Cortinas

Domingo 03 – Sábado 09 Marzo 2013.  (Dom 03^rd) Sun, sun – oh beautiful sun, back after a few darker days! (On the other hand, we wouldn't enjoy the sun so much if there weren't days to serve as a contrast. So, when the days cloud up, they're appreciated too.) Carmen is anxious to start making curtains, but she can't stop cleaning today. Since we now have a concrete slab instead of dirt outside our back door, there should not be so much filth tracked in, should there? Put out a large laundry this morning. Gardi was outside with us in the front area. Both Carmen and Gardi gave Dan a shock. This fellow walked buy, who speaks english. Carmen yelled SIR SIR, 'til he looked back at her, and she proceeded to ask him his name. Gabriel. She told him she really liked his puppy, to which he answered that the puppy belonged to his brother. Oh! This could be why she did not exactly recognize him. He does look much like his brother. Now to find out what the brother's name is, since he always speaks to us in english. These two guys run a car wash a few blocks north of here. They would like us to stop by, but Dan washes our car.

Shortly after this happening, Dan says: “Gardi is outside the gate.” Oops! The little rascal. He tried to get back in thru the front gate, as some people walked past, but then he remembered that the gate is blocked off with tighter fencing. Luckily he did not run across the road as he considered. At least he does not run from us as our other cat, Smij, would do. Once we got the gate unlocked and open, Gardi ran to go inside our door which was closed, so he laid in the sun and rested til we were done with wringing out and hanging laundry. Will be good to be able to hang laundry out back when the construction is finished.

Noontime, Dan called Mauricio, our ironwork man. He came over shortly there after, to bring the window bars he had finished, and to measure for his next jobs. Dan also called Melitón, the cabinet maker, to come measure for the bathroom cabinets tomorrow. Dan washed the car and had to call to Carmen to help dry it, since the sun was drying it so fast, and that leaves water marks.

Ania's birthday is today. She invited us over for the evening. She gave herself a wee birthday celebration by making two flans (date & almond) and a cake, plus coffee and lemon grass tea. Also there were her daughter and her husband from Veracruz, her in-laws from Cordoba. The suegro (father-in-law) of her daughter is a doctor in Córdoba. Also there was a couple from Mexico City, the god parents of Ania's children. Ania's mother was still here from Warsaw, Poland. Polish, spanish and english were spoken, sometimes all at the same time. Most interesting. Was great to be included in a family happening. A few days ago, we had sent Frank home with a fossil-filled rock for Ania, from a beach in California, so she treated it as a birthday present and was proudly showing it to all. Otherwise, she does not expect birthday or Xmas presents.

When we arrived home, Dan had an 'urgent' skype messeage concerning taxes, from one of his clients in WA. He spent an hour with the person, using skype. Carmen was wanting mexican hot chocolate. That is made with the cocoa that has cinnamon in it. Yumm. And don't forget those lemon flavored marshmallows!

(Lun 04^th) Last night dipped to 48ºF. Day warmed quickly to mid-80s. Busy around here today. Our carpenter arrived about 9:30am. Dan and he talked about Dan's design for the bathroom cabinetry. Then Frank and friend came to talk to the carpenter about doing a project for him at his new house. Meanwhile, we discovered that Luis's birthday is today. Carmen had planned to make chocolate chip cookies, so she made a huge one and wrote Feliz Cumpleaños Luís on top with frosting, and stuck a candle in it. Presented the cookie at lunch time, along with a normal-sized cookie apiece. Turned into six fellows for lunch on our front porch at our small table there, because one of Luis's brothers and one helper are doing a job couple houses south of here joined them. Soon we will have three fellows. Seems that Frank needs one of the helpers now, and we will not need four guys every day, as the tasks wind up.

