lois' sister and bro-in-law were SUPPOSED to get in today, but they kinda surprised us by getting in yesterday afternoon. thank god i got a little inspired and cleaned up some. inside it wasn't too bad...it was the outside that was in dire need of miraculous intervention. luckily, my friend, Baudelio, came over with eight year-old son in tow. they helped me pull weeds, remove a young elm stump, annihilate a vine that had taken over the front gate, clean two gutters that were totally jam packed with organic sludge and fine shingle gravel, and put down new sand on the ancient pavers in the back.
you wouldn't think an eight year-old would have enough resolve to help out...but this is Baude's son. i swear, this guy from Zacatecas (Mexico) is about 5'6", 210 lbs, has arms the size of bazookas, and is a freakin' machine. i have never seen anyone pull weeds so fast in my life. he had told me that he'd like nothing more than to go back home and have a farm. so that's where you learned to pull so fast...
anyway, the outside has undergone a major transformation. not only are the noxious weeds gone, but there's new cement as well. yesterday, while we were pulling, Adams Asphalt had three guys jackhammerin' out six concrete slabs in front of the house. and today, they poured it.
the sidewalk has been in sad shape for the past few years, worsening with every season. we had been dreading the cost of replacing about 216 sq. feet of concrete. however, we were sure it'd be cheaper than a lawsuit if someone had tripped on the sidewalk in front and lost teeth/brain cells/maxillary bones. surprisingly, they did it for under $2000. and you know what? it looks DAMN nice.
so they got here...armfulls of stuff. although they've been on the road for more than four months, they still seemed pretty fresh and upbeat...for driving from texas to fairbanks and down through here. as the crow flies, that's at least 5500 miles...so you know it's more than that by car. ugh, how the hell can anyone afford driving a 37' motor home...which averages 6 mpg...for 6-8000 miles? that's AT LEAST $2500 in gas...and that's a low estimate. they're thinking more in the neighborhood of $4000 because of the additional cost of gas in Canada (i.e., $4 a gallon). i think they budgeted $12,000 for the five months.
man, we could see most of Central America for that over five months...and leave ALL the driving to someone else. heh
but that's why they're the RVers and we're the weirdos who go to third world countries...
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