Hallelujah

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

They are exactly what I wanted. 

watching paint dry/Venados

Operation refurbish broken table  and chairs is ongoing, it was to be "brother's" job but he suddenly had to have his appendix removed. I am given a list and I head to the mainland. I love Mexico. When I ask the dude at the paint store for paint thinner he asks "how much you want?".  Oh....1/2 a litre I say, he pours 1/2 a litre into an empty coke bottle. I love that you can go to a store and buy 1 pamper, 1 garbage bag, 4 tablets of Imodium, 2 paper clips, 1 needle, 1 egg, 1 cigarette (not that I smoke), as much garden hose as you want (or as little as you want) 1 piece of cake, any length of string/rope that you want, as many or as little staples as you want, 1 envelope.....you get the idea. I think of all the times at home I've bought a box of 100 of something and when time comes to use them (whatever it may be) and it's either expired, gone bad, I can't find it in my shed because I have so much "extra" stuff in there, or now it's one size too small or the wrong color and  I end up going to the store again to buy another box of 100 only to use 2 and store it in my shed again because I will need the other 98 someday. 
This is how we end up owning gi-normous houses with huge garages, huge sheds, and basements and attics full of stuff.....stuff that we have been trained to think we will need some day and we have been lead to believe that ..... get this "it's cheaper". I laugh at myself now, I bought into that too. "It's cheaper"....I laugh. When I get back to Canada I will open up a new store, the opposite of a bulk store....I will call it "Unbulk". I will sell you 4 Imodium tablets (because if you need more than that you have a different problem), I will sell you 2 tooth picks, a cup of paint thinner, 1 sheet of paper, 1 shoelace, 6 red beads, 2 pampers, 1 light bulb,  and 1 white sock...single socks will be a good seller I think. Look out Costco you have been brainwashing people for too long."Unbulk" is where it's at now.

Anyway....that was my little rant there. Back to my table and chairs, turns out watching paint dry is not nearly as fun as watching laundry dry .... I was surprised too. It takes a long time for paint to dry here (the humidity), making this project sloooooow. Then I find out I missed a step, I was supposed to mix the paint thinner with the paint which makes it dry faster. Ops.

Kitchen cupboards have also been painted, ,slooooooowly, and dude was going to come to hang them a week of mananas ago....he'll come, yet. I still owe him some money. ..... I thought that was smart of me to hold back money to insure fast and speedy work, turns out money is not the motivation to work here, yeah....that is a different story, but i have to go and watch the sunrise now. 

watching paint dry, I did not go with doors because I would have wanted glass ones and the running back and forth into the mainland and having the glass guy there work with the carpenter guy here on the Island would have slowed this whole  thing down even more. I can always make cute little curtains if I want too......and who doesn't need another reason to visit the fabric store. Love love love Mexican fabric stores. 

Venados baseball game

The Mazatlan Venados didn't make the playoffs (again) so for the last game of the season they were giving away free bleacher and lateral tickets. The stadium was almost full, they surprised us by winning. It was a fun night. 

Christmas/Birthday party

One of my sisters sons  has a birthday on the 24th, Christmas dinner and birthday dinner is combined, and I am invited to the party on the beach. I ask what time and am told to come whenever I want. I show up at 6, nothing happening, food is still being prepared, hair is being braided, 3 little girls need matching hair bows, big brother is sent to the store to get some, but one is the wrong color, a phone call is made and an auntie shows up with a bow. Tables are swept off and chairs are washed, a stereo arrives on a quad. My Tio is sent to get firewood, Tia arrives with a bag of beef, sister changes her dress twice.....there will be carne asada. Shrimp are being peeled by a pretty girl with the longest prettiest fingernail I ever did saw, how does she do that. I`m sent to the store to get a birthday gift wrapped, you don`t buy wrapping paper, tape and bows here, you go to a papeleria and spend 8-17 pesos to have it wrapped for you. I like this.

Sand is watered down to make a nice dance pad, and to keep the dust down. At 8pm the party officially begins, at 9 the birthday boy shows up. He says he's turning 22, sister says he is 24, grandma says he's 25, a phone calculator says he's 25.  Someone had videotaped Tio`s birthday party (remember the day I arrived) so we gather around a laptop and watch the video, everyone loves seeing themselves on the screen (me not so much). This is technology that has just arrived to the Island and is still very thrilling.

