Gosh, how time flies! Suddenly it's Saturday and things are finally slowing down. Yesterday was haircuts for the trip and on the way we stopped at a fabric store to find some matching ribbon for our Oaxacan-style ties (braided cording with horsehair tassels). We bought the tassels some time ago after wresting the information of where he got his fabulous tie from the co-owner of a boutique store we favor, but put off changing out the elastic for coordinated ribbons until just before we had to have it.
Unfortunately, during the process of matching ties to ribbons, I managed to misplace one of the ties (Michael's!), so today I walked into town to the artsy-fartsy street with the shop from which we first purchased them. Luckily, they still had one golden yellow tie left. (Michael favors yellow.) So we're now ready for the cruise, tie-wise. No one else will have these ties to go with their tuxedos - hee, hee, hee! Most of our fellow passengers won't know where Oaxaca is, much less that they have a traditional style of tie.
And our kitchen cabinets did not arrive today. We're now being told Monday. I've told our people that they'd better pick up keys to the house as we leave at 1:00 AM Tuesday morning. It would be nice to find the kitchen magically transformed in our absence....but I'd like to be here for placement of the pantry cabinet.
Oh, well, sometimes you need to let go....
We won't be staying at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge on this trip - nor will we be able to enjoy the Hoop-de-Doo dinner show, but perhaps next time. Instead we have my old boss and hubbie joining us for the first part of the vacation at WDW and ressies for the second half.
One slight disappointment with our cruise is that the new ship is too large to stop at Key West - which I've always wanted to visit since seeing a Jamie Lee Curtis/ Arnold What's-his-name film, True Lies. (I've loved Jamie Lee Curtis since A Fish Called Wanda.) We will be visiting Key West on Disney cruise #12 before the Panama Canal cruise next May (if things don't change before then...). I've also got Jamaica on my bucket list, to visit Noel Coward's last home in Ocho Rios and drink a martini-toast to him. But another time. There's always time, right?
I've got Fiyero wanting his dinner, so I suppose I should wrap this up. Michael tells me that although the Pope will be celebrating a mass in Silao tomorrow, we've also got pilgrims arriving in town from Antotonilco, so fireworks in the morning!
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Sunday, March 18, 2012
It's Finished! (Expanded after a TIM moment yesterday)
Whew! Having risen from my afternoon nap - this moving is hard work and we begin early in the day - Michael has brought the last little bits over to the new house, closed up the old house, and we're here now. Dogs have begun to acclimate themselves to the new house: piling on the bed at night, visiting the backyard for their doggy duty (thank heavens!).
Once the carpenter shows up with the new pantry cabinet and reworked crystal cabinet we should be able to free up some additional space in the bodega (it's a maid's room, but we don't have a live-in) and be able to finish unpacking. We've done well unpacking as we go (had to reuse the boxes), but there are still some to finish and things to put away.
This moving stuff is becoming less fun as we grow older. Maybe after the dogs are gone to their reward, we can change our approach and rent a furnished, all-on-one-level home. No, no -- we're in Mexico: we'll have to have an estate sale first, at least!
The new house is a bit smaller than the last one; I like to think it makes better use of the space, as it has the same number of rooms as before. It is certainly lighter and brighter - a welcome turn of affairs! The other house was more Mexican, perhaps, but this one is Mexican Modern with lots of large windows and glass walls. White, white, white! I'll eventually post a few pictures.
We have about a week-and-a-half to settle in and then we're off to Orlando for some time at WDW before the Maiden Voyage on the new Fantasy, followed by some additional time at WDW to decompress and then it's home. Michael will continue to work on the house (there's a wall or two that need some color) while I have a week's turn-around before heading to the Midwest to help my sister and her husband spiff up a house in our old home town.
On the Fantasy, it's a Western Caribbean itinerary, which we've never taken. A sea day getting to the western Caribbean, stops in Grand Cayman (mostly beaches, I hear), Cozumel (the Tulum Ruins), Costa Maya (the Chaccohoben Mayan Ruins), another day at sea getting back to the Bahamas then a day at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay, and then back to the World for a few days. All for the Maiden Voyage on Disney's newest ship, the Fantasy: larger (4000 pax vs 2400 pax); a couple more decks; re-imagined restaurants (about time - bored with Animators' Palette) and an even more upscale Remy in addition to Palo. Bringing a swimming suit and a tux!
