Costs Past and Overdue- Queenie and Kaylee

I just realized that with all my worries, I had neglected to post some costs for the month of February. So I’ll start with those.

Costs incurred in February:

Materials or Labour	Cost
Cement and metal wire	300.
Labour	1,118.
1 truckload gravel-
21 Re-bars-*
5 kg wire-
10 kg rings-*
5 bags cement-                                       Total bill	4,153.
Labour	2,243.
Total for February	$7,814.

* A note about the above expenses. I’d changed my mind about the type of roof I wanted and returned the rings and re-bars for a credit. In the end I had opted for a flat roof of bovedillas and cement for the bedroom and dining room kitchen. They have thermal qualities that ensure coolness in outside heat and warmth in outside cold. I used the credit for 20 bags of cement in March.

Costs incurred in March:

Materials or Labour	Cost
2000 cunas (small bricks for dome roof)	3,000.
Rental of cement mixer	350.
8 viguetas for bedroom ceiling	2,840.
4 viguetas for bathroom ceiling	504.
155 bovedillas	1,410.
11 m metal mesh for bedroom roof	825.
10 – 8 ft. 4 x 4 for support	550.
Cement extra - 20 bags were exchanged for returned re-bars and rings	710.
4 bags lime	156.
Spatula for mason who had forgotten his	160.
Labour plus bonus –
Demetrio	255.
Jesus	730.
Pepe	730.
Ruben	310.
Luis	1,080.
Lupe	205.
Antonio	205.
Total	$14,020.

Construction will resume on April 2nd (my 73rd birthday), 3rd, and 4th with the building of the dining room/kitchen roof. It will be a flat roof identical to that of the bedroom and bathroom.

Yesterday, I had to go to the veterinarians who had come to check on Queenie when she suddenly had taken ill and seen her stomach swelling up. The vets had told me at the time that it was probably her heart. However yesterday, they said that there had been two possibilities-her heart or cancer of the liver. Learning how quickly she had passed, their diagnostic changed to a very aggressive form of cancer of the liver. Unfortunately, this made me relive her last hours and reinforced my opinion that the first 5 years of her life had been very miserable. Living as a breeding machine and not well cared for. After I’d rescued her, she had so enjoyed traveling as co-pilot and reigning supreme either in Arizona or Alberta that, despite the returning sorrow of losing her, I derived some contentment and satisfaction in knowing that she had enjoyed her life for the last 3+ years of being with me.

As to Kaylee, the site of her incision when spayed was a tad swollen and hard, which prompted my visit to the vets. Reassured that all will heal well in time, I remarked to them how surprisingly well behaved she is. She’s so calm and with such good manners that it seems almost impossible to me that she’d been a street dog for the first 6 months of her life. Maria**, the vet, replied that it was often the case with street dogs who had lived virtually by '”the skin of their teeth” that, when rescued and receiving food, water, care, and love, they became tranquil and reassured that their lives had taken a turn for the better. I hope that this will encourage people to rescue animals who have had such a hard life.

** Maria and her veterinarian husband have 5 rescued dogs and a couple of tiny kittens less than a month old.

LiveJournal Tags: Construction Costs in Mexico,Rescuing Dogs,Queenie,Kaylee