March 2020 will be remembered as possibly the longest month we’ve worked through. It also marks 1 year since the old house was demolished and site preparation began for new construction. To be sure, the Coronavirus pandemic has altered everyone’s perception of time, including the construction trades. Nevertheless, the finishing work continues, just more slowly as products are delayed, coordination is required to pick things up, and trades are difficult to book as they have reduced staff due to self-isolation protocols. Everyone that has come to do any work here has been very considerate of the distancing and hand-washing protocols and of course, they mostly work alone with protective gear anyway. During the exhortations to “stay home,” we summarize this month’s accomplishments in staycation format:

Benvenuto in Italia: Piastrele completed in our main floor barrier free shower.

Aloha oe e ko Hawaii nei: ʻauʻauʻeleʻele, ʻauʻau, ʻoniʻoni are installed. We even have an ʻauʻau ʻauʻau that we brought back from Hawaii last year.

Välkommen till Sverige:  trapper och räcke installed. Glass panels for guard rail in 2 weeks.

Bienvenido/Bienvenida a Mexico:  Base de pelado is finally done. We needed 24 hours at 5C before S could apply. This protects the foundation prior to backfill and grading.

Willkommen in Deutschland:  Stahldachrahmen in installed, ready for the reflective glass panels for solar shading. Notice the workers practice social distancing.

Bienvenue en France:  [drumroll]…après 7 mois, la dernière pièce de revêtement est installée aujourd’hui! Now the temporary support can be removed as the backfill is scheduled to start tomorrow.

During these trying times, we reflect on our blessings in having a comfortable home, enough food, a good supply of wine, and each other. And yes, we have enough TP 🙂

Here’s to April! Stay safe, stay home, and hopefully we can see each other soon.