Everyone needs a place to poop!

Well...since the wifey is under the weather I will do my duty to our few and loyal readers and update some more of our time here and put in a few pics for those interested. Simply put the construction of the Updike Manor is going well. I must say though that its been a frustrating yet good experience. Since I have a political science degree and thus no real skills, you can only imagine that construction is not my fortay. However, I or rather we, have decided to go it our own and venture where we have not gone before and do it all ourselves. Thats right we will build our own house and will hopefully have it all done in time to kill and roast a pig for my birthday in April. Killing pig, drinking luke warm pilsner and playing vollyball with the locals are now a few of my favorite leisure activities. I hope the house is done by then but we will see. On a related side note... I must say that Marissa is quite the skilled mason & I want to commend her publically for her excellant craftsman ship on our crapper. Its an understatement to say that this has just been a lot of work. So far we have cleared the land of weeds, tree stumps, roots and bichos (paraguayan for pests of all shape and size) dug and laid the brick for the latrine, built the concrete slap for the latrine, dug 50 something meters of trench to bring water to the construction site and planned, bought and had delivered all the "necessary" materials for the house. Now it kind of like building with legos except on a rather large scale. We not to large the house is only 6 m by 6 m and a roof of 6 by 8... Lets just say that three months of training made my hands and back a little softer than i would have prefered. Also, there is nothing like clearing jungle while the temperature is in the mid to upper nineties. Like I said this is a unique and tough expereince. I sure wish I had actually laid some concrete before we got here! But hey how many of you out there have such an intimate relationship with where you poop??? Well, I shouldn't be so chaste, I have yet to christen er yet!
As per our other buisness, we are quite well and have no real troubles to speak of. Like marisa said we came into Asuncion to pick up packages and have a little R & R, but as Marissa put it she got ill and has spent more of our leisure time with the toilet than with me her husband. I know what your thinking... your connecting the dots as to why i built the potty before the castle, ah yes! But no worries we get good medical care here and they will fix her up in a jiffy. As per my health nothing to speak of since the abcess. We are headed back in our time machine (or rather the bus to the campo) tomorrow and will be preparing to make the footing for the house and prepare the beams and posts. The wood should arrive by wendesday, I hope. We are going have friends come and help us for a bit so it should be a rather nice time. I hope you enjoy the pictures and the last two or so are our new cat (Marissa wanted a companion to help her team up against me) the other is of a toad who got stuck in a tomatoe can. I am begining to empathize with that toad now. Well enough for now we wish you all well and take care