Wednesday, 10 October 2018: Brussels

Jimmy and Penny mixing drinks

Shaun came by for one last visit for the season.  After a bit we decided to go to Chaudoir's Dock for dinner.  We told him we should go early before Jimmy got sloshed.  As it turned out, we were too late.  The lights were off when we pulled up but there were quite a few cars.  We went in and while no one was at the tables, the bar was full.  Jimmy slurred his way through a hello and I asked if he was open for dinner.  He said yes but we could only have a prime rib sandwich.  Thankfully, I like his prime rib sandwich and we ordered three.  It took Justin and Shaun way too long to get there beer since one of the patrons was trying to help.  Another patron, Wayne, asked me what I wanted to drink and I said "some of that rot-gut wine in the box down there."  He told me to wait, he had something just for me.  He headed to his truck... yes really.  He came back with some of his own brew and it was great!  Meanwhile, Penny, the postmaster went behind the grill to prepare our sandwiches and soon came out with wings for Shaun, sandwiches for Justin and me along with fries and chicken fries.  She also delivered, to our table, with her fingers, some fried chicken legs.  Yes, her fingers.  Did I mention that this is a very casual place?  Jimmy sloshed through the evening.  It may take a village to raise a child, and it takes all of us to take care of Jimmy.

Wayne's pride shiraz

Tuesday, 9 October: Brussels

Bay Area Granite and Marble came back again today.  Yes again; isn't this the sixth or seventh time?  I think we've met every single crew member.  This time they removed the sealer and applied a tint...left it on for three or four hours and then came back to wipe it down and apply new sealer.  It didn’t make enough difference.  Now what?

Justin’s back is still giving him grief but he worked with boats to get in one more bit of epoxy and fiberglass work on the Shell Lake before getting it tucked away for winter.

We got our brochure finalized and will be able to pick it up on Friday just in time to distribute before we head south.

Found out today that our paperwork with KIA has been denied.  Grief!  When you take a car into Mexico, you need to have written permission from the title holder.  I started working on this in plenty of time.  That’s when I learned that the application had to be submitted either by fax or snail mail — how archaic.  When I called to ask the questions initially, she told me the time limit was based on what I wanted.  Now I find out that the time limit for Mexico is 3 months.  I called back today to find out what other rules are in place.  All this underscores how much I like Capital Credit Union.

Monday, 8 October: Green Bay

In to town for new tires and oil change.  The good folks at Dorsch Kia told us that our car really can’t be aligned.  Is this a vestige from Yalapa?

The alignment really isn’t awful, the car doesn’t tug to one side or the other, but the good folks at Tires Plus said it can’t be 100% aligned.  Hmmm. 

We had brunch with Ric and Carolyn.  They are back together and going to make a go of a life together.  Ric had a recent heart scare that resulted in him wearing a monitor for 30 days.  I think that got his attention.  Ric had planned to come visit us in Celestun this winter for a month or so but then he found out that he has to move (the owners are selling the house where he rents). That has thrown a kink in his plans so he doesn’t think he’ll make it.

We took some stuff back to Sam’s and bought six sets of sheets.  We haven’t gotten all the questions answered about our corporation and whether or not we are tax exempt in Mexico.  So, sales taxes in Wisconsin are 5%.  In Texas, they are 8.25%. In Mexico, we pay 16%.  So even though many things are less expensive, ... of course we will still need to buy beds, mattresses, mattress covers, pillows, bed spreads... the list is quite long.

We called Tom Parins to inquire about an LLC.  Now the question is can an American LLC own a Mexican corporation?  We will ask Alanso.

Sunday, 7 October 2018: NEW

Yesterday we made our list.  It is quite formidable, but we can do it...right？ We have our "non refundable, non exchangeable" tickets.  We looked at the weather and assigned our tasks to days.  We are really eager to be gone, but ...miles to go before we sleep.  

Packer Football game at Tippy Canoes.  I ate too much and I drank too much.  Justin wanted to go watch the Brewers baseball game and I just wanted to go take a nap.  