Then Tio and 3 little girls with bows in their hair start the dancing. We all clap and sing along encouraging whoever is on the dance pad as we eat ceviche, shrimp salad, carne asada, rice, beans and snack on pecans, cranberries and dates, I find out that I have never had fresh cranberries, I eat them like a kid that has just discovered candy. One of the little girls sits down to catch her breath and there is an uproar at the tables, she FARTED! ewww! Get away from the table she is told, she protests, but sits in a corner for a bit. (giggling) She returns,  but she still stinks, someone notices her boots, she has stepped in dog poop. All the kids shoes are inspected, her boots are washed and the party goes on again. No Christmas presents were exchanged and I like that. 

Conversation with a 7 year old

She was sent up to the house to eat her supper, we had already eaten, she didn't want to eat alone and wanted me to sit with her, I went. Remember she is 7.

Her: it was a blessed day today wasn't it?

Me: It sure was, absolutely beautiful

Her: Do you like working for my mom?

Me: I sure do, we always have fun

Her: You and I have very good luck

Me: How so?

Her: You have a very good boss and I have a very nice teacher, we are both have very good luck

Me: Yes, you are so right

Her: Remember last year when I taught you how to make quesadillas?

Me: I sure do, they were good, you're going to be a good cook like your mom.

Her: It's such a shame you have to go home to Canada, but you have too because you have a family there, thats for certain.

Me: Yes I would miss my family very much if I couldn't go home

Her: Would be nice if they could come even just for a day so I could meet them, I could play with your grandson, I am very good with kids, I am only 7 and I am an auntie

Me: I know you would be a wonderful little companion for him, maybe someday they will come

Her: Do you want to play Barbie Dominoes with me?

Me: Tomorrow we will play Barbie Dominoes.

Her: I can teach you to read too

Me: ok, we'll do that too. (she knows her alphabet)

 All of us North Americans are here for a different reasons.

 Some are medical refugees (Americans), these are people that have high medical needs and have found that the medical here is cheaper and the medical services are more accessible than at home.

Others are tax avoiders', don't need to elaborate on that

Others came here a long time ago as draft dodgers and are now here illegally 

Others are here just because it is cheaper to live here than at home, mostly retirees, there are other places that are cheaper (Most Asians counties) but Mexico is easier to get too and faster to get home should an emergency occur.

Others are here to soak up the culture, artsy type people.

I sort of fall under the last category. I want to learn all about the Mexican people, I want to learn the language so that I can sit with the old timers under a mango tree and hear stories of how things used to be and how they have changed. I want to know why they do the things that they do. My roots are here, I am of the first generation in my family that was not born here, I feel I missed out. Call it research if you will. 

Can't help it that part of my research is swinging from a hammock on the beach chatting with my Mexican sister and eating shrimp all day, or playing Barbie dominoes with a 7 year old. Now if I can just find some government agency to give me some grant money for this study....sigh.

Now, I will admit that to the "average human eye" (these are the eyes of people that don't fall under that last category) it may sometimes (ok...almost always) look like we have too much time on our hands. I assure you....it's all research. (my font has a mind of its own sometimes...just ignore it and it will go away) 

Gluing fake eyelashes on a coconut......seriously, once you start gluing things with a hot glue gun you just can't stop yourself.  

seriously...... 

Barbie Dominoes......research 

studying the tide....... it came under my  hammock today

Sunrise study...

and of course the ever ongoing verb study.....hey, its not all fun and games here, work work work. sign....

Let there be light

Three weeks of mananas ago I had asked my Plumber/electrician guy to come install some outdoor plug ins. He had done such a good job of fixing my hot water shower last year, it only zaps me once in awhile.
He finally showed, with his tool box and the standard 5 gallon pail and a mile of homemade extension cords, he first plugs his phone in and the music starts. He has the same music as me...old stuff, in English that he can't understand,  It's 8 am.

