But being American I really love to grill outside, and so it was important to me to have a nice grill.....the old grill was pretty dilapidated and even tho Rene had installed gas to the grill, we just didn't use it that much......
The landlord gave his permission for Rene to redo the grill to my liking, and therefore now we have a very nice usable space that I really love......
There was no sink before so besides the new roof and more electric lighting Rene installed a nice stainless steel sink....everything was done to make it "Rustic Elegance" without losing any of the Ecuadorian feeling.....Rene got 2 huge tree stumps and a large plank, which we painted white, for a work table/bar area.....the shelf above the sink is an old drawer from my house in Omaha saved when we remodeled the kitchen...looks very cute.....
Around the tree trunk support we laid old broken china bits I have saved......
So now we have a lovely grill area we can enjoy rain or shine......the best part is that Rene (who is also a professional Chef) came over on July 4th and grilled ribs to inaugurate the new grill.... we had a great meal with great conversation.....
Rene's contact info: 0997731068 --- dc-constructora@hotmail.com
We are back to redoing my bathroom.... after all the work was done there was still a small leak coming from the ceiling in the dining room.....Rene was determined to find the cause so he tore up more of the floor and discovered the hand sink drain had never been connected to the main drain, so the water from the sink just went into the ceiling and walls.....A perfect example of why it is SO IMPORTANT here to hire a person who has worked in the states and is trained to do things correctly... I would ONLY have RENE CALLE do work for me....unfortunately too many people here only want someone cheap instead of someone good!!
Our daughter Deborah and grand daughter Cristina arrived Tuesday morning....Susana took us to pick them up, and I immediately came down with some kind of virus - vomiting and diarrhea , so we've been taking it slow this week....but it is so wonderful to have them here... They love coming to Cuenca and we have lots of things planned....this month will go very fast.........