Our garafon of drinking water was delivered and the two men each got a cookie too. Also all our visitors today got cookies (the carpenter, then Frank accompanied by Salavador visiting from DF, and they took along with them a pack to take home to Ania). Carmen spent awhile with plants out front today. She let Gardi cat loose out side with her. He did sit on the wall edge where he could have gone thru to the outside, but he apparently still remembered his fright from being caught out there the day before. He made no attempt to leave the yard. Don't expect that goodness to last. Dan spent some time on the porch bench reading. Much warmer outside than in today. Gardi got to go out a second time and he was ready to come in and take a nap in a sunny window before Carmen finished cutting back and transplanting stems of fuchsia starts, along with sweeping the porch. Dan had a woman stop along the sidewalk and admire the flowers along our fence. Wonder why more people do not grow flowers? Though there are many flowering bushes, vines and trees. Saturday we saw a huge tree loaded with large yellow sprays of bright yellow flowers.

(Mar 05^th) Carmen and Dan cut the material for the medium bedroom curtains. We carefully folded the full length that we purchased, and cut it into four equal parts. So smart, rather than measuring and cutting each piece. Right? Carmen finished two panels. One complete window. Now should she finish all the other two panels, or put these up and admire the work? Put them up! Thank the heavens that we chose to do this. The curtains were several inches different in length! Apparently our perfect cuts were not so perfect! Now, all the tops are finished, and the two bottom hems had to come back out. But, the two panels not hemmed yet were of equal length – what luck! Luckily Carmen was in a very good frame of mind today, so this hem removal and re sewing the hems did not bother her today. She said the fabric is beautiful and luscious to work with.

Dan spent some time painting the bottoms (where he won't be able to reach once they're installed) of the new window protections, basic gloss black. He also did some tax prep work.

Our crew worked on a final plaster wall coating. Most interesting to watch them preparing all the different mezclas (mixes) of cement, lime and screened sand as determined to be needed for each task, flipping the plaster onto the walls, then spreading and smoothing it all. Melitón the carpenter stopped by to measure for the cabinet behind the toilet and under the sink. He left with Frank to discuss Frank's project. He is unwilling to move his equipment to Frank's place and work there on an hourly basis, so Frank did not hire him.

(Mie 06^th) We walked to the store to order more cement and sand to be delivered. Turned out that FortiFerre, the place we had been buying it from was closed. At present, it seems they are out of business, Luís says from extending too much credit when they first opened last year, and not being able to collect those debts. Too bad for them, so we went to the Torralba Ferreteria, a nearby place where we had shopped several times before, and which also deals with block, cement and the like, along with a good line of hardware.

On our way home we stopped at our neighbor to the west. He works different shifts, but we heard music coming from his house. Dan talked to him about us refinishing his side of our wall, and attaching our fences securely to the poles we put at the top of the ten foot wall. Luís, our foreman, arranged to have his guys go over there when the neighbor, Valentín, is at home. Two of them worked there until 1pm today, and will continue to do so until the job is finished. Probably a week for all, including plastering the bare bricks, painting the wall with impermeabilizante and finally stretching the cyclone fencing in place. They had to first of all cut back our bougainvillea and hang protection over Valentin's plants. Will look good when finished, the sealer, from Fester, is a deep terracotta color The other crew worked finishing walls, the sink base counter and the seat in shower. SO GOOD to see these things happening. So much of the tedious work doesn't show as much time involved, but of course is most time consuming.

The welder dropped off some of his finished window and door protections, and took measurements for the next job of the stairway going up to the top of the roof. He said he has built lots of stairways, but not like this one. He needs some time to figure out exactly how he will construct it. Luis immediately cemented installed the protection bars over the window in the shower stall, and one door.

Carmen finished the cortinas (curtains) for the medium sized bedroom. Dan helped hang them just before he had to take the crew to catch their bus home for the day. We now have curtains instead of blankets on the windows of the room we presently are sleeping in. Dan again is enjoying his tax work.

(Jue 07^th) Bathroom wall tiling started today. More decisions. Being that there is a slight pattern in the wall tiles – which way to orient them? Final decision – sideways to make room appear wider, rather taller. Also the basket weave trim tile is oriented that direction.

