Defensive Walking

We all know we have to be defensive while driving a car. Here in México even more so, because traffic laws, stop signs (big as houses on some corners), roundabouts, stoplights, etc, are just 'suggestions' in the eyes of the local driver.  Also there are a lot of Chilangos in town (people who live in Mexico City where driving is the craziest I have ever experienced, including Bali - no rules at all - and driving in Australia with the steering wheel on the other side of the car, and driving on the other side of the road). They drive what to us appear to be narco cars ($$$$$$Mexico City$$$$$), although I am not accusing anyone of being a narco....ok, let's say they all look like CSI's in their Hummers and Giant Towncars.  Lastly, I don't think they give driving lessons to anyone in Mexico. If they can read the book (which is in pictures for those who are analphabetic), they get a license.  Scary.

But enough of white knuckle driving ranting, let's talk about walking. Last week I had to go to centro for some errands.  I didn't drive, it's 12 blocks. It would take me longer to get through traffic and find a parking lot than it takes to walk it.  Plus I like to work up a good sweat. Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun, guess I am a mad dog.  The streets are loaded with pedestrians, with sidewalk sellers leaving very little sidewalk to walk on, bus stops with people lined up down the block.  People strolling along slowly, people hustling to get somewhere, people blocking the narrow sidewalks chatting, and buses jumping curbs trying to make tight turns. I walk very defensively, watching the pace of those in front of me, keeping an eye out for errant buses, and the tricky part is you also have to look down a lot to avoid potholes in the sidewalks.

I am going to make an embarrassing confession here.  I like to watch Top Model. Here we get America's, Brazil's, and Mexico's.  I have no idea why....other than when I was Jean Benet Ramsey's age my goal was to be Miss America (talk about misguided goals).  Thing is, I learn a lot from that show.  I could give a shit about the fashion industry.  But I love photography, and what they do is so creative.  Anyhow, that's not important. What I have  learned from those shows and taken to the streets is creative walking.  I am a fast walker. I have a hard time slowing down. My goal is to get from Point A to Point B, period. Not a window shopper.  I have used many methods I learned about walking a runway and having to share the runway with another 'model'.  I am able to get by the folks lingering and walking waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too slow for me.  In fact, I almost feel like it is an exercise in courteous runway walking to walk in centro.  The only thing I use the shop windows for is to check my posture. It hurts my back to see people slump. 

One last thing. When I first started visiting Mexico in the 70s, I was bothered by the vendors hassling me to buy stuff.  Now I realize that they are hawking because it is their job. I have found that a simple smile and no gracias will get them off your back, not offend them, and not work up my ire.

Perhaps you read ire in my blog today.  It's stress. Nothing new.  Have a good day.

A Day At The Beach

Or a day at the golf course?  I copied this photo from Yahoo News the other day.  From previous photos I've seen, it looks like the algae kept a lot of people away from the beach this year.  This photo was taken in China.  Kind of freaky, wouldn't you say? 

Luckily a day at the beach for us looks like this. Much more appetizing!

Just An Update

A week or so ago, I started to write about the HEAT DOME that covered a good portion of the US.  I had great NOAA NWS tips on how to deal with the heat. I feel it's worth publishing them here now and again to remind people to drink enough liquids and how to act in this extreme heat. However, the heat dome passed, that's old news, and I never finished the story.
I have a job, besides the housemother job; it's an online job.  I cannot tell you much about it or - you know, I'll have to, you know, kill you. Let's just say that it is a good job for a grammar freak and a writer. Once again, I'm not the black sheep in my family for a while because I am gainfully employed.  It offers me the opportunity to work as much as I can handle, and right now I can handle a lot.

Things at the house are quiet, this week. July was rather crazy. My first visitor was my friend Coco Harris, and she deserves an entire blog devoted just to her.  I'll get to it this week, but let it suffice to say for the moment that she is one of the most beautiful people you'll ever meet.  She is a patent attorney, a scholar, an author, an editor, and a journal master.  I'll give her the respect she is due with photos and background.  You should know about her, even if you aren't lucky enough to meet her on one of her Yucatecan escapes or at a writers' conference somewhere.   Coco is publishing one of my stories in her forthcoming book, SURVIVE.  What's more she chose my Celestún painting to be the cover.  It looks like my 15 minutes of fame are just around the corner.

July came in softly and went out roaring.  The guy from Guadalajara who spent several months here this year trying to introduce new brands of cigarettes into the market here came back in July to take his toys and go home (product).  Seems Yucatecans don't like new things, especially when the things are not substantially cheaper than the products already on the market. If they want a cheap shitty cigarette they'll buy the pirated ones.

And we had one other visitor, a friend of my front room renter. She came to celebrate her birthday and you could say she added a very festive atmosphere to the house.  All's well that ends well, I guess.

