Minor notified us the municipality finally approved our building permit on Monday, February 18th. The next day he had his construction crew start clearing the lot and by Saturday, they had completed the excavatation for the septic system and the foundation. Most of the building material is now in place, so the construction should go up pretty fast. As soon as we have something to show, we'll post some pictures.
Read the whole story...
24 February 2008
28 January 2008
Construction is about to start...
Minor sent us the final set of construction plans for our apartment in Atenas yesterday. Everything looks great and Minor even remember to include a few of the amenities we forgot to ask for.
All of the permits should be signed off on this week and construction will be starting any day now. Minor estimates it will take about 3 months to complete the construction.
Once it's finished, we will schedule a trip to furnish the apartment and make it livable. I've started to compile a list of everything we think we will need to make this a comfortable place to stay whenever we are there on vacation. I've already started to set aside all the extra linens, towels and kitchen paraphernalia that will be useful.
Our dream of having a place of our own in Costa Rica is gradually becoming a reality!
Read the whole story...
All of the permits should be signed off on this week and construction will be starting any day now. Minor estimates it will take about 3 months to complete the construction.
Once it's finished, we will schedule a trip to furnish the apartment and make it livable. I've started to compile a list of everything we think we will need to make this a comfortable place to stay whenever we are there on vacation. I've already started to set aside all the extra linens, towels and kitchen paraphernalia that will be useful.
Our dream of having a place of our own in Costa Rica is gradually becoming a reality!
Read the whole story...
Update on Greta, our 3-legged wonder dog!
Some of our readers have asked for an update on Greta since her leg was amputated six months ago. Like any dog mom, I'm always happy to brag about one of the pups...
Greta is doing fantastic! She's not as active as she once was, but I have to remind myself that she will be 12 years old tomorrow. Her right foreleg was removed in July of '07 due to a rapid growing malignant tumor. Since this time she has adapted well to getting around on 3 legs. She still jumps up on the sofa and bed whenever she wants too but I have noticed she takes her time getting down. It's as if she is making sure she has a clear landing zone before she propel herself down to land and balance on just the one front leg.
She doesn't like to walk for any extended periods of time and I this is partly our fault for not making her exercise more. Greta has put on some additional weight since surgery and we have cut back on the amount we are feeding her.
She still runs to the door every time the doorbell rings and she will actually jump up on her hind legs when she wants me to pick her up.
Greta is an amazing little dog and it's just a joy to have around. I am so glad we gave her a second chance and elected to amputate her leg. Her quality of life has not been diminished in the least. If you are ever faced with making this agonizing decision, you need to know that dogs are very resilient. Work with your vet and always get a second opinion. You just might be able to enjoy many additional years with a happy healthy 3-legged friend.
Read the whole story...
Greta is doing fantastic! She's not as active as she once was, but I have to remind myself that she will be 12 years old tomorrow. Her right foreleg was removed in July of '07 due to a rapid growing malignant tumor. Since this time she has adapted well to getting around on 3 legs. She still jumps up on the sofa and bed whenever she wants too but I have noticed she takes her time getting down. It's as if she is making sure she has a clear landing zone before she propel herself down to land and balance on just the one front leg.
She doesn't like to walk for any extended periods of time and I this is partly our fault for not making her exercise more. Greta has put on some additional weight since surgery and we have cut back on the amount we are feeding her.
She still runs to the door every time the doorbell rings and she will actually jump up on her hind legs when she wants me to pick her up.
Greta is an amazing little dog and it's just a joy to have around. I am so glad we gave her a second chance and elected to amputate her leg. Her quality of life has not been diminished in the least. If you are ever faced with making this agonizing decision, you need to know that dogs are very resilient. Work with your vet and always get a second opinion. You just might be able to enjoy many additional years with a happy healthy 3-legged friend.
Read the whole story...
11 January 2008
More family recipes to share
Once again, I've been busy gathering recipes from family and friends. I've posted several new recipes you need to try. Just click on the "Recipes" link above to go to Mi Chunche en la Cocina
If you've got some favorites you want posted, send them to me.
Read the whole story...
If you've got some favorites you want posted, send them to me.
Read the whole story...
07 January 2008
Nicholas V's Christening
Folks from Alabama, California and Texas gathered with family in Louisiana to celebrate little Nicholas' Baptism this past weekend. Those that couldn't be there were with us in spirit. Here are a few photos you might enjoy.
Double click on any photo to zoom in on full slideshow in Picasa Webs Album.
Read the whole story...
Double click on any photo to zoom in on full slideshow in Picasa Webs Album.
Read the whole story...
23 December 2007
14 December 2007
Seeing is Believing
Having an eye go bad is pretty scary business. It's even worse when you get a cataract in one eye and it progresses very quickly.
Pat had known that she had a minor cataract problem. Then in early '07 we both noticed that her vision was getting really bad. Our regular optometrist told her that the slight catarct had rapidly clouded to a major cataract in less than a year (uncommon.) Together, we went to an appointment with an eye specialist and were dismayed to be shown that her vision had degenerated to 20:60, in her right eye, WITH glasses. Without glasses, she couldn't see anything, functionally.