I lust for one of these

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He works slowly and methodically, enjoying his music. I sit on the step with my dictionary and blabber with him all day, he corrects my Spanish, helps me look up words, spells words for me, we tell stories, we talk about food, weather, the problem with women, the problem with men, our dreams ( I have a dream of having lights outside someday), his friend stops in and visits, he wants to learn German because his grandma is German, he knows how to say " asshole" in German but doesn't know what it means. We make plans to get together hopefully to give him a better vocabulary. He leaves.Dude and I talk about traveling, he tells me he is going to Nayarit tomorrow, I lend him a camera, he like to read, I lend him a Spanish book, he lends me a hammer. I make milkshakes with frozen fruit for lunch, we go through my verb  book, he says present tense is really all I need. I tell him I want to go to Italy some day, he misunderstands and thinks I've been to Italy, we decide maybe learn past tense as well. Another friend stops by, he's learning English online, we laugh at silly words that don't translate in Spanish, like "cowboy" and "hotdog".
 Dude  leaves to get some screws,  I snoop through his tool box, he comes back in an hour. " will I have lights before Christmas I ask?", " maybe by New Years" he says. I tell him how I discovered a box of little hooks with sharp little points that go through concrete in his tool box...he tells me they are mine, I paid for them when I gave him money to buy supplies, this will change my life,  that and the borrowed hammer. I run into the house and hang my calendar up, yup this will change my life.

2 new plug-ins get installed, a little ditch gets dug to bury cable, then we hang a chandelier from the mango tree, ( a very Mexican chandelier...not a Chrystal one, that's a different dream)  this involved a tall tall ladder and miles of cable and a lot of those fancy little hooks, I am still sitting on the step chatting with him and directing the placement of the ball, the chandelier still gets hung crooked but I don't mind, I'm so excited about all this. It's 8 pm when he is finally putting the last plugin in, it's dark, he uses his phone as a flashlight, "would be nice to have light out here wouldn't it?" I say. Haahah we laugh. 8:30 pm, we hold our breath and plug the lights in, nothing blows up, I am so excited about my Chandelier hanging from the trees, in glows in the dark like a twinkling star, we stand in awe. "Maria's dream is accomplished" he says. We laugh and decide as soon as I have a table and chairs outside we will celebrate with a supper. We have one light that still needs to be moved but it's late and he is leaving early tomorrow morning for his trip, I want to pay him but he says no, I can pay him when he is done. This is smart, as this will ensure that he comes back. I sit on my back step and stare into my sparkling back yard for half an hour.

Pretty sweet

Now....more exciting news, I was gifted this broken table and 3 broken chairs a few days ago. We were cleaning up the pile of garbage and storm debri behind the restaurant and found these. My Mex brother says it will be my Christmas present from him, he has a friend that works in a glass shop on the mainland and will get the glass cut for me. He will outfit the chairs with wooden backs and seats and then I will "art  it up". He laughs and says it will  be muy muy elegant.  Imagine this table under my chandelier. We'll see how long this takes.....shall we have an online wager. I say February 1.

 I go to bed and realize that I haven't spoken a word of English all day....or left my house. I bolt out of the house just before sunup the next morning, I walk right into the sunrise. One day of not being on the beach was noticed. 

First day working

I ended my morning walk at the restaurant, just as a load of people walked up and asked if we were open, they were hungry for fish, it was decided we are open. The water guy got called, the tortilla guy got whistled down, I'm told not to pay him because we want him to come back in a few hours....if you don't pay him he is sure to come back, I have so much to learn. 

Someone gets sent to buy shrimp, he comes back with nice big shrimp, but they were not cheap, 140 pesos a kilo, why has the price of shrimp gone up? I dice tomatoes, chili, onions, cucumbers, grate carrots, and pulverize crackers for breading fish and shrimp. Nothing has changed, the knife that had a broken tip last year is still there....still broken, the yellow rag is still there, the pila still keeps overflowing, we are still short spoons and the teeth of most of the forks are still bent, the plates are still all different and beautiful, the one little coffee cup that still has a handle is still there, and just like last year the dog is pregnant again, and just like last year I handle the chili too much and my left hand is on fire for the rest of the day. Phrase of the day is "don't trip"..... extension cords everywhere. The view from the hammock is still the same and I like that nothing has changed. 

Our group of customers are from Durango (thanks to the new road) and they brought tents, they will camp under our palapa tonight, I'm jealous, it's so beautiful with all the Christmas lights at night. Guessing we will be serving them breakfast tomorrow. ...... I won't be there I am heading in to the mainland tomorrow to see if I can get some kitchen cupboards made. I think it's time for some real cupboards and then upgrade to real glass dishes, including glass wine glasses (I'm exciting about that....because I drink wine like once a month....you will understand my excitement when you see my new Mexican glass wine glasses)  Don't worry it won't get too fancy here.....something like this. This house will always have the ranchero look....no fancy for me....except for wine glasses.