Meanwhile, during the onslaught of unusual activity for this house, I was learning the new job. I'm computer literate but not a computer genius. Some of the work I have to do boggles my mind. Not the job itself as much as the number of screens and tabs and items to keep organized. Since I came in to help, I'm learning a new function every other day. It had me a little confused- no, who am I trying to kid, it had me overwhelmed but I'm settling into it nicely.

Meanwhile, what good is an update without photos, I say!  We had three blooming periods of pitaya this year. The last bloom was the biggest.  Photo attached, taken at night during the bloom.  Also must show a pic of my helpers, they stick with me all the while I am working.  I'll try to get back here to write more often, there are new and interesting things going on.  There are always new and interesting things going on here, it's part of the natural beauty of Mexico.

 A petunia in the plumeria tree.

Little Weasel enjoying the cool evening poolside.

My two helpers, Moka and Sak Boox. Sometimes Lorenza takes Sak's place, but they never leave me alone while I am working on the computer.

A few pitaya flower shots as they grew. I took these over a span of days.

And of course they are out of order. Have a good day all!

Sarong Ties

I haven't seen ANY women wearing sarongs around Mérida, but the 'dress code' is different here than at the beach.  Tourists use sarongs as swimwear cover-ups, so there are plenty of sarong vendors at popular beaches.

In Hawaii almost all women wear pareus or sarongs at the beach and for comfort hanging around the house.  In some parts of the South Pacific, like Fiji and Tahiti, the pareu is customary day and night clothing.  It was the 'uniform' at the upscale resort where I worked in Qamea, Fiji.  The owner wanted to maintain the 'Fijian' feel.....we weren't allowed to wear shoes on site either.  I'll never forget walking from our bungalow over to the main kitchen and dining room in pouring tropical rainfalls at night barefoot, squishing frogs all along the way.  There were millions of them, and it was particularly icky.  Oops, I digressed.

Men also wear a version of the pareu, called a lava lava.  My husband Jim believed "all men should be required to wear lava lavas; the world would be a happier place."  In Samoa, Tonga and Fiji men wear formal lava lavas.  The Customs Officials who greeted us as we docked our sailboat in Apia, Western Samoa, wore wrap-around belted style lava lavas made of trouser fabric.  We had to laugh when a gust of wind blew their 'skirts' up!  They were embarrassed and declined to step down into our boat, since there was a female aboard.  They just signed us approved and let us out of quarantine so we could run for a cold beverage and ice. 

I don't wear pareus outside the house unless I'm at the beach.  But I practically live in them inside the house.  Every now and again I find the below-pictured suggestions for pareu fashion.  Before I lose them again, I'm immortalizing them here and wanted to share these tropical tips with you. 

(To get a larger view, click on the photos and they'll enlarge full screen.)

a.  This is an easy tie but to me it feels like it's pulling me from the shoulder. It looks pretty good though, and is one you don't have to worry will fall off you at an inappropriate time.

b.  Most inexperienced sarong wearers only try the first part of 'tie b'.  If you gather up enough fabric you can make the first tie or twist and then it becomes a more formed dress, with the sarong tied in the back. 

c.  This is my favorite tie.  You need a large sarong (some are made of fabric not wide enough for some of these ties, those are used mainly as a skirt wraparound). After you have it folded in half width-wise, holding yourself directly in the middle, it helps to grab the bit just below your chin and use your chin to hold the center in place.  Then bring the ends together and make a knot.  The part you were guarding with your chin can be folded over the knot and looks like a bit of a collar or decorative neckline in front. What's great about this tie is that a pleat is formed in the middle, giving you excellent freedom of movement with plenty of security that this will hold. This is a formal Fijian dress.

d.  I've tried this tie and it always looks like I have on a saggy diaper.  I think if I were 20 and partying it up in Cancun I might have the nerve to go out like this, but I don't find it attractive or recommendable.

e. This wrap doesn't appeal to me, I'm not much into the caped look.  Still, it looks ok. Not one of my faves tho.

The ties below are Tahitian.  I've never tried this one, but I think you need a large sarong for it. You use it lengthwise, and all those little ties take away from your usable fabric.  I think it looks like a beautiful little sundress, and I'll let you know how it works out if I try this one.

 Tahitian pareus are often larger compared to Hawaiian or Samoan pareus..  I remember the pareus my husband brought me from Tahiti were a much wider fabric and larger.  I've been practicing this tie below, I think it looks great, but it's hard to pull the fabric and tie those knots just so, making the item appear more to be a sun dress than a piece of fabric I frantically tied.