The suggestion was to replace the cataract-damaged eye lens with a man-made plastic lens. They now do this with orthoscopic micro-surgery and it sounded like a simple procedure.
As of today, there are several different classes of lenses available for implantation and we had a difficult decision to make. The old-time type of lenses are fairly rigid, fixed focus critters. That means that you get one range of vision in focus: usually long distance is in focus; medium distance is a little fuzzy; and, close up (reading) is just a mess. The up-side is that there have been thousands and thousands of them implanted with a very low problem rate.
An alternate is a newer design that is soft/flexible so that the eye muscles can warp the lens and give the patient acceptable distance, mid-range and close-up vision. Even though they don't always give the patient perfect vision at any of the distance ranges, many people throw away their glasses completely if both eyes receive the soft implants.
Since Pat only needed a single lens replaced, that meant that she would positively still have to wear glasses (for the untreated eye).
So: more proven design; single eye repair only; probability that the old design will be around for years and years (in case a repair/replacement is required in the distant future) -- we selected the older design.
I was expecting quite a big deal for the ultrasonic disintigration of the old lens, removal of the many pieces, insertion of the new lens, positioning, and repair of the incision. They told us that the entire procedure would take 3 hours, including recovery.
So, I'm thinking, "This will take less than an hour in the operating room."
Wrong.
While Pat was being prepared for the operation, the nurse said, "Yes, the Doctor will take about 10 minutes to complete the procedure."
Ten minutes!?! Incredible.
And that's how it went. From when they rolled her toward the operating room until the doctor came out to tell me the procedure went perfectly, only about 20 minutes ticked away. (There was some time eaten up for the anesthetic to kick in.)
There was a bit of angst for both of us as we worried what the results would be. Pat had 3 kinds of eye drops to endure, every 4 hours and she said that it felt like there was a foreign object caught under her eyelid.
The next day, we were at the doctor's office for a post-operative check up. The nurse flashed an eye chart up on the wall and asked Pat to read the smallest line possible. She hesitated a second and then ripped through the little bitty letters at the bottom of the page. 20:20 vision!
Three hours out of our lives and Pat goes from barely being able to see with glasses to perfect vision without glasses. Wow.
Read the whole story...
Pat had known that she had a minor cataract problem. Then in early '07 we both noticed that her vision was getting really bad. Our regular optometrist told her that the slight catarct had rapidly clouded to a major cataract in less than a year (uncommon.) Together, we went to an appointment with an eye specialist and were dismayed to be shown that her vision had degenerated to 20:60, in her right eye, WITH glasses. Without glasses, she couldn't see anything, functionally.
The suggestion was to replace the cataract-damaged eye lens with a man-made plastic lens. They now do this with orthoscopic micro-surgery and it sounded like a simple procedure.
As of today, there are several different classes of lenses available for implantation and we had a difficult decision to make. The old-time type of lenses are fairly rigid, fixed focus critters. That means that you get one range of vision in focus: usually long distance is in focus; medium distance is a little fuzzy; and, close up (reading) is just a mess. The up-side is that there have been thousands and thousands of them implanted with a very low problem rate.
An alternate is a newer design that is soft/flexible so that the eye muscles can warp the lens and give the patient acceptable distance, mid-range and close-up vision. Even though they don't always give the patient perfect vision at any of the distance ranges, many people throw away their glasses completely if both eyes receive the soft implants.
Since Pat only needed a single lens replaced, that meant that she would positively still have to wear glasses (for the untreated eye).
So: more proven design; single eye repair only; probability that the old design will be around for years and years (in case a repair/replacement is required in the distant future) -- we selected the older design.
I was expecting quite a big deal for the ultrasonic disintigration of the old lens, removal of the many pieces, insertion of the new lens, positioning, and repair of the incision. They told us that the entire procedure would take 3 hours, including recovery.
So, I'm thinking, "This will take less than an hour in the operating room."
Wrong.
While Pat was being prepared for the operation, the nurse said, "Yes, the Doctor will take about 10 minutes to complete the procedure."
Ten minutes!?! Incredible.
And that's how it went. From when they rolled her toward the operating room until the doctor came out to tell me the procedure went perfectly, only about 20 minutes ticked away. (There was some time eaten up for the anesthetic to kick in.)
There was a bit of angst for both of us as we worried what the results would be. Pat had 3 kinds of eye drops to endure, every 4 hours and she said that it felt like there was a foreign object caught under her eyelid.
The next day, we were at the doctor's office for a post-operative check up. The nurse flashed an eye chart up on the wall and asked Pat to read the smallest line possible. She hesitated a second and then ripped through the little bitty letters at the bottom of the page. 20:20 vision!
Three hours out of our lives and Pat goes from barely being able to see with glasses to perfect vision without glasses. Wow.
Read the whole story...
07 December 2007
Gotta get in the Spirit!
We returned home Monday evening from our recent visit to Costa Rica and now its time to get into the Holiday spirit. We need to put the outside lights on the house and get the tree decorated this weekend. With the temperature going back up into the 80's today, I felt John and I would need a bit of help to get us motivated to bring down all the decorations from the attic. The Dancing Elves did just the trick!
Click on the link and enjoy!
Read the whole story...
Click on the link and enjoy!
Read the whole story...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)