Thursday, 25 November 2021: Casa Colibri

We went to dinner at La Palapa last night.  It was delicious as always. As we were leaving, Justin saw a lady coming in from the beach with a musical instrument.  He just can’t help himself so he struck up a conversation with her.  We soon learned that Jenn and Robin had just arrived in Celestun and were looking for a hotel.  They are from Switzerland and on a stroll across Mexico. They will stay with us for a week or so and then head off to ruins and pints beyond to include the Pacific coast before returning to Cancun for their flight home in early March. 

That means we have guests for Thanksgiving. Good thing we have that turkey.  Justin did the bird and mashed potatoes.  I made dressing, a avocado and tomato salad and a pecan tart.  Not exactly the traditional meal, but we did take time to explain the traditions to our new Swiss friends.  

Chatting through the tryptophan induced drowsiness

With Omicron raging, we have so many, many things for which to be grateful.

Monday, 22 November 2021: Merida

Packer loss to the Vikings yesterday— so sad.  

We had brunch this morning at our new restaurant, Alma Lima.  They just opened a few months ago.  The have a homemade sour dough bread that makes for great Benedict’s and Croque Monsieur.  I wrapped around a Croque Madame while Justin dug into a Spanish skillet.  Parmesan cheesecake for dessert?  Yes, please.    There's a definite European take on many of the dishes.  They make their own pasta for dinner so I know we will come back.  

   

We left Gemma at home with Abraham this trip.  That was hard for me.  We often left the car running when we went inside...when it was our our car.  We don’t feel comfortable doing that with a rental and leaving her in the car, even with the windows down is not an option.  We bought her special food so now she just needs to get better.  

We always have a handful of errands when we go to Merida; grocery shopping must be last as we are heading home.  Thankfully, Justin is a load-master as we typically fill our car up to the brim.  This week, in addition to all the other treats and necessities, we bought two turkeys   One for us even though it looks like it will just be the two of us and one for Abraham for his family now or Christmas.

My husband, the news junky that he is, read an article to me this morning about the move of folks from California to Texas.  Why?  Weather, promises that the area is not quite so subject to effects of climate change.  Low taxes. Cheaper housing.  Racial diversity.  Political...there’s the obvious downside.

Texas is thriving and dynamic, and it is calling many.  Does Texas really feel like California and serve as the siren to call so many?  I want Texas to be “home” again.  No, I’m not ready to move to Georgetown, I just to have that swelling sense of pride that has had a big bucket of cold water poured on it all too recently. All too often...

Home to see My Gemma

Thursday, 18 November 2021: Casa Colibri

Laura, the local vet came to our house this morning.  I was pulling the car out of the driveway and stopped for a passing car but she indicated she wanted to turn into our driveway.  Wait, are you Laura?  I thought we were going to her clinic, instead, she was making a housecall.  After a thorough assessment of our precious Gemma, Dr. Laura diagnosed her with liver disease.  We need to get some meds for her here in town (at the human farmacia) and then get some special kibble for her at Petco when we go to Merida this weekend.  Dr. Laura was at our house well over an hour. Our cost for this house call — $200MXP...$10.

Erich had to put Mollie down today.  What a shitty day for him. 

It will get down to 22’ tonight in Green Bay and tomorrow a high of a balmy 38’.  Here in Celestun, Justin will be in shorts and flip flops and the temps will be in the low 80’s.  Where do I want to be?  Right here!!!

Tuesday, 16 November 2021: Casa Colibri

Wow!  What a day!

Melba arrived to clean at 8am.  I threw a load of clothes into the washer and Justin shared his plans about rearranging and reorganizing the furniture in the sala and the bathroom.  He had a mission. And a goal: clean off the bed in the sala. We’d been stashing stuff there since unpacking and he was going to get the mess cleaned up today.

I made chicken salad for lunch and then popped into town to buy fruits and vegetables.  When I got back, Evaristo was here to repair the window in Dellene’s room and to bring the glass for the windows in a couple of rooms.  We also asked for estimates on doors and screens throughout the terraces, a structure on the roof and a garage.  Antonio was here too.  He installed the drawers in the guest kitchen and we talked about a bathroom cabinet and mirror.  We are also interested in bed side tables for all rooms. Definitely we will want these goods in cedar as  that’s about the only wood that is resistant to termites. 

