Adjusting to Life by the Sea

    First of all, I would like to apologize for the length of time in between postings. I don't really have a good excuse, just that time has gotten away from me. To just say I have been busy is a cop out because there is always time if you make it.  But, anyway, here I am again.
     We love living by the ocean.  As in any place you live, you have to take the good with the bad.  And as long as the good makes all the bad worth it, it is fine, which is defnitely the case here.  There are many things we didn't realize about living in salt air.  The main thing being that anything metal or I guess I could say any metal that is not stainless steel, galvanized or aluminum can and will rust.  And quickly!  When we first got here we had put a metal lock on the front doors to make it more secure.  By the time we took it off to put up the new aluminum doors,  it had completely rusted and corroded.   Plastic is our friend, too, as is WD-40. That rubbed on our metal dresser handles and such helps prevent the oxidation process.  In the evening we can see the salt in the air blowing off the ocean under the street light. 
     We have replaced all of our wood windows and doors with white aluminum.  Not only does it look better, but the maintenance goes down to practically nothing compared to the wood.  We are very excited with the transformation of the house so far.  The reason I haven't posted any pictures is because nothing is completely done.  We have figured it is the Ecuadorian way to finish things 80-90% and then move on to the next project.  It has been a frustration of ours, but we know eventually it will all get done. 
     All the plants, flowers and trees we planted are thriving.  I have some beautiful bougainvillea, roses, begonias, hibiscus and other plants I don't know the English names for.  Things grow like crazy here, so I am excited to see my flower bed mature.  Unfortunately, Annabel and Josie love the flower bed, too.  That is, racing through it at high speeds.  Also picking out clumps of who knows what it eat out of it. I think that is how they got sick recently. They both had a bacterial infection which caused much vomiting and diarrhea.  Thank goodness to an excellent vet who knew just what to do to make them better (and was kind enough to let me bring Annabel to her house at 11:30 at night to start treatment).  She also makes house calls during the day, so that worked out great when Josie became ill the next day.  If you are thinking it is expensive to have a vet come to your house, our vet charges $20 per dog.  It is a wonderful convenience for us since we don't have a car and beats taking the dogs in a taxi.  Thanks to my friend Carlota, who brought a taxi to us the night Annabel was sick so we could get her to the vet. 
     We continue to work on all the details of getting the house ready.  We have installed a perimeter laser alarm and a home alarm for our safety and the safety of our guests.  This is a third world country and as in any area like this, you must protect your home.  I guess that goes for anywhere, though, because Phoenix wasn't exactly crime free : ).  A huge thanks to our friend, Matt Klein for taking the time to fly down here for us and helping us out with some electronic things.  His assistance was absolutely priceless.  Plus we got to have some fun as well.  Hopefully within a couple weeks we can think about starting to install the pool in the back yard.  We have been waiting for the aluminum guy to be finished with the doors and windows as they have been constructing them onsite in our back yard.  It will be wonderful to not have any dust and dirt flying around from construction.  The kitchen is functional and almost done (yeah, the 90% there). It has been wonderful to be able to cook and bake again. The construction workers have reaped the benefit of my baking hobby.
     It is time for Carnival in Ecuador. The next four days will be absolute craziness from what I here. We were told we probably won't be able to leave our house because of the amount of people around.  We have planned for it like a snowstorm, stocking up on food and anything else we might need for the next few days.  It will be fun and exciting to see (from the balcony of our house).  Next Wednesday we will get to celebrate our guardians' son Kevin's 7th birthday.  He has chosen to celebrate here (and invite the rest of their family as well) so that John and I can be there.  I can't tell you how honored that makes us feel.  He has a special place in our heart already : ).
     I promise to be more diligent on my postings.  Hopefully some projects will be completed soon and we will have many pictures to post.