Jubilado

(Domingo 28 Julio- Sábado 03 Agosto)   Last Saturday at the end of the work day, Dan called our welder, carpenter and glazier, wondering why they hadn't got back to us about the small jobs that are still pending. Mauricio the welder apologized profusely and said he would stop by on tuesday, when he was expecting to finish up on another job. We could only leave a message on Melitón the carpenter's answering machine, and the glass shop said that Lenny would talk to us on monday. Of these, only Lenny was on top of things. We ordered two master sheets of 4.5mm thick polycarbonate, cut to fit the lower two feet of most of our upstairs windows. The idea was to mount them between the screen and the security bars, situated to block the rain that blows in when it bounces off the roof in these tropical downpours we have been experiencing. Lenny seemed to understand what we wanted and said the shop would call with a price for the materials. In the early evening they indeed called and quoted a price about 25% of what we had expected, and for 6mm thick material. We should have been suspicious, since the local glass shop had given us prices eight months ago that were much higher.

The next day Lenny showed up with the ten cut pieces, but they were not the solid lexan we expected, but instead were of two-layer insulated greenhouse glazing. Instead of glass-clear sheets, these obscure the view a bit. A trade-off, more privacy inside and a much better price, but with all those channels to collect water and dirt. What could we do but accept them, since it was special order? Later we found some cap strips at Home Depot, which we attached with aluminized tape at the ends, coming up with acceptable watertight units which we mounted on the windows later in the week. Looks like it may work fine, based on a couple of rainstorms since then.

Wonder of wonders, about 9am monday the water commission guys stopped by and began the excavation for our sewer connection. We have been waiting for this project to start for more than six months now. We expected the work to continue the next day, but a hole at the edge of the street, in front of neighbor Valentin's home, flagged off with warning tape, remained there for the rest of the week with no indication made of any further progress, although one morning a truck of workers did pull up, only to leave and not return. Our carpenter did not contact us, and the welder did not show up on tuesday or any day this week. Such is life here SoB, but we know enough to not get upset and bide our time. Being jubilado (retired, or as we say here, tongue in cheek, "jubilated"), we really don't have anything else to do but wait—and, eventually, things will be resolved.

We stained and varnished the frame and hinged louvered panels Dan had configured, converting two of the upper shelves in the office into a cabinet of sorts. Loose odds & ends that had been sitting on the bookshelves now go here, making the room seem much more tidy.

Friday was Carmen's scheduled appointment with Dr Rendon in consultorio 5 at the IMSS clinic, so she could pick up another month's worth of prescription meds, followed by getting those last two fillings done in the dental section. When we were talking to the doctor, Dan tried to find out about making an appointment for his annual labs and consult. Turns out his records had NOT been transferred from unit 3 over to unit 5. You might recall that we had gotten a phone call from IMSS that this had been taken care of in april, after initiating a request in early december with the head of the facility. After Carmen's work was finished, we visited the archivo (records) office, where they reassured us this could be cleared up, if only Dan could stop by with some additional documentation (proof of domicile, etc.) We'll have to take care of this some other day, as these docs are stored at home.

Now for the fun of the week! After breakfast each morning, we have been spending a couple hours on the terraza level outside our bedroom doing flash-card spanish lessons. Hopefully this is getting Carmen further along with comprehension, and the kitties have been helping by their presence too. Out on the corner of the terraza, the papaya plant which we planted from seeds garnered from a ripe fruit, sits in a big pot, and seems to grow a bit each day.  One day, to her surprise Smij kitty caught a butterfly and after being sure we saw it, she ran into the house with it still wiggling in her mouth. Wonder where it went – into her tummy or hiding out in the house? We got a good look, with our binoculars, at two birds. The one small brown & gray with a narrow bill. This one has a nest in the northwest corner of our roof. This bird has a beautiful song—and we have determined it to be a house wren. The other bird is all dark brown or black, with a slash of yellow across the head above the eye. We have not been able to find this bird in any website or bird book. How frustrating, but the the bird watching make the spanish lessons more enjoyable. And the butterflies by the dozens of many varieties. Also there is a huge dark moth fluttering about as we disturb its daily retreat.

Other fun – we have enjoyed relaxing on our front porch, acting like jubilados (retired, or as we say tongue in cheek, jubilated) folks. Watching people walk by as we are mostly hidden behind all our flowering plants. Dan in the green hanging (hammock-like) sky-chair and Carmen in a the most colorful woven hamaca, which we purchased in the Yucatan many years ago.

Last week we purchased light fixtures for our dining room and kitchen, replacing the last bare bulb sockets on the lower floor that came, as is typical here, with the house We (mostly Dan) installed them and we are happy with them. Our umbrella plant continues to lose leaves and we don't seem to be able to solve it's problem – too much or too little water/light? We have had hard rainstorms every evening and night for a couple weeks. Days are delightful however. Mother nature sure knows how to time her watering of the greenery and keep people happy at the same time, at least in this beautiful part of Mexico!