And, Ivan and Jonathan were here.  They stayed for lunch and then a beer or two with Justin.  They fixed the leak in the cisterna and they told us what we needed to buy to repair the solar hot water heaters.  They’ll come back later to install two new toilets.

More importantly, the boys had time to catch-up.  Ivan lost his brother (after a ten year battle with multiple sclerosis) and he lost his mom from complications of Covid during the time we were gone.  Both Ivan and Jona relayed that there had simply been no work for well over a year; Jona told Justin that he’d gone fishing every single day so that he’d have food to eat.  On a more uplifting note, 

Justin talked to Jonathan about his tryci.  He can get a new one for about $1,500.  I think we will help Jonathan with this and then he’ll be our tryci guy forever.  Yes, I think that is a good idea.

I really like our house when it’s just Justin and me and I really like our house when it is bustling.  Maybe I just really like our house!

Monday, 15 November 2021: Merida and home to Celestún

We left Green Bay a month ago today.  It sure doesn’t seem like it.  We were absolutely slamming for the week before we left.  Our trip was a rollercoaster with an emphasis on the down swoops.  We got back here to a safe and secure “home” with all our treasures intact all wit in dire need of a thorough cleaning.  Now, a month later, we’ve been able to relax, to breathe and to get back into our Mexico rhythm of life.  Precious few alarm clocks, workers in the house regularly, long walk on the beach with the dogs ...spectacular sunsets.  Ain’t life grand!

Biden signed a $10 million infrastructure bill.  This feet was months, wait years, in the making.  Neither Trump nor Obama were able to make it happen.

Inflation threatens to take away from Biden’s success and popularity. The corona virus continues to rage.  He can’t win. 

Sunday, 14 November 2021: Merida

Yesterday and today were simply a shopping extravaganza.  This is the season of Buen Fin...literally translated as Good End.  It is Black Friday meets Revolution Day.  We were up and out early to buy loveseats for the sala, kayaks and a stove for the guest kitchen.

Back “home” to drop off Gemma before we were on to Boston’s for the game.  (We’ve been at our little hotel 14 nights of the last month so I guess I can call it home.). The game didn’t start until 3:30 but we were hungry and ready to take a moment to breathe.

Today was my day to learn names. Andy is the motorcycle guy from Madison. He ridden his bike to Peru and back on a previous trip. This time he’s stopped for a while in the Yucatán .  Noel is the Bears fan who is living in Merida with his family.  Brian Bachman is our new friend from a near-by  international school. He’s an avid Packers fan.  Nayeli is Brian’s girlfriend.  Juan is our favorite waiter at Boston’s.  They say the most beautiful sound is the sound of your own name.  I’m trying to learn.

Rudolpho let us know the group was meeting at LaChata this week. We stopped by there yesterday for tacos and to check out the screens.  The owner is apparently a huge Packers fan but we decided to head back to our favorite football haunt, Boston’s.  Justin had a bit of an upset stomach in the night so Boston’s was just fine for me... I’m just not a risk taker.  

We all headed to La Negrita after the game.  We'd hoped to see Jesus but it was Elina's gig tonight.  The music was great but I did miss the melody from Jesus' horn.  

   

First snow in Green Bay.  I am not sorry to miss it.

Friday, 12 November 2021: Merida

Electricity was supposed to be out from 9-5. We figured we’d head to Merida early for the weekend.  First we walked the grounds with Abraham and shared our vision...ok, Justin shared his vision.  We are so fortunate to have Abraham.  He says he wants to learn to drive.  Should we do this now with our rental that is stick.  Yikes.. 

To Merida ... first stop...FedEx to pick up Justin’s wallet!   Yea!!!  The first thing I did was take a picture of Justin's driver's license and send it to Luis so Justin could be added to our rental car contract.  I told Justin I may never drive again.  We knew Ric would need to pay about $80 when he dropped off the wallet at FedEx in Green Bay but we weren’t expecting to need to pay several more hundred pesos on this end for import taxes.  Goodness, it was our property to begin with!  Plus, it was delivered to a different FedEx location than the address we gave them.  Thankfully it was in an area of Altabrisa that we know and was easily accessible.  

