Is it July again already?
Today's Garfield cartoon is perfect, it's in the ongoing scenario of "we're bachelors baby" and some of the foibles of single guys. Jon looks down at the table and blows, he and Garfield are totally engulfed in a cloud of dust, he says "I think it's time to dust" and Garfield says "is it July again already?" This perfectly describes Casa Abuelo because as documented it's dusty for 8 months and anything more serious than a cursory dusting is a total waste of time, time that is better spent doing something really really necessary and productive like organizing the sock drawer for instance. Hey, I still wear them once in a while in the "winter" so they need to be organized and immediately accessible.
So, June came and eventually the rains began, now we enter the muddy season when it becomes somewhat more practical (not to mention necessary/mandatory) to dust/clean. This means a total cleaning from roof to driveway, Chris always reminded me "top down" and so before the rain started in earnest I raked the roof and hauled 3 giant bags of dried Jacaranda blossoms with assorted leaves down and out back. Next it was time to powerwash the decks starting with the upper which was done last weekend. It takes about 2 hours to do a decent job and at the starting end of the deck is a palm tree which also serves as an aviary for numerous birds - who consume blueberry's of the season and deposit the processed residue on the deck as they leave. I started at that end and an hour later when I returned to roll up the hose it needed to be done again? - it's a never ending task.
As mentioned, today's Garfield strip was particularly prominent as this IS July, I've run out of excuses, and it began raining at 3:30am and continues as I type this at 11am. Yes, I know, it never rains during the day - sure it doesn't, but the problem is now as I tiptoe out on the deck to check the rain gauge (yes, the electronic one on the roof died) and return, my damp feet leave little muddy prints on the floor like when Max is outside and comes in with muddy feet - a sure sign it's time to contemplate the dreaded floor scrubbing which also means moving everything, hauling all the rugs outside, beating them and hanging them over the rail to air out - fortunately it's raining so, can't start that today - whew, that was close.
Part of this is driven by the semi-annual visit of the owners who are teachers in Taiwan. They bought this house maybe 5 years ago and did extensive remodeling and additions to the main house, lived in it a year and then took jobs in Taipei, Taiwan. Interestingly at the same time they began building a new house about 7 blocks from here which wasn't finished when they left, the young builder who did this place and the new one lives there. The intent was to sell this place once the new one was complete. So, they come back in July and again at Christmas for a week or two and I want the place to look nice, not mother-in-law clean, but not Garfield dusty either - they arrive around the 16th so the clock is ticking ever louder.
This is also lease renewal time. I had originally planned to ask for a two year extension as the real estate market is poor and I figured they would be glad to have me stay on. However I received some troubling news that La Casa Nostra retirement home next door is moving and the "For Sale" (or actually Se Vende) sign went up Tuesday, now I'm not sure as to the future of that property which could negatively impact my little slice of paradise. I Emailed the owner and said "can I stay another year" and quickly got an answer "sure, no problem" and so tomorrow I'll sign for another year and we'll see what happens.
Due to the uncertainty next door I decided to put in a security system and talked to the two companies serving (?) this area. The first guy didn't show up the day or our appointment and I had to call him to get him over here, not unusual, the Mexican priority of timeliness seems only to apply when going to a fiesta or driving in Guad, otherwise it's manana (which of course doesn't mean "tomorrow" it only means "not today"). The second guy was only an hour or so late (a miracle) and even though he was more expensive I thought he had the better solution. I called to have him out a second time before pulling the trigger and forking over muchos pesos. His Email reply said he'd be here at 3pm, I waited, 4pm and I waited and the more I thought about it, the madder I got, something you really shouldn't do in MX or you'll go nuts. At 4:45pm I said "that's it" - at 5 he rang the gate bell, I didn't answer. Now, I know that's probably dumb, but I figure at this point I get to make some of the rules like beginning with the "golden rule" which in MX is "he who has the gold makes the rules". I Emailed and told him I'd make other arrangements and so went back to square zero and started over. This isn't unusual in MX, not unusual at all, few things go as planned here, an example: we went to our repair guys wedding a year ago, the invitation said 4pm, we were there early - it finally started sometime after 5 - or maybe later, there was no real rush, they had six kids.
