a day in the life of a latvian mom

Yesterday ended with the most peceful sunset after an incredibly hot and humid day. We were hoping for rain, but it never came, so there wasn’t much relief from the heat.

At 8 p.m. I made myself an iced coffee with caramel syrup. It was delicious… until I realized my personal barista (me! 😄) had used regular coffee instead of decaf. I know that sounds like nothing to some people, but for me it meant I was awake until 3 a.m. Oops!

Meanwhile, I honestly can’t believe Jānis’ relatives spent the last few days working outside in this heat. They finished installing the exterior insulation on our house and applied the first rough coat of plaster.

If you’re new here, we replaced the old wooden exterior walls with AAC (autoclaved aerated concrete) blocks to create a much better-insulated home while preserving the original brick and stone walls. It was an unusual choice, but one that made sense for our renovation.

Next comes the exciting (and expensive!) part—traditional lime render, so the house will hopefully look much as it did back in 1880. Since the final finish will be painted, every little bump and imperfection will show.

The biggest challenge is finding skilled craftsmen. There aren’t many specialists in traditional lime rendering these days, and hiring a large professional crew is simply beyond our budget. So, if I had to guess, next summer you’ll probably find me and Jānis standing on scaffolding, learning as we go and doing it ourselves. It wouldn’t be the first time our renovation has turned into a DIY adventure! Will see!

Ilze
P.S. I called the garbage collector and they will come and pick up the garbage tomorrow! I hope so!