Another stellar performance at the hardware store

I am getting fairly settled in my new home, but it seems everyday I need something, I guess that's normal when you start from scratch. Of course I had to go to the hardware store and make a fool of myself, some of my best idiot performances have been seen at the hardware store.....they should have  video cameras there, maybe they do. I bet after work they sit in the warehouse in the back with a few beers and watch the funniest gringo movies. I bet I'm a movie star and don't even know it. My land lady told me I shouldn't plant certain plants, she gave me a long list of plants not to plant because the ants in the back yard would just eat them....I said "I'll fix that" I happened to watch my neighbor here sprinkle some white powder  on the ground a few months ago and when I inquired (nosy neighbors must inquire) what he was doing he said it kills ants. So proud of myself I was for now having this information I marched off to the hardware store (I needed a few other things as well) So, in my very bestest Spanglish I asked for the white powder that kills ants, that worked fine, he sold me a kilo of it, I do know that a kilo is 2.2 lbs, what I still don't know is what 2.2 lbs of white powder looks like, or how much parsley you get out of 2.2 lbs (lots).....buying stuff by the kilo is still a bit tricky for me. Then it dawns on me that this stuff might be highly toxic (you don't say) and I remember that my neighbor has 2 little kitties and there is a puppy living across the street, so I ask (this is where it all got turned sideways) if it would kill cats and dogs. After I walked away with my purchases I ran the conversation that had happened through my head and I realized that I may have said I wanted to kill the cats and dogs, that would explain the change in his tone with me, I notice that his tone changed during out conversation, I figured there was some kind of a mix up but I had my powder so I decided not to worry about what was troubling him. I hope he doesn't live near me. Next time I need to take the time to rethink what was said instead of waiting until I am almost home. 

I also needed a dustpan and broom, check out my dust pan, made out of an oil jug, genius or what? I asked if they had any "normal" dustpans, he said this was normal...ok. I do however remember my mother having a dustpan like this many years ago, but not made out of an oil jug, it was yellow and plastic I think, 

I didn't buy a spade, because my land lady gave me one, a house warming gift maybe. The broom was made by her, this is what she does for a living, she makes brooms out of dried palms, this is an amazing broom for sweeping up your yard, it;s like a  gentle rake.

Just need some shelves and curtains

Maybe some cozy cushions as well

This corner looks a little lonely 

Need some pillows, maybe a lamp

This will become a desk soon, just needs a little love....most likely will involve another trip to the hardware store

Winding wool into a ball with the help of my chair

The cat next door, the one that I don't want to kill

Now, on to a totally different subject, have you ever seen such a cute playhouse, someone made this little house out of love. I noticed it after I came back from Christmas making me think it was a Christmas gift. The house is made out of card board and it is painted, the door opens, the windows have curtains, it even has Christmas lights strung around the roof and the around the windows. It has little flower pots hanging beside the door and window, and a little rocking chair in front of it.  Someone put a lot of time into this, hardly any money was needed but lots of time, almost makes me tear up when I walk by. I love this. I've been meaning to seek a picture of this but kept forgetting my camera.

The big move

The big move happened yesterday, I think it took all of 15 minutes. Fridges got swapped out, shower got installed....life is good.
My new casa does however come with a few quirky things, which I knew it would.
I needed to do some laundry and that's when I noticed that my laundry water drains into my back yard. I can see the reasoning behind it, the pilla is in the front yard, the property slops down in the back, so the water just naturally runs down. I have plans on a garden back there and while I am all for recycling water I don't think my garden will appreciate soapy wash water, and the occasional bit of bleach. Here is the low down on the pilla, 99.9 % of Mexican homes have one of these and when I go home I miss it, I would love to have one at home.

I of course don't spit in my pilla, I have a bathroom sink this year, most people don't. I will get the plumbing figured out eventually. 

