buy emergency firewood, veggies and other sundry supplies. It´s a bizarre place, and the year-round residents of this area call themselves "los de arriba" meaning the ones living in the woods "above" the topographically lower area of coastal beach houses which is mostly for summer vacationers, not "real locals". I am now honorarily "de arriba" I think, as I plan to shop there and employ as many locals as I can, have to support their meager existence, as it seems everyone is pretty despondent and it´s in our best interest to have some convenience stores in the area...

Anyway, we had our opening asado on Sunday, and the weather cooperated, a relatively calm and sunny day in between two storms. We had a great time, with family, close friends and both architects, their wives and brood. Barbi made his debut, with invaluable assistance from "the angel" as he calls my brother Jorge, who provided ongoing technical advice and some physical help as well. I stuck to the salads.

Living in the house has been amazing so far. We hadn´t slept so well in ages, nor been willing to rise at 7 AM to go for walks... I find myself going for walks at least once a day, sometimes more, in the company of Fabiana who takes the opportunity to go hunting. Speaking of which, she tried to present me with her prey two days ago, an aperiá, which came seconds after I walked past the dead evil viper, after having 9 huge birds of prey (nobody agrees on what they are, little eagles, vultures, etc.) flying above me as I strolled down the completely deserted beach, etc... Lots of nature.

The house itself is noticeably different in its two sectors. The wooden side is considerably less insulated from the elements, and my suspicion is that the vulnerable part is the floor. In the masonry part, the insulation seems to be perfect, we never feel cold or hot or whatever it is like outside, and the sound insulation is also great.