   

For dinner tonight, we chose an old friend, Piccoli.  We’d been there before but didn’t realize just how close it is to our hotel.  So, it is our new, old Italian restaurant. Everyone there seems to know each other. Greetings, hugs and table hopping are frequent.  And, most of the individuals simply don’t look Mayan. Is this the home of Merida’s Italian connection?  Our dinner sure was good.  We enjoyed a Portobello Risotto and finished with an almond torte.  Super yummy!

Thursday, 11 November 2021: Celestun

Veterans’ Day.   I am not enjoying a day off from work but I am not forgetting to honor what today represents and to be grateful.  

We met Chris and Roger at Peter’s for breakfast.  They will be here only until mid-Dec

ember.  We have to make sure we see them now.  And, since they are selling, we will need to make plans to see them in Canada or Wisconsin or points beyond.

When we returned to Celestun I jumped in and offered to host Thanksgiving dinner as we’ve done in the past.  Today we caught up on the happenings of Jess and Nico and a few other expats in our community.  That helped to validate our decision to not host a large gathering.  This vaccine thing is just too divisive and too controversial to bring the turkey into it.

Justin and Abraham continue to make great  strides in our gardins.  Justin calls it waving the magic wand -- I am sure Abraham calls it lots and lots of work ...  poco a poco.  Justin does jump in of course... he just cant help himself.  Yesterday he got up early and trimmed bougainvillea.  He cut more than he had intended and was bummed.  He had to fess up to Abraham...yes, he knew it took two years for that to grow.

Melba came to clean.  Nancy is the best housekeeper, but Melba runs a close second.  I still can’t believe she comes from Merida!

The internet was zooming. I worked on bills and paperwork most of the afternoon.  

I got the Roku hooked up and we watched tv this evening for the first time this season.  That could be a mistake.

Aholi comes each week.  This week she brought Bethania for a quick visit.  What a cutie -- and she looks just like her daddy.

Monday, 8 November 2021: Merida

 

Boston’s then Rudolpho’s home yesterday for the game.  Most of the group of ten spoke English and they were all very welcoming.  I took some of our pandemic Mediterranean dip and it was received quite well.  Juan Carlos said the dip was “amazing” and encouraged us to get a patent.  Adriana put some on her burger.  Packers fell to Chiefs but the dip was good.  

 

I watch way too much Food Network when we are in Merida and thankfully, Justin watches with me.  We just finished the Tournament of Champions.  My fav, Naneet Capra, didn’t win but it was fun to watch.  One of the quotes I hope to remember from the show was about salt — “kosher salt for cooking, sea salt for the table, and iodized salt for the road.”  Remember when the girl with the blue umbrella on the round blue container was the only salt we knew?

Gemma helped herself to some
Stacy's chips that were left right at her eye level.  

Justin and Gemma playing ball in the hall at our hotel.  

Saturday, 6 November 2021: our apartment at Casa Colibri

I finally feel like I’ve got my house back again.  We moved back into our apartment now that we’ve cleaned from top to bottom and sprayed with peppermint oil.  We didn’t perform any local rituals, but we were tempted.  

Poseidon for drinks and sunset.  I like it at Poseidon.  The drinks are a bit pricey for the neighborhood but it is often empty, quiet and so, so serene.  Plus, you can’t beat the view.

Thursday, 4 November 2021: Casa Colibri

The US fell back last weekend going off of daylight savings time.  Mexico also goes back to “regular” time but not until next Sunday at 2am.  I thought it was at the same time...almost, but not quite.  

I finally got everything in the kitchen washed and my kitchen is ready to roll.  Yes, everything.  Melba and Nancy and I took every single thing out of all the cabinets -- top and bottom -- wshed all shelves and drawers and all contents and now everything is back in and ready for production   Watch out!

Packers are number one in the power rankings!!! Without Devante Adams!?!?  Yes, after winning against the undefeated Arizona Cardinals, our beloved Packers pulled this one out on the road.  And, yes, I know this happened on Thursday but now that the rest of the weeks’ games are over, it still warrants some relishing.   

Jeopardy clue of the day:  The unvaccinated NFL player who will miss the game against the Kansas City Chiefs

The question:  Who is Aaron Rogers?