Once the carpenter shows up with the new pantry cabinet and reworked crystal cabinet we should be able to free up some additional space in the bodega (it's a maid's room, but we don't have a live-in) and be able to finish unpacking. We've done well unpacking as we go (had to reuse the boxes), but there are still some to finish and things to put away.
This moving stuff is becoming less fun as we grow older. Maybe after the dogs are gone to their reward, we can change our approach and rent a furnished, all-on-one-level home. No, no -- we're in Mexico: we'll have to have an estate sale first, at least!
The new house is a bit smaller than the last one; I like to think it makes better use of the space, as it has the same number of rooms as before. It is certainly lighter and brighter - a welcome turn of affairs! The other house was more Mexican, perhaps, but this one is Mexican Modern with lots of large windows and glass walls. White, white, white! I'll eventually post a few pictures.
We have about a week-and-a-half to settle in and then we're off to Orlando for some time at WDW before the Maiden Voyage on the new Fantasy, followed by some additional time at WDW to decompress and then it's home. Michael will continue to work on the house (there's a wall or two that need some color) while I have a week's turn-around before heading to the Midwest to help my sister and her husband spiff up a house in our old home town.
On the Fantasy, it's a Western Caribbean itinerary, which we've never taken. A sea day getting to the western Caribbean, stops in Grand Cayman (mostly beaches, I hear), Cozumel (the Tulum Ruins), Costa Maya (the Chaccohoben Mayan Ruins), another day at sea getting back to the Bahamas then a day at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay, and then back to the World for a few days. All for the Maiden Voyage on Disney's newest ship, the Fantasy: larger (4000 pax vs 2400 pax); a couple more decks; re-imagined restaurants (about time - bored with Animators' Palette) and an even more upscale Remy in addition to Palo. Bringing a swimming suit and a tux!
Thursday, March 15, 2012
The Move is Underway!
It has taken 4 men 45 minutes to manhandle the washer from the third floor roof-top laundry room down a twisty-curvy stairway (the stairs start with a run straight ahead until they reach a tight 180-degree turn, then continue straight ahead in the opposite direction until they reach a 90-degree turn) to the ground floor of this house. Once they walk the washer over to the new house, there will be only the dryer - which should be lighter, I hope (no pump, only a motor to turn the drum).
They seem to still be in good spirits. They'll probably be in better spirits when they discover that the laundry room at the new house is on the ground floor not the rooftop!
They've returned and gone upstairs to tackle the dryer....
They seem to still be in good spirits. They'll probably be in better spirits when they discover that the laundry room at the new house is on the ground floor not the rooftop!
They've returned and gone upstairs to tackle the dryer....
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
The Big Move
This time we're lucky, I guess. Our move from one house to another is only 2 doors away! Yes, we're moving from No. 14 to No. 20 (bracketed by No. 24 and 28A - go figure)! Guess the folks who built 24 and 28A didn't know that our new house is No. 20. I'd guess it had been there a while. And the street number is not displayed, so you can't really complain about those who numbered their houses later. Well, you can, but it would do no good!
And the big move is only 2 days away. We've been moving a room a day for the last week and a half (okay, so some days we didn't move an entire room). But the day after tomorrow is when we make the 'official' move. The movers are coming to move the big, heavy stuff: washer and dryer on the rooftop, fridge and estufa in the kitchen, some chests of drawers from our bedroom, the king-sized bed, the guest room mattress, the living room sofa, and those three umbrella bases, which probably weigh close to 250 pounds combined.
We've moved practically everything else ourselves, and will move the office computers, faxes, scanners, phones, and desks ourselves. The day to transfer our cable/internet/telephone service will also be scheduled for Thursday, if we're lucky. IF not, we'll work in two locations for a while. After that, the old house at No. 14 will be virtually empty. But we'll have a few days before we leave on vacation for any last minute things.
Readying the new house for occupancy has kept us busy.
Although the lease states that the condition of the new house is 'perfect' it was far from that - and we've got the pictures to prove it. We've removed the upper kitchen cabinets from No. 14 and they are being reconfigured for the new kitchen. The backyard has been scalped and we're waiting for it to spring back to life. (See comment later about a weed whacker.) The additional kitchen cabinets should be in place by this coming weekend. Cabinets and drawers have been lined (shelf lining paper is hard to find in Mexico). The maid's room has been turned into a storage bodega, with the extra kitchen cabinets installed there. The muck on all the windows in the house has been cleaned off (2 days for that); the house has been cleaned from top to bottom (another 2 days). We have installed purified water for the house (you should have seen me scaling the ladder to reach the tinaco and then hanging through the cupola's window to change the light bulb over the stairs). Paint has been chosen (Michael gets to paint while I'm in Indiana for 6 weeks painting a house).
