Late fall update

November 2007

As you may remember we moved in the house right before X-mas and it will soon be one year. The boys are well and happy! The pool was completed the beginning of June and that’s when the last worker walked out the door.
We now employ dos ayudos (helpers), Martha who helps with the housework, and Tiburcio who does the maintenance of the garden, and cleans the patios, they both work on Wednesdays.
We have started the process of getting a wall built out front and as soon as our architect has her baby the project will proceed. These and a few other things are what will be in this blog.

After the last worker walked out the door we were still social but we really locked down and enjoyed our privacy. We went out for food and to visit friends. Of course our friends knew that we just got released form “the workers” and since most everyone knows this type of release they just left us alone.
Lazy days of getting up whenever, wearing little or nothing around the house and the pool, and just the luxury of not needing to make construction decisions, etc was delightful. Since it was summer the pool was the main focus and we easily spent 3 to4 hours a day in it; An oasis from the heat while floating lazily in the sun tanning, reading, and sleeping. Yes, the siesta is alive and well! LOL!
Here is a most recent picture of the pool and jardin area and you can see that things do indeed grow quickly in the Yucatan.

After about two months of quietness and solitude we decided that it was time to start our social thang’ and we slowly started inviting friends and acquaintances over for little soirees, cocktail parties, and dinners. All the while constantly meeting new people and making new friends. I know that you probably get tired of hearing me say this but the diversity of these people, their ideas, their knowledge, their insight and the subjects that come up are amazing. If you want to have your ideas and beliefs challenged and shook up just get around these people. People from every walk of life, from many countries and with as many ideas and opinions as there are waves in the ocean. Fascinating is the word. One of the things I like the best about being here!
So we have opened the social gates and are now engaged in all that is social. It seems that whatever your interest(s) are you can find a venue for it/them. All things to all people…….I know it’s not, but it’s close! People and art are our things and we are pleased with what we have found! More importantly is what has found us!

“The noisiest place in the world” still rings true. The “sala de fiesta” right behind our property has slowly become part of our lives now. The loud music on most weekend nights has become just another part of our new life here! For the most part we have minimum other noises to deal with. It seems that more people than not have numerous noises to deal with. It usually comes at unexpected times but some are constant. The neighbor’s barking dog(s), the neighbor’s or neighborhood’s rooster(s) at 3 am until 6 am, much worse in our humble opinions than the scheduled noise of the sala! I have always been the one that had the problem with the noise. Debi falls asleep real easy and I envy that of her. It doesn’t bother me as much now and I can only hope that as more time passes I’ll just let it all go!

The new wall out front will dampen most of the street noises and quiet things down from the front. The wall has always been in the plan but after the remodel we had to replenish the coffers in order to pay for it. The wall will be 10 to 12 feet tall. It’ll have a garage door (porton) on each side and center entry doors. It will be very plain in appearance, nothing fancy as we want it to just be part of the “hood”! Our architects, Alvaro and Mercedes Cervera Sanchez are wonderful and they are expecting their third child. Mercy is at the drop point and has requested that we put the wall on hold for a bit and we agreed. We think that Alvaro and Mercy are definitely worth waiting for! So after all the kid stuff happens they’ll get back with us and we’ll proceed with the wall; Probably the beginning of December. That’s not a problem for us as the one thing we have had great success with is in the development of the “patience” thing! We’ll do pictures and stuff once it starts! Just to jog your memory here is what the front looks like now!

The boys, what can I say? They are great! Tate has settled in to a life style that his fellow gatitos in the states would envy. We call the spare bedroom Tate’s room as that is where he sleeps most of the time. He loves the jardin and will spend his entire day in it. There are many places for hunting, lounging it the sun or siesta’ing in the shade. Mat loves to be out as well and mostly stays close to the back of the house and likes to lounge on the rocks. Mat gets more wobbley as time passes and he is without a doubt totally deaf now. He had his 24th birthday this year! His appetite is as strong as ever and he still kicks up his heals from time to time. We are now trimming him most of the time to control his mats. It is unbelievable how easily they form. We are better at trimming than we used to be but we still do not have the professional touch. In a recent visit a friend commented that Mat looked like a roadie for KISS. We all had to agree! LOL! But the important thing is that they are both happy and enjoying their new home! Here are recent photos.

I am still on the lookout for a great steak here in the Yucatan. I did have a great steak and let me emphasis “A GREAT STEAK” in Ajijic (just out side Guadalahara on lake Chapala) when we visited our very good friends George and Janice in mid September. They just bought a summer home there this year. Ajijic is very Americanized in things that are American but those things are at a premium since it all has to be shipped in. But nevertheless the steak, visit and friendship was well worth the trip!
In my “find a good steak effort” I have gone to CostCo and had them cut me Angus New York strips at about 1 ¼” thick. Cost is no object when it comes to finding a great steak. LOL! Now I’ll fire up the grill and see what I got. Meat is plentiful here but the flavor seems to have been forgotten. They also do not have thick steaks as that isn’t their way. Thick is a gringo thang’! Meat is thinly cut thus easily cooked. I’ll keep you informed on my progress!

Well that’s it for this time. I plan on doing my best to post more often and in turn it may reduce the size of the posts….or not! LOL!

My most sincere wish that this post finds you well and happy
From the heart of Merida, Mexico this is Tom signing off!