Transcendence
I will start by saying that the experience I had yesterday at the hospital was not expected. Earlier in the day my wife Shelly mentioned that on Facebook, she read that my builder’s daughter was in the hospital. Wayan (my…
Structural view
Here’s a quick 5 second view of our beloved Ohana Retreat Bali: I know its not very pretty yet, but it will be soon enough.
One bucket at a time
For certain jobs the workers can only handle one bucket of concrete at a time. But slowly and most certainly the job gets done.
Week #34 — massive progress
This is the kind of week where if you turn your head one way, and then back, someone has done something to your building and so hurry and check it out. Our kitchen, dining, and living room now have wall…
One minute of workers working
These 19 seconds shows about a typical minute of work. The clip is running at 4X normal speed. While everyone in this clip is actively working, I should mention that due to the heat the workers do take several breaks…
Week #33 — 50 workers
We are ramping up to get the finishes done. We have workers encamped from three villages, an electrical & plumbing crew, and a team making custom windows and doors. You can imagine that labor must be cheap and you’d be…
Interior spaces: finally something to show
Above: our mural artist Maria, whom we met in Bali a year ago, came back from St. Petersburg, Russia especially to create murals on our walls. We first started working on the interior in bits and pieces, in different rooms,…
Week #32 – Tile floors & the kitchen sink
We have reached a point where the latest work on the project is bringing a sense of aesthetic and completeness. While not a single room is actually finished, there are pieces of the puzzle that are coming together. My builder…
The male/female divide
The construction industry is notorious for it’s dominance as a “male” industry. In the USA it would be rare to have a female roofer, plumber or an electrician bid for a job. But in Bali one interesting area where females…
Week #31 — Kitchen counters and floor tile
The challenge we have now is to finish the residential side of the building so that we can move in by the end of February. It’s great to see painted walls, floor tile and kitchen counters going in.
Week #30 — staircases to heaven & a warung
Construction sometimes seems like a never-ending process. And here in Indonesia you never quite know which workers will show up on any given day. In essence it’s a bit of a mystery to figure out the logical progression of day-to-day…
Pererenan Beach to Echo Beach – bridge completed
An exciting development for those that live or visit Echo Beach or Pererenan Beach: now you can conveniently walk over a bridge whereas previously you needed to wade across a stream.