a little toilet talk

Here I was thinking my tour of the new house was at an end.

But your fellow readers, (well, at least, Tancho and Calypso) had some additional requests.  Being known as a man who will do anything to please others (and, yes, there is an upcoming essay on that topic), here is the rest of the story.

Tancho noticed I had earlier made a passing reference to six bathrooms.  So far, I have effectively shown you only four -- the en suite bathrooms in each of the four bedrooms.  Tancho is correct, four is not six.

The fifth bathroom is next to the pool.  In the realty business, it might be rated as a two-thirds bath.  It has a sink (by realty logic, a kitchen must be a one-third bath) and a toilet.

Very rudimentary.  But that is what it is meant to be.  A place where guests can quickly leave the pool or a courtyard party and find relief.  Or "freshen up" in the world of nice.

This one seems to meet the local word for bathroom -- sanitario -- far better than the term "bathroom."  After all, there is no place in there to bathe.  Not unless a visitor has the personal hygiene habits of a sparrow.

It is shy about having its photograph shot.  The sink is to the right.  The toilet to the left.

Then, there is number six.  It is on the upstairs terrace, and it is a full bath.  Shower.  Sink.  Toilet.  Fancy siding door.  You can see it at the top of this essay.

It is also home to the resident washing machine.  So far, I have not used it.  The washing machine, that is.

And only for one reason.  I am not very keen about stringing up a line to hang damp clothes -- only to break up the lines of this well-designed house.  My clothes have been going to my favorite laundress, instead.

Hanging out clothes during the last three days would have been an exercise in futility.  The rains started on Sunday night while I was packing for my trip to Puerto Vallarta.  They continued on Monday and Tuesday during my visit there.  And they are still falling.

The nice thing about the rain is that I have discovered how the water drains in this house.  It is an important point.  Heavy rains flow past and through this neighborhood during storms like this.  There is a lot of water to move along.

The house does a good job of relieving itself of the rain that falls on it.  The thing that has impressed me most is the pool's water control system.  It flushes off excess water without a problem.  (This photograph of the pump room is for you, Calypso.)

What is not working so well is the water draining from the upstairs terrace.  I have discovered a few leaks in the kitchen and living room that will require immediate attention.  I suspect it is a design flaw because the leaks are almost exactly in the same place on parallel sides of the house.

There is always something for a new homeowner to do.  But I am glad I discovered them now.  We should be at the end of the rainy season.  That will give me this winter to sherlock out the flaws in the dike.

There are the seeds of several essays planted in today's text.  And this is not the last we will hear from the house.  But, for the moment, it gets to slip back into being a Scott Baio character.

And I will step into the role of set designer.  Or, at least, repairer.