the walnut tree

Today is the grand slam Blog update...I was able to get Sianna down for a nap, and Olivia is occupied with a pizza crust. So, you will find several entries for today, and it is done this way, as I can't seem to upload more then 4 fotos at a time. I tried to group them together so it makes more sense.

The house is coming along, and you will see the new plaster on the interior. Alex and I have started researching tiles and such for bathrooms. On our first visit to a tile and bath store, we found out 2 things. #1 is that I have really expensive taste. #2 is that Alex has more expensive taste. I fell in love with a handmade ceramic sink, from Spain. It was ONLY 600 euros. Alex, being the optimist, suggested we take a look at other models by the same group. His eye went to another sink that ended up being 1200 euro. Hold on...Sianna is crying.

Ok, she fell off the couch mid nap and is now happy with some ice cream to take the swelling down on her bubba lip. Wait, now Olivia is crying....

Just enjoy the pictures of the walnut tree.

upstairs

Sianna's room, now nice and plastered.

Olivia's room, looking towards her window.

Above is Alex and my room, looking from the door towards the tiny and weird balcony, and below is the shot from that tiny and weird balcony towards the opposite corner. Behind that wall is our bathroom.

The Stairs

The stairs from as seen from the front door. Fireplace should go in the corner to the left.

We have a cool spot here on the stairs for a nice piece of art work....hint hint, Rani. ;)

And below is the view from the top of the stairs. Behind you will be the door to get to the loft which will be over the kitchen.

the dining room

You got it, the dining room with the final plaster on it. The stone arch over the door will be cleaned off and stand out more.

Here are our cool niches, where we were able to leave the rocks exposed.

color options

Here we go, things are cleaned up a bit and the final coat of plaster is beginning to be applied to the interior of the house. The reason why you see color in some parts and white in others is because while they are doing the interior, we are testing colors for the exterior. Alex and I decided to give the colored plaster method a try. If it sucks, we can always paint over it. So, rather then waste the samples that Christos mixes up, he has it applied to the interior which will be painted with primer and paint anyhow.

Above is the doors leading to the bathroom and the dining room, as seen from the front door. Below is the view of the living room from the end of the kitchen.

Here you see the front door from across the room where the bathroom and dining room doors are.

Ok, and below are some samples of colors. The tile on the bottom is from the roof, and we brought it down to see how it would contrast. That red tile is the darkest color the plaster can be mixed to. We have opted for something between #2 and that red tile. Should be up next week, if we are lucky.

door frames

Like the title says, these are the door frames that are installed before the final coat of smooth plaster goes on. The workman was really good and timely, once we got him there...

pre final plaster

Here are a couple of shots before the final smooth coat of plaster goes on.

Olivia's room is above and the view out of Sianna's room is below.

This is from Sianna's balcony looking up the street towards Louis' house.

It has been a while! Again! Between diaper changes and bouts of illness, we have managed to get some pictures of the house together. Problem is, with the High Holidays the grant work etc... Alex is really busy to actually write anything down ... and I have a limited knowledge of the goings on at the site. All I know is it looks like it is moving along. We should be getting a plumber in next week, along with the final plaster coat on the interior walls.

We are currently debating whether or not to paint the house, or use coloured plaster, which is an old technique that gives more richness, depth and warmth to the building. We are leaning in that direction, but the down side is the up keep. It tends to crack and needs clear coat every two years, while simple painting can last 5 years.

Look... more frappe cups. Below, you see Sianna standing in the closet that fits under the stairwell in the guest bedroom. This is one of the spaces that the workers had to go in and rip out the new wall they had built...why...because there is no communication between anyone working at times, and the guys do what ever they think is right, only to be told---ummm, that is wrong. So, it is not the language barrier, it is plain stupidity half of the time.

The final layer of plaster will be put on this week. So the next group of photos will show smooth walls that are ready to be prepped for painting. In these shots you can still see the mesh and the blue lines are the electrical lines that were run the other week. He finished the house in a few days, and we also had the guys who will install the underfloor heating/cooling system come in and prep the spots for some sort of a fan system that works with the system.

Below is a shot of Sianna's room. She has a little loft spot for storage, I guess...

This is one of the nitches in the dining room. We were able to save the stones around it, to leave them exposed. I am hoping they cut that mesh off...but you never know.

We have a roof!

Yes, we have a roof. Not sure if it will stay natural or be white washed white. Alex is still deciding. But, we got the wood we wanted, very rustic looking, and the tiles we wanted, not the yellow that was suggested.

The tiles very in tones of terracotta and are a bit lighter then the typical ones around the area. Below you can see two of the roofers. They were really fast and hopefully really good too...I guess we shall see, once the rainy season gets here!

The brick work is almost done and you can now see the shape of things to come. Plastering will be next, I think. Oh, and this is an old picture, as there is wall in that giant opening you see to the left and behind the dumpster.

Upstairs looking down to the bottom floor, where the loft and kitchen area are.

Sianna and Alex inspect the metal mesh work that will help keep the walls intact. Layers of plaster go over this...yes, covering most of the stones. But, it is safer in regards to earthquakes, and will keep the dust and small stones from falling on your food as you eat in the dining room, which is pictured below.

Where have we been???

Since our last post, we have not been anywhere...and much has happened to the house. But, as is the way of Murphy, we had several unexpected problems with our communication methods to the outside word (also known as, anywhere off the island). Firstly, our laptop decided to die on us at the end of April, just before my (this is Jenn) parents came over for a 3 week visit. So, all of May we spent with no computer at the house. This was fine, since we were taking pictures the entire time and were very busy with Olivia and Sianna and my parents and Aunts that flew down from Germany. We decided, when things slowed down a bit, to go ahead and purchase a new computer and made the leap to Apple. No sooner had we set up the new iMac (that means plugged it in) then our phone and internet lines were cut. Really, cut. The construction of the house next to where we rent (which started the week Sianna was born and is not anywhere near being finished) rendered our phone line useless, and on a Friday0 OF COURSE! We were told by the kind people at OTE that a technician would be out first thing Monday morning. We were happy to see them the following Thurseday. So, we had no means to post or to set up photos. Then, I got the bright idea to take all the photos off the camera and set them up on the new iMac. We installed Picasa, so I thought I could atleast organize them for when I would be able to post them. WRONG. For reasons unknown to us, even though the proper camera software was installed, all our photos from May and June were rendered useless, save but a few not so good shots! Yes, that means 2 months of Olivia too. I was not pleased. If anyone knows how to fix messed up digital pics that were viewable on PCs but not on Macs...please let me know. Now, we reformatted the memory card in the camera and hopefully that problem is solved for future pictures.

As far as the house goes...well, lots of walls have been built and torn down, doorways have been made and rebricked, wouldbe closets have been closed off and reopened....don't get the idea that we are changing our minds all the time...we aren't. But, the lovely architecht and the construction foreman have not been communicating with one another, or us or the workers (that last one is the most dangerous!) There were points when they did things they were totally told not to do, just because the architect was nto considering our wants. Yes, it has been a trying couple of months. Now, we are up to the roof...yes, a roof is up there and waiting on tile. We had the hurtles of getting the wood and tile we wanted as opposed to the ones the architect wanted. That caused a small delay, but finally it will be the way we want it. We will be posting picures soon, with more details of the "issues"...I will leave that to Alex. Gotta run, Olivia is over this! See Ya;)