Souvenir Photo Studio, by Al Bourassa: Tuesday Sept 25, 2018 BBQ Patio

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Tuesday Sept 25, 2018

Today we got started on the BBQ patio, just off the right of our main patio. Carlos went out for the supplies and came back with a man with a horse-drawn cart, 3- 1'x12" rough boards and a load of gravel. So that means they had to have loaded it on the cart by hand, only to begin unloading the cart to the sidewalk in front. Then Carlos shoveled several wheelbarrow loads , transported the length of the house and dumped off the back step onto the patio (I had the dogs locked in the bedroom for this process and they were just fine).

I had the car outside for this and when I went out to bring the car back in, I opened the garage door and 5 of 7 dogs came pouring out,.. Cristina had let them loose in the house... Grrr. We caught the baby Nina right away, while Nene and Buddy stayed in the house. We got Negrita in this block and she entered the house easy enough. Cristina ran for the leashes while I tried to keep track of where the pack went,... and they were not stopping. We jumped in the car and I knew they were at least 3 blocks away, ...which they were. Mariposa came when called, then Princesa and finally Turi. This is such common behaviour for them if they all get loose because they race each other to have some unbridled fun, like chasing other dogs. But we got them all back relatively quickly, thank God.

Since I know very little about concrete work my meager contributions today were minor help, with cleanup mostly, supplying rebar, and insisting that the edges be solid concrete (no fill).

Now making cement by hand is a back-breaking process. From the main pile, Carlos shoveled a specific number of shovelfuls into a smaller pile, then he adds a measure of concrete powder. That combination is mixed into other piles at least 3 separate times before it is spread out and water added. Then that is shoveled and poked many times before it is the right consistency for use. Then that is shoveled into place for spreading and smoothing. That was repeated about 12 times to make our small patio over top of a lot of fill material we found in the yard. I figure that poor Carlos must have turned over that shovel 1,000 times this afternoon. I helped a little bit and was done for after just 20 shovelfuls....

I did not even think to start setting up the new BBQ itself because we have to let the concrete cure, and set. Plus I have yet to buy a cover for it. We got a call from HomeCenter and I had forgotten that we might have paid for them to provide BBQ gas hookup. But we found that putting the gas line to the backyard would be prohibitive so we are going to have to use a darn tank. So we agreed to let them set up the BBQ instead, probably tomorrow.

Adiela apparently used my photos to advertise Nina for adoption. I guess the comments received indicated that my photos made Nina look big,.. when she is only a foot-long-hotdog about 4 weeks old... I don't know if she used my YouTube video or not. She still is stuck to me constantly, which is OK because I worry when I can't see her.

I hope you enjoy the pictures. That was the day’s excitement.

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