Later, we went to Chaudoir’s Dock for the battle of the Texas teams.  I put on my Texans T-shirt to sport the colors.  Texans came out on top thankfully.  No one here is pulling for the Cowboys.  

Justin really screwed up his back, elbow and shoulder working under the house.  He is eating ibuprofen like candy unfortunately.

Wednesday, 3 October 2018: Brussels

I have been a cooking fool this summer.  Justin particularly enjoyed the clafoutis and the Greek shrimp tourkalimano.  Today, I made biscuits for breakfast and then I tried my hand at chicken pot pie for dinner.  It was ok, but I don’t need to make this a weekly tradition.  

Andy came over from Wolf Bros heating.  Neither Justin nor Carl could get the pilot light going.  Andy said it was a bigger issue than just that and we told him we’d wait until spring.  We will only be here a few more days and our electric heaters will suffice just fine.  I thought we had all this settled last year, but apparently not.  

Justin finished with the spray foam insulation under the house.  He wretched his shoulder and elbow working in such tight quarters but now he is done.  

I had just finished dishes when the electricity went out.  A tree fell a bit down the road and took out the line.  What’s a girl to do?  Time for bed.  The electricity came back on about 1:30 but I sure didn’t get up then.

Tuesday, 2 October 2018: Brussels

My heart melts when the kids 

crawl into bed with us in the mornings.

We got up and visited with all the kids before Lily went to school.  We won’t see Lily and Brody again until the spring.  We will get to see Erich and Finn when they come to Brussels for the 49ers game in a few weeks.  

Thankfully our October bank statement came in about 4am. Yes, I had been up throughout the night checking and double checking.  I emailed Luis and told him we were ready and asked if we could come in earlier.   He called back to say 3pm.  Drat ..... we were hoping for 9 or 10am.  Instead, we went to Capital Cafe for breakfast (they have a Greek skillet that Justin loves) and then REI.  Justin is looking for a new waterproof jacket and I was just looking.  We wasted a bit more time shopping (I found some precious little short suede  boots...I am a sucker for suede... sure won’t need those on the beach in Celestun, but they were SO cute!). Anyway, into the consulate at 3pm and out about 4:30, this time with two permanent resident visas in hand.  Now we could be on our way back to Brussels.  

Back in Oshkosh, Justin and I both found waterproof and breathable raincoats as well as a few other essentials.  Justin has teased me about rainwear incessantly.  I’d just as soon stay inside when it was raining so “water repellant” has been adequate in most situations.  Now, I find that I need “waterproof”.  

We had a fabulous Thai dinner at Basil Cafe in Appleton and still made it home before midnight.  I couldn’t wait to jump into my nice new bright white shower!  It was nice to be back in our own bed.

Today is the day we re-learned a lesson from George W. Busch.   “When I was young and irresponsible, I was young and irresponsible.” Hard to argue with the truth.  Brett Cavanaugh on the other hand, is rather indignant and... entitled.  

Monday, 1 October 2018: Milwaukee

We woke up this morning to a message from Bijan informing us that the money had arrived!  Guess it really is official -- we own a hotel in Mexico.  The first time we sent money in March, it took four or five days.  This time it barely took one business day.  Justin had commented how we could get all kinds of merchandise delivered through Amazon Prime within 24 hours but to wire transfer money was like taking a step back in time.  Thankfully, we were pleasantly surprised.

We had an appointment at 3:30pm at the Mexican consulate in Milwaukee for our interview for our permanent resident visas.  Of course we putzed around the house too long and we wanted to stop at Eddie Bauer to look for a new raincoat for Justin at the outlet mall in Oshkosh.  That meant Justin was driving like a bat out of hell in the rain too much of the way to Milwaukee.  In typical Mexican fashion, we still had to wait about thirty minutes.  

