Whew! Lucky and I have been on the go! We drove into Merida and spent the night at my friends ( I took pictures but am not posting them yet..), on the return trip, we stopped in Motul to get the muffler fixed. The man I had scheduled the work with who spoke english -Arahel- wasn't in but the woman behind the counter remembered me and gave instructions to a leathery fellow. He was to show me where the welder lived/worked. We approached the truck and he hopped in back (Lucky had already called shotgun). After a very ciruitous path, we arrived and after a bit of rearranging of cars, I parked in front. My "guide" walked back to the shop ( about 2 blocks away). The welders shop was filled with various automobile shells, fenders, unidentifiable parts and a couple of dogs that roamed around. There was a tin roofed awning sheltering his collection of relics and he motioned for Lucky and I to seek shelter from the sun amidst the metal. We carefully entered and stood between two vehicles. One was an a big truck that looked like it might still be in use, the other was something I'm sure my husband would have excitedly told you what year and model it was. I , however, can only tell you it was- or had once been- a '50 something Ford, two tone red and white convertable. Two of the tires were flat, the back seat was gone and the roof hung in tatters like a broken unbrella. Amazingly, I saw no rust. A few minutes later, an ancient looking man that would have weighed in wet at about 85 pounds arrived teetering through on a bicycle. " Buenos tardes'" were exchanged and he shortly returned with a kitchen chair, kindly motioning for me to sit. It only took about half an hour for the welder to remove the old muffler and attach the new. I asked him if I was to pay him or the shop. The gist i got was, the shop, so after thanking him and wishing him a good day i left. Now, i could have been an unscrupulous person who giggled to myself about what suckers they were as i drove silently home with my new muffler, but we know thats not how the story goes...I of course returned to the shop, reminded him I wanted undercoating (diesel) sprayed on the truck to keep it from rusting out. Again, someone brought out a chair for me, this time a very young man, and a few minutes later, they were done. All of this, parts and labor, cost me $450 pesos- about $34.
The next day, i was businly painting the inside of the casita a brilliant sky blue when i remembered I needed rto pick up my laundry. I needed a break anyway so I grabbed my keys and called to lucky who ran to the truck with an excited grin and off we went to dzidzantun. As we passed a farm, a man who appeared to be the smaller brother to the tiny man from the auto shop, waved me down for a ride. I was going about 45 so had to slow down before I could stop. i looked in the rearview mirror and saw that he had a bad leg so i reversed it. He started to open the door to get in when he saw Lucky in the passenger seat. Now, folks around here treat dogs very differently then we do in the states. I'm sure he was dumbfounded by a dog riding in the front of the truck and, though he didnt say anything, probably wasnt happy about having to ride his skinny behind in the back of the truck while the dog rode in comfort...I let him out by the town square and he thanked me and toddled off. I rode the three blocks or so to the lavenderia and picked up my clean, folded laundry that cost me about $3 to have done. I also dropped off two throw rugs that will cost me about $1.50 to have washed.....
Lucky and i stopped at the tienda at the edge of town, some of you may know it, the "Santa Clara tortilliaria" where I got us a coka lite and some Cheetos ( they had no Chiwis torchiditos, my favorites..). As we rolled out of town, a truck that is normally used to haul livestock came towards me with a gaggle of sequined gals practicing their parade waves. It almost carnival you see.People everywhere are creating costumes and practicing dance steps for the big parades. These babes were wearing matching black sequined outfits that looked like something the Rockettes would wear, with fish nets, garters, feathers in their hair...and they were all men! I love it!! This is a very small town in southern mexico that, like most of the places Ive been here, have no problem at all supporting not just gay people but transgender, cross dressing people as well. What do you think the response would be to this truck load of hot mamas in say...Estacada?! I happily smiled and waved to them and they vigorously returned my greeting. Lucky and I opened the chips and coke as we passed and headed out of town to get back to our painting duties. "Did you see those fancy girls?" I asked him. He just smiled and watched an iguana cross the road....
