• 30Dec

  Even bloggers take a holiday break!

  maz odds + ends, our new home 3 Comments

  It seems like a lot of the blogs I read have been sporadic in their postings for the last week or so. I took a bit of a break myself.

  But that doesn’t mean that nothing has been going on! So I thought this post could be a random one about odds and ends.

  Friends - We are really loving Mazatlan for the new friends we have met. Over the last couple of weeks we have had several dinners out with nice people, we’ve been to a party, celebrated Christmas dinner with neighbors and friends, and have had many random and wonderful interactions that will probably lead to even more friendships.

  Spanish - Paul has been taking Spanish classes for several weeks - two classes per week. He is learning a ton and people are commenting on how well he speaks. I really can’t believe the frequency of compliments he receives. I start classes in January with the same teacher. It is true that just living here you can’t help but have your Spanish improve but the discipline of classes will be just what I need to finally get out of the present tense.

  New Year’s traditions - Paul and I always like to spend New Years by ourselves…for me it is the best to start the new year with your spouse - to talk about goals and to toast the new year without a lot of craziness. I don’t know if we’ll do that tomorrow or not…there will without a doubt be a lot going on in Centro if we want to just walk out the door. But I plan on sweeping the dirt out the front door and wearing maybe both red AND yellow underwear just to go along with tradition. We’ll probably skip walking the suitcase out and back in because we are happy to stay right here for now! (red underwear is for love and yellow is for money) I was going to buy grapes today so that we could make our twelve wishes but unfortunately they didn’t look very good so I passed.

  Weather - I would have never believed that I would comment that I was freezing when it was sixty degrees! But “frente frio No. 18″ has been a cold one. It has warmed up most days into the low 70’s, but once the sun is down the temperature drops into the 50’s-60’s. Our houses are concrete and brick, and our house doesn’t even have windows in a couple of rooms so the breeze whips through. And no, our house doesn’t have a heater! I tried to buy an extra blanket over the last couple of days as I went from store to store and there are just no “regular” blankets to be had. They are all puffy sort of bedspread things - why is that? Locals say it has never been this cold here.

  Tourists - The beach is a popular place to spend Christmas/New Years holidays, and we have noticed that most of the tourists in town are Mexican. It gives a different feel to all the tourist spots. There are lots of out of state license plates.

  House Projects - The courtyard is still ALMOST done. We got caught in the Christmas/New Years slowdown but the only things left to do are little punch list things. We absolutely love the courtyard, and as soon as we feel ready to take pictures will post the last set. The interior painting is done, and wonderful. We were pretty nervous about some of our color choices, but we should have trusted ourselves because they turned out great. I’ll post pictures of those soon, too.

  House cleaning - Construction projects mean dust and dirt tracked throughout the house. Mainly by the dust drifting throughout our mostly open house but also by the dogs and us as we move through rooms that were a mess. So with the end of these projects came cleaning! I have vacuumed and mopped a couple of times but we really kicked ass today! I vacuumed the whole house and mopped top to bottom. Paul hosed down the courtyard and back yard, swept the garage and mopped the laundry room. Now we can actually walk around without leaving dusty footprints everywhere.

  Small victories - We installed a wireless doorbell at the front gate. I know, it only took ten minutes so why did we wait so long? Now we can close our front doors if we want privacy or to cut down on dust coming off the street. We had to keep the doors open so we could hear people call out when the came over. Sheesh.

  Happy surprise - I noticed my pants were a little loose and found I had lost 8 pounds in the three months we’ve been here. We walk a lot more, and I have basically quit snacking, but still I was surprised. And happy!

  What’s up next - We expect our dining room table and chairs and a bookcase/desk to arrive next week. We’re going to get going (that’s the royal WE) repairing some exterior concrete problems and repaint the outside. And we hope to get to the tile store to select some tile for a couple of places in the kitchen.

  But the most important thing up next is that it will be a new year! Have a great holiday, everyone, and see you in 2008!

