Tuesday, 27 Dec. Bus to Walmart. At leisure, poking about here this day. We selected some dinnerware. A set of four each of dinner plates, salad plates, bowls, cups. Glasses were separate, so we asked a clerk there doing restocking, if she could find us a box to put the glasses in, which she cheerfully did. Bought some good kitchen storage containers. These need to be tight to keep the zillions of various ants out. One simply must learn to live with these creatures. Actually they aren't so bad you know--if you leave a spot of anything on the floor or counter, it will be cleaned up by morning. We also purchased towel set, spatula, cutting board, and of course the Xmas candy was on sale. We looked longingly at the rompope, but Dan remembered it being cheaper at the grocery store in town, so we waited on that, besides we already had lots of heavy items to balance while on the bus. We had also spent some time leaning our heads against all the possible pillows and finally selected one, but as it turned out, it was just too much to balance, so back on the shelf it went. Not quite the same as shopping with a car. We find it the hardest getting off the bus, since one must get out of his seat and balance all to the door before the bus stops, and of course the bus always gives a mighty jerk as it stops.
After we got home, we immediately walked to the grocery here in town. Needed some breads, fruit and veggies, plus that bottle of rompope, which Dan can drink and Carmen can smell of. The inexpensive brand was all sold out, and what was left cost more than that left back at Walmart.
Wednesday, 28 Dec. Back to the bus we went and off east to Walmart again. Decided that if we had two guests for a meal, broke one plate, what does that leave us? Now our math is pretty good, and we figured that would leave us short the next time we had two guests for dinner. Yes, we bought another set of dinnerware. This time we took the large light bright green cloth bag we were given when we purchased some barley at a health food store in Orizaba for Ania last week. Thank goodness! The pillow went in, plus the candy at a further price reduction, plus a few food items. This time we also bought a mop bucket, which held all our smaller stuff, plus that longed for bottle of rompope (cheaper today), though we have found no nutmeg to top it with. No wall to wall carpets or even many area rugs, presumably due to high humidity conditions, so a mop bucket is a must for the tiled floors. We figure the long handled cleaning gear can be purchased at the local stores. Another load to balance on the bus.
Exciting trip home. All went well 'til we were but a few blocks from our stop. The bus was zipping down the avenida into Fortín, when a large dump truck charged out from a side street. Brakes squealed and the truck stopped within inches from the side of the bus. Sure made the old hearts tick faster!
We were running low on cash, so we walked up to our bank . Everything here is paid in cash. Since Carmen's fingers are too short and stubby to get the ATM card back out of the slot quickly enough for the transaction to take place, poor Dan has to suffer through getting cash from both our cards. Suffering is of course good for the soul.
Friday, 30 Dec. Oh yea! Another bus ride. This time back to Orizaba, to check out the two bus stations, to see which is the best to leave from when going back to the Mexico City airport. Or perhaps we'll take the more frequent route to the TAPO bus station, and taxi or subway from there to the airport. Another perfect sunny day with a slight breeze. Again the city streets were crowded, but less so than right before Christmas. Visited both bus stations, but maybe ten blocks apart. Then walked the few more blocks to the Chedraui store, similar to Walmart. Again we carried rolled up in Dan's pocket, that nice large green bag. Good thing. Dan carried home a toaster oven. Carmen had the second new pillow which we again took a long time "trying on", plus another bag of things: a set of sheets, a few foods and some bakery selections. After the shopping, we lugged our items to a Chinese buffet that we had discovered a block away. Fresh and delicious.
Now for the bus ride home. Now you understand that Dan has a big box, plus he is paying the fare, since Carmen has two bags, one being very large, but not so heavy. This means that Carmen got on the bus first. While some buses are very new, there are some dilapidated models still in service. This was one of those. Sorry, but Carmen starts giggling when she remembers this episode. What a sight we must of made for all those sitting behind us. Carmen chose an empty set of seats, sat down, and started scooting over to the window seat - nothing unusual about this. She seemed to get stuck and pushed over harder, since the bus had started jerkily moving, and Dan had now arrived and was anxious to sit down beside her. Well he sat down! and down! He thought he was sitting on Carmen's leg, so he hopped back up sputtering a bit, only to discover, there was no seat there! The cushion it seems was loose, and it had partially traveled under Carmen as she moved to her seat and therefore it was only half there, canted at an angle, for Dan to sit on. Carmen had very large bags and it was most difficult for her to adjust herself, wedged in between the rows, but Dan was finally able to drag the seat cushion out from under her and back to it's proper place and he finally got planted, shoving the seat cushion back with his legs. Just another thing we will hope to be aware of in future expeditions by bus.
Later in this eventful journey, a musician boarded, and serenaded the passengers with a tuneful combination of guitar and Incan panpipes played at the same time, interspersed with a ballad he sung. We don't often tip for something like this, but we made an exception for the skill with which he entertained. Coming into Fortín, this time we stayed on this bus to see where it would journey after passing the boulevard at the bottom of town. All the many bus lines take different routes. Lucky this time. We got off but two blocks from the motel.
Sat, 31 Dec. A quiet day at home. Did a turn around the park as evening settled in, just to see if anything was happening to celebrate the last day of the year. A few boys dressed up with fake beards were about, and some stuffed old man (Father Time) dummies sat on porches waiting for midnight. As in the states, we bailed out early and were well abed by the time that moment arrived, heralded by some big firecracker explosions around town. I suppose one of these years we'll learn what happens to those stuffed characters.
Dan has discovered that the US Internal Revenue Service has drastically altered the rules for income tax preparers this tax year. In light of this, and considering our spending a good part of the year down in Mexico, Dan has been working on a letter he will be sending to all his clients, notifying them of changes in the services he can provide them for their business accounting.
Lunes, 02 Ene. Our closet here at Suites María Antonieta is getting packed with all these things for our house that is not our house yet. If the deal somehow falls through, what a state we will be in. We have advised our motel managers, Carlos and Sandra, that we may have to extend our stay a bit, should we have to change our return flight date. Today, Frank and Ania have left for the west coast at La Peñita for a few months (their digs there are about 1000 yards from where our friends Merv & Delia stay each winter). We will visit the obra every few days that we are here, to take some pictures of the progress to email them. They showed us a hidden key for the chalet at home, so that we can leave all our stuff there if need be. We are presently impatiently waiting for a call from the notario to hear how things are progressing. For the meantime, we are in a pila de espera (holding pattern).