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
horse play..tom foolery and noise
Ok thats enough...Lucky and I were just wrestling around playing our usual game where I try to hold his muzzle and he tries to bite me. I surprised him by laying on him and he surprised me by rearing up and crashing into my glasses thereby smashing them into my nose.I was hoping it wasnt going to be a re-enactment of when my friend in high school smashed me across the nose with a broom stick thereby breaking said beak....ahh, fun times.
"So Jill, what have you been up to?" you may ask..Remember when last we " talked" i told you about the bees stinging me? Those pesky devils tried to relocate their home ..on my back porch!! I have my inflatable kayak hanging upside down out there and some teeny tiny bee realtor must have told them it would be a great new location. Well, after dispatching them with my trusty bug spray, i took my husbands advice and took it down. it needed to be wiped down anyway. When I had finished, i decided it would be foolish to put it back in its oh so tempting position so I launched it into the pool! Hah! take that pesky bees. So while my kayak has been vacationing poolside, i've been quite busy. Besides walking the beach and doing lots of yardwork, Ive driven the hip survivor into the doctor ( after which she took me out to eat), spent the night at my friends house in Merida which is really, really lovely. A huge, hacienda style place she has completely redone. Ill be staying there again so ill take some pics and show you. Actually, Ill be staying there every Thursday from now until March 20th when my friend comes to visit...so, where was I..oh yes, I went to Telcel and paid my internet bill, stopped at Barro y Barro ( some of you know it). Its a tile store that has almost as many cats in it as boxes of tiles. The whole place is the size of a large closet. The floors are covered with small cardboard boxes filled with beautiful tiles and, occasionally, a cat. They are lurking where youd least expect them. Even if you were blind, you'd know they were there from the smell. Seriously, there are usually 12 or so cats of various sizes in there. I bought a few tolovara tiles for the casita, and went to wal mart and got new curtain rods. Now, there haven't been any curtains on the living room windows and im fine with that but while John is away, i decided Id feel more comfortable if i had a bit more privacy. You know, that one car an hour that goes by doesn't need to be able to look in my window..On the way home from merida, i stopped in dzidzantun and bought a hot water heater for the casita. I placed a call to my buddy Lucio who came out over the weekend and installed it. now, i was going to have him put up my new curtain rods then thought..why cant I do it? No reason, thats why! so i got the drill out, found the concrete bit and let 'er rip. you know, you have to drill the hole then put thoses plastic things in..anyway,my new curtain rods are swell...Today I went to Progresso with my neighbor ( the doc said she could drive but i had to man the helm on the return trip as she was hurtin'). Oh a good time was has by all! there must have been a cruise ship in port because there were a lot of gringos with fanny packs, straw hats and sensible shoes strolling around. There was also a tour bus careening through the streets . We laughed about what in the world the tour guide was showing them. Progresso is home to the worlds longest pier and has a lovely beach but beyond that, there isnt really anything scenic about it. Then we heard the tour guide over his loudspeaker tell them " and here is where you might want to buy batteries for your cameras, and over there is a good place to buy alcohol". As my neighbor and I strolled around ( well in truth she wasnt really strolling...she was sort of shuffling along with the aid of one of those four pronged canes that always remind me of Carol Burnette for some reason), we remarked on how noisy and chaotic it was. One thing thats real big is for a store to place a very large speaker in the doorway that blasts out some reggaeton music. There could be three of these all playing on the same block. Add in some blaring horns, whistle blowing from the traffic cops and the pipes from various rusted out motorcycles and you get an idea of the sound. The sidewalks are narrow and my friends footing is far from sure but we managed to navigate to and from the fabric store where i bought material for curtains. We also passed a hardware store where I was able to buy hooks for a coatrack Ive been making. We stopped for lunch so she could sit down and rest. We walked between the fruits and vegetables, hanging slabs of meat , beautiful buckets full of flowers,and found a row of taco stands. Two chicken tacos each topped with lettuce, onion, and avacado and a soda-total bill around $3.50. After lunch we headed back to her truck then stopped at Aurora Bodega ( Wal Mart) so she could pick up a few things. Wasnt long before we were headed home. I commandeered the land yacht on the voyage home ( its one of those huge double seat, extended cab, so high i have to climb into it, trucks) and an hour later we were pulling into my yard. After unloading my bags, I waved her goodbye and went in to a very happy to see me Lucky dog. I had left at around 8:30 and it was around 3 when i got home. We went out back for a bit to water and play then I said to Lucky " its cold out here, im going in". Not one to be left out-literally-he followed..made some coffee, brought out the sewing machine and, yep, whipped out those curtains.
