Well, here we are still living under significant covid restrictions in Canada and things don't seem to be getting any better, at least not in Canada as we are now in our third wave...when will this ever end? Enough about that crap, all I know is that the end is in sight for our build which means that a new beginning is in sight and very much within reach!...We continue to see some promising progress on our build, it looks like a house, the windows and doors are finally in which is great since the next rainy season is just around the corner. If I had to summarize in one word the single most important trait needed when building a home from afar and most specifically in a country that has its own relaxed timelines, is patience. I never considered myself to be a person that had a whole lot of patience, but until a few years ago I had never had the joy of building a home in a third world country. I guess the most frustrating part that we've had to learn to deal with is the incredible lack of urgency when it comes to communicating to us about progress or even responding to questions that we have. A perfect example of this was over one year ago we asked our builder to provide us with a quote for building the outdoor kitchen. Not only did we ask once, but we continued asking / probing over the course of the year and yet nothing. Which is maybe not a bad thing since just a few short weeks ago we decided to make some significant adjustments to the design of the outdoor kitchen to make it a more useable space, but here we go again, have no idea what it's going to cost us. As frustrating as all of this can be, I need to remember to take a step back, breath and remember that we aren't there to help push things along, and even more so we are the ones that made the executive decision to build this house while still living almost 5,000 miles away. And really, I think it's important to remember that we are very fortunate that we are still able to be building our dream home, while so many people across the globe have had their lives destroyed as a result of this pandemic, so many people have lost their sources of income - so really, is it a big deal that we don't have our outdoor kitchen quote yet? No, heck no it's not - just be thankful for what we have and that this will get done, and soon enough we will finally have a home to call our own. I've really learned over the past few years to try to find the positives in everything, and to stop taking things for granted, life is short - enjoy it. This past week my father passed away, and sure he was 85 when he passed, and had lived a pretty good and pretty long life, but at the end of the day even though he made it to 85, it still seems like it was a short time on this earth. Enjoy life, you only get one chance on this earth, and make it your own. My wife and I are making this life our own, and will be living a Pura Vida lifestyle very very soon!
So, now onto some photos of our happy place. Windows and doors have been installed, outdoor patio tiles being installed, and patio railings!