Unfortunately we didn’t have all the paperwork we needed.  In addition to proof of benefits from Social Security, Wisconsin Retirement, OPM, TSP, copies of passports, photos, ... everything short of parents’ birth certificates, they said they needed copies of bank statements for the last twelve months.  I gave them that from both NFCU and from CCU.  Then they said that since our appointment was in October, we must provide the statement from September.  The statement from NFCU comes out on about the 23rd of the month, but the statement from CCU comes out at the END of the month.  I called two different people from Capital and they both assured me the statement would be ready by Monday mid-afternoon.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t.  My paperwork was fine but Justin wasn’t able to finish the process.  They had the upper hand and we were at their mercy.  We thought about stopping back in Milwaukee on the 17th when we head south.  We also considered going to the offices in Houston when we are there.  Instead, we spent the night with Erich and Holly and the kids.  No extra clothes, no meds or CPAP machine, no nothing.  Erich did hook us up with toothbrushes and Gemma had some of my leftover chicken.  Holly asked if I was going to go ahead and go to Mexico without Justin. No, not even.

Dinner at Hale House with Erich and the kids

Captain Grandpa has a whole lap full of love!

Sunday, 30 September 2018: Door County

We headed to Tippy Canoe’s to watch the game.  This little bar is located in the Wisconsin town of Euren.  Yes, that's how you pronounce it too.  

Anne Marie met us there and she brought her new interest, Rans.  Tippy Canoe’s has a great Bloody Mary Bar ($2 at that) and that was enough to make me happy.  Around half-time they brought out picnic ham, potatoes and sides as well as a few desserts.  All good with us.

Thankfully the Packers won...22-0 over the Bills but I can’t say the team has their stuff together yet.  

Anne Marie and Rans came over to our house for a while after the game.  We enjoyed some good conversation and reparte as we wound down the afternoon.  Louie had a great time chasing his ball into the water.  Gemma still isn’t having any part of the water.

 

I should submit this photo to Field and Stream.  Louie just looks at the ready...

… this one, not so much.

Friday, 28 September: Green Bay

Yesterday was Peter's birthday.  We wished him well through email; we will be in Celestun shortly to extend our best wishes in person.  Feliz cumpleanos!

We started our red letter day by going to CCU to meet with Mari to transfer money to Bijan.  How long have we waited for this day?  Of course, there really isn’t much relief yet because they money isn’t there yet.  We will wait to hear from him before we celebrate.  We will wait until we get back to Merida to sign...still don’t know why we got the POA??

We took time for a grand breakfast at Julie’s before our next stop at Bellin hospital for Justin and me to get flu shots and shingle shots.  The shingle shot is in two parts so we will need to remember to get the second booster when we return on the spring.  

Next stop — the printers to turn in our brochures for Casa Colibri.  We went ahead with 500.  We can’t really imagine needed that many, but we are prepared.  I think the thing I really need to worry about is an internet presence.  Do I need to go on Facebook?  Do I need to see about Wix to design a webpage?

Next stop, laundry...got that going and left Justin in charge while I popped off to return some items at Menards.  We stopped by Wear 180 to find it closed.  Like really closed...forever!  I dropped all kinds of clothes off at this local resale shop last season.  No wonder I hadn’t heard anything from them!  I could have taken the items straight to Goodwill and saved them the trip...aargh,

I could make this Galley 57 steak 

at home, right?

Next stop — The Rite Place for an adult beverage.  I’d always been interigued by this restaurant right across the street from where I like to do laundry.  I won’t need to go there again.   There is a little hiking trail nearby so after a bit of a nap in the car, Justin took Gemma for a stroll before we headed into town to go for sushi.  Quick detour into Galley 57 for another beverage.  Galley 57 is a quintessential Wisconsin supper club.  Maybe we should come back here for dinner sometime ...today we had our heart set on sushi downtown at Sushi Lover.  Yumm-o!!!  After that, one more stop at Chefusion for a night cap and to listen to jazz.  I was beat when we got home but all in all, a great day!

Wednesday, 26 September 2018: Brussels

Another team from Bay Area Granite and Marble came out today.  This time they replaced the large end piece of stone.  Will the color be better? Will the seam be better?  Will it be level?  Please oh please!