These are the kitchen cupboards that I want, except I want to add a 3rd shelf...a skinny one for plates

 I have a guy lined up to put some shelves in as well, hang a plant, put some hooks in the ceiling so I can hang a lamp, hang a higher clothes line, hang a light outside and hang a hammock. Hanging stuff is a problem because of brick and concrete, he should have been here 1 week of tomorrows ago. He'll come. Yet. Next year I am bringing a rock drill with me....remind me about October to buy one.
oh...totally off subject, had a big cockroach in my bed last night. I woke up at night  and thought I felt a cockroach on me, (not sure how I knew what that would feel like)  sat up and turned the light on but didn't see anything, went back to sleep. This morning as I come out of the bathroom I see a big cockroach in my bed.....I slept with a cockroach all night. I was right, there was a cockroach on me, when a cockroach is on you even if you have never felt that before it is a distinctive  feeling and you will know that it was a cockroach. This didn't even freak me out too much. A few years ago I would have destroyed my bed looking for it, maybe even set it on fire to make sure it was gone. I've come a long way. I am however a bit nervous about rats this year. I have seen 3 dead rats on the street in front of my house (flattened by cars) never seen that before. When I lived on the beach I saw a couple of rats in a big wood pile, other than that I have never seen a rat here. Let's keep it that way. Oh....I've also seen rats at night by the dock a time or two..or three.

Last night  I woke up and heard a noise in my back yard, a rustling of a plastic bag kind of sound. I get up and look out the window, and see nothing. I go back to bed, but again it sounds like someone is eating a bag of chips....rustle rustle of a bag and then crunch crunch, I get up again, turn light on and look out the window, see nothing. I turn the light off and pretend to go to bed, rustle rustle, crunch crunch, I peek out the window and see 2 racoons eating from the bag of stale Totopos (chips) I had thrown in the trash, I decide  I don't care and go back to bed.  I lay in bed and listen to rustle rustle crunch crunch, rustle rustle crunch crunch.....I decide I do care, I get up and shoo them away. I feel like such a meanie, but until they learn to chew with their mouth closed there will be no eating chips while I sleep. 

Spanish Immersion

My day starts with a cup of coffee on my front step waiting for the sun to rise. My garden is missing flowers, I think more gardenias would be nice, and what are those red, white and pink flowers we have at home called...I can't remember their name, need some of those. I'll think of it yet. My walk on the beach at sunrise was outstanding, it always is. I catch some fishermen just bringing in their catch, I am reminded of Peter, James and John, I think they would have looked like these guys, burned dark from the sun, feet showing years of wear from the salt water, lean,  strong, with ripped abs from pulling heavy nets, they would have smiled just like these guys did, such a noble way of making your living....I feel like I am witnessing something sacred when I see the net hauled in.

I spend the rest of the day at my "sister's" restaurant, she is closed during the week these days, not enough traffic on the beach. We hang out all day, friends and family come and go. While we are talking we clean the kitchen and she gets her laundry done. We tell stories and laugh, we get pedicures, do laundry, eat  beans and machaca tortillas.

 There are two washing machines going, (because one washes but doesn't spin and one spins but doesn't wash) a foot bath tub is plugged in, dogs running around our feet, a Christmas tree is decorated, lights and tinsel hanging everywhere, enough extension cords running under our feet to tangle up a village, drinks are spilled, there is a dirty mop hanging from every tree, a naked Barbie laying in the sand, wet underpants fall on the ground off the wash line, someone banged his head on a hanging pot, the dish washing pila over flows....extension cords are now laying in water, no one notices, we talk about turning the restaurant into a grand elegant hotel, we draw some serious plans in the sand, we are going to hire a decorator and only rent to fancy people, we talked about how old we all were when we got pubic hair, we talk about fighting with kids and their homework, we talk about underpants, (under pants is always a hot topic) new shoes, short hair vs long hair and whether men like women with fake eye lashes or not, and who is fatter, Americans, Canadians or Mexicans, and whether Mexicans are fat because of the Coke or the tortillas? We decide Canadians are fat because of bread and Americans because of french fries.

 We discuss why the fridge stinks, whose horses on the beach are cleaner and how often we think they should be bathed, and where are the lifeguards going with that kayak. I get invited to a wedding in Durango, (road trip)  I want to see the new Durango bridge so I say yes. I'm told to buy a long black dress....I prefer red, it's decided I will need to learn to dance, lessons will commence pronto, maybe I'll get fake eye lashes (not). I'm given a Spanish lesson, there is a long discussion first about the alphabet whether the I comes before J or after.....my Spanish teachers aren't sure about the order of the alphabet....hilarious. I love these people. 

Beach dogs had a lazy day too