Last week i had to buy a new refrigerator and haul it home in the back of the truck. My muffler is either rusting out or something has come loose so its quite loud. As the fridge precariously teetered its way home, held in place only by a piece of twine and a rubber bungee cord, the muffler roaring and the plastic around the fridge whipping in the wind, I couldnt help but sing to Lucky as he looked at me with his ears back and a " what the hell is all this noise?" look on his face.." so the next thing ya know 'ol Jeds a nillionaire..." we jostled our way out of Merida between Mercedes SUVs and well dressed high heeled woman going to the mall, down the highway, through Cansahcab and Dzidzantun passing a guy on a bicycle pulling a horse, countless mangy dogs, vultures on road kill, three wheeled bicyclists cutting wood for cooking fires, little old ladies in brightly embroidered dresses and a couple of half lit guys coming out of cantinas. At last we were safely home in santa Clara. I was exhausted from the stress. I was so afraid the thing was going to tip over. Marcial came over and helped get the old one out, the new one in then road with me to the dump where we pushed it out ( the next day, it was gone..).
Today when i was at Wal Mart i bought a new stick of butter ( the old one having slowly withered away in the ever warming broken fridge). Its resting in the door of my shiny new, cold, well lit fridge. After I take Lucky on best two outta three, we're gonna close our new curtains and put that butter to good use on some popcorn and settle in for a movie. This being retired can really wear a person out!
"So Jill, what have you been up to?" you may ask..Remember when last we " talked" i told you about the bees stinging me? Those pesky devils tried to relocate their home ..on my back porch!! I have my inflatable kayak hanging upside down out there and some teeny tiny bee realtor must have told them it would be a great new location. Well, after dispatching them with my trusty bug spray, i took my husbands advice and took it down. it needed to be wiped down anyway. When I had finished, i decided it would be foolish to put it back in its oh so tempting position so I launched it into the pool! Hah! take that pesky bees. So while my kayak has been vacationing poolside, i've been quite busy. Besides walking the beach and doing lots of yardwork, Ive driven the hip survivor into the doctor ( after which she took me out to eat), spent the night at my friends house in Merida which is really, really lovely. A huge, hacienda style place she has completely redone. Ill be staying there again so ill take some pics and show you. Actually, Ill be staying there every Thursday from now until March 20th when my friend comes to visit...so, where was I..oh yes, I went to Telcel and paid my internet bill, stopped at Barro y Barro ( some of you know it). Its a tile store that has almost as many cats in it as boxes of tiles. The whole place is the size of a large closet. The floors are covered with small cardboard boxes filled with beautiful tiles and, occasionally, a cat. They are lurking where youd least expect them. Even if you were blind, you'd know they were there from the smell. Seriously, there are usually 12 or so cats of various sizes in there. I bought a few tolovara tiles for the casita, and went to wal mart and got new curtain rods. Now, there haven't been any curtains on the living room windows and im fine with that but while John is away, i decided Id feel more comfortable if i had a bit more privacy. You know, that one car an hour that goes by doesn't need to be able to look in my window..On the way home from merida, i stopped in dzidzantun and bought a hot water heater for the casita. I placed a call to my buddy Lucio who came out over the weekend and installed it. now, i was going to have him put up my new curtain rods then thought..why cant I do it? No reason, thats why! so i got the drill out, found the concrete bit and let 'er rip. you know, you have to drill the hole then put thoses plastic things in..anyway,my new curtain rods are swell...Today I went to Progresso with my neighbor ( the doc said she could drive but i had to man the helm