Getting ready to remove the first piece

Justin making sure the support was the correct height

New piece is in place and level

Kavanaugh is in the news.  Will he be confirmed?  Bill Crosby goes to jail; he is 81 years old.  They laughed at Trump in the UN — they actually laughed at him when he boasted of his successes.

Monday, 24 Sept 2018: Fond du Lac

We drove about two hours to Fond du Lac this morning to attend a shareholders meeting.  It was the first time either of us had been to a shareholders meeting and while I imagine that it was very different from, say AT&T, it was interesting.  We wanted to take the long, pretty drive home but we needed to hurry back to meet Chris, the refrigerator repair guy.  Thankfully, and with Chris’ coaching, the manufacturer will pay for both parts and labor.  I had called previously and they had agreed to parts compensation but with info from Chris, I called again and talked about design flaws and potential of fire when combining electricity and water. It helped my argument when I pointed out that if we considered the time the frig was unplugged when we were in Mexico, the failure would have occurred during the original warranty period.  They agreed to a one-time payment of all fees and yes, this time I’ll be purchasing the extended warranty.  

Our planter boxes and large pots looked just spectacular this year!  The plants are annuals so, yes, we'll need to start from scratch next spring but they are so worth it!  The leaves are changing  and we’ve started turning on the heat a bit at night and in the mornings.  I’ve started picking up all the yard toys and getting ready to pack them away.  Justin continues his work with the spray foam insulation under the house. I will be happy when he is finished and I’ll bet he will be even happier.

Sunday, 23 September 2018: Green Bay

Packers played in Washington and it wasn’t pretty.  The new rules in the NFL certainly are changing the look of the game.  The chatter about having the quarterback wear a different colored jersey and flags seems way too real.

We headed to Jordan and Kris’ to celebrate Jonas’ birthday.  They had the kids party yesterday away from the house so today was only adults.  Since their house is under construction, this was a very wise decision.  The boys were interacting and playing in their typical patterns until Jonas tried to bite Caleb’s ear and got sent to time out.  Guess he is trying on the antics of Mike Tyson.  Legos are still the toy of choice for this age group. 

It was great to finally meet Marie (she was a foreign exchange student with Jordan in high school).  She returns to the states every year and stays with her host family.  Sam was also in town; his father is suffering from pancreatic cancer.  Sam, who went to high school with Jordan and Marie and now lives in Portland, visited us in Germany.  He’s been offered a job at St. Norbert’s University.  Jordan is really pushing for him to be closer to Green Bay.  

We took the long way home driving through neighborhoods and little towns and we even stopped to get ice cream.  We had to redeem something from the day.

Friday, 21 September 2018: Brussels

Bijan received  the papers from Alonso yesterday.  He has assured us they will be returned on Monday.  My oh my!

Erich wanted to go surfing and that means we got the boys!  Brody and Finn came to spend the night so Justin and I went into Captain Grandpa and Grandma Paula  mode.  

We started our day with breakfast at April’s   It was rainy and nasty all day (hence good surfing waves) so there weren’t too many outdoor distractions.  We played with dinosaurs and Paw Patrol and we watched a bit of tv — Wild Kratts, live and animated combo that addresses curious animals around the globe.  It was new to me.

Brody getting ready for freshly baked chocolate chip cookies

Midway through the afternoon Justin got a phone call from Chaudoir’s Dock telling us they were worried about our boat.  Justin went down to check and it was just in time!  The waves had been pounding up over the breakwall all day.  The batteries were submerged but Justin started pumping right away.  A few of our newest best friends helped Justin reposition the boat from our slip to a transient slip that was more protected.  Brody and Finn and I went down there a bit later but there was precious little we could do to help so we went into the restaurant to wait ... and to have cheese curds.

Oh, and in the middle of all this, our frig died!  We haven’t even had it two years!  No, I didn’t get an extended warranty.  I knew I needed to start using up stuff from our frig and freezer but this wasn't exactly how I intended it to go.