Today (12-04-2025) I received the message that my good helper Wender has been shot and died at Baixada Fluminense (Nova Iguaçu),his hometown. Besides that he was a reliable and starting to be a skilled builder, he was also a nice person and a friend.....rest in peace my friend.

Life goes on, now continuing alone until a new  helper has been found, I've been contracted for a maritime job in 2 or 3 weeks, the milestone to be reached until then, is finishing the brick walls and the concrete pillars of the first floor, what is doable I think.

Outside walls finished of 1st floor, busy with casting and also pouring concrete at columns,it needs some creativity to mix, transport and pour the concrete at 2,5 meter altitude alone.... speed has decreased but mannaging. 

More and more I'm beginning to understand the chemistry of building materials, steel and wood I was always busy with and the most secrets of them discovered, but concrete, mortar and plaster a relatively a new area, the big differences it makes to change simple ingredients like sand, gravel,cement , chalk and water....

All is so delicate;  temperature high or low, climate humid or dry , flexibility or high strength of mortar, gravel round or square, add chalk or silicate?  It's seems like cooking and a lot depends on circumstances For me also trial and error, I've been reading a lot at the internet concerning required mixtures but it seems that everyone has his own way of working and ratios of this simple ingredients , beside the standard proportions given by engineers or factories. But it's a fact, it all depends on the requirements, circumstances and availability of materials how to make the right mortar, plaster or concrete......simple but fascinating  stuff......it makes me humble, nature follows simple and strict rules, when I make a mistake nature punish me, I have to adjust. But I'm getting better every day.

Last Saturday, 26-4, I ordered 15 bags of cement to start pouring at Tuesday, far to optimistic again still busy with the curved casting at the front corner and the support of the veranda at the front, time consuming ....it remembered me at my friend Rob Goud; "Curved is always better" he always used to say. 30 years ago I temporarily rented a room at his house in Amstelhoek, he was always an early riser and had his morning rituals, I wasn't, an normally didn't hear him,  but one morning it was completely different, he was shouting and swearing out loud, the door banged and a strange noise appeared.... The noise had waked me up, I was figuring out what was going on but couldn't. I decided to stay low and in bed for al while, Rob's temper wasn't something to play with....after a while I went down and he was calmly drinking a coffee... I still couldn't figure out what had happened... suddenly I saw that the corner of the table has been gone, Rob noticed the question mark in my eyes and explained that he has hit himself numerous times at that table corner and the corner has been removed, what I then noticed. now a table with 3 square and an round corner,round is better.... no more words and the coffee was as usual.