Ok, don't laugh!  I made a little video of myself putting on a lava lava, skirt style, which is how I wear mine around the house most of the time.  Hold one tightly to your side, and wrap the skirt all the way around until you're out of fabric. Take the fabric you are holding and roll it into the part of the lava lava already sitting on your hips.  After you do several rolls, it's going to stay pretty well. (With a larger pareu you can often tie the ends together and you'll never fall out of that one!).  The last step is to grab the part of the pareu you left under the wrapping, pull it up a little and fold it over.  This is the same tie for men. 

The pareu, sarong, lava lava, whatever you want to call it gets my vote for coolest, most practical tropical wear.  You simply have to wear it in the right place at the right time to pull it off.

Mixed Feelings

The old meat packing plant next door to my house had been long abandoned when I moved here in July 2007.  Perfect neighbors, I must say.  The property is huge. It practically surrounds my property and opens out on another street. The owner of the meat plant has been trying to sell the place. Unfortunately for the past years he's been storing tons of junk in there. Miles of bags of confetti, just weird stuff.  The big 'batfruit' tree had grown in and through one of the buildings on the property. 

For the animals, the property had been a haven. There were all kinds of trees and plants and fun things there. The cats loved adventuring to 'the other side' of our wall.  The giant iguanas that inhabit the property were fat and healthy.  The birds that visited the trees sang, performed mating calls, and chirped bird news to the neighborhood, and I'll miss them.

The owner is now serious about selling the meat plant.  He has guys over there cutting down all the trees and cleaning all the garbage out of the property.  I think he wisened up about showing a trashed place to perspective buyers .  People cannot have their own visions if there is too much crap around to have to see through. So, does anyone want to lend me a hundred fifty grand to buy that house and save the animals?  I didn't think so, but I thought I'd ask. 

The iguanas and the cats have been visibly shaken by the changes next door.  I throw fruits and vegetable material up on the roof above the pool for the iguanas, and they still come looking for it.  They spend more time on the roof and on my walls, uncomfortable about heading to the other side where those workers just might have a taste for iguana.

The change in cat behavior is astonishing.  My cats venture to the other side late in the day to see what damage has been done to their paradise.  The feral cats have moved in to our house, have been studying the behavior of our cats, and have actually been trying to behave like domestic cats.  Gemelo, the ghost of Buster I saw in the window four years ago while Buster was MIA, now lets me pet him and brush him.  He responds pretty well to 'NO'. I think Gemelo is getting old and just wants some peace at the end of his life. I've seen this cat behavior once before.  Little Weasel just stays out of the way and keeps real quiet, as if no one will notice he's moved in full time.  Buster is also spending his days at the house, which is a wonderful thing.  Finally he is himself again, and I find him exploring more and more of this big old house. 

The guys next door were told to cut down all the trees.  This is where my mixed feelings really come to play.  I agree with cleaning up the property. I also agree some trees are better than others.  That batfruit tree made a big mess in our patio all the time. If it wasn't batfruit all over the ground, it was batshit all over the property, and when it lost its leaves it sent them all down to our patio. As trees go, it was just one mess after another with that bugger.  As far as yard trash goes, I accept it as part of the deal in having such great shade trees.  Our mamey tree is messy too, and dangerous when it's dropping mamey bombs.  But I have no intention of getting rid of it.

Some of those trees next door sent so many little leaves and flying seeds into the pool it nearly drove me crazy. I am happy to see the silver oak and the fuzzy seed tree go.  This change will definitely make it easier to keep our patio clean.  The plants in my new tacky little nursery, on the other hand, are suffering this week.  They took some dive bombed branches and their shade disappeared. We haven't had a drop of rain in months, just a few passing clouds, fingers crossed the meteorologists are right in predicting rain this week.  Today the plants on the western wall of the patio look like they've been through a hurricane and need some serious attention.

Photo of SW corner of patio taken April 8, 2011.

Photo of same corner taken 27 May, 2011. No more shade :{

Center shot before.

Center shot after.

The NW corner before.

NW corner after. No mo' shade  :(

During. This is the 'hurricane' that damaged the plants. Dive bombed by giant tree branches.

Yeah, it was a mess. But the guys were real nice and cleaned it all up.

The removal of the neighbor trees lets much more sun into our entire patio.  That is good for the swimming pool and its users.  It's a little devastating to the 'shade' plants that no longer have any shade. The patio will be easier to maintain.  The cats stay closer to home.  There will be fewer mosquitos generating from that property when all the dead leaves and other jetsom are removed.

I like trees. One of the things that endeared me to Mérida is the magic of the insides of each of these large blocks.  There are big fruit trees and lots of green to help balance our CO2 and oxygen, since after all we live in a dusty oven.  It makes me sad to see that tradition go by the wayside in favor of more concrete.  I hope that's not what happens next door.

I'm glad they cleaned the property up, and I'm sad they cut down ALL the trees.  Life goes on and we adapt. Sometimes we just end up with mixed feelings.