After a hard day of cleaning and organizing I decide to have a nice hot shower in my new shower, as I was standing there in the cascade of hot water reflecting on how blessed I am, perhaps feeling a bit smug with myself as well..... all the lights went out and the water stopped running, all the lights, it was some dark. Good thing I was done showering at this point I was just standing there enjoying the water...wasting water I guess it what it's called here. Good thing I had just unpacked and actually knew where the candles and lighter was. I find a towel light a candle and notice that the neighbors all have light (this is what I was afraid of) When all the lights are out that means it's not your problem but when only yours are out it's your problem. Then I remembered that when I was sweeping the sidewalk in front of the house I had notice that the breaker box was mounted outside on the wall of the house, I had thought to myself that that was a weird spot for it and wondered if people ever play jokes on each other and flick the switch as they walk by...humm. So I get dressed and head out there and sure enough I flick the switch and my lights come on. My shower must have flicked the breaker, will this happen very time I am in the shower...no se. 

This morning the land lady came by and I told her what happened, she said "when it does that you have to flick the switch", right, but how do we fix that I ask, she says " when it does that you flick the switch and then it's fixed" Right...duh. That all sounds so easy but when it does that I am in the shower, naked and wet, and the switch is outside..... hopefully this was an isolated incident and won't happen every time...we'll see. 

I also have some ubberly noisy neighbors, maybe after a while they will get bored with me once they find out I am really not that interesting, one lady inspecting my garbage that I put out last night and rearranged it, I must not have arranged it properly. 

I also have a little convenience store right next door, a very small one that takes up the front half of a little house, the family lives in the back half, this is will be very ....convenient, and makes it way to easy to step next door and buy a bag of Cheetos. 

The guy that drives the vegetable truck also lives 4 doors down, also very convenient. I did notice that when he drove up there were a lot of women that come out of their houses all at once and it seemed to be a social event, they kept him there for about 1/2 an hour (maybe even longer) chatting amongst themselves, he must know all the gossip on the Island. (they probably told him what was in my garbage....empty Cheetos bags) I always feel like I shouldn't be keeping him because he has a schedule to keep so I am always quiet rushed when I make my purchases. Now that I know that he knows everything (he must) I think I will make sure that he is my friend. The other vegetable guy (we have 2) is already my friend but this guy is new. 

Whats not so convenient is that I have no internet and as I am only here for 2 more months (whaaaa, where has the time gone) I may not bother with getting internet this year. I will go into the mainland and look into it anyway and see what the cost is and to see how easy it is to disconnect and reconnect as come and go. I have a shopping list for the mainland anyway. I used my laptop screen as a mirror this morning....I need a mirror, and a garbage can, and a mop pail (still), and curtain, shower rods...ect. 

As I get used to all the night sounds on my street I will let you know if the magic has followed me. And soon more pictures. 

Automotive eye candy

Those that know me know that I come from a family that have gasoline fumes in their veins...well not really, but we are "car people", some more than others. Some of us get butterflies in our stomach when we hear a engine rev up, it get us all romantic and swoony (some of us) When a snowmobile roars by leaving a trail of exhaust fumes some of us breath deep and say "aaahhhhh", you know that sound you make when someone is massaging that really tight spot on the back of your neck...that's the sound. There are also some of us (not naming names) that can't drive by an auto junk yard without stopping and seeing what treasures they can find and most of us (some won't admit this) drive by craning their necks to see if they can spot a treasure from the road. A few years ago some of us dug out the old beaten cars that were "resting" in back yards, hay fields, and old barns, cleaned them up, put new tires on, smashed the glass out and painted numbers on them, built a dirt rack in a hay field and started racing cars on Saturday nights. I searched for a photo of my old race car but I couldn't find it this morning. These next few photos are "eye candy" for any "car people" out there. I think when cars die in North America they come to Mexico and live here happily forever after.

Some of us also collect garbage furniture.....Check out my new desk, I have exciting plans for this, it involves some paint and some Mexican tile....exciting

This "car people" thing comes to me from my mother's side, on my father's side I have inherited a love of "weird and/or different things"....somehow the love of exhaust fumes isn't considered weird enough to go under the heading of "weird and/or different things". One different thing I am looking for is hat for my daughter (apple doesn't fall far from the tree here), she wants me to bring her back a hat like this, if you happen to see one like this somewhere please let me know. It's not your standard cowboy hat, it's taller with a wider brim. This cute guy is from the movie "All the beautiful horses" and she figured since parts of this movie was filmed in Mexico this would be the place to find a hat like this.