• 22Dec

  Just about done!

  maz house 3 Comments

  
  We are very near the end of both our courtyard project and the interior painting. So, we asked the architect a couple of weeks ago what day and time would be good for an end-of-project thank you party. He said yesterday (Friday) at 5 pm would be good.

  The work that remains to be done is a bit of painting and the final fix-up of the planting beds. Also the electrician needs to put in the lights in the planter and complete the wiring for the fountain. The cantera stone fountain is also missing one part of the outside rim. So as you can tell, there is enough to keep people busy today (Saturday.)

  The bummer was that the guys had really done everything they could by about 3 pm. Then they busied themselves sweeping again and again and even watering plants in the back yard! It was pretty deadly, since we had arranged for carne asada tacos and more to be ready at 4:30. Sheesh! They wandered around, we wandered around, and FINALLY the food was ready!

  We started in with the beer around 4 pm, and Paul and I worried that the food we ordered to feed 20 would be 4 times too much. As the project wound down, fewer and fewer guys were necessary every day. But the beer and some music got the festive atmosphere started and when it got closer to 5 a lot of the other guys who had worked here most of the time arrived, along with the landscapers, a painter, and the electricians.

  The food was wonderful. Carne asada both plain and with a bunch of other stuff, (4 kilos total), rice, refried beans, tortillas and salsas. I cut up fruit and jicama and cucumbers and limes. When all was said and done we have just enough to offer to Marco the interior painter for lunch today, as he wasn’t able to make the party.

  I put together some sentences I wanted to convey to the guys and wrote them out on paper. (I got some assistance from my son Adam with the wording) So in the middle of the meal I cleared my throat and told them how much I appreciated their talent, their attention to detail, and the way they worked as a team. I also said some other stuff, but not too much.

  The picture above was taken before everyone had arrived…I was embarrassed to take any more pictures as the evening went on, but it was a milestone for us - figuring out how to show our appreciation in keeping with local tradition but still being ourselves.

• 21Dec

  It’s personal here

  maz people, our new life 4 Comments

  I read an article yesterday about a coffee shop in Washington State where many people chose to pay for the vehicle behind them in the drive through lane. It got a lot of attention as a “good news” item.

  I think most people are kind - and most enjoy doing nice things for others. Paying for the person behind you is a very nice thing to do. Unexpected generosity is wonderful. I wholly endorse the idea.

  But.

  You knew there had to be a But, didn’t you?

  I think the thing I really love about Mexico is that it is personal and face to face.

  Examples:

  There is a lot of fast food here, but it is cut up fruit in a cup, tacos, baked potatoes, tortas, liquados, etc. You’re not issued a number. You stand there and talk to the people as they make the food and inquire as to your choice of salsas or whatever to go with it. I should mention when we were at the Papas Locos (Crazy Potatoes) place on Zaragoza that cars pull up in the left lane next to the cart…order through their window…and chat with the owners as their food is made. They just put on their blinkers and people drive around them. No problem.

  At the end of a construction project (today for us) you buy carnitas or tacos and beer and coke and have a celebration meal with the construction crew. You stand around talking (and for us that is still tough) and face to face tell them all that you appreciate what their excellent work means to you.

  I can’t really think of more examples this morning - but I think you get the idea. I like the face to face way of life and am happy that I no longer go to a drive through for any of my transactions…and if I give to people it is also face to face.

• 19Dec

  Ahhh, Sunshine!

  dogs, maz people, our new home 4 Comments

  
  It is a beautiful sunny day here in Mazatlan. We are reveling in it, because the last 5-6 days have been chilly by Mazatlan standards, anyway! It has been breezy and hasn’t been warm enough to sit outside unless you are in the direct sun - and when you’re not - brrr. Everyone in town was wearing sweaters and jackets and - god forbid - shoes.

  This morning we had a number of people due to come over for various things relating to the work we’re having done here. Paul said he’d do the waiting, so I took the dogs on a walk by myself.