Cat Commando Update: Checkin In

Busmo chillin'. Front paws left, back paws right, good stretch for his giant body.

Moka relaxes in clean kitchen cupboard after completing her full inspection of the changes. She approved.

I just liked this shot of Moka sleeping on the red sheets. The look of luxury.

Buster sleeping in his favorite corner of my bed, it's hot and he's not the only cat who sleeps away the daytime.

Gemelo. He has moved in. He talks to me. He's behaving himself and I think he wants to be  a house cat but he needs his balls cut off.  He did have some squatter's rights since he lived here when I moved in. I understand I don't need a larger commando, but my heart tells me these cats need better lives. 

And then there's Weasel. He weaseled his way in here a long time ago, but not all our cats wanted him around. He has been sweet talking them and being a good cat and they let him curl up on one of the cat pillows.  He's a good boy but he needs his balls cut off.

Lorenza in front of a fan in the heat of the day. Getting maximum air flow.

We got catnip!  Thanks friends, for the gifts! We're lovin' it! (says Busmo, speaking for all)

Busmo continually seeking the coolest place in the house to wait out the hot afternoons.

A more tender shot of Lorenza.

A typical regal shot of Sak Boox.  She has grown into a sweet, intelligent beautiful cat. She is in charge of fresh water for the commando.  Even cats increase their water intake by leaps and bounds during this season.

One cat is not in the photos. I can't find a pic of him at this moment.  It's Cuate, Buster's friend. He's the long haired white cat with gray spots and fluffy gray tail. He did get his balls cut off when I moved in here, and he's still a little mad at me about that.  He hisses at me when I try to talk nice to him, but he's a good boy at the feeding dish. He waits for his friend Buster to finish and then eats his portion.

Teaching these cats some manners finally?  Maybe. But we have a long way to go. Gotta love the commando, tho! They fill my days with company and joy.

Spring Projects: Create Plant Nursery

When I moved into this house I didn't have a clue about what to do with such a huge place.  What I liked about this property was it needed mostly superficial repairs to make it functional, and creativity could come later, after I could see how it all worked.  We changed out the electrical system, plumbing, repaired some walls and ceilings,,and I had to pick colors to paint my walls. I was quite overwhelmed with the paint selection. Our small house in Hawaii had ice blue walls, all of them, ice blue. It was a soothing blue but after a while I got fed up with it.  When I got here and they handed me the color palettes with so many bright colors I went wild.  I love my colorful walls but four years later I'm already thinking about some new color schemes.  I thrive on change. 

Before I get too far off track, let me tell you about the corner outside my bedroom.  Next to the cylindrical bathroom is a little corner that started to accummulate junk. I hate to look at junk piling up, especially just outside my bedroom door. There were different sizes of pasta tiles piled up and dirty, leaves jammed in there, and piles of wood pieces that Pablo intends to someday use to make frames for his paintings.  I moved all the stuff out of the way and cleaned the corner.  I liked the tiles, washed them, and I laid them out. They are not secured, but they add a cheeriness.  I decided to make my garden nursery in that corner. I've been noticing that some of my plants just can't handle the full tropical sun, and there are seeds I wanted to try to grow.  I needed a semi-sunny area to put them in. 

I built little shelves out the the wooden pieces and pasta tiles. I brought in a few healthy plants to inspire the new ones we'd be introducing.  Next to this corner, we had a million 'colchones', floor mats left over from swim school.  I piled them up and connected them in such a way that I created a new comfortable three person seat.  I see it doubling as a massage table, but would need a masseuse/eur.  We have already found ourselves drawn to sit in the new space, and it's within sight therefore in mind and I remember to water it with special care.

Naturally immediately after constructing the little nursery, Gemelo decided to claim it as his territory. I have an upside down toilet tank top as a seed starter.  He didn't remove much soil, but I don't know if the seeds appreciated his visit. Time will tell.

In another corner of the lot, there used to be a palm tree. It died.  Nothing wanted to grow in that corner, the soil must be bad. That is the corner that floods when the heavy rains come. There is also a 'pozo', well, that must be the drainage system for the apartment on the next lot.  Since we had replaced a toilet tank, lid and sink, I decided they would make great plant receptacles.  I decided to fill that area with some succulents, with a little pathos mixed in.  I filled the corner in with beach sand and seashells. 

Before I can do new creative projects, I have to take care of the normal gardening.  I spent several days on it since one can only tolerate so much heat at one sitting.  No matter how many glasses of liquid you  consume.  I am pleased that in this dry season, with Pablo and me watering regularly, and my tacky but creative new projects, I'm finding more little tranquil spots to have a relaxing sit, read a book or whatever.  Did I mention that when it's too hot in our bedroom, you can see the tv from outside the on the blue mats and hear the volume perfectly?  That had occurred to me during my creative spurt as well.  Garden, done for now.