on the return trip as she was hurtin'). Oh a good time was has by all! there must have been a cruise ship in port because there were a lot of gringos with fanny packs, straw hats and sensible shoes strolling around. There was also a tour bus careening through the streets . We laughed about what in the world the tour guide was showing them. Progresso is home to the worlds longest pier and has a lovely beach but beyond that, there isnt really anything scenic about it. Then we heard the tour guide over his loudspeaker tell them " and here is where you might want to buy batteries for your cameras, and over there is a good place to buy alcohol". As my neighbor and I strolled around ( well in truth she wasnt really strolling...she was sort of shuffling along with the aid of one of those four pronged canes that always remind me of Carol Burnette for some reason), we remarked on how noisy and chaotic it was. One thing thats real big is for a store to place a very large speaker in the doorway that blasts out some reggaeton music. There could be three of these all playing on the same block. Add in some blaring horns, whistle blowing from the traffic cops and the pipes from various rusted out motorcycles and you get an idea of the sound. The sidewalks are narrow and my friends footing is far from sure but we managed to navigate to and from the fabric store where i bought material for curtains. We also passed a hardware store where I was able to buy hooks for a coatrack Ive been making. We stopped for lunch so she could sit down and rest. We walked between the fruits and vegetables, hanging slabs of meat , beautiful buckets full of flowers,and found a row of taco stands. Two chicken tacos each topped with lettuce, onion, and avacado and a soda-total bill around $3.50. After lunch we headed back to her truck then stopped at Aurora Bodega ( Wal Mart) so she could pick up a few things. Wasnt long before we were headed home. I commandeered the land yacht on the voyage home ( its one of those huge double seat, extended cab, so high i have to climb into it, trucks) and an hour later we were pulling into my yard. After unloading my bags, I waved her goodbye and went in to a very happy to see me Lucky dog. I had left at around 8:30 and it was around 3 when i got home. We went out back for a bit to water and play then I said to Lucky " its cold out here, im going in". Not one to be left out-literally-he followed..made some coffee, brought out the sewing machine and, yep, whipped out those curtains.
Last week i had to buy a new refrigerator and haul it home in the back of the truck. My muffler is either rusting out or something has come loose so its quite loud. As the fridge precariously teetered its way home, held in place only by a piece of twine and a rubber bungee cord, the muffler roaring and the plastic around the fridge whipping in the wind, I couldnt help but sing to Lucky as he looked at me with his ears back and a " what the hell is all this noise?" look on his face.." so the next thing ya know 'ol Jeds a nillionaire..." we jostled our way out of Merida between Mercedes SUVs and well dressed high heeled woman going to the mall, down the highway, through Cansahcab and Dzidzantun passing a guy on a bicycle pulling a horse, countless mangy dogs, vultures on road kill, three wheeled bicyclists cutting wood for cooking fires, little old ladies in brightly embroidered dresses and a couple of half lit guys coming out of cantinas. At last we were safely home in santa Clara. I was exhausted from the stress. I was so afraid the thing was going to tip over. Marcial came over and helped get the old one out, the new one in then road with me to the dump where we pushed it out ( the next day, it was gone..).
Today when i was at Wal Mart i bought a new stick of butter ( the old one having slowly withered away in the ever warming broken fridge). Its resting in the door of my shiny new, cold, well lit fridge. After I take Lucky on best two outta three, we're gonna close our new curtains and put that butter to good use on some popcorn and settle in for a movie. This being retired can really wear a person out!
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