Yep, he’s got COVID.   So apparently he did some homeopathic treatment and was then tested to see if he had enough antibodies to be exempt from the first shot.  His request was denied but it makes me wonder just how common was this alternative approach.  There lots of hoopla in the news this morning about whether or not he was selfish and even more questions about whether or not, or how much, the Packers did not follow NFL protocol.  It will be interesting to watch how this folds out.  Meanwhile, Jordan love will make his regular season debut and, none other than Blake Bortles is flying into Green Bay.  He’s expected to sign with the Packers.  Gotta love it!

Jennifer and Jeff stopped by for a visit.  Who are Jennifer and Jeff ... well, we didn’t know them either.  Jennifer claims Maria to be her second mom.  She met Maria years and years ago in Playa Del Carmen.  She remembers when Casa Maria was built.  She remembers all the animals and all the stories.  She was last here after Maria dies but before the sale to us was finalized. It was great to see our home through her eyes and take a quick walk down memory lane with her.  But, moving on, I am happy for this property to now be Casa Colibri where Justin and Paula call home.

Saturday, 30 October 2021: Mérida

Ken is working on the tiles in the upstairs bathroom at Hartung as I am having coffee in my hotel room in Merida.  Now that’s retirement.  Justin checked on the weather in Green Bay.  It will get down to maybe 31’ one night this week.  And here in the Yucatan, we are still waiting for the nights to get down to 72’.  That too is retirement!

Retirement also looks staying in your jammies a bit later in the day.  We talked to Kim this afternoon.  She’s in California with her parents right now.  She said she was proud of me to see that I was in my jammies at 12:40 in the afternoon.  When I reminded her that yes, it was 12:40 for her but 2:40 pm for me in Merida, she said I was her hero.  I’ve always aspired to be Kim’s hero! 

When we did venture out, we headed to The Plaza Grande to see the large altar prepared in celebration of Dia de Los Muertos.  

We knew that the big parade had been cancelled for the second year in a row.  We’d read that there would be a parade of abejiles...whimsical mythical figures.  Did not see any sign so we could only assume that it too had been cancelled.

On to Chaya Maya.  We only needed to wait about 40 minutes for a table.  Justin took a quick walk down to La Negrita to see if Jesus was playing while I browsed in the tourist shops.  Very soon we enjoyed a Chaya cream soup and a mixed seafood entree.  I don’t remember the margaritas being quite so small...so I ordered another.  

Taking advantage of being in Merida for the festivities, we ventured to the Plaza Grande to see the special altar that had been set up.  In this observance, we see a mix of traditions from the (ancient) indigenous peoples and (newer) Catholic practices.  To show respect for deceased family members, the locals create ornate altars and leave food offerings for their loved ones to enjoy.  They also dress up as skeletons, and eat seasonal dishes. These activities acknowledge that death is only the continuation of life elsewhere.  Compared to the altars that are in private homes, the altar that was constructed here in Merida was quite large ........ 

.

We bought some leather key chains in
the Grand Plaza. 
The vendor personalized them with
"Casa Colibri."

And, of course we needed a parade.  Alebrijes are brightly colored Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical mythical creatures. I originally learned of these as “fetishes.”  Originally made of paper-mâché, wooden variations have also become popular.  Although the huge parade, The Paseo De Las Ánimas, had been cancelled for the second year in a row, I’d read that there was to be a parade of the Alebrijes.  We’d timed our visit to the Plaza Grande to be there for the start of the parade.  Alas, no parade but that set us up for an early dinner at Chaya Maya.  Kim remembers this restaurant well and has her favorites on the menu.  Justin and I tried a new fish dish this trip.  Super yummy!

Phenomenal Packer (6-1) win over the Arizona Cardinals (7-0).  So both teams are now 7-1.  The injured Packers started absolute no-name players who earned their names into the playbooks.  We will certainly hear more of Winfree and Douglas who had the game ending and game-winning interception with only seconds remaining.  There were about 15 fans at Boston’s for the game. That crew watched the game in the private room but Justin and I sat at our usual spot at the bar since the screens are better.  Justin was so pumped.  

[Justin and I kept talking about this game for days.  It was simply phenomenal!!  One of the questions I asked him a dozen times was how did that Cardinal receiver, AJ Green, explain the fact that he didn’t even turn around?  How did he face his teammates?  One explanation we saw on the Internet was, well,  that was how he had announced his retirement.  Go figure.]