While hanging laundry out – always an eventful time – a fellow stopped and started telling us where he was from, etc. Then he started weeding outside our gate, along the sidewalk. He did not ask for anything, just kept talking and weeding. What to do in cases like this. We did not ask him to work for us. Dan gave him a bottle of Ensure nutritional drink. This is what we intend to continue giving people who ask for food. Seems to be one or two a week. One fellow a couple weeks ago asked if we did not have any tacos. Pretty fussy?

Smij cat seems to want to go outside. She is so terrified of all, and she won't let us pick her up when she is scared, so she is certainly not allowed outside without a halter and leash. Gardi was on the front porch and she sitting inside the screen door watching him. Carmen showed her how Gardi gets picked up to go in and out the door. Next we got her a halter that we had been using on Gardi for his first outings (now he goes out with no attachments). Smij has a much deeper chest so we had to loosen it. When we felt the harness was ready, we next picked her up to put the harness on her. Ensued was a battle of the wills, which Carmen won. Smij now in halter and leash was carried outside. Interesting, but terrifying. Unfortunately, Carmen had not thought this thru about timing. The people for the office next door were just arriving for the day, so lots of foot and auto traffic. We attempted two brief Smij's outings. She did however have a bit of a look about. We decided to leave the harness on her a few days, and will give her some more outings. Want her to be familiar with what is outside the door – just in case she gets out accidentally. She, once inside with leash off, ran part ways up the stairs and sat there and cogitated about her adventures for awhile.

(Vie 08^th) We walked into town to go the atm and to pay our electric bill, and had a little set-to with the machine in the CFE lobby. Carmen insert two bills into the slot, but only the second bill was receipted. Dan went to explain the problem and a tech came out to open the back of the machine to release the other bill, which he then reinserted to pay our account in full. Live and learn! Also had to pick up another gallon of impermeabilizante at the Fester store. Later, while Carmen was out watering plants, the other brother from the carwash from up the street walked past. Turns out his name in Christian, and he and his brother were born, and grew up in, Houston,Texas. Recently, their parents were expelled from the US for being undocumented, so the whole family moved back here to live.

Today Dan worked on year-end accounting & tax prep tasks, and Carmen finished a hard jigsaw puzzle. Meanwhile, our crew worked on wall tiling in the bathroom (looking good) and finishing the west wall, making it ready for painting. Near the end of the day they installed the protective gate in front of our laundry/shop door. They will not be coming in tomorrow because they will be rewiring the church in their little community.

(Sáb 09^th) An adventure today! We took the bus round mid-day to go to Orizaba to attend a fair, their annual ExpOri. We love the ride from Fortín towards Orizaba along the winding hillside road through bamboo groves and jungle-like foliage. Many huge trees were in full bloom at this time. One in purple, another in orange, some white, some beige. Of course the pinks and yellows. Beautiful!

We knew where we were headed for, north of the main cemetery at the city fairgrounds. The only problem was that we got off the bus waaaaaaaaay too early. Had to walk several blocks in the 1pm sun. The event had many booths selling handicrafts, displays set up by local companies, plus all sorts of carnival rides & eat-from-the-hand foods. We were too early for the entertainment we had hoped to see – the voladores (fliers), men from Papantla who twirl down, suspended by long ropes from a rotating platform atop a high pole. The entertainment was oriented more for the evening hours, and even many vendor booths were not yet open, and the carnival rides not yet functioning. Having visited everything we wanted to see, and since we did not want to wait around for the crowds to show up, and darkness to arrive, we headed back to Fortín.

On the way back, in Cuautlapan, we counted 136 large huge stake trucks in lines eight deep, full of raw sugar cane, waiting for the El Carmen refinery to allow them in across their scales. The bus we returned on was destined for Córdoba via Fortin. We stayed on it thru the town to see where it went, planning to get off near the park downtown. Oops! No center of town stops anymore. So, we traveled five blocks beyond where we wanted off. Actually closer to home than to the bank where we needed to go yet. After a quick bakery stop at the panaderia, by the time we walked back we were ready for a quiet evening at home.