  They are very familiar with our morning route to the malecon…and have their favorite “spots” so the official business was out of the way quickly and we could proceed with the fun part. (yes, we always pick it up)

  We are regulars now, and I really enjoy feeling like we are accepted as residents.

  First to greet us is Henry’s biggest fan down by the park. She almost always runs out to greet him and pet him and has told us she has a Schnauzer, too - a grey one. When she’s not there in the morning, Henry looks for her and whines.

  Next is the security guard at a local college. He greets us every day but when I am alone with the dogs he always wants to know what Paul is doing and laughs that he is still in bed!

  The street sweeper lady is always enthusiastically working away, and alway has a ready smile and a good morning.

  Then when we get to the malecon, we have to wait for traffic in order to cross. No problem there, because the lead man in the big street car washing business in front of Shrimp Bucket always greets us and lets us know when it’s ok to cross.

  Everyone has such nice smiles…and not just vacant smiles but smiles that include the eyes so you feel like you really connected for the moment.

  The malecon has all the usual walkers and joggers and dogs who are now familiar faces to greet each day. When people meet us for the first time we have to tell them “no muerden” since people here seem to be very worried that the dogs will bite.

  Today I took a longer route and when I passed by the “cliff diver” area where all the vendors set up a couple of tour buses had just disgorged a lot of people and the sidewalk was jammed. After we waited for it to thin out the dogs and I passed by with nods from the vendors but no requests for me to buy. I think even if they don’t know me the dogs signal to them that I’m a local.

  By the time we got home both Paul and I were hungry for breakfast. With the painters occupying the kitchen, Paul took off to buy us some pan dulces at Panama and stopped at the fruit stand in front and bought a cup of mixed fruit, jicama and cucumber seasoned with lime and chile powder.

  It’s been an excellent start to another beautiful Mazatlan day.

• 13Dec

  It’s a dog’s life

  dogs, maz house, our new home 2 Comments

  
  Yes, Lucy has the good life, but so do we. There’s nothing like sitting in the sunshine watching a hummingbird feed in the bouganvilla.

  Paul and I have been doing a lot of sitting in the sun or in our office lately. It’s a happy exile because of all the work that’s being done at our house…these are the only places except the bedroom that aren’t a mess from work in progress.

  The courtyard is proceeding beautifully. The tile is about half done, the seat is gorgeous, and we expect the fountain to be installed tomorrow. The rest of the painting and the landscaping will probably be next week…and then they’ll be done! I’ll post the final pictures of the project then.

  We are in the midst of our interior painting. Up north I did most of the painting in our house - and I really do like to paint - but the 12′ ceilings made me reconsider. I’m glad I did, too. The team that is working here is very neat - masking baseboards carefully and cleaning up as they go.

  The two front bedrooms are done - yellow in one and blue in the other. The hall and main living spaces of the house are something I’d call a pale salmon color. The accent wall behind the stairs is a lively brick color. The beams are being painted a chocolate brown.

  

  We’re going quite dark in the dining room - a real deep brick color called Posole. I think we’re most excited to see that color go on, which will be tomorrow I think. The kitchen will be the same yellow as the courtyard and we are going to have some kind of mural at the far end of the sala fresca. We asked the artist for his ideas and are excited to see what he comes up with.

  So during the day one of us stays here and manages the dogs and tries to keep them from stepping in paint as we go out for our mid-day walk. It’s a good thing we are here, too, since they were given the wrong color for the accent wall behind the stairs - and I neither of us would have been too happy with bright orange instead of our chosen color.

  In the evenings we move furniture from place to place to be ready for the painters the next day. Both the courtyard and the painters have said they’ll have their work complete by the 20th.

  It is good for me to experience this - I have really had to learn to “go with the flow.” I trust these competent workers and artists, and are excited to see how it all turns out. The house will seem pretty quiet once everyone is gone - I can’t believe I am actually getting used to having 8-9 people here all day long!

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