Wednesday, October 27, 2010

building a rock retaining wall

Making the decision to retire here in Brazil came out of a feeling of urgency we felt in 2001.  As members of the LDS church we attended the Oct 2001. Pres. Hinckley, the president of our church, also a prophet, told us in his closing remarks during conference that we needed to avoid debt and prepare with food storage and put our affairs in order.  He then mentioned the story of Joseph of Egypt, when he interpreted the Pharao's dream of the seven fat cows and seven starving cows. We were to prepare because world affairs indicated that not so good times would come.  This was really impressed in my mind and the idea of moving to Brazil started to take shape.  As my husband, we were recently married, had depleted his retirement fund in his previous marriage we wouldn't be able to achieve this independence just then.  So after much thinking and brainstorming we decided to move back here because cost of living here being lower than in the US would make it easier for us to achieve that independence.  It would take some time , but we needed to take the 1st steps, the first one being to find a property we could afford within the minimum we wanted to have in it... in a natural setting, but yet closer to a center with all the basic needs commerce.
  As we found the place withing our range, I asked a friend in Brazil to go visit the place and tell me what she thought of it, we were in the US still...  After my friend gave us the go ahead we bought the 2000square meters property without seeing it, all we had were descriptions and we needed to trust that it would all be ok.
We were to pay off the property 1st before we could even think of building, but we were so blessed that the property was all that hoped for, near our towncenter, and yet away from all the unstopping life in SP.  It us years before we could think of doing anything in it.
After all payed up, 2 years later, I was to go down and follow up on all the the building process, my husband Paul, stayed since he was still working.

The following pictures were taken when the house begins to take form, from clearing the ground and preparing to have the house built.






























































































manacá

manacá
manacá tree - mata atlântica - costa brasileira