Generally I guess the news is "no news" and pretty much things as usual here in paradise. The rain continues, so anyone that tells you it never rains here during the day is a bald faced liar. However the results are quite nice, everything including the mountains are green and lush and it's quite pretty. That leaves me with a fair amount of day to do something, maybe I'll study Spanish - naw, that's too much like work, with the rain I'm sure the Sat. TV isn't working, maybe I'll - - - (let you know later) Oh, one other thing, I actually did NOT loose power last night, so that's exciting?
So, June came and eventually the rains began, now we enter the muddy season when it becomes somewhat more practical (not to mention necessary/mandatory) to dust/clean. This means a total cleaning from roof to driveway, Chris always reminded me "top down" and so before the rain started in earnest I raked the roof and hauled 3 giant bags of dried Jacaranda blossoms with assorted leaves down and out back. Next it was time to powerwash the decks starting with the upper which was done last weekend. It takes about 2 hours to do a decent job and at the starting end of the deck is a palm tree which also serves as an aviary for numerous birds - who consume blueberry's of the season and deposit the processed residue on the deck as they leave. I started at that end and an hour later when I returned to roll up the hose it needed to be done again? - it's a never ending task.
As mentioned, today's Garfield strip was particularly prominent as this IS July, I've run out of excuses, and it began raining at 3:30am and continues as I type this at 11am. Yes, I know, it never rains during the day - sure it doesn't, but the problem is now as I tiptoe out on the deck to check the rain gauge (yes, the electronic one on the roof died) and return, my damp feet leave little muddy prints on the floor like when Max is outside and comes in with muddy feet - a sure sign it's time to contemplate the dreaded floor scrubbing which also means moving everything, hauling all the rugs outside, beating them and hanging them over the rail to air out - fortunately it's raining so, can't start that today - whew, that was close.
Part of this is driven by the semi-annual visit of the owners who are teachers in Taiwan. They bought this house maybe 5 years ago and did extensive remodeling and additions to the main house, lived in it a year and then took jobs in Taipei, Taiwan. Interestingly at the same time they began building a new house about 7 blocks from here which wasn't finished when they left, the young builder who did this place and the new one lives there. The intent was to sell this place once the new one was complete. So, they come back in July and again at Christmas for a week or two and I want the place to look nice, not mother-in-law clean, but not Garfield dusty either - they arrive around the 16th so the clock is ticking ever louder.
This is also lease renewal time. I had originally planned to ask for a two year extension as the real estate market is poor and I figured they would be glad to have me stay on. However I received some troubling news that La Casa Nostra retirement home next door is moving and the "For Sale" (or actually Se Vende) sign went up Tuesday, now I'm not sure as to the future of that property which could negatively impact my little slice of paradise. I Emailed the owner and said "can I stay another year" and quickly got an answer "sure, no problem" and so tomorrow I'll sign for another year and we'll see what happens.
Due to the uncertainty next door I decided to put in a security system and talked to the two companies serving (?) this area. The first guy didn't show up the day or our appointment and I had to call him to get him over here, not unusual, the Mexican priority of timeliness seems only to apply when going to a fiesta or driving in Guad, otherwise it's manana (which of course doesn't mean "tomorrow" it only means "not today"). The second guy was only an hour or so late (a miracle) and even though he was more expensive I thought he had the better solution. I called to have him out a second time before pulling the trigger and forking over muchos pesos. His Email reply said he'd be here at 3pm, I waited, 4pm and I waited and the more I thought about it, the madder I got, something you really shouldn't do in MX or you'll go nuts. At 4:45pm I said "that's it" - at 5 he rang the gate bell, I didn't answer. Now, I know that's probably dumb, but I figure at this point I get to make some of the rules like beginning with the "golden rule" which in MX is "he who has the gold makes the rules". I Emailed and told him I'd make other arrangements and so went back to square zero and started over. This isn't unusual in MX, not unusual at all, few things go as planned here, an example: we went to our repair guys wedding a year ago, the invitation said 4pm, we were there early - it finally started sometime after 5 - or maybe later, there was no real rush, they had six kids.
Generally I guess the news is "no news" and pretty much things as usual here in paradise. The rain continues, so anyone that tells you it never rains here during the day is a bald faced liar. However the results are quite nice, everything including the mountains are green and lush and it's quite pretty. That leaves me with a fair amount of day to do something, maybe I'll study Spanish - naw, that's too much like work, with the rain I'm sure the Sat. TV isn't working, maybe I'll - - - (let you know later) Oh, one other thing, I actually did NOT loose power last night, so that's exciting?
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