The propane gas line has been extended into the utility yard for the dryer and the BBQ. Planters still need to be selected and planted to keep Fiyero from trying to walk the ledges of the terraces. Sixty-plus pictures have been distributed through out the house (we need to arrange their hanging; cement walls are not the same as drywall in the US). Moving the drapery rods from No. 14 to No. 20 plus a few new, longer rods has been arranged - also for Thursday. We've tried our hands at using a weed whacker on the back yard. Locks have been re-keyed. Lower closet rods have been installed. Chandeliers from No. 14 have been moved to No. 20 and installed. Additional lighting fixtures are being shopped for. We're also looking at some ceiling fans, outside light fixtures, additional blinds, and a combined microwave and exhaust fan unit.
Whew! Hope we're ready when it's time to shuttle to Mexico City for our flight to Orlando!
And the big move is only 2 days away. We've been moving a room a day for the last week and a half (okay, so some days we didn't move an entire room). But the day after tomorrow is when we make the 'official' move. The movers are coming to move the big, heavy stuff: washer and dryer on the rooftop, fridge and estufa in the kitchen, some chests of drawers from our bedroom, the king-sized bed, the guest room mattress, the living room sofa, and those three umbrella bases, which probably weigh close to 250 pounds combined.
We've moved practically everything else ourselves, and will move the office computers, faxes, scanners, phones, and desks ourselves. The day to transfer our cable/internet/telephone service will also be scheduled for Thursday, if we're lucky. IF not, we'll work in two locations for a while. After that, the old house at No. 14 will be virtually empty. But we'll have a few days before we leave on vacation for any last minute things.
Readying the new house for occupancy has kept us busy.
Although the lease states that the condition of the new house is 'perfect' it was far from that - and we've got the pictures to prove it. We've removed the upper kitchen cabinets from No. 14 and they are being reconfigured for the new kitchen. The backyard has been scalped and we're waiting for it to spring back to life. (See comment later about a weed whacker.) The additional kitchen cabinets should be in place by this coming weekend. Cabinets and drawers have been lined (shelf lining paper is hard to find in Mexico). The maid's room has been turned into a storage bodega, with the extra kitchen cabinets installed there. The muck on all the windows in the house has been cleaned off (2 days for that); the house has been cleaned from top to bottom (another 2 days). We have installed purified water for the house (you should have seen me scaling the ladder to reach the tinaco and then hanging through the cupola's window to change the light bulb over the stairs). Paint has been chosen (Michael gets to paint while I'm in Indiana for 6 weeks painting a house).
The propane gas line has been extended into the utility yard for the dryer and the BBQ. Planters still need to be selected and planted to keep Fiyero from trying to walk the ledges of the terraces. Sixty-plus pictures have been distributed through out the house (we need to arrange their hanging; cement walls are not the same as drywall in the US). Moving the drapery rods from No. 14 to No. 20 plus a few new, longer rods has been arranged - also for Thursday. We've tried our hands at using a weed whacker on the back yard. Locks have been re-keyed. Lower closet rods have been installed. Chandeliers from No. 14 have been moved to No. 20 and installed. Additional lighting fixtures are being shopped for. We're also looking at some ceiling fans, outside light fixtures, additional blinds, and a combined microwave and exhaust fan unit.
Whew! Hope we're ready when it's time to shuttle to Mexico City for our flight to Orlando!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Casting About
Castaway Cay is the name of Disney's private island in the Bahamas. An idyllic place to land after bobbing about in the ocean. The name reminds me of what we're presently doing: casting about for what to move next!
While hurried moves can be distressing, having a month in which to move house is almost too long. There's still that little voice in your head saying: Hurry up, time's a-wasting! Something might go wrong.
We're at that state. While we have a timeline in which certain things should be accomplished, there's a lot of wiggle room. We began with the concept of moving a room a day, but there was extra time, so some rooms got moved ahead of schedule. Then some planned events (the new gas line for the dryer, for instance) got delayed due to availability of workers. Cleaning the house took two days instead of one. While we've mostly adopted the Mexican approach to life - mañana - it still throws a wrench into one's plans.
So here we are at 4 am, wondering what's next. There is a point where everything will move to the new house and then we'll live there! But we're still in the stage of maintaining a life in the old house: the kitchen appliances are here, so we'll be eating here; the office is still here, so we're working here; and our bedroom is still here, so we're sleeping here. And since our internet/telephone/phone service is tied together - and you can't have service at two locations at once - the final move must be carefully choreographed.
We have, on the other hand, signed up on line to review the electrical billings of the new house. That is amazingly simple. Not that we can switch the ownership of the account to us without purchasing the property (where in the states they only care about who is paying the bill), but we can sign-up online to review the account if we have the name and number associated with it. And since bills are delivered door-to-door, we have the information for the new place, too.
It gives you an idea of what kind of deadbeat your landlord is, that's for sure! He presently owes $301 pesos in arrears. Which is a different concept here, too. Why pay my taxes when the government won't try to collect for a few years? How long does it take to turn off services? There's always mañana....
I'm sure we'll think of something useful to do today. Once the Mega opens I can get a pair of gardening gloves and attack the weeds in the new back yard. Our gardener didn't show yesterday and the dogs can't go over until the backyard is cleared up or we'll be brushing coats for days. We'll have help on Monday for moving heavy stuff (though the washer/dryer and kitchen appliances, for instance, will go at the last minute). And Tuesday the carpenter will be here to remove the upper kitchen cabinets which we're having reworked for the new house. We put the upper cabinets in ourselves, so they're ours to do with as we please - and it pleases us to move them. That means we need to bundle up all our dishes and stemware so they can move the cabinets to their workrooms - but that requires bubblewrap and the Office Depot doesn't open until later in the morning.
And today we're going to see the Luche Libre - Mexican-style wrestling by big guys wearing head-covering masks. Can you believe that some appear in movies wearing still wearing their masks?!? Bizarre. I'm hoping our friends can explain some of this mystique to us....
It's now about 5 am: Mega opens at 8; Office Depot at 10. Perhaps a little nap is required. In the meanwhile, we'll cast about for something useful to do.
While hurried moves can be distressing, having a month in which to move house is almost too long. There's still that little voice in your head saying: Hurry up, time's a-wasting! Something might go wrong.
We're at that state. While we have a timeline in which certain things should be accomplished, there's a lot of wiggle room. We began with the concept of moving a room a day, but there was extra time, so some rooms got moved ahead of schedule. Then some planned events (the new gas line for the dryer, for instance) got delayed due to availability of workers. Cleaning the house took two days instead of one. While we've mostly adopted the Mexican approach to life - mañana - it still throws a wrench into one's plans.
So here we are at 4 am, wondering what's next. There is a point where everything will move to the new house and then we'll live there! But we're still in the stage of maintaining a life in the old house: the kitchen appliances are here, so we'll be eating here; the office is still here, so we're working here; and our bedroom is still here, so we're sleeping here. And since our internet/telephone/phone service is tied together - and you can't have service at two locations at once - the final move must be carefully choreographed.
We have, on the other hand, signed up on line to review the electrical billings of the new house. That is amazingly simple. Not that we can switch the ownership of the account to us without purchasing the property (where in the states they only care about who is paying the bill), but we can sign-up online to review the account if we have the name and number associated with it. And since bills are delivered door-to-door, we have the information for the new place, too.
It gives you an idea of what kind of deadbeat your landlord is, that's for sure! He presently owes $301 pesos in arrears. Which is a different concept here, too. Why pay my taxes when the government won't try to collect for a few years? How long does it take to turn off services? There's always mañana....
I'm sure we'll think of something useful to do today. Once the Mega opens I can get a pair of gardening gloves and attack the weeds in the new back yard. Our gardener didn't show yesterday and the dogs can't go over until the backyard is cleared up or we'll be brushing coats for days. We'll have help on Monday for moving heavy stuff (though the washer/dryer and kitchen appliances, for instance, will go at the last minute). And Tuesday the carpenter will be here to remove the upper kitchen cabinets which we're having reworked for the new house. We put the upper cabinets in ourselves, so they're ours to do with as we please - and it pleases us to move them. That means we need to bundle up all our dishes and stemware so they can move the cabinets to their workrooms - but that requires bubblewrap and the Office Depot doesn't open until later in the morning.
And today we're going to see the Luche Libre - Mexican-style wrestling by big guys wearing head-covering masks. Can you believe that some appear in movies wearing still wearing their masks?!? Bizarre. I'm hoping our friends can explain some of this mystique to us....
It's now about 5 am: Mega opens at 8; Office Depot at 10. Perhaps a little nap is required. In the meanwhile, we